#mdzs translation spoilers

[liverbiver9]

The more I read danmei in my monthly book club that I otherwise wouldn’t have read or even known about, the more it becomes painfully clear that most of the mdzs fandom (and possibly the other 2 mxtx fandoms but I’m not as well versed with them) have not interacted with the genre at large beyond mxtx, and it shows in the meta analysis people make (especially westerners).

And I am not excluding myself here! So much of my initial assumptions and interpretations of mdzs has changed after reading other danmei authors, especifically the less western-internet-popular ones.

My point is this: when reading a book from a culture that is not your own and in an unfamiliar genre, it will be impossible to grasp all the intricacies and subtleties nestled within the narrative and characterization until you’ve become more familiar with the culture and genre itself.

Don’t limit yourself to mxtx. There are more and more danmei being translated into English by publishing houses and even more are fan translated.

If you’re looking for a place to start, I have some recommendations!

1. Golden Terrace by Cang Wu Bin Bai.

Literally one of my favorite books I’ve ever read in my life, and I’m an English major. It is only 2 books and both are already published, so you won’t have to wait. The most tender, loving relationship I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading about. The translation is phenomenal, and it feels very similar to Jane Austen in its diction, plot, and characterization. I literally cannot explain with words how much I love this book.

2. To Rule in a Turbulent World by Gu Xue Rou

This series is just being translated and published, so it may take a while for the other books (I think 3-4?) will be out, but don’t let that scare you away! Without too much spoilers, the vibes of this first book reminds me of Harvest Moon games. Also a very sweet and tender main couple. Plus, this book is written by a male author!! Pretty rare in danmei, at least to my knowledge.

3. Thousand Autumns by Qian Qiu

Pretty dense with lots of philosophy, poetry references, and a more traditional wuxia world. This series is finished with 5 books in total. I had a hard time reading the first book, mostly because I didn’t connect that much with the mc at first, but I loved the world building and all the information I learned. I did eventually start connecting with the mc and ended the series fully besotted! Not a quick or easy read, but a worthwhile one.

4. Ballad of Sword and Wine by Tang Jiu Qing

The first book is out for this series, with the second being published later this month. It’s going to be a long one like tcgf, so it is a commitment read—but absolutely worth it!! Lots of palace politics and more Taoist-focused martial arts (think Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon). It is both fast and slow burn (I know that doesn’t make sense now; trust me, it will later on) and the main character is SO FASCINATING!! I want to study him like a bug. The overall characterization is phenomenal. The cast can be… intimidating, as there are a LOT of named characters, but they’re mostly there for world building (and the world building is fantastic!). Also, the translation here is GORGEOUS. You can tell it was translated by a writer, or at least someone who’s read the whole text (you’d be surprised…)—everything is so vivid!

[touchlikethesun]

also i can't tell if i like the official translation (above) or the ExiledRebel translation (below)

"from then on, he could never move his eyes away again."

on the one hand i like the use of 'forever after' in the seven seas translation, it makes it sound a bit more like a fairy tale (and like wgxn are basically a fairy tale couple), like it's a bit more whimsical. but on the other hand, i do kinda think the ER translation flows better, it's more straight-forward, less clunky when you read it out loud, which feels a bit more true to lan wangji's character. (also no confusing gay fanfic pronoun issue, even tho we all know what each he him his is referring to)

i feel like, years from now maybe even decades, i will still be waking up in a cold sweat thinking about the last like of mdzs.

"and forever after, his eyes could never move away from him again."

[dramaticviolincrescendo]

BFSS vs. MYATB

I had some Thoughts(TM) after finishing “Blooming Flowers, Silent Sorrow” and thought I’d put them out into the universe.

I’m definitely glad that I read the book and plan to start “Jinbao Marries a Wife” after the extra episodes air. That being said, this is nevertheless one of the rare occasions where I actually preferred the show to the novel. I have already rewatched the series more times than I care to admit publicly, but I don’t really see myself reading the book again unless an official English translation is released to see the approved wording and whether anything was left out of the translation I read.

For anyone who plans to read and wants to avoid spoilers, I’ll hide the rest below the cut. If you loved the book, no worries—this won’t be a negative review!

The Story

I’m extremely impressed that the story is basically the same and, in parts where it isn’t, maintains full fidelity to the original plot and characters. Like MDZS and The Untamed, there were some plot points that got shuffled around in order to suit the medium of television rather than written narrative—and only twelve episodes of television, at that—but it didn’t alter the essence of the story or even the overarching plot at all. Some events were consolidated where it made sense (ex., finding Zongzheng Yuzhan’s dahlia and escaping with Xiaoyu), and others were fragmented in a manner that allowed us more time to get to know the characters (ex., Xiaobao delivering the medicine and their intimate moment in episode three being at two different times). Even Xiaobao’s illness, which was shortened to the spring rather than the following autumn, was still written and portrayed in such a way that you really felt the passage of time and how excruciating it could be when finding the dahlias before their window passed was at the fore of everyone’s minds.

There are a few points, however, where I feel like the show was able to add something to the narrative that I found I missed when reading the book, while I didn’t encounter anything while reading that I really wished had made it into the show. To be honest, given how few episodes they had to tell this story and how important pacing was as a result, that really surprised me. Here are some things that come to mind:

Toning down the non-con elements. While the show depicts those moments as almost more of a non-con initiation transforming into something more tacitly consensual as it progressed (or dubious consent due to drinking or drugging), the book really stuck to the non-con focus of their interactions. I was surprised how long it remained that way, as well as how much more Huai’en pushed it by trying to initiate things after the betrayal and poisoning. I know a lot of that is due to the medium—in a show of this nature, I’d have been more surprised if they’d kept it the same. It’s just something I preferred about how it was depicted in the show and felt made the romance a little more believable as it evolved so quickly.

