#she goes by bai lu in the story

[youngbonescomic]

CHAPTER 4 FRONT N' CENTER [pg.19]

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[carlyleandco]

okay my fellow Cdrama fanatics, I’m in need of some recs as someone who is still fairly new to the scene…

Historical Cdramas I’ve enjoyed

Story of Minglan ~ this show is my Roman Empire…like I don’t go more than a couple of days without thinking about it. Love how much depth there was to the characters and their relationships. I got so much satisfaction from watching Minglan run circles around every one else using her intelligence and wits. Every time Gu Tingye popped up in the background as her backup support I lost it! Talk about power couple.

Love Like the Galaxy ~ first historical Cdrama I have watched and apart from Minglan, I think it has ruined the rest for me. This drama has so many layers. Niao Niao is an intelligent, and opportunistic female lead. She is unabashedly herself, and the story is not afraid to depict her as unlikeable at first instance. I deeply appreciated the focus on female relationships and family. And Ling Buyi has ruined all other antiheroes for me lmao

Destined ~ I thought this one would be on par with Minglan at first, but it did lose its way in the latter half. I felt the female lead was relegated to the background, which was frustrating as they built her up to be this shrewd businesswoman and then we never get to see her in action. I did appreciate how wholesome and untoxic Jiu Si was as a romantic lead. I thought her relationship with the SML could have been drawn out more, however.

Romance of Tiger and Rose ~ I don’t think this drama is anywhere on par with the above three, but I still enjoyed it. Definitely a fun and unserious romp. Zhou Lu Si is just so likeable in all her roles.

Xianxia I’ve enjoyed:

Love and Redemption ~ I literally fell down a hole with this drama. I could not stop watching. Even though the female leads starts with that token immaturity Cdramas are known for, it’s explained in-world and she goes through a noticeable growth/stepping into adulthood arc. I also LOVED how powerful she was and how often she got to use her powers. Also the romance? Sifeng?!!? Yeah I was a mess. However, one thing that irritated me was the lack of agency Xuan Ji had toward the end of the show.

Eternal Love ~ it’s a classic for a reason. I loved Bai Qian’s resolve, steadfastness, and maturity. Her relationship with Ye Hau blossomed naturally, and they had different obstacles to face as a couple as opposed to what I have seen so far.

Love Between Fairy and Devil ~ speaks for itself, and I love enemies to lovers.

Extra: points if the female lead is powerful, or is on a journey to realising her power. Whether that’s through her intelligence, empathy, or in the case of xianxia, actual mystical power. Bonus points if she’s a character like Xuan Ji who can go supernova and destroy everyone lol

Historical dramas I have not enjoyed:

The Sword and the Brocade ~ I didn’t even finish this one. My overall impression was, having already finished Minglan prior, eating cardboard after having been to a 5 star Michelin restaurant. Everything was so bland and dull, even down to the cinematography.

Princess Silver ~ I dragged myself to the finish line with this one. The plot just became so utterly ludicrous and relied on the audience being invested in the main leads without actually letting them spend screen time together. I also hated that we had glimpses of the female leads power but that she never got to fully realise this. Just overly contrived and trite.

Xianxia I did not enjoy

Ashes of Love ~ this was the first xianxia I ever watched some years back. Given I was new to the genre, I think I found some of the characteristic features a bit jarring and I stopped watching Cdramas as a result. If I watched it again I may be able to make it through. Ultimately, I just could not stomach how naive the main female character. I understand this is typical, but it was another level of nauseating that I have not found an equal to since.

[salt-hag]

fall 2024 cdrama + kdrama check-in list

haven't done a check in/wrap up post of dramas watched in a while so wanted to do one before the end of the year ✨ hoping to have finished a lot of these and have a list of reviews at around new years

dramas watched

story of kunning palace (cdrama)

8.5/10 for me. This is my year of loving costume period cdramas and I kicked it off with sokp. Really enjoyed the time travel/redemption plot line and Bai Lu as a somewhat reformed evil empress.

the legend of shenli (cdrama)

9/10 for me. A little slow in places but this goes down in my list of fav drama romances. Badass and admirable female lead and quirky oddball male lead who simps for her (as he should). I found the fantasy somewhat goofy but lovably so. This is a *comfort* show for me now. Has the best happy ending/post finale last episode I've seen up to now.

the double (cdrama)

9.5/10 for me for the sheer melodrama. Is this technically a better drama than the legend of shenli? No, of course not. Is it entertaining as hell? Yes, so it's gets a .5 boost. Costume period one-woman's-revenge, absolutely delicious. Hilarious male lead who loves the drama of it all and is very handsome. I was telling a friend about this and she was confused. Weren't you just watching this earlier this year? No, dear reader, she had the revenge stuff confused with Story of Kunning Palace. I have a type, and that is conniving women getting what they want in beautiful period costumes while a handsome, competent man answers their beck and call and simps all the while.

currently watching

RIGHT NOW: Are You the One (cdrama) - ep 22/40

This started out as costume period brain popcorn for me but now there's intrigue and back-stabbing and a clever woman out-scheming men in power so. yeah i'm enjoying this i guess whatever...

RIGHT NOW: Cinderella at 2am (kdrama) - ep 3/10

I haven't watched a kdrama in a while and I wanted a comforting, brain-popcorn modern rom com. I think this will deliver.

My Journey to You (cdrama) - on ep 20/24

I am DETERMINED to finish the gorgeous scheming assassin ladies period drama. I WILL. It's just the main plotline made me snooze a bit at ep 20 so it's taking me a while.

The Princess Royal (cdrama) - ep 6/40

Snowfall (cdrama) - 17/24

dropped or on hold (I'm a mood watcher)

[on hold] Love Like the Galaxy part 2 (cdrama) - ep 12/29

[on hold] Meet you at the blossom (uncensored period BL, Thai) - ep 4/12

[on hold] Lost You Forever season one (cdrama) - ep 17/39

[on hold] In Blossom (cdrama) - ep 22/32

Another one I am DETERMINED to finish!! But I don't vibe with the main actress. I loved the one who played the female lead before the body swapping. Otherwise this drama has everything I would ever want: costume period murder mysteries, a very beautiful man who devotedly simps for his nice wife, a clever female lead with quirky interests, BODY SWAPPING AND IDENTITY SHENANIGANS.

[can't decide to drop or not] Only For Love (cdrama) - ep 21/36

I can't really stand modern-setting cdramas, I'm sorry. I was watching this one for Wang Hedi. I somehow made it to episode 21 despite the cringe. Might finish watching this while pmsing.

[can't decide] Tale of the Nine-tailed 1938 (kdrama) - ep 9/12

Idk why but I just found the plotline kind of boring?? I loved the extra character and world lore. But I had problems with the original TotNT too so.

[dropped] Till the End of the Moon (cdrama) - ep 20/40

This was gorgeous but I like sweet romance, I'm sorry. This was too dramatic for even me. I wanted Bai Lu to love her problematic malewife!!

[dropped] Miss Night and Day (kdrama) - ep 2/16

Loved the concept, found the show too painful to watch.

____

anyway hoping to get back into kdramas this fall or in 2025. we'll see!!

[gizkasparadise]

What are your top five xianxia cdramas? And, on the other end, what are your top five historical kdramas (any time period - I'm not well versed in this to know the various types names yet xD)? Oh, and lastly, your top five drama recs that are the most (generally) underrated? Thanks!

nice!

