#wkx wouldn’t fucking thought that

[chemical-abscess]

Suicide squad and chengling

[randomingoftherandomness]

Prompt! WKX is an omega who's been suppressing his heats for years with the help of Aunt Luo. When he leaves the Ghost Valley, his heat comes unexpectedly because of prolonged suppressant use. Alpha!ZZS helps. Smut or not, up to you.

A/N: I see Omega WKX and just like that it’s on like donkey kong 😝 No smut for this one though I may revisit this. I had to take a pause in writing the Smut Dialogue Prompts because I had to work for my Taobao WoH merch money. But keep sending them in!

I place this fic as taking place somewhere on the journey to the Longyue Cabinet.

This fic is longer than I had anticipated...

—

It hits him that he’s out of tea three days into the constant discomfort of aches on the base of his spine, the almost debilitating need to scent Chengling as if he was his young, and the embarrassing urge to bare his neck to the Old Toad Monster whenever they argue. But above all that, the most mortifying thing of all is the distracting awareness of where his Ah Xu was at every given moment and the insanity that rages through him to kneel and submit to him even when the man still looks at him with nothing but a suspicion that makes him want to keen and whine.

Wen Kexing is supposed to be above all this, not just as the Lord of the Ghost Valley, but as someone who is trying to prove to this Alpha that he was the right--

He perishes the thought before it can even finish.

The nondescript brocade pouch is empty save for a few remnant leaves that would barely be enough to tide him through even the first hour of what’s coming next. It’s fine, he tries to reason through the rising panic in his mind that this was missing the mark of ‘fine’ and hitting the bullseye of ‘you’re completely fucked’. This blend is unique to Aunt Luo’s stores and if Ah Xiang was still by his side, she would have a backup pouch for him. As a Beta, she would have no need for it herself.

Unbidden, the memories of the scant few times he had let his Heats run their course comes flooding through him; the pain and ache of being untouched, unfulfilled, the taste of blood and sweat as he rides through the terror of his heart burning through the fever, the fear of that lone door being broken down by some crazed Alpha and being mated against his will. He remembers the rawness of his throat for weeks after, screaming and crying for that boy who balanced a cricket on his head and promised him good food when he could come home with him.

Wen Kexing swallows tightly around the knot of emotions drumming thick in his throat. It’s an old fear and it is the nightmare that he has survived and lived through by the grace of Aunt Luo’s protection. He’d presented early; far too early by the sounds of Aunt Luo’s recollections and the theory was that the trauma of his parent’s deaths coupled with the Mengpo Soup being administered to someone so young, was the cause of things.

“Lao Wen?”

“Hm?” He quickly plasters on a smile, blinking up at his Ah Xu before darting his gaze somewhere over his shoulder instead. This is dangerous. 

He’s sweating through his inner robes and it won’t be long now before his scent draws every Alpha in the 15 mile radius from where they are in the forest. He finds himself simultaneously surprised and disappointed that Ah Xu has barely reacted to his scent when the Old Toad Monster had taken a sniff at him this morning and declared that he was taking Chengling along with that strange child-man off their hands for a few days. 

It’s ridiculous and he reminds himself that he has nothing to fear when Ah Xu has been nothing but courteous this entire time even when knowing from the beginning that he was an Omega with a bloodlust that could fill entire oceans. 

“Lao Wen, are you alright?” Ah Xu asks. Wen Kexing looks at him then; meets his gaze and decides it is all or nothing at this point. Should Ah Xu say no, he won’t press, he won’t push and he won’t beg. His heart will break but that wouldn’t be anything new. 

He has survived worse things than a broken heart.

“I’m going into Heat,” He admits, eyes fixed on Ah Xu, gaze strong and unwavering. “It’s going to be bad because I’ve been on suppressants and I need you to know this.”

Ah Xu remains impassive, quiet and still, before he asks gently, “So what are your plans?”

The words twinge something awful in his chest and he forces himself to keep smiling. “Find an Alpha. Pay for one if I must. The last Heat I went through was horrible and I nearly died. I’m not keen to repeat the experience,” He inhales and finds himself stuttering on the sour scent of... Anger? Jealousy?

Ah Xu’s tells are still things he is learning but even with this shallow pool of knowledge, Wen Kexing can tell that he is displeased. 

His immediate instinct is to go on his knees, wrap his arms around that slender waist and rub his cheek to his belly until that cold, unhappy scent sweetens into something warm again. But he restrains himself, tries to stand his ground even when he can feel the quickening of his heart demanding that he submit, he surrender, he give himself over to his Alpha; to just reach out and touch and kiss and love and be loved--

“Am I not enough?”

The slow enunciation of the syllables breaks through the cacophony in his mind. Wen Kexing thinks he must be dreaming and half convinces himself that this is some Heat wrought dream, and that there is no way that Zhou Zishu would ever--

Careful hands hold him by the cheeks, wrists placed close to the corners of his lips and he can almost taste the way he can be owned and marked and belong to this Alpha. This same Alpha who is looking at him with eyes of liquid gold and is saying, “Lao Wen, please let me share your Heat with you.”

“But you...” He trails off.

“Me?”

“You haven't even reacted to me,” Wen Kexing says a little dumbly, body swaying into the promise of an embrace.

On that, Ah Xu smiles a little wryly. His hands move, trailing fingers southwards to rest right against Wen Kexing’s nape. The heat of his palm, right over where a Bond Mark should be shouldn’t be this thrilling, but the promise that is etched in the heady weight of his gaze is enough to steal a soft whine from the cages of his ribs. 

“It’s the Nails. I’m slowly losing my senses. I can’t smell much anymore,” Ah Xu admits with a gentle press of his fingers to sweat slick skin for the briefest of a moment, before pulling away, huffing with fondness. “Was that what worried you? That I wasn’t reacting to you? I thought I’d held your hands enough times and touched you more than was appropriate. Even Senior Ye could tell.” 

The gentle whining that comes from within him builds into something needy that bellies the spreading damp on his inner clothes. 

“I won’t force you to do anything you don’t want to,” Ah Xu says, leaning in to press their cheeks together. When he speaks again, his words come on heated breath that has Wen Kexing spreading his legs, letting him occupy the space between them. “But I can say this. If you spend your Heat with me, I won’t hurt you, I’ll make it so good for you. I promise you won’t remember all the Alphas you’ve shared them with before.”

Wen Kexing bites down on his lip and ducks his eyes. Ah Xu has never been so forward and yet, with just these few sentences, he has turned his entire world axis on its head. “There weren’t ever any other Alphas,” He confesses in a quiet rush. “I...”

“You’ve never...?” Ah Xu’s eyes widen.

“Never. I’ve never trusted anyone enough.”

Ah Xu seems to ponder on this. “And now?”

Wen Kexing closes his eyes, surrendering to the need to press his brow to Ah Xu’s strong shoulder. The need prickles deep in his groin and he knows Ah Xu can feel it even through the folds of his robes. There is no mistaking where this will go and Wen Kexing finds that there is no fear in this desire.

Here was his Alpha, the one who will catch him when he falls. Here is the one he had chosen as a child when the world was bright. Here he is for him to love, to hold, to cherish. 

Beyond any measure of rhyme and reason, Wen Kexing knows that even if this is the only Heat he ever gets to share with him, it will be enough. “You’re it for me,” He says softly, pouring every bit of sincerity and honesty into those words. Even if Ah Xu still suspects him, even if he never loves him the way Wen Kexing has loved him for a lifetime, he has been Zhou Zishu’s Omega from the very beginning.

Whatever Ah Xu finds on his face must be enough, because their lips meet, at first, in an inelegant kiss that was too much teeth that clacked and bump, and then again, in a kiss that was half-laughter and many parts delight.

“Then, let me take care of you,” Ah Xu says, thumb tracking the curve of his jaw, pressing his body close.

Wen Kexing shudders, hands moving to hold him by the waist. 

“Alright.”

[demoniqt]

Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make Me a Match

Summary:

Zhou Zishu was supposed to get married under the decree of the Emperor but he has yet to find a suitable candidate. Most of the matchmakers in the capital has given up on him until this trendy matchmaker that's been gaining fame catches his attention.

However, to the frustration of the matchmaker, Lord Zhou is rejecting every candidate he proposes, not knowing that the one that Zhou Zishu wants to marry is HIM.

Cue lots of misunderstanding and courtship fails.

Notes:

This came about because of Ep 23 where ZZS asked WKX to matchmake him with someone and the two of them shared a secret grin lol. It's your fault, ZZS!

Chapter 1: Meet Wen Kexing

Zhou Zishu was deep into his third bottle of wine by the time the matchmaker made an appearance. He wasn't late per se. Zhou Zishu came ahead of time for an early start in his drinking. He felt he needed it after the day he just had.

The servant led the man in white into the room and the first thought that came into Zhou Zishu's head was:

'Shit, I didn't know that this was an interview with a candidate or I would have changed before I came here.'

The man was a beauty, that was for sure. And though Zhou Zishu himself was no slack, he had a long and stressful day at work which culminated to him arguing passive aggressively with his cousin aka the asshole of an Emperor that he had helped put on the dragon throne. The one that decreed for him to get married by the end of the fucking year.

Was he sour about it? Yes, very much so. And he's going to make that very clear every time his cousin brings up this sore topic.

So what if he is single and ready to mingle? He likes it that way.

But his interfering cousin likes to stick his nose into his business.

His salty thoughts were redirected when the young man settle onto the seat opposite him and instead, went directly to: 'Shit, he's beautiful.'

"Zhou-daren, I presume," the young man said with a smile, opening a white fan to cool himself in the summer heat.

Insanely, Zhou Zishu noticed that he had an extremely attractive beauty mark. And when the young man opened his lips, Zhou Zishu's eyes went directly to his red lips and his dirty, dirty mind wondered how it tasted like. Or felt like.

He must have been more exhausted than he thought. He never used to be so... horny. He wasn't Duan Pengju.

