#xiao gong ye

[fuckyeahchinesefashion]

chinese guzhuang fashion (actresses and actors at the film site of costume dramas)

[ajaxbell]

Vogue+ post on celebrity fashion and turtlenecks seems tailor-made for my interests. 👀 (Posted while wearing a black turtleneck myself.)

[kdram-chjh]

Cdrama: Till The End of The Moon (2023)

“舞蹈担当”萧凛庞宜带来的神仙合作“舞台”！#TillTheEndofTheMoon #长月烬明 #优酷 #Shorts

Watch this video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/z9yu3Nyxn-g

[anmitdcosplayer]

Serenading the boys

[avaantares]

Tag yourself I'm Chiffon Prom Dress

Look, we all know Pinterest is a data-farming cesspit, and I usually block it from my image search results because I loathe it so much, but every once in a while I forget to exclude it and find something that's equal parts baffling and hilarious.

(IDs for the actors/dramas are in ALT, though one or two are from things I haven't seen so I don't know the titles. Feel free to add in the notes if you know them!)

[sombredancer]

Asian dramas and Love tropes

There are my favorite characters and their love stories as a list. Enemies to lovers

Drama: Her Royal Highness/长公主在上 Characters: Gu Xuanqing x Li Yunzhen Screentime: Main A boy is sent to be a servant in the unruly princess`s palace in order to find some dirt about her and to help his master to overthrown her, but something goes wrong... The HE is attached.

Drama: The Legends/招摇 Characters: Li Chenlan x Lu Zhaoyao Screentime: Main A leader of a demonic sect died trying to get demonic sword. Her soul returns to the world full of wish to get revenge on the current leader of her sect, who, as she thinks, killed her in the past. Found the way to be close to him, she learns that he wasn't the reason of her death and, moreover, desperately in love with her for many-many years. This is an adaptation of the novel "Ostentatious Zhaoyao", which I love more than a drama, but it's a good story in both variants. The HE is attached (although it`s a little bit obscure in the drama).

Drama: Till the End of the Moon/ 长月烬明 Characters: Tantai Jin x Li Susu Screentime: Main A boy who is destined to become a Demon God and to destroy the World tries to fight his doom. In a process, he falls in love with a transmigrator, who was sent 500 years back in the past to prevent his transformation into a Demon God. The irony is,making him falling in love is the only way to kill him for good... It`s an adaptation of the novel "Black Moonlight Holds the BE Script", which I like way-way-way more than the drama, not the least because the drama has BE and the novel has HE. I just watched it as a visually beautiful fanfic to the novel.

Drama: Love Between Fairy and Devil /苍兰诀 Characters: Dongfang Qingcang x Xiao Lanhua Screentime: Main My favorite drama of all times! Trying to save her love, a girl accidently falls into a secret prison for immortal criminals, revives the most fearsome demon of all times and heals his ability to feel. Later, forced to spend his time together with the girl from the enemy camp, the demon finds out that he actually likes her... The HE is attached. I wrote A LOT about them and made recap of the whole drama from the point of their relationship development in these posts: one, two, three, four, five and six.

Drama: My Journey to You /云之羽 Characters: Gong Shangjue x Shangguan Qian Screentime: Secondary In order to destroy the martial artist's clan, a female assassin was sent in there. While she is trying to seduce one of clan's young masters, he tries to expose her lies, but, eventually, falls in love with her. Unrequited. Maybe. This story has an open ending. My analysis of their relationship is here.

Drama: Butterflied lover /风月变 Characters: Ling Changjin x Bao Zhu Screentime: Secondary A wicked nobleman marries a princess because of her miraculous blood: it`s able to bring his zombie sister back to life. The princess allows him to treat her bad because she has been in love with him for a long time and believes he is a good person. Bit by bit he starts believe in it himself and begins to cherish his wife more... The ending is obscure (in a traditional Chinese way).

Drama: The Blue Whisper /与君初相识 Characters: Li Shu x Xue Sanyue Screentime: Minor A cat demon prince infiltrates the valley of demon hunters in order to set free the great demoness, but falls in love with one of demon hunters. Mutually. The ending is traditionally Chinese - they met again in another life. Т_Т

Drama: Immortal Samsara / 沉香如屑 Characters: Xuan Ye x Ran Qing Screentime: Minor An Asura king infiltrates the Heavenly Realm in order to steal the artifact that can help him conquering the world. The keeper of this artefact is a brave and honest goddess and he can't help but fall in love with her. After, he needs to choose: to be with his lover or to rule the world. He wants all at once, but there is no way to get it all. No HE for this pair. Pride and Prejudice

Drama: Lighter and Princess / 点燃我 Characters: Li Xun x Zhu Yun Screentime: Main A girl from a rich family with an anxious type of attachment falls in love with her classmate from a poor family with an avoidant type of attachment and tries to win his heart. It`s a problematic ship in a full meaning of these words and I like it this way. Yummy! The HE is attached.

