#so we got LYX

[crouching-fandom]

Second behind-the-scenes for Harper's Bazaar "Ru Meng Ji" video

First part is here | + video source

[daenysx]

respectfully i need more dad!aemond, you write it so well and it just makes me so so happy 🫶🏻🥹

like i’m just imagining him with his babies as they grow older, like maybe something with them starting school and reader and aemond have to help them with projects etc ,,, just any domestic fluffy ideas you have 🤍

thank you for requesting, i hope you enjoy <3333 requests are open for dad!aemond

modern!aemond targaryen x fem!reader , tooth rotting fluff

"lyx, you're doing it wrong."

if there's one thing alyssa targaryen loves to do, it's being a big sister. she's doing a pretty good job on it, too, even when sometimes she's being a bit annoying to aelyx. she has the words of her mom and charms of her dad. an unbeatable duo.

"no." aelyx says. "i want that picture."

"okay, but you're spreading the glue wrong." alyssa says. "it's gonna stick to your fingers now."

the scene aemond witnesses when he comes into the room is exactly like this. his babies, trying to make a school project on their own, dealing with many papers and crayons and glue. alyssa seems like she's bored of it all but aelyx is patient. his tiny tongue sticking up to the corner of his mouth as he tries to press the picture on another paper.

"daddy!"

aemond smiles, leaving his jacket on the couch as he comes closer. "hi, little love." he hugs alyssa first. "hey, buddy." aelyx doesn't give him any attention other than a smile, boy has got things to do. "what's this?" aemond asks.

"it's for aelyx's class tomorrow." his girl explains. "we need to pick pictures and glue them here."

"like a collage?"

"what's a collage?"

turns out it's exactly like a collage. aemond looks at the pictures briefly before watching his son. his tiny hands try to spread the glue nicely.

"would you like some help?" aemond asks, gently. aelyx looks at his dad with big eyes. he looks like he wants to do it by himself but the glue is hard to deal with alone.

"can you just spread the glue?" alyssa asks with convincing smile that always works for her daddy. "we can do the rest."

"of course, baby." aemond rolls up his sleeves before reaching for aelyx's hand. "i'll just hold your hands, you're doing the rest. okay, buddy?"

aelyx nods, his silver curls shaking with the motion. aemond gently holds his son's tiny hands to lead him as he places the glue on the paper.

"are you almost done?" you ask them as you walk inside. you have a little kitchen towel to dry up your hands. "it's dinner time."

you're cheerful every time you see them do something together. watching aemond take care of kids is always a delight and you get to see him doing it a lot more lately, now that they go to school and come back with lots of fun projects to do.

aelyx looks at you as he sees you stand by the door, when aemond finishes with the glue he's quick to run to your arms. aemond sometimes complains he's such a mommy's boy, but he also knows alyssa is definitely enamored by him. it's the teasing part he loves the most, though.

"i'm taking my boy to kitchen, come meet us when you finish!" you say happily, kissing aelyx's chubby cheek.

"come here, baby." aemond extends a hand to alyssa. "let's pick up some pictures."

"that looks nice." she says, her small finger on paper. "and this one."

"i guess we're gonna be done after them, huh?"

"yes, daddy."

a few minutes are spent in silence as they both concentrate on their work. at the end, everything looks nice. alyssa has a satisfied smile on her lips.

"did we do good?" aemond asks, stealing a quick kiss from her cheek.

she nods, wrapping an arm around his neck. "thank you, daddy."

"you're welcome, little love." aemond gets a kiss on his cheek this time. "let's go have dinner."

[bentosandbox]

quick TL for Swummer Module bc it was great (and a bit of Chummer's module)

Happy 5 year anniversary of the chenswire (chapter 5) banner

[Pinned] Regular Chat Group (4)

16:26 Guma: I'm hungry, what's for dinner? Swire: Let's have something nice. Grand Lungmen Resturant, 8PM! You need to try that new puhn choi on their menu. It's their usual recipe, but they use ingredients sourced from that new MCT trade route. They have stuff from Rim Billiton to Sargon. Super fresh. The set also comes with a bottle wine from Sami! Swire: Bison and I worked our asses off to establish this supply chain so you guys better try it! @ Rat Rat: You're counting me in?

17:09 Guma: So hungry. can we go now? Swire: There's no seats available rn, just snack on something first!

18:32 Guma: hungry...

19:20 Guma: so hungryyyyyyy...

19:58 Rat: Something urgent came up, you guys go on without me

20:08 Swire: Huh? Swire: Wb hoshiguma?

20:23 Swire: It's been so long since we had a meal together so we better get one today! Lmk what you want to eat asap after work!

20:41 Swire: so what are we having tonight?

21:19 Swire: what are we having tonightttt??????? Swire: LIN YUXIA I SAW YOUR READ NOTIF!! answer! Rat: I just finished work. Didn't you just release your Director Swire Lungmen Food Guide with the nonstop noisy af TV ads. why are you asking me to decide Guma: Done with my emergency mission. I'm fine w anything as long as there's meat. So hungry I could eat an entire burdenbeast head Rat: What about the snack street? 'the shopping district is right next door, a convergence of unique goods from all over Terra. Only in Lungmen can you shop the whole land!' Writing's not bad Swire: Duh its my work so ofc the copywriting has to be good too Guma: nah sounds like there won't be a lot of meat Swire: Remember the volcanic mud cleanser I got for you @ Rat and the surfboard @ Guma you can buy them there too Swire: Bison and i adjusted the prices until they're just slightly pricier than what you'd pay in siesta. Does that work? Guma: Don't feel like eating surfboard Rat: Then international trade park? The guide's no.2 Swire: Sure we're drawing some investors over there atm so there's plenty of foreign food there they're p good Guma: I want meat also ill take more than 30min to get there from here ill die from hunger Swire: Pity. It's pretty popular with the youths yk, recommended date spot Rat: Agh! Rat: Final option. The cai zhe min stall behind the LGD office. That or you guys can starve Guma: no objections Swire: no objections

21:30 Swire: wait LYX why do you have my guide i thought you didn't like that sort of noise Rat: Just happened to pick it up, problem?