"I am Wen Kexing," introduced the young man. "I am your matchmaker."

Everything in Zhou Zishu's distracted mind came to a screeching halt.

"What...?" came out of his mouth involuntarily. Oh, he's so disappointed his usually expedient mind couldn't even garner a more intelligent reply.

"I'm your matchmaker," the young man repeated, looking a little concerned at him then at the bottles on the table.

"No, I heard you," he replied quickly. "I just thought... never mind."

"Alright," Wen Kexing agreed amiably. "Would Zhou-daren go through with me what kind of candidates you are looking for?"

"I want a beauty," Zhou Zishu said, staring intently at Wen Kexing, who involuntarily blushed.

"Of course, someone who will match Zhou-daren's beauty is a must," replied the matchmaker coyly and Zhou Zishu's lips twitched.

"Someone well-read," Zhou Zhou continued, reaching out to touch the white fan where a lovely poem was written with beautiful calligraphy. Wen Kexing looked down to see what he was indicating and smiled.

"Did you write that?" Zhou Zishu asked.

"Yes," Wen Kexing replied. "Do you like poetry, Zhou-daren?"

"I like literature of all kinds," Zhou Zishu answered, still charmed by the matchmaker. What a pity he wasn't a candidate.

"What else are you looking for?" the matchmaker redirected their conversation again.

"Someone who can cook," he continued. Then he asked, "Can you cook?"

"Fairly," the matchmaker answered, seemingly unaware that HE was being interviewed as well. "My parents passed away when my sister and I were quite young so I had to learn to cook for both of us quickly or starve."

"Oh," Zhou Zishu said, more pensive now. "She's lucky to have you."

"Well, I'm lucky to have her too," Wen Kexing replied him. "If it wasn't for her, I would be a mess."

Then seemingly realising how far from the topic they were, Wen Kexing visibly snapped back to their original conversation.

"What else?"

"I hope they don't mind travelling," Zhou Zishu replied. "I travel for work sometimes and I would like to bring my significant other with me. It'll make travelling more enjoyable."

"Travelling sounds nice," Wen Kexing said, with a wistful smile.

"You don't travel much?" Zhou Zishu asked the matchmaker, wanting to know more.

"Like I said, I raised my sister after our parents death, so I didn't have much opportunities to travel," the younger man answered.

'Marry me and you can travel all you want', his inappropriate mind supplied and Zhou Zishu actively squashed his mental quip by taking a gulp of his wine.

"What about your manor? Wouldn't your spouse need to stay back to care for your household?" Wen Kexing asked as he took a sip of his own wine.

"Oh, my shidi will run the household in my absence," he said. Then thought for a while, "Though if my future spouse can help me with the burdens of the household, it'll take a load of my shoulders."

"So, someone who is responsible for running a household as well," commented Wen Kexing. "I will look through the candidates and see who I can suggest for you, Zhou-daren."

"Take your time," Zhou Zishu said, pouring a cup of wine for himself and then for the matchmaker. "I don't mind the wait."

"Didn't Bixia give you a time limit?" Wen Kexing asked, nodding in thanks for the wine.

Damn. He knew about the decree.

"I don't believe in making hasty decisions when it comes to marriage," said Zhou Zishu. "It's why so many matchmakers say that I'm difficult to work with."

"Well, of course you have to take into account who you're marrying," said Wen Kexing in an outrage. "Marriage is for life."

Damnit. He was looking more and more attractive by the second. Why did he have to be the matchmaker!?

"In anyhow," Wen Kexing continued, completely oblivious to Zhou Zishu's internal despair. "I will do my best to provide you with the perfect bride."

End Chapter 1

Because I like this series, so I'm posting it on tumblr. Hahaha.

[thegreymoon]

FRIENDS!! WORD OF HONOR IS SO GOOD! JUST SO INCREDIBLY GOOD!! PLEASE GO WATCH!!

***

So, if I am understanding this right, the Five Lakes Alliance consists of five sworn brothers, two of whom are now dead (one of whom was Chengling’s father and the other the master of those two kids that are now being chased through the woods)? The other two are Shen and Zhao, and there should be one more whom we haven’t yet met? And the Five Lakes Alliance is (was?) trying to establish supremacy over the martial arts world, but there are dozens of other smaller sects that are resisting? And assassin clans and rouge cultivators are also getting involved all over the place? And the Ghosts are the martial arts world’s outcasts? And I still haven’t figured out how ZZS’s master fits into all this, but he is a prince, which is a separate institution of power (I guess), like in NiF? 🤔

Also, I still don’t know exactly what this armour they are all after is, but it is clearly some magical artefact that gives you superhuman power and which has now been shattered into several pieces that each of the players is trying to put together for their own benefit. 

***

LMAO, this shameless opportunist! 😆😆

A-Xu, you are not getting out of this anytime soon!

***

And I am in love 🤗

***

OMG, there is a female assassin in charge of executing unfaithful men!! 😆

Cheat at your own peril! 🔪🔪

***

Big brother’s favourite disciple, eh? 🤨🤨

***

LMAO, poor ZZS, there is always some crap going down, interrupting his attempts to get blackout drunk 😆😆

***

Well, shit 😕

Didn’t the ghost lady say she had no quarrel with him, though? This seems suspicious. 

***

LMAO, I very much doubt it!

Considering that the ghost is among you and the only reason Chengling is still alive is that he is the one protecting him! 

But, OK! Let’s wait and see!

***

LOL, I thought she was an actual ghost for a moment there and was wondering if I had misinterpreted the genre 😅

Anyway, kill him, pls. 

***

LMAO, please 🙄

That child is adorable, I’ll be surprised if you make it farther than the gate! 

***

Of course it’s him! 😆😆

***

LMAO, did he just cut his sleeve?? 😆😆 WKX wouldn’t know subtlety if it hit him in the face 🤣🤣

***

Oh, shut up, you disaster!

***

Philanthropist Wen 😂😂 Why is this so funny??

***

Wait, what??

I am confuuuuuused!! 😵

***

OH WHAT THE FUCK 😱😱

I JUMPED OUT OF MY GODDAMN SKIN!!

Are we still in a hallucination, or do they have zombies here too?? Also, wtf, how do they have better zombies with their reportedly non-existent budget than CQL, which was all about zombies, did??

***

Oh, so he does know exactly who he is??

***

I am fascinated by how colourful all these random characters are!

***

CQL set such low zombie standards, I am SUPER IMPRESSED by the ones we are getting here!! 👍👍

***

LMAO, I love it when he flips the switch into murder mode 🔥🔥

***

“A kindhearted man who couldn’t kill a chicken” 🤣🤣

Wen Kexing, why must you lie? 

I am afraid to even guess at his body count 😅

***

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME WITH THIS SCENE

***

LMAO, does he ever stop talking bs 🤣🤣

Oh, yes, Philanthropist Wen, you are so peaceful and rational when dealing with your enemies! You would absolutely never kill anyone! 🤣🤣

***

I mean, can it even be considered a romance at this point if our couple doesn’t have an extended homoerotic fight in the middle of the night on a roof or next to a body of water? 😋😋

***

Would it have killed them to film this scene in a real pool? 😑

***

Perfect strategy, dump him in a lake so that his makeup washes off 😂😂

Anyway. It’s just unfair how beautiful this man is 😭😭

***

LMAO, even if he wasn’t in love before, he’s in love now 😂😂

***

LMAO 🤣🤣

Drag him, A-Xu!!

***

LMAO, this blatant nut promo 😂😂

Anyway, I read on Twitter this morning that the nut company people did not manage to score tickets to the upcoming SHL concert, which is an injustice! 😂😂

[its-chelisey-stuff]

This whole sequence is Zhou ZiShu being shocked af and feeling hurt and betrayed and lol I love you Wen KeXing, but damn you messed up epically!

A shy Wen KeXing? Well well well this is new.

It just hurts SO MUCH to see him like that damn Zhang ZheHan you really had to go this hard on my heart??

!!!!!! I love love love the way ZZS avoids his eyes, because all he’s probably wanted for days since his WKX “died” is to see him like this, ALIVE, in front of him, to look at him and never look away, but the mountain of emotions he’s feeling at this very moment is soooo overwhelming and anger and confussion are at the very top. Also, yes, WKX, you’re in deep shit. You have no idea what you’ve done. You truly don’t.

Ah-Xu: “No. Fuck you.” asdfghsfg

Oh, hon. That wouldn’t fix the part where he took off the nails to die and join you in the afterlife. Is this what romeo felt for the very few moments he knew he was dead and Juliet wasn’t?

I love that ZZS, despite everything, is still so compliant of what WKX asks of him. Could be because he just told him he will explain everything to him, but is it? Or is it the engrained need of pleasing and giving to WKX everything he asks for because, very likely, for days, he’s been thinking about all the times he pushed him away, said no to him or the times he abandoned him (”Turns out you really are crazy” or “We walk different paths”), so he’s been constantly torturing himself, full of regrets, wishing he could do it all over again? UGH!!!

And I love that WKX can see there’s a turmoil of thoughts and feels going on inside ZZS, but right then he has other things he has to take care of, i.e. the literal reason why he made such a dramatic plan in the first place.

[chalkrevelations]

SO, Episode 28 of Word of Honor was a roller-coaster ride.

(Spoilers, as ever, so scroll away and come back later if you want to see it unspoiled.)

