#oh and i also gotta watch that one donghua

[ekanatsume]

Gon watch dungeon meshi tmrw ☝️😩 OH AND READ BLUE PERIOD

[abigail-nicole]

tgcf liveread 9

being the live-read of that time i read tgcf for the first time, truly a magical experience i would recommend to all, if you like gay stories, fantasy stories, or perfectly-written stories, then perhaps buy official english translations of Heaven Official's Blessing

originally tweeted 4/1/2020:

I also can’t want to see this animated, in five years when the donghua gets to it

gays pointing out misogyny

Another little mxtx horror gem featuring bai wuxiang

this Thing Obviously Impersonating Hua Cheng (But Doing A Bad Job) is adding so much extra horror to a scene which is already filled with creepy, fleeting glimpses of Bai Wuxiang. Horror level 10

nicely done confirmation that Fu Yao and Nan Feng were just Mu Qing and Feng Xin for a long time. That was pretty obvious from the dynamics

hahahahshahshsjs omg this dynamic

I literally burst out laughing so loudly at this fourth wall call out by Mu Qing & Feng Xin

the Cave Full Of Statues Of Himself thing is INCREDIBLY creepy !!!!!

i screamed in my empty apartment

.... i need to do some online shopping & process this a second while I think about buying an eighth bathrobe

so this is kinda like Hua Cheng’s stalker cave huh, while he was hoping to play it cool

I say that with LOVE i still adore crimson rain sought flower and hualian

He’s all like I HAD THE RED STRING, I GAVE HIM THE RING, WHY THE ASSHOLE CHILDHOOD FRIENDS GOTTA COME ALONG AND EXPOSE MY STALKER CAVE

Rip feng xin & mu qing who are about to get murdered by hua cheng

who IS the white-clothed man who is CLEARLY the favorite to win Mt Tong’lu’s Next Top Ghost King??? I’m scared of him & Hua Cheng better step up

it’s....Him, isn’t it....!!!!!!!!

HE BOYFRIENDS LOVE EACH OTHER THEIR LOVE CAN WITHSTAND THE STALKER CAVE.

ok I was wrong nothing was impersonating hua cheng But he Was acting suspicious. Like, What If He Finds Out How Long I’ve Liked Him, What If He Realizes I Was A Nerd In School And Filled My Locker With Art Of Us suspicious

ahhhhhhh Clean Water, Pure Air,,,,,, Hualian Happy Together

Xie Lian: oh no

Hua Cheng: what? I won’t let Bai Wuxiang get near you!

Xie Lian: Oh no.....it’s so hot when you’re mad.....

Xie Lian’s reaction to seeing the cave that Hua Cheng filled with statues and art of him: so he DOES like-like me!!!!

When I found out where his ashes were & spoiled it for myself I was so mad & now these cryptic comments are even MORE ROMANTIC

A WISP OF HUA CHENG BACKSTORY? I’M SO STARVED FOR IT

“It’s not like it’s anything hard” UNLIKE XIE LIAN’S DICK AFTER THIS SCENE OH MY GOD I NEED TO LIE DOWN

Hua Cheng is about to Ghost King Level Up!!!!!!!!!!! Watch Out!!!! Oh my god

Every time I turn a page I expect AND SCENE! END OF BOOK THREE!!! is it gonna be KISS? is it gonna be HANDS HOLD JUMP INTO KILN? its gonna be somewhere Maximum Suspense is reached

THE SUSPENSE HERE IS KILLING ME AHHHH it just KEEPS BUILDING

the suspense is so bad that....I better stop reading & tweet every other paragraph so I can scream more about how AHHHHHHHHHH i am about this

I clearly remember every book I read that made me start wanting to eat the pages halfway thru because I was so into it & this is one

REMEMBER WHEN I TALKED ABOUT GHOST KING MAGICAL GIRL FLOWER CROWN MARTIAL PRINCE XIE LIAN WELL

Hahaha and THERE is the end of book 3 okay oh boy someone get me a beta blocker for my heart rate oh god

Predixns: Book-4-flashback.mov then I suspect our dianxia will just turn up in a forest somewhere, having gently jumped ahead several months, been missing, collecting trash, and there will be Some Backstory & we’ll never get the details of how he came out of the Kiln

Predixns the sequel: while dianxia is trapped in the Burial Moun—I mean the Kiln, the world will go to shit & hua cheng will be Big Mad & Take It Out On Everyone

I read this on april fool’s because I am The Fool

More proof xie lian is god of millennials: centuries of eating trash and being free while ignoring the news

Book Four! Starting next time on tgcf liveread part ten!!!!

[chatonyant]

Youtube: here would you like to relisten to the SL ost Echo

Me, wheezing: yes absolutely that song slaps and so does the mv editing

The editing ♡♡♡ the typography good lord

SPEAKING OF OST AND ANIMATIONS. RETURN OF MOUNT HUA. THOSE TWO MVS HOLY SHIT. LICO. LICO I KNOW YOU FUCKING ANIMATE THOSE TWO WERE WONDERFULLY ANIMATED PLEAAAASE PLEASE I WANNA SEE IT BECOME AN ANIMATED SERIES IM ON ME KNEES AUGH AUGH AUGH MOUNT HUA AND AHN YE EUN FUCKING THREW ME OUT THE WINDOW IT WAS SO GOOD

Sobbing wheezing crying the webtoon is one of the best adaptations of a web novel look look I love. Love orv. I am also so sad about the style. They do very very interesting composition and plays with style and effects but why. Are they all pale same faced sticks. Yjh is supposed to be tAN DAMMIT. PLEASE. WHY ARE THEY ALL SHINY

But fuck it's also good... it's just. Mount hua has such a good style of expression and movement and everything is soooo dynamic ♡♡♡♡ please for the love of fuck. I want to see it animated like how the mvs were.

Oh yeah and theeeee raeliana manhwa is also being adapted right? I'm pretty excited for that one too, I wanna see her shoot a gun. And like a princess is being adapted in China if I remember correctly, I wish them luck in animating in a way that retains the manhwa's delicate style (but also Chinese animation kicks ass so no big worries) (I'm so excited for to be a hero, I'm bad at watching shows so I haven't watched other Chinese animations in full yet but oh my god they're all so pretty hello)

I!!! I!!!!!!!!! there's a lot of pretty cool things coming out but I am. Pea brain. I cannot possibly keep up with all of them in their entirety and I will end up not even watching any of these new shows and instead just watch clips cause that's the best I can do lol -sobbing-

Like me watching svsss donghua compilations cause they're fucking hilarious

....I have so many things to catch up on. Oh my god. Return of mount hua novel.... (ok but the mtl sucks. Fuck) I gotta catch up to lcf novel.... read the sides too.... cause I love that story to bits but it's long and I'm bad at keeping up with things. I can read long things fine I just. Need them to be finished so I can binge hahahahaha

Oh man I'm rewatching mount hua mv.... ahn ye eun your voice is so good for this...... GOD. WE GET TO SEE HIM GROW UP

HEY WOULD WE GET ORV OST? IS THIS GONNA HAPPEN? WILL IT BE ANIMATED

ik some director mentioned he wanted to adapt orv into live action and animation (he did along with the gods if I remember correctly?) But that's a Big Project so who knows when or if it'll happen? Orv is pretty big tho so I hope adaptations go well! I want! An official eng translation! Or even just a novel form of the og novel! Idk! It would be nice! This is getting long! Haha!

I have (probably) too many thoughts about webtoons I have no read and webtoons I have not finished and their related media.