Drama: Derailment /脱轨 Characters: Qi Lian x Jiang Xiaoyuan Screentime: Main A boy accidently meets his school sweetheart after many years of radio silence and understands that something is wrong with her. It turns out that her body is occupied by a transmigrator from a parallel world. At first he hates transmigrator for replacing his lover, but bit by bit he learns, that a transmigrator has not only the same appearance but the same habits and way of thinking, and falls in love with this new personality again... The story ends with HE but not in a way that you may think it would.

Drama: The Love by Hypnotic /明月照我心 Characters: Li Qian x Li Mingyue Screentime: Main In order to build relationship between two countries an emperor arranges marriage for his son. His fiancée is from a barbaric tribe: she is good at horse riding and archery, but knows nothing about palace etiquette and ladies stuff. It`s a light and sweet story about finding a path to each other's heart. The HE is attached.

Drama: The Long Ballad /长歌行 Characters: Hao Du x Li Leyan Screentime: Secondary A tsundere of a low background with a poker face does his ruthless job in a court, that's why a young princess thinks he is an awful man and is scared of him. But in reality he is a loyal servant and son and, moreover, secretly in love with the princess, who can't stand him... The HE is attached.

Drama: Miss the Dragon /遇龙 Characters: Xue Qianxun x Qingqing Screentime: Secondary A very naïve bird demon girl accidently meets a tsundere god of netherworld and turns his well ordered life into havoc. He starts liking it, though. The HE is attached. Forbidden love

Drama: A Frozen Flower /쌍화점 Characters: Hong Rim x No Guk Screentime: Main A gay king needs a heir, so he forces his lover to conceive a child with a queen. In a process, a boy, who was groomed as a king's lover from his childhood, finds out that he likes women much more than men. A traditional Korean tragedy. Very beautiful and full of feelings, though. (No GIFs because they all would be erotic ones).

Drama: 100 Days My Prince /백일의 낭군님 Characters: Moo-yeon x Kim So-hye Screentime: Secondary An assassin who is working for a wicked court official is secretly in love with a wife of a crown prince, who happens to be a daughter of the killer of his parents. Forbidden love doubles! But it's mutual, unfortunately for him. It's a very beautiful and full of desperation and feelings story. No HE, we die like Koreans. More detailed story of their relationship is available here, here and here.

Drama: The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity/晴雅集 Characters: He Shouye x Zhang Ping Screentime: Secondary A woman, who is destined to restrain the undying evil within her body for eternity in solitude, falls in love with Yin-Yang master. Her love is mutual, but her lover can't be with her forever, so he leaves with her his guardian demon to brighten her loneliness. Protecting her for ever starts being the only goal of demon's life... A tragedy, but a beautiful one.

Drama: The Legends/招摇 Characters: Gu Hanguang x Shen Qianjin Screentime: Minor "The Legends" once more! The main doctor of a demonic sect is in love with a leader of a righteous sect. A girl is not allowed to love anyone, otherwise she will suffer from the poison, so he anonymously sends her packages of medicinal herbs. She is curious about anonymous sender, too. But nothing can be kept in secret forever... Unfortunately, no HE for these two. In the novel he is safe and sound, but he has no love plotline at all. So is a price of love Т_Т.

I will talk about my other favorite characters and tropes in the next post.

Also you can see: Enemies to Rivals/Lovers recipe Asian dramas and relationship dynamics (Pt. 1) Asian dramas and relationship dynamics (Pt. 2) Asian dramas and my favorite types of characters

[xiao-hudie]

a non extensive list of gjm's cinematic universe (tm) references (excluding recurring actors bc that would actually take all day)

starring: wuliang (2020), yin yang master: dream of eternity (2020), my journey to you (2023), fangs of fortune (2024)

in my journey to you (2023), the concept of the wuliang heat is something that was mentioned in his 2020 short film wuliang albeit in a different form (无量流火 vs 无量心经). even the sword wielder body tattoo is similar to the one we see in wuliang.

in fangs of fortune (2024) in ep 1 we get a callback to gong shangjue and shangguan qian's epic romance in a scene that very closely mimics one of the scenes in mjty. we hear the gsj x sgq theme music in the background and they even mention the bay flower (another name for laurel) in the fof scene.