More conversations between Xiaobao and Huai’en. As with the last point, it made the budding romance more believable for me, not to mention adding that extra bit of heartbreak when Huai’en betrayed Xiaobao. In the book, he doesn’t mention anything about his family history or his father after Jin Bao’s asthma crisis; much of what Xiaobao learns about Huai’en doesn’t come up until the latter is already gone. Sharing the truths (or what Huai’en thought were the truths) of his past added to the half-truths of what he’s doing in Jiangnan created a much deeper sense of manipulation for me and added to the weight of both what he does in episode six as well as how he still tries to keep the Jins alive in the aftermath.

The overall character growth. I’ll put more on this in the characters section, but I was left feeling a little disappointed at the end of the book in a way I wasn’t when I finished the show. It’s not that the growth was bad or missing, just that it didn’t feel as deep as the show for me. At the end of MYATB, Xiaobao is more mature and mindful of what his family needs and his own responsibilities in making that happen; in BFSS, he’s mostly acting like a young master again, gallivanting around with Huai’en and bemoaning how useless he can be. In MYATB, Huai’en grows to care about more than just Xiaobao, even though Xiaobao is still his true north; in BFSS, he’s seriously considering killing Xiaoyu out of jealousy in the last few chapters while rescuing her. In MYATB, Su Yin is angry at the situation, not with Xiaobao, and eventually comes to terms with the idea that Xiaobao has matured and can be trusted to make his own choices; in BFSS, we don’t really see the closure to that disagreement, which was one of my favorite scenes in the finale. Again, nothing wrong with how the book portrayed things, but I felt there was a certain growth in these characters in the show that I’d have liked to see mirrored there.

Xue Tong’en’s ubiquitous presence. She’s startlingly absent in the book while her presence in the show seems to be the backdrop to everything. Zongzheng Yuzhan’s obsession and even madness are palpable in the show, and his strange hatred for yet attachment to Huai’en is especially moving. All of that was absent in the book except for a couple of mentions in the overall narration and Zongzheng Yuzhan’s unwillingness to relinquish Xiaoyu. I just didn’t feel it like I did while watching MYATB.

Their strange but heartwarming little found family. My jaw dropped to see Zuoying and Youying peace out during the final battle, leaving Huai’en to fend for himself, and Zhaocai have an off-screen love interest he was determined to marry before he, too, caught a case of bisexuality. (His sentiment, not mine.) No tearful farewells after a year of huddling together for survival? No beautiful little scene of Huai’en’s two shadows keeping him alive until help arrived? No Zhaocai-Xiaoyu tag-teaming to interrupt Xiaobao and Huai’en at every turn? Don’t get me wrong—the two of them going off on their romantic road-tripping was satisfying, but… Well, as someone who sees platonic and romantic relationships as equally important, I was a little sad to see that it’s just…them.

First, the raid; next, the cure. Having Xiaobao’s remedy come last made Huai’en’s journey feel like there were higher stakes for me. In the book, it’s like tying up a loose end—“bring back Xiaoyu, and I’ll fully forgive you.” In the show, Huai’en gets to see what’s at stake and can make the conscious decision to inconvenience and further endanger himself by taking Xiaoyu away. He knows Xiaobao still loves him and has to just sit there helplessly while he continues to go through episodes that leave him unconscious for hours or days; he has to leave without saying goodbye, with no prompting from Xiaobao to bring Xiaoyu back or ultimatums on his forgiveness. And if he failed? In the show, that’s it for Xiaobao; in the book, it’s just whether his sister comes home, which Huai’en isn’t as bothered about even if he’s willing to die for it. For me, it read as a little more…transactional in the novel, so it wasn’t quite as emotionally stirring. Plus, waiting until later to heal Xiaobao meant Su Yin and Huai’en had to work together after everything that happened between them, which may have gone a long way towards that reconciliation I mentioned.

Li Gongxiang. …That’s it. ‘Nuff said.

All the little things that made the characters more real. Obviously, visual mediums are going to fill in personalities in ways that written narratives can’t, but MYATB did so in such a way that I deeply missed those details when they weren’t there. Zhaocai and Jinbao’s odd sleeping arrangements. Xiaobao and the dancer…and the guy in the restaurant… Shaoyu coming back to stake his claim only to get out-bratted by Xiaobao. Youying royally screwing up and putting the Jins on alert, necessitating an in-universe convoluted plot to make it seem like a random jianghu misunderstanding. None of it was necessary, no, but it was fun and made me care more about the characters as I watched. The only moment like this in the book that really stood out to me was Su Yin tickling Xiaobao into submission, which was honestly amazing. In any case, adding depth to the supporting characters that wasn’t there in the book added more to the main characters as well, so I missed those small details as I read.

The Characters

I know it seems like I covered that already, but there were a couple of specifics that really stood out to me regarding character choices and personalities in the book compared to the show. As with the story, there wasn’t much I felt hadn’t been incorporated from the book, while there were elements from the show that I did miss seeing as I read. Overall, I thought the show did a fantastic job of taking who the characters were on a fundamental level in the book and enhancing them with certain narrative choices.

Huai’en: I am unspeakably grateful for whoever decided to age him up to 20. It facilitated the conversations he had with Xiaobao that deepened their relationship and made the romance more believable. With that added maturity, his cold manipulation makes a lot of sense for his character rather than the angry and violent outbursts that the teenage Huai’en in the book was prone to. Even in MYATB, Huai’en experienced a few of those, but they only came at pivotal moments and, as a result, had more meaning to me. (Note: not morally right, but still meaningful.) On another note, I was mourning the loss of his scene with the emperor as I read. The majority was still there, namely the blood test, dahlia, and refusing his title. However, exonerating the Jins was a huge moment that contributed to his reconciliation with Xiaobao and their ability to live happily later. For me, it was more moving to see him take that initiative in the show rather than have it offered to him as an incentive for providing information that could free Prince Shen later in the book.