TOP FIVE XIANXIA (& I'M ALSO GONNA INCLUDE XUANHUAN)

love and redemption. girl meets boy. boy's part of a cursed theatre troupe and part of masochism tango of reincarnation with girl that lasts 10 life times. girl is actually kind of the god of war. crack, gender reversal, gender fuckery at large, feminist and queer friendly. incredible OST. just all-around one of my favorite dramas ever.

lost you forever (part 1). a xuanhuan vs. xianxia, but im not passionate enough about 5 xianxia for this list lol. another drama with gender fuckery. a fantastic FL and beautiful relationship building (and unbuilding) and character-driven story. dont even need the second part for this to be a favorite!!

love between fairy and devil. all those tropes you fucking loved when you were like 13 on ff.net given a lot of heart and near-perfect execution (aside from that ending). awesome characters, beautiful costumes and art direction. super addicting and bingeable

the legends. bai lu playing a powerhungry demoness and acquiring a dysfunctional harem in the process. xu kai looking like a sad blue-haired puppy. a monk that creates an entire demon because he has 1 boner. sismance. i had a lot of fun with this one and pointedly did not watch the last 5 or so eps lol

till the end of the moon. there's parts i genuinely hate and would not watch ever again. there's parts that are fucking incredible. sort of like the main couple, i have a love/hate relationship with this drama but when it hits it really hits

honorable mention: eternal love/10 miles of peach blossoms (xianxia fuckery at its finest weighed down somewhat by tedious side plots and one of the most infuriating 2nd FLs of all time)

TOP FIVE HISTORICAL KDRAMAS

gaksital/bridal mask. set in the 1930s. inverse character arcs between the hero and villain. dysfunctional romance amped up to the nth level. high stakes, high consequences, and a cast full of well-developed and written characters. bring tissues

empress ki. girl crushing and girl bossing her way through two kingdoms, one of the best FLs of all time. with her is a besotted baby enemy emperor and a Noble Good besotted powerless king as she goes from slave to smuggler to concubine to empress. chef's kiss

the princess' man. you want feral wrecks for your male leads? female leads ready to throw down in a parking lot? if you like lovers to enemy (?) lovers and star-crossed romances this one is a must

the king loves. this one's also on my underrated list. the first 4ish eps are a chore, but if you get past them you have the love triangle to end all love triangles, interesting palace politics with a fascinating "evil" empress, and im siwan getting to go a lil unhinged as a treat. it's the definition of an idol drama but gd did i love this and i binged the hell out of it no regrets

mr sunshine. le cinema!!! an interesting time in history (1870s-1880s) with a wide range of flawed but compelling characters centered around one of the most badass FLs of all time. winner of the #1 second lead syndrome contest for me with dong mae. only downfall to this one is i felt negative chemistry with the endgame ship but the show is good enough without it

honorable mention: chicago typewriter isnt on this list because it's only kind of half a historical drama BUT OMG WATCH IT. it's in my top 3 kdrama and while it has a slow build once it kicks off it fucking goes off

TOP FIVE UNDERRATED DRAMAS

the king loves as mentioned above. i think why it has a lower rating is the first handful of eps are kind of a snoozefest and there's a bit of an upset with the romance (which i was 900% for). but it's a fucking fun ride and full of awesome goryeo palace drama adventures

kairos. not underrated, since it has decent scores on reviewer sites, but underhyped? not enough people have seen this one and it's an incredible time-travel thriller that i found way more interesting than other popular dramas of its type like signal

cheese in the trap. the ending's a hot mess, but compared to how some 2020-onward dramas are ending it's poetry. a solid adaptation of a really great webtoon, awesome cinematography, and one of the few dramas ive seen that actually capture the campus/college life experience right

discovery of romance. the emotional cheating element causes a lot of folks to hate it/jump ship, but i love this one (and gd BOTH the fl and ml emotionally cheat ftr he's not innocent in this hot mess). jung yumi + eric mun are one of my favorite kdrama duos and they kill it, and kim seulgi plays an incredible second female lead

when a man falls in love. man people HATED this one but i think it's a blast when you're in the mood for mess + gangsters. if you're into watching fucked up romances with severe power imbalances and the dysfunction that follows, this one's for you. it's not perfect but definitely not deserving of its 6.8 MDL rating (gd!)

[starcrossed591]

I’m currently eight eps into The Story of Kunning Palace, and I really appreciate how ice cold Bai Lu is playing Jiang Xue Ning. It’s not like she went back in time to right wrongs and suddenly turned into a warm, caring person. If anything, she’s *more* calculating and manipulative than she was the first time around. It’s a fun contrast to how she played Susu in TTEOTM—Susu was certainly at least trying to manipulate Tantai Jin, but even as Ye Xiwu, she was an incredibly warm person. Ning is the opposite.

That said, I’m very interested to see where this goes and what makes her run hot 😏

[shijiujun]

Literally my one and only long post on TTEOTM ending:

Luo Yunxi and Bai Lu really gave stellar performances if they don’t win every award out there especially for Luo Yunxi who played every single nuanced version of sad, depressed, happy, sinister, vengeful, longing, pining and devotion out there like who else could?!

Also like the ending really left big question marks on Ye Qingyu and GYJW and YBC demon you know like???

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CGI was damn amazing and production etc. was top-tier, but danggg will yall pls fix that ending?! Also a fun note that TTEOTM sold up to 13M RMB worth in merchandise DURING the airing period and broke some records I think 

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BE or OE or HE and does it matter?

Yes appreciating BEs is one thing and BEs are certainly great for certain plots and shows, BUT-

We’ve seen this BE in xianxia and sometimes wuxia/historical as if writers are dumping set BEs in just for fun, it’s almost always the same formula and not every show requires the same treatment? At this point we’re all certain none of the xianxias maybe a bit of the wuxia/historical too are going to end well (Immortal Samsara, Novoland, One and Only although I’d say O&O was perhaps deserved) or we get OEs (Winner is Love, LYX’s previous xianxia), or we get the split-second HEs (omg where do I begin, Eternal Love, CLJ, Pillow Book, The Blue Whisper, omg the list goes on) - I’m almost expecting either full BE or the guy to die and then turn up when the female lead turns around on a street or at home or whatever hundreds of years later cuz he comes back but you may or may not see him on screen

TTJ for one, based on his character and personality, was trying so hard to make things work, to give and give and give to the people he loved and the people who gave to him - sure, the writer wrote it as a BE and i respect that, but they also wrote the HE i.e. it’s canon, and the show not giving us that for whatever reason is depressing because the moral of the story is TTJ suffered so fucking much and led such a tired life just for a few happy moments and still was the sacrificial lamb. Yes he was happy too or whatever, he understood the circumstances, but is it so hard to give the canon HE ending to it and giving him the ending he truly deserves for all that he’s done?!

Also it was a strangely cut ending for a BE/OE whatever that was, like three stitched frames that faded out into each other, like I don’t know what the editors were doing but oomph an undeserved ending is one thing, and undeserved AND weirdly cut ending is another thing

And yeah if we read it as him being in the clam then yes it’s a mild HE but leaning towards an OE, and if we count the audio drama snippet sure HE, but no that don’t count!!!!

I feel pretty calm after the initial confusion since we already knew it was likely going to be BE BUT this calm is at the expense of watching TTJ suffer 10,000 times in the past 40 episodes we’ve been desensitized for the last death like don’t tell me yall aren’t tired of this show as much as you love it I AM EXHAUSTED MENTALLY - the “ok” i feel probably isn’t because it’s really ok because if we chose, we’d probably think he deserves his rest and happiness after 500+ years of suffering with happy days he can probably count on one hand 

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Read the novel for the HEs: This is literally the only thing that’ll save you unless Youku gives us a good video cut tomorrow or end of the week you know?! You’ll truly see what TTJ deserved and we know he didn’t deserve this because WE DON’t EVEN HAVE TO WRITE THE FIX-IT OURSELVES IT LITERALLY EXISTS?!?!?!

But TBF, personally, I have slightly different feelings on the novel because Susu didn’t seem to love him as much at the end as she did in the drama, the drama did that beautifully

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TL;DR Tantai Jin deserved better, and the us who suffered with TTJ deserved better just on principle!!!

[kdramacrybaby]

Who Rules The World (2022)

Genre: Wuxia, Fantasy, Romance

Synopsis: An important relic has been stolen, throwing the world into a political chaos in a fight to gain power. The political world collides with the martial art world as everyone wants to be the one who comes out on top. Bai Fengxi is a carefree person who never hesitates to put herself in harms way to help someone else. Hei Fengxi is known as her rival, but he is much more refined and prefers to work behind the scenes. As the war for power rages on, the two have to join hands and help each other regain peace in the world once again.

Episode info: 40 episodes / Runtime around 45 minutes

Lead cast: Zhao Lusi (Bai Fengxi), Yang Yang (Hei Fengxi), Leon Lai (Huang Chao), xuan Lu (Feng Qiwu), Zhang Hao Wei (Yu Wuyan)

Link to watch: You can watch on Netflix or Dramacool

Drama rec masterlist | Drama rant thread (beware of spoilers)

That gif explains their whole relationship quite well. She bravely storms ahead to help wherever she can, and he follows after, worried that something might happen to her. Wherever she goes, he's not far behind.

Also, the way he looks at her from the very first episode makes me weak. Their relationship and whole dynamic is definitely the star of the show, I love their love so much. Their strengths and weaknesses complement each other so well, and there is never a time when they would not lie down their own life to save the other. They never let miscommunications go for too long (though they will use it as an opportunity to sometimes tease each other), and they always make sure the other knows just how important they are - be that through words or actions.

I adore Zhao Lusi, and her chemistry with Yang Yang was just amazing. The romance really carried this whole drama.

