#xiao bai you have a friend

[movielosophy]

Follow Your Heart | Well, well, well.

[tk-duveraun]

Yue Qi isn't quite allowed to draw his spiritual sword, but he's not explicitly NOT allowed, so he plans to sneak to Wan Jian Peak after hours and get his sword so he can save xiao-Jiu.

Only, as soon as he sets foot on the rainbow bridge, he runs into some shidi from An Ding having a crisis in the middle of the night. He helps.

It's several days before he has enough of a lull in his duties that he feels well-rested enough to make the attempt again. He needs the strongest sword possible to save xiao-Jiu.

Upon reaching Wan Jian Peak, he discovers there was an explosion just as the disciples were cleaning up for the night and now it's like an agitated ant hill. Yue Qi sighs and helps.

Sadly the fallout and paperwork and prospective safety measures take up an entire month. Yes, his cultivation is improving, but he needs to leave NOW.

His next attempt is thwarted by an entire crowd of disciples, a mix of bai zhan and xian shu. They're fighting because...? Someone said someone else said they were weak? Uncultured? Yue Qi might have expected the blow out with ku xing and that would have resulted in less property damage.

He pushed back another month, but at least that one shidi from An Ding brings him some nice trees and a fruit as thanks for his earlier help. Yue Qi can't put a name to the fruit, even as he eats it, but he dares not ask anyone and reveal his ignorance.

The next night, invigorated by the kindness and the gifts, Yue Qi finally, FINALLY makes it to the sword wall and claims the Xuan Su sword.

He wakes two days later on Qian Cao from the resulting qi deviation. His master visits. He is equal parts disappointed and pleased that he snuck out by managed to claim such a worthy sword

The moment he's gone, Yue Qi climbs out of the window and returns to his quarters. After changing and grabbing his go-bag he teaches himself how to fly on the sword while hurtling toward xiao-Jiu.

His bag has more money in it than he remembered saving, but Qiu Jianluo isn't willing to sell xiao-Jiu anyway

That's alright. No one knows Yue Qi is there and when there are no survivors, no one ever will. He leaves xiao-Jiu at the base of the mountain with his go bag and all of the money so he can approach the sect after enough time has passed to allay and possible suspicions regarding the fire at the Qiu manor.

Yue Qi presents his shishu with a letter from his good friend Shen Jiu and requests that shishu please evaluate him for cultivation potential.

Yue Qi suspects that his shishu knows every rotten detail of the situation, but he only smiles and agrees to a meeting. Before Yue Qi leaves, his shishu says, "You know, I hear disciple Shang was made head disciple of An Ding. It would serve you well to have a good relationship."

.

.

Disciple Shang is the nervous shidi. Yue Qi truly believes shishu knows everything.

[bsverryin]

: ̗̀➛ How Genshin men talks about you as their s/o

Who?

╰┈➤ Diluc, Xiao, Childe, Alhaitham,Kazuha, Zhongli

Situation?

╰┈➤ how would they describe you

✎ HEADCANONS ONLY!! this headcanon is gonna be my way to show my appreciations for all of you and for the people who has the words of affirmation as their love language, I'm really grateful that you guys read my stories <;3 enjoyy

Diluc doesn't like to talk much, but if he hears his friends or customers talking about you, he will listen and correct them if they are wrong. It makes him glad to know he isn't the only one who thinks you're talented and lovely. "How would you describe Y/n? Master Diluc?" A costumer asked, He turned to look at the costumer, It was Diluc's free time. "Y/n?" He giggled right when you came into his mind. "Y/n is lovely, she makes me forget all the things I needed to do as when I'm by her side, it seems as if I've achieved whatever I wanted. No, I'm mistaken; I don't simply like her to want her; I need her. My entire existence revolves entirely on Y/n and only Y/n."

Zhongli was writing while sipping his coffee, He missed writing and you're in front of him waiting for him to finish whatever he was writing, you admired him for a while. "I'm finished, shall we go?" He said. "I thought you're gonna read me the thing that you were writing." He smiled and gave it to you, you opened the note revealing a pretty hand writing and pretty words. "Every time I touch her, I'm caressing a star, every time I speak to her, I'm speaking to a divine. If she ever was a god, worshipping her wouldn't be enough."

Alhaitham is quite different. He talks typically directly most of the time, but when it comes to you, he becomes cautious with his words so he doesn't say something that could hurt you. "How often do you think of Ms Y/n?" An akademian asked, it was for their research. It wasn't hard persuading alhaitham to answer them because he loved talking about you. "There is no day where I don't think of her, I had no idea I was capable of the word love; she encourages me to do better. Every time I look at Y/n, I see a bright future for her, while she is my future."

Kazuha admires you in every way possible and when it comes to talking about you, he'll make you into an art form with his poetry and pick the right words. "What did you feel when you first saw Ms. Y/n?" A kid around inazuma asked. The kid was really impressed with your love story together. "I knew from the moment I met her in a warm bay of sunlight that she was sun, the sun that I sought as I could feel her warmth. I owe every one of my smiles to Y/n."

Xiao is also not a great talker; he prefers to keep everything private, but when he does speak, he has a talent for choosing the proper words for you. "Y/n is really pretty! Right?" A person beside him said. "Right." His tone softened "I was used to darkness till I met Y/n, she didn't want me to be in the dark all the time, she'd offer me light, I hope she knows that she is the light herself."

Childe He loves to hear your name, especially when his other friends mention you and how well you two look together. He always talks about how you complete him and have changed him for the better, childe would never get tired of talking about you expect that it's gonna be cheesy, that's how he express his love. "What is Y/N to you?" A friend of him asked. "Y/n is the person I want to spend my future with; she's an artist herself, and she enjoys showing me her arts. I didn't know someone was capable of making an art while being an art herself."

[nemainofthewater]

It's really fun pointing at the screen and going 'hey it's that actor!'

(Or at least it is if you can tell the actors apart when they have a different hairstyle, which i can't. In that case a trusted friend helps)

But have you ever considered.

What if the two characters changed places?

[morweneledhwen]

While I'm still processing the finale I'm sitting here once again, head in my hands and staring at the wall, wondering how the hell this drama passed censorship. – Especially after all the things that happened in the last few episodes.

So my theories for why the three biggest queer coded relationships in Fangs of Fortune got through censorship are these:

- Zhao Yuanzhou x Zhou Yichen: was accepted because of Wen Xiao, whose existence seemingly made this look like a love-triangle, in which two guys are competing for one girl (everyone who has seen the drama knows this is not what actually happened, of course)

- Zhao Yuanzhou x Li Lun: was accepted because, well, Li Lun is obviously the bad guy of this drama, so how could there be love between them? (again, not my personal opinion, I'm just trying to guess what the reasoning here was)

- Wen Xiao x Pei Sijing: was accepted because they didn't have as many scenes in which they were close as the others ... and also, physical and emotional closeness between women is often seen and treated differently by society than that between men, let's be real

This just leaves Ying Lei.

Because we need to talk about Ying Lei and the entirely non-platonic crush he has on his best friend.

So I've read on MyDramaList that Bai Jiu was supposed to be older in this, but since the team was afraid that the relationship between Ying Lei and him wouldn't pass censorship, they made him much younger.

I don't know if this is actually true, but it would explain so much of Ying Lei's behavior towards him. I mean, of course you can interpret their relationship to be strictly friends-only, but in a drama as queer as this one I think it's only fair to consider all the options here.

Remember the 'cutting sleeves' comment when they parted for the first time on Mount Kunlun? By now it has become shorthand for gay love in Chinese media.