Xiaobao: …It’s the word “lecherous.” I just can’t get past it! In the show, we’re made aware that he’s frequented brothels in the past, and no further details are given. His attempts to woo “Miss Zheng” are slightly sleazy, but they hardly count as “lecherous,” which I really liked. It’s more of a wide-eyed “she could kick my ass in any context and I’d thank her for it” situation than…well, “lecherous.” (Nope, still can’t get past it even when I use it.) With an aged-up Huai’en, I think that having Xiaobao be more of an adorable wannabe player matched a bit better. He was still that way in the book, but the sexual element was a lot more prevalent (namely trying to switch positions), while MYATB moved him past that very quickly.

Su Yin: As I mentioned above, I really mourned the loss of their closure. In the show, we see a Su Yin who goes through hell trying to avenge Xiaobao only to learn that he needs to take a step back and trust that Xiaobao can take care of himself. He isn’t that same spoiled young master who needs Su Yin to constantly come to his rescue anymore by the end, and Su Yin has seen Huai’en’s sincerity even if he will never be able to forgive Huai’en’s indiscretions himself. Su Yin is very similar in much of the book, but I felt that their roads diverged some after Xiaobao went to warn Huai’en about the trap at Chifeng Cliff. In BFSS, we never really see him get over that, and his anger is truly at Xiaobao—he even insults him multiple times. MYATB shows it as concern with Xiaobao’s self-esteem and seeming willingness to degrade himself, shortly followed by understanding and acceptance, however hesitant. I loved that growth for both Su Yin and their relationship, so I was quite disappointed that it wasn’t the same in the book.

Que Siming: This was a case where expectations didn’t meet reality. I’d heard from people who read the book how he was the only one rooting for Huai’en and Xiaobao, but…that wasn’t entirely the vibe I got. It was still there, as it was in the show, but perhaps it was his personality that made it a bit difficult to see. In the show, Que Siming is eccentric, self-serving, and arrogant. However, there are moments when he displays genuine emotion towards Xiaobao’s suffering and Huai’en’s fate that show he really does care, even if his taste for gossip outweighs most other things a lot of the time. In the book, he was mostly just mean. The self-serving arrogance was there, but I didn’t really see much else. It could have been lost in translation, and I’m sure I’ll have a better grasp of him after “Jinbao Marries a Wife,” but on the whole I was left feeling like he was one of the only characters who was extremely different and far more likable in the show. Props to Kou Weilong!

Xiaoyu: She is one of the other characters who felt extremely different between the two mediums, and I vastly prefer the show’s version. In the book, Xiaoyu almost didn’t even seem like a kid of only about ten. Her dialogue read like a young woman, and I have to agree with the book version of Huai’en that her feelings about Xiaobao were…uh…wow. I definitely preferred Su Yin alluding to a marriage as merely a parting shot at Huai’en. Of course, the context is important: in the book, the Jins already decided Xiaoyu would run the family business, and she was also aware of what had happened to the Xues and that she wasn’t actually a Jin. In those circumstances, it makes sense that she would have been groomed to consider this eventuality without much thought given to their brother-sister relationship beyond just always being together. Still, uh…very glad they didn’t go that route. It also meant she could be more of a child in MYATB and wage a war for Xiaobao’s attention against Huai’en without that loaded underlying meaning.

Zongzheng Yuzhan: In MYATB, he seems to have gotten an upgrade. Even more than just being an oftentimes off-screen, absentee antagonist, he was a character foil for Huai’en. We are meant to see that Huai’en’s understanding of love is twisted, as Li Gongxiang said, because his only example is his foster father’s obsessive and possessive form of love. What makes Zongzheng Yuzhan monstrous is that he can’t change. What makes Huai’en human is that he can. He could have been a monster—a beast, as Xiaobao calls him in the book multiple times—but he takes a different road. That road leads to direct conflict with Zongzheng Yuzhan and emphasizes their differences in a dramatic and captivating way. In the book, that conflict really isn’t there. Zongzheng Yuzhan very easily lets go of Huai’en being Zongzheng Yunlian’s son and urges him to be free until he comes back for Xiaoyu. Perhaps that’s the Zongzheng Yuzhan we’d have seen if Huai’en had visited him in prison, but that steady escalation of their differences until it reached a boiling point made the stakes in the second half of the show that much more impactful for me.

In all, I enjoyed BFSS. It was worth reading and did add a lot of insight into certain scenes that couldn’t possibly include dialogue, especially Xiaobao’s thoughts during poison episodes and his quieter moments as Huai’en insisted on proving what a joke Su Yin’s security was to him. (I’m imagining Su Yin with a clown nose and wig asking, “Am I a joke to you?” Yes. Yes, you are. But I love you anyway.)

Perhaps I’d feel a little differently if I’d read the book before watching the show. Having gone the opposite direction, though, I’m left astounded at how well MYATB took a book with over a hundred chapters, adapted it for the screen, enhanced both the plot and characters, and told the story in twelve episodes with time to spare for an extra fluffy epilogue. There was a lot of love put into the show, and while I did enjoy the book, that may have made all the difference for me.