It is very like Legend of Fei in a way (and not just because it's another Wuxia drama). We have the badass female lead who do not need to man to know exactly what she is worth - but if a handsome, chivalrous man happen to follow her around like a lost puppy, she's not about to let that go. She can fight for herself and might not always know her limits, but eventually learn to lean on and rely on the support she has around her.

Now, politics is not my favorite theme for a drama, and this is heavy on it, but if that's something you'll like, this drama is even more for you.

40 episodes is a bit long for me, but they mostly managed to move the story along nicely, and when I did start to get a little bit bored with it, it ramped right back up again to keep me hooked.

There are a lot of characters to keep track of, so just keep that in mind if you, like me, struggle to remember lots of names and faces (especially in dramas where the spoken names and titles aren't always the same as the subtitles).

All in all, a drama that I will definitely remember for the romance, and one I will be comparing other couples to in the future.

[moononmyfloor]

Not many Cdramas caught nor retained my attention in the 2nd half of 2022, but the few I did watch were pure gems. However I didn't think I have enough entrees to fill 30 days with, so I cut the number down and also conjoined some. Without further ado here we go!

My C-Drama Review of the 1st Half of 2022

(Concept loosely based on anniedelavoye' s. I did hers last year but then realised I simply cannot submit only one entry per day NOR wait a whole year to do a review. I do things by bulk 😆. So I broke the reviewing into two halves so I can do this with fresher memory and also more dramas will get the spotlight.)

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1. First Drama I finished in the 1st half of 2022

Love Between Fairy and Devil! Lots of praises have already been sung about this show, I don't have anything new to add.🤭

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2. New Favourite Actor/Actress

Zhai Zilu, Zhou Dawei, Wang Youjun, Chang Long.

All caught my attention this year, all very promising! I hope they have successful years ahead! (And please don't end up being evil people :( 🙏)

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3. Best Performance

Wang Xiao and Yan Bingyan as Zhou baba and mama in Examination for Everyone. These two veteran actors brought this two characters and their dynamic to life SO realistically and endearingly, you could almost touch it. It was like seeing my own parents onscreen. Mad respect.

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4. Favorite Drama OST

This is an odd answer but the first few seconds of the opening theme song of Fei Teng Ren Sheng captivated me. I was like: "Hold on. That's one BEAUTIFUL melody?" And I replayed and replayed that part over and over. The rest is good too but it was really the part before the verse that I felt was quite unique.

I also liked this song from Side Story of Fox Volant.

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5. Most Watched Genre

I think I should remove this question here onwards. I never pick a drama by genre, I have no aversion to almost any. I do have a preference to Period dramas and Slice of Life but they are not really taken to account if everything else about the story doesn't appeal to me. So this question goes nowhere and indicates nothing in my case.

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6. A Drama I Dropped

Light Chaser Rescue. Its first episode was one of the most annoying I have ever seen in my life. The ML cool-hero driving and the FL sassy-heroine force hitching a ride and the entire sequence of the car crash rescue had me 🙄. A show either has to own up the wackiness or should be full on realistic, for me. This was neither here nor there.

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7. Favorite Character of 2022 2nd Half

I don't think there was anyone I fell head-over-heels for this time, but did like Madam Danchuan in New Life Begins a lot. I just love her aura of power, how fiercely protective she's of her women, AND how she will always allow you to have the final choice. She never forces her authority to make decisions for others, no matter how good she might internally think it'd be for you.

I also liked Bai Lu a lot, she's just a minor character but she stood out most to me among the Solar Term girls. She's sassy, and I think if I am to travel into NLB verse I'd like to be Bai Lu. Just like her I don't particularly care for men, I want to mind my own business and just chill with my jiejies lol.

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8. Best Cinematography

I should remove this question too because I feel like I'm not professional enough for this, haha. Sometimes I love the visuals of some dramas only to find out that from technical aspects it actually sucked.

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9. An Older Drama I Watched

Red Sorghum (2014). It's a CRIME that Red Sorghum's drama version has only ep 1 eng subbed, but also, having watched the movie I know how brutal it can get so maybe its a good thing only ep 1 is subbed, and after all ep 1 ends in a kind-of conclusive place so it does feel like a standalone story of its own, and I HIGHLY recommend watching it.

Do yourself a favor and watch this single ep because baby Zhou Xun and baby Huang Xuan are SO CUTE! Like toe-curlingly cute, I was squealing the whole time! 😍😍😍😍😍😍

Also it has some GORGEOUS backdrops!

https://youtu.be/zh55pwzBNag

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10. A Drama that kept Me on Edge

Nothing really. I mean I did eagerly wait everyday for new eps of NLB and Da Kao but that's not the same.

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11. A Drama Location I Want to Visit

I kind of want to visit Hengdian replicas of real locations, then visit the actual thing (such as Forbidden City) and try to compare and contrast lmao. I wonder how similar they are!

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12. A Popular Drama I Didn't Enjoy

Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty. Not due to any particular fault of the drama itself, the production and visuals and aesthetics all were excellent, and all the ingredients were right there. I simply felt it didn't particularly offer anything I haven't already seen. The first ep reminded me strongly of Legend of the Demon Cat, which was a movie I loved a lot and still had a pretty fresh memory of. Sometimes strong acting and unique execution will carry a story that is otherwise pretty tried-and-tired, but unfortunately that was not the case here either.

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13. Best Scriptwriting and Directing

Though I wouldn't say they were the best overall scripts, New Life Begins had the BEST female character writing I've seen in ages, and Da Kao (Exam for Everyone) had the most thorough writing of family dynamics.

Directing-wise, I liked what I saw but nothing that particularly blew my mind.

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14. Best Production

The Long River. Even though I didn't get to properly see it yet, I heard they made an artificial Yellow river simulation for all the flooding scenes and there are LOTS of those scenes in this drama and... whew. It's not often you get a proper serious historical drama and when you do, it's usually difficult for any other drama to beat them production scale wise anyway😆.

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15. A Drama that Made Me Laugh

Mr. Bad. The "character from a story comes to real life and messes with the other lead's life" premise will always be full of potential for unhinged shenanigans, and Mr.Bad doesn't fail. The main leads are so fun and the dynamic never boring, and Chen Zheyuan is SUCH a hoot with his expressions.

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16. A Drama that Made Me Cry

NLB and Da Kao did, but they were more like tears of exhilaration. Instead lemme share this very good crying scene by Wang Yibo and Wang Jinsong in Being a Hero haha.

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17. Most Satisfying Drama

New Life Begins owns my whole heart and soul! You can read my review for ep 1-14 here, and my current opinion of the drama remains the same if not better!

Even though it is a fluffy and ahistorical drama, lots of "proper" period dramas could learn from NLB about how to write your women as intelligent, dimensional individuals and not caricatures fallen victims to irrational jealousy and hatred. Since it's a feel good romcom everything always turn out for the better and that may not always be the case in history, yes. But this approach that these women tried to make a difference still holds valid regardless the genre.

You should learn that Past =×= 100% Oppression, 0% fighting back when it came to women, the same way Modern times doesn't mean 0% Oppression and 100% feminism (laughs in sarcasm). The foundations of how far we have come has been laid since centuries ago, AND there are lots of fronts that we have actually backtracked/regressed in compared to the past as well. Progressiveness is rarely linear.

Ok I digressed. Back to review 🤭.

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18. Most Dissapointing Drama

Hu Tong. Life in Beijing hutong neighbourhood across eras told through 3 women of 3 generations of a family is quite possibly one of of the most interesting premises I've heard, but the first episode dissapointed me thoroughly with its unconvincing, in your face and over the top characters and storyline. Such potential, gone down the drain. If the drama didn't take itself seriously, neither would the audience.

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19. Favorite Wardrobe

Hao Jia's wardrobe in NLB and Dongfang Qingcang's in LBFAD. The fine details and embroidery are 😘🤌. 100% would wear both styles, depending on the day lol.

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20. A Drama That Deserves a Shoutout

Our Times. An omnibus type of drama where you'll be told slice of life stories of people in such interesting and niche jobs that you rarely get to see portrayed realistically in dramas. Such as traditional Chinese theatre dancers, or a sports coach in a rural area with minimal facilities. Also if you get uninterested with one story you can jump few episodes ahead to the next, so that's kind of a plus too, haha.

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21. A Drama that Taught Me New Things

Are You Safe. Taught me lots of valuable tips about cyber safety. Unfortunately that was the only positive thing about this drama and I think it won't be presumptuous to say literally 99% people who watched it will agree with me.