21:33 Rat: Why is the czm stall not in your guide? Swire: I wanted to but the boss wouldn't let me sth about its too bougie for him hes just a regular noodle stall Swire: True tho. Certified Lungmen™️ moment

21:38 Guma: I already ordered come ASAP

23:35 Guma: Why hasn't chen read any of our messages? Swire: Bc she has to connect to an intercity net first. Who knows she might just be on the top of a haystack in some valley waving her terminal around for signal right now

--new messages-- PGL: ...... PGL: you mean a pile of rubble PGL: I'm back in lungmen, i want to eat czm too

thoughts/notes:

As I mentioned in the other ask Swire set nicknames for the other 3 Hoshi: 🐻🐻 Chen: Puk Gaai Lung Lin: Stinky Rat (wanted to use CLS (cau lau syu) but i kept misreading it as cho shan land so lmaoo

Hoshi 'i don't feel like having surfboard for dinner' guma

Lin really likes her cart noodles huh (nodding)

Hoshi and Lin both finished their urgent work at the same time 🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨

this is so good for character study idk like the way lin is like indirectly 'me too?' and never commits but doesn't exactly ghost 24/7 either also her being like -_-💢this or you starve idc HOSHIGUMA.....hungryguma so cute she dgaf Swire. 'the youths love coming here for dates' spoken like a real 25+yo AND CHEN... when youre that one guy in the gc whos overseas or in a diff timezone .......i doubt the timeline doesn't add up so nicely but i had a funny mental image of the 3 eating their noodles and then suddenly chen in her victorian outfit shows up behind them all covered in blood and dust from ch14

Right uh Chummer module:

shes in dossoles, some boy is asking her for help because his dad pulled his mom into some smuggling trade (and he used to be part of it too) chen is like dw i'll punish him and his gang if they deserve it and the boy asked if prison will reform his dad (chen: ...why do you ask) saying his dad used to be Normal but then became money hungry after they came to dossoles and promised him he would take them on a cruise to spot rainbows or something?? chen is like theres water everywhere here shouldnt you have seen enough rainbows. hes like it doesnt count it has to be on a ship and all... she thinks its valid as she remembers how much she wanted wei's approval back then and asks if he still thinks the same and hes like yeah but i cant do it alone... chen is silent for a moment and then helps the boy out, leaving a note before they split ways 'then you'll have to figure out a way to make him hear you out, to tell him you want him to be a better person. at least, he needs to understand your point of view' then it switches to 3rd person narrative lol it rained that day, and chen(女侠 ..!!) subdues a criminal gang, rescuing a woman. the surprising part is that the leader wanted to fight to the end before a child suddenly appeared before him. at some point the rain stops and a rainbow appears, making the gangleader hesitant and eventually drops his weapon after (his son) says something to him. witnesses remark on how chen did not seem happy by this outcome, only pensively staring towards the east

honestly my first reaction was 'omg chen nuxia interrobang' and then 'wuh..??' bc it was so vague compared to what was essentially chatfic or w/e the term is lmao not much on the brain atm except:

hen module: looks toward lungmen swire module: im back

the kinoooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[gizkasparadise]

2023 wrapped: cdrama edition!

taking a page from @dangermousie and doing an overview of all the cdramas i watched this year (i'll do one for kdramas later)! listed in order of least favorite to most favorite. favorite =/= objectively best/most well-made. just the ones i had the most fun watching.

15 have a crush on you. oh dear lord. this drama should be a case study for what happens when a bad drama has charismatic actors and they keep you trapped hostage. i watched this whole damn thing hating every minute of it on behalf of the poor female lead who definitely deserved better. the ending? absolutely batshit, and not in a fun way. one of the weirdest, worst endings ive seen since with you

14 back from the brink. too kitschy for me, i didn't last long on this one (i think 2 eps lol).

13 gone with the rain. i wanted to like this one because i love sean sun and troll general is exactly what i want out of life. but i didn't like the weird daydream asides, constant animal noise sound effects, and i found everyone kind of off-putting in a non-watchable way, so i peaced out really quick--ep 4ish

12 here we meet again. i love janice wu. i continue to try out her dramas hoping for something to grab me again. this one was pretty boring/too focused on the work element and not the rest of it.

11 exclusive fairytale. i have a secret weakness for youth-to-working-life dramas, so tried this one out. flat, not a lot of chemistry, and very color-by-numbers. the show was clearly made to vehicle jun, and that's okay, but not my thing

10 the starry love. i wanted to like this one because the side characters were fun and i loved the male lead/prince of heaven and all his awkward "please leave by 9" energy. but it bored me overall and unlike most folks i had no interest in the demon secondary ship. i dropped around ep 10

9 my journey to you. it kills me to rank this one so low because it was my most anticipated cdrama this year, but i just couldn't get into it. the pacing was too slow for me, and i couldn't stand how everyone talked to each other (long. pauses. and then. staring. and then. whispers. always the. whispers). i dropped this around midway

8 the love you give me. the chemistry between the leads was cute and it was a decent modern romance. started losing me around the midpoint when the paternity reveal hit and the ML got way into boundary crossing because of it

7 circle of love. objectively not a good drama. in fact, a toxic and batshit drama that has probably made me a worse person for watching it. but gd did my messy ass enjoy the trainwreck.

6 road home. you really got to be in the mood for this one, but it's a nice, understated and slow melo romance. but def not a bingeable show since it takes its time with everything

5 wonderland of love. another drama that i dont think is objectively great, but two competent schemers/martial artists trying to one-up each other is like ship catnip for me and this was a show that lived or died by its ship. surprisingly tame for the screenwriter, and had a happy ending! popcorn watch.

4 till the end of the moon. me and this drama were in a bad romance, which i suppose is thematically appropriate. i hated parts of it, i was super invested in others. the post-dream human arc was giving wuthering heights tragic obsession incredibleness. even with its flaws, i think most of cdramaland is in agreement that lyx/tantai jin stole the ML competition this year. great gowns, beautiful gowns

3 story of kunning palace. i adored the characters in this drama! even when the plot was losing my interest, everyone was cast so well and had so much charisma that i stayed pretty hooked from ep 10ish on. absolutely loved the mean high school theatre director wreck that was xie wei, as well as the other (imo) true love interest of the show, princess leyang. the desperate speech about being like iron is gonna live rent-free in my head

& then 1&2 are way ahead of the others for me this year/a very close race between them!

2 a journey to love. i love this drama so much!!! i have not skipped or speed watched a single scene which for me is a huge feat! great character work across the board -- even the side characters have a lot of nuance and interesting dynamics between them. beautiful fight scenes. great ost. one of the best, most balanced main couples ive seen in a show. it's gonna break my heart in a few eps when it ends, but i'll be happy about it

1 lost you forever (s1). this drama came out of NOWHERE and the vicegrip it had on me while it was airing!!! my favorite FL this year (although a journey to love's ruyi is a close second), and just a ton of fun while also being quietly devastating in parts. i loved how lived in and tired the FL felt, enjoyed the various flavors of mess from her love interests, and enjoyed how extra it could go while still giving us really grounded and complicated characters. this drama gets extra points for converting me on several actors i did not think that highly of before the show.

overall, despite how many i dropped (lol writing it out made me realize i dropped so, so many), cdramas delivered for me this year! my top two are on my short list for favorite dramas, period. everyone go watch a journey to love and lost you forever if you havent yet!!!

AWARDS

Favorite ship: definitely goes to ruyi and yuanzhou from a journey to love. it's just nice to see a couple that mutually supports each other's murders

Favorite FL: xiaoyao from lost you forever with ruyi from journey to love as a very close runner-up. i am here for this year's theme of competent, jaded ladies trying to reclaim their lives

Favorite ML: objectively, tantai jin from till the end of the moon should win this, but story of kunning palace's xie wei was just so entertainingly grumpy, petty, and unhinged which is a winning combo for me.

Favorite 2FL: princess yang ying from a journey to love. she's doing amazing and im proud of her!!