They managed two entirely separate scenes in this one that had me going “Did … did that just happen? Is this really happening?” Let’s get this one out of the way first: The scene of Zhao Jing in his serial killer lair with the altar and memorial tablets and his serial killer trophies. Y’all. I swear, scene opens with a shot from behind of drunk Awful Yifu in his Fantasy Ancient China underwear staggering through a set of doors into a room with candles and draperies, and before I was able to register the rest of the set design, my brain gave a terrified squeak and started rabbiting around like, “Oh my god, please do not let this be Xie’er’s bedroom. Oh my god, they wouldn’t actually go there, not even hinted, surely that would be too far!” Then my eyeballs caught up and registered the set, so I thought I was safe, but that didn’t even turn out to be the moment in the scene that had me going “Is this really happening?” (Although I do think the fact my brain immediately jumped to that scenario speaks to the creepy vibe the show has managed to build between Awful Yifu and Xie Wang). So, Zhao Jing is a sloppy drunk and absolutely shitfaced, stumbling around and yelling at his dead brothers, and I’m sitting here watching him, feeling like I need a shower, with my skin a little bit trying to crawl off my body, and then he picks up Rong Xuan’s memorial tablet and pours an entire stream of alcohol out of the pitcher all over it, and I say, out loud, to the screen, “Oh my god, they just had him figuratively piss on that tablet.” Only, no, they didn’t, because there was no need to have him do it figuratively because then, he literally whips it out of his pants and takes a piss on the tablet, complete with sound effects, and I’m open-mouthed, thinking “Is this really happening?” As some background, I grew up in mainstream U.S. culture where ancestor veneration isn’t formally practiced - although it isn’t an entirely absent part of our cultural mythos, it’s just that now when I when I offer cultus to the Patres Patriae, it’s deliberate and intentional – but I’ve been doing ancestor work in my particular flavor of polytheism for long enough, and intensely enough, that I had a visceral reaction of disgust and horror to this. Hand literally clapped over my mouth in shock, even after watching all of his ranting at his dead brothers and spitting at his dead shifu and just generally being a disrespectful asshole with delusions of grandeur building up to it. So, yes, show, you have indeed convinced me that Awful Yifu is the worst, even in an episode that also devoted that much screentime to Prince Jin.

Fortunately, the other “Is this really happening?” moment was at the other end of the spectrum, somewhere in the face of how married Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing are, which I cannot believe passed censorship. I know I keep saying that, but every time I think I’ve adjusted to how far they’re going to go, the show laughs gay-ly as it pushes the envelope another mile down the road. Truly, this show is the gift that keeps on giving where these two are concerned, and not just because of Zhang Zhehan’s face. I realize I had to spend 50 episodes deciphering Lan Wangji’s smallest microexpression (not that I’m complaining), but I can’t believe how expressive both Zhang Zhehan and Gong Jun are in these roles, with Gong Jun’s little sadness eyebrows when WKX wants ZZS to humor him, and how soft Zhang Zhehan’s face gets when ZZS looks at WKX, and how great they both are at making all this look like a pair of adults who are in an established relationship and confident of each other. I’d be as weak as Wen Kexing if Zhou Zishu pouted at me the way he does when he tells Chengling that he can’t do anything to help decorate the Manor except observe and direct because he’s oh, so injured and frail, poor him. Wen Kexing can laugh at Zhou Zishu when ZZS pokes at him by saying the papercrafter was such a beauty! (Compare this to his reaction back in the day, when ZZS deftly manipulated him out of bringing A-Xiang along on their honeymoon adventures by calling her a beauty and implying she might draw attention away from WKX!) Wen Kexing waves kitchen knives at Zhou Zishu in (somewhat fond) exasperation! Zhou Zishu now accepts Wen Kexing piling his plate with food at the table as perfectly normal! There’s no crying in Spring Festival! They send their kid outside to watch the fireworks so they can have sex some alone time! (Merciless killers. How the fuck so adorable?) Someone must have backed up an entire truckful of money to the house of someone very important to get this aired, because what is the heterosexual explanation for … any of this?

Other thoughts:

We continue to get small things that maintain the parallels between Wen Kexing/Zhou Zishou and Gu Xiang/Cao Weining, including the mirrored theme of finding a home with a welcoming family, shown through family dinner, and expressed through WKX’s description of his former self as a “lonely ghost,” echoing A-Xiang’s self-description (to Shen Shen in an earlier ep) the same way.

HAN YING! Listen, I am stupidly attached to this bit player, and not just because he’s a familiar face (because half of Wen Xu’s screentime in The Untamed was just a disembodied head hanging at the entrance to the Unclean Realm, so it’s not like there was time to get … attached). And I say stupidly attached because ever since we first saw the way he looked at ZZS with big puppy heart-eyes, I knew he was going to be a goner. I just know they’re gonna fridge him for the next step in ZZS’s journey, because something has to pry ZZS out of Four Seasons Manor, as much as I, personally, would like nothing better than to see 8 more episodes of wedded bliss for two gay dads and their son. (OK, one thing I would like better would be if their daughter and son-in-law came to live with them, too.) At least it looks like Han Ying will get to die taking a figurative bullet for ZZS, which will make him happy and might prevent him from finding out the Glazed Armor he’s so proud of bringing is actually pointless, because don’t think that didn’t hurt to know while I watched him being so proud of managing to get his hands on it. But I’d prefer he didn’t die at all, show. Also, why on earth are there only two (completed) stories under the ZZS/Han Ying label on AO3? Because yes, I have looked. I have the search open in another tab right now. Why haven’t more people taken advantage of this guy’s utter devotion for ZZS? How are people looking at the way Han Ying reverently brushes his fingers over the single white blossom on the wall mural in ZZS’s rooms back in Prince Jin’s palace and not falling all over that?

Xie’er, oh, Xie’er. You’re killing me, here. I need someone to rescue you, you desperate affection-starved little sociopath. So, to recap, last time we met, your Awful Yifu finally let it slip that he was never ever going to acknowledge your existence in public. So now, you’re being a very clever boy, setting up a scheme to manipulate him into having to publicly acknowledge you if he’s going to claim credit for your successes (because I’m sure you can’t even contemplate failure) in service to Prince Jin. So clever, but I hate to tell you, you’re clever at everything except learning from your mistakes when it comes to your Awful Yifu. You really learned nothing from Beauty Ghost, did you? Ugh, your sad little face as you watch your hot mess of an Awful Yifu while you wait for the maids to make tea – it hurts me. Please tell me you’re playing some kind of long game, and you’re just a really great actor. Because he’s sloppy drunk, and right now, watching your face journey, I think maybe you think that makes what he’s saying true – that he’s not guarding his words, and he means it when he tells you that of course he loves you and would never leave you. “Are you still angry with me?” Awful Yifu literally asks. “Alright, I’ll apologize. I was just mad. It didn’t mean anything. We’re together in this. I’ll always stand by you.” Xie’er, you have got to stop believing gaslighting abusive men who shovel that BS. This is what they call the honeymoon period in the cycle of abuse. Seriously. This is textbook. Please stop making the same mistakes over and over again. Maybe think about the fact that your Awful Yifu is, single-handedly, the reason the Department of the Unfaithful actually exists in the first place. He is THAT AWFUL. I would like to think actually seeing his serial killer trophy room will make a difference, now that you have some confirmation of what Tragicomic Ghost told you and not the ability to wave it off as part of some he-said, she-said situation where how could we ever possibly know the truth, despite the fact that Zhao Jing has shown he’ll stab anyone in the back in his quest for power? But, then, I also thought maybe learning last ep that he never planned to publicly acknowledge you would make some kind of difference. Are you going to roll the dice again, gambler? Because I’ll tell you right now, the house always wins. (Not that you’d listen to me anymore than you listened to Beauty Ghost.)

(Also, wait wait waitwaitwait. Waitaminit. This is pure speculation and probably way too out there to be true (oh, but, someone’s going to write this AU for me, right?) Hot-mess drunk yifu tells Xie’er that they’ve been depending on each other “ever since I picked you up and brought you back home.” I can’t remember if we know anything about Xie Wang’s background at this point, but it does sound like Zhao Jing might have literally yoinked him off the street to raise him. He … he doesn’t think Xie’er is actually Yan’er, does he? Only he kidnapped the wrong orphaned urchin by mistake? I’m just sayin’, thinking back to Shen Shen’s reaction to finding out Zhen Yan was still alive, it would be exactly the kind of thing Zhao Jing would do, to keep this kid that his brother(s) wanted to find hidden right under their noses.)

Chengling and the chicken. I can’t, y’all. And Zhou Zishu’s face as soon as he realizes what Wen Kexing is telling Chengling to do – he knows this is going to be a show.

Prince Jin, you are almost as bad as Xie’r and his awful Yifu combined:

Prince Jin: Zhou Zishu, you mastermind, your super-secret spy network continues to spread everywhere, including into my very own palace. Oh, the things you must be plotting against me!

Zhou Zishu, chillin’ at Plum Blossom Manor, day-drinking, dressing up in pretty festive robes, taking advantage of his disciple’s unpaid labor so he doesn’t have to raise a finger for himself, and providing his husband with sex so incredible he is never required to actually cook: “OK, my gay husband and our son-with-two-dads, how about we just stay here together forever and be happy?”

Also Prince Jin: *Creeps on Zhou Zishu like a gaslighting m’fker*

Anyway, if Prince Jin always knew what Han Ying was up to all along, is the letter about ZZS’s father a plant, with false info? It was just kind of suspiciously hanging out in the open on Prince Jin’s desk.

[axiang-n-chengling-s-dads]

Pacing Issues in SHL/WoH

Rather I should name this issues that would be fixed with the correct pacing (ie a few extra scenes), but whatever. To preface ik the show had time and budget constraints, and ofc censorship, and love the show a lot. But these were a few areas where I thought a 4-5 min scene could also mostly fix things.

1. Wen Kexing's Fake Death:

That Wkx has to fake his death is obvious. Zhao Jing is hell bent on killing Wkx and the Ghost Valley, the most Wkx can do is set it up on his own terms to fake his death, which is why he returns to the Ghost Valley. There is also the fact that Wkx's death as the Ghost Valley Leader metaphorically marks the end of his kill-everyone revenge. Now when he comes back to take revenge, he does it in a righteous manner as the son of Zhen Ruyu avenging his parents death.