[kittybobitty]

Ranking the Danmei I Read this Year

I got into Danmei this February, and wanted to do a top 5, but then realized I'd only read 5 this year lol, so instead I'm going to rank them from least favorite to most. So without further ado:

5. The Disabled Tyrant's Beloved Pet Fish

I picked this one up just because it sounded so ridiculous and funny, and never expected it to be so sweet! It's pure fluff and love. I've only ranked it low because it's just very low stakes compared to the rest of the series on the list. It's a great read in between much higher stakes series that constantly feel like they're ripping my heart out. I love Li Yu's character and how in love with him Prince Jing is. I'm looking forward tk getting the final volume next year!

4. Heaven Official's Blessing

We all know it and love it for a reason. I was absolutely enamored by hualian's love story. I love the lack of relationship drama because they trust eachother so completely, and I think it has one of the best confession scenes of any media ever. However, I did rank it lower because I didn't find the ending completely fulfilling. I know MXTX is doing an amended version and I'm anxious about her removing some characters but I am curious to see if I find the ending any better.

3. The Scum Villain's Self Saving System

It made me laugh so much, and then volume 3 broke my heart. I really love how related Shen Yuan is. It is MXTX's first series and it does feel like it is her first in a lot of ways, but this series has so much heart. I honestly would love to see more of the world explored, because I think it's so vast and interesting.

2. The Husky and His White Cat Shizun

I LOVE this series. I love our himbo protag living in the regret of his previous life, I love how much of a hopeless romantic CWN is behind his cold exterior and damn, it's good spice. I am spoiler free and have not even read volume 7 yet (it arrives tomorrow!) But it's definitely the longest series I've read, I belive it will have 11 volumes in total. I'm really looking forward to seeing how it turns out, but until then, I will keep all the related tags blocked haha

1. The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

Anyone who follows my blog probably wouldn't be surprised by this. The series with too many titles, MDZS, was my first danmei and still sits atop as my favorite. I see a lot of myself in Wei Ying. His story breaks my heart, but his love story with Lan Wanji heals me. I love their dynamic, their relationship to the juniors, and their devotion to each other. I was to keep experiencing this series in new ways; I already am collecting the webcomic, I've started watching the donghua (and I'd like to buy it) and I will eventually watch The Untamed. Theres also the new stage play happening soon (no idea how I'll see that) and me hoping and praying for someone to pick up the manga for publication in the west. I love Wangxian so much!

And that's all I've read thus far. I know it's kinda basic as far as danmei go, but everyone has to start somewhere! I would love recommendations for what to read next. I do prefer the cultivation storyline, but I'm also open to Palace Dramas. I'm not particularly interested in Modern stories.

I'm likely to pick up Thousand Autumns soon, and I've heard Remnants of Filth is in the same universe as Erha, so I may also check it out. Feel free to leave other recommendations (please also note I'm currently only interested in series that have been published as books in the US, and not interested in reading fan-translations)

Happy new year everyone!

[mxtxfanatic]

Hi!!

I am finally gonna to read svsss, so far I haven't interacted with the fandom much, just seen fanarts, which I think is good since I don't wanna fall for fandom misconceptions or fanon. I have seen people say it's quite very different from the other two works of mxtx.

So I wanted to ask if they're are any pointers I need to know before starting (since I don't know much about danmei) or any popular fanon fandoms impose on new readers (I don't mind minor spoilers)

Thank you!💕

Ooooh, this is a tough one! 😅 Scum villain is very different to tgcf and mdzs but moreso in the story set-up and relationships than in the morals and messaging. It is important to go into the story knowing that it is another genre critique, just this time focused on the stallion (overpowered man who gets all the women) genre, so read with that lens. And second, pay special attention to Shen Qingqiu’s actions and how the narration around his thoughts are structured. Put more weight on those over dialogue, especially when it comes to his relationships. Because he is not a straightforward MC like Wei Wuxian and Xie Lian, it is very easy to misunderstand his motivations and feelings if you only listen to the words out of his mouth or the first immediate thought that pops into his head. If you’re starting with the official English translation, I actually think it does a better job at capturing his interiority in English, but I’d still recommend reading it twice (that is, if you like the first pass lol). Shen Qingqiu is willing in all his actions and decisions. And with all that said, good luck on your first foray into svsss, and I hope you enjoy it! 💖

[thegreymoon]

I'm going to start MDZS properly tonight, after years and years. I tried for the first time back in the midst of The Untamed hype (which was my first successfully watched c-drama and my introduction to danmei) but that fan translation was just one giant nope. I'm not expecting anything new or exciting from this book at this point. I did watch the drama after all, skimmed through the fan translation, read bits and pieces of it out of order and at random over the years, and have been through ALL the fandom wank and shipping wars. But I still feel guilty for never having fully read it, so here we are 😔

***

Well, that's horrible.

Being stabbed by Jiang Cheng sounds easier.

***

Eat the rich, etc.

This gross bully can't even do his smashing himself, he must send servants to do it for him. If there ever was a worthy candidate for being swallowed by an evil curse, he is it.

I feel like Mo Xuanyu would have been great friends with Mo Ran. Wei Wuxian probably would be too. Mistreated orphans, unite!

***

I haven't been the biggest fan of 7seas art in these books so far but this one, I like 🖤

***

LMAO, aww, baby is offended people think he was a malicious ghost 🖤

***

Crying 🤣🤣

"Decent" and "honest" wandering ghost 🤣🤣

***

LMAO, he's so bad at this "malicious ghost" business 🤣🤣

***

Oh, yes, he would have been such good friends with Mo Ran 🤣🤣

They even like the same type of men 🤣🤣

***

Going into this book with all the spoilers is a special kind of fun. You get to catch stuff like this:

Just knowing what he went through in the Jiang family, the gratitude he felt he owed to Jiang Fengmian, how restricted and restrained he was by them, the constant not to be an embarrassment to them.