Favorite 2ML: technically third male lead, but xiang liu from lost you forever was my favorite to watch and had the best tuxedo mask exits

Best Cast: a journey to love, i literally adore all of them, even the ones i hate

Best Blood Cough: tantai jin, you beautiful bastard who needs a bib

[dangermousie]

I really loved the first six episodes of AJTL. It feels adult in a way too few cdramas do nowadays. The protagonists are (sometimes sociopathic, weird) adults and the narrative is adult and the humor and darkness are both adult. Now, I don't mean this is some sort of meditation on the human condition like Royal Nirvana or NiF or Three Kingdoms, but the situations and characters are of a nature you wouldn't usually see in youth-oriented stuff nowadays - whether it's the fact that our FL just wants to ML for stud so she can have a baby with good genetics and no family ties or the fact that literally every politician in this is a complete scumbag.

I actually love that our FL isn't just the most terrifying mofo in the narrative full of killers but that she is a bona fide borderline sociopath who has no understanding of boundaries or proper behavior or consent or even any sort of flirtation let alone a deeper feeling. She's been a killer since childhood; what normal does she have? The fact that she's managed to have any sort of emotions left is a miracle.

So her deciding she needs a child because her benefactor told her she should as a dying wish and picking a sperm donor in our ML because he's suitable, all with about as much understanding of relationships as an alien - she doesn't want ML because she fancies him, she doesn't want a child to love. It's basically a weird duty thing. It all makes sense.

It's a wonderful gender reversal, with FL the goal-oriented, robotic psycho and ML going "but wait a minute, feelings, also no way, no how." His realization as to how crazy she is, is something else.

Look how she explains it, as if it's the most logical business transaction - your genetic material is great, you are not married so nobody will be hurt, if you die on this mission you will have someone to carry on your lineage, you are scheming so if a kid takes after you and is scheming, it's good. None of it will seduce a man in the least, let alone anything further. But I think in a way it's a weird mark of respect where she's not trying to lie but put all her cards on the table. But also - it shows how far from normal she is that she doesn't even realize how insane it sounds to anyone. He may be a spy but his life has been pretty different than hers; he's got friends and he had family - he is a fairly functional dude. She doesn't have any relationship, and the closest she had was weird stubs...

Like - she is acting like an alien...

Yeah, I don't think psychotic rose through the ranks assassins are big on consent.

She's bona fide nuts and I love that for once we have an unhinged FL. But one of the things I love so is that you slowly see her melt a little around the edges, if barely, because he keeps treating her as a proper lady however murdery and crazy she gets - she was an assassin and then she was a spy-whore, she's basically never been treated as a proper person instead of a tool, except possibly by the dowager and that was a long time ago. No wonder she gets drawn in - like she did by his decency in that rooftop speech scene. It's such a great reversal!

Like she genuinely doesn't get why he doesn't jump at the offer.

I really do love the ML who'd be the unhinged one in any other drama but here he's the sane one. And also his angry decency is mmmm.

I don't usually have fantasy casts for characters; there are very few exceptions - CGY and LYX for the mains of 2ha, Chen Kun for the ML of Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir, SZE for Prisoner of Beauty (alas), but LYN is on that short list - he's 100% my fan cast for Yuwu's Mo Xi and stuff like this gives me mad MX vibes:

I mean...

Anyway, this drama is awesome!

PS also the way secrets don't get dragged out. ML knows her true identity and we are long moving on to other stuff, hooray!

[ab--n]

Chapter 1: Shifting and Moping for Lost Hope part 1

After having less than the recommended number of hours of sleep, I went to tell DK my conversation with Chocomonio. Him obviously being concerned.

“So what you’re saying is that this ‘Chocomonio’ person told you that two rooms have vents that connect to each other. I supposed that makes sense. Dero and Celeernyx did mention a way of transportation…”

“Okay I’m getting tired DK, Who are these people?”

“Verin, calm down. They're also Participants.”

“Ugh, Yeah sorry. I just feel like absolute trash.”

So one day until the poison kicks in and kills everybody but us four…. Wait.. didn’t Monodoo say that two rooms will be unaffected?

“DK… are you aware of how many rooms there are?”

“At least four.”

“Two rooms will be spared of poison.”

“And we were put in groups of four… 16 in total”

As silence falls between me and DK. we’ve come to a horrible realization.

What if Monodoo makes us continue killing each other?

“HEY!!! Archie found something. Looks like a key! Come here, Dolly and Archie will be waiting!!” Dolly yelled, thank god she was here. Morale would have dropped much quicker if she wasn't.

“We’re coming!!... Come on DK”

“... I’ll be following.”

Without DK I ran to where Archie and Dolly were. As I looked over them I saw a red key. It looks off though, Like it was taken straight out of a children's book.

“I found it near the monitor, It appeared overnight.”

“Dolly can see that. It wasn't here yesterday.”

Maybe Monodoo put it there? But how can he get in here? I have too many questions and no answers.

 “Let's use the key already! Dolly wants out of here!”

“Dolly, please wait! For all we know it could be a trap!” Archie pleaded.

“Well we don't know if we dont try!!”  

“Fine… let's go to the door first.”

Archie,Dolly and Me went to the door locking us here. It really doesn't make sense, I mean a key looking like it was stolen from a cartoon can open an attack proof metal door?-

*CREAK*

“….What?! How did it open?” I yelled.

“Look, Verin I don’t know either! The key looked really fake so I thought it was a trap!” Archie tried to explain

“Yay, The door opened! Wait for Dolly, Dolly will get Sir Dragon Knight!”

.....

So… we are out? 

.....

“DOTTY, I SWEAR TO NOVA, OR VOID OR WHOEVER, JUST STOP BOTHERING BLOSSOM DEE!!”

I turned my head as I saw 12? Maybe 10 more people come out of metal doors like ours, they must be the other participants.

“Okay! Dolly is back with DK! Hmm? Who are they?”

Suddenly DK pops out behind her.

“Those are the other participants Dolly, now if you will excuse me, I need to talk to somebody.”

"DK... Are you ok?" I questioned

"Yes, Now please leave me alone..."

I don’t know for sure… but DK is acting weird, I should leave him alone for now though. Maybe one of those guys that he mentioned wanted to talk?

Can I talk to Chocomoinio? I can see what it looks like now.

“Dolly, Archie. I also got places to be- Dolly, where’s Archie?”

“Archie went to Fylass, Dolly also wants to talk to someone soooo… Buh bye Verin!!”

And Dolly ran off, I wonder who does she want to talk to. But now’s not the time, I got to find Chocomonio!

As I traversed through the small crowd, then I heard a shout..

“Yo Veri! Where are you?” A familiar voice

“Choco? Is that you?” 

“Yep, and I’m right behind ya!”

Excited, I turned around quickly to see… a Yellow cat-like lady in a royal looking kimono, Not really what I expected…

“HI!!!!!!..Hmm? Oh ya fell for my facade? Wait let me turn back.”

Suddenly a blackish goo covered the lady and transformed into a small puffball with pink hair and lots of eyes…that are also pink.

“Here I am in all my glory! Sooo.. how’s it been going?”

“Not the best. I’m also confused… I mean did everyone get those weird keys?”

“Yeah, Techno found ours when she was on night watch. I have no idea where she is. I think she also switched ‘bodies’ with Lyx”

Man, there are so many names to keep track of. And why did Choco do air quotes when referring to those two guys switching bodies?

