#peer zhu

[binging-asian-dramas]

Tea Love 7

Story: 5

Acting: 4-9

Chemistry: 10

Comparable to: Shining inheritance (kdrama)

Oof this is a humdinger of a melodrama. First this is 82 episodes long. For one thing this is one of those unnecessary long dramas. Way too drawn out. It probably has every cliche troupe in it. It’s also very ridiculously high up there in the ‘omg are they for real’ category. Everyone is misunderstood, everyone is practically an asshat, and every time someone tries to sabotage someone (glaring at you Yi Rou) you’d think they’d learned not to trust that person, but nope everyone in this seems to work on tiny brain cells. Also…some of the acting is ‘meh’, example is Xin Yu’s mother who sticks out very poorly especially when there’s a dramatic moment in this. Despite all that did I actually enjoy it. Absolutely….with the fast forward button handy. Underneath all the craziness it’s actually a really good drama, but being so long and repetitive I would only recommend to watch this one with a fast forward button handy.

[comicaurora]

hi red!! i'm doing an analysis of sun wukong's (and journey to the west in general's) impact on modern culture for my world mythology final, and for some reason i'm having a hard time finding sources. is there anything you can recommend?

The fact that Journey to the West has contributed an enormous number of tropes to modern media is very clear when the media in question is examined, but I don't know of a specific secondary source that's already done that analysis for you. However, this IS a very good excuse for you to plow through a metric buttload of shonen manga, since the lineage is basically Sun Wukong -> Son Goku -> like a solid third of all shonen action heroes written in the last forty years.

Dragon Ball kicks things off:

Started in 1984 and almost unquestionably the most influential manga ever made. Its first arc features the weird super-strong monkey-kid Son Goku - which is just the japanese pronunciation of the characters of Sun Wukong's name - meeting up with a wacky crew of thinly-veiled expys of the Journey to the West crew, with teen inventor Bulma filling the role of Tripitaka, Oolong the pig-man filling Zhu Bajie's role and Yamcha the desert-based bandit as Sha Wujing.

Hijinks ensue, and while the story drifts pretty far from Journey to the West's original plot, it actually stays pretty solidly referential in weirdly unexpected ways. Several the villains of the week are JttW references, and even the later appearance of three more Saiyans lines up with the surprise reveal of three more Wukong-like mystical apes in the original story.

The connection between Dragon Ball and JttW is very unsubtle and a frequent reference in the chapter covers and supplemental art.

Not every subsequent JttW reference is the result of Dragon Ball popularizing it or anything, since it was already enormously popular, but I think it's pretty hard to extricate Dragon Ball's influence on anime and manga from the original influence of Journey to the West itself.

One way that a distinction can be drawn is in the differences in characterization between Goku and Sun Wukong himself. A lot of the next generation of shonen protagonists were kind of Goku-alikes - pure-hearted dumbasses who only care for the three Fs: Food, Fighting and Friendship.

But the original characterization of Sun Wukong is not really all that similar. He's a trickster, sure, but he's far from a young, friendship-motivated goober. He's profoundly intelligent, pretty much the most well-educated entity on the planet, and routinely brings up that he's centuries older than most of his peers. The Goku-alikes from the later decades of shonen anime are tellingly far-removed from that original characterization. So you get characters based on Goku's cheerful idiocy, but it's just a small subset of the broader influence of Journey to the West on the space of literature.

In general, Journey to the West frequently shows up in very small, bite-sized tropes in other stories. It's less "this is wholly based on Journey to the West" and more "oh, I know where they maybe got this idea/aesthetic/power/weapon/villain of the week from." There are way too many to list, but some of the ones that tend to jump out at me are-

Sneaky characters with monkey motifs:

Tricksy, highly mobile characters who fight with a staff:

Characters afflicted with a magical restraint artifact that allows a much weaker character to stop them from misbehaving:

Specific esoteric weapons, eg. magical fans, rakes, gourds, namedropping The Sword of Seven Stars, etc.

Villains with prominent ox or pig design motifs:

Characters whose primary combat strat is just making Shitloads Of Disposable Copies Of Themselves:

Honestly it just keeps going like this. It's kinda everywhere. Finding the JttW in things is my favorite conspiracy theory rabbit hole because it's 100% harmless and more often than not completely correct.

[wilcze-kudly]

Sure we can rag on Bolin for not realising he joined the Earth Kingdom equivalent of the Nazi party and call him an idiot for it (deserved) but honestly I can't really fault him for it?

Like the ostrich effect is a thing and we are watching it in full effect here. We've seen that Bolin is a character that deals very poorly with conflict. Like it's super obvious he'd avoid standing up to Kuvira as much as he could.

One of Bolin's biggest hurdles as a character is that he is looking for a purpose, the rest of team Avatar having 'found themselves'. So it's not out of character for him to join Kuvira.

I feel like he's also compensating for the loss of Korra, who was in recovery at the time by following Kuvira.

It's very obvious that Korra had a huge impact on Bolin's life, as she did with all of Team Avatar. But Bolin had definetly attached himself very strongly to her. He's been following Mako around his entire life, been a follower for most of his life. And then his first real friendship outside of family follows a similar pattern.

Korra is like the perfect character for Bolin to project his weird codependency thing onto. She's an effortless leader, very forceful, decisive and straightforward. Someone who he can easily listen to and carve out a path he can follow. And following the Avatar around allows him to do something worthwile and good. To actually help. With the added benefit that it gets him people's approval, something he so clearly desperately needs and craves.

Then Korra becomes so injured that she has to be placed in physical therapy for an indeterminate ampunt of time.

So Bolin projects that need and codependency on someone else. Kuvira. In his argument with Mako he states it clear as day: 'I mean, Kuvira is basically just like Korra. She might seem hard to deal with, but just because she's so passionate and believes in what she's doing.'

He gets to continue doing good and making people like him while under very clear orders he can follow.

I mean, this boy is traumatised. Clearly, Mako took the brunt of the horrors of their childhood, but it would be incredibly stupid to say that Bolin isn't fucked up as well. Clearly in a different way but fucked up nonetheless. I think this codependency thing is something both brothers benefitted from as kids but that's a conversation for another day.

And the events of the first three books are also traumatic?

Like he's just been part of a civil war/end of the world so excuse him for hoping to catch a break. I will once again refer you to the ostrich effect. Another war breaking out is probably like worst case scenario in his mind.

I feel like for him, if he opens his eyes to what Kuvira is doing is accepting that there is once again a 'big conflict' in his life. And that his loved ones are once again in danger. And worse, that he's contributed to it.

I can also see it all being a case of 'well ive waded neck deep into this swamp, now i gotta see this through'. Like he's sunk so much time and energy into this cause, it can't be all wrong, right?