***

LMFAO

Don't worry, baby, you'll marry the best 😊

***

Reading this is coming along so slowly. Who told me to read three books at once? 😭

***

Their souls returned??

I never realized this was what was happening. I thought he was just animating the corpses. IDK how I feel about that. The dead should rest in peace. Summoning souls to do your dirty bidding is going too far.

[myheartismadeofstars]

Anyone want to be MXTX novel buddies with me? 🥺

I want to talk about the Blorbos from my Books!

SVSSS is probably my favourite one but I am fixating on TGCF currently (annoying because I don't have any HOB books except for the first one, maybe I'll go buy a couple this month. Even if I wanted to read it online the only translations are extremely bad... which I totally understand, because why not support the author! But I don't always have the money to buy them, I've read the others though!)

My Ships:

SV: Bingqiu, Binggeyuan, Bing2qiu (poly with bingge), Moshang, Qijiu, NingFan

MDZS: Wangxian, WangNingXian, SangCheng, QinYao (but not as siblings), NieQing, Xuanli, XueQing, songxiao

TGCF: based on what I have read, spoilers (sought out on my own) and fanfics: Hualian, Fengqing, Quanyin, and Pei Su x Ban Yue. (Since I know how popular it is, I should mention it: I don't ship B. e. e. f. l. e. a. f. i understand why someone might, but I prefer them as tragic friends. I can't see SQX forgiving HX in canon. I can see HX realizing that he missed SQX and wanted to be friends again, but it's too late. Even in an AU I've been concocting, I don't see them romantically. At MOST I could see them as Platonic Soulmates, similar to the way I see Mu Qing and Xie Lian.)

[kittytheillustrator]

Danmei Sketch Requests

💚 Currently open

Please send VIA ask

Will draw for: TGCF, SVSSS, MDZS, Erha, Fish (TDTBPF), QJJ

Please avoid spoilers past the official translations in your requests

I reserve the right to not draw any request I don't care for.

I will draw at most 1 a day, as a warm up.

If you have already sent one, please wait 7 days before submitting another (or until after your previous request was completed, whichever comes first.

Thank you!

[very-poorly-drawn-tgcf]

Hello! I am not skilled enough to do a full fancomic of the entirety of tgcf (backgrounds and fight scenes scare me) so I will start with this instead. Aka a poorly drawn recap of the books. I can't guarantee regular updates but ya know. I can try.

This will be following the plot as told by the books (the released official english translation books, so not the revised version. If you know where to find a translation of the revised let me know)! So I'll follow through the narration of that rather than the donghua or any other adaptations. It's meant to be light-hearted but as this story gets heavy as shit, I will add cw tags as necessary.

UPDATE: I have access to the revised edition or rather the notable changes in it and will try to incorporate as possible!

Please keep in mind this was done with already having read all the books and merely re-reading them for this. So spoilers lol.

This was inspired by other such blogs on this site! Please go check them out! <3

Know others like this that aren't on the list? Let me know and I'll update the list!

[arlinxen]

mdzs volume 1 thoughts & opinions

[first read] [spoilers]

Review (Spoilers)

Wei Wuxian pointed at himself with a wide, happy grin. “What about this one?”

“Mine,” Lan Wangji answered.

I've read tgcf and loved tgcf so my friends told me I had to read mdzs so here we are.

I went into this mostly blind, minus trigger warnings from my friends. Based on the way I've heard Wei Wuxian described, I was pleasantly surprised. I actually didn't think I would even like this series, but I do. So that's good.

I'm fairly positive this book can solve most of my issues.

I did also read the poorly translated version which sucked, but I don't want to hold that against the series because it isn't MXTX's fault

The writing style isn't traditional which I admire. I really don't like the writing style of most books on booktok because it's all copy and paste (which sucks because I read 50+ books a year) not to mention the books I edit for authors.

I enjoy the pacing of this series a lot more than tgcf. It took all the small pieces of tgcf to come together but with mdzs I can draw conclusions very quickly on what is happening rather than feeling like some of this might not be relevant. I like the fast pace feel.

Favorite Character: Wei Wuxian. I don't think I really need to explain this one.

Least Favorite Character: Jiang Cheng.

Favorite Moment: Lan Wangji dragging Wei Wuxian back to the cloud recess. It was humorous to read as he said "drag him in later". Notable mentions is drunk Lan Wangji though.

Kindle Highlights:

This one hurt me. I couldn’t help but highlight it 😭

I found this funny when i read it.

who’s gonna tell him 😭

I don’t think I need to explain this one.

me personally, Wei Wuxian, i want him to carry me.

i thought this was cute 🥺

Final Review

5 stars!

Out of the 5 books on my 5 star book list for 2023, I would consider mdzs #1 on the list. Definitely worth the read.

anyways ty for coming to my review of just volume 1 :)

[kamreadsandrecs]

Title: Stars of Chaos/Sha Po Lang, Vol. 1

Author: priest

Genre/s: danmei, steampunk, historical, alternate history

Content/Trigger Warning/s: murder, violence, deafness, blindness

Summary (from publisher's website): The discovery of violet gold, a vital fuel for steam-powered machines, propelled the empire of Great Liang into an age of prosperity. But for Chang Geng, a young man raised on the impoverished northern border, the concerns of the empire are as distant as the stars above.

When raiders from the north attack Chang Geng’s small village, he discovers that the life he knows is a lie. His mother, his teacher, and even his godfather whom he trusted more than any other, Shen Shiliu, are not what they seem. As enemy nations close in, Chang Geng follows his godfather to the heart of the imperial capital, where a greater fate lies in store for him.