I would be remiss as a Sherlock fan if I did not compare this to Sherlock's Reichenabch Fake Death-- as he does not tell John, so does Wkx not tell Zzs.

That Wkx does not tell Zzs initially is understandable:

Zzs as we know is pretty injured. He has just come back from facing a lot of torture from the Prince, and already he had his Nail Problem ™. As we're told, Zzs needs to rest, and get into better health so that the nails can be removed.

Wkx's plan is at best risky-- how to be assured that only Chengling kills him? And not any of the hundreds present there? What if things go wrong, as they can at any moment? Zzs would at the least want to help Wkx, play a part-- which is dangerous for him as he's still injured.

So ofc in Wkx's mind it's best if he's not told until the plan is completed. Wkx makes sure to only tell those who are necessary to the plan, just like Sherlock does, telling only Molly, Mycroft and the Homeless network.

At this point we also know Gu Xiang did not know of the plan. As was pointed in another person's meta-- Wkx is a lone wolf, accustomed to relying only on himself and the bare minimum ppl required.

Moreover, there's the fact that Zzs was not supposed to be there during Wkx's death, just like John was not supposed to be there at Sherlock's death. In both cases John and Zzs suddenly pop-up and you can see that Wkx is anxious as he tries to keep Zzs away from him ("I lied to you Zhou Zi Shu" just like Sherlock says "I am a con man, it was all a trick").

When Zzs comes to take revenge, everyone other than him seems to know Wkx is alive. Why? The answer is that, as we see, Zzs probably ran away and was in hiding until he came to seek revenge at the Conference. Had he returned to the others, like Gu Xiang he would also be made to know of the truth.

This is the recurring theme of the show: the prey thinks all along that he's the Predator- similarly because of this unfortunate circumstance of Zzs being absent and then removing the nails, Wkx who thought he'd outsmarted everyone, really gets one upped by Fate.

Now, the last part that really ties this in is not explicitly stated at all, hence causing a lot of confusion and feelings about Wkx being OOC.

If only they had one 3-min conversation where WKX is like-- "where were you all this time, I was looking for you to tell you that I'm alive" and Zzs says something about preparing to take revenge, obvs not wanting to tell Wkx what really happened yet.

2. Side Character Deaths:

Episode 35-36 have a lot of deaths.

For Gu Xiang and Cao Weining, though the initial premise of their deaths is wonky (ie that no one was around to check on these new Intruders) the theme is apparent (that good people cannot survive in jianghu bc neither GX nor CWN once think of being cautious of the Gentle Wind Sect Leader). But still as viewers we can be asked to suspend our logic sometimes. Thier actual deaths are done beautifully.

But the others, that is, Tragicomic Ghost, Alluring Ghost, etc- Thier deaths are too quick and aren't given enough time. As for Xie'er and Zhao Jing, their deaths occur entirely offscreen.

For Zhao Jing we can say fuck the villain and let it go, but the rest of the characters the show spent a lot of time making us feel sympathetic towards-- giving no time to Thier deaths doesn't make us feel cathartic or fully give time to process them. A bit longer for each of them would have been wonderful, esp for Xie'er.

3. Wen Kexing's Sacrifice:

I have seen some criticism where it's said that Wkx sacrificing himself took away Zzs's autonomy over his death, which he has always wanted and has been a major character point. And they're right.

See, Wkx's immediate reaction on waking is understandable: given the choice to sacrifice yourself so that a loved ones lives, who wouldn't take it?

Also Wkx has cost Zzs his life, if he'd not done what he did, Zzs could have taken the treatment, gotten the nails out, and lived. Now, he will die. Wkx owes Zzs a life now.

Moreover, as Wkx would most definitely think: who does wkx have to live for if Zzs is gone? Other than Chengling, everyone else he loved would be dead-- the ppl he knew from Ghost Valley, Gu Xiang-- when Gu Xiang died he was ready to die at that point too.

But Zzs? He has so many to live for-- Chengling, all his disciples, Qi Ye, etc. As we know, Wkx thinks very highly of Zzs. He does not however consider, that the person Zzs wants to live most for is Wkx himself-- when Zzs tells him this in that World Armoury Cave, you can see the immediate regret on his face-- but what can Wkx do?

The thing is, at the end of the day Wkx thinks he owes Zzs this life, and that Zzs is more deserving and has more to live for.

Again all of this you'd really need to think about, and since it is one of the final, really important scenes, it's... Best if they'd shown all of this reasoning themselves.

What the show really needed here, was a scene where WKX finds out it is due to his own mistake that Zzs is going to die-- he would go berserk, and then probably also go through what I've described above. That scene would really help a ton.

4. The last scene of 36/ ep 37:

This one is the least to blame because I cannot Imagine the hoops the team had to go through to give us what they did.

The last frame of 36 is interesting, because it's very abrupt. I suppose they did it in the hopes of making audiences feel that it was incomplete and to go and look for another episode and stumble upon the Easter Egg?

That being said, it really is confusing what exactly is happening in the last scene or how Wkx survived-- there are many theories about how both parties need to be completely devoted to each other etc etc. And also the lip reading which makes things clearer. Story-wise it really is an issue, but taking in the outside elements I really do not blame the Show Team for what they did.

Also a side note to everyone despairing that WenZhou won't be able to travel the world like they wanted to-- they had previously said they'd love a reclusive lifestyle, so they are happy here, and they can also leave anytime!

So I assume in a few decades, maybe once Chengling dies, they can descend the mountain, travel the world for a good 10 yrs minimum (or if their aging is just unfreezed then they have like 30-40 years) to travel the world, go back to Wkx's peasant home and pay respect to his parents, and also meet GX and CWN's reincarnations!

So yeah in conclusion ™, a few added scenes really would have helped, and yes this is a critique ™ but i also understand the hurdles they'd have faced in terms of time and money budgets and censorship. This show does not exist in a void but is influenced by real outside phenomenons!

[three--rings]

Y’all this book is a Fucking Delight, you have to read it.

Ch 16:

Wen Kexing unabashedly took advantage of that to wrap his arms around Zhou Zishu’s shoulders, smiling at Cao Weining, “Thank you, Young Master Cao. In fact, I have made up my mind that in this lifetime I will marry no one else but Brother Zhou.”

Cao Weining’s mouth was as wide open as his eyes.

ZZS replies “sorry I’m on my deathbed it wouldn’t be fair for you to bind yourself to me” and WKX says “once you’re gone I’ll be alone forever.”

Cao Weining’s gaze went back and forth between the two of them. When he came back to his senses, he blurted out a question. “…Is it Brother Zhou’s illness that is obstructing your feelings for each other?”

After a short moment of silence, Wen Kexing burst out laughing, feeling very fond of Cao Weining.

Fucking slow clap for Cao Weining, folks.  This is the context in which he starts offering medical help, so they can be together...Alright he just went up at least two points in my estimation. 

“There are three types of people in this world: The ones who can eat meat, ones who don’t mind it, and ones who can’t stand it; this is how they are born to be, but isn’t it hilarious if the first type is born into poverty and the third type is born into luxury?”

Okay, later parts make me think this is WKX talking about sexual preference through metaphor.  Which would explain why he laughs so hard when ZZS says “One won’t stay unchanged once thrust into a different situation.”

And then a little later:

Wen Kexing hurried after him, mumbling under his breath, “How can one ever know if they will change? And whether one is averse to meat or not, won’t it be miserable anyway if they’re thrown into a desolate place with nothing else to devour?”

Okay, this could also be a metaphor for, like, other things. But...hmm.  (Also they were just talking about how ZZS said if WKX looked like Gu Xiang he could do anything he wanted and WKX said he was thinking of using the art of disguise to make himself look like her.)

And THEN and THEN Cao Weining says, “Actually… I don’t know how to word this, but yes, I have heard of such a thing before, but never in my life have I seen it with real men…” and asks if they want one room or two at the inn.  My precious, precious boy...

Even Wen Kexing had to stare at Cao Weining and thought, We’ve found a treasure of a boy, haven’t we.

When he was passing by Zhou Zishu, he suddenly slowed down and got closer, his voice low, “If you spend the night with me, I will turn into Gu Xiang as you wish.”

“I’m really honored, but I’d rather sleep in the stable.”

Wen Kexing clicked his tongue, glancing at the other, “You’re no fun.” Zhou Zishu followed close behind him.

I’m having The Best Time.

[naoyatoudo]

holy shit I am so sick of seeing this

tw: noncon mentions

TYK ending spoilers under cut

WKX did NOT fake his tears to get ZZS to let him top, can people stop spreading this. I don’t understand the cognitive dissonance some people have where they recognize he was genuinely letting himself finally cry and be upset over all the deaths, his lifetime revenge being realize, and ZZS surviving and then say how sweet it is ZZS understands he was upset and hugged him while then turning around and saying he cried only to fuck. He didn’t. WKX genuinely cried there. He said he wasn’t going to lie to ZZS and I highly doubt he would take advantage of him like that or lie about that given everything.

It’s unreal to me that someone could have read the WKX extra and thought WKX would fake his tears over his parents, his little girl in purple, and even ZZS. They’re too important to him. He would tell little stories that don’t seem as connected to lessen the pain, but he wouldn’t fake cry over any single one of those. How could he possibly use any of those to fake cry to get ZZS to let him top when he has spent years unable to get over even just the first one? It’s really a disservice to him and how affected he is by those things to imply he would use them like that.

Some people love to act like WKX is such a predator, but he’s all hot air. When he said he could “force a transaction” he was just spitting out bullshit to try and get a rise out of ZZS, hence why he IMMEDIATELY stopped when ZZS said idgaf. The one time you can say he did force something was the kiss early on and he did it to cover up their conversation from CWN and the other disciple that was there listening to their conversation. It’s still shitty, and thankfully ZZS punched him in the face for it.