Yes this is about lookism and solo leveling

No this is nothing about plot

Lookism op popped up on YouTube feed and I just. Got really excited over it despite me not reading it because FUCK. IDK. ITS KINDA COOL. korean webtoon animated in korea! They added bg of traditional korean buildings for the korean characters and others for (I assume) the non korean characters! Idk it was just. Exciting to see this adaptation be eagerly korean after watching say Noblesse be animated (twice!) and have the original location erased. Like please! I don't want this to be the last! I really don't know much about lookism other than super basic plot but I hope the animation does well! Cause I'd love to see other webtoons be animated as well!

And with solo leveling I saw trailers for the game pop up and man. Those trailers were really good. Really well animated and fluid and dynamic in the fighting. Game itself looks pretty interesting but I can't say much cause I'm not really knowledgeable about games,,, but the animation! Was really nice! I'm... not entirely happy about sl being not animated in korea tbh but if the anime can make me feel as hyped as these game trailers did then (hopefully) it'll be fine

Reason why I'm not really happy with it being animated out of Korea is

Well one I don't really like the decision to rename the character and the bg to be Japanese. Two, since SL is something with vast amount of international attention it would've been nice if it was used to push more funding towards korean animation. Despite korea having done tons of animation for anime and American cartoons there's not much in terms of their own animation and series. And if korea goes down the route of manhwa -> animation like how Japan does manga -> anime it would be pretty cool to see!

Would love to see more info on the sl anime tho, tbh I haven't really looked too much into it so I forget when it's expected to be released

Ah 2023? For the trailer? I think? I hope the pacing's good. Same with the animation. Previous webtoon adaptations have been extremely... meh. I'M SALTY ABOUT NOBLESSE OK? OK? TWO CHANCES AND THEY BLEW THEM BOTH PLEAAAAAAASE

[mengyan]

rubs my hands together. marcy facetiming anne and sasha to show them their new room post amphibia. 500+ go

The telltale intro to a popular donghua rings its beginning notes on Anne’s nightstand, and she lunges for the phone with an easy, practiced motion.

“Marbles!” she’s yelling, not even one second after picking up the call. “Hi! How are you doing? Are you settling in? How’s the new room? Is the traffic less intense over there?”

“Anna Banana!” Marcy’s shouting back, giggling. “Slow down! Sash isn’t even on the call yet! I’ll tell you guys everything, I promise, but you gotta relax!”

“You haven’t called in sooo long, Mar-Mar, ‘course I’m not gonna relax!” Anne retorts, sticking out her tongue at the camera. “Plus, you know Sasha likes hearing your ringtone music as much as he pretends not to know where it’s from, so he’s probably just letting it ring. I caught him watching an episode yesterday at lunch and he practically leaped off of the picnic bench to hide the evidence.”

Marcy giggles again and props their phone up on their desk so that their friends will have a better view of their room. “I just called you two last Friday, Annie. And it’s a good show, I don’t know what he’s so afraid of.”

Before Anne can reply, a noise sounds from both of their screens, and the split screen splits once more to fit Sasha into the frame. His face is lightly sweated out from his fencing class, but he’s smiling, making a kissy face at the camera.

“Hey nerds!” he greets, blowing kisses. Both of them blow some back. “Talking about me?”

“Oh yeah, just you and your hidden adoration for the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation franchise,” Anne teases, watching his face flush red.

“Well,” he sputters, “You’d like it too if you watched! Marce has great recommendations!”

“It’s on my watchlist,” Anne grins. “And they really do.”

“Aw, you guys,” Marcy swoons, placing a hand over their heart. “You’re too sweet to me! If you’re all free next week, what would you say to having a little watch party after our finals?”

“We’d love that,” Anne nods vehemently, and Sasha joins her in agreement.

“Marcy, you got me hooked on this franchise, I’m serious,” he says. “Literally what did they put in these characters? The soundtrack? The plot? The love story between the main leads? Oh my frog.”  

“Right?! I could write essays on— Hey, you guys are distracting me!” Marcy whines. “We’ve got a room tour on the agenda today, remember? You’re the ones who wanted to see it!”

Sasha sits up on his bed, placing his phone on his pillow and clapping his hands in enthusiasm. “Ooh, yeah! Show us, Mar-Mar! Please tell me you kept the duckling plush me and Anne got you for your 10th birthday, Mr. Quack is a childhood cornerstone.”

“He really put a dent in our shared allowances,” Anne snorts. “Totally worth it, though.”

“Who do you guys think I am?” Marcy says, swiveling the camera around so they can see the other side now. Smack in the middle of their green and ivory sheets and assortment of other stuffed animals sits Mr. Quack, far less fluffy than he used to be, but well-loved all the same. “Sometimes I think he takes up more space on this bed than I do.”

“And so the king reigns!” Sasha crows, setting the three of them off into another bout of laughter. “Long live Mr. Quack and his legacy!”

Marcy gasps, then: “Oh my frog, speaking of legacies—”

They turn the camera quickly to the other corner of their room, showing off the somehow perfectly organized mess on their desk, with multicoloured pens and open sketchbooks, as well as a drawing tablet hooked up to their computer. Tucked safely in the corner is a little model of Newtopia, with two statues propped outside.

“No way,” Anne gapes, squinting at the screen to get a better look. “You made mini models of Lady Olivia and General Yunan? They’re so tiny! How?!”

“Mars has the talent for it,” Sasha chimes in, also awestruck by the attention to detail. Everything is carved neatly into the clay, and both statuettes are adorned with matching necklaces, which Marcy had explained to them previously were their version of human wedding rings.

“Yeah,” Marcy smiles shyly, blushing. “I just wanted to honour them, y’know? They were so kind to me in Amphibia, and I didn’t really get to spend as much time with them as I wanted to, so I thought why not dedicate something to them here?”

“They’d love it,” Anne says. “They loved you, Marbles.”

“And so do we,” Sasha adds warmly. Suddenly, his eyes go wide, noticing something else in their room, and Anne shifts her attention to look too. “Hold up, is that your redecorated fandom merchandise shelf?”

Marcy grins, bouncing on their heels in excitement. “Oh, you two have a big storm coming.”

[volturialice]

Hey G, what cdramas do you recommend? I'm in the middle of The Untamed right now and I'm interested in putting more cdramas on my watchlist.

oh boy, so ok lemme preface this by disclaiming: I haven't seen any of the (mlm) gay ones. my shipping preferences are exclusively het/femslash and that is reflected in my cdrama consumption! I also don't care for modern stuff, so it's period dramas and a lot of wuxia/xianxia (mostly xianxia, which is kind of my platonic ideal of a genre.) also it's a lot of yang mi dramas but that's a coincidence—she just takes roles in all the projects i'm interested in!

that said, I know the mlm shippy ones everyone else recs include Nirvana in Fire, Word of Honor, and Heaven Official's Blessing (idk if there's a live action version of this yet but there's definitely a novel/donghua.)

so with that out of the way, I'm gonna separate this into a) recent recs, b) classics and recent adaptations of classics, and b) other shows I've seen but did not Vibe with. note that I'm not including cws because there are just too many, but if you have questions about potentially triggering content in any of these, feel free to ask me for more info.

actual recs

1) Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms, aka Three Lives Three Worlds aka Eternal Love (I think that's the dumb genericized english title on netflix.) it’s extremely difficult to summarize this one due to its huge cast and elaborate plot but suffice to say: local immortal couple are so extremely star-crossed it takes them three lives to get it right and causes great collateral damage to international immortal politics.