Sure, ego is probably a big part of his behaviour. Everyone is telling him that Kuvira is bad and that automatically puts up the defences. Bit I can see how these warnings feel like a direct personal attack at Bolin himself. He was also incredibly isolated from most of his friends when serving Kuvira. Other than Zhu Li and Varrick, who aren't exactly peers.

So he's lonely on a train most of his time and when he does reuinte with his loved ones they start criticising his life choices . I can see him getting defensive and automatically resistant to critisism.

And Kuvira is also shown to be very good at emotuonal manipulation and threats and stuff. And Bolin, a chronic people pleaser whith a lot of trauma is, like, the perfect victim for those shenanigans. Bolin is canonically bad at reading situations that are detrimental to him (look at the entirety of his relationship with Eska)

You know, sure, he's an idiot for staying with her as long as he did. But it's not as black and white as a lot of people make it out to be?

[bpod-bpod]

Nervous System Shapers

Identifying the genes that regulate the shaping and maintenance of the fruit fly central nervous system – insight for possible roles for homologous genes in mammals

Read the published research article here

Image from work by Haluk Lacin and Yuqing Zhu, and colleagues

Division of Biological and Biomedical Systems, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City and Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA

Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Published in bioRxiv, February 2024 (not peer reviewed)

You can also follow BPoD on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook

[sparklecryptid]

Zhu Xiang: Get over here

Shen Jiu: No, absolutely not-

Zhu Xiang: You need to have your check up. You're overdue because you keep scaring everyone else away.

Shen Jiu: Then they shouldn't have sent your peers if they were so easily frightened. Are all doctors cowards?

Zhu Xiang: Shen Jiu, you are going to sit down and let me check you over.

Shen Jiu: You didn't answer my question.

Zhu Xiang: It's not a question worth answering.

[wenella]

Zhu Yilong: A New Adventure is about to Begin

朱一龙：新的冒险即将开��

EN translation of Zhu Yilong's Harper's Bazaar June 2023 Cover Issue Feature Interview by wenella

2023 is a brand new year for Zhu Yilong. It is also a year full of possibilities.

The 35-year-old has started promoting two films that he starred in, namely “Lost in the Stars,” a suspenseful crime film produced by Chen Sicheng, which will be released soon, and “Only the River Flows,” a collaboration with Wei Shujun, which was selected for the 76th Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard category.

At the age of 35, Zhu Yilong is entering a phase that he has been anticipating.

He performs roles and writes new stories for them.

He is the person in the story, yet he is also the person who creates the story.

"I calculate time with my work."

Zhu Yilong calculates time with his works. Two movies a year. Ten more films later, he'll be 40 years old. This is how he counts.

Zhu Yilong was filming on his 35th birthday on April 16, 2023. He didn’t prepare for his birthday live stream but took the opportunity to chat with his fans on his birthday. He seemed a little nervous as he was doing the live stream alone. “Well, I don’t see anyone else while live streaming.”

Among the new generation of male actors, Zhu Yilong’s career trajectory is considered rather smooth; he learnt to play the piano in elementary school, enrolled in Beijing Film Academy to learn acting, and kickstarted his acting career in his junior year. After graduation, he garnered audience’s attention and support for his various drama roles. The web drama Guardian propelled him to popularity in 2018. In the show, he played three roles Shen Wei, Black Robe Envoy, and Ye Zun, and impressed viewers with his mature acting skills.

Yet, he also seems a little different from his peers. He seems rather mature for his age. Perhaps it is due to his shy, introverted personality, or the way he looks at people with his soft, glistening gaze in films, conveying sentiments that can only be spoken through his eyes. He is rather arty too and has performed Liang Bo’s “Boy,” Lo Ta-yu’s “Dream Chasers,” and Hedgehog’s “Cloud Bound Train” on stage. He doesn’t appear on variety shows and rarely does live streams. All these make him seem a little special.

In one of Zhu Yilong’s rare live streams in 2022, he sang the theme song of “Lighting up the Stars.” The film is a tragicomedy that deals with a unique theme; he plays Mo Sanmei, a young man from Wuhan who works in the funeral industry. After an encounter with a little girl, Mo Sanmei finds a sense of responsibility and the meaning to his life. In order to play this role well, Zhu Yilong experienced life in a funeral parlour and sported a buzz cut. “I love the joys of reunion and sorrows of parting; I love the everyday life in this world.” He has sung the film’s theme song on several occasions. Each time, he played either the piano or the guitar, with his head lowered, while articulating the lyrics in his deep voice clearly. Beneath his gentle demeanour, we see occasional flashes of Mo Sanmei’s defiance and enthusiasm.

Zhu Yilong said that there are so many film genres that he would like to try. “I want to work with different directors and try different acting styles.” As such, he feels the lack of time acutely. He wants to keep making movies. The sceneries of his journeys, the waves of the sea, the winds of the world…… he hopes to depict everything that he sees, encounters, and feels, through the cinematic lens.

In Zhu Yilong’s opinion, there is no distinction between the status of a film actor and a TV actor. It has nothing to do with status. Rather, making movies requires the actor to immerse himself in a totally different circumstance. “You will experience something different from your life, you will need to leave your comfort zone and experience a circumstance that you are unlikely to encounter in your life.” As an actor, he enjoys this kind of life. He said that being an actor has taught him to be reflective. He used to read scripts and find certain situations unreasonable. However, if he encounters such issues now, he would reflect to see if he finds the situation unreasonable simply because he hasn’t experienced something similar, or if it is one that he doesn’t truly understand.

“In fact, most of the time, it is most likely due to the fact that we haven’t experienced such situations before. Real life can be more dramatic and hyperbolic than in scripts.”

“Hiding behind his role and helping the creator to complete the work"

In May 2023, the film Only the River Flows, directed by Wei Shujun and starring Zhu Yilong, was selected for the 76th Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard section.

Only the River Flows was shot on 16mm film, making it a brand new experience for Zhu Yilong. Zhu Yilong described Wei Shujun as an extremely talented young director and they would often discuss filmmaking.

"The overall creative direction of this film, the acting style, and the way the plot advances, differ greatly from my previous films. Unlike regular movies that utilize character's emotions to create plot twists, Only the River Flows shows how the whole story and atmosphere changed the character instead.”

Zhu Yilong’s upcoming film is a commercial suspense thriller “Lost in the Stars.” He adopted a completely different way of acting in this film. “There are many types of films and there is no one way of acting that is necessarily more ‘superior.’ Different genres require different acting styles.” He said, “I was initially hesitant to accept the role when I first read the script because the character is highly complex. He often vacillates between different states – this character isn’t linear and I wasn’t sure how the role would be presented eventually. However, audiences might find this aspect thrilling because there are plenty of plot twists.”