“Hey! while the more mature guys find out whatever is happening, wanna explore and talk to the others?”

“What about you Choco?”

“I’ma annoy Blossom with Dotty. Those two seem to hate each other, Weeeellll maybe only Blossom hates Dotty. Welp, I’ll be taking my leave now. See you later Verin.”

Okay, I’m a bit far behind the social game. I should introduce myself to the rest of the group-

“Hey! Rotten orange peel!” A girl a bit shorter than me ran up to me out of breath. She looks like Knuckle Joe. I wonder what he's doing right now.

“Have you seen a blind purple bat-like girl with a broken leg?” She seems desperate…

“Jill, please don't refer to the girl as ‘Rotten orange peel’!”

“I Don’t Give A Shit, Vibrato! I’m trying to find Bliees!”

I.. should leave these two to argue, I’ll go find others to introduce myself to.

______________________________________________________________

Oof, sorry if this seems rushed. its been a stressful two months. part two will be coming soon I hope.

@monsterhatdoodles

@moon-mage

@loaflovesdoodling

@george228732

@ceoofmetagala

@cauliarty

@smaaenart

@ilikesillythingswooo

I think thats everyone, if I didnt tag you and your character is in this part then please dm me!

[harocat]

How did you feel about Li Susu's character arc by the end of Till the End of the Moon?

I had a few critiques of it.

I think it was generally good through her first 'death'. My main issue with it, is that I wish the show, once they reach the Jing kingdom, got in her head more. I think that a lot of people were harsh on her because TTJ is such a meow meow (which he is), and because the show did not delve into her own personal trauma enough.

She lost everything to the Devil God. The whole world was about to be destroyed at the time she left. He would have succeeded in this, because there were no gods left and the last lines of defense had just been obliterated.

As viewers, of course we sympathize with TTJ. And so does she. And she does get to a point where she says "I am going to try to save him. I am going to tell him the truth. I want to stay by his side.' She was going to bet on him and the goodness that she thought he possessed.

But this is quickly sabotaged by Bingchang and Xianxia miscommunication plot device 101.

What is the value of one life vs everyone in the world's lives? Is the dilemma LSS faces. On the off chance that TTJ somehow doesn't become the devil god, is it worth the risk of not inflicting the nails? She has a mission that has been entrusted to her by everyone she's ever loved.

It's not 'LSS is so cold. She doesn't understand nature vs. nurture.' It's that she has the actual fate of the world on her shoulders, and she has to decide if it's worth it to save one man at the risk of everyone else. We as viewers just happen to really, really love that man.

And even then she isn't actually able to do it until she believes he killed her grandmother in cold blood, and that he mind controlled her into killing Xiao Lin (which he actually did do). Only then can she inflict the nails. Of course as viewers we know the whole story, but she does not.

When she fails at the nails and finds out the truth, she makes it her mission to destroy the evil bone, yes, but also to SAVE HIS LIFE. Her guilt is manifest in the physical harm the world overturning jade causes her. She is absolutely in mind to die to save him and give him another chance at life.

The show would have been better if it explicitly delved into that more because to be honest, a lot of viewers have trouble reading those implications.

Also Xiao Lin! Her need to save him is one part where her emotional side does overwhelm everything else, but people say over and over it 'doesn't make sense.' It does. It's just that the show doesn't remind you of the fact that she failed to save her 'Xiao Lin' back in episode one.

Adding to LSS's trauma is the fact that she is fully convinced she is going to die. Even before she decides to give TTJ her immortal essence, she thinks she will not survive this task. It's only in the brief segment of time when they were a happy couple where she was optimistic enough to think this may not be the case.

People also get on her case for not trusting him, but he doesn't fully trust her either. Again, it was less than a year ago that she experienced her world destroyed by a version of Tantai Jin that did become the devil god. Why is it so hard to believe that this trauma, no matter how much we want her to fully believe in TTJ, doesn't just go away? Even if it doesn't feel fair to TTJ? Remember that the devil god doesn't just look like TTJ; it is TTJ if he'd died that day in the snow, taken over by the spirit of the DG.

Mostly; it's clear that the show realized at some point what a good character TTJ is and what a good job LYX was doing with him, but that shouldn't have resulted in them sidelining LSS and Bai Lu. Nor should it have resulted in them cutting back her perspective. There are side characters they could have taken screentime away from instead (you know who).

The show needed to be more empathetic to her. It's naturally empathetic to TTJ, because he is sad and abused, but for LSS, they didn't put the work in as well.

The last five episodes are almost irreconcilable with how poorly they treated LSS. She plainly did not have a story of her own. She was moved around like a chess piece to wherever the narrative needed without any input from her, for the most part. The ONLY really good stuff we got with her was regarding Dimian, but even then, the payoff was weak. Love that she still believed in TTJ, hate that she didn't have a huge part in defeating her dick dad.

LI SUSU IS SUPPOSED TO BE EXTREMELY POWERFUL.

She is the lady of spirituality. She is THE cultivator with the power to become a goddess. She's the daughter of a goddess. We just don't see this. If anything, it comes across like cultivator!TTJ is more powerful than her, which is silly. He's not using demonic powers at that point, and he's still new to cultivating.

In the finale episodes, she doesn't make many decisions of her own. Everything comes down to TTJ's plan. Even when she becomes a goddess, it's because she's (quite literally) shoved into it.

I saw an article that said one thing that makes TTEOTM 'brave' and 'interesting' is that it sidelines the FL to focus on the ML at the end, but I am sorry, in what world is that the innovative route? China is not that different than the west in that it still prioritizes the importance of men in storytelling. The fact that the story started out SO much from Li Susu's perspective, and then made her basically contingent by the end, is a big weakness of the last eps of TTEOTM. I'm not asking to see TTJ do less, I'm asking to see her do more.

(If I ever do my rewrite, this is a huge thing I'll be working on.)

[avaantares]

is the Bai Yu Flashbacks drama Fairyland Lovers? He is very pretty!! (Also lmao at “sexy twig,” that’s exactly what I’m thinking, though I’ve only just started watching)

🎉 Correct drama ID #3! Congrats! 🎉

Fairyland Lovers is... not my kind of show at all, as it turns out. But when it crossed our dashes in the form of some curated gifsets, @iamtheshriekingguineapig and I each took one (1) look at this man in this wig

...and said, "I don't know what this show is, nor do I particularly care, I just know I NEED IT."

Imagine our disappointment when we started watching, and it turned out to be a modern-day romcom with... not very likeable characters (sorry, Bai Yu, I love you in every other show I've seen you in, but I would swipe left on your boy in FL). After two episodes, other members of the drama-watching group who are less attached to Bai Yu were not interested in continuing, but Kayla and I both still wanted to see the flashback bits, so we started watching the modern parts at 2x speed so we could get to the period costumes faster. 😅 Literally do not care about the main plot, only want to see Bai Yu in pretty costumes and a flattering wig.