fun fact: this is the single most watched tv show of all time. like, anywhere. possibly because it's so unhinged and eminently re-watchable. I think it's a great intro to the xianxia genre and I chalk its success up to the fact that it's fanfic trope overload. seriously, there are at least three "there was only one bed" scenes in this one show. I think the protagonists are fairly terrible people and yet I can't look away from their train wreck of a relationship.

luckily it's a huge ensemble cast so there are plenty of other characters for me to enjoy (bi4bi king and queen zilan and yanzhi supremacy give me their spinoff right now.) there are also Supporting Character Gays who could not be more obviously homosexual if they tried and it’s very fun.

there's also an actual spinoff I couldn't get into because I Simply Do Not Care about those characters but hey maybe you guys will

in conclusion, TMOPB is a good Xianxia Starter Pack because it includes a lot of common tropes. I learned a lot just by googling which things were specific inventions of the show vs which things were actual mythology! this show is so popular that basically every other xianxia made post-2017 is a clone of it (seriously, if they don't STOP with these stoic emotionless love interests i’m gonna hurl myself into a magical abyss.)

goofiest cgi character: the Four Beasts (no I’m still not over the sphincter-mouth.) honorable mention goes to yehua’s tiny offended snake form

2) Legend of Fuyao - sort of a rags-to-riches hero’s journey/jianghu story in which the heroine wanders through several different fantasy countries kicking ass and doing fun sidequests.

the first cdrama I ever watched (after seeing how epic the trailer looked) and still my favorite. notably the only time I have ever actually shipped the two leads. also notable in that the characters are more flawed and multidimensional than you'd typically see in a show like this—I particularly enjoy the concept of "fun Trickster King love interest but he's also kind of a pathological liar and that has actual consequences." has a rough start and drags in places but it's one of the most visually stunning shows on this list and has a fun ensemble cast, some of my favorite fight scenes, and a lot of good h/c moments.

goofiest cgi character: gotta hand it to yuanbao. if I had a nickel for every time the entire plot hinged on the actions of a single cgi guinea pig

3) Story of Yanxi Palace - a backstabby court intrigue period drama that imagines the rise of real historical figure Consort Ling, who rose from obscurity to great power in the court of the qianlong emperor.

the single most googled show of all time. notable for its gorgeous, elaborate costumes and general attention to detail in design. one of two on this list that's pure period drama, no fantasy (though it certainly takes liberties with actual history.) also probably the most ~”western”-style~ show on the list in terms of pacing and plot structure. it fits right in with prestige period shows like The Tudors or The Borgias, (albeit with far less graphic violence and sex scenes.) a pretty interesting heroine who, again, has actual flaws (still too much candy:spinach ratio, but I'll take what I can get here.) 

I'm just gonna say it: yingluo and empress fuca were super gay for each other. just let them stay home and lez

sadly devoid of goofy cgi characters

4) Princess Agents - another hero’s journey-style fantasy, this time about Becoming A Badass Spy. basically the cdrama Nikita. 

another of those ones everyone recs as a quintessential drama of the last decade. I actually haven't finished it, but the big chunk I've seen is solidly Good even if it's another stoic love interest I can't stand (the second lead is charming enough to make up for this.) has one of the sickest opening themes out there

and contains both princesses and agents but sadly none of them are the same people so I consider the title false advertising

goofiest cgi character: I s2g if that parrot doesn’t sHUT UP

5) The Wolf - girl meets boy raised by wolves. Tiny Horse scene is reenacted. they meet again as adults but he’s since become a war criminal so that complicates things :D

if you like angst and betrayal, this is the show for you. a Stoic Love Interest I actually don’t mind for once + a fun arranged marriage slowburn arc and a likable second lead (Untamed stans have ensured that you will see zero gifs of the two actual leads when you search for this show.) has the other sickest opening theme out there

goofiest cgi character: I mean, it’s right there in the title

6) Novoland: Pearl Eclipse - another fantasy about being trained as a badass secret agent, only this time involving mermaids and domestic abuse! hooray

watching this one right now and it’s interesting so far. I once again only care about the side characters but it’s possible that’s a Me Problem ([holding up zhuoying] I just think he’s neat!) has the single most unhinged opening scene I have ever experienced. I haven’t seen any of the other Novoland Cinematic Universe shows but I’ll probably look them up after this!

goofiest cgi character: the sharknado

7) The Eternal Love (and The Eternal Love 3) - not to be confused with Eternal Love sans-“The,” this show was made on a budget of ten and is so weird and silly. it gets so much mileage out of its simple bodyswap/time travel/fish out of water concept (which is also RIPE for fic AUs imo) that it was a runaway hit and they made two more seasons (which are basically...AUs of the first season? it makes sense in context.) I skipped season 2 but season 3′s “lol role reversal it’s a MATRIARCHY” concept was also really fun.

a few shows I haven’t seen but get recced all the time: Rise of Phoenixes, Story of Minglan, Novoland: Eagle Flag

some modern classics/adaptations of modern classics 

1) Princess Pearl, aka My Fair Princess/a bunch of other titles. a “Prince and the Pauper” -type story set during the rein of the qianlong emperor (but much lighter and fluffier than Yanxi Palace.)

made on a budget of half a shoestring (and it shows), this show was a crazy runaway hit that catapulted its unknown leads to megastardom so powerful that the government straight up erased zhao wei from the internet. 

maybe the real princess was the Gal Pals we made along the way

2) The Return of the Condor Heroes (2006) - another “orphan becomes a badass and experiences star-crossed love” jianghu story. this seems to be the most well-liked adaptation of its extremely popular novel afaik. I haven’t seen that much of it, but I can definitely see why it’s popular!

3) Handsome Siblings (netflix version) - two Very Opposite fraternal twins separated at birth are manipulated into becoming mortal enemies, and hijinks ensue. sort of a picaresque take on the jianghu with lots of comedic sidequests. also based on a super popular novel.

tbh I probably wouldn’t have gotten all the way through this one if I hadn’t been sick and couchbound when I watched it, but the third act is super fun! the non-netflix adaptations might be better, idk.

gotta love that title. the author said look at my OCs!! they’re a couple of real handsome boys!!!

shows I Do Not Vibe With no tea no shade they just aren’t for me

Ancient Love Poetry - I tried really hard because the cast looks fun but it’s just. a much more soulless clone of TMOPB with none of the fun Weird Shit or compelling characters.

The Flame's Daughter - this plot was so complicated I could not tell you the first thing about it. kids are getting switched at birth, everyone is double-cast as their own dead mom, and I don’t care enough about the characters to try to parse out their bizarre motivations (ok, fine, I admit I liked the side characters.)

Maiden Holmes - a fun “woman dresses as man in order to be a detective” premise but I simply didn’t care about the characters.

Miss the Dragon - maybe the later episodes are good, but I couldn’t get past the complete lack of story in the first few.

[bewareof12metersfrogs]

Warning: long rant. Probably messed up grammar. Not LXC-friendly.

So Pinterest gave me this:

And I was like

Ah yes, Lan Xichen.

I mean, I love that guy, but oh gosh that man is BLIND. Like, man's so blind Xue Yang could use him to slaughter people.

(I'm so sorry for that joke)

I really loved him when I first read the book, esp pre-Nightless City, but then I read it for the second (and third) time and that love turned into "uhh, I guess I kinda like him?"

I mean, in Sunshot Campaign arc, NMJ just got freaking tortured. He just got beaten, made to watch his men die, and his former deputy "betrayed" him -- and then LXC was just like, "oh da-ge CALM down, this is all part of OUR plan, A-Yao's our spy lol put Baxia away don't shout at him smh"

Why didn't LXC say to NMJ that the whole thing had been orchestrated? Okay, I get it, maybe he couldn't risk JGY getting caught, but couldn't he just tell NMJ, "hey, this is the plan. You're gonna get caught at Yangquan by WRH and our spy will take care of the rest of it" ? I'm pretty sure NMJ was angrier about his men getting slaughtered than himself getting beaten. NMJ is kinda like WWX; they were both idiots, but they cared about their people. Pretty sure he cared more about his men than himself. If he knew about the "plan", he'd most likely bring the disciples who were ready to die.