Zhu Yilong spoke with the film’s producer Chen Sicheng many times and in great detail about the film’s production and expected outcomes. Chen Sicheng told Zhu Yilong that he wanted to make an extreme genre film. Zhu Yilong agreed with the mode of presentation and decided to join the team.

“I realised something very interesting.” After making Lighting up the Stars and Lost in the Stars, Zhu Yilong noted, “Transforming into a character isn’t only about changing a look, gaining or losing weight for the role, or simply growing long hair or a moustache. Rather, it is related to one’s understanding of acting. The transformation needs to be thorough. If I use only one type of acting method to take on different genres, I am just merely repeating myself and not really challenging different genres.”

On the topic of self expression, Zhu Yilong admitted, “It is difficult for an actor to express his world views through his character or performance.” He feels that an actor is only a medium. A film is constituted by its director, lighting, art…… and many other creators; the actor is just one aspect of the entire creativity process. Therefore, he doesn’t seek to express himself through the lens. Rather, he hopes to help every creator and director to realize their work and to present their vision as holistically as possible – a film isn’t merely about what an actor has to say to the world.

Zhu Yilong, who wishes to remain hidden behind his role and avoids repeating himself, is striving to do his best in every step he takes. He shows us how an ordinary person can gain recognition through hard work, one step at a time.

"Allowing myself to be more relaxed"

When Zhu Yilong isn’t filming, his life is quite boring. He admitted that he is an introvert and said, “My lives in films are so exciting. I’m actually quite tired each time I wrap a film. So I just want to keep things simple and comfortable; I will be more than satisfied just to get enough rest.”

Zhu Yilong is 35 years old. He is considered to be at his prime, though not necessarily young anymore. However, his smile, eyes, and posture, still exude a youthful charm. On his birthday, he said that he didn't want to celebrate, but he would like to make a birthday wish. When we asked him what he would like to say to his 40-year-old self, he said, “I don’t want to talk to my 40-year old self. Time is passing so quickly. I don’t feel like 40 years old is a distant age. Time passes very quickly when one is busy.”

A few years ago, Zhu Yilong thought that getting less exposure and not going on variety shows could help to preserve an actor's mystique. But he thinks differently now. “Everyone has the right to choose how they want to live and everyone has the right to choose their acting style. There is no hard-and-fast rule regarding acting. If they feel comfortable or enjoy participating in variety shows as part of their job, why not?”

These changes happened over the past two years. Previously, Zhu Yilong would think, “I aspire to become this type of actor, I will work hard in this manner, I will go to this extent for my role…” However, he feels that it doesn’t really matter anymore. “As long as it isn’t something calculated or deliberate, I think it is fine,” he said with regards to what type of acting he preferred and the goals he hoped to achieve.

“I just want to let my acting be more natural, I want to be more relaxed. I don’t deem my roles as pathways to quick success nor weigh the advantages of each role I play. I don’t think about what I can get from a role.”

“I don’t want to seek approval or recognition for the characters I play or my acting style. I don’t think too much about this issue. I just hope that I am able to enjoy the process of creating my roles, of emptying and transforming myself into my character as much as possible.”

For him, every performance is a door.

The completion of a work is not the end, but the door that leads to his next adventure.

[sunskate]

Championnats RD-

junior ice dance is so fun - so far they’re going much harder than seniors on the period costumes. a number of these teams were at Next Gen, so it was fun to see them live. i’m adopting Aurea Cincon-Debout and Earl Jesse Celestino- their Jacksons RD is adorable, and they’re currently in 2nd. Gauthier/Thieren made their debut. not sure if they’re coming off injury or if they had a conflict with Next Gen. their Jagger/Bowie RD went from Honkytonk Woman to Fame and Dancin in the Street, which musically felt all over the place

Senior RD was an entirely IAM event - Romain wore sunglasses the entire time but also was peering over them to watch the teams, so idk if they were style or jet lag or what 😅 Harris/Chan with an ABBA RD that felt like a very natural choice for them. Fabbri/Ayer really solid. this is the 2nd year where they skated well here but also felt like they got a bonus from the home judging panel. Pham/Spiridonov- a program that lets them dance - shows you how important packaging is that he always felt overshadowed by Lorraine and programs that didn’t do him any favors at WISA. these two are still learning each other and have things to work out, but the material brings out good qualities in them - like he has some natural dance ability

Fournier/Zhu are committing all the way to their performances - sometimes he feels like he’s focused on his expression more than on her. this RD doesn’t stand out from the many disco programs. but omg Hannah and Ye’s does - big time - it feels like they took a page from Lilah and Lewis’s playbook in that it’s engineered to bring the crowd to their feet at Worlds. there’s cheering and whistling from the crowd on the track itself, the way they play with tempo changes to build momentum to an organic climax - this is potentially the most exciting RD we’ve seen so far this season. there are sharp details in this already, they’re both projecting- i’m excited about this one

[docholligay]

She Who Became The Sun

I want to thank @amhrancas for commissioning me to read a book I have been so so curious about, and I hope y'all will thank her too! She's also letting me, next month, talk about a movie I FUCKING LOVE.

nonspoilery: A plot-driven book that takes place over a long period of time in China during the time oof the Khans. There’s a lot to like in it, and i think a lot of people would really connect with this storyline, but there’s something slightly off about it that didn’t quite make it with me, that I pin down to a certain lack of character depth. It’s a pretty decent book overall, with some great description though, and the character thing is in no way jarring--it took me a bit to figure out what made the book not quite hit for me. 

SPOILERS BELOW:

I really wanted to like this book, and I still want to like this book, and I don’t NOT like this book, but I was prepared to love it. I don’t. I wish I did. 

And this isn’t me trying to satisfy the people I know love this book, or hedge about my feelings: I know how many of y’all loved GtN, and my response was essentially, “Hey, quick question, what the fuck is wrong with you?” (affectionate) so it’s not that I’m afraid to come out as not liking something well received by my peers. It’s just, I felt so close to really liking the book, and just could not get myself there. 

We’ll come back to that, but it’s one of the less-relevant bits of the review, so we’ll move on from it for now. So this is a historical fiction novel: KINDA. I admit that I know nothing about larger Chinese history, I never studied it, so I actually was not even aware that this was about a real person except for my commissioner telling me so when asking me questions to consider for the book. Some of the back of the book comments are calling it a historical fantasy, and aside from, I guess, the ghosts, the only reason I can see for this is that this is not at all representing the historical person Zhu Yuanzhang (I didn’t let myself look him up until after I had finished the book) so I would, personally, actually call this an alt-history, but I understand tht has some baggage with it the author may not have wanted to engage in. 