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22. Best Relationship

The care and nuance all the families were written in The Examination for Everyone was through-the-roof excellent. Unnecessarily stereotyped toxic Asian family portrayals out, empathetic and 3D Asian parent-children dynamics in! Gosh, I saw myself, my family, my society, my culture in this drama. Thank you and much love.

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23. A Drama I Wanted to Watch but Couldn't

The Long River. No subs 😭

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24. An Upcoming Drama that I'm Excited for

JoL 2 and Under the Microscope! 🤩 (Please come 😭)

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More posts by me

[mycatwantstoeatpins]

I need to yell about Sang Jiu.

Below the cut because this is very long and it has many spoilers for Till the End of the Moon up till episode 17.

So Till the End of the Moon is about Tantai Jin (played by Luo Yunxi) and Li Susu / Ye Xiwu (played by Bai Lu), but starting at episode 11 the characters enter a sleeping spirit's dream and we get the story of Sang Jiu (a clam spirit, played by Bai Lu) and Ming Ye (the God of War, played by Luo Yunxi).

Episode 11

Ming Ye's fighting a war against the Devil God who's trying to destroy the world; Sang Jiu lives in the Mo river with her father and brother (Sang You) and watches Ming Ye from afar because she has a crush on him.

Episode 12

In one of their battles, the Devil God injures Ming Ye and he falls from the sky into Sang Jiu's river; she carries him to safety and draws away the Devil God's soldiers. But Tian Huan (Goddess of Flying Snakes, daughter of the former God of War and in love with Ming Ye) secretly steals the crystal from the Water-Calming Stone to keep Ming Ye alive - the crystal keeps the river spirits alive but she thinks they're too lowly to care about.

Sang Jiu sacrifices her own divine essence to replace the crystal, putting herself at risk of being overwhelmed by her demonic energy (previously suppressed by her cultivation and divine essence). Sang Jiu's dad guilts Ming Ye into marrying Sang Jiu so she can go to the immortal realm and be healed there. Tian Huan is in a coma so she doesn't know about this yet.

[Description: a hazy still of Ming Ye and Sang Jiu in their white and red wedding clothes.]

Ming Ye and Sang Jiu fly to the immortal realm in their wedding pavilion. For this whole scene they keep looking sideways at each other but they're both too shy to speak. On the journey, Sang You tells Ming Ye that the river spirits may be insignificant to the gods, but he'd better look after Sang Jiu. Ming Ye promises and Sang Jiu thinks '我一定会幸福的 / I will have a happy life.' (foreshadowing!)

And then she sits in her bedroom for hours waiting for him and eventually falls asleep. The next day, he tells her there's nothing between them and that he'll never enter her bedroom. The two maids who serve in his household tell Sang Jiu he has no hobbies and spends all his time training or fighting.

Episode 13

Sang Jiu begins to win Ming Ye over by taking up war training, sharing food with him and generally being adorable. She meets Ming Ye's friends, Chu Huang the Goddess of Space and Ji Ze the God of Time, who are stunned to realise he's falling in love. Chu Huang gives Sang Jiu a gift of divine power that will connect her to Ming Ye, but only once.

Sang Jiu begins to succumb to her rising demonic energy and visits Sang You who tells her what's happening and asks why Ming Ye hasn't dual cultivated with her to help her suppress it.

[Description: Sang You, all set to storm heaven because the God of War isn't treating his little sister right.]

Sang Jiu asks Ming Ye to dual cultivate with her and he agrees (!). They have a nice time. Meanwhile, Tian Huan wakes up and sees them. Ming Ye tells Sang Jiu to come and see him whenever she needs to suppress her demonic energy.

Tian Huan is pissed and goes to see Ming Ye, who tells he and Sang Jiu will leave the palace if she doesn't want to share it with them. Tian Huan finds Sang Jiu that Ming Ye finds her annoying and that dual cultivating is harmful to him and weakens him in battle. She offers to help Sang Jiu suppress her demonic energy.

[Description: close-up of Tian Huan looking at Sang Jiu (offscreen) as she says, 'You thought you were special? / 以为你是特别的']

Later, Ming Ye wonders why Sang Jiu has stopped coming to him for dual cultivation and gathers some starlight to give to her. Sang Jiu goes to Tian Huan for help with her demonic energy, and Tian Huan tricks her into bathing in caustic water. Tian Huan finds Ming Ye and tells him Sang Jiu has been avoiding him because she's fallen in love with someone else.

Episode 14

Sang Jiu recalls a story her father told her about two gods who tested the sincerity of a king, causing him to dismember himself. (foreshadowing!) Ming Ye continues to pine, but doesn't go to Sang Jiu or talk to her for. Reasons. Presumably.

Ming Ye and the other gods hold a council and make a plan to sacrifice themselves to finally defeat the Devil God. Ming Ye expects to die, and obviously talking to his wife is out of the question, so he sends Sang Jiu a certificate of divorce. When she goes to see him, he puts up a magical barrier between them.

She asks why he's divorcing her and he tells her he's tired of her. Sang Jiu says she thought she could endure enough suffering to prove her sincerity, like the king in the story, (he almost breaks here) and asks if he ever felt anything for her.

Obviously it isn't enough just to say he didn't love her. Instead he says:

Sang Jiu, from the moment you and I arrived in the Shangqing realm on our wedding carriage, to the moment you ate the untouched divine fruit, and to your each and every move when we were together, never, I've never loved you.

[Description: a close up of Sang Jiu as Ming Ye tells her he never loved her.]

(Bai Lu is so good in this scene at being hurt and vulnerable and I didn't even fully appreciate it until later.)

Ming Ye gets drunk in his bedroom. Sang Jiu puts her wedding dress on, tells Ming Ye he still owes her a wedding night, spends the night with them, then leaves.

The gods go to war against the Devil God.

Episode 15

The gods are still fighting the Devil God and we get

this song

We fight in songs till the universe darkens

Till everything sinks into cinder

Life or death is as common as a smile

Go ahead and use my body to block the enemies

I won't regret burning in fire or [being] broken into pieces

Even if there's only a glimmer of hope

(yes, I do like power metal)

All the gods die except Ming Ye, who's badly wounded. Sang Jiu is living by herself in a house by the river. When she hears about Ming Ye, she uses Chu Huang's gift to find his body in the Ruo River. He's reverted to his original form (a tiny dragon), so she puts him in a bowl of water with medicinal herbs to nurse him back to health.

He recovers enough to regain his human form, but he's blind and doesn't recognise her voice. She thinks when he can see her, they'll never see each other again. She cares for him and continues to look for a way to restore his sight.

Episode 16

Ming Ye asks Sang Jiu to buy wine that he can pour out for his dead friends.

Later, Sang Jiu tells him that when he regains his sight she'll leave immediately and he can have the house. While she's combing his hair his sight comes back and he sees her face in the mirror, but pretends he's still blind so she won't leave. (again, he can't ask her to stay. for. reasons.)

While Sang Jiu is out looking for herbs, Tian Huan finds Ming Ye.

(It's hard to capture in a screenshot but his body language is so different whenever he's talking to Tian Huan. He stands very straight and rigid and does this flick of his sleeves, and everything he says is cold and abrupt.)

Tian Huan asks him to help her find and neutralise the Devil God's Bone-Refining Seal. He leaves a letter for Sang Jiu telling her he'll return, but Tian Huan stays behind and burns it.

They find the seal and Ming Ye goes into seclusion to purify the seal so he can use it to restore Sang Jiu's divine essence. He thinks 'Maybe I can get some good luck' (foreshadowing!)

[Tumblr ate the rest so I'll finish it later]

[youngbonescomic]

CHAPTER 5 | Oil in the Furnace pg.15

Prev | Next

[lasenbyphoenix]

Unshakable Faith (2023)

Episode 27 Breakdown

Dr Bai stashes a couple of scalpels up his sleeve and goes to the warehouse, narrowly missing Secretary Lu who has come to meet Nurse Bai.

At the seamstress shop Nurse Bai is left alone, still tied up under the table. She kicks a pair of scissors off the table and starts trying to cut through the ropes on her wrists. Liu Simao's assistant comes to check on her, and she questions him but he doesn't know anything about Snow Wolf, only that they're trying to lure someone back onto their side. He is dismissed when Liu Simao arrives, who agrees to untie Nurse Bai's feet and let her sit on a chair so they can talk. She tells him that she knows it must be her father they're trying to coerce, but doesn't know why and Liu Simao tells her that Dr Bai is Ghost Wolf, an old operative of the former general Xu Wenzheng. Nurse Bai cuts herself free and threatens Liu Simao with the scissors, telling him to leave her father alone and that she will complete the mission for them, and injures his arm when he tries to fight back.