Bai Jiu refuses him in that scene, but that doesn't change Ying Lei's love for him. He can't help the silent jealousy when Bai Jiu prefers the company of other people to his, nor can he stop being there for him, preparing gifts for him and repeatedly sacrificing himself to protect him – and, finally, getting him back.

The way they had to pry Bai Jiu from Ying Lei's iron grip after he was saved in episode 30 really cemented that one-sided love for me.

So there could have been so much more to this relationship but since Bai Jiu is a kid in this, all the things he says and does to Ying Lei have been put in a completely different and much more innocent context.

But for Ying Lei, these feelings are still very much there, and I found it completely impossible to deny their existence.

[accio-victuuri]

oh i like these posts. hahahahahaha! politics aside, oh well, no actually— i don’t think we can ever put aside politics when it comes to the boys ; I see cpfs sharing posts and commenting on this person’s “greeting” for wyb. and well, you will see why. she is a politician in hongkong.

[Patriotic top star Wang Yibo]

What big day is August 5? Last year, this day was the 12th anniversary of the New People's Party; it was also the birthday of Wang Yibo, a top star in the mainland.

Wang Yibo has a deep connection with Hong Kong. He was born in 1997, when Hong Kong returned to the motherland. I still remember that he sang a song "Stand Up" for Hong Kong on the 25th anniversary of the return; on July 1, 2023, he personally came to Hong Kong to attend the "Greater Bay Area Film and Music Gala" "The Moon Rises in the Bay Area", but unfortunately it did not cause much response at the time.

Although he is not a popular idol of Hong Kong people, friends who pay attention to the mainland entertainment industry know that Wang Yibo is a top star in the mainland entertainment industry; he has extraordinary dancing skills, and his status as the "King of Dance" in the mainland is unquestionable. In addition, he is also engaged in many public welfare undertakings; he recently filmed a documentary series on protecting pangolins as a public welfare ambassador of WildAid. He is an artist with both talent and virtue.

I once asked a public question in the Legislative Council: Since Hong Kong is hosting many events and concerts, the SAR government should actively consider inviting mainland top stars Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo to perform in Hong Kong. I believe that this will attract a large number of fans from the mainland and around the world to support Hong Kong and truly promote Hong Kong's concert economy.

Recently, there are two things about him that impressed me the most. First, his performance in the mainland hit drama "War of Faith" was amazing, and his acting skills have made a great leap forward. I, like many mainland audiences, think that he deserves the "Best Actor". Unfortunately, he was not nominated for the Best Actor in the list of nominees for the Shanghai TV Magnolia Awards earlier. This incident triggered a series of controversies in the mainland entertainment industry. Many people feel sorry for him.

In addition, when he was serving as a torchbearer for this year's Olympics in Paris, he saw a fan holding a mini national flag accidentally dropped it on the ground, and he picked it up spontaneously, showing his sincere respect and love for the national flag. If every young person in Hong Kong can spontaneously love the national flag and national emblem, and understand that it represents the dignity of the country, then it means that Hong Kong's patriotic education has truly succeeded.

In summary, Wang Yibo is an outstanding young man. He went to Korea for training when he was young. After years of hard work, he has mastered first-class dancing skills. His acting skills have also been recognized in recent years. Even though he is a top star with huge commercial value, he is also enthusiastic about public welfare. He is really a role model for artists. I hope that young people in Hong Kong will take him as an example and learn how to be a good young man with both talent and virtue, who loves the national flag and spontaneously safeguards the dignity of the country.

* So i guess it’s now obvious why cpfs like this post so much. it’s because both of them were mentioned. and is is what we’ve been hoping for, that they will be invited to events and probably even work on a project together because they are “positive” artists. and how important it is for them to maintain that image to stay safe in the industry. tho i have to say that it’s not hard for them cause they are good natured people. It’s not an “act”, that is just how they are.

and it’s what we’ve been saying, that these two are one of the best ways for CHN to have some soft power in the international stage. tho i’m sure they will have detractors who will be quick to pull out “evidence” of their government support and use it against them.

also months back, she also posted something about CQL. so yeah, no wonder she got popular with cpfs ⬇️⬇️

China’s “danmei” genre is booming in the West

The article “How to Tell Chinese Stories Well” (July 14) overlooks an important genre that is growing in popularity in the West and is more reflective of contemporary Chinese life than works from decades ago such as Shanghai Life and Death or The Wild Swans.

I am referring to the danmei genre of online novels. Danmei is a term that originated in Japan. This new genre has spawned a number of very successful online novels that have been adapted into extremely popular Chinese TV series and translated into English. A prominent example is The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, which was adapted into the Chinese TV series The Untamed in 2019 and translated into English and is available on Amazon.

Untamed made two young actors, Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo, famous in China. Another very successful work is Erha and His White Cat Shizun, which made the New York Times bestseller list in English. The English version has a wide readership in the West and is available in paperback.

Danmei novels celebrate “boys’ love”, which is officially frowned upon. A major production based on Erha, produced by Tencent, has been shelved. But the genre has a large following in China and abroad, inspiring fan art, fan works and merchandise.

Many danmei online novels are written by women for women. Why are they so popular among Chinese women? Their popularity reflects the frustrations of contemporary Chinese women: they are trapped between traditional, realistic, family-oriented marriage concepts and a desire for romance and true love, as celebrated in danmei novels. Such novels have become a channel for their fantasy and escapism. Surprisingly, these novels have also been loved by Western audiences.

While TV series based on such novels have been banned, animated versions of some popular works are still in production. The resilience of the genre, which is seen by the authorities as a departure from the official "main melody" works, reflects the delicate relationship between the authorities and the artists who create them. Most of the time, the authorities have the upper hand, but the ban has not stopped private enterprises and creative talents from finding space for the genre to thrive. Can we call it the authorities' "one eye open, one eye closed" attitude?

* this is a short but very interesting take on the whole thing. she is not even mentioning how TGCF is so popular in the mainland and continues to do so with it’s donghua and manhua. i guess it’s really one eye open and one eye closed and i hope it stays that way so that this genre will continue to thrive! i’m not holding that much expectation for the live action versions tho.

[alipeeps]

Episode 16

I'm ready for the pain. *whimpers* Bring it on...

.......

Whyyyy is Zhu Yan's (much shorter) hair fully grey when he was younger? Is my boy vain? Did he start colouring it as he got older? 😂

Okay so young Li Lun is a sulky bitch. I'm getting "teenager forced to come on a family holiday and determined to hate it just because" vibes...

Why do I feel like I know the dragon mountain god somewhere?

*goes to check MDL*

Meh, he's done this and My Journey to You (which I only got a few eps into before getting distracted) and two movies that I've not seen. So, no idea why he seems familiar.

Though for some reason (his styling maybe - with the braids and the hint of moustache?) he is giving me Nie Mingjue vibes...

Ahahahaaaa they knew in advance that Zhu Yin was skanky!! 😁

Gotta say (I have mentioned it before) I am loving the narrative device they keep using in this show where they flash back to a previous scene and show more of it/detail that we didn't get shown the first time around that completely reframes the current scene and shows that they were expecting this and had stuff planned in advance...

But wherrrre is my boy Bai Jui during all this? Ying Lei asked this earlier and Zhuo Yichen said he should be with Pei Sijing... I took that at the time to mean they still had no idea that Sijing is the spy and thought he was somewhere safe with her... but could it mean that they do know/suspect and they maybe sent Bai Jiu after her, knowing she would spot him and (trusting she wouldn't actually hurt or kill him - which is a big risk tbh?) would have to stay and guard him, thus keeping Bai Jiu away from the fight *and* taking Sijing out of the fight?