I was asked about the idea of narratively reworking a historic figure to be totally different from who they were. I have no problem with it! I feel like as long as we’re all HONEST about it--and I feel like this book is pretty honest about it, though, what choice does it have--it’s fun to sometimes have a historical blorbo and make them do what you want. I think that real people do not have symbolism and foreshadowing and motifs, and so, as a Lit major, I think it can somehow make people more REAL, by making them fictional. 

Also, as a History major, I kind of do not like it, for reasons that have nothing to do with the ACT of it, and more with the idea that so many people do not ever venture beyond the fictional work and so have completely incorrect notions of historical figures, and they feel ways about these human beings based on the very much fictional avatars presented. This tends to lead to a thing I LOATHE, where we do bad history because we need these people we admire to have been ‘like us’ or to hold values we hold or feel like we could have been friends with them, ignoring the reality of their personality, their social and temporal position, the fullness of who they were as a person, etc. I see a lot of bad fucking history based on this idea, and that is not new, this has been going on for a million years, but I have never liked it. Fictional accounts can convince people of things that aren’t necessarily the factual kind of true. 

That complicated feeling of mine goes on beyond this book, and, frankly, this takes it to such an extreme that I doubt very sincerely I’m going to see scholarship done about a great emperor of China being a woman secretly. So, I feel complex ways about it, but with a smart audience that realizes it’s fiction, I don’t have a problem with it, though in the same way I tend to prefer Not!Europes or Not!New Yorks, I tend to prefer, for example Not!Billy the Kids or what have you. But it didn’t affect my feelings about the book at all, this is a common thing in literature and the multitudes I contain today I will still contain tomorrow. 

Let’s talk about our main characters. 

Zhu. I think this is where the book didn’t lose me, but failed to engage me. I want to like Zhu so bad, but I just don’t, and I don’t mean I dislike her, I just mean I don’t…care much. I feel like I have no idea of the interiority of who she is other than trying to hide being a woman. I don’t get a grasp of her personality otherwise. I know she does what it takes to survive, I know she sees ghosts, and I know she becomes ruthless in a way that I found a bit shocking not in a “oh my god! Twist! Way but in a way where I felt like there wasn’t a clear enough path for people named Doc, who are me, from “I can kill a bad man” to “I can murder a child” or maybe there was, i don’t know, I just felt like there was a wall kept up between me and Zhu*. She murders a child, and Ma is all, “You said you wanted me for my kindness but you don’t care about it” and then Ma is at her side anyhow, so I guess it didn’t actually matter to Ma that much either, close of business, and I am just sitting there going, ‘Okay the book is over now, right?”

Ouyang. Probably my favorite character in the whole book, and yet, I mean I don’t like him in an “Ouyang is an innocent meow meow.” Ouyang is a bitter, hateful person who has intentionally forced himself not to feel joy or comfort or love because he made himself into a weapon and a weapon alone. Like Zhu, he took the steel he was given, but he bent it to his will. I love him as a character, I think his approach to everything is fascinating, and, inevitable, and I frankly find him much better written than Zhu. I was not at all surprised when he killed Esen. I saw it coming very early on, not in a ‘predictable trope’ way but in a ‘I hear the howl from far off and don’t get shocked when the wolves come in” way. He did it, and the way that was written was so great, and I was sitting there going, “You are going to blow up every good thing, the only good thing, that you have, out of a love for people you don’t even remember and a culture that is only yours in the way a shadow is you.” He looks straight at me and goes, “And what of it?” Extremely taken with him. 

Revenge is a huge thing in this book, and the necessity of it, almost. Is there redemption in revenge, what does it mean to find redemption, and is there value in holding onto an old pain for so long? Ouyang waits til near the end of the book for his revenge, but does he feel satisfaction from it? He carries his need to kill Esen like a bag of bricks, but he never for one moment imagines that he can set it down. I think there’s something to be said for a lack of flexibility in that. What does revenge bring him? What did his revenge against Zhu bring him? He suffers so much at the end, when he kills Esen, in what is very likely my favorite scene from the whole book, the absolute perfect ending to their story, and even then he cannot imagine a different way. He takes this idea of revenge as his way of being man, his fucking fixation on manhood and being a son, and what he is and what he is not, and he lets it eat him alive, and it brings him NOTHING. At the end of the day, it brings him only suffering and pain, and instead of having one dead family, he has two. 

 Though I suppose it could be said that Esen suffers for his near-inability to be capable of revenge. Not that he’s a weak man, he isn’t, and not a cruel one either, though often a thoughtless one. (And maybe this is, after it all, why Ouyang can kill him. He was always kind to Ouyang in every way Esen could think of, but he never thought about Ouyang, from Ouyang’s view.) But he doesn’t have the sense of revenge that other people in his life do, he doesn’t have the instinct. Not even what i would call full on revenge, he can hardly make the people he cares about pay for the things they do. 

Maybe the way to live is between them, I don’t know. 

So, obviously, at the end I absolutely salivating over everything that is happening with Esen and Ouyang, but find myself very much left cold by whatever the hell Zhu is doing. This is a problem as a reader! This isn’t even me saying, “Oh nooooo Zhu turns ruthless and naughty” I actually think that’s a great middle point for a story, but for the end to be like, “So then Zhu murders a child, and is now king. The end.” I was sitting there going, “so what…am I supposed to take from this, exactly?” A good story has a moral, not always a good moral, and maybe moral isn’t even the right word, but stories teach us things, and with the B-track story of Esen and Ouyang I feel like I got that, but with Zhu’s story I came away utterly plussed about the whole thing. Diversity win! The warrior-king who ruthlessly grasps for power is a gender noncomforming woman! Ahaha I mean I’m oversimplifying obviously, but it feels in many ways unfinished to me. 

I really did like the descriptions and vocabulary in the book, though, and I think this is part of what broke my heart about not loving it. PLEASE use words like palimpsest and internecine and facile. PLEASE describe things as being “like froth on a dead man’s mouth” and “ held on as if it were a slipping deck at sea” and  “the particular combination of awe and pity one gets from seeing fragile pear blossoms in the rain” my god. WHAT. I was fucking SPOILED by the language of the piece.  To a degree that was almost frustrating. 

The experience of this book was the experience of an ex where it should have worked, where it should have been everything and more, and it wasn’t even BAD, it just did not reach what it should have. I feel an echoing ache that I could not really ever LOVE this book despite wanting to so badly. It feels frustrating, ina way that hating a book doesn’t. I do think people who are interested in this book should read it for themselves and make a judgment call, as I’m sure and know that there are plenty of people who enjoy this book exactly as it is. I’m not chomping at the bit to read the sequel but not opposed to it, either, and maybe in that shrug is the harshest condemnation I can realistically offer. It’s not a bad book. It’s even a pretty good book. But it does not give me passion for its main character. 

*It might be that this book is so so fast-paced. It is slamming from year to year with military movements and the Mongol court and the Red Turbans and betrayals and successes and there are few breaths taken in between. Some people will love that, but I felt it robbed me of a bit of knowing the people I’m reading about. 