Officer Tongbin meets Officer Hongmei at the station and asks her if she knows anything about the Bai family crisis, updating her on what Nurse Shanshan told him and she goes to find out.

Dr Bai arrives at the warehouse and picks up the phone but no one is on the other end. He yells into the warehouse that kidnapping his daughter will only get him to refuse them even more, and if they want to recruit him he wants to meet Snow Wolf face to face. Angry that he's had no reply he smashes a window and leaves, running into Nurse Bai on the way home. She tells him that she was helping Secretary Lu move some equipment from the city hospital. Shortly after they both get home Officer Hongmei arrives to check in on them. Nurse Bai comes up with a lie that her father couldn't find a medicine she'd put away which is why he came to find her, and Dr Bai plays along. Up in Nurse Bai's room Officer Hongmei asks again where they were because they weren't home at 8pm when she first checked. Nurse Bai gives her the movie ticket and says she was with Secretary Lu but denies liking him. When Officer Hongmei leaves Dr Bai asks what they talked about and she told the same story about being at the movies. When Dr Bai states his concern about her being out late Nurse Bai assures him that she can take care of herself.

The next morning Liu Simao comes to Dr Bai's house for treatment and Nurse Bai stares at him coolly before leaving for work. Dr Bai resets Liu Simao's dislocated shoulder, not believing his story about falling and tells him to stay away from who ever pulled out his arm.

Officer Hongmei and Officer Tongbin interview Secretary Lu about who he was with the night before and he lies and says that Nurse Bai was at the movies with him, and later confronts her about why she asked him to lie. She tells him a story about growing up in an orphanage, and that her teacher from then is now a fugitive but needed some help and she met him to give him some money. Secretary Lu is moved by her compassion and promises to keep her story secret.

The KMT send their fake Li Qiuchen to Hong Kong to kill and replace the real Li Qiuchen with the help of Ye Xia the female spy.

Officer Hongmei asks Dr Bai about some letters found in the library written by Xu Wenzheng, and Dr Bai confirms that he did treat a CCP prisoner for them years before. Officer Hongmei asks him if he remembers any other details, telling him about her father going missing around the same time.

Dr Bai remembers Xu Wenzheng giving him a key for Snow Wolf's safe house in Lumen but didnt know the location, and he digs it out of his hidden lock box.

.......................................

Badass Nurse Bai! Looks like she may not have known about dad's previous experience with the spy life, but she certainly does now. And she's just as fiercely protective of letting him have a quiet life as he is for her. I love that parallel.

But Dr Bai's meeting with Snow Wolf was a non-event, I wonder what happened there? Nurse Bai arrived at the seamstress shop at 5.30pm and Dr Bai's meeting at the warehouse was set for 7pm, and they ran into each other on the way home, so I'm can't tell if Snow Wolf cancelled their meeting because Nurse Bai had gotten free from Liu Simao or not. Either way Dr Bai was stood up and I don't think he's going to give them another chance.

Liu Simao must have been awake all night in pain, trying to decide if going the best doctor in town was worth possibly running into Nurse Bai who dislocated his shoulder in the first place.

Ooh so it looks like Dr Bai (and maybe even Xu Wenzheng too) has been looking for Snow Wolf since before 1949, maybe it's not to do with the massacre but something that happened before then? Like the death of Nurse Bai's parents?

Oh you sad sap Secretary Lu. You're gonna find yourself exactly where Security Captain Li did, doing bullshit for a woman who doesn't love you. "I will protect you with my life" oh my poor man I do believe you will.

*shock* we didn't see our math man at all in this episode! Have a picture to make up for it.

[skullsandwineglasses]

Xianxia Ranking

For those who watch xianxia romances, how would you rank them? These are the ones I’ve watched and listed in the order of when they were released. 

Journey of Flower (2015) - I was obsessed with this drama when it first came out, probably because I was young and impressionable and it was my first time watching Zhao Liying and Wallace Huo, but looking back at the drama now, it wasn’t a good romance. It was angst upon angst, and Bai Zhi Hua never confessed his feelings for Hua Qian Gu even until the end, so it was all very one-sided. Love the OST though. 

Eternal Love (2017) - Probably the most well-known xianxia in the last 5 years. This is an unpopular opinion, but I was never really on board with the Ye Hua or Bai Qian ship. But I did like Bai Qian’s character though because she’s both flawed and badass, and so I mainly pushed through the drama to see her get her revenge. Another great OST. 

Ashes of Love (2018) - I’ve seen a lot of polarizing opinions about this drama. You either hate or love it. I really enjoyed it, even though Jin Mi made some really bad decisions. The one issue I has was that I did not care for the subplots that made this drama 63 episodes long. Another good OST to listen on repeat. 

The Legends (2019) - Apparently this is classified as xianxia, although the worldbuilding is very different from other dramas on this list. It was okay until episode 35, and there were some good moments, but I found that it dragged a lot of the time. Zhao yao was such as an interesting FL at the beginning, but she lost her spark as the drama went on. 

Love and Destiny (2019) - Tends to be overlooked because of Chang Chen’s haggard styling, but I personally loved both him and NiNi in this. I liked how their relationship progressed and how Ling Xi grew as a character. I think this is an example of angst done well. It wasn’t over the top and it wasn’t done just for the sake of having angst. The events that led up to the misunderstandings made sense, and the misunderstandings were resolved quite soon. 

Love and Redemption (2020) - I’d say this is probably the angstiest drama on this list. It could be tied with Ashes of Love, but Sifeng suffers through so much whump from beginning to end that I would say that the angst in this drama surpasses what Xufeng went through. Xufeng was betrayed and killed once, but Sifeng was killed 10 times and then some. 

Ancient Love Poetry (2021) - Maybe it’s because I just finished watching this drama so it’s still fresh and therefore I’m biased, but I think it might have some of the better character building and world building in this list. It’s a very watchable and enjoyable drama with a really solid story and romance arc. The CGI and plot pacing is good, it doesn’t drag, and it’s a drama that keeps you guessing. One weakness is that the chemistry is a little lacking compared to the other dramas on this list, but the actors and the characters really grow on you, and the romance is sweet even despite some issues in chemistry (it does get better as the drama goes on. I think my issue is that Xu Kai didn’t really deliver in some of the emotional scenes, which dampened their intensity a bit). I would even say that the main couple has one of the more healthier relationships than the other couples on this list, and the angst is manageable, but still intense. 

I’m not sure how I would rank them. JoF will always have a special place because of nostalgia, but I don’t know if it’s a xianxia I’d recommend to others. Ashes of Love, Love and Destiny, and Ancient Love Poetry have a reincarnation arc, which I’m always a sucker for, but ALP embeds the arc well into the overall story. Love and Redemption has flashbacks of reincarnations, but not an arc devoted to it. But if you like angst and suffering and want to feel something intense (mostly pity towards the ML’s emotional torture), then that’s probably the drama to watch. Eternal Love is a popular classic, but it’s not at the top of my list and neither is it a drama that I’ve ever felt inclined to rewatch. The Legends is meh, but I loved watching Bai Lu in it. 

What’s your xianxia drama ranking? Which ones do you enjoy? Which ones have high rewatch value? Which ones do you not enjoy?

[peony-pearl]

I have a Haruka question for you! What do you imagine the dynamic between her & Zuko to be?

Ahhh thank you for the question!!

Haruka and Zuko would meet one year into his exile and he's... not thrilled that his uncle has taken to some woman while on this journey; to which Haruka lets the young man know she once swore to follow Iroh to the Fire Nation; although things got a little hairy at Ba Sing Se, and he left before she could do so. She's not some 'new floozy' for Iroh to distract himself with at ports.

However, Iroh asks Haruka to go easy on Zuko, and he explains the situation, and she does understand why the boy is so angry, but she also gets very frustrated as Iroh is an adult and should be able to do as he pleases on his off time without a teenager sulking about it.

Haruka does her best to maintain good vibes between herself and Zuko, although it's often a struggle. Since he's next in line to be Fire Lord, Haruka knows it's best to placate him and be civil, especially when Iroh reminds her that she once swore an oath to the Fire Lord when he was still first in line. He asks her to keep her oath for Zuko, and she does so out of love for Iroh, especially after he proposes.

Zuko begrudgingly gives his blessing for their engagement, however, he can't help but watch them when they meet up at different Fire Nation ports and just shower each other in adoration. He won't deny that he's happy for his uncle, after losing Lu Ten and not really having much direction over the past few years, seeing him find some stability with Haruka's presence is a welcome sight, although he's still very adamant that finding the Avatar comes first.