Aiya... Ying Lei living up to his potential as a mountain god...

Uhoh, dragon boy is fighting back with his weather-controlling powers.

And Li Lun is just standing there not doing shit. 😂 Like... dude... they are all occupied with either holding the area or spell-casting inside it. You could just walk up and stab em and they wouldn't be able to do much to fight you off...

Oh shit no... dragon dude is not controlling the weather... he's making it night time rather than day...

Which means... blood moon

Oh SHIT!

Welp Zhu Yan pulling in all the malicious qi has at least dealt with the creatures outside the gate... but on the other hand you've now got a MUCH bigger problem!!

Well fuck

So the Baize token was what was shackling Li Lun and that's why he wanted it broken... bullshit about breaking the barrier between the wasteland and the mortal world so demons could be free was just the lie he sold Zhu Yin to get him on board (just like the lie he sold Qing Geng - this is his modus operandi)

God this is glorious imagery...

Goddamit though, Zhu Yan has absorbed all the malicious qi and very clearly lost control but all he does for the longest time is just hover there... he doesn't immediately go on an indiscriminate rampage. I can only imagine him spending all that time hovering just... trying to cling to control...?

And the first person he *does* go for is Zhu Yin, who betrayed him and his friends.

Ugh the dismissive ease with which he shrugs off the mountain god's power...

Oh man, the slow deliberate malice in the way he moves...

I shouldn't be finding this expression hot AF, right?

OMG look at how distressed he is - even after everything Li Lun has done - at seeing his friend be sealed...

So... it was *again* a blood moon that caused Zhu Yan to kill Zhao Wan'er? But... where did the blood moon suddenly come from? Or did it appear *because* Zhu Yan started absorbing malicious qi?

The *sound* in this scene... no music at all... just silence and the over-loud, almost distorted-sounding sounds - slosh of the water from Wan'er's footsteps, her breathing, the washing of the waves....

So. Fucking. Atmospheric.

But wait, in this memory he attacks Wen Xiao and (it looks like?) ?breaks her neck? (Or does he just knock her unconscious?) That didn't happen though in the other depictions we've seen of this scene? Is this memory faked/altered? In fact... how the fuck can Li Lun be showing her a "memory" of shit that went down after he was sealed? He wasn't there to see any of this? I call bullshit! Unless... he somehow stole this memory from Zhu Yan?

Oh SHIT is the blood moon where he killed Wan'er the same one in which he attacked Demon Hunting Bureau?!!

This song by Hou Minghao is so melancholy and haunting... and even more playing over this scene...

Oh what the fuck Sijing actually fighting on the side of the good guys? Or is she...?

Also wtf happened to her boss who was outside the gate. Why has he not gotten involved in the latest shenanigans... he wants Zhu Yan's core still, doesn't he?

Oooh baby bro enters the fray!!

Using Ying Lei's blood to fire up the sword?!

Oooh divine blood, demon blood & the Bingyi clan blood on the sword = maximum effort!

Ooooooh is he faking? I've been slightly spoiled about Zhu Yan giving him immunity to his one word spell... are we gonna get another flashback showing that that already happened and Zhuo Yichen is once again pretending to be in a coma to get the upper hand?

Fuck WHAT?!! You end it THERE?!!!

And it's fucking 3am, I cannot watch another episode, I will have to go to bed and SUFFER until tomorrow!!

[hyog-blog]

Fangs of Fortune (ep. 09 - ep. 10)

Okay, after so many side stories ending with deaths, I think it's safe to say there's a 0% chance of a happy ending for any of the show's main characters D: Mighty demons fall in love and end badly, powerful Godesses get sick and end badly, whoever cares for someone else - ends badly. It kind of sets the mood, and I'm taking all the hints, yep.

The Original Goddess and her demonic partner have met quite a tragic end. Another heartbreaking couple dissolving into thin air, ah... I just hope the history won't repeat itself with Wen Xiao. But I wasn't at all surprised to see that the other half of the Bai Ze token was, indeed, inside Zhu Yan. it was pretty much on the surface, but the reunion was still quite beautiful. And that heartfelt talk between Zhu Yan and Wen Xiao after, when she said she wanted to cure him :3 I mean, he seemed actually, genuinely happy. But then again we got reminded of the deadly promise Zhu Yan and Zhuo Yichen made, so XD

I'm starting to think Zhuo Yichen is just 99,9% socially awkward. Given his past with just 1 brother and almost no friends, I wouldn't be surprised if he couldn't show his affection to other people, like, at all. He's getting along with Bai Jiu pretty well because of all the brotherly vibes going on between the two. Bai Jiu reminds him of his childhood and, well, he's young and he poses no danger whatsoever.

Zhu Yan, on the other hand, is ancient, knowledgable, pretty and intimidating just as he is, and seems to get a kick out of lovingly trolling Yichen whenever he can (and Yichen does the same to the best of his capabilities). Actually, all the guys in the show seem to be somehow broken in oh-so-many places (maybe apart from Yinglei, but we probably just don't know his story yet).

"But I want to cure you..." :3

Rewinding a little back - the whole sequence with the doll was hilarious XD If the show didn't create a balance between drama and humor, it would have been one totally overwhelming beautifully made depression)) But this - it's not only watchable, you just naturally fall in love with everyone and everything going on screen.

"Let's take the puppet as a hostage," said the 34,000-year-old demon lord XD

[mykingdomforapen]

spinning silk | writer's commentary

Hello! It has been a long journey but my Link Click fic, spinning silk, has come to a finish. It has been a joy to write and to share with you, and I really hope that you enjoyed the journey. I am so excited for you to read it now in its completion!

I thought it would be fun/interesting to include a writer's commentary about the story, as I've included elements that I'm excited about and would love to talk about the thoughts behind them, the history, foreshadowing, et cetera.

I will try to shy away from explaining too much in case we wanna preserve some level of the Author is Dead skskks . Happy to answer questions on a separate post or DMs though if there is interest! If you are interested in this commentary, please join me! If not, no worries and merrily we roll along.

Spoilers ahead!

The Epigraph

It's easy to miss the epigraph in this story, which is at the beginning of chapter 1 and is very brief. I don't know if anyone here is Chinese-literate, or if you popped it into a Translation app. If you have, you would have realised that the epigraph actually spoils the ending of the story!

A reminder of the epigraph:

君埋泉下泥销骨 我寄人间雪满头。 -Bai Juyi For his friend, Yuan Zhen

Bai Juyi and Yuan Zhen were famous Chinese poets from the Tang Dynasty, and good friends. Bai Juyi would have written this after Yuan Zhen died. The poem's translation is thus:

Your bones are buried under the spring mud; I remain in the mortal world with my hair white as snow.

In the context of this poem, white as snow can indicate someone growing old as they sit at the grave of their friend, therefore their hair turning all white. It can, depending on the translation, indicate someone who sat through the winter until snow layered upon their head , by the time spring comes. Or, in the context of Link Click, Lu Guang's white white hair. Which interpretation should it be? 🙂

Also fun fact I accidentally miscredited the poem for the longest time to Li Bai, another famous Tang Dynasty poet. Oops!

Silk

Ah, this story is built on silk. I think it is fairly famous, the 'red thread of fate' from East Asian/Chinese culture, the concept that you are somehow tied to your soulmate by a long, connecting red thread. I wanted to use the concept of thread as fate, but expand it beyond just about soulmates and relationships. That was the motivation behind depending on silk imagery for Liu Xiao's plan, to play on a well-established concept in Chinese mythology and add my own twist to it. Especially since Liu Xiao was the one in S2 to make the comparison, of people having a thousand parallel fates/threads.