THEN LXC just went to NMJ like, "Hey let's be sworn brothers!". Xichen, dude, his wounds aren't even healed. I mean, it's a bit insensitive right?? I think it is. The whole sworn-brotherhood-right-after-shunshot-campaign thing still bothers me. To me, it seems like no one cared about NMJ. I mean, he was the leader of SC, people used his skills, his men, his everything, and then he was just, like, casted aside?? Pretty sure man's got PTSD. Also, qi deviation. Oh gosh I forgot about qi deviation.

Anyway, yeah, LXC was blind throughout the novel. I won't talk about the scene where Wangxian tried to tell him that A-Yao = bad, but I will talk about the scene where NHS decided to "use" his er-ge to kill his san-ge. Was it intentional? Perhaps. Was NHS lying? Maybe. Was it bad? Absolutely. Was it expected? Of course.

Let's put ourselves in NHS' shoes for a second. Your big bro, who is also the one who raised you and the only family you have left, died. People are quacking "oh it's the Nie curse, and isn't it such a tragedy?" BUT NO! One day you be minding your own business and then BAM you found out that da-ge'd been murdered and mutilated AND betrayed. So you started scheming for like a decade. Everything was going great, as great as a 10 years revenge plan could ever be. You just gotta wait for a few more hours, you just gotta listen to your nemesis' retelling his sad background story, you just gotta endure the pain of seeing your dead big bro wrecking havoc, and you'd have your revenge.

Then of course your er-ge, your big bro's best friend, gotta help your big bro's killer. He just gotta treat his wounds, huh? Pretty sure NHS was unstable. He was desperate and maybe even full of wrath. I understand that, at least, the same way I understand that maybe LXC tried to treat JGY's wounds because he still saw him as his brother -- he didn't want to lose another brother. But how about NHS? He was watching the man whom he thought was his brother treating the man who betrayed and murdered his actual brother. NHS was being a dick, yeah, but it was expected.

Think about this for a second. NMJ's corpse was still right there (and gosh, NHS had to sew his big bro's corpse by himself). NHS was RIGHT there, and LXC had the audacity to tend to JGY's wounds after the man himself admitted to his crimes. I think it's understandable if NHS felt at least insulted.

Also, he was perhaps sick of people not thinking that his big brother was as important as other people, that he was also a human being instead of just a war machine or even a mere tool that can be casted aside whenever they want to. Why did his brother have to die because of other people's greed and selfish decisions? Why did he have to lose the only family he had left forever and why did he have to just sit back and accept it?

Most importantly, LXC had been too blind for more than a decade too long.

Also, the bit about "You're Wangji's only mistake":

Bruh.

If WWX is LWJ's only mistake, then (trusting) LXC is NMJ's only mistake. I mean, sure, WWX is as dumb and oblivious as a rock, but can you really blame him?? HE WAS TRYING TO KEEP HIMSELF, HIS FAMILY, AND THE WEN REMNANTS ALIVE, DUDE'S GOT NO TIME TO THINK ABOUT FKING ROMANCE.

Sorry, I got carried away.

Anyway, are we just gonna ignore the fact that LWJ had been acting like he hated WWX since, like, the first time they met?? I mean, I really love LWJ, but his only mistake is his communication skills (or lack thereof).

But LWJ never gave up on WWX. He learned to express himself way better. Man's got dedication and he's not afraid to learn. I really love that about him.

Also, I understand that LXC was angry because LWJ took beatings to protect WWX, but I don't think he had the right to blame WWX for that. Yes, I know WWX did plenty of things wrong; he was extremely reckless and untrusting, but he never asked LWJ to protect him. LWJ did everything voluntarily. Ffs Xichen WWX didn't even know that LWJ did that. You know why? CAUSE HE WAS FKING DYING THAT'S WHY.

TLDR: LWJ was a grown ass man.

Okay. So, do I hate LXC? No. But do I find him flawed? Yes. But that's why I like MXTX's characters, including WRH, JGY, and LXC (the only exception are perhaps JGS and MXY's fam, and I think we all know why). They all have flaws. For me, LXC is too naive and blind, JGY is too power-hungry and selfish, and NMJ is too stubborn and unyielding. NHS? Well, he's a lot of things. He's manipulative, unsympathetic, and IMO he's got a problem with obsession too. He and JGY are alike, in my opinion. The main difference is their goals: JGY seeks power, NHS seeks revenge.

Everyone has flaws. LWJ and WWX have flaws too; they're EXTREMELY flawed. Heck, even our lord and saviour Shijie also has flaws, as much as it hurts me to type that.

Then why do I get so worked up about LXC's flaws? Honestly I don't really know. Maybe it's because I'm tired of (almost) the entirety of fandom treating him like a god, maybe because I'm tired of people who treat NHS like the devil himself, or maybe because I'm disappointed in him. I mean, JGY's our main villain, but I still love him so much. Heck, I love him even more than I love LXC. Bruh, nowadays I even like WRH more. At least that guy is downright evil and he looks cool while doing whatever evil things WRH does (I'm talking about the novel and donghua mmkay).

Anyway, this is the end of my rant. I apologise if I'm offending you, this is just something that's been bothering me since the first time I re-read MDZS. This whole thing is like a plot bunny but instead of a "plot", the bunny is shaped like a "rant". This is a rant bunny. I need to get this outta my head. I've edited this thing like four times already because I keep finding errors and stuffs. I also added like two new paragraphs.

I'm sad now.

[razberryyum]

Scumbag System (SVSSS donghua) Episode 10 Thoughts (spoilers)

(covers SVSSS chaps 24 - 26, BC Novels Translations)

And thus the first season of the SVSSS donghua comes to an end...rather weirdly abruptly to be honest, but more on that later. Obviously I love the donghua. It was not perfect, but it still exceeded my expectations. I truly appreciate what they were able to do within their budget constraints and I think they captured the spirit of the source material perfectly, which is really all I hope for when it comes to adaptations.  The writing was strong, the humor hit the spot always (for example, when poor Shizun got motion sickness from sword riding, I guffawed), and they also gave us some of the most beautiful characters I’ve ever seen on screen, especially with Shen Qingqiu, Luo Binghe and Liu Qingge. I really, really hope they release official figurines for them. I’m going to start saving my money now just for that possibility.

Even though their time together in this episode was short, the BingQiu love was definitely strong. They gave them a combo move that was not in the source material: for someone like me who grew up watching Cantonese dramas, two characters who have a combo sword move (”雙劍合璧”!) are usually a couple so I was especially tickled by this addition. I am always thankful to the donghua team for the little Easter Eggs they give us for BingQiu, like the way Binghe's eyes lit up when he sees SQQ... 

or when SQQ touches him...

Once again, for those not in the know, it can easily be interpreted as a disciple just being devoted and filial to his Shizun. But for those of us who have read the novel, of course we know it’s indication of Bingmei falling in love with SQQ. I love how subtle yet significant these little expressions of Binghe’s are, and I hope they continue on with these little touches even in the next season. 

Of course then there are the more obvious gestures, like that HUG:

It lasted for a good 15 seconds and oh my God look at the Binghe’s hand placement!  There was totally nipple groppage happening there! This wasn’t in the book by the way...SQQ didn’t get woozy and Binghe most definitely didn’t have to catch him like some fainting damsel, so we have the donghua team to thank for this wonderful moment of (sexy) physical contact between the two of them. 