I’m not sure how people have such a fundamental misunderstanding of WKX, but it’s kind of sick. I see some people on Twitter giggle about how he would rape ZZS for a kink and there’s no fucking way he would ever do that. Some people need to learn reading comprehension and critical thinking. It’s like we read different novels. Did anyone actually read the extra from his POV? It really shows how he’s much more serious and, dare I say, emotional/sentimental than he appears from ZZS’ POV.

And don’t come in expecting WKX or ZZS to be a good person either, neither of them are. WKX will not rape ZZS ever, but he would jokingly say it earlier in their “friendship” I’ll say since I don’t believe they had feelings for each other at the time, to get a rise out of him. Is he shitty for it? Of course he is. But he’s not a rapist and he did not manipulate ZZS.

In fact, he respects ZZS’ wishes so much he stopped himself from destroying the man’s cultivation in an effort to save him because ZZS said he didn’t want him to. He stopped himself immediately. Because ZZS said no. Despite him thinking he wanted to keep ZZS with him forever. Because he respects his decisions. This is also a point to say he’s not a yandere as I’ve seen some people claim he is before. He’s not. At all.

Do you also think ZZS is oblivious enough to fall for WKX faking that sort of thing? The point is they know each other well. They get each other’s feelings. They understand each other more than anyone else in the world. How could WKX fake cry and ZZS, who has tons of experience with deceit in the first place and a WHOLE major emotional scene with WKX telling him he is sincere, not catch on? That would be such a slap in the face to their relationship.

To me, it was more like WKX is a horny bastard and took the moment of them being so close as a chance to see if ZZS was willing and/or he wanted to have sex and feel a closeness/that deeper connection to ZZS who was alive despite everything, his one light he was living for that he almost just lost. And ZZS was willing. And then after they fucked his thoughts were more like an afterthought of wow that just happened...does it have to  happen like that every time...?

I don’t know why some people think it’s so funny to imagine WKX faked it, I almost feel like people are trying to project LBH from SVSSS onto him in ways to try and get more people to read it. I’ve noticed a lot of Western danmei fans (can’t speak for other regions) tend to use MXTX and 2ha characters as a way to describe characters in other novels for some reason. Please stop giving this false, and frankly negative, image to WKX. He is not like LBH. He is not like WWX. He is not like Mo Ran. He is like himself.

[mejomonster]

Ep 6 was so good I need to rewatch it again.

So many great lines about how shady wen kexing is. So many where both him and zzs are lying through their teeth completely at each other, and they have no real reason to trust (but against reason they just Do because they click so well and are lying the same and glaringly obvious to the point they feel comfortable wearing their masks and knowing the other person Knows). Like wen kexing is so clearly following zzs to cause a disaster, killed that ghost on purpose so he wouldn’t be a loose thread zzs could interrogate, zzs clearly gives him the glazed armor piece to bait wkx, wkx says eagerly it’s a gift from zzs so he’ll wear it out on a string to admire! Which is - (some spoilers to ep 10)*

Wow that line is so fucked on so many levels. One, he’s framing it as a romantic gesture which goes perfect with the actual flirting he does so zzs can’t call it out (it also darkens that flirting with the very real edge that wkx may use it at times to manipulate). Second, he’s telling the truth - he plans to get it stolen, to start up drama as people fight over it. And when it happens zzs won’t be able to call it out even tho it’s so clearly orchestrated. And the worst part - when people start dying, Zhou zishu is going to remember wen kexing going “this is my first gift from you! I’m going to wear it on me and admire it!” And Zhou zishu is going to feel like a monster Again. For so perfectly being part of an orchestration of so many deaths. And it started with “his gift.” Because he IS the one who chose to give it to wen kexing to bait him. Zhou zishu does it on purpose - WANTS to see what wen kexing will do, to figure him out. So he leaves open the floodgates for wen kexing to start causing the deaths, zzs even might see the potential coming (not hard given they both know people kill for this glass and wen kexing has 0 pity for the casualties involved, never has any pity for the dead as they come across bodies). Zhou zishu is tian chuang leader Retiree, hes well aware mass deaths is an outcome of wen kexing wearing that glass out in public (even if it didn’t get stolen just if wkx had been sighted and any fight from sects over it started). But Zhou zishu still chooses to do it. So in his mind I’m sure “gift from you!” Is just. On replay. Even retired he’s making dangerous choices that are ending lives.

So MUCH of their conversations this ep was so good. And so plot heavy? I feel like I didn’t even catch it all? And wen kexings scheming is so obvious, but so is zzs being from a shady background. The fact he says he made the sleeping dream poison, the fact he says yeah whatever I’m a killer fuck off now then mr good person wen kexing. I have so many thoughts on their characters I can’t articulate rn.

Then I finally paid Attention to the songs?? Wow all those lyrics? They are. So perfect for tian ya ke? The song when they fight over the lake is Perfext. How zzs feels guilty for all the dead he left in his wake, how he wants to find a soulmate (me too bro), how they’ll be split apart in this world (foreshadowing), how he’ll find him again??? Wow just. Wow. And I’m mixing up the songs possibly so forgive that. In either this one or the end show song they also mention giving up fighting and just wandering, there’s so many families in the world - aka end goal for this little family being carved out. And the end show song literally ends on “I’ll spend my life together with you”. Well I can only assume that is the end game of the show? And right as That lyric plays it shows wen kexing and Zhou zishu with Zhang chengling between them like a family, then as that last lyric of “be together with you” it’s the two of them together in a field wandering the world together. This is. Why did I just not pay attention? Also this bodes? Real well for the family’s safety by the end of this drama. I also caught an image of scorpion leader and Zhao sect leader talking close together and smiling softly in the end credits??! Idk if they actually know each other or simply Will become close during the course of the show but I did not Predict that. Also what might be gu Xiang getting married as another scene (tho this could just have been any event I just jumped at the idea ToT)

And then finally - story in general. Which I can’t even say everything I wanna say about. Yes it’s a romance, and yes it’s a very thorough story Too. I’m so happy we are getting a priest adaptation because this kind of rich world filled with characters and meaningful things happening is <3. Also amazing work by the scriptwriter because they expanded the story a bit so I imagine a lot of how well this story will come together is their doing. And it’s incredible as of ep 6. The writing is So tight. Not only is it fast paced, it feels suited to the type of episode watching where a fun to watch main activity/activités happen per ep, even if an arc is still working on being resolved. Each episode generally in this a mini situation will happen and be resolved - and it’s a piece of the larger plot going on. It’s hard to articulate but like in long form stories that do not choose case/situation of the week formats, sometimes individual eps will not have things that make them strong individually at times? Idk if I’m wording what I mean. Like i have loved a few shows that were fun to watch but situations didn’t always resolve a little per episode, I had to leave on cliffhangers or wait for a build up to finally hit. With this show I feel like eps often do end on suspenseful cliffhangers, but also there’s usually some satisfying resolution of a smaller part (and since right now the driving mystery is where are the glazed armor pieces and what is ghost clan/the sects doing/the palace regarding it, pretty much any mini event it a clue to build that up - or is wkx the bad guy etc). In ep 6 the ghost manor and wkx killing the ghost is a resolution of last ep cliffhanger (and zzs waking from his illusion was a partial resolution last ep), zzs identity is revealed another resolution, they get a glass piece (resolution in finding one/new development), the sects start transporting Zhang chengling (new development), scorpion leader joins the fray with the ghosts then abandons the place later (new addition), wen kexing starts his plan into motion (new addition), Zhang cheng ling is in danger so new development and looming issue for next ep alongside the tian chuang agent who arrived in pursuit, the girls gu Xiang Rescued also get some resolution as their situation is clarified and they decide where they want to be and stay there - and gu xiangs learning responsibility continues. Basically like.. not just is pacing tight, but it’s a balance of resolutions, some self contained new additions, some developments, and some looming future situations being built up. It is really good so far. I did not need to rant this much about it sorry ToT

Also in writing: I love how RICH the world is?? When I first started I assumed like some shows I’ve seen names were getting thrown around but a lot of these people would ultimately not be important for long. With the sects: learning a lot remain important and get Development, so they are decent characters Themselves, and even the dead characters continue to be used to help the plot (the dead Ai sect leader is brought up post death regarding ramifications, later some fighters in white in ep 9 will die and their significance even as only cultivators in the distance will be both foreshadowed and used later in weight to themes). The dead bodies from last ep, fairly sure 1 is referenced to a sect leader in this ep “oh where is he? You should check on him.” The dead get remembered even tho they drop like flies, and they’re being used well in the story. Even the fire at Zhang chenglings house - now the sect leaders demand to know what happened, say his mom and dad burned, and he says he had a fever and doesn’t remember (did he learn from zzs to not trust ?? Maybe). And the world is so rich with characters. Memorable characters. Seeing the end credits and actually paying attention, a lot will be sticking around and likely Getting development. Will even be in very different places from where we start - again the scorpion leader and zhao sect leader will be acting kind and warm to each other so??! Wtf will be happening. And there’s already hints all these side characters may be handled with some care - gu xiangs servants. She saves them, and in some shows I love they’d be mindless backdrop now. Instead they get another establishing scene of tjem ad people instead of the prisoners they were before, a fun scene, and then them expressing their wishes for their life, and then a resolution (wen kexing gives them a choice to leave with money, they choose to stay - and I dread they’ll regret it and wkx might kill them when he snaps but idk what will happen anyway). And the resolution allows them a complete little mini story (prisoners who’ve always been sold like they said, saved, treated as people and deciding their own lives and choices, choosing to stay here where they prefer). Now even if they don’t get further screen time focus, they had a moment to have a little resolution. If other characters get this consideration? Wow. Obviously the main family group will. But with zhao daxia who’s a weakling who coasts on his riches (and it keeps coming up louder) have an arc?? Will the old lady in pink who wants revenge? The ghost lady with her fawning maid servants who punishes cheaters, will she? Will the assassins? In ep 9-10 Zhou zishu sees a group of 4 who have left the fighting and live a happy life - stuff goes down. But even that small amount of screentime is a story of who they were, that they probably had past sins like him to some degree of things done while fighting, and then getting hold of the glass shard caught it up with them. Even as very periphery characters their existence is meaningful in the story. I love it. The writing I am loving.