As I was musing on an idea for this fic, that was when I happened to visit an exhibit that included the life cycle of a silk worm. My mother then told me how when she was little, she used to raise silk worms as pets. That got me to muse on the process of making silk--how you have to boil the cocoon and then unravel it slowly until it is a single, long thread. You have to be so careful with it because if it breaks it's kind of pointless, and how magnificent it is that such a cocoon could be so uninterrupted, singular, continuous.

Which brings me to the climax with Lu Guang, when he is trapped in a literal and figurative cocoon of silk. So as Liu Xiao had said (or at least, I think he said it...I forget lol)--when you make silk by boiling the cocoons, you kill the silkworm inside. Silkworms leave the cocoons by chewing a hole through it, which essentially renders the silk unusable because it's all chewed and broken, but now the silkworm is a moth and flies free. The thread of silk, the cocoon, must be ripped and ruined, only then can a silkworm emerge with wings, transformed. Only then can it live.

(Fun fact: one of the first things I knew I wanted from this story was the scene of Cheng Xiaoshi using his threads of fate to sew up all the ripped seams of time. That was, in many ways, the impetus of this story's idea--the image of him so selflessly giving up his own future and life to the act of something as gentle as mending)

Wen Xi

I loved writing chapter 2, honestly. Not only because I get to write about a dive, which is the charm and heart of Link Click, and not only because I get to write about my culture and province (Cantonese represent!) but also because in my eyes, the Wen Xi dive functions similarly to how I interpret the earthquake arc functions for canon.

There was a moment where I almost had a scene where CXS actually interacted with Wen Xi in person. He would have run into her at one point, and of course he can't act like he knows her because she doesn't realize he was the one who did the job for him, but he would have had a moment with her. She was sitting on the curb, struggling with some of the mangosteens she bought. He remembers how she doesn't like getting her hands sticky and wet and how Song Liming used to open them for her when they were kids, so he would have asked her if she needed help and gave her that little bit of kindness. This was ultimately scarpered so that he and Qiao Ling could have that more plot-driven moment of worrying over Lu Guang.

Other Deleted Scenes/changed scenes

Not so much a scene as it is a theme that I wish I could have expounded on more but ultimately couldn't figure it out. Which is to say, I wish I could have played around with Liu Xiao more. Liu Xiao, Lu Guang, and Li Tianchen are the trio who are manipulating fate and the future. They are also three characters who are, in their own way and for their own reasons, trying to use the control of time to answer for a painful trauma that they cannot bear to face full-on. For Liu Xiao, that flashback scene of Liu Min would have played a bigger role in the story. I wish I could have completed this, but at the same time, in my head in order for him to confront it is to own up to it, and find healing from it. He did not want to do that in the playground of my imagination. So I left him be.

Actually, Liu Xiao was supposed to be a little more villainous in this story! He would have been a bit more purposeful about Cheng Xiaoshi, knowing that CXS' abilities are causing the 'knot' in the silk and then intending for CXS to die alone/far from Lu Guang so that Lu Guang would not repeat the cycle. Ultimately I preferred Liu Xiao to be a bit more morally gray. He struck me as someone who didn't have a personal grudge against CXS at the end of the day. All he wants is his own peace of mind.

There was also going to be a moment, although I ended up scrapping it early on, where the photograph of Cheng Xiaoshi and his mother would have played a bit more of a role in the story. There would have been a moment where, upon discovering what Lu Guang was doing with the silks and realizing how much damage it was causing not only to him but to the world, Cheng Xiaoshi would have felt like he was the cause of all of Lu Guang's misery and now also the misery of the concept of time and space, since Lu Guang was essentially destroying the world because of him. In a moment of being in a pretty terrible head space, Cheng Xiaoshi would have half considered diving back into that photo as his mom and straight up Terminator his childhood self to save everyone the trouble. Qiao Ling would have strongly talked him out of it. Ultimately I felt that was, well, a bit dark, and not really fitting to the rest of the story.

Speaking of the photograph's purpose, the opening scene used to be a wee bit different, where Cheng Xiaoshi would actually give Qiao Ling the photo of his mother and ask her to hide it from him. He would never explain why, but Qiao Ling would have a guess as to what the reason was. I changed it because I wanted the story to have a bookend. It begins with Qiao Ling holding Cheng Xiaoshi as he slept to keep him warm. As does it ends.

Culture(???)

I'll be honest, I'm borne of expats, so I'm not the one to break down the traditions and culture of the characters. At the same time, I definitely was raised in Chinese culture and spent formative periods of my life in China, so there are a lot of things I take for granted and not think to explain when in fact it is not actually a universal experience.

But anyway! This is a section to explain my caveat. I am Cantonese. Link Click very likely takes place in a northern city. China's food culture is EXTREMELY diverse, so the food that I have eaten in China, because I spend all my time in a specific province, is probably food that Cheng Xiaoshi, Lu Guang, and Qiao Ling seldomly eat! But I couldn't help myself, so I wrote about my favorite foods. Because I write fic for ME.

That also goes for the daily living aspect as well. For all I know, Cantonese doctor visits, city walking, food delivery, groceries, etc. are the same as Northerners. For all I know, it could be wildly different! I have no idea. I do reckon though that our trio live in a quieter, smaller city than what I'm used to. I mean, look at their neighborhood.

Not regarding shanghuo, though. Shanghuo is everywhere in China.

Anyway, a quick rundown of things:

black sesame porridge: A very Cantonese sweet porridge. Technically considered dessert, but also lauded to be full of nutrition. Technically considered 'soup' but I write fic for me.

Also, black sesame soymilk. Soymilk is great.

Sun Wukong- LG compares himself, or wished to compare himself, to Sun Wukong escorting Tang Sanzang to the west. This is in reference to our beloved Monkey King in The Journey to the West! He is an iconic literary figure dating back to idk I think the 1400s or something and his story is quite long and mythical but long story short his mission was to escort a monk westward, towards South Asia, to collect some important scripts. He had to protect Tan Sanzang from all sorts of demons and devils along the way.

Pixiu- Lu Guang makes a passing comment in his point of view about putting a Pixiu at his doorstep and hoping it pays off Cheng Xiaoshi's debt. Pixiu is a little guy (arguably dragon, probably not) that likes to gobble up gold. If you put a little Pixiu statue in your area, the idea is that he will bring wealth to you. He's got a whole story about him where he ate up all the gold of the heavenly palace and the Jade Empress was so mad she sewed up his butthole so he would have eternal constipation, or something like that. Don't correct me if that's wrong because that's how the story was told to me and I delight in it LOL. I love him. He's my favorite idiot.

Clay pot rice -Also a very Cantonese dish. Frankly, the rest of China is missing out if it is only contained in the Canton province. Rice that is cooked with meats in a clay pot which makes the rice v ery aromatic and deliciously crispy around the sides. Qiao Ling was NOT going to take that out for takeout, that girl was 100% just gonna treat herself in a restaurant and CXS was gonna have to deal with scraps and leftovers.