(on rewatch, i literally gasped when i realised the dude e shou was seducing was the piece of shit that started the riot against zhuo yichen in tianxiang pavilion in ep 25)

as many people have pointed out, zhuo yichen's wings in fof are very reminiscent of boya's wings in yin yang master: dream of eternity (2020). it's even got a similar(ish) context; one of the Boyfriends temporarily obtains wings to fight against the Big Bad. (even the wing designs are pretty similar)

this One Specific line both zhuo yichen and po xiao (wuliang) say after their boyfriends die (or supposedly die):

and

while what they say isn't completely the same, the sentiment and the way both of them say ‘但你没有’ is pretty dang similar and as soon as i heard zhuo yichen say the line i was instantly brought back to po xiao.

the doomed lovers in mjty (ai mi and zuo ye)!! oh how they make my heart hurt. in mjty, yun que tells yue-gongzi that when people die, they turn into insects or animals and go visit their loved ones. after this flashback, a little bird flutters down and lands next to yue-gongzi, the implication being that it's yun que.

and then in fof, ai mi's character is a bird 妖 (yao - demon/monster). how the turn tables.

and thus concludes my epic list of surface level observations lmao

[dangermousie]

In support of Hot General Summer (tm)

I realized that my recent poll not only lacked visual support but also left out a lot of my fave cdrama generals. So, in support of my Hot General Summer agenda:

Xiao Qi, Rebel Princess

Wei Wu Ji, Sound of the Desert

Ling Buyi, Love Like the Galaxy

Zhousheng Chen, One and Only

Zhao Yun, God of War Zhao Yun

Sima Yi, Secret of Three Kingdoms

Han De Rang, The Legend of Xiao Chuo

Zhan Beiye, Legend of Fuyao

Gao Chang Gong, Lan Ling Wang

Xiang Yu, Story of Han Dynasty

Cao Pi, The Advisors’ Alliance

Meng Tiang Fang, Ancient Terracotta War Situation

Chu Bei Jie, General and I

Zhu Zan, Jin Jiu Ling

Wolfie, The Wolf

Xiang Yu, Legend of Chu and Han

Cheng Yi, The Promise of Chang’an

Liu Xiu, Singing All Along

Huo Xin, Painted Skin the Resurrection

Meng Qi You, Glamorous Imperial Concubine

Yang Bros, The Young Warriors

Weng Gui, Princess Jieyou

Xiao Ping Zhang, Nirvana in Fire 2

Pei Zhao, Maiden Holmes

Ji Ye, Novoland Eagle Flag

Zhu Qi Zhen, Imperial Doctress (it’s a reach he’s an emperor. But he leads his force in battle and I wanted Wallace Huo there so...)

Yuan Ling, Lost Love in Times

Yi Xiao Chuan, The Myth

Gu Tingye, The Story of Ming Lan

Lu Bu, Three Kingdoms 2010

Xu Lingyi, The Sword and the Brocade

Yue Fei, Patriot Yue Fei

Xiang Yu, The Myth

Ping Zhang, Nirvana in Fire 2

Guo Jing, Legend of Condor Heroes 2008

Xiang Yu, The Legend of Qin

[danmeigirl]

Listing Upcoming C-Drama's to watch in 2024 & beyond :-

Fox Spirit Matchmaker : Love in Pavilion (Lead- Liu Shishi & Leon Zhang)

Fox Spirit Matchmaker : Red-Moon Pact (Lead- Yang Mi & Gong Jun) Released

Fox Spirit Matchmaker : Sword and Beloved (Lead- Li Yi Tong & Cheng Yi)

Legend of the Female General (Lead- Zhou Ye & Ryan Cheng)

The Princess Royal (Lead- Zhao Jin Mai & Zhang Ling He) Released

Love of the Divine Tree ( Lead- Deng Wei & Julia Xiang)

Guardians of the Dafeng (Lead- Dylan Wang & Tian Xi Wei)

Fangs of Fortune (Lead- Neo Hou & Chen Duling) Released

Love in the Desert (Lead- Fang Yulin & Hanikezi) Released

Snowy Night : Timeless Love (Lead- Joseph Zeng & Li Qin) Released

Reborn for Love (Lead- Jing Tian & Zhang Lingh He) Released

Shui Long Yin (Lead- Fang Yilun/Xiao Shunyao/Luo Yunxi)

Lady Revenger Returns from the Fire (Lead- Xu Lu & Wei Zheming)