By the timeline of season 1, Haruka and Zuko have a mutual sense of tolerating each other. They know that they're going to be family eventually, and Haruka lets Zuko know he has her whole faith and she will follow the young man.

When Haruka stumbles upon wanted posters for Zuko and Iroh after the Seige of the North, she's horrified; she takes off on a journey to find the two, using the excuse to her parents that she was going off with an acting troupe; but once they find out she's not with them, missing posters of her end up on the same boards as Zuko and Iroh's.

For months they're playing a game of poster tag, helping each other find their way to Ba Sing Se. When they reunite, Zuko won't admit it, but he's relieved when he sees her hug Iroh. She immediately goes to Zuko and kisses his cheek, saying 'my nephew!' and he wriggles unhappily out of the hug. She won't deny that she gets a kick out of seeing him pout and wipe his cheek.

She has her own apartment, as by now she's potentially taking care of two orphans she stumbled upon during her travels, but she sees Zuko and Iroh almost every day (with little Bai Yun and Kasha in tow, who Iroh is very eager to basically adopt right there).

Haruka's story during the third season is still being put together, but afterwards, she and Zuko have a very good relationship. She's proud of the young man he's become and they have a lot of discussions when he isn't able to talk to Iroh; the two have gone through a lot of personal growth and have dealt a lot with feeling unwanted or used. Haruka knows it's been a long time since he's had his mom, and while she's not his mother, she wants to be there for him, especially since her mother never really listened to her; and he becomes a wonderful cousin to both Bai Yun and Kasha, as well as the children Haruka and Iroh have together: Rioko, Saffron and Katsu (Iroh with five kids under his roof at his age lmao rip)

After the two of them have been through so much together, they maintain their own little auntie/nephew relationship. She ruffles his hair and smooches his cheek and gives him some dumplings and he perfects his hugs with her, because she never pushes him away when he needs one and lets him hug as long as he needs to.

Thanks so much for the ask!!

[binging-asian-dramas]

King Is Not Easy. 7

Story: 5

Acting: 10 👌

Chemistry: 10

Comparable to: Secret Garden (kdrama);

So this is one of those messy storylines which if it weren’t for most of its cliches and and the later let’s say five last episodes where it goes full on 🤪 it could’ve been excellent…..But and I do mean but, putting that aside this is a hilarious, fantastically acted drama. I was really impressed with the main male lead when the whole switched place scenario took effect. I mean with Bai Lu I knew she would be phenomenal cause well you know she’s Bai Lu (*ahem* finger heart) but was surprised with Zhang Yi Jie. He really shines in this one. Overall if you’re in this to watch a well written story I’m sorry to say this isn’t it. I did enjoy this nonetheless, especially the little 3 minute skits they had after each episode were utterly hilarious.

[dragonrajafanfiction]

Chizuru Town - Killer Instinct

Yoooo, the MC has killed people before Cassell.

“Shouldn’t we hurry?” Even though it was clear that something serious was happening in this Chizuru town, Chu Zihang was only walking ‘somewhat briskly.’ not even a jog. You strolled with him, lightly petting the cat who was nestled tight in your arms. The air was still warm with early summer. The two of you looked like a boyfriend and girlfriend out for a stroll at night and wouldn’t have turned any heads. Were it not for the circumstances it might have been romantic. But your heart held no room for any sort of romantic feelings at the moment. You just wanted to feel safe.

“We need to save our energy. And I wanted to ask you. What’s your connection to the Lenin?”

You glance up at him. “I guess I do owe you an explanation don’t I?”

“Not really. Truthfully, I'm just curious. It pertains to the mission, but only Caesar needs to know. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” His voice was quiet.

As you continue to walk, you suddenly notice that the sky seems brighter than normal. As your eyes adjusted to the darkness of the power outage in Chizuru, the stars had started to become visible in greater and greater numbers. Perhaps in an hour or so, the sky would start to appear like the one over your old home.

“Looking back, it was truly a dreadful place where I came from. But it was home. It was beautiful in a lot of ways. Life was hard, but that made any level of joy and happiness so secret and special.” Smiling faces float into your vision, one by one, like an old photo album.

“The Lenin came by to resupply the port every Christmas. We always looked forward to it.” Your steps slow to a crawl. “It’s just as Chisei said to you. The Lenin made a stop in a nameless port in Siberia after which it took the dragon from the port and the port was burned. That was the last time I saw the Lenin, until today.”

“Why was the port burned?”

“It wasn’t… just that the port was burned, Zihang. It was bombed. There were people shooting at us from helicopters.” You couldn’t keep the tremble out of your voice.

“The scarring then… you were shot. Was that when it happened?”

“Huh?”

“When you were hurt. I saw the scars. It looked like you were hit by a high powered weapon. A wound that should have been fatal.”

“I wasn’t the only one shot that day… just the only one that survived.” You drop your face to fight the rising sorrow.

“The port wasn’t just burned then. It was specifically to kill the people there. Is that what you’re saying?”

You nod.

“Then I understand Caesar’s words to you much better then. It’s not just the fact of revenge… you’re a witness, MC. You have to live to tell the story. Don’t be so reckless with your life.” Chu Zihang said.

“Senpai, are you caring for me?” You say. “Hmm… what would Little Dragon Lady have to say about that?”

Zihang’s back straightened a little and you flinched internally. But then he relaxes. “I’m not sure if she’s the jealous type. You’re probably fine. After this mission is over, what will you do?”

“Assuming I’m still alive? I honestly… don’t know. I haven’t thought that far.”

“Understandable.” He suddenly stopped walking. A building was being surrounded by cars and motorcycles and from the rumble of the streets nearby, more were on the way. Vans blocked the windows of the first floor and men were making an effort to roll up the security door keeping them from the entrance.

“This way.”

“Is that the Internet Cafe?” You whisper as you’re ushered through the shadows and into a nearby alley. “I thought it was safe!”

He didn’t answer. He was watching people get out of the car with pistols and automatic weapons.

“On my signal… three… two … one…” He darts out of the alley way and sprints behind the people, approaching the building, hiding behind the backs of those in the rear. You follow as quickly as you can into the alley right beside the building. Sure enough there was a side entrance.

Zihang slices off the padlock holding the door closed and it swings open. But no one was guarding here. He motions you inside and you follow him into a narrow corridor. There was no light at all but the moon reflected off the rippling vinyl tile and the shining metal shelving. This seemed to be a storage and maintenance area. Zihang was moving silently and rapidly, not giving you any more instructions. He suddenly paused. There was a vending machine. It was off but Zihang could see what was inside. Clean packaged panties. 

He pointed the sword at the glass and carved a near perfect circle with the tip. Your jaw drops. Was Zihang seriously this sort of pervert? The circle falls from the glass with a quiet tap. And he reached inside. “Here put these on.”

You’re stunned. How could he have known you weren’t wearing … your eyes widen. “You peeked?”

“I couldn’t help seeing when you kicked.” He tossed you the package.

With anyone else you would want to slap their face, and you scowled as you caught the package. “Can’t believe you.”

“It’s not like anything I haven’t seen before. Like I said, I saw your scars.”

“Stop talking!” You hiss. “And turn around. I’m not putting them on in front of you!”

Chu Zihang immediately turns around as you take off your shoes and set the cat down.  Kitty darts under the vending machine as soon as he’s on the floor. Your embarrassment isn’t warranted. It wasn’t his fault but still, you can’t believe he saw that! But when you’ve got one leg in, he starts to run without another word, down the hallway, leaving you behind! You rush to finish dressing and slip your shoes back on. When you get to the end of the hallway, you’re suddenly blinded by bright headlights. The intense glare stung your eyes, but not before you caught the dark silhouette of the person standing in front of the car.

You blinked rapidly to clear your vision. There he was standing, in a leather jacket. That broad back. That blond hair. Your heart leaps in your throat. Caesar! He was alive!

But before you can even call out to him, another shadow darted past him.

Your eyes had just adjusted to the brights of the car only for those lights to immediately go dark. The car's front end crashed to the ground, cut cleanly from the rest of the car. You were blinded by the lights and now you’re blinded by their after image. As you’re trying to blink that away, you hear the crash of metal blade on metal blade and then a sharp sounding gunshot! The sparks hit the car and ignited the fuel lines and once again the space was lit up this time by firelight!

Caesar was engaged in a furious battle with an assailant that was taking advantage of the rapid cycling of light and dark. He was moving quickly, parrying every attack. Caesar couldn’t slow down, flinch or make any mistakes. He was pinned.

Without a doubt, this was the elite fighter of this gang, meant to slow Caesar down. The lobby of the cafe was filled with people with guns but they were all watching this man attack Caesar, like it was some sort of ballet performance. 