Luo Yunxi and Bai Yu both belong in the sexy twig club! Luo Yunxi was originally a ballet dancer, and once said that his actual waist measurement is only 62 cm/24 inches (!). Bai Yu is more or less a parkour artist (which I wish he got to show off more in dramas). But they're both essentially noodle-shaped. Lots of muscle, but compressed into a long, thin frame:

(LYX left, BY right)

[elbiotipo]

I like how the khajiit get designed around their biome (sorta) every game, makes me wish for even more versions of khajiit! Not just Tigers & Lyxes! More tropical khajiit!

The Khajiit have already the most underrated lore, the ones we see in the games are just one kind each because there's a khajiit for each moon phase (and there's two of them), cat-people for all kind of tastes from literal housecats to all kinds of furries to giant sabertooth tigers to literal, bona-fide, canonical uwu nekomimi catgirls on the Elder Scrolls

I think there's a mod in Skyrim that lets you visit Elsweyr and see some of them, if I'm not mistaken, this is from that mod... I still haven't done the quest so I'm not sure.

I was not kidding about the catgirls (you also got cat-men if you're into that, there's something for everyone). There's also some more canon things about them in Elder Scrolls Online but to check that out you need to install Elder Scrolls Online and I won't.

[plantsarepeopletoo]

Only Friends Music Ep3 (2/2)

Part one covers the first half of Ep3, or you can find other episodes on my pinned comment.

This is a series of posts taking a closer look at the music of Only Friends. Reminder, Playing with the music is like body language, it moves with the conversation. Verbal says something either through lyrics or something like a song title.

[3/4]

Song: Many Lies Scene: Boston and Nick in Boston’s car Type: Vocal

Some Lyrics:

It's too many lies, too many lies It's too many lies, too many lies It's too many, It's too many, It's too many, Ask 'em a real question, yeah, I bet it's all lies, They won't cross that line for a fact, that's offsides,

Song starts when Boston says “Do you like Top too?” cementing Nick’s suspicions of Boston and Top. He sits quietly, listening to Boston talk about how great Top is, then asks if Boston likes Top and the bassline starts.

Boston stops, says No, he doesn’t like hotness. He likes cuteness like Nick.

Music changes after Nick says “I know” in response. Nick stops Boston from leaving, “what if people ask what we are to each other, what should I say?” “What else can you say? Friend, of course” The snare and hi hat start.

Boston caves, becoming soft to appease Nick. Telling him “You can call our relationship whatever you like” Here Nick seems to look right at the camera for a moment. Nick places the bug while Boston is looking right at him, but not seeing him.

Nick can even be seen subtly rolling  his eyes as he gets out of the car. This is when I knew Nick's sulking was on purpose, he was able to plant the wiretap and get Boston to relent. All the while Boston has no clue.

Song: Good Look by Lasse Lyx Scene: Ray comes to talk to Sand as he’s setting up Type: Vocal

Full Lyrics:

Caroline Don't cry baby it's no concern Oh, touch and go Is what I know but I can learn I don't wanna cause trouble I got a real nice attitude I won't fuss I won't struggle It's all very well now, it's all very good It's fun to pretend and we probably should But when I get up the lights come on So take a good look, 'cause soon I'll be gone Yeah, take a picture baby if you wanna last long All time, good high, don't ask me why 'Cause when I get up, the lights come on So take a good look, 'cause soon I'll be gone Yeah take a picture baby if you wanna last long All time, good high, feels good, my mind It's all very well now, it's all very good It's fun to pretend and we probably should 'Cause when I get up the lights come on So take a good look, 'cause soon I'll be gone Yeah, take a picture baby if you wanna last long All time, good high, don't ask me why

Song plays while Ray walks up to talk to Sand as he’s setting up, and continues until Ray walks away, with the lyrics “All time, good high, don’t ask me why”. 

Ray is there to feel good for now, and Sand is being swept up with him, even as Sand tries to slow everything down. They’re stuck in their cycle, circling each other, not acknowledging their feelings for each other or to themselves. 

Their relationship feel like a play, with a script that might have slight variations, but still is basically the same. Once they stop playing their part, however, the theater lights come on and suddenly they need to face reality. 

But right now, It feels good.

The song continues to play through Ray and Mew’s conversation too, with Ray and Mew’s conversation centered on Sand and how Mew can see the feelings Ray has yet to acknowledge. Mew and Ray have also been playing their parts as friends for the past few years. The song abruptly stops when Top walks up.

Song Caught you at the perfect time Scene: Top joins Mew and Ray and asks who hired the band. Type: Verbal

Lyrics in the show:

Damn feeling lucky about my own streets Us two in these sheets Diamonds at my feet Caught up in these talks  Circling my head top Should have been more cautious 

Lyrics continue:

Now I got what I wanted Many have been here before Made it out of love and more Like when I found a kodak store I can't stop I want it all Listen up I'm caught in you I need you to tell the truth Remember why you wanted to Remember that I said it was you Caught you at the perfect time  I was watching it and then? You know what you gonna do But I can never be your friend Got me waiting clear of lies Girl you got me so upended You know what you wanna do So I can never be your friend I’m a man and a man don’t weep Gonna term that eat your greens  When you thought you fucked but you do be clean Then you come to the bed and you love real dirty [unknown], you’re real keen Bring it, let me get your juiciest piece can’t remember when I had to say please The sharks at the club never had no boundaries How’s it gonna be, want to eat these [unknown] Where we gonna, you gonna need these calories Giving me a treat, To refill these batteries Then you’re on my bed, on your knees, there’s no other dream Oooh It ‘s sneaking up on yoooou There’s nothing you can dooo Cause things about to boom 

This song is interesting because it plays across interactions with a wider range of characters. The opening notes of the song are played over Ray’s disgruntled face at Top’s arrival, and the lyrics come in over Top’s haughty smile “Damn feeling lucky” only a few moments later as he stares at Ray’s disgruntled sigh. The song continues to play as Top glances sideways, see’s Sand, and his expression abruptly changes, the first verse plays over Sand giving Top the middle finger and the line “should have been more cautious” plays quietly as we switch back to Top and the lyrics fade out while the song continues to play behind Tops complaints about the band and Ray’s clear annoyance. The timing of the song continues to feel very intentional as the chorus music comes in as Ray defends his choice of band (“Caught you at the perfect time…But I can never be your friend”)

Given the parallels the show continues to draw about Ray and Top’s rich boy backgrounds (and EP4 Spoilers: drug & alcohol addictions) a song about feeling top of the world while spiraling out of control feels rather fitting. Though parts of the lyrics also feel like they could be hinting at Ray&Sand, Top&Mew and Top&Sand dynamics as well.

@rocketturtle4 Thank you for this section, and the help with the lyrics.

Song: Love by Paradox Scene: Pool Party Type: Vocal

Lyrics as translated by the subtitles in the show:

Oh dear love, please look my way Sometimes we meet on a painful day You stepped in and hugged me gently Oh dear love, my sweet pie You’re beautiful, my heart is lifted up high Sweetheart, where you at, oh dear love, I want to see you so bad

When Sand sings “You stepped in and hugged me gently,” We see Ray and Sand looking at each other. But the camera changes focus to Boston over Ray’s shoulder during the “Oh dear love, my sweet pie” Boston sees Sand singing to Ray, and knows that Ray might be finally getting over Mew. He realizes he needs to get into Ray’s head fast.