[xiaoxiaopuff]

What are Trendy Toys?

In recent years, alongside the craze for "everything can be blind boxed," trendy toys have gradually entered the public eye. Also known as art toys or designer toys, trendy toys integrate concepts from art, design, trends, painting, sculpture, and more. They are primarily targeted at adults. According to reports, the development of trendy toys in China has been rapid, with the market size growing from 6.3 billion yuan in 2015 to 20.7 billion yuan in 2019. Many trendy toy companies have started to venture into overseas markets, and some Chinese designs have gained popularity among international consumers, demonstrating strong innovation and cultural influence. Trendy toys are no longer a niche hobby for a few; they have risen to become a form of spiritual consumption and a cultural phenomenon.

In physical stores, many prominent locations in large shopping malls are occupied by trendy toy shops and vending machines, where people enthusiastically spend tens of yuan to buy a "small moment of happiness." Online, domestic trendy toy brands like Pop Mart have surpassed LEGO and Bandai for two consecutive years, ranking first in the toy category sales list on Tmall's "Double Eleven" shopping festival. Additionally, some museums have also experimented with launching cultural and creative products in blind box formats, traditional stationery companies are exploring this market, and many internet companies are entering this industry...

This is a consumer frenzy among young people and an attempt to bring art closer to daily life at affordable prices.

Trendy Toys: A New Business Format Linking Art and Commerce

"In fact, trendy toys are a form of art peripherals, bridging the gap between art and toys." The current consensus in the industry is that trendy toys in a narrow sense originated in late 20th-century Hong Kong and Japan, created by independent designers and artists, also known as art toys or designer toys. These works often feature a hint of street culture, rebellion, and anti-mainstream style, produced in limited quantities and thus relatively expensive, initially appealing to a small circle of enthusiasts.

By the early 21st century, the concept of trendy toys fused with local anime, film, and television industries in Europe, the United States, and Japan, giving rise to globally renowned trendy toy brands and characters such as KAWS and BE@RBRICK.

After entering mainland China, trendy toys diversified in form and shifted their focus from being purely art or designer toys to targeting a larger market—the art peripherals market. More and more companies related to toys have entered the industry chain, forming a preliminary ecosystem for trendy toys from design, production, and sales to the secondary market and large-scale offline exhibitions.

Among them, large-scale offline exhibitions have become a window for quickly observing the trendy toy industry. Designers seize the opportunity to communicate and exchange ideas with peers, discovering new trends and changes in the industry. "You will find that this circle is experiencing iteration and integration. People are playing with things that are increasingly similar. Those who used to only collect statues are now also starting to play with trendy toys and figurines. Those who didn't play with statues before are now paying attention to them with the rise of trendy toys," says Zhu Jiaqi, Art Director of Kai Tian Studio, seeing this as a sign of the trendy toy industry gradually maturing.

[mostly-mundane-atla]

Thanks for your answer! About pre-contact vs post colonization, it's always about how writers pick and choose what aspect of the culture they'll depict to be "authentic".

I thought of when you mentioned Inuit Christianity and how prayer rituals worked its way into the culture, as well as your mention about the stilt houses of King Island. Perhaps the time periods do not fit, but I would have loved to have seen references to this in atla.

But these aspects are things writers wouldn't portray because it doesn't fit their image of "Inuit". It all plays into that romantization of "pre-contact natives" that genuinely miss accuracy of the groups they're trying to represent.

I think it could have had a place in the show, as it makes reference to both eastern and western influence regardless of different time periods. It would be a lot more familiar and accurate to current-day Inuit culture, and it doesn't have to be sacrificed for aesthetic.

Something else, but regarding teaching different cultures to children, there's lot of cited concerns about them not understanding the nuances. But honestly at that age, children are still learning their own household's culture, so little details about others are as confusing as their own. Those little details contribute to bigger understanding than what we give credit to, so there isn't anything to be afraid when portraying forgein lifestyles to kids.

Re: the show having eastern and western influences; i'm not sure people understand the extent of things that showed up in the atlaverse that had to be brought into Asia through European or American influence. Off the top of my head: custard tarts, sunflowers, corn, glasses, and the whole concept of earth, water, fire, and air as the four elements. That bit in the Kyoshi book about people eating sweet potatoes when they have no rice is a thing that happened in Japan, but the sweet potatoes themselves were introduced to Japan by the Portugese. I'm sure the list goes on.

And this may be a bit off topic but I genuinely do not care that Varrick and Zhu Li have a Christian-style wedding. We Inupiat did not have elaborate wedding ceremonies pre-Christianization and to insist that we must have had them because everyone did is incredibly ignorant and imposing of one's idea of whst makes up a "real culture" which i daresay is quite a colonialist mindset.

I also wouldn't chalk this idea of accuracy being held over and interest in factual accuracy up to romanticization, but rather fetishization. To fetishize a people is not necessarily to make a sexual fetish of them (though that can be a by-product) but to dehumanize them by treating them not as a people but as an emblem of a concept or collection of concepts. When Natives are fetishized, we're typically reduced to nature, superstisious godlessness, brutality of tribal warfare, pain, stifling traditions, mysterious languages, technological primitiveness, weird food, and quaint little stories with ancient wit. For as long as people benefit from colonizing us, we will always be so fetishized because if we weren't, people would have to question their part in the system. And that's pretty uncomfortable to think about over Thanksgiving dinner. It's bigger than Nickelodeon and Avatar but I'm also not going to celebrate the fact it took them 17 years to be peer-pressured into hiring Native actors to play characters from their stereotypically Native-coded fantasy culture.

As for those concerns, kids may not understand nuance but they do understand details and context more often than not. The most you'll ever need is an outsider audience surrogate character to ask questions and an insider friend character to answer them honestly. Kids understand that.

[bi4bihankking]

In the Name of Desire Summary:

In the Name of Desire, first published in Portuguese in the 1980s, is one of the most important Brazilian gay novels. It traces the remembrances of a man who returns to the seminary where he studied as a child. This visit, thirty years after his sudden departure, evokes stirring memories of his time there: his first love, nascent homosexual desire, the metaphorical agony of Catholic rituals, and the physical harm inflicted by peers and priests alike. As he revisits the halls, his memory wanders throughout the seminary, creating a narrative both liturgical and profane.

She Who Became The Sun Duology Summary:

Zhu Chongba is given a fate of greatness, which sounds great right up into he starves to death. But if there’s a great fate to be had seems a waste to let it die too so his sister will just have to fulfill it. A reimagining of the Ming Dynasty’s rise to power that has the gumption to ask ‘is it a woman’s body if a woman doesn’t inhabit it?’