The donghua team was also especially generous in this episode since not only did we get some BingQiu love, but we got a pinch of LiuShen and QiJiu love too.

LQG’s eyes were on SQQ the entire time! And then Yue Qingyuan as usual took any opportunity he got to touch his Qingqiu.  So all shippers were fed. Hell, they even threw in some more straight-baiting again so peeps who are watching the show for the “straight” romance between Luo Binghe and his never-to-be-future-wife Qin Wanyue were fed too since the scene where Binghe gives her the handkerchief to wipe away her tears were not in the chapters of the book for this episode, and racking my brain I don’t even think it was in the book, period. I’m trying to remember if that handkerchief even holds any significance but even if it does, it’s all for naught since we know Qin Wanyue is at most just a minor side character. She does pop up again later on but then is mostly forgotten, so...not quite sure what that moment was all about other than to, I don’t know, throw off the censors?

I’m also not sure why we spent so much time with Liu Mingyan and Gongyi Xiao in this episode. Nothing against them personally, I like both characters very much (despite my previous complaints about GYX’s character design), and it’s not that they don’t deserve more screen time, but this was the season finale! Even though the next season has been announced, God knows when we’ll see it next year and how many episodes it would be, so every minute of screen time matters! That’s why I was a bit puzzled that they used up half of the episode showing LMY basically facing the same perils with her group of fellow disciples as before and GYX just running from that huge serpent. Even if that thing DOES turn out to be Zhuzhi-lang, it was still a bit much. They weren’t exactly character building scenes either so...why? Budget reasons? Didn’t have enough money to pay SQQ’s voice actor (Wu Lei-laoshi) so they had to stick in miscellaneous scenes to lessen his screen time? 

I’m kidding of course. God I hope that wasn’t the reason because that would just be sad.

Speaking of miscellaneous scenes though, what was going on with these two dudes?

I gotta admit, I’m a bit salty that these two mob characters got to do what our main couple can’t. What’s their story? Why do they get special privileges? Damn these nobodies. XD

All kidding aside, I have to say, of all the episodes this season, this might be the weakest one, not only because of the “filler” scenes, but also, the way the episode ended was so odd, especially for a season finale. The season basically ended on a scene transition. Not a cliffhanger, just a scene transition, and then cut to credits. What?? Why??? It’s almost as if they just ran out of time so had to stop the show all of a sudden. And then as if to make up for it, they added post-credit scenes which, honestly blew me away because it was so unexpected. It was indeed almost enough to make me completely forgive the weakness of the episode as a whole and that weird-ass ending.

I teared up!  The scene was kind of chopped up, didn’t even flow that smoothly, but I still got emotional! I’m sure when I see this scene in its entirety next season I am just going to be destroyed. I think they made it even more gut-wrenching than it was in the novel. Looks like the donghua team really aren’t gonna hold back when it comes to delivering the BingQiu knives. 

We also got to see Mobei-jun appear in the post-credits scene; I guess they had to stick him in there since he was featured in the poster for this season, so it would have been weird if he didn’t at least make an appearance.

I immediately thought of him as Sephiroth’s younger cousin when I first saw him on the poster and I still feel that way. Anyone related to Sephiroth, I will approve and instantly have affection for. For the MoShang shippers’ sake, I hope the Shang Qinghua they create for him will be just as pretty. I think I can now safely discard my guess from last time and also that moon-faced bearded ojisan others have guessed. We actually got a glimpse of the real deal in this sequence:

They strategically made him blurry so you can’t really make out his features, but what we still can tell from there is that he does not have facial hair (hence, he cannot be the ojisan) and the hair crown he’s wearing is silver and different from the twinky sect leader. So I guess we’ll be getting a fresh out of the microwave Airplane Bro instead of any of the no-name potential cannon fodder we’ve already seen. 

We’ll probably get the abyss opening up in maybe even the first episode of next season but that’ll still leave a lot of ground to be covered in just 10 episodes (rumored). There haven’t been any talk about a third season, but I really hope it’ll happen, even though it might take them a while to make it. I know it’s premature to even think of a third season when we haven’t even gotten an actual release date for the second, but I’m greedy because I already miss the donghua. This season was over so quickly, I’m already mourning the lack of new episodes. I hope we get the second season in the first quarter of next year and then by some miracle, a third or even fourth to properly finish out the story. I know we will never get the FULL story, but as long as they keep the spirit of BingQiu’s love and continue to hint at it like they’ve been doing this season, I will be more than satisfied. 

And while I’m wishful thinking for new seasons, I hope we also get a BingQiu duet and character songs. I love the opening and ending theme this season, if they want to save money I totally don’t mind if they just use the same OP/ED themes in the next season as well, but I hope they throw in a good BingQiu insert song and then release some individual character songs as well. I’m still not a fan of Binghe’s voice, but maybe they can have someone else do his vocals for the songs. SVSSS is the older son of MXTX’s works, I feel like it already got short-shrifted in terms of adaptation since it got the lesser budget compared to MDZS and TGCF. Hopefully with how popular the donghua is this season, it will be given a bigger budget next season so they can bring to life all the subsequent proceedings from the book properly. And whatever they’re paying Wu Lei-laoshi, SQQ’s voice actor, they should double it because that man is just amazing. I worship his voice and performance. I wish he would read the audiobook version of the the novel. I would listen to the hell out of that.  I have always loved SQQ, but if I’m going to be honest, I came into the show just a little more excited about seeing Bingge being brought to life. I still love Binghe of course, in all his phases, however, now,  because of Wu Lei-laoshi’s stellar voice performance (and of course SQQ’s beautiful looks), I’m leaving this season absolutely head over heels about SQQ/Shen Yuan. Also thanks to the show, I’m completely obsessed with Liu Qingge as well.  So for those two reasons, I will eternally be grateful to the donghua team.  

[clownhara]

Tell us about ALL of them. Go off king

Oh anon, you simply shouldn't have.

Putting this under the cut because woooo boy this gonna be a long one folks

Let's start with Darkest Dungeon. It's a side scrolling rouge like where you have a team of four adventurers trying to cleanse a town of it's monsters of the eldritch variety, except its HARD AS BALLS so most of them are either going to die, go nuts, or get rabies (they actually can). Unfortunately, the game has a jester in it, which honestly is enough to get me to love it, but all the other characters are amazing too. It's gonna be the first game I get with my new job :). My favorite characters are the leper, the jester, the bounty hunter, and the flagellant. If you tag me in/send me any content of them I'll love you forever (platonic)

Identity V is Dead by Daylight but for kids and with, honestly, way more interesting powers. One of the survivors abilities is they can just fucking shoot the hunter once per match (It's as magical as it sounds). Another survivor can turn into a bunch of bugs and push the hunter around. One of the hunters is a gay ghost couple who you switch between and both make up for the other's short comings (I actually main them) and I love them. One of the survivors is a jester. Great game 10/10 shame chats full of freaks

All Saints Street is where my current profile pic comes from! It's a bunch of monsters living together in an apartment and it's just wholesome content. The main character and his older sibling are both genderfluid, the main couple actually is compatible and doesn't feel forced, and the main plot of the donghua is about sealing the dark lord which is surprisingly more chill then you'd think. It's on youtube (I actually made the playlist of the Eng sub!) and I HIGHLY recommend watching it. Unfortunately most of the cast of the manhua didn't make it into the animated version, which is honestly a fucking travesty. Rip my lesbian unicorn I guess

Katana Zero is a side scrolling game where you just kill people. That's it. It's really good though and I'd die for 90 percent of the cast. And I do! A lot :). It's really hard and unfortunately the story is too sad and contains a lot of triggering stuff (namely a lot of syringe and drug use and referenced child death) so I can't really recommend it to everyone but if you wanna good game that'll rip your heart out here's the one

Speaking of ripping your heart out, Lisa: The Painful Rpg is fucking DEVISTATING. I can't even hear some of the music without crying. This game will fuck you up man. But the problem is is it's also simultaneously really funny. It's got a lot of dark humor, some of which aged terribly because it was made in like 2001 so. It takes place in a post apocalyptic world, after something called The Flash. It screwed up the day/night cycle with Days lasting for months and nights being over in an hour, it killed almost all plants, and most importantly, killed literally every woman on the planet. There's been no women for 20 years. So imagine the shock of the main character, Brad, finding a baby. A baby girl. One day, she goes missing, and it's up to Brad to save her before the world quite literally tears her apart. Trigger warning for a lot of things, but mostly child abuse, child death, suicide, and drug use. It's a rough one but it's really, really good.