Zhinü- I'm realizing that Lu Guang makes a lot of references in his internal monologue LOL. This is in reference to the Weaver Girl and Cowherd folktale, one of China's Four Great Folktales (which include Lady Meng Jiang, Legend of White Snake which is my personal favorite, and the Butterfly Lovers). It's a very classic Chinese story about a celestial weaver girl, Zhinü, who is the daughter of I think the Jade Emperor who is like the heavenly king of gods, and her lover the mortal cowherd. Long story short, her father was unhappy that she fell in love with a mortal and so separated her from her husband and children with the Milky Way. One day a year, the birds take pity on the lovers and form a bridge across the galaxy so that they can reunite. Between her and Lu Guang's weaving--or rather, spinning silk--I couldn't pass up the opportunity to make a reference.

yangmei wine - Liu Xiao is drinking some Yangmei wine. Yangmei is a type of fruit in China and I am pretty sure I actually made him drink a different wine than what I'm imagining. What I intended for him to drink is a wine that is made of a particular fruit that isn't strictly speaking edible, or at least not eaten for enjoyment. It's usually always only used for making wine, and you let the little plums (so t ospeak) soak in the alcohol until it is a bright red. Very sweet. Very strong.

Sanmao- At one point Lu Guang compares Cheng Xiaoshi to Sanmao because Cheng Xiaoshi had a small sliver of hope for his parents snatched right from underneath his nose. Sanmao is an iconic Chinese character from a long-running comic that began in the 1930s. He is a poor orphan boy during the era before and during WWII, who is just trying to survive extreme poverty. He is often mistreated by passerbys and is very lonely, often looking longingly at other kids who have food to eat and have parents. Every time someone treats him with kindness and he has just a little bit of hope that he can have a family or some good fortune, some awful circumstance happens, usually tied to tense socioeconomic injustice or war.

One of the less traumatic panels of the comic lol:

Jiuzhaigou- Cheng Xiaoshi mentions wishing that he could go there one day, and then at the end Qiao Ling and Lu Guang say that they will go together. Jiuzhaigou is in the Sichuan province, it is a nature realm that is very beautiful. There are natural deposits that make the lakes ultramarine blue and crystal clear. It's so beautiful! A photographer's dream.

Tangyuan- sweet and sticky rice dumplings that can be filled with sweet filling such as peanuts, black sesame paste, sweet egg, or more! They are often eaten during holidays, both during Winter Solstice and the 15th day after Lunar New Year. Indeed they are symbolizing family togetherness, although less because of stickiness and more because of a pun in their name. But maybe stickiness has something to do with it? Winter Solstice foods in different regions of China are also somewhat sticky, even if they don't typically eat tangyuan. I just know what I'm told lol.

Doraemon-A popular Japanese manga/anime from the 50s or 60s that is immensely beloved by the Chinese to this day. He is a robotic cat from the future with a fourth dimensional pocket full of futuristic gadgets that he uses to help Nobita, a fourth grader in the 50s, with his every day problems. He's wonderful. Also, he has a time machine which is tucked in Nobita's homework desk. Fitting....

Yixiu- Another popular Japanese anime, I believe from the 80s, that was also quite popular in China. It's about Ikkyu-san, a little monk/prince whose profound wisdom solved all sorts of grown-up's shenanigans.

Jiejie- A reader had asked the significance of Cheng Xiaoshi calling Qiao Ling this in the penultimate so I figured I'd bring it up here as well. 'Jie' is an indicator of older sister, or a bit of a respectful but also affectionate term for a young woman. Just like how Lu Guang calls Qiao Ling 'Qiao Ling jie' in the show. When he does it, it's friendly but also not actually meaning that he sees her as a sister sister because it's attached to her whole name. Cheng Xiaoshi in this story, not necessarily canon, refers to her as Ling jie every now and then. To me, this is him hearkening to childhood terms, as that is what his parents would refer to her as when he was growing up.

Take this with a grain of salt because I am a diaspora and not originally from the culture. Qiao Ling referring to Cheng Xiaoshi as 'didi' (little brother) in the show, and in the end Cheng Xiaoshi calling Qiao Ling 'jiejie' (big sister) in this fic are not rare, so to speak, or inappropriate, but you don't typically refer to someone who isn't related to you as your 'didi' or 'jiejie' unless they are blood related to you. You can call your sibling this, or your cousins this, but uuuuusually not someone who is like a sibling to you--singularly, yes, like Ling jie, but not typically Jiejie. Them calling each other this means that they truly see each other as their sibling. Also, those terms are a little bit childlike, so to speak. There are more 'grown-up' ways to refer to your little brother or big sister. In Cheng Xiaoshi's case, someone his age will probably refer to a sister as 'a jie' or 'jia jie'--at least, in Cantonese this is the case. 'Jiejie' is a little kid's way of calling their sibling. Like, up until I was about 7 years old I would have referred to my sister this way. To call someone 'jiejie' now, particularly to their face, I feel is a very vulnerable address. It's like if you as an adult who usually calls their mother 'Mom', in a time of deep distress or sadness and in need of comfort, revert to calling her 'mama' or 'mommy'. Like, you're both probably in tears to get to this point. At least, that is my experience with addresses, and therefore Cheng Xiaoshi's lol. Any fellow sinos out there can correct me but that was my intention for that part of the story. Cheng Xiaoshi is vulnerable, and he is seeking comfort from his big sister.

Mama's nursery rhyme- The story of the little rabbits and their Mama Rabbit is a very well known children's story in China. The story wasrecounted as close to memory as I can, so the only other thing I can say about it is that this is how the song goes.

Well, that's all I can think of right now! If there are any questions or you're curious about something, feel free to send me a message! Otherwise, I hope I didn't resuscitate the author too much.

[movielosophy]

Follow Your Heart | Let's hang out

[sidecharactersdomatter]

Thoughts I had during TGCF Season 1 the Recap!

Basically, I recap the First Season of TGCF with my reactions, before my Season 2 binge watch!

Ep 1

-Don’t go out there… don’t go out there… don’t go out there… don’t go out there… *Bride gets snatched* Okay, maybe you should’ve gone out there.

-Right after XL ascends, Lan Hai and Qing Tao then go, “Huh, Who is that?”  Then everybody yells at them, “PRINCE XIE LIAN!”

-So much Property Damage…

-Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters!

-Fu Yao, *Is sarcastic and rolls his eyes* Basically me: He’s just like me fr!!!

-Hehehehehehe Dick joke XD

-Sees Bride!XL: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA I’m Sorry XD!

-Yeah right a few alterations, she totally fixed his make up calling it.

-*Sees Bridesmaids NF and FY like* W H E E E Z E XD XD XD XD

-So that’s how he was able to last longer than the previous bride

-Pass me the Aux cord!  You better not be playing mainstream garbage! *Turns on One Flower and One Sword and vibes like there’s no tomorrow*!

-I now pronounce you both husband and husband!  You may now kiss the gro- I mean, bride!  

Ep 2

-Honey, He looks a little too good looking to be the Ghost groom

-That temple looks abandoned, and the animation camera for walking inside

-There’s the ugly mob

-Hehe Xie Lian’s aggressive kindness

-When the mob scooched away from Bride!Lian I freaking lost it XDXDXDXD

-And Nan Feng and Fu Yao inch away instead of defending him!  

W H E E Z E!

-The fact they both agreed to not explain anything XD!

-Xiao Ying is a real friend

-And hurting the injured is a real low for the mob

-They have enraged the ghost groom

-KO!  Flawless victory!

-Zombie brides!

Ep 3

-Didn’t know it a zombie apocalypse happened in Ancient Feudal China (I need to brush up on my history)

-Welp, now they’re grateful 

-Wait a minute, he was an acrobat???  Xie Lian Pre 3 ascension life spinoff when??? (That’ll prolly never happen)

-Man here comes the Bride Pun count: 3

-Now that is an Azula level breakdown

-They are not merciful with the body count in this whole series

-Woah saved by literal divine intervention

-Geez, Pei Ming this is why we don’t Ghost our Exes, Pun Count: 4

-Man, Xuan Ji, maybe you should’ve heard of the phrase, “Plenty of Fish in the sea”

-The way Xie Lian blinked when he realized he was still in the wedding dress XD!