[vermillioncrown]

✨ 👀 🤲

something something flattery gets you everywhere lol

✨ Give you and your writing a compliment. Go on now. You know you deserve it. 😉

uh... i have a very strong and distinct narrative voice. i think that translates into clear delineations between character voices in my fics

👀 Tell me about an up and coming wip please!

so, i don't have a definitive new wip and want to work on what i currently have. but! i was planning talks w @rozaceous to maybe think of a short multi-chapter naruto oc. very two-kids-in-a-trench-coat vibe.

hm... i guess it counts... there are a bunch of what-ifs one shots for ball is life. that's where i was practicing writing stuff. yknow 😏

🤲 Would you please share a snippet of a wip?

(uuggghhh... so a lot of the 'later' stuff i have is either too far ahead and will be extreme spoilers, or are too far ahead and are now outdated... and i don't wanna give false promises)

so here's something from dream before daybreak ch 20

=

"Our last duel ended in a draw," Wei Wuxian called out in a singsong tone. "We should add incentives for this bout!"

I ignored him to stretch out my shoulders. Cultivation or not, it was still best to be gentle with my rotator cuffs.

"Let me call you by 'Zhu Lin' if I win - that is your birth name, right?"

The fucking audacity of it all had me turn my full attention back to him, stretching neglected. "Stakes should carry equal value. This one wants nothing that Wei-Gongzi can offer."

"Zhu Yunxun is known for his strict observance of propriety… among his peers, at least," Wei Wuxian said with mocking. "What if I offer 'Wei Ying' in return?"

"An unnecessary gesture."

"Ha, that's what Lan Zhan said at first, and yet the indomitable Second Jade of Lan was worn down." Wei Wuxian's cheeriness was endless. "If it is like that with Lan Zhan, then surely we're as close as that?"

What even was 'that'? In front of all my fellow sect disciples and honored master, you allude to a 'that'?

All the Shuangfeng kids were watching like vultures, and Hou-Shifu's earlier smile turned back to his normal sweaty grimace. And yet, here Wei Wuxian stood, with shamelessness that could only be topped if he stripped naked.

"At least, I'd like to think so," he continued, grin dialed back to a winsome smile.

My whole back itched as I turned away to position myself at a distance. He took my ready stance as a confirmation and readied himself.

Hou-Shifu waved off our start.

Like I said since my journeyman trip, Wei Wuxian didn't know how to fight hand-to-hand beyond messy brawling. Predictable, over- and under-committing in all the wrong ways and at the same time. Maybe it'd be nice to take this singular moment, this one fated chance, to deck the protagonist as hard as I could in the throat.

(… fuck, it was tempting.)

He stepped in and feinted a cross, hoping to take initiative. There have been enough punches thrown my way in this second life that I moved forward to avoid his attack, using his arm to guide me in rather than retreat with instinctive caution.

Then an automatic hook, swinging wide and already past my arm because of positioning, what would be a tight follow-up if not for his lost feint -

Wei Wuxian's wide-eyed look, as he tumbled over my feet from his fist being pulled forward, didn't bring me as much joy as I thought it would. It was like that instant you overeat an indulgent dessert - immediate loss of appeal and appetite.

My hand pulling him switched to stopping his collapse towards me with a forearm. The jab to the throat lost form and resulted in a flick across his Adam's apple with the back of my index and middle fingers. It would, at the very least, feel weird and annoying even if harmless.

For once, Wei Wuxian didn't need someone to call him off. He nearly tripped backwards, rubbing at his throat and coughing. "… then, this would happen to be the area of expertise for the Yenan-Gongzi," he said, looking ungratefully wide-eyed and doleful.

[j-graysonlibrary]

The Xiang Chronicles: Book Four Chapter 1

Title: The Xiang Chronicles: Book Four

Author: Jay Grayson

Word Count: 118k

Genres: Fantasy, adventure, drama, LGBT+

Available on: my website

Synopsis: In order to save the world from the continuous subjugation and potential annihilation at the hands of Tiandi, hard lines must be drawn. The Great Spirits that were imprisoned ages ago must be unsealed and awakened, no matter the consequences.

The players are divided—those who stand blindly with Tiandi, such as Xiang Merra and her disciples versus those who want to tear the system down and give the power back to the people. Even a few of the most religious Lords change their minds when they learn the truth of the world—that Tiandi is no more than a dictator with no love in his heart.

It is up to the last, real Xiang and the ill-fated Chaaya to put everything they have into tearing God from his throne and creating new possibilities for the future.

Full chapter 1 under the cut

Chapter I:

It was strange how much they all looked the same but even with some identical features, one could still find small things that marked individuality. Gong liked to do so every time he and his brothers were together. He was the easiest to discern, he knew, since his beard was shorter than the others. But, Jun had less wrinkles and rounder eyes. Hwang had a couple of beauty marks that were unique to him as well as very swollen joints in his fingers that made them look knobby.

Then there was Zhu.

He definitely looked the most like Tiandi but he had a different nose—slightly hooked downward and narrower than Tiandi. His brows as well were just a smidge fuller and with a few wayward hairs.

“Gong.”

The use of his name made him return to his senses. He had been half paying attention to the meeting, especially since they all liked to go on and on about minor issues before getting to the meat anyway. Most of their meetings would wind up taking double the time because the beginning was often just a sharing of stories or catching up rather than discussing the topic at hand.

It was why Gong felt so comfortable zoning out.

He blinked a few times and straightened his back. “Yes?”

Jun quirked an eyebrow while Hwang rubbed his forehead and Zhu glared. It appeared as though he had inadvertently missed something important.

“We were asking what you felt we should do with an unruly Xiang. Had this been, say, Xiang Don, what do you think we would do?" Jun frowned as he spoke.

Gong realized, all at once, that they had been talking about Pangu but without saying his name. He mentally cursed and looked down at his hands. “Well, we certainly did not have an especially close connection with Don. We took him into our care later and did not establish the same rapport as we have with the past few Xiang. I imagine we would have behaved very differently.”

“Those are a lot of words to contribute nothing,” Zhu muttered.

Hwang came to his defense, sort of, “You know he feels connected to Pangu. Despite me being the boy’s father, he sees him as a son.”

“I see all the Xiang I have mentored as my children,” Gong countered but none looked at him as though they believed him.

Even the few spirits that gathered around the clearing, peering in past the trees and brush, regarded him skeptically. Gong even partly expected Tiandi to appear in the sky and shoot him a look from up high. Though, technically, it was unnecessary for Tiandi to be present at all.

So long as they were all around each other, it was quite the same as having him there.

“I have only been with a handful of Xiang but even I know that is not true,” Jun countered. “The last Xiang you really cared for was Soren but was that not just pity guiding you?”

Gong flinched at the drop of that name.