Corpse party. It sucks I can do it better and I will do it better just you fuckin wAIT

Hollow Knight! That's some fucking bugs babey :) Bugs with swords who will parry you and break your ankle if you try to squish them. Really fucking scary at parts what the fuck was Ancient Basin what the fuck what they fuck. Also there's a jester :)

And lastly my ocs :) I don't really know what to say for them because I have to many, all I gotta say is FUCK YOU OCTAVIOUS YOU BITCH THSI IS AN OCTAVIOUS HATE BLOG also theres a jester :) but watch the fuck out thats the Omni jester (I can explain later)

[bwaldorf]

If you're still doing "send me a character", Jiang Cheng or Nie Huaisang 😁

yes, i absolutely am! 😁 thank you, kendra 💕 

> JIANG CHENG

how i feel about this character

it was definitely ... a Journey with jiang cheng, as you well know. it’s partly bc of how he’s initially set up in the plot at the beginning vs then going back in the past and coming to understand his character more. i really started appreciating and loving him more in my 2nd rewatch. so while i’m still signing this man up for necessary therapy, i really appreciate the depth his character has and how despite his issues, he’s a good person who just can’t always show it super well hhhh

all the people i ship romantically with this character

huaisang .. idk when sangcheng grew on me this much but i actually really like them! they’d be a very cute couple

xichen .. im not HUGE on this ship. it’s a solid good one, but i’m not very personally attached to it

my non-romantic otp for this character

wei wuxian ... something about their bond specifically (in cql esp) REALLY gets my heart. they really deserved better, even though things didn’t end off terribly

yanli .. bc the yunmeng trio is actually something that can be so personal

huaisang ... even without looking at their dynamic through a shipping lens, they have such a fun friendship and i wish they interacted more in the present timeline </3

my unpopular opinion about this character

no idea if it’s unpopular but i honestly think cql’s jiang cheng is the best. (which is funny bc i used to really have a bone to pick with him in my first watch .. i still do but it’s different. more out of love than before) in my opinion (thus far anyways, since im still reading the novel) it’s the most nuanced depiction of his character. still lov him in the donghua and what i’ve read of the novel so far but cql jiang cheng is just .. chefs kiss. i just really love how you can tell despite his anger, he really really cares about his loved ones

one thing i wish would happen/had happened with this character in canon

a better reconciliation with wwx at the end :( it was really melancholic and im glad they got to Kinda talk things out but i wish it was different, even if him and wwx couldn’t be the twin heroes of yunmeng in the way that they originally envisioned

we talked about this, but it’d have been very amusing to me to see him on those blind-dates mxtx mentioned bc i wanna see why this man is flopping in his love life so bad

also would’ve loved to see jiang cheng (and lwj tbh) post-wwx death. in mdzs and/or cql, it just would’ve been heartwrenching but kinda touching to see him coming to terms with his part in that and also what led up to him keeping chenqing

im also curious as to whether or not he actually tortured people who practiced demonic cultivation or not. bc i remember seeing an interesting post on here once about how maybe he didn’t and it was kinda his way of trying to find out if wwx was still alive </3 

> NIE HUAISANG

how i feel about this character

absolutely loved huaisang from the jump! he’s an absolute sweetheart and such a good, loyal friend. i care him 🥺 i’d have loved him a lot just as he was but then seeing who he became post-nmj’s death .. golly! i think it just added a lot to the character that i really enjoy. his character development is an underrated one i think about a lot

all the people i ship romantically with this character

jiang cheng ... for the reasons mentioned above! friends to lovers is always a good, solid dynamic

wwx ... i don’t actively ship those two but i think if lwj wasn’t in the picture, i could’ve absolutely seen these two together maybe? 

my non-romantic otp for this character

nie mingjue ... i really enjoy their bond! (still gotta see the fatal journey which i know’ll probably solidify this for me even more) though nmj’s a lot stricter with him in mdzs, they really do have such a nice dynamic. nmj cares about him so much T_T and despite him being intimidated, i know nhs respects him a lot too

wwx .... YEP! y’all get it, im sure & i don’t need to explain. but i truly truly love those two a lot and the slight growth we see in their dynamic as well in the present. i.e. that fan scene where wwx genuinely compliments his interests rather than poking fun at it like he did in the past :’)

jiang cheng .. bc friendship <3 u get it and im too lazy to write more

meng yao ... now ... don’t persecute me. and this is very cql-centric but they were like brothers :( and even in mdzs, you can tell meng yao did care about him in his own way before shit went sideways. ofc #nhswasright at the end though but it’s just sad to think about what a better dynamic it could’ve been if things had been different

my unpopular opinion about this character

erm .. i don’t really have one! i just would like everyone to remember that despite him being silly and a bit stupid (complimentary) sometimes, he’s also super smart and perceptive. even if it isn’t always Book Smart, he’s still a very capable character. like ............. in terms of interpersonal perceptibility (idk if that makes sense, if not just roll with it), i think he’s quite comparable to wwx

one thing i wish would happen/had happened with this character in canon

would’ve been obsessed to see more of his #Plotting both during the plot of the present as well as in the years of wwx’s death. like i would’ve loved to see him really setting the gears into motion as well as figuring out jgy’s role in everything. like i think i just would’ve really loved to see WAY more from his pov. i get why we didn’t in cql/mdzs but god am i obsessed with seeing smart characters work

would’ve also been really into seeing him with his saber. not using it necessarily (though him trying to practice with nmj overseeing it would’ve also been neat) but having him grapple with the complicated nature of the nie clan cultivation would’ve been very cool

i love how a lot of this is just .. i wanna know how nhs’s mind works more. like the scene with jgy’s hat at the end of cql, i’d have been superrr into what he does post-canon. in mdzs i believe it seems like he was maybe vying for the chief cultivator position and i think it’s doable in cql too so I Would Like To See It

some of this stuff is probably covered in fatal journey so im very excited for that

also .. am curious as to whether nhs’s position as clan leader would’ve changed post-canon. like would he have shown how capable he is or let people still think he was just a pushover 

oh ALSO one more thing . where is nhs’s bird ... i think we all would like an update 

send me a character? ✨

[sanctuaryforascrivener]

Hey I've been following you for a long while and at this point I'm just gonna ask so I have some context with your reblogs, what is the untamed about? I don't get any of it but I don't wanna unfollow so maybe if I can be like "oh yeah it's those men in wigs doing x again" it'll be less confusing before I scroll on. Also happy new year!!