-Restoring faith in Ming Guang

-Oh no Trauma

Ep 4

-He’s so distraught he couldn’t follow

-The telepathic matrix, is basically the world’s first discord server

-Thank you Ling Wen

-Aw he likes Hua Cheng’s name!

-That explains the fall of Xianle and the Moldy Face Plague

-Let’s be honest, Bai Wuxiang is totally responsible for Covid-19

-Woah Hua Cheng has made his mark on Heaven

-Aww he thinks the Butterflies are beautiful!

-Honestly, smart move Mu Qing and Feng Xin

-Oh she is so burnt out

-Yeah, who was the Prince of Xianle anyway?

-WHY IS EVERYBODY’S EYELINER GAME SO ON POINT?!?!?!?!

Ep 5

-The way he blew off that maple leaf

-Oooh that subtle hinting later on and symbolism with Xie Lian

-The way he moved in closer *fangirls like no tomorrow*

-I freaking love the instrumental version of Hong Jue

-Is he touched starved?  He is touch starved

-I love that when San Lang scared the Ghosts shitless they ended up running like no tomorrow, Ghost 1: Book it guys our lives depend on it!  Ghost 2:  But we’re already dead! Ghost 1:  Well it’s just an expression!

-And there was only one bed.  Oh my gods there was only one bed!!!

-Aw he caught him staring

-I believe you Ox cart man

-Heck with how popular TGCF is right now, Xie Lian would be worshipped today by fans like us

-His luck did rub off on you and you should take it all Xie Lian

-Welp time to go start the next arc

Ep 6

-Woah, that old man is traumatized

-Of course being a martial god, he has experience in combat.  Have you seen him in a sword dual at Yinian bridge? (Subtle Phineas and Ferb quote)

-Yep called it, and the gong noise when the door opened!

-“How did we get out here in the middle of the ocean???”

-Awww look at San Lang’s emo hoodie!

-You know what’s better than one evil Daoist?  Two evil Daoists!

-And he drank the whole thing like a boss

-Now Nan Feng’s acting like an NPC from a fantasy video game

-The woman in the teal cloak saw him

-He’s touched starved again!

-Best chemistry ever!

-And after Rouye grabs San Lang and Xie Lian says, “I didn’t mean San Lang”. Rouye goes: “Really? Ok!”  And then lets him go, that’s just the hypothetical dialogue I’ve got for the silk band

Ep 7

-It’s official!  Xie Lian is shorter than San Lang people! 

-I’ve heard of a close knit unit but this is just insane!

-There’s so many people

-Ooooohhh That poor poor general

-SO MANY COBRAS!

-Oh no and 4’s an unlucky number in China

-He is sucking the venom out like a G!  Get yourself a man like San Lang people!

-You know we’re all thinking what Xie Lian’s thinking about how he’s going to clean San Lang’s bloodied lips (I’ll let you share your answers in the comment section)

-And Fu Yao’s stuck with merchant sitting

-Really lovely desert travel music!

-Yeah he does know an awful lot

-Uh oh the woman in the black cloak spotted them

Ep 8

-Thank you San Lang for protecting your man like a champ!

-Ooooh cool more Ban Yue lore!

-Ooooh his poor, poor head

-And San Lang’s expression, is worried if he hurt him, but it worked!

-Yeah but our faces don’t stick out of the ground like a fresh tater!

-Aw no they’re gonna need sacrifices

-Zhao’s fight response kicked in

-Eeenie meanie meinie that kid (probably Kemo)

-“Sully not thine honor on innocent blood” That almost sounded like a bible quote…?

-Dude Xie Lian was royalty

-Trust fall!  (You’ll see next ep peeps!)

-Oh and Xie Lian’s scream!  Kind of needed more raw emotion though

Ep 9

-He’s gonna jump into the pit, he’s jumping into the pit, he jumped into the

-Xie Lian’s like: Well I am going down there, but I won’t go down alone!

-The pit’s entrance is sealed!

-Trust fall!  TRUST FALL!  

-He touched his throat!

-There’s your answer Xie Lian

-Dance fight!  Dance fight!

-You’re just gonna excuse the mass murder San Lang committed in the pit?????

-Let me just find somewhere that isn’t covered in blood

-Oh yeah you’re grateful for San Lang carrying you

-The faces they made when he called them out for jumping into the pit XD Xie Lian’s eyes are wide and blank while San Lan has a cat face! XDXDXDXDXD

-She came down!

Ep 10

-She saw Xie Lian and San Lang

-So many fallen Ban Yue soldiers

-Hi Fu Yao

-I wasn’t kidding when I said Fu Yao isn’t great at crowd control

-Thank you Fu Yao

-She’s holding his hand and he’s patting her head my freaking heart!!!! 

-Oh No! Vomit trigger warning for this episode people

-Xie Lian raised her more than her Yong’An father did (and to some extent her late mother)

-It was still a good choice after all Xie Lian

-Take it easy with the ‘Bad Cop’ routine Fu Yao

-Oh no a scorpion snake

-Well that’s bad

Ep 11

-Aiaigasa!  It’s Aiaigasa again folks AAAAAHHH!!!!

-Scorpion tailed cobras why’d they have to be Scorpion tailed Cobras?!?!?!?!?

-That explains the sandstorm

-Ooooh Pei Xiu army backstory

-Ugh Classist general

-No Ban Yue!!!!  She was so young!!! T - T

-Yeah where will Xie Lian go from here?

-Oooh Yizhen got name dropped too!

-Uncle Jiang is cured!

-And the way he’s running away from the duo XDXDXD!

-Here’s why Fu Yao left early, as they healed Uncle Jiang he contacted Nan Feng through the telepathic array and Fu Yao’s reason is:  Come on, you know how horrifying his highness’ cooking can be.  This is just my theory, and I’d love to hear your possible ones in the comments!

-And the way Hua Cheng moved in closer and just preferred to be called ‘San Lang’ my freaking heart!!!

Ep 12

-We are back in Puqi village folks

-I freaking love how Xie Lian says ‘The Crimson Rain Sought Flower’ Howard Wang’s voice could act as my new sleeping aid

-Oh yeah San Lang does treasure you dude

-Ban Yue deserves all the head pats!!!!

-Ban Yue, I think you should keep living despite all the mistakes you’ve made… other than that I also don’t know the answer like Xie Lian

-Aww Xie Lian will love him no matter if he’s hideous or a monster he really does have the best standards!

-Awwww He’s hot when he’s mad!

-Another Reason why Hualian works so well is that San Lang also Respects!  Xie Lian’s!  Boundaries! (Yep still not getting involved with the Helluva Boss drama folks)

-It’s official!  That looks like an engagement ring people!

-Dude pass me the Aux cord!  Ya better not be playing mainstream garbage *Puts on Hong Jue at full blast and vibes like no tomorrow!*

-It’s like they’re running towards each other AAAAAHHH!!!

-Welp, see you guys later for Season 2!

Season 2! Here I come!!!!

[acoraxia]

BTW BTW BTW!!!

Remember to DO YOUR RESEARCH on Chinese names! A lot of the time people tend to go to Google Translate for names and input hecking “garden of fire” and plop that in as a name — YEAH YOU CAN’T DO THAT FOR NAMES!

Sometimes it’s not even accurate!

Your best friend will be behindthenames’ submitted names and actual blogs/websites dedicated towards names!