Soren had been the Xiang before last, a sweet but foolhardy boy from Agni who lost two of his disciples in an ambush by the Chaaya. The sudden and unexpected loss left him traumatized and both Gong and Jun had to return to him and fill in for his disciples just to motivate him enough to push forward.

In the end, Soren died after killing the Chaaya because of miasma poisoning.

He was nineteen when it happened.

“Enough of this back and forth,” Zhu, figuratively, put his foot down. “I would like a direct answer from you, Gong. What do you think we should do about Pangu?”

He nearly responded with “Why would my input even matter?” but he bit down on his tongue. It was clear, however, that Zhu or, rather, Tiandi had already decided on a plan and they were all due to follow it without question.

That was always the case.

From Gong’s memory, it had not even been something he was aware of when he first came to be blessed with the Tian aspect. Although, when he meditated on it, he noticed that he had been overwhelmed in the beginning. There had barely been any of him in control—it was almost all Tiandi.

It was not until a couple of centuries later that he began to acclimate.

His old life, back from when he was just a man, was something he thought about often and something he suspected his brothers did not entertain. Sometimes he would just stare at them and wonder if they remembered their lives from before at all.

If they missed those days.

If they ever regretted ascending.

Sometimes he did.

Gong was once called Blanc Gong Cuad and he lived in a small village with his family. He herded sheep and he was devoted to Tiandi. Every day, he left offerings on a shrine and, every night, he prayed for the basics—protection for his sheep, rain for the crops, and good health. In his spare time, he practiced meditation and some martial arts although, back then, he was admittedly quite bad at them.

Yet, his dedication paid off and Tiandi took note of him.

At the end of his life, he passed from the mortal realm into the spirit realm and he was met with Tiandi, Zhu, and Hwang. The rest, honestly, became fuzzy after that moment and the next prominent memory Gong had was looking at himself in the reflective surface of a pond.

So much of what made him Gong was gone and, in the place of those features, there was Tiandi. Every imperfection was made perfect by Him and, soon after he noticed that, he also noticed that he was not alone in his mind.

‘I look like Tiandi,’ he thought to himself.

Immediately, the reply came, ‘You are now Tiangong. This is you.’

It was jarring and, in hindsight, Gong was sure he gave over control of his new body to Tiandi more often than not because having to exist in that form was still too overwhelming. He became used to it, obviously, but he also learned how to shut Tiandi out.

There was nothing he did that demanded secrecy but Gong just wished for a little privacy now and then. Zhu had actually been the one to teach him the method when he noticed him struggling with Tiandi’s constant presence.

Zhu, out of all of them, was the most blended with Tiandi. Sometimes it was difficult to tell who was really at the forefront but, when he taught Gong how to get a little peace for himself, he surely did seem like just Zhu.

Though Gong had not seen that man in ages. Since the time of Xiang Kern, if he had to guess, and that was quite a while ago.

Now, it was as if three versions of Tiandi were staring Gong down, boring holes into him. He gulped and finally stumbled out an answer.

“Perhaps we should bring Pangu somewhere with just us and speak to him again?”

Zhu frowned, as expected, and Hwang gave a dry chuckle. “Like we did already? That went well, did it not, brother?”

“I do not think we made our stance clear,” Gong persisted.

“I felt the hints were quite heavy handed,” Jun replied.

Perhaps but they did not, definitively, tell Pangu what they wanted from him either. Just that they did not especially care for some of his disciples and that he was to be careful going forward. Plus, so much of their attention had been on Merra that they did not have the time to have a thorough talk.

Not that it would have changed much, Gong argued in his own mind. He knew how stubborn that boy was and he knew that he was going to continue doing what he felt was right no matter what. If they had told him to dump Kira—or else—he most certainly would not have done it.

Then they would have had this conversation much sooner.

“Still, we did not state our plans for him directly,” Gong said and then cleared his throat, “We just hoped and assumed that he would do as we wished.”

“He was a good boy,” Hwang retorted, “Why would we have expected anything else?”

“Exactly,” Zhu agreed, “He was well mannered and respectful. None of us could have expected…this.”

“Did I raise a different child than the rest of you?” Gong could not hold it in. Pangu was sweet, sure, and he wanted to please them but he always had his own ideas about things. He had lost count of the number of times the boy had followed up a lesson with “why?” Some rules of Tiandi he always regarded with a shrug and, had Gong been paying more attention, he could have easily seen the root of it. But to say his recent choices came as a complete surprise? He could not.

“What? Did you notice something we were all blind to?” Jun scoffed. “Please, enlighten us.”

“Nothing bad, not necessarily,” Gong defended, “Just…Pangu was always exceptionally curious. He questioned most of Tiandi’s rules and he wanted to know more about the cultures of other lands beyond what was required of him. He had very different impressions of…controversial…historical figures than we were used to. He always wanted to hear both sides of a story and he asked us more questions about what Shakti was like than we had ever heard from another Xiang.”

“So you mean to say we should have seen this coming?” Zhu arched an eyebrow.

“Not this, exactly…” Gong tried to swallow down the lump in his throat but it was impossible with all of their eyes on him. He even felt Tiandi’s eyes coming from within him.

“I suppose, in the future, we should avoid allowing children such curiosity and free thought,” Hwang mentioned and stroked down his beard, “Clearly, giving room for anything besides obedience is a recipe for disaster.”

Gong frowned. “Is this…truly…worse than the Xiang who married or had children? Or those who otherwise abandoned their task?”

“He denounced Tiandi in front of people!” Zhu snapped. “He proclaimed to know more than Him and encouraged others to do the same. How could you even possibly suggest he is the same as those who simply acted out of their selfish base desires?”

“They are equally heinous to me,” Hwang replied, “And I believe we should deal with Pangu in the same manner we handled those Xiang.”

It was chilling to hear it said so causally—especially since Hwang was, biologically, Pangu’s father. He held no love in his eyes as he flagrantly suggested ending his son’s life.

As the three of them mumbled and nodded, Gong felt a thousand miles away. He thought of taking Pangu into his arms when he was a babe and making him laugh so that he would stop crying. He thought of teaching him how to write and how to read older scripts. He thought of chasing him around the temple grounds when he escaped bath time.

How was he supposed to be alright with just killing him?

“Gong,” Zhu said his name like a command. When he made eye contact, the eldest continued, “Do you have any objections?”

His gaze jumped from one Prince to the next and they each glared at him, as if they expected him to delve into a speech about how they needed to operate with more grace rather than be so heavy handed. He wanted to but he also knew he was in a precarious position. He had felt it for a time but, since Pangu began rattling the cage, it had become even more apparent.

Gong was not on the same page as his brothers. He knew it. They knew it. And they were constantly looking for little things to pull them further apart. Little things they could grab onto and exacerbate. He felt it in every interaction, every look.