I love how I genuinely don’t know how any of this will go down. Wen kexing is treading right inside prime bad guy territory. Zhou zishu is chilling in anti hero zone and even tho he’s made some heroic choices (mostly about his son) so far, he’s also linked up with wen kexing to the level he feels like they’re soulmates by ep 9. He also helped on purpose to some extent whay wkx has been doing - first cause he didn’t care it wasn’t his business, then to bait him into seeing who he was, then because he trusted wkx even if dangerous to not do anything zzs would regret (bad call there). Inherently they are both not great decision makers when it comes to crossing lines. They’re both very much messes who have their own baggage who tend to keep sliding into it. Zhou zishu planned to safely wander and affect nothing. But now he’s attached to a kid and doesn’t want this one good person hurt - who he’s managed to keep alive instead of get killed.

And oh that LINE “you don’t want to see my face, pretty much anyone who has died.” And wen kexing “well I’m afraid of a lot, but luckily not death” RIGHT before the lake fight. Zhou zishus self hatred Screaming right there. And also his inability to put a lid on the fact he might actually care about wen kexing a little Pre reveal of his face. Which is all! Wow. Wow I can’t believe. This show managed to capture the vibe of zzs and wkx clearly lying and playing each other and pushing to investigate the other and figure things out and maybe even use them, with the fact they’re both regardless still falling in love and feeling comfortable Because they’re Both like this and Trusting. Trusting another Man they both know is not trustworthy. Loving another man they know is just as likely to ruin what they touch as they are. Zhou zishu doesn’t want wen kexing to die because he’s seen zzs’s face - maybe in part he cares for wkx, maybe in part he just can’t handle the guilt of any more people dying because of him regardless of what they’re up to. That line says so much about his character. And wen kexing - every lie he tells and act he puts on as good guy peaceful is woven into very real flirting and genuine feelings. He does want to keep hanging out with zzs, for the companionship. He probably thinks it’s convenient to do his sneaky things with zzs’s heroics as an excuse to get into the manor - and zzs close to his attention so zzs can’t sneak up on him and catch him. But also like, he doesn’t need to keep zzs there - zzs would leave. But he wants the company, as much as zzs knows wkx is suspect as fuck. Zhou zishu is still incredibly relieved to find someone who hes less likely to get killed, who can handle themselves, who can tag along with him on Whatever bullshit and - not mind, not listen when he’s being destructive, be supportive the whole time, and encourage him to be better. Wkx might be up to shit - but he shares zzs’s world view that warriors aren’t particularly innocent so wkx won’t be mad if zzs doesn’t care about their missions or saving world plans. Wkx also will see he Is capable of helping a kid, and encourage him to. Tell him he’s good at it, tell him he’s warm hearted. And on one level to zzs it’s the same bullshit acts they’re playing onto each other. But in the other - wen kexing the fucker does Genuinely think zzs is kind hearted! And zzs believes it a little, when wkx says it. Believes it a little more when wkx helps with Zhang Chengling. And they’re both monsters and distasters still in Full Form which is clear when they play each other. But. Somehow when they’re together they get this hope they could be happy, could be at peace, could be softhearted and safe to laugh and smile and look in pain and rely on someone and take care of someone and be good at it. Be gentle and loving and good. They are both messes in their own way, but somehow when they interact - they both bring out the natural inclinations they get (wkx to destroy rn, zzs to let things unfold with casualty), but they also bring out wanting to do better. I saw peaks of ep 10 but haven’t watched it yet. But if zzs reaction is any indication, having him around might motivate wen kexing to want to care more about the consequences of what he does. To start noticing them and not trying to look past and ignore (this is just me speculating idk). But even without it, it’s already clear they bring out the good. Bring out the good, and make each other’s normal feel safe and allowed to be a person who’s got the ability to do better.

Zhang Chengling is really the sign. With wkx encouraging, zzs really gets attached to wanting to help. Wkx ends up rather actually nurturing by proximity and by what he’s been encouraging zzs. They’re both playing - zzs sticking around at first primarily to make sure wkx didn’t try something to Zhang chengling as a threat for the glazed armor, then bonding with the kid as wkx encourages it. Wkx ending up saving the kid because he Decided to tag along and zzs roped him into it, deciding to help the kid to get closer to zzs, and it gets to a point where on some level he’s helping just as much cause he cares as any selfish reason or manipulating zzs reason. It is remarkably fascinating how when each other are in play they can embody their usual dangerous traits but because of each other those come out supportive in result. And on some level they are aware, and part of why they maybe feel so Comfortwble with each other. So willing to trust even tho they both know better than to trust people like them. Why they both feel so safe with the other as a companion. They know even if they act on their dangerous instincts, they won’t destroy the other - in fact it might even channel into something safe and comfortable and supportive. They know if it doesn’t, the other is strong enough to call them out. They’re an even match and it can only be terrifying or comforting. And they fall into the comforting.

I was originally into how I love how much potential all the Broad world story implications have but I got sidetracked by wenzhou ToT. Anyway I just. Wow now that I’m paying attention I can TELL attention to detail is all over the place. And with something this well written and unfolding so far? I cannot even imagine how well it’s going to build up and grow and culminate.

[lynne-monstr]

i finished word of honor yesterday. spoilery rambling below the cut

i didn’t like the ending. that was my gut reaction, and after sleeping on it, I can only amend it to: i really didn’t like the ending.

there were some really great scenes in the wedding massacre (a’xiang’s rage, her extracting the promise from wkx, the tragedy of alluring ghost and her bae) but there was so much death packed into such a short time that it kind of lost its emotional gut punch for me.

i really wish they’d done more with xie’er defeating his father only to become like him (not in the sense of his emotional manipulation but that he was wronged for most of his life and now he’s gleefully taking his revenge by stepping on everyone). i loved that tiny moment when he’s genuinely upset at alluring ghost’s death but tbh I wasn’t as invested in his arc the last handful of episodes.

the show didn’t really highlight it, but I had a lot of thoughts about the parallel of wkx’s original revenge plan that rested on the assumption that absolutely everyone was guilty. and then he meets zzh and grows and is willing to set aside his revenge for happier things. only for it all to fall apart because he’s basically proven right about all those people he hated. in the end, they were all greedy fucks.

i liked the pun about “the secret to a stable country” but that particular translation wasn’t used until the very end, so it lost its effectiveness. I’m not sure if it was a last minute plot addition, or if the translators altered their translation at the end after the later episodes were released, once they had the context to translate in a way that foreshadowed the twist (which wouldn’t be the translator’s fault, since they wouldn’t have had that context information when they started).

one on hand, i was a bit disappointed that, after all that, wkx and zzs are stil lying to each other at the very end. on the other, it’s kind of fitting for their relationship i guess. i haven’t decided whether it’s nicely circular or frustrating lol. i do think, however, that the thought of them living alone in frigid isolation with only each other is more horrifying than romantic. they must get visitors, since chengling knows what’s up, but it still sounds incredibly sad to me.

[its-chelisey-stuff]

Word of Honor eps 11-20 (many confusing thoughts ft. the feels)

Well, the drama has finished airing (and I’ve seen a bunch of spoilers lol) but I’m watching it on youtube so every rant and ramble you read here is gonna be a pretense of me not really knowing the story and that includes what I know from reading the novel because it’s confusing to keep in mind what happens in both since the drama diverted quite a bit from the source. All that matters is that we got a happy ending, so now I can enjoy the delicious angst, pining and romance freely and without worries.

On the plot

I didn’t have enough of GuXiang and CWN in these eps but at least they’re safe and together, for now. They’re gonna romance each other and will eventually reunite with main OTP and their kid (who looks like a little Wang Yibo to me lol). And Ye BaiYi (aka captain of the WenZhou ship) has made his first appearance and wants to help save ZZS. Btw I love his dynamic with WKX, it’s hilarious!

Now, I’m a bit confused about the names and faces and who’s bad, and who’s not so bad but the main baddie has been revealed and it looks like the dude is controlling the Scorpion King via daddy issues which yikes. I’m worried that it looks like WKX doesn’t know who is pulling all the strings because that shows that his plan for revenge isn’t perfect and if he was wrong about Gao Chong, then he can be wrong about other, bigger things and that isn’t good.

Also, some of the valley ghosts want to take WKX out of the picture, which is of course not surprising considering killing the current leader is the only way to succession of what it seems like a dictatorship. What a nightmare to live in tbh, I’m surprised WKX is functional enough to walk so nonchalant and elegantly in public and that he managed to raise an equally functional GuXiang. But I guess that’s because he wanted to survive and get the justice/revenge he feels he deserves (I’m on his side, btw), so he had to act like a madman while trying to keep his sanity. He has some glitches,of course, but he did well, all things considered.

Which takes me to the whole Five Lakes Alliance and their “friendship”, which imo went to hell 20 years prior to the start of the story, and they all pretended for two decades, because they all wanted the Armory and each had a piece to get into it. Is it bad that I don’t feel that bad for them? Maybe just about little Chengling’s dad but other than that...*shrugs* Plus, their actions brought terrible consequences for innocents, namely WKX’s family.

On the love story

The romance is delightful!! On ep 11 WKX went to rescue little Yibo but found out ZZS was also there so he went full-on killer mode so hot because how dare these scorpion killers hurt his man? They made up (with he help of their adoptive son) and even took their time to have dates and enjoy a lot of alcohol until ZZS went “my dude, tell me the truth, you’re Rong Xuang’s son, aren’t you?” to which WKX offended, replied “Honestly? No, how fucking dare you?” but it is a theme with these two to part dramatically after an argument and then reunite in dramatically gay fashion when ZZS is in danger, which actually happened 3 times in these ten eps.