FOR EXAMPLE! A lot of people try to use Xiao as a name — you can’t really do that! Xiaotian and Xiaojiao have actual meaning behind their names and use actual characters that make sense as a name! Just using Xiao doesn’t really work! And you can’t use Xiao Xiao either that’s not a proper full name and it’s kinda wack! It’s nice to add as a nickname like Xiao Bai or Xiao Hua but there are other characters you could use for “cute” or “little”.

I am not an expert! But please do your research! I cannot count the amount of times I myself have fumbled and gone “oh i can just google translate this” and ended up absolutely butchering my poor oc’s names and titles

All of them have me held at gunpoint

[shuuenka]

Of first meetings - Fei Bai Bing

ALT text under cut

She put down her cup and looked up at him. Aside from occassional nibble at pastry brought by a waiter she didn’t touch any of the food in front of her. 

‘’Color me curious, how did you find out I switched with my sister?”

‘’You accepted Princess Consort's invitation for the small banquet, while still acting as Fei Bai Ping,” Wu Chun Tian replied, and started his dinner. 

He noted her raised brow. 

He figured he should be as much truthful as he can - if he wants young miss Fei to come over to 9th Prince side. It’s tricky - Fei family is allied to 4th Prince by marriage granted by the Emperor. Fei Xin is by all accounts loyal to Lian Bai Wei. However after his little trip to temple in the mountains, he is quite sure that first and second miss’ of the household do not feel the same way. 

‘’Our Princess Consort enjoys a wide array of pastries,’’ he continued. ‘’Recently she’s been enjoying sweets brought by merchants to our Minli harbour from far off lands and wanted to share them once we’re in the capital.’’

Young woman at the other side of the table frowned, understanding visible in her eyes.

‘’And from what I know you sister does not eat pastries due to wasting-thirst disease, no?” he quipped.

‘’Being friends with my cousin comes in handy,’’ she said. 

‘’Can’t deny. Don't blame me - it's Fei Jing Rui who has loose mouth.”

‘’And then you visited my sister in the mountains and heard the rest of the story.”

“Out of curiosity, yes.”

She took another sip of her tea and gave a small sigh. 

Golden ornaments in her hair jingling as cocked her head, ’’So, what is that you want?”

‘’Xiao Lou Tai - or rather, the information that Xiao Lou Tai can provide me.”

Her lips curled into a smile, first one this spring afternoon. She hummed and refilled her tea and then added a drop of honey into the cup. 

Everything she does, he notes, is unhurried and graceful. As if she had all the time in the world. Makes sense for someone who schemed from the inside of 4th Prince mansion for a year.

‘’Does the 9th Prince not have his informants? If so, then he’s further from the race to the throne than I thought.”

‘’He has his informants, but not a whole network,’’ he admitted. ‘’What I want is much more than a group of runners and your Xiao Lou Tai has it.’’

He leaned on the table.

‘’You have a bloody feud with the 4th Prince. You have Xiao Lou Tai, but you don’t have means to bring him down, young miss Fei.’’

The clutter of the restaurant noise from below the balcony and some people passing by the room was the only indication that time has not slowed down or stopped.

‘’Three conditions,’’ Fei Bai Bing finally spoke. ‘’One - the information that you will be requesting will still cost you. Two - I do not want anyone else knowing about this deal. I do not plan to be anything but a young miss of the Fei family that just came back from the mountain temple.”

He nods. ‘’Reasonable enough. Third?”

‘’I want you to establish, by whatever means, a tea house in Minli.’’

He blinked.

‘’Does Xiao Lou Tai want to expand north?”

''Mine does.’’

He didn’t have to think twice about her conditions. He smiled back at the young woman sitting across from him, ‘’deal.’’

Her lips stretched in a sweet smile and she raised her cup of honey tea, as in toast.

‘’Very well. I don’t have bitter wine, so I’ll raise this cup of sweet tea to toast you. I fall down to hell, you will go down with me.”

‘’Miss, what kind of toast is this?”

He huffed out a laugh, but raised his own cup. That's fun.

Good, he thought.

Lian Bai Wei had his web of influence stretching across the whole capital and even further. He even reached for Xiao Lao Tai with this marriage.

Always a few steps ahead of him and his prince.

‘’Color me curious,’’ he said. There was one thing he didn't figure out in all ofthis mess. ‘’You made 4th Prince eat quite a loss when minister Li stepped down, thus breaking their unspoken alliance. How?”

‘’Oh, this is something for me to know,’’ she said standing up. And then with half of her face obscured by an embroidered fan, she turned to look at him and continued,’’ and if you’re as smart as people claim you are and curious - for you to find out.”

[silver-and-stars]

Fangs of Fortune ep.28

So the jerk doctor gave the name of Wen Xiao's father to the dragon to protect his own identity at the risk of his junior doctor’s, leading to the death of Wen Xiao's dad who… got poisoned, rot and died ? Ah yes, the classic "that cheating man deceived me so I shall take revenge, not on the man, but on his innocent wife and unborn child"

Wait a sec, shouldn't they try to see if Yichen can turn into a dragon before asking one at great cost. If YC can turn into a dragon, then he could restore the sword himself

What kind of repayment in that ? Princess, you own Wen Xiao something, you have to repay her BUT you ask her to give you something in exchange of that repayment !? Also give his core? When knowing that jerk doctor is looking for it and when ZYZ is your strongest fighter ???

Seeing Yichen not wearing blue is almost strange Also I like ZYZ's hairdo in this one, it's a nice change (though the previous one is good too)

They are fishies in the pound, she can hear you. You hear that ZYZ? You're more important to YC than his ancestral sword tied to his soul that can save Bai Jiu !

Pei Sijing, YINGLEI WTF?! Omg I got so pissed at them and disappointed in YingLei but it was an act. Oh noooo baby didn't knew it was an act. He was the only one sincere and felt scared and disappointed over nothing. Poor boy really though his friend were turning on ZYZ, that he would have to fight them and that ZYZ rip out his own core!

“Leave it to me. Xiao Zhuo- Go away. Okay.” They are so married.

Don’t be embarrassed baby. I'm sure ZYZ was touched to see how much YC cares, that he would confront and fight his friends to defend him. Look at how fondly ZYZ looks at you ! THEY ARE BOTH SO PRETTY DAMN

Oh, all right, now I know why ZYZ or YingLei didn't suggest they use YC's scale if he can turn in a dragon, it would kill him. GIRL, JUST TURN INTO A DRAGON AND EAT THAT JERK!

WAIT I forgot about that! I forgot that YC was dying because 1) he was turning into a demon and 2) his soul-weapon was broken and that those were two separated problem. I thought that now he was demon he was saved but NO, they still need to repair the sword. So YC choosing to not destroy ZYZ's core to repair the sword meant that he choose -once again - ZYZ's life over his own.

Lilun got himself a pretty cave. LiLun, if you die at least don't bring the kid with you, die on your own.

Btw countdown of who is dying in the team : Bai Ju, cause of the poison Wen Xiao, cause of the flute Yichen, because of the broken sword and the oath to ZYZ he doesn't intend to keep. Zhu Yan, cause of the evil energy and the death wish and the oath between him and Yichen he intends to keep

I’m sorry, I love you YingLei, but you aren’t the best choice to keep such an important item. Although no one has stolen your teleportation device yet !

Also, sorry but fake-YC is hot. His expressions, the “Oh?” (a+ acting) OF COURSE he would lose the scale. I mean COME ON, give it to your strongest fighter (YC or ZYZ), not to the one who can't even defeat the shapeshifter (but at least he can smell her) Oh ! Yichen pointing a sword at ZYZ, it's been a while. Can't you just talk it out ?