If he made one wrong move or said something they resented, he could be looking at the end of his existence.

It had happened once already, although it was before Gong’s time so he really only heard stories from Zhu and, briefly, Tiandi. The details were vague, as one could expect, and Gong only knew the name Badou and that he was the second Prince to be made, before Hwang.

Something had gone wrong with the Tian aspect in Badou—he did not take it well and he had to be let go which, incidentally, killed him. In his resting place, a temple was built to honor him and to keep his memory alive though no one, outside of them, knew about it.

The temple of Tian-Badou, the temple they raised Pangu in, was a constant reminder that the Princes were lucky they ascended with no problems.

Gong, however, had started to wonder about the story he was told, especially as he felt, more and more, pushed out of the group. When he saw them with Merra’s disciples—with Gongji in particular—he began to feel anxious. His name was already similar enough and he was the clear favorite.

What would stop them, really, from killing Gong and having Gongji assume his role? Would anyone even notice?

“Gong?” Jun said and waved his hand out. “Objections?”

“Oh.” He felt his throat tighten. “No.”

It seemed no one had expected him to agree to the plan and Zhu, in particular, looked surprised. “Oh…well then. I suppose we should prepare.”

Gong nodded, wordlessly, as his hands balled into fists in his robes. Of course he did not want Pangu to die but he also could not help him if he was killed first.

He would need to play along with the group until he was able to leave and be somewhere on his own. Somewhere he could summon an old friend and desperately plot.

[therealmofamorus]

Prompt

OG Crossover

The difference between Zhu and Jane when it comes to NNN with Jaune is that when Jane teases him, it is on purpose. She knows how to get him all riled up.

Jaune once again look at the mirror. His eyes was raw and bloodshot with a minor hint of...unwellness within

Jaune: You almost lost the NNN challenge and prove to my male peers you are not a man of focus commitment sheer will but a animal enslaved by his base instinct. But you will win this challenge and be a man among man.

He nodded himself as he turned way from his bathroom mirror to get out of the room and opened the door to the bathroom...and freeze when his dark blue eyes landed on Jane who was wearing nothing showing off her perfect buxom hourglass frame to his bloodshot blue eyes.

Jane: Oh hello there, Jaune. Didn't think you was in the bathroom.

The beautiful and seductive rat thiren said in a not-so-innocent voice as she walked pass the blonde knight with a seductive sway to her wide hips.

Jaune: *begin to weep hot burning tears of blood*

[aeslinnreads]

“Audre Lorde writes, “This hatred and our anger are very different. Hatred is the fury of those who do not share our goals, and its object is death and destruction. Anger is a grief of distortions between peers, and its object is change."

Be Not Afraid of Love (Mimi Zhu)

[minsarasarahair]

If I have to choose which one moment I can think of is the scene when LouZuo fall hard to each other for first time, its these. I'm not saying this is the reason why they are pursuing each other but more like the starting point where they begins to fall in love with each other.

Lou Zhu's first fall. When this scene happened, the text didn't reveal that Zuo Yunqi is smiling. We only found out that Zuo Yunqi is actually smiling in the mainstory's last chapter, from Lou Zhu's perspective when Lou Zhu tried to reminisce it. From this, we can say that Lou Zhu probably fell for Zuo Yunqi's small gesture of giving gift and smile. The gift is small but its the thoughts that counts and if its used for the right place it can make a big impact. Its a good metaphor for Zuo Yunqi's feelings. His feelings look small as if its just a mere like but his love language is actually really big. The gift is like Zuo Yunqi's budding feelings for Lou Zhu and Lou Zhu's reaction to that is to treat the gift carefully even if Zuo Yunqi tells him to sell it. Isn't that so cute??? The rich guy with business mindset who love money is refusing to sell Zuo Yunqi's gift.

The spy said in the midst of chaos "When I met Mr. Zuo he was still conscious and left a message." Lou Zhu stared at him suddenly and said: "Speak." The spy scratched his head: "I didn't quite understand it clearly... He was talking about fragments... a gift... asking if you sold them..." Zuo Yunqi had just unveiled Zuo Dao's plot back then and he opened his palm towards Lou Zhu. In his palm was a small piece of Naihe incense pill. Zuo Yunqi said: "The market price of this incense is scary. I thought I would keep some. It's too little to use for medicine but can be sold for a lot of money." Lou Zhu was confused and asked, "Why are you giving this to me?" The young man with indifference expression then smiled and said "Don't I have to pay a rent to live in your Best Tower?" Lou Zhu turned his head and looked at the unconscious Zuo Yunqi on the bed saying in a daze "No. I didn't sell it. I have kept it with me all this time." - from No Medicine chapter

Zuo Yunqi's first fall. Zuo Yunqi tried his best to not let his guard down and show no trust to Lou Zhu because of the fear Lou Zhu will interrogate or torture him to death for information. He can't tell his real motive yet to make his plan work. But what he get is a genuine smile from Lou Zhu who tells he's willing to trust Zuo Yunqi without any basis. I think Zuo Yunqi probably like that Lou Zhu is a bad man from the outside but still has sincerity and vulnerability inside him if you look deep into him because it reminds him of himself who was raised to do evil deeds but deep inside he's actually questioning why he always felt he don't belonged with his peers. Also, Lou Zhu's smile probably destroyed him lol. The fact that he's lying to the person who decided to trust him and risking their position to help him for his agenda, yeah. Zuo Yunqi's thought process is definitely like "No matter what he do or say, don't ever give in! You work hard for this plan! *LZ smiles* Damn it!!!"

Lou Zhu said: "There's an indescribable familiarity about you but I can't figure it out yet." The secret room was very cramped and the two stood to each other very closely. Lou Zhu took a step closer to him with expresionless face, and Zuo Yunqi took a step back by instinct. Lou Zhu said: "Maybe you really are a transmigrator, but you don't want to tell the truth because of your circumtances." Zuo Yunqi kept silent with caution. Lou Zhu took another step closer. Zuo Yunqi had nowhere to retreat. His back was against the wall. He looked up and stared at Lou Zhu, like a trapped beast with its fur standing on its end. Lou Zhu said: "Maybe you are telling the truth. There was indeed a transmigrator who taught you." Zuo Yunqi vaguely heard hope of life from his tone, but he suspected that this was some kind of trick, and for a moment he couldn't think of the next step. Lou Zhu suddenly smiled and said: "I hope you can tell me one day." Zuo Yunqi was stunned in the spot. Lou Zhu already turned around and said: "I have no reason to believe you but I still believe in you. If you can fool me, fooling the emperor shouldn't be a problem." Zuo Yunqi was surprised and asked: "What?" Lou Zhu said: "I will send you to the palace tomorrow." Zuo Yunqi looked up in disbelief. - from Medicine chapter