Buy Here: https://sevenseasentertainment.com/books/stars-of-chaos-sha-po-lang-novel-vol-1/

Spoiler-Free Review: Oh, but this was so GOOD! This book reads as a LOT more complex than what I remember of MDZS. For one, the worldbuilding is MUCH more thorough than the world of MDZS, which had enough details in it to build a sense of what it’s like in the reader’s head, but certainly not to the same detail as this book. While it’s set in a fictional China, this book goes beyond China’s borders to show its connection to fictional versions of Central Asia, Europe, and Japan.

And in line with that expansion of the world, the plot and the themes expand as well. While this volume contains elements of mystery and court intrigue, the main bulk of the plot (in this volume anyway) is centered on the resource called violet gold (which reads like a stand-in for crude oil) and the ways Great Liang has attempted to secure its supply of the resource. Those methods include soft and hard controls of the market, but notably, it includes colonial subjugation of a region where the resource is most abundant. That latter bit makes for some interesting thoughts if one is a reader for whom such a theme is of interest, especially given how one character in particular states that, if it were up to them, they would go on a colonial-expansionist project in order to ensure the safety and stability of Great Liang.

While all of those are weighty and complex topics, this series is still firmly in the danmei genre, as shown by the relationship between Gu Yun and Chang Geng, whose relationship is a bit more nuanced and complex in its portrayal than that between Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian. There are plenty of silly moments, of course, and more than a few times I facepalmed (in a good way) at their dynamic, but while it’s clear that they are the main romantic couple of this series, their relationship is not as clear-cut as the main couple in MDSZ.

Overall, this was an excellent read: a step up in terms of style, narrative, and thematic concerns compared to MDZS, while still remaining within the ambit danmei as a genre. I am not entirely sure if this difference is a result of the authors’ specific skills and styles, or if it is a result of their respective translators, but regardless, this volume certainly shows that priest is entirely capable of doing some very good worldbuilding while weaving a complex plot, as well as working with equally complex themes. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for the next volume, as well as for priest’s other works, because I think that her writing might just be the kind I really enjoy.

Rating: five silk darts

[jinlin-at-the-moon]

🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈ok new pinned time or whatever🇵🇱🇵🇱

places this here gently to warn off idiots

hiiii :3! i'm koi, cyprin, jinli, karp, and any other translation you want to do for that fish; he/him, on/jego i am in fact formerly tumblr user @ifidogaysomyself. this information would be more relevant if i made literally any original posts on my old account, but here we are. other names i'm known as are The Freudian Media Analysis Mutual, The Has Too Many OCs Mutual, and The Necrophilia Guy Who Strikes Again. i got some kinda freak vibe going on, possibly.

currently mostly danmeiposting with some ace attorney ment but other things might sneak in. i will tag pretty much any fandom i see if i like a post about it enough to rb it, but don't expect consistency ‼️I DON'T REALLY TAG SPOILERS OR TWs‼️ enter at your own risk

FISH TAGS: #🐠 - original posts made by me, or reblogs where i do more than tag ramble #fishy meta - s/e #fishy answers - for when i get my one ask in 1000 years #fishy aus - i will get brainworms i need to put out without actually committing to any kind of real fic writing, occassionally. #fishy art - you may notice theres nothing here. that is because i don't post my art but shit man one day i might #fishy writing - you may notice there is also nothing here. that is because i have one (1) fic up on ao3 and it was a gift oneshot for an exchange so it doesn't really count ANY # that starts with "#alt:" - i have roommates and sometimes they wish to speak, or i associate a particular post with them. mostly to bully them about it.

OTHER TAGS (under readmore because there is a lot):

MAIN FANDOM TAGS(that i can't be assed to link): #svsss, #tgcf, #mdzs - current danmei tags #ace attorney, #dgs - hit games about lawyers #dsmp, #mcyt, #traffic - i'm back in the fucking building again #dangan - i enjoy murdergame as a concept. udg haters dont talk to me #d20, #fh, #acroc, #eftbk, #mismag - current d20 tags, but i might get into other seasons so who know who know. most of these are filled over at my former blog unforch but we ball #genshin - not asougi #the asterisk war - if you have never heard of it, good for you! if you have, my condolences. least used of these but it's my shitty special interest #lit - and related tags. i'm a huge classic lit enjoyer (chroniczny czytacz lektur) so those might show up #miraculous* - these are all going to also be tagged with "alt: valid troll tag" as well. this is because i am not into miraculous but my horrid roommate is. i'm only putting it here because it's a gun to the head situation

OC TAGS: aka "what the hell is [x] ive never heard of it", aka i've accidentally goncharov'd my friends a few too many times. feel free to ask about any of these btw i dont bite but i do yap. i have way more ocs than just these, even among the typed out stories themselves, but these are the main ones i might tag sooo. i will probably update these as time goes on. i am the imaginerrr

#days of death - related characters: illyen rovisau, van lorem, cryn abad, laegan mawdkind, sephyr frinsc, hecate vixeuret, sen, romeyn enber, cassius, the antigoni

#overcast - related characters: jyan, lucien reidel, levar lexly, aurelius arcite, khachin epthroe, tristan, lady "moth" anvell, the general/marcis, simurgh rose, avicus spiridon, iris tojoi, tierin epthroe, elias arcite, jace, morby, phoenix rose

#3/4/5 - related characters: akihito imai/sky sunrise, katashi sonata, ray nicholas/sky sunshine, claudia nicholas/sky cloud, helena andromeda (naya) eltnam/sky comet, "blue" blue/sky blue, sky moonlight, nathan edison

#the tale of three/#ttot - related characters: seilin, corvus asphodel, caevynn asphodel, clorine asphodel, clover, laura, aileen, sowl, the four winds