LILUN don't you flirt anyone while possessing the body of that child ! For a sec I thought ZYZ had a great back up plan and gave the scale to Lilun to heal Bai Ju and cause LiLun was his bf(f). OOOOH what did you do with the scale ZYZ ? (pretty sure he is just keeping it safe) Will… ZYZ have to choose who gets the scale? Like choose between Bai Ju (the child), Wen Xiao (the woman he loves), YiChen (his soulmate)?

[marquisguyun]

I couldn't pick one for the ask game so here are two!

🌤️ and🌧️ please

Okay, so I've made sure none of these WIPs are anything that has an anon period, but I still had a lot of options to choose from! (Also it's amazing how much i managed to overthink this lol but it was still fun!)

🌤️Share your favorite piece of dialogue from your WIP. This is from a Bingqijiu omegaverse fic!

"We could have camped and avoided all of this," Shen Qingqiu grumbled. "The last time someone suggested camping you said that you 'weren't some Bai Zhan or Ku Xing disciple to deprive yourself of comfort when there was a perfectly good inn and the coin to pay for it,'" Yue Qingyuan reminded him with a smile. He got a playful swat of Xiao Jiu's fan for his efforts. "Do you remember everything I say?" Shen Qingqiu asked. "Most things, shidi," Yue Qingyuan agreed.

🌧️Share something angsty from your WIP.

Okay, this is long but oh well! Good angst, hopefully. From my "Lang Qianqiu looks under his guoshi's mask before he buries him" AU

"Xie Lian isn't going to ascend again," Lang Qianqiu said darkly. "He's dead." The laughter of the other officials cut off immediately, and the silence that followed was heavy. "Dead?" Ling Wen asked, always seeking to make sure her records were the most complete. "Your Highness is sure the Crown Prince of Xianle is dead?" "Of course I'm sure," Lang Qianqiu bit out. "I killed him myself!" "You--!" a voice called from across the hall. That was General Nan Yang, Lang Qianqiu thought. He'd not made trouble with the martial god of the southwest in the years since he'd ascended. He knew there was little chance that the general had flaunted the rules of the heavens to help his former prince get revenge on Yong'an. But he'd kept his distance, not willing to make friends with a god from Xianle. "How dare you??" "Your prince massacred the royal family of Yong'an when I was seventeen. I was well within my rights to take his life in return." Lang Qianqiu bit out. "General Tai Hua," a deep voice called from across the hall, and whatever Nan Yang may have said in response was cut off. The Heavenly Emperor stared at Lang Qianqiu in a way that made him feel like a weight had settled on top of him. "Is the Martial God of the East familiar with the way cursed shackles work?" Jun Wu asked. "No, my lord," Lang Qianqiu admitted, unsure of where the emperor was taking this. Around him, the murmurs of the other gods and officials told him that he was not the only one ignorant of this. The emperor sighed. The hall fell silent once more, all attention focused on Jun Wu. "A god who has been banished is not the same as a mortal, even a mortal cultivator. His divinity is bound, which is the main function of the shackles, but there are... side effects." An uneasy mutter spread across the hall at those words. Gods didn't exactly like to consider what it would be like to be banished, even if they never thought it would happen to them, and side effects sounded particularly ominous. Still, Lang Qianqiu wanted to know. If Jun Wu had brought it up, there must be a point to this. "What side effects?" Lang Qianqiu asked. "A banished god cannot die under most circumstances," the emperor said, with an even tone that belied the horror of his words. "They can be killed, yes, but they will recover in time. So tell me, Prince of Yong'an.... how did you kill your guoshi?" All of the blood drained from Lang Qianqiu's face. His mouth hung open, but he couldn't form a single word.

Thanks for the ask!

[accio-victuuri]

Sugar Rush : July 2023 CPNs 🫶🏼

and so I have decided to shift the candy recap into a monthly release cause it’s too heavy for me to do the 6 months like i’ve been doing for the past years. I also thought about enjoying the last days of the year instead of stressing over editing the post like before. It will also ( hopefully ) make the readers appreciate every month more and not be too overwhelmed by the information. tho i have to say, there were a lot that happened tor July too.

enjoy the candies or catch up! ^^

• XZS vlog candies and sharing same brands

• HK newspapers featured them attending the Bay Area Film Concert

• WYB giving us a sign for Yuguyao airing with his pokemon shirt ( part one )

• Shiying and XZ said the same thing? & XZ hinted with ‘don’t say so much’ ( part two )

• Yuguyao ( the longest promise ) related CPNs part three

• YIBO and XZS posting so close to each other @ 7/4/2023 and the 18 hint

• THEM PLAYING WITH THEIR LONG HAIR LIKE THAT ☺️☺️☺️☺️

• Ruxi interview clues with XZ ( part four )

• Another bottled joy CPN

• Yuguyao sweets part V ( double standards & similarities )

• Sending each other voice message / video during CQL filming 💕

• XZ prefers shi ying x baili?

• Most likely paying some entertainment accounts to post rational advice for fans

• the use of 🤷🏻‍♀️ gesture

• feeding the dumpling 🥟

• small candies from one and only universal studios resort event

• Clues from XZS 7/11 video bts from 2021 birthday photoshoot

• Another example of posting so close from each other

• yuguyao sweets part 6 and other things

• XZ once again shows off his card phonecase

• XZ and his preference for a stable relationship

• Wang Chuanjun holds dandan doll

• Entertainment circle connections

• XZ said he does not know if he & WYB are good friends 😂😂😂😂

• Another Bottled Joy clue

• Shiying x Xieyun on HS

• Similarity between XZS and YBO - this is not anything new because we have always been thinking that these studios have a connection. But this comes after the alleged exit of LRLG in YBO team. So cpfs are happy to see this again. Tho it does not confirm anything.

• doge + puppy preference

• In some screening previews of One and Only in theaters, XZ’s tsingtao short film ad was shown

• not CPN, but turtles taking over YH family concert and showing support 💛💛💛

• WYB looking at light signs @ YH concert 🧡

• Bottled Joy continues to not give AF and show their cpf bias

• Givenchy jumpsuits

• Video of the on the last day of shoot and XZ telling WYB he lost his chance but Bobo said he still has it

• Yibo knows about zodiacs/horoscopes + Leo x Libra compatibility reading from 2021

• CPN mix : reading about themselves on the internet, GG spending time with sick yibo, KXZ cue One and Only (?) Da Peng and 10:05

• Influx of new BXGs in the BJYX ST and GG changing his schedule when WYB was out sick

• Chen Shuo’s room includes KXZ movie projector

• XZS and YBO back at it again with their similarities

• A new clue in the BAH rumor ( massage parlor )

• Da bao and Xiao bao in Douyin

• Drawing detail in Ultraman Chen Shuo drawing + the posting time is 22:30 ( ai ai zan ) and on his cheeks is W and a heart. Again, we don’t know if the “cpf” friendly people are back on YBO team but nonetheless, we are enjoying this.

• Adding this here from the recent fake rumor posted 7/31/23. The summary is buying a green bag and it will be used. So we’re just waiting for either one of them to be seen with that lol. WYB is know for his black or that camo palace bag plus chanel. ZZ is mostly Gucci and Tod’s so i think it will be easy to spot.

That is all for this month! As with all my other recaps, it is impossible for me to add every single one. Most ( if not all ) of these are ones heavily talked about in the cpf circle. Please do not ask me to add things, I won’t do it. If there is a CPN that spoke to you for the month of July, that’s not on here then feel free to reply or reblog with your thoughts. This not an avenue to nitpick this post and say i forgot this or that. Thank you.