!!!!! oh, hi! Happy New Year! I really.... need to actually start tagging stuff..........

It’s. My latest hyperfixation/obsession. I’m sorry that I’ve been spamming... Honestly, I had the same thing going on, seeing all these gifs of pretty people on my dash and being like “what is going on, I gotta know”. Let me see if I can give you a brief summary. The good news is that it’s on Netflix if you’re curious or interested, and I believe there are a few sites you can find it streaming free, too, if you don’t have access to an account.

Meta stuff first: The Untamed is a Chinese period fantasy drama that came out in 2019. It’s 50 episodes long and is based on a Chinese online boy-love novel called Mo Dao Zu Shi, often translated as “Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation” or “Founder of Daibolism.” There’s also a manhua (manga) and a donghua (anime/cartoon) that are both ongoing and, unlike The Untamed, don’t censor the explicit romantic relationship between the main male lead and the secondary male lead. Or, at least, the manhua doesn’t. Given the donghua is ongoing, it’s a lot harder to tell whether or not that’ll end up explicit or just as heavily implied as The Untamed.

Plot wise, The Untamed follows the story of Wei Wuxian’s life, death, and return. The first two episodes are a bit confusing because you wind up dropped in the middle of things without very much context, beginning with a scene of Wei Wuxian’s death and then jumping forward in time to when another man, Mo Xuanyu, sacrifices himself in order to bring him back to life, so that Wei Wuxian might take revenge upon Mo Xuanyu’s family. The reason he opted to bring Wei Wuxian back is because Wei Wuxian is the scourge of the cultivation world.

(Cultivation is a path of magic and supernatural study by which someone cultivates their own spiritual energy in order to, ultimately, ascend to immortality. Cultivators do a lot of ghost hunting and monster slaying as well, making sure that spirits and souls are laid to rest. I do not know a whole lot about all of this because I am not Chinese and very new to Chinese media, so this is a very rough outline, but the important thing to know is that they’re sort of magicians and they take care of supernatural stuff. There are various sects that pursue specific specialties and paths of cultivation, and there’s a LOT of political intrigue going on as well.)

After the first couple of episodes, there begins an extended flashback to the years shortly before Wei Wuxian died to show how he went from one of the greatest and most admired cultivators of his generation to the most reviled. When things finally jump back to the present, the rest of the show focuses on the mystery set up in the first couple of episodes and Wei Wuxian rebuilding his relationships with the various people he loved in his former life, as well as--ultimately--clearing his name.

There’s a lot of political intrigue, drama, humor, romance, and tragedy. The show examines some serious themes of good vs. bad, how the actions of a person reflect upon those around them regardless of intention, how people can become trapped by the society around them, what does it mean to sacrifice, whether the ends justify the means. Despite all of that, the show DOES end on a hopeful, if somewhat bittersweet note, and even though the explicit gayness is censored, there’s more than enough to be like ‘oh, yeah, okay you two,’ about it, and neither of the couple are shoe-horned off into some forced heterosexual marriage in order to make it clear that they’re not gay or anything like that, which is nice. Plus I basically refer to the set up and beginning as “Unbury Your Gays” given that the first ten minutes or so involve Wei Wuxian coming back to life. Because I think I’m funny.

It’s a beautifully filmed series, so many of the actors are drop dead gorgeous, the plot is engaging, the soundtrack is to die for, and I drool over the costumes. Basically, highly recommend. It’s not without it’s problems (the women characters are few but kick-ass, but also most of them die), and there’s definitely some triggering stuff in there--death, dismemberment, self-harm, suicide, and incest, and probably more that I’m not able to remember, so if you do watch it and any of those are triggers, proceed with caution.

But in general, I HIGHLY recommend it. I found a whole new sub-genre of fantasy that I never knew about! I’m telling myself I’m not going to learn Mandarin but I’m probably going to break soon.

Also, I’m really flattered that you actually asked me because you like my chaotic blog so much instead of just being like ‘meh, guess it’s time to unfollow.’ OTL Thank you.

[khaotungsfirst]

Oh yeah! DW's one of those great series where there's so much out there, you can just dip in an out whenever you want a new adventure 😊I really like how, even when your favourite doctor or companion leaves the show, there's usually still stories out there for them so they're not really gone. I got really happy when I found out they made more Doctor and Donna adventures! Do you have a favourite doctor and / or companion? - CC 🦊

Hmm we might need to do a bit of searching for the TGCF donghua. I had a quick look and it seems it's on funimation if you have a subscription (I don't, sadly), and I checked youtube but nothing for subs on my side so far 😔 Might end up being a case that we'll need to download episodes or something, but I shall keep looking! - CC 🦊

The New Legends of Monkey are about a monk named Tripitaka who has to bring back the legendary monkey king whose been imprisoned in a mountain for over five hundred years. Once they wake him, they (and a few other friends they meet along the way) have to go on a quest to find heavenly scrolls that the monkey king had stolen and hidden away in secret. It's your regular 'gang goes on an adventure show', and it's light hearted and fun 😊- CC 🦊

Being friends with JC is literally the '((pats)) there there' deal since he'd be so difficult to figure out how to comfort when he's upset, omg. And you're right about LWJ and WWX, although I think if it were me meeting LWJ it would just be awkward silence while trying to find common ground for discussion. It would be so awkward 🤣I think I'd be besties with Xichen, he's much more approachable and just has that inviting kindness about him? I think he'd be a good, caring friend - CC 🦊

Since it's the holiday season, I'd like to ask if you celebrate Christmas or any other kind of holiday this time of year? 😊 If you do, what's your favourite part of the festive season? And incase I don't get a chance to message you before Christmas, I wish you the very happiest of holidays! - CC 🦊

Whew, finally found the time and energy to reply, sorry about that!

I think my favourite Doctor/companion duo would have to be Ten and Rose cause I shipped them so much back then and their ending.... gosh I still get emo thinking abt it now!! “I’m burning up a sun just to say goodbye” BIIIIITCH!!!!! 😭😭 so yeah... I also really loved Eleven and Clara bc once again: shipped it! But Donna was also such a good companion!!! I love how with each doctor/companion combo there were new dynamics to explore! (I gotta say though, I never really liked River... oop 😂)

Ok, I just did some googling and I found the first ep of tgcf on bilibili’s youtube channel. As far as I have understood it, you have to pay for early access to the episodes but if you wait they become free at some point (if anyone knows better pls correct me on this) so I think we can actually watch it!! And New Legends of Monkey sounds awesome!! I love these types of stories!! Def gonna check it out and report back to you!

And yes, you’re right! lxc would be an amazing friend!! Also wn who I forgot last time (sorry wn I love you!!) like he would kill for you but also be the softest and most loyal of friends to you like he is to wwx 💕get you a man like that 😂

I do celebrate Christmas with my family though none of us are overly religious about it. My favourite part would have to be the music! Like Michael Bublé’s Christmas album and All I Want For Christmas Is You are absolute musts (as well as my grandma’s old german christmas songs CD which has songs from Heino on it 😂). I do however also really love the feeling of when you know you have found the perfect gift for a loved one and are so excited for them to unwrap it! Nothing beats that! And thank you so much! I hope you had some nice holidays ❤️ Do you celebrate as well?

[d-a-mante]

Oh shit it’s on Netflix. My favorite trash show. People are gonna be so unprepared going in.

I gotta be honest: it’s practically on a “so bad it’s good” level. Laughably bad special effects, sometimes bad acting, and a mixed bag of fight scenes (either laughably bad or okay). Some melodrama. But I love it. Big fan.