Song: Bake That Pie Scene: Boston comes to talk to Ray about Mew Type: Vocal

Boston decides it’s time to push Ray to act and when he leaves Nick to join Ray, Bake that Pie starts. He hits Ray where it hurts, pretending to be sympathetic about Ray’s crush on Mew. He tries to convince Ray to act fast, telling him if he waits Ray will “be just a side character who comes in and comforts him.” Boston the chaos fairy is sowing little toxic Kiss People In Their Sleep seeds.

Want to add, this whole party, Nick is holding on to the bag with his headphones in it, and adjusts it when he notices Boston looking at Ray. Nick doesn’t react much when Boston leaves him, he just watches, probably listening if he can. He's educating himself on how Boston moves with his "friends"

Song: First to fall Toby Tranter Scene: Boston shows Top the picture of Mew and Ray Type: Vocal

Song name suggests that Top is the first to fall to Boston’s manipulation. 

Who’s next? 

Song: We Will Never Die by Par Hagstrom Scene: Friends closing up the party, Type: Vocal

Lyrics in the show:

I remember when we said everything would happen And we knew we'd never fail, we would never die Wanna forget myself again so that can everything can happen Will you please call me by my name and tell me little lies? We will never die (x4) On an island in thе shade, the city is on fire Kissing water from your face, the sky is in your eyes Don't wanna forget a single day, couldn't really happen Will you please tuck me into this straight and say that we won't die We will never die We will never die Ooh, ooh, it's cold around Ooh, ooh, we're losing ground, yeah Ooh, ooh, they will forget about us Ooh, ooh, as if nothing ever was

While Boston and Nick talk about Nick going home, “Will you please call me by my name and tell me little lies? We will never die” are some of the lyrics that play. 

“On an island in the shade, the city is on fire.” Plays when Mew comes to put his arm around Ray. Mew is in the shade while Ray is on "fire". It’s easy for Mew to tell Ray to go after Sand, it’s easy for Mew to say he wants Ray to be happy. For Ray, this is probably pure pain. He isn’t ready for any of Mew’s advice. “Will You please call me by my name and tell me little lies?” Plays when Mew says “I want you to be happy”

So we’ve got parallels between Nick wanting Boston and Ray and Mew, they don’t want their relationship to die (even though it never really started.)

The song abruptly ends When Top says “I’m just taking my boyfriend home”

[4/4]

Song: (Stay) True by Lars Eriksson Scene: Ray and Sand make out in car Type: Vocal

Lyrics in the show:

No matter who or when or what will others say Just find your way And try to stay True And that's not a place where you would like to go I've got cigarettes and brandy Which could come in handy If you just help me loosen up my hand grenade’s fuse Baby don't refuse My truth

Full Lyrics:

Low I'm feeling low Want you to know I ain't got much to show Livin' on slow Gon' creep into my snail shell Until the spring liberates me from my winter hell I've got camels and candy I can be your daddy If you only let me creep into your prison cell Hey baby, can you tell? I'm not a criminal Your choice is seminal I want you To stay true To what's right for you No matter who or when or what will others say Just find your way And try to stay True Let's speak alone Stand in your own Try not to show This life has shone Try not to glow Way down below, oh It's a lot of woe And that's not a place where you would like to go I've got cigarettes and brandy Which could come in handy If you just help me loosen up my hand grenade’s fuse Baby don't refuse My truth Is up to you now, to choose I want you To stay true What's right for you No matter who or when or what will others say Just find a way And try to stay True

Two things, we have the bribing to keep a person to stay, the pleading for them to choose to be with them.

The second thing is weaker, the line “To stay true to What’s right for you, just find a way to stay true”. This could be Ray and Sand being asked to actually do what’s right for them. To go below the surface and to look past the bribes and sex, to actually address their baggage. But since the “what’s right for you” isn’t in the show, this might be too much.

Either way, "you you just help me loosen up my hand grenade's fuse" is a hell of a way to describe having sex with someone you really shouldn't be with.

Song: Goodbye Virginia by Sture Zetterberg

Type: Vocal

Lyrics not in show (except for “Goodbye Virginia”)

Cigarettes on the table Dirty plates on the stove I don’t know if you know where to start But I know where you’d like to be I’m afraid that I’ve lost you ‘Cause you’re hiding from me Yeah, it shows that it’s cost you a lot To be like the rest of us To be like the rest of us I’ve been waiting so long for the storm to arrive I know that it’s in you I know that it’s in you Dancing away with the world in your eyes Oh goodbye Virginia Goodbye Virginia (Ooh) Got your feet on the table And you’re wigglin' your toes You got eyeballing down to an art And it’s working too well, indeed I need someone to talk to When you’re hiding from me Soldier on and just walk through the rain And be like the rest of us Yeah, be like the rest of us I’ve been waiting so long for the storm to arrive I know that it’s in you I know that it’s in you Dancing away with the world in your eyes Oh goodbye Virginia Goodbye Virginia

The song starts with thunder, like the thunder that played when Top left Mew to go to Boston. It’s a sign.

Ray chooses Mew in this moment and Sand feels lost and hurt. He doesn’t know Ray’s connection with Mew, and in EP4, we get it, but Sand still will not. Right now Sand feels like he’s competing against Mew, and later we know he’s been through that before with Top. 

The whole song hurts a lot, but I wanted to highlight two parts: 

I’m afraid that I’ve lost you ‘Cause you’re hiding from me Yeah, it shows that it’s cost you a lot To be like the rest of us

Ray’s mentally ill, he’s living in a house that has not been redecorated since his mom passed. His knowledge of music doesn’t seem to have expanded past his mom’s collection. He’s even using her coping mechanisms. It costs Ray a lot to be able to cope with life and be like the rest of everyone else. 

And the second part:

You got eyeballing down to an art And it’s working too well, indeed

Song: K-sEx by Hank Lotion Scene: Boston and Top in the car Type: Vocal

Not much to say about it other than the song title is very on point and purposeful. And we get more thunder as Top decides to kiss Boston back.

Song: Bird Cry by Iso Indies Scene: Flashback Nick and boston in the car/ Nick listening to Boston and Top Type: Vocal

Lyrics start during the flashback in Boston’s car, and we’re shown Nick planting the bug. 

I’ve been listenin' to birds cry I've been viewin’ from a bird's eye Swear I always keep my third eye open I'm focused If it's real, you know it's gon' come back This that season, but this no come back If you let go, then please don't run back 'Cause if it ain’t love, then we don’t want that

First verse, in the context of the show, a metaphor for spying, being “educated”. The second verse along with the tweets are JoJo and the writers begging Nick to let Boston go.

--

Thank you for reading this far! Quick recap.

We've got Nick's songs turning from mostly wordless techno to HipHop or K-pop. He's begging Boston to see him as He sees Boston as his replica.

Boston's songs are still mostly wordless.

Top and Mew got more songs that sound happy but the words are not. Top and Mew look like they're doing fine, on the surface.

Ray and Sand are stuck in a cycle, each acting out their own parts to the play.

Thank you @rocketturtle4 and @shouldiusemyname for editing and sound lyrics!