No one had noticed MC.

You crouch low, like a panther stalking in the dark, prowling around the chairs that were propped up on tables. You reach the man at the very end of the wall closest to you. His eyes were fixed on the fight. The speed of the two combatants was similar and their strength was almost equal. It was now a competition of swordmanship and endurance. Who could be perfect the longest. It was quite the nailbiter. 

You leap up and wrap your legs around the unsuspecting young man’s waist and your arms around the man’s throat. By compressing the arteries in his neck, he’s unconscious in a mere second! Then you grab his gun. You immediately point the barrel of the gun up towards the ceiling and fire it at the sprinkler system! The combo of the smoke and the damage to the nozzle sets off the entire system and soon everything and everyone is drenched in the heaviest down pour they’ve ever experienced! The fire on the car goes out and the hall is full of shouting. They’re waving their guns and looking for the target! Caesar dove behind a thick heavy wood receptionist counter and you take the gun and follow him in the dark and wet confusion.

"Is it necessary to fight even now? Stop when you recognize me, okay?" Chu Zihang yelled. 

"Damn, how can I be sure it's you? I can't see clearly! It wasn’t like I was practicing. If I stopped you would take my head off!" Caesar yelled. 

"Internal conflicts will be resolved when we escape! Unity! Unity!" Lu Mingfei also yelled. 

“Caesar! You’re okay! I’m so glad you’re okay!” You didn’t care what they were going on about. Your voice brought Caesar around to look at you. His smile was bright but then he looked appalled. He quickly took off his jacket and covered over your white button down that was soaked with sprinkler water and rendered completely transparent. Chu Zihang had given you a pair of panties but not a bra.

“Zihang! I thought I could trust you to take care of her and you’re letting her walk around like an exhibitionist!”

Lu Mingfei’s face was completely flushed. “I didn’t see! I didn’t see!”

“We have more important things to think about! Duck!” Caesar grabbed the back of your neck and forced you to the floor.

It would have been nice for everyone happily to come back from the dead, but there was no time for pleasantries and hugs ...... they heard the sound of short-barreled shotguns being loaded in droves. 

The sound of gunfire was deafening, and the barrage of bullets came overwhelmingly.

"MP7! Lie down!" Caesar yelled. 

Caesar knew the power of such rounds all too well. two seconds after he pulled you and Lu Mingfei down, dense bullet holes appeared in the wall opposite you. The MP7 penetrated the wood and still had energy to pierce the wall. 

"You can't look at them as ordinary punks, they're here to kill us!" Chu Zihang lay on the ground, not daring to look up. "Very well prepared!" 

“Don’t compliment them, Zihang!” You scream. 

All you can think is that the people from Black Swan Bay had come back. They’ve come back to kill you. They’ve realized you’re a witness to Black Swan Bay and they’re here for you! You have a gun in your hands and you can fire back, but it was nothing compared to this level of pressure. They were cheering and reloading, confident in their win. You look up at Caesar. He was wearing a dangerous smile. The wood was turned to splinters but the marble countertop was still intact. He casually tipped the marble counter so it laid more on its edge.

 The boys screamed with excitement, but the screams were soon replaced by screams of pain as the dense lead bullets bounced off the marble countertop, then bounced off the floor and ceiling, covering the boys from the front, above, left and right. 

Ancient chanting echoed in the darkness, as if ancient bells roared. 

The air instantly heated up and the light was almost like a sunrise. The wall of crimson pushed past to cover the boys. The temperature around them rose to five or six hundred degrees in an instant. The boys felt as if they were staying in the sun. The hot air entered their bodies and could even burn their tracheas! 

The black shadow stood where the crimson wall was born, black and red arcs of light flowing over the circular transparent interface around him. 

The Spirit of Speech- Royal Fire, at the most conservative way to explode with instant heat, not enough that it would kill. The gangsters thought they were unarmed, and they were indeed unarmed, but Chu Zihang himself was a Vulcan cannon! 

The high temperature quickly fell back, Caesar stepped on the blazing ground to pick up the short-barreled shotguns and bullet belts dropped by the mob. You hurry over to join him, looking like a child wearing his jacket. “Caesar… I’m so glad…” You were instantly reminded why you needed to stand behind him. While you were perfectly fine on your own, with just a shrug of his shoulders, Caesar had managed to get back at a room full of gloating loonies.

“Save your words.” He waved a hand. “We have to keep moving.” He kept his voice gentle but every muscle in his body was still taut. “Nice shooting by the way. I’ll put that in my report. Is there anything you can’t do?”

“Die?” You respond immediately with a cheeky grin.

Your answer stops him short and he regards you again with an intense stare. “Remind me to invite you to the Student Union when all this is over. Though I’m sure I won’t forget.”

The boys were badly burned on the surface of their bodies, and now the adrenaline was useless. They were rolling on the ground in pain, and Lu Mingfei rushed over to stomp on these little bastards. The youngest of these guys may only be 16 or 17 years old. The oldest is only in his early twenties, but human life in their eyes is not something that needs to be taken seriously, the problem is that they really chose the wrong opponent. 

More importantly, they were too young to know who you were. They couldn’t be assassins targeting you over Black Swan.

“The high heels are really good for kicking people when they're down.” You quip with a little bit of irritation. Lu Mingfei had no clue how ridiculous he looked in that tight dress and heels kicking a guy with second degree burns. You seriously wonder how in the world he ever got on this team being so completely honorless? You wonder if you should tell Caesar what you know about his feelings toward his fiancee and then you realize that its likely that Caesar already knew and just didn’t care. It’s not like Lu Mingfei was any competition.

“Look down on me all you want. Hmph.” Mingfei shot back. “I’d said I’d stomp them and I won't’ be breaking that promise!”

You’re both interrupted by the roar of motorcycle engines coming closer and closer until the noise makes it impossible to hear! Bright headlights shone into the room and the black motorcycle veered around the broken car. The rider was holding a sword in the air. He opened his mouth and shouted a loud cry then dropped the sword forward.

The roar of the bikes was like the roar of the helicopters over Black Swan Bay. It’s not that you weren’t afraid. It’s just that experience told you that running in this situation was pointless. They’d just catch up with you and shoot you in the back. The only way to escape was to kill your opponent first. You didn’t think of yourself as a killer. Experience had taught you there was no other option.

You lift the gun into your other hand and aim directly at the closest motorcycle rushing at you. He was holding a knife, leering at you but his confidence burst at the sight of the gun in your hand. You aimed it right at the center of the forehead but then the wheel of his motorcycle exploded and the young man went flying off. You pull the trigger but the shot misses completely.

“MC!” Caesar snarls. "Don't clash with the madman! Retreat back the way we came!” 

When you catch up to him, he pulls the gun out of your hands. “If you want to criticize Mingfei, don’t use guns against knife wielders.”

“He was on a motorcycle!” Of all people, you thought Caesar would understand. They were nearly killed just now and he was already resorting to gentle tactics?

“Don’t question me.” He wrapped the rifle’s band around his shoulders. “You’re not getting this back. Let’s go!”

“You’re too stunned to speak. You had imagined that Caesar of all people would understand a true life and death struggle. It seemed only weeks ago that your friends’ blood was being soaked into the snow and you were not going to survive unless the enemy died. You stood next to Renata who wielded the automatic machine gun and mowed down a helicopter, killing those inside.

You have to do this to protect the ones you love.

Caesar, the one who understood so much about you, didn’t understand this.

[hiyaluronic]

Unnamed Sentinel/Guide Au (partial draft)

Nile eyed Nicky’s plate with envy, her nose twitching at the pleasant aroma of garlic and the slightly nutty, pungent smell of cumin and turmeric; the spicy aromatics filling the small dining room and causing her stomach to grumble excitedly. She turned from Nicky’s plate to stare down at her own in dismay. The grilled chicken breast, steamed broccoli, and rich buttery baked potato were doing nothing to satiate her cranky stomach.

“Why does Nicky get the good stuff?” She hadn’t meant to sound childish but Joe’s home cooked chicken curry looked a thousand times more appetizing than the standard restaurant-style meal situated on her plate.

Joe grinned and winked at Nicky who in turn rolled his eyes in response, “Because he’s being punished.” 

Nile sighed and poked halfheartedly at her chicken, “Then can I be punished too?”

Andy snorted into her wine glass, pulling the stemmed glass away and clearing her throat against the burn of alcohol. “Trust me, you don’t.”

“If you say so.” Nile murmured and reluctantly cut into her chicken. She took a few bites, her gaze lingering on Nicky’s plate which sat untouched, wondering how exactly homemade food was a punishment. 