There are things I have to like about it. The costumes, for one. I think the budget went into the costumes and set pieces rather than the CGI. One of the main characters has a headdress/hair-crown-thing that gets bigger and fancier as he gets older and it’s one of the funniest things to me.

But mostly it’s the pining. So much pining. It’s one of the things improved from the novel (which I don’t recommend for a few reasons*), along with a few improved scenes. The drama does make one of the villains more evil from the start instead of a somewhat sympathetic villain whose descent into cold blooded murder was a process; and also the main character is supposed to be /the/ first great necromancer of their universe, but the drama changes that. All in all though, they’re changes I can live with, considering the improvements.

If you want an actual “primer” on the series (that is lovely and very helpful) that doesn’t have my overcritical comments, though? Head over here:

* Oh, man, the novel. A lot of fans will hate me for disliking the novel. The original overall plot is great, but I think the adaptations improved on some parts that need improving. The investigative mystery part is better written in the donghua. If you want action, you can watch that instead. The live action went the drama and relationship route, on the other hand.

So, actual reasons I don’t like the novel more than I should:

- the romance is…cringey. I’m sorry, but it is. Not the pining and sacrifice and friendship parts. Those are great. It’s what the live action built on. But anything in the realm of sexual attraction (except for maybe one or two scenes) is badly written, and there’s even one scene (that the rest of the fandom seems to love) with consent issues and I really Don’t Like It. The Chinese censorship made the writers and director of the live action cut down on the explicit gay scenes and I think that was a /good thing/. They had to improvise and still hint at feelings. Sexual scenes were changed to conversations about the relationship and imo that improved things so, so much. The main character seems to pine as much as the other guy (although he hides his with humor), unlike in the novel where he’s clueless even of his own feelings.

- live action drama softens the character personalities. Main character has more of an edge to him in the novel, and some might prefer that, but I’ll go with live action here. There’s the aforementioned Improved Pining, but there’s also less conscious playing with the other character’s feelings. In the live action he’s just pulling his crush’s pigtails. Also, one of the other main characters gets slightly more… explanation (?) near the end. I dunno if it’s the script or facial expressions or both, but I liked him more in the drama, despite hating his guts in the novel. Just better character development all around, except for the villains, in the drama.

- Something more technical. Sometimes the novel is a slog to get through, and then sometimes it just hints at things I’d like elaborated. Flashbacks in awkward places in the plot, cutting pacing. The POV limits ‘screentime’ and development of some characters. The drama has its own writing issues, but it at least fixes those issues. The donghua does even better (pacing in second season is too fast, but the first season is excellent).

Why would you even read the novel?

Details in world building and magic system. If you wanna go for the explicit attraction in the novel, go for it.

[flowcrsoul]

@a-mighty-thunder​ asked   :   dongfeng   -   SEND ME A SHIP AND I’LL TELL YOU

who hogs the duvet.    Jiu needs something to cuddle when she’s asleep, and when her octopus arms don’t got Donghua, it’s the duvet, sorry.

who texts/rings to check how their day is going.   I think Jiu’s more likely to text/ring and Donghua’s more likely to just Show Up (because he likes to troll her and the mini panic of ‘whAT OH UR HERE SHOOT I GOTTA -’ is funny).

who’s the most creative when it comes to gifts.   Depends on the definition of creative??? Jiu defs gives some out there gifts but Donghua probably gives whacker ones to troll.

who gets up first in the morning.   Donghua - but does he really get up, or is he trapped under the octopus limbs forever???

who suggests new things in bed.   Surprisingly enough, Innocent Baby Jiu, who never knows e x a c t l y what she’s suggesting (but is suggesting it anyway because she loves and trusts him and it’s h i m, it’ll be good)

who cries at movies.   Jiu, but also if it’s a the-fluffy-animal-gets-hurt movie, it might be Donghua.

who gives unprompted massages.   Both! It might take a while for either to notice the other is stressed and in need of massage but they get on that quick.

who fusses over the other when they’re sick.   Jiu is a whole human-shaped being of Fuss when Donghua is sick, so, her. But also when she’s sick she is Full Cling and Refuses to Let Go of him, so I’m not sure he really has a choice.

who gets jealous easiest.   Our OG Pot of Vinegar, the Vinegar King, Donghua himself.

who has the most embarrassing taste in music.   I fully hc that Jiu belts Pocketful of Sunshine every day in the shower. But also Donghua might listen to some weird funky instrumentals, so, both of them.

who collects something unusual.   I don’t know if it’s unusual but Donghua probably has a stack of photos of All the Fluffy Animals he’s Ever Seen at the Office.

who takes the longest to get ready.   Jiu but because she has to run back upstairs to get something she forgot 50 times. Ok, also because she has to stRAIGHTEN HER RAMEN HAIR but shhhh.

who is the most tidy and organised.   Uh, not Jiu, per previous question, so, Donghua it is.

who gets most excited about the holidays.   Both of them for different reasons and in different ways? Jiu just really likes Holiday Cheer and General Atmosphere of Magic and Festivity, and is really Extra about it. Donghua vibes like he’s l o w k e y soft that he has a reason/excuse to hang out with the fam, but also he kinda wants to yeet around half an hour in.

who is the big spoon/little spoon.   As the tol of this relationship, Donghua is usually big spoon. Jiu will, however, immediately take it upon herself to be big spoon when Donghua needs Specifically Protective and Comforting Cuddles (which?? might be more than he lets on but shh)

who gets most competitive when playing games and/or sports.   Jiu is mASSIVELY COMPETITIVE and Donghua probably somehow trolls her with this information.

who starts the most arguments.   Probably...Jiu? In both the, non-serious, we’re-only-sort-of-arguing-but-it’s-bc-we’re-dumb-and-petty-and-this-is-fun way, and also in the serious “we have an issue” way. Because she’s more likely to pout about things and also more likely to Notice when they actually have a legitimate problem.

who suggests that they buy a pet.   Donghua, after going through his stack of cute animal pictures. Jiu can’t resist the puppy eyes, so, they��re going to end up with as many dogs as they have kids, probably.

what couple traditions they have.   do these count as traditions?? She sneaks into his office to write him cute and pointless notes on his notepad (99% of the time they honestly just say “I love you” w/ the i dotted with a heart). He habitually kisses her forehead in the morning when he’s out the door and she’s still sleeping. They take one day out of the weekend to be Date Day and they make a goal to take At Least One Picture Together. Jiu will send him Stalker Photos of him over the course of a day w/ various heart-eyes emojis.

what tv shows they watch together.   Donghua likes to turn on Dumb Competitive Cooking shows and offer Commentary (tm). Jiu likes to make them both watch cartoons (bECAUSE THE CARTOONS ARE CUTE OK). 

what other couple they hang out with.   Lian Song and Cheng Yu kind of fulfill the Best Friend Couple Requirements (tm), my assumption is they probably hang out w/ Mo Yuan and Shao Wan a bit, but that remains to be seen (tm).

how they spend time together as a couple.   At the beginning, going on a variety of chaotic dates that never exactly end as planned but are Soft anyway. When they start living together, domestic bliss. They’re really just h o m e to each other so it’s just simple loving comfort.

who made the first move.   Jiu by technicality, but in all fairness it’s a more simultaneous first move than canon canon : ‘ D Donghua, actually, you know, responds to the flirting, and doesn’t literally not know she exists for 300 years. 

who brings flowers home.   Both of them - Donghua does the bouquets and Jiu does the potted plants (though...Jiu boo, are those really flowers - you can’t call flowering tomato plants flowers - ).

who is the best cook.   Jiu by a long l o n g stretch. Donghua won’t burn the kitchen down or anything, but he can probably make water taste like bleach, so.