The reveal of ZZS’s condition to WKX was PERFECTLY done. I love gorgeous men crying and being all angsty under the rain so that scene with OTP afterwards was delicious and then WKX sadly playing the flute while getting drenched and reciting poetry (GONG JUN IS AMAZING AS WKX!!!!!!) has definitely become one of my fave moments so far. I love that despite their short time together, you can see and feel the bond between the two and that there’s a side of them, a vulnerable one, that they only show to the other and that’s how I believe in the depth of their feelings (plus the arguments and shared near death experiences lol you can’t beat those). You don’t need lots of time to actually get to know a person, and after the few weeks(?) of a rollercoaster of emotions these two have shared, it isn’t weird they’ve become soulmates.

We know ZZS has accepted his fate and is happy with the way things will end for him. He said it himself, he just wants a peaceful life or a peaceful death, and while the former is out of reach or so he thinks, he can certainly make reality the latter. I understand that he is perfectly happy as is, because he achieved his goal after years of being a muderous puppet and meeting WKX is like the perfect ending, a last blessing. However, that’s not the case with WKX. He hasn’t achieved his goal yet, he doesn’t have the same peacefulness and acceptance as ZZS. He has a lot of rage and hate inside him and he had just set his plan into motion when he met ZZS and although that hasn’t changed his mind about his revenge it has made him want things he didn’t know he even wanted before. Now he desperately wants a life with him. So finding out that the man he’s fallen for, is dying, is a cruel twist of fate, another one in his life. Why allow him to meet ZZS when he will lose him in a couple of years?

Anyway, as a man with a mission, WKX had to suck it all back up and go watch the shit show he thought he always wanted to see, which ended super bad. And at this point I don’t even know if WKX knows what he’s doing anymore or if the drama is fooling me they might be succeding.

cough cough eye sex cough cough 

 After a total of 3 caves, declaring their love for each other (ep 18 min 17:50), rolling on the grass super gay, saving their son yet again and a tragic backstory later, ZZS comes to understand who WKX really is and his heart broke as well as mine and everyone’s because damnnnnn that was heavy (but also, I wasn’t expecting the childhood friends trope, but I don’t I mind it, in fact I like it as it reinforces the narrative that OTP are meant to be). What broke me even more is that, amidst all that, WKX still has the state of mind to worry about ZZS’s health and ask if it’s possible to save him with the YingYang book of the Healer Valley. He might act like a monster but he isn’t one. If he was, he wouldn’t have compassion for others and that huge capacity he has for loving. Come to think of it, maybe it’s the terrible life he’s had what makes him being all devoted to the person he loves, to love without holding anything back.

Of course ZZS isn’t short of affection for his man, because while his love is on the more quiet, much more subtle side, he is always paying attention to WKX and is visibly worried about him and this hatred he has for the people of the alliance as well as his plan for revenge.

I just love how we went for “oh, they might like each other, but they each have their emo baggage and ZZS doesn’t look too willing to take on WKX’s troubles or even understand him” to “yep, they’re soulmates, they’re in this together and ZZS won’t let darkness eat WKX away and WKX will risk it all to save his man”. It’s beautiful.

[chalkrevelations]

Episode 35 of Word of Honor, and I AM NOT OK. I think we all know how this is going to go, so we may as well get to it.

(Spoilers. Keep scrolling and come back later, if you want to watch it unspoiled.)

I dunno, maybe don’t expect any deep analysis in this one? I’m really just a mess of feelings, because THAT MOTHERFUCKING MOTHERFUCKER. You’re right, Wen Kexing, that it should have been a longer, more painful death. I forgive you, though, because I wanted to snap his neck, as some poetic justice. GOD, I could see it coming, as soon as Mo Huaiyang reached out and put both of his hands on Cao Weining’s jaw. As soon as his fingers touched Cao Weining’s face, there was a voice in my head, shrieking, “get him OFF of him, don’t let him touch him, he’s going to …” And what makes it even worse, if that’s possible, is that he had Cao Weining in such emotional distress before it happened. But, can we take just a minute and go back to this, the theme threaded through the show, this word of honor, embodied in these two men, Zhou Zishu and Cao Weining, reflections of each other, both of whom are now in the position of dying for the person they love, reflections of each other: I won’t fail you. And Cao Weining pleads this case to his shifu, kneeling in the sand and the dust and the barren rock of the Ghost Valley, where multiple women who have been failed, over and over, have sought refuge. Where a girl who was raised in all this could have had the chance to escape it, if Wen Kexing hadn’t turned out to be tragically, prophetically correct when he told her humans and ghosts can’t mix. In any kinder magical universe, fucking flowers would have sprung up around Cao Weining as he knelt in front of his asshole shifu and renewed the vow that he’d already made, multiple times, to the woman he loved, where he stood by it, even unto death, where he met his end in the Valley of Ghosts, in the land of the dead where his wife apparently wasn’t allowed to leave and he wouldn’t leave her behind. And then she follows him into death, just as he vowed he would follow her. In her own way, the way she knows how, she follows him into death. I suppose those bracelets from Wu Xi from the previous ep are supposed to be some comfort, particularly since we actually saw them closed around both wrists, and they echo, again, the vow Cao Weining already made to Gu Xiang, to be reincarnated with her, but right now, they are some cold comfort. This is not the pairing I expected to be torn apart over, when I started watching this show.

I have to give them props - especially, again, Zhou Ye - because I had about a minute and a half of grief, and then I, right along with A-Xiang, was consumed by rage that wanted nothing more than to see Mo Huaiyang die slowly and painfully. And then even as my heart was pushing for this, I kept remembering WKX’s conversation with Chengling in the last ep about the three Ghosts in the cold pool, and the philosophical conversation at the tip of Ye Baiyi’s sword in Ep 27 re: retributive vs. restorative justice, and the shift in WKX from wanting to burn down the world to being satisfied with exposing Zhao Jing, and how proud his shixiong was of WKX for not just stabbing Zhao Jing in the face right there in front of everyone, and the effect all of that must have had on Chengling. And then on the other other hand, even as all of this was going through my head, I wanted Mo Huaiyang flayed alive. His death scene was hella gratifying, I’m not gonna lie – this was the kind of catharsis I didn’t get from the interminable fight scene with Zhao Jing, and I’m trying to convince myself it was the pacing, and the fight choreography, not just the sated bloodlust that made the difference. But I felt that sneer on Gong Jun’s face, he was great in that scene, although I suppose it’s not great for WKX’s soul, to be back where we came in, in Ep 1, with the signature Ghost Valley Master choking move in the signature Ghost Valley Master blood-red robes. It sure did feel good, though, and I suppose that’s the seductive appeal of backsliding on your ethics.

I also was pretty impressed that as much as they’ve built up the zhiji relationship between WKX and ZZS, all of it disappeared for WKX in the face of his meimei’s death – as soon as he cradled his dying little girl in his lap, no, as soon as he saw her down on the ground, he was blind to anything else. I really appreciated it, that this little girl who WKX saved and was saved by mattered so much to him that nothing else mattered, to the point that as he’s getting ready to die, he tells her to wait for him because he’ll be there with her in just a minute, he’s on his way to her, without a single apparent thought for anything or anyone else he’ll be leaving behind. It gave their relationship so much weight - a weight that helped make both of them such complex characters, I think. During her death scene, I couldn’t help thinking about the last time we saw A-Xiang this wracked with emotion as they talked, the fear and pain in Ep 23, when she was curled up protecting all the tenderest, most vulnerable places, speaking not only for herself, but for all the things Wen Kexing couldn’t yet say and show, at that point, and now to see them both sobbing and curled into each other just about killed me, particularly when this episode was the realization of all the worst fears of that episode.

Also, yes, all the super-manipulative flashbacks scenes of Cao Weining and then Gu Xiang and then Cao Weining/Gu Xiang absolutely worked on me, along with both of A-Xiang’s goodbyes to WKX – including the one when ZZS apparently used the Drunk-Like-A-Dream on him and A-Xiang telling him she was OK and with her parents was the thing WKX wanted most in the world - and I spent a good part of the episode a snotty mess. I don’t know, did anything else actually happen in this episode?

Oh, yeah, the truth about the (lack of) Seven Nails came out, and while it was an appropriately emotional scene, although only about a minute long and lacking WKX’s reaction, boo show, it also was buried under a mountain of trauma that had already happened.

Other things that also happened:

Not precisely an other thing, but maybe tangential - I remember thinking, wondering - with a detached part of my brain that wasn’t shrieking a danger alarm, as I sat there watching Mo Huaiyang’s hands on Cao Weining’s face, KNOWING what was going to happen at any minute, and helpless to stop it – I remember wondering if this was some kind of commentary on religious (or other) fanaticism, on compulsions so strong that you’ll literally and figuratively sacrifice your own children in the most horrifying ways and think you’re righteous for doing it, and that reaction was only strengthened by Mo Huaiyang’s language to WKX that he needed to “cleanse” his sect. Wen Kexing wasn’t wrong when he said that evil doesn’t just reside in the Ghost Valley. Also, we’re told later in the ep that Mo Weixu is still missing – is that Cao Weining’s da-shixiong? Oh my god, Wikipedia tells me he’s Mo Huaiyang’s son. Wasn’t it implied then, that Mo Huaiyang killed him, too, along with Fan Shishu?

Oh, wow. So, when Liu Qianqiao said “Loser Boyfriend? I don’t know him.” she literally didn’t remember him. So, Water of Lethe, then? My dude was not expecting that, particularly after he just saved her. Well, I guess you’re dying together after all, you and your girlfriend and her girlfriend. (Rocks fall, everybody dies. That felt a bit meh.)