#danse macabre - related characters: anastasia mori, luke caedis, shana aufer, haydn effligo, rebecca sollertia, lily occidere, amelie deleo, lucretia vanitas, astra vista, illiana evito, yuki cruor, ilreto effligo, regina gauld

#salem hunts p.i. - related characters: salem hunts, nikita kirillovich roszczeń, poppy wallflower, alec trisity, karen liede, exen trisity

#mirages - related characters: miles/"em", noelle/"rue", rowena nishikawa, miko/"key", jorge/"chu"

#alan promise - related characters: alan promise, jeremi mazur, creswick promise, riddley the abomination

various unrelated ocs for different media i might tag: cheng wenxiao, tang qingchi (svsss), janka (genshin), tsubasa asougi, ryuuha wright, katya baskerville, silvester gorey (ace attorney), kaiko/"coriander", kamiyo kiyoshi, wentazuke kelly (bnha)

[optimisticmiraclefest]

This headcanon is kinda inspired by one of the arcs from the cnovel (A precious pearl in imperial city- aka one of the funniest novels ever with the sweetest characters especially the ml fl but with incomplete translation 😭) where *spoilers* a scheme against the crown prince ml was just basically just a smear campaign with 'good prince' and 'evil prince' and funnily enough the fl finds out and pays the storyteller to make the evil prince secretly a good person and all the women from the noble ladies to the palace maids ends up being obsessed with the bad boy stereotype (the ml's mother was so confused how her absolute brat of a son suddenly got popular among the common people lol)..........

And the point I was trying to make is imagine the same thing happening in mdzs. We already know jgs was purposefully badmouthing wwx and everyone else except a select few went along with it (I loved the part in the novel where lwj publicly calls him out for being a liar) and all the yllz rumours were pretty over the top so....

Imagine the juniors holding an intervention bc none of the sect leaders changed their ways after the second siege and just writing up an actual record of what happened........with new worldbuilding and slight changes in their names of course and jl is exempt from the process after his first few disastrous attempts,

Ljy and ozz write up the most sappy cheesy version of wangxian (bc both of them give the vibes of reading too many romance novels especially ljy in yi city arc),

All the primary antagonists die in ways more brutal than canon (and even the ones who didn't die get actual consequences of their actions) bc a certain young sect leader wants to vent up all his pent up frustrations of being related to way too many evil people and attending the most tedious discussion conferences with the rest,

There is an entire section about the wen remnants bc lsz and wn (who got roped into it) want to remember all their personal quirks and their life in burial mounds fondly and safely,

All the other juniors from many many clans pitch in by 'discreet' investigations and make a patchwork of many stories including contributions by various rogue cultivators who had left the jianghu in protest of their terrible decisions when it came to wwx and the wen remnants (there is a section about wwx being a terrible flirt thanks to one mianmian)

And sure enough even with fake names and swapped genders for minor characters to maintain plausible deniability, the jianghu's tendency to be disconnected from the common people means they don't realise that a story specifically with all their dirty little secrets exposed became the most popular story in the civilian world till it was too late.

Of course nhs was the one who ended up fanning the flames bc he found the entire thing funny especially after jl ended up asking him for any useful tips to spread rumours but if anyone asks he really 'doesn't know anything at all'

The storytellers have a fun time bc mdzs as a whole is entertaining enough to earn them a fortune, the civilians realise the main characters with the dizi and qin are a lot like yllz and hgy and.......

That's the start of their new obsession with the bad boy with a heart of gold stereotype with all of the over the top yllz rumours getting twisted to fit their new favourite story and wwx would definitely find the entire thing amusing even if his counterpart has a very different personality (and tease the juniors a lot after he finds out how the story started in the first place)

[tonhalszendvics]

I follow some ppl who went nuts for She Who Became the Sun, and since it's the best kind of advertisement for me, I obviously read it, and was baffled. So good. Can recommend.

I tend to read actual published books mostly in my native language since, y'know, I'm pretty sure the translator speaks the og language better than me. Turns out this book is a duology and everyone and their mother already read book 2 and I'm here with book 1, which was released in 2023.

However. Someone thought that they should just use the Hungarian transcript for the names, which is kinda okay for me, since I don't speak Chinese at all and had to beg for a pronunciation chart for MDZS (but in my mind I still said those names as they were written. Let's not talk about it.) My Chinese speaking friend almost cried blood when she saw the names.

Long story short, it took me a while to decipher that people are talking about those books in detail, bc Ouyang is the only one who I was able to recognise from those posts. Esen? Who's that? Oh, you mean Jeszün, aaaaa

Here I am, avoiding spoilers like bullets in the Matrix with the power of language barrier

[jgydidnothingwrong]

20 Questions Writer Meme

Tagged by @mostlikelytofangirl. Thank you for the tag. Everyone feel free to do it!!?

How many works do you have on AO3?

56, but some are Spanish versions of my own fics

What's your total AO3 word count?

429,526

What fandoms do you write for?

Currently? SVSSS and mdzs. I wrote for KHR too and whatever I, like, get ideas for??

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

"Come inside of my heart"

A light fic about Luo Binghe traveling between words by mistake and ending on Shen Yuan's room. My current baby.

"Euphoria"

Toji/Gojo. Straight up porn. XD.

"Sunset kiss"

Zosan, a really fluffy story about their first kiss, modern au (you know, that comercial au)

"Together again"

Another zosan fluff.

(is funny but the difference in kudos is so big between the first and the others. Also, I kinda don't remember why I write 😅)

"Dream a little dream of me"

This is an angsty fic about a Binghe who didn't come out of the Abyss. Includes a little cannibalism. Bingqiu, not exactly good end (i also think I needs heavily editing), but I like the concept very much.

Spoiler: Binghe traps himself in a dream.