Here's a link to my pinned comment if you want to see other episodes!

[thegreymoon]

Till the End of the Moon

I took a long break from this show because it just wasn’t sparking joy. As of episode 9, Li Susu easily tops the list of my most hated leads. Sorry, Bai Lu, I will love JJ forever, but this role just isn’t it. When she punched Tantai Jin when he was weak and dying and called him “ungrateful”, she lost the last of my good will that Love is Sweet was still providing her with. In the meantime, I got spoiled for this drama’s shitty ending and the level of rage I felt was honestly unhealthy, so I felt it was for the best if I didn’t continue watching for a while. 

With that said, I did curse myself when I said I would watch this drama just for LYX and the costumes even if everything else turned out to be terrible, and... well. Everything else is terrible. I am so mad and disappointed, but I am going to give it another try. However, this is likely to be a hatewatch from now on, so if that bothers you, please don’t read my posts or block the tag “tteotm spoilers”. 

Honestly, even Broker made me less angry, which really does not bode well, but I guess my expectations for this show were simply too high and now I am paying the price. 

***

Yay, the fox spirit.

***

THEY SHOULD BE!!

But, alas, we cannot have good things. 

***

He’s probably my favourite character here (minus Tantai Jin and his pets) because he gives me such strong Taxian-Jun vibes.

Crumbs. But I am taking them. 

***

Nice 🔥🔥

Please let’s kill someone already. 

***

GOOD WORK, BABY!! NOW GO FORTH AND KILL SOME MORE!

***

We love to see it!!

***

I see no downsides 🙄

***

He’s just asking for death at this point. 

***

Mood.

***

I think that, in addition to all the other problems I have with this show, xianxia just isn’t for me. 

***

Oh, I thought she would be dead for sure.

***

Good for him!

I will take the good things while they last. 

***

The way all these supposedly “good” characters annoy me 🙄

HOW IS HE MALICIOUS? YOU ATTACKED HIM!! 

I am just so done with this drama’s “Oh, we only starved, beat and abused you! How dare you fight back, you ungrateful wretch!” attitude 🙄🙄

The entire premise of this show makes no damn sense. 

[the-evil-pizza]

Sorry for always returning to immortality but, you see, i think about it daily.

Insane to me that they got the actor that everyone wanted for the character. It's there, it exists. Everyone's wish for the adaptation of this story, filmed...

But it will not leave the vault until lyx is, like, 80 or at all so all we ever get are some leaked images from the filming days

[dangermousie]

Of course Ming Ye’s plan to save Sang Jiu involves gruesomely dying in her stead. If aesthetically suffering was an Olympic sport, the man would be going for a gold medal.

I have my issues with this portion of the story (not the way it’s written, it’s done well, but with my liking or lack thereof for this couple, about which more below) but this is the important point! Yes, the tears are important blah blah but this is a lesson about how to swap someone’s demonic stuff without, you know, driving nails into them like they are evil Jesus. 

By now, I am quite done with these two boneheads, but I confess that made even my cold black shriveled heart hurt.

(I guess they had a starter marriage :P)

Ummmm, honey! She just massacred 10K people! I am sure they had old and kids among them. Like...by now I want to smack both of them with a shovel, tbh.

Awwww. Even with my annoyance at these two, this once again made me :(

Sang Jiu being her charming self. Let the man die in peace (or, since you yourself are about to keel over), let him survive in peace. 

OK, OK, Mousie, stop being irritated and concentrate on how pretty LYX looks here.

And then she’s all “psych! I can’t be undevilized or even survive because my normal body is dead.” You couldn’t have let him know BEFORE he got repeatedly flambeed for you?

It’s OK, hot dimbulb, there are many many fangirls who will gladly accept your...ahem...divine essence. All night long.

What the hell! Now that she’s dying, she still wants to do her best so he’d not have any peace. No dissipating before a final twist of the knife. WTF! By now, any shred of sympathy I had for her (and to a large degree MY) has disappeared utterly. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think it’s bad writing - just as MY is terrible at communicating and prone to dramatic gestures over common sense functioning, Sang Jiu is incredibly self-absorbed and immature from beginning to end. She was someone who thought it was a great idea to marry a guy who did not know her at all because he was hot. She also thought it was a great idea to force him into sex right after they got divorced. She didn’t wait to find out whether the method she came up with would result in divine punishment or whether it was still worth it to use the crystal chalice despite where it came from or or or or or really anything. It’s just before she went powerful and evil, Ming Ye and the viewer could ignore the red flags (which got redder and redder; I mean much as fictional dubcon in 14 was hot, it WAS 100% dubcon/sexual assault; no nice sweet good selfless well-adjusted person does that) but once she got power into her hands and trauma really shoved her further, it became really clear. It’s kind of like Tantai Jin. If he has no status and no power, does it matter in terms of its effect on the world if he would love revenge or is cold or has trauma or w/e? No, of course not because whether he’s a well-adjusted sweetheart or dysfunctional psycho, he has no power to carry out anything, whether it’s to open a puppy shelter or to carry out a wholesale slaughter. But once he gets power, his traumas and quirks become everyone else’s concern and one must deal with them somehow because he makes it everyone’s business. Same here.

What. The. Fuck. That is not romantic, this is UGH. Honestly, I am glad MY and SJ found each other because they should not inflict themselves on other partners. It’s kind of amazing that I started out liking them and by now I am all “thanks divine lightning, hurry it up with your barbeque.” 

He ultimately does not but by then I stopped caring. I am so so so happy we are back to our headcases Tantai Jin and Susu.

The thing is - my ranting does not mean I did not enjoy this portion of the story (unlike in the novel where I skimmed it since I dngaf about it at all.) The acting is great, the visuals are nuts, and the characters, including MY and SJ are completely internally consistent and their actions make total sense for what and who they are - their arcs are logical. I strongly dislike both of them by the end, but that does not mean it was not a well-done story.

[mmmcheetos]

The lyrics "you might look at me and think you're going crazy!/I lost it long ago, you're not alone, baby!" Is very 1.0 LYX to JYR because tbh I think he went mad first...

Also "what have i done to deserve this damnation?/who knows if you're the one to blame? Cause we dont even know your name/but you're here now and we've got temptation..." Is very 1.0 guoshi because like. They know it's unlikely that JYR deserves this but neither do they and theyr are angry

Oml why does fnaf fit this so well???

🐉

you were subconsciously inspired by fnaf it seems kdjkjgkfjf

also i'm just getting angrier and angrier at the emperor cos he deserves the worst after putting so many people through torture

[stories-from-peter]

Getting To Know You

My wife and I had a big house with a garden, swimming pool, and a banana farm. It was her dream to have a place where she could plant all the flowers she wanted. The only land we could find that suited us was quite far from the city and her relatives. Family would often visit on special occasions but Christmas was almost always at our house. We had enough bedrooms and bathrooms to accommodate the entire clan.

When my granddaughter, Lyx, was 4 years old we had a really busy celebration. Everyone arrived on December 23 and stayed overnight. That gave everyone all day to prepare everything for Christmas Eve dinner and the day of celebration after. Everyone except me and Lyx, that is. We had not spent a lot of time together before then.