Finally, nope, we’re done, Xie’er. I mentioned at some point earlier that I had a hard limit, and that was hurting A-Xiang, and indirect responsibility COUNTS, with your little deal with Mo Huaiyang, and not even a double-cross gets you out of this, so you are dead to me. (I did like your moment over Beauty Ghost’s death, though. Are you having a little, tiny, digging-a-grave-with-a-sword moment? Y’all have been a little weird about each other since you met.)

[chalkrevelations]

Well. Episode 34 of Word of Honor, and, oh.

(Spoilers. Scroll on by and come back later if you want to watch it unspoiled.)

Oh. No. NO, show. Only A-Xiang is supposed to make me cry, so fuck you, Zhou Zishu, with your SAD LITTLE FACE, oh my god, why don’t you just pull my heart out of my chest, throw it down in the dirt and stomp on it? It would be kinder than having to watch you deal with the implications of whatever it is, precisely, you’ve done to yourself that means you’re expecting to drop dead any day and lose your chance at lifetime happiness with your soulmate but are hiding from everyone. (Well, I guess it’s your turn to be hiding something, because it looks like everyone in the jianghu except you was in on at least some part of Wen Kexing’s plan.)

So, the first thing that struck me in this ep is the way ZZS sits at the table at the post-Hero’s Conference meal drinking session, hunched over, like his bones are made of shattered glass, and here’s the thing: He’s absolutely just had a serious emotional blow. But also, this is a guy who’s terminally ill and in chronic pain, and we saw that repeatedly for about the first two-thirds of the show, and then the emphasis on it kind of slacked off. And I’m thinking now that maybe it wasn’t just slack writing or WKX playing his xiao in the rain through the nights at Four Seasons Manor like the worst emo kid ever that helped, that maybe some of the progression of the deadening of ZZS’s senses might have offered him some relief, but whatever it was, I’m wondering if whatever he’s done now – I presume pulled out those gd Nails - has exacerbated everything all over again. I cannot believe that at least Wu Xi can’t look at the way he’s moving and holding himself at the table and see that he’s not just stone-cold angry and emotionally hurt about being left out of the loop, he’s in physical pain. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s a little like being stabbed in the chest when he gets confirmation that Chengling and WKX were in on WKX’s “death” together while he was in the dark and believed this asshole actually died on him. But I also think we’re getting physical pain ramped up again from him; there’s a hesitation and delicacy of movement that speaks of someone who’s judging their movements and maintaining a high level of control, because if they do make a wrong move, everything could just explode into agony. I also noticed the way he clutches his cup when A-Xiang starts explaining how WKX made a deal with Xie Wang in order to rescue ZZS from Tian Chuang, and I can’t for the life of me figure out if it’s having to hear about WKX finding himself in that position in order to save him, or if it’s A-Xiang calling him “Sick Dude” at a moment when that’s going to press right on one of the tenderest, most vulnerable places. Because, god, everyone else at this table who even knows about his terminal illness still thinks that Wu Xi is going to be able to fix him. And here’s where ZZS apparently is a better person than me, because I don’t know that I wouldn’t have an absolute breakdown and end up throwing it in WKX’s face that if he had just told me what was going on, maybe I wouldn’t be about to drop dead tomorrow and leave him alone for the rest of his life, asshole. But no! His zhiji’s happiness is so important to ZZS, that he’s not going to say a word about it! It’s more important than his own life, that his shidi has been able to avenge his parents while keeping his own hands (relatively) clean of any more sins. He’s going to continue to be there, to be whatever WKX needs him to be, for however few days he has left. I won’t fail you. (Even when you fail me). Here’s the thing though – at some point, you’re going to drop dead, Zhou Zishu. And apparently you’re going to leave WKX completely unprepared for it, so I don’t know that you’re doing him any favors being the one who’s hiding something, this time around. And oh my god, I just realized something – you made him drink three pots of liquor as a punishment – was that to get him so blind drunk he wouldn’t notice the Nails were gone? You realize you have to tell him at some point, right?

ANYWAY, WKX gets sloppy drunk and stumbles into their(? has everyone just given up any pretense at this point?) bedroom, and first of all, can I take a minute to flail over the way ZZS pushes drunk WKX’s hair back off of his shoulder? Can I? Because I rewound and re-watched that 2 seconds of the show three times. But then, then, WKX starts drunken rambling about how happy he is, and how scared he’d been that he wasn’t worthy of ZZS, and tears start welling up in ZZS’s stupid eyes, and WKX starts talking about how finding ZZS made him a whole new person, and ZZS’s stupid precious face gets SO SAD, and I start fucking welling up too, and then WKX talks about his parents and their shifu, and ZZS presses WKX’s head to his chest and gives us his stupid sad little smile, and I’m literally clutching my shirt hem in inarticulate pain and distress by this point, and then ZZS starts to break down as he holds WKX’s hand as WKX finally falls asleep, and he gives that stupid shaky sobbing little gasp, and just UGH. I’m DYING here, show. Also, how did you manage to do this to me with just your face, Zhang Zhehan? I’m not sure I can take the next couple of episodes, when the whole Nails dilemma is sure to come out.

Second big takeaway of this ep is that I just … oh my god. I cannot with you, Xie’er, holy shit. And I say this in a completely loving yet utterly aghast way. Was it absolutely necessary to literally sit on Awful Yifu’s lap? I’m reduced to a state of horrified laughter over the envelope pushing. The absolute fuckery of the power dynamic fluctuations of the Zhao Jing/Xie Wang relationship at this point … it’s something. It’s finally reached a point where it’s so fucky and complex that I may have to go looking for some fic, despite my general desire to punt Awful Yifu into the sun. I do have to say that the whole (one-sided) conversation when Xie’er finally let everything out was super-cathartic. Go off with your unfilial self, Xie’er. Li Daikun has been amazing all through this, and he’s continuing to maintain a perfect balance as we move toward the finish line. I’ve heard he was offered Wen Kexing and supposedly didn’t want to take the role because he didn’t think he was ready for it? And while I absolutely appreciate Gong Jun and the chemistry between ZZS and WKX that he built with Zhang Zhehan, I’m flabbergasted that Li Daikun was able to pull off Xie’er like this, yet thought he couldn’t manage WKX ... and I have to admit, I kind of would like to see what WKX would have been in his hands. I’ve also heard a rumor that they’re talking about maybe filming an origin story for Xie Wang? I … am torn, because on the one hand, more Xie’er, but on the other, more Awful Yifu. Anyway, I think we’re continuing to see a whole tangle of resonances between Xie’er, Wen Kexing, and Zhou Zishu, and the awful men in their lives who helped make them who they are today; there’s something of a contrast between Zhou Zishu, who, maybe significantly, was older and had some grounding from his Four Seasons shifu when he got tangled up with Prince Jin and Tian Chuang and who was willing to gnaw off his own leg to get out of the trap (and only finally struck back because he was forcibly taken back) and the other two, one of whom killed and … dismembered? flayed? his abuser before taking his literal throne, and the other of whom turned his abuser into a muted … piece of furniture? sex toy? before taking his figurative throne. Xie’er is about five steps behind Wen Kexing on a parallel path, and maybe there’s still time for him to untangle some of the fuckery in his head about his awful yifu. But meanwhile, there it is: You failed me. Xie’er, you’re breaking my heart, but I feel like I have to point out, again, this is the guy who is literally responsible for the existence of the Department of the Unfaithful. I did have a brief moment when I was convinced Xie’er was poisoning himself and Awful Yifu in a murder-suicide move, but then we got lap-sitting instead? Which could have made me think we were getting some kind of reversion to wanting to feel safe, like a kid able to (finally) sit in his father’s lap and play at comfort, but then he went and made it – let’s be honest – a little weird.

Last really big takeaway for me from this ep is that A-Xiang and I continue to be simpatico, because lady, I also have a very very bad feeling about Fan Shishu’s absence in this wedding “party” from the Gentle Wind Sword Sect, and watching your dawning realization at the end of the episode when he doesn’t show up and doesn’t show up and doesn’t show up as the group enters only confirmed my suspicions that something is UP. Am I supposed to expect a fakeout to Mo Huaiyang’s haranguing speech to Cao Weining, with a wrap-up of “But since you clearly love her so much and want to be a good influence …” Because I won’t believe it. And I’m not going to be happy or comfortable until we see the back of this asshole, because speaking of somebody who says everything with his face, Mo Huaiyang was NOT happy when Ye Baiyi called off the rest of the Heroes Conference, after his horse in the race had already been completely repudiated and he lost whatever chance he had at gaining power and influence on Zhao Jing’s back. Even if he did come all this way – bearing gifts – just to tell Cao Weining he’s an ungrateful brat and to never darken the door of Gentle Wind Sword Sect, it would still be a jerkass thing to do. But I don’t trust him as far as I could spit, and my only question at this point is whether all of Cao Weining’s shidi who came with him to the wedding are in on whatever bs Mo Huaiyang’s planning to pull.

A couple other random things:

Oh, so A-Xiang’s two moms are going to stay together for the rest of their lives, are they? And Liu Qianqiao is even like, “Loser Boyfriend? I don’t know him.” Followed by a cut to Luo Fumeng and her vaguely smug reaction. I’m dying.

No one’s going to say anything about this random body that Wen Kexing used for his plan? Just, you know, went to the store or something and picked out a random body? I realize it’s very late in the game to be getting moralistic about the adorable merciless killers, but come on, man. I also think we have once again overused the infodump. I realize we only have 35 episodes, but some of this explanation of WKX’s very complex plan should have been shown, not told. Anyway, cue series of flashbacks to finally explain how the whole Rube Goldberg plan was put in place, and ah-hah! WKX, himself, talked to Chengling ahead of time. I notice that in that flashback scene and the one when he talks to Ye Baiyi, he’s prominently still wearing That Hairpin, so we’ll realize this all got set into motion before ZZS was rescued and brought home.

Finally, why has everyone seem to have forgotten (still) about that KEY that WKX was waving around? No one’s going to mention it? Really?

And now, I think I’m going to fortify myself with some bourbon for the next ep.