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to answer every one, even if I take a while to do it.

What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I have one fanfic on ff.net about the bad future in Katekyo Hitman Reborn, so that one. And maybe "Dream a little dream on me", but honestly, that's a question of perspective. Binghe was happy. Lol.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Most of what I write is happy ending 😅

Do you get hate on fics?

No, and I hope it will stay that way

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes. Idk what kind, just smut lol

Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I wrote an SVSSS/mdzs and my baby "Greed, horror and love" that's basically an svss and mdzs characters in the Bloodchild from Octavia Butler universe. Aka, the alien au.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know off

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, Euphoria has a translation to russian. I usually translate them myself to Spanish/English

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not really

What's your all-time favorite ship?

Dino Cavallone and Hibari Kyoya and Sam and Dean Winchester, the level of obsession I have for those two ships!! (I think bingqiu and xiyao are starting to became my new obsessions tho)

What's a wip that you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I have so many, but I will love to finish some wip about Shen Jiu recovering his body post canon. Is all very traumatic for SJ, and for SY too, because well, his husband is in love with *that* body, so.

What are your writing strenghts?

Do i have those? I doubt it. My only strength is being conscious that I want to write, so I will.

What are your writing weaknesses?

I forgot to store my ideas and my memory is not good and I don't really like to describe clothes.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I don't do it.

Favorite fic you've ever written?

I like Silk Cage. I was so depressed after finishing mdzs and this was my vent fic, so... I helped me deal with my feelings over Jin GuangYao. I wrote that being sad and mad and even more sad. So it's important to me.

[gekidasa]

20 questions for fic writers

Thank you for tagging me, @jaimebluesq!

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 50!

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 133,410

3. What fandoms do you write for? MDZS, fairly exclusively right now. Aside from that: Cardcaptor Sakura is the fandom I first wrote fanfic for. I’ve written some X/TB, Tenipuri, Kamen Rider, some others. But to be honest, in most fandoms I don’t write much, if at all.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

And I will stay with you / And you will keep me close, which I just call the Sangcheng Roommates AU. This has stalled for reasons, but I do want to finish it. It’s a fun concept.

When a secret isn’t really secret, a Touya/Yuki fic! It’s actually just Yukito and Fujitaka talking about Yukito and Touya’s relationship, Touya is barely in it 😂

Heart-opening flow, my sangcheng yoga au, the first sangcheng fic I ever wrote.

The Half-Eaten Peach Longs to be Filled with Cream. Okay, I love this one. It’s sangcheng, and it’s porn.

Stay, also sangcheng. Modern au, first time they have sex. Technically it has the same rating as number 4, but it’s nowhere near as filthy.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? Yes, I try to, because while I write fic for me, the reason I share it is in the hope of getting to have conversations with others that like the characters and ship as much as I do.

6. What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? I mean, I don’t really do angst, but I suppose Yaguruma’s Hell because it’s Yaguruma thinking about how he’ll take Kageyama away and they’ll be together, and that’s just before, well. Spoilers for Yaguruma and Kageyama’s story in Kamen Rider Kabuto. It doesn’t actually go into the ending, it relies on you knowing what happens.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? I really don’t know. I mostly write fluff, and most of them have happy endings.

8. Do you get hate on fics? I never have. I feel like mostly you don’t get hate if you don’t write for particularly popular ships in popular fandoms. Although, if I’d gotten into MDZS just 6 months or so earlier, I might have gotten hate by the infamous troll that went around harassing sangcheng fans.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Sure do! And well… I suppose you could say I often write FLUFFY smut, because it’s about characters that have strong feelings about each other, but I’d also like to think I write fairly dirty smutty (but not particularly kinky). Probably the best example of what I mean is Hold the doors, which is a nielan fic about Lan Xichen giving his neighbor that he just met, Nie Mingjue, a blowjob. It has been described as both filthy and soft.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? Nope, not my thing, as a writer or reader.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Also nope.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship? Probably Touya/Yukito, because it’s about than the ship itself for me at this point. They’re what got me into CLAMP, and also what got me into shipping, and I made a fansite for them that was the first site I made of any kind and that is still online. They’re the reason I learned to code.

Or sangcheng. It maybe recency bias, but they've certainly gotten me to produce more fic than any other ship.

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will? Isolated Incidents, a fic about Touya and Yukito kissing. It would have been fine if I had just made it a one shot about their first kiss, but instead I decided that it would have MORE, and that I'd explore the evolution of their relationship through different kisses. It was a good idea at the time, I'd just gotten actively back into CLAMP fandom, had recoded the Touya/Yukito shrine in modern HTML and CSS, and was rewatching Cardcaptor Sakura and writting short little fics for them again. But then December 2020 came, and I decided to read MDZS... and that pretty much took over my fandom life. There's MDZS fics I haven't worked on in quite a while, but since I'm still actively in this fandom, they aren't in "probably won't finish" territory.

16. What are your writing strengths? I think I write amusing stories, and I’m not embarrassed to write smut. Also, I think I tend to have fairly defined voices for characters.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Consistency in the sense of sticking with writing a thing. Actual plot. Those go hand in hand. It’s very hard for me to write long fics for those reasons. I often have IDEAS for fics I really like, and I might sort of… loosely plot them out, but in no way enough to actually write most of them.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? Unless you actually KNOW something of the language, just avoid it. You’ll probably make a fool of yourself otherwise.

19. First fandom you wrote for? Cardcaptor Sakura, Touya/Yukito.

20. Favorite fic you've written? I don’t have a favorite. Unsatisfying, I know.

Not tagging anyone,

Changed my mind! Tagging @mulberrylotus @telperintal @angie-s-g @revesdelimonade

Anyone else do it if you want to!