I got up on December 24 and started my day as usual with feeding our fish in the pond and taking care of the pool. As I was walking to the pond I heard some little feet pitter-pattering behind me. Lyx was awake at 6am and looking for things to do. I handed her the fish food and explained how much to feed them. Then I showed her how to add chlorine to the pool before we headed back to the house for breakfast. After breakfast Lyx was looking for some flowers to pick from the garden. None were quite to her liking so she asked me to pick a flower that would look nice in her hair. Some of the trees had nice flowers but she wasn’t tall enough to reach them. I picked a couple from our red calachuchi tree and gave them to her. She was struggling to get them to stay in her hair but her poses looked like a professional model. I ran into the house and grabbed my camera to get a few shots.

We spent the rest of our day together swimming, looking for interesting bugs, and just enjoying our time together. Years later I look back on this as one of my favorite days and so does my beautiful granddaughter.

[tomorrowsdrama]

This post is partially inspired by comments made by me and @arizona-trash-bag in a @dangermousie post about Cheng Yi. brief recap: I said Cheng Yi needs to be in a danmei, Arizona said Luo Yunxi is a refined beauty whereas Cheng Yi is sensual. I then compared LYX to the beautiful, elegant, perfect main wife who’s kind of frigid and CY to the sexy and seductive concubine who’s meant to fulfill all of the husband’s carnal desires. Mousie said anyone who has both in their harem is never leaving the house.

And thus, spawned the idea of a danmei where Luo Yunxi is the virtuous, beautiful, and perfect empress and Cheng Yi is the seductive calamitous beauty who is the emperor’s favorite noble consort who was placed by his side by scheming ministers to keep him from doing any real work. LYX and CY duke it out in the harem to gain the emperor’s attention - LYX, to get the emperor back to being a good ruler, CY, to hold power and have a good time in bed with the hot (because they always have to be hot in danmeis) emperor with a huge pillar (also a prerequisite for being a top in a danmei)

Now the most important thing is, who should play said emperor/top in this hypothetical story? I’m gonna give Chen Feiyu a break and not typecast him as every tall, hot headed and hot blooded, top of every BL story ever (although he would be perfect).

Well at first I was thinking of Song Weilong as the young and impressionable emperor who is not bad at heart but easily swayed/seduced by love and CY. He’s taller than both LYX and CY at 6’1 (another typical requirement of being the top in a BL) and he’s got the perfect vibe for a lovelorn emperor who doesn’t care about anything else except for his otp.

CY gives him the affection and attention that he’s always wanted from LYX who has always been an idealized goddess (god?) to him. But with every worshipped idol, there’s also a sense that they’re out of reach/untouchable. Does not help that LYX has been raised to be the perfect virtuous Empress since birth, aka, he can’t show any emotions and must put the good of the nation above everything else, including his own feelings/desires, so he treats the emperor with a certain level of reserve and distance. To put it simply, LYX is an icy queen who does not know how to show affection to the emperor and is constantly expecting him to live up to the ideals of a perfect ruler. That’s a lot of pressure and loneliness for a young king like SWL who was initially overjoyed when he learned he was going to marry his god, only to be splashed with cold water. So into CY’s warm arms and other body regions he goes!

But then, I started thinking, what if the emperor is an older type. The kind that you can believe does nothing but have tons of sex with his favorite concubine and also inspires no other thought but sex…someone like…

Mark Chao! Ok, if we go with him, this takes the story into a slightly different direction. In this version, CY does the seducing, but then ends up being the one seduced as well. LYX the repressed prudish empress also gets seduced because that’s a foregone conclusion with someone like Mark Chao as the emperor. It ends with them joining hands and other parts to defeat the corrupt court and they rule the empire peacefully. I mean…

they didn’t stand a chance.

Ok, but now my brain is spinning even more and what if, the emperor is a ruthless, calculating type? You don’t get to the top by being nice. Then, if we’re going to ignore the BL rule of the top always having to be taller, Chen Kun would be perfect.

But with him as emperor, the story takes another direction again. In this version, Chen Kun and LYX have a very loveless albeit respectful political marriage. LYX was chosen as his empress because he comes from a strong military family and Chen Kun wanted to consolidate power. It’s a lonely marriage for LYX but because Chen Kun does not disrespect him and treats his family fairly, he’s ok with his lot in life. That is until CY comes into the picture. For some reason, CY gets under Chen Kun’s skin and he can’t treat him indifferently like everyone else. What he doesn’t know is, CY entered the palace to get revenge on Chen Kun, who, during his quest for the throne when he was still just a prince, eliminated CY’s entire family a long time ago because they were from an opposing faction and tried to kill him. In a rare moment of mercy, or foolishness depending on who you ask, Chen Kun decided to spare CY’s life when he raided their mansion and massacred everyone in sight because he was only a child at that time and Chen Kun had not yet become completely jaded to bloodshed at that point in time. So CY was exiled and spent his life plotting revenge and learning all sorts of skills of seduction and assassination for said revenge. Will CY fall for Chen Kun for real or succeed in his revenge? And how will LYX react when he learns that it’s not that Chen Kun is incapable of love, it’s just that he didn’t love LYX?

Ok, since this is already the length of a short story, how about we add another iteration and make the emperor a rugged daddy type? Say…

Zhou Yi Wei as a powerful general from humble origins who overthrow the former dynasty and usurps the throne? LYX is the royal blue blood who’s a bit snobby who begrudgingly married ZYW because it was either that or risk elimination of the clan. ZYW tries his best to get along with LYX and be a fair husband but LYX is not having any of it because 1. ZYW overthrew his royal family and 2. ZYW was a commoner and LYX grew up in the palace. On the other hand, there’s CY, the younger brother of one of ZYW’s closest generals who’s followed CY since he was young and been secretly in love with him. When CY’s brother died, he asked ZYW to take CY as a concubine and take care of him. Brother has always known how much CY loved ZYW and wanted to ensure there was someone to protect him after he was gone because even though CY has followed them to war all his life, he’s a delicate flower and always attracting unwanted attention. ZYW spends time with CY who is like a familiar home for him in the foreign and cold palace with all its formalities and rules. LYX initially married ZYW for survival and looked at him with disdain but slowly he finds himself drawn to him because HELLO ZYW, and he, who has been cooped up in the grand palace his whole life, becomes curious about the wild and free life ZYW lived before he became emperor. So now ZYW is stuck between the proud and regal LYX who does not want to share his husband when he becomes emotionally invested and CY who has been his comfort and whom he feels a duty to. Oh and please enrich your life with this gif of ZYW doing what he does best

aka set my pants on fire.

Finally, what if we make this a really tragic story. Who better to play the emperor than masochist king Qin Jun Jie?

He plays an emperor who is being poisoned by either his empress or noble consort, you guys decide. Because this is LYX, CY, and QJJ, each one of them gets whipped and/or chained up at least once in the story and it’s a competition to see who spits up blood the most number of times. The palace maids who have to do the laundry obviously are not very pleased.

Anyway, if you’ve made it all the way to the end, wow, congratulations and thank you for reading the delusions of this fangirl. Now someone talented in writing please write one or all of these danmei scenarios!