“C’mon, Nicolò,” Joe prodded, forgetting his own meal and using his fork to spear a piece of sauce drenched chicken from Nicky’s plate. “I promise it will not be as bad as Baton Rouge.”

Nile perked up, curious. “What happened in Baton Rouge?” 

Andy smiled deviously and leaned over to Nile. “Booker’s attempt at cerole cooking. His Jambalaya is still pending a patent as a lethal weapon. Joe and I ended up with food poisoning, Nicky on the other hand....”

Nicky swallowed, eyeing the innocent piece of poultry dangling from Joe’s fork with trepidation, eyes following the curry sauce as it slowly dripped onto the tablecloth. “I ended up zoning because the idiota, mixed up chile peppers with bhut jolokia.”

Nile scrunched her face. “Bahht Zo-lu-key-ya?” 

“Ghost peppers.” Andy simplified, leaning back into the kitchen chair and crossing her arms, watching Joe shake the chicken enticingly in front of Nicky with mild amusement.

Nile cringed and swallowed, her mouth watering at the imagined heat of said pepper. “Shit.” 

“Indeed.” Nicky replied with a sigh before leaning forward and letting his mouth wrap enticingly around Joe’s fork - the pink of his lips covering the silver of the utensil suggestively - before ever so slowly pulling back, smirking when he noticed Joe’s eyes narrow at his actions. Nicky closed his eyes and let the juices from the chicken settle on his tongue; the sweetness of clove and cinnamon dancing across his tongue and running as a current under the powerful flavor of turmeric, bay leaves, and cumin. He sucked the sauce and juice from the chicken, tilting his head back and moaning in pleasure when the slight underlying warmth of garlic and mustard seed tickled his taste buds.

He mentally smirked when he felt Joe kick his shin under the table, a quiet behave drifting from his husband's lips, the heady scent of musk saturating the air between them and sending a jolt of excitement through Nicky. He could hear Nile coughing awkwardly across the table; a deep bass to the quiet trill of Andy’s accompanying  laughter. Why should he be the only one to be punished? 

He felt the air shift and change before he heard Joe sigh. “Come on, Nico. You know how this goes, what’s the secret ingredient?”

Nicky frowned at the question and chewed the chicken, unsure. He could taste something off. Taste something out of place underneath the normal spices, something sharp and bitter  - almost medicinal.

“I’m assuming it’s not love?” Nile said to Andy, who snickered.

Nicky swallowed and blinked open his eyes, turning to Joe, “Clove, cinnamon, turmeric, bay leaf, cumin. Just a hint of garlic and mustard... and...”

Joe ticked off the ingredients with his finger, “And…?”

Nicky licked his lips and tried to focus on the odd taste, he knew it, he just couldn’t place the where and what, and most notably the name. He hated having to sort through Joe’s cooking because there were so many different flavors in the world and it was sometimes very hard to distinguish between herbs and spices; and, while he loved his husband, Joe liked to make it as hard as possible. The reasoning? Because it eased his husband's mind knowing that he could detect even the subtlest of flavors - which he would agree. Being able to detect the minute differences in flavors between herbs and poisons had saved them many unneeded deaths over the various decades.

But, still…

“It tastes like soap.”

“Seriously, Joe!” Nile admonished, eyes wide in concern. “You put soap in his food?”

“It’s not soap!” Joe was quick to reply, just a little offended at the accusation. “I would never do such a thing!”

“Uggh.” Nicky shivered in disgust when it finally clicked what the offending flavor was, “Cilantro!”

“Very good, Nico!” Joe leaned forward and kissed his husband happily. “And now what sense shall we work on next, hmmm?”

Nicky laughed softly with a shake of his head, “Joe, it was only one zone with a great many number of years between my last one. I promise I do not need-”

“It is not about what you need, you have become lax in these last few decades, hayati, you’re starting to rely too heavily on the technology of today. And it worries me.” Joe explained, running a hand through his beard and scratching at the skin underneath. “You were very lucky that Nile had been there to keep an eye on you until Andy and I arrived but what would have happened if Nile had been indisposed of? You would have been left vulnerable and that’s just not acceptable.”

“Cuore Mio.” Nicky murmured, his hand reaching over to grasp Joe’s tightly in his absently running his thumb over Joe’s knuckles.. He didn’t need heightened senses to know that his love was feeling anxious but the sulfuric reek permeating the air around Joe just confirmed it. 

Andy nodded, seeming to agree with the idea. “Joe’s right, Nicky. We have to be able to trust that on a mission you won’t conk out on us. A refresher might do some good and it’ll help Nile know what to do when Joe is unavailable to pull you back.”

Nile held her hand up and cleared her throat, drawing the attention of the small group. “Speaking of. I was promised an explanation?”

“That you were, Nile.” Nicky agreed, squeezing Joe’s hand with a gentle smile. “There is sadly not much to tell.”

“Oh, hell no. You don’t get to reveal Nicky is a superhero-” Not a superhero, Nile “and then not tell me how that happened.”

Joe and Nicky shared a look, Joe raised his shoulder slightly in question to which Nicky tilted his head, his gaze flicking towards Nile before returning to Joe with a small nod.

Joe sighed and pulled his hand free from Nicky’s, settling back against his chair, and focusing his sight on the darkened splotches of curry staining the tablecloth. “It was many, many months after we had grown tired of constant death and had laid down our arms against one another. At the time we thought our situation was part of our immortality, it wasn’t until we met Andromache and Quynh that we understood otherwise.” 

Nicky smiled fondly, remembering the circumstances that had surrounded their meeting of their sisters in arms. It had been a sweltering summer, the air so thick that even the simple act of breathing would leave a person exhausted and uncomfortably drenched. Time had worn away at a lot of his memories but the vibrant scent of the briny waters lapping at the sands along the coast, the salty air pushed inland by the balmy waves of the Mediterannean that ate away at wood and stone alike and the overbearing smell of seagrasses that would drift upward when low tide would hit and carrying the faint tinge of dead sea life along with it were still vivid in his memory.

But what he remembered the most about that first meeting - what still haunted him and fueled his nightmares almost a millennium later - was the utter terror of not being able to hear Joe’s heartbeat between one moment and the next. His breath still faltered when he thought back to the utter panic that had grabbed hold and burrowed deep into his chest at the mere thought of losing the one person who could make him feel human.

“Andromache and Quynh absconded with Joe before we had the chance to be formally introduced.”

Nile balked at Nicky’s words but at the minute twitch to the corners of his mouth and the way she noticed his eyes darken just a tad, not quite in anger but in an almost accusatory way, had her turning to Andy flabbergasted, “You what!?

“In all fairness,” Andy started, her hands raised in supplication, “it was just to test a theory. We’d trailed the two of them for days, trying to get a read on what kind of buffoons they were outside of the dreams.”

“We were not buffoons.” Joe huffed, affronted, eyes ticking to Nicky looking for agreement.

Andy quirked an eyebrow, “You literally killed each other dozens of times over the span of 6 months. Quynh and I had even started making bets on it. So, hence, bah-foons.”

“We were-” Joe trailed off, looking to Nicky for the right way to answer without confirming Andy’s rather accurate description.

Nicky turned from Joe’s gaze to Andy’s with a frown, “-working through some things.” 

“Sure, language barrier, sectarianism, genocide…” Andy said, ticking each item off with the raise of one of her fingers.

“Getting off topic here, guys. I’m assuming there’s more to the story then Andy and Quynh running off with Joe in tow?” 

With a sigh, Andy looked towards Nile. “There were… are stories. Legends really, about persons with the capability to  perceive the world around them on a level unseen by us mere humans.”

“Sounds amazing.” Nile said.

“One would think until you realize nothing can be such without its own hindrances.” Nicky explained with a wince, “What Andy and Quynh were testing was to see if Joe and I had bonded as guide and sentinel.”

“Bonded?”

“A sentinel’s abilities are latent, most that have this ability will never know because a sentinel is born through harsh conditions and need.” Andy explained at Nile’s question. “But if there is no guide, no way for a sentinel to maintain a baseline, the world becomes an enemy to them and they either zone or turn feral.”

“Feral? Like...turn rabid?” 

Nicky nodded at Nile, “An abhorred definition but yes. We have only ever seen a feral sentinel once and it ended with him falling to my blade.” 

“Okay.” Nile pursed her lips trying to gather her thoughts, “Okay so Andy and Quynh took Joe to make sure you were bonded and not feral?”

“You have to understand Nile, we saw them kill each other for months. With so much senseless violence Quynh and I had to make sure that the world hadn’t bred a broken and untamed immortal.”