A Dream Within A Dream (Lead- Li Yi Tong & Liu Yu Ning)

Thousand Fragrances (Lead- Song Wei Long & Ju Jing Yi)

Love Game in Eastern Fantasy (Lead- Esther Yu & Ding Yuxi) Released

Legend of Dark River (Lead- Gong Jun & Chang Hua Sen)

Dashing Youth (Lead- Neo Hou & Hu Lian Xin) Released

The Story of Pearl Girl (Lead- Liu Yuning & Zhao Lusi) Released

Lin Jiang Xian (Lead- Joseph Zeng & Bai Lu)

Fall in Love with a Fox (Lead- Wanyan Luo Rong & Xu Hao)

Echo of her Voice (Lead- Wei Zheming & Xu Jia Qi) Released

Snowfall (Lead- Gao Wei Guang & Nana Ouyang) Released

Go East (Lead- Tan Jian Ci & Zhou Yiran) Released

[greenflamedwriter]

Pronounciation Guide:

Since I keep getting yelled at [kindly, people are actually really nice about it] That I keep getting stuff wrong [Since I keep forgetting] I'm gonna type it all here.

DEMONS: Many demons go by titles instead of personal names, titles styled like XX-Jun are for high ranking demons and some titles are hereditory.

Courtesy Names: A courtesy name is given to an individual when they come of age, usually at the coming age of twenty for their first crowning ceremony, but it can also be presented when an elder or teacher deems the recipitent worthy. Generally a male only tradition. Women adopt a courtesy name after marriage. Courtesy names reserved for the upper class.

Diminitive Nicknames and name tags: Xiao- : A diminitive meaning "Little." always a prefix. [i.e Xiao Jiu, Xiao Yuan]

-ER : A word for 'son' or 'child' added to a name, it expresses affection similair to calling someone 'little' or 'sonny' always a suffix [I.e, Yuan-er, Jiu-er] A- : Friendly diminitive, always a prefix, usually for monosyllabic names, or one syllable out of the two-syllable name. [I.e, A-Yuan, A-Jiu, A-Lou] If the name is longer like Qui JianLOU that last part is the same nickname as Binghe [hence the truama for Shen Qingqiu as he heard that name]

Family: Di : Younger brother or younger male friend, can be used alone or as a honourific.

Didi : younger brother, or male friend. Casual

Xiao-Di : does not mean 'little brother' instead refers to ones lackey or subordinate, someone a leader took under their wing.

Ge : Familair way to refer to an older brother or older male friend, used by someone younger- or lower rank in status.

Gege: Same as Ge, has a cutsier feel than "Ge."

Jie : Older sister, or older female friend.

JieJie :Older sister, or older female friend.

JiuJiu : Uncle (maternal, biological)

Mei : younger sister, or younger female friend,

MeiMei : younger sister or an unrelated younger female friend, casual.

Shufu : Uncle (Paternal, biological) Formal address for one's fathers younger brother.

Shushu : An affectionate version of 'Shufu'

XiaoShu : Little uncle.

Cultivation And Martial Arts:

-Jun : a suffix meaning 'lord' Zhangmen : Leader of a cultivation/martial arts sect. Shizun : teacher/master gender nuetral, meaning "Honoured/venerable master." And is a more respectful name of address Shifu : teacher/master for ones master in ones own sect Shiniang : the wife of a Shifu/ Shizun [Luo Binghe to everyone around "Refer to me as Luo-Shiniang! yes! Good little ducklings!] Shixiong : Older Male disciple ShiJie : Older female disciple Shidi : Younger martial brother, for juniour male disciples Shimei : Younger Martial Sister, for junior female disciples Shishu : The younger martial sibling of ones marital master [Such as Shang Qinghua and Liu Qingge a disciple would refer to them as Shishu as they are lower rank than their Shizun.] Shibo : [As Yue Qingyuan is sect head and his title makes him the older martial sibling would make him Shibo. And so a disciple would refer to him as Shibo, or Yue-Shibo- idk about Zhangmen-Shibo if thats a thing? - Or if disciples of An ding would call Shen Qingqiu Shibo as he's second rank of the sect. Shizhi : [If Shen Yuan was a disciple Yue Qingyuan would call he Shen-Shizhi, or Luo-Shizhi, or just plain call him Shizhi]

Gongzhi : Master/Senior Daozhang : Xiong :

Terms: Manhua: Danmei: XianXia : Qi : Gong : Shou : Chrysanthemum : A flower that is a symbol of health and vitiliaty. In sex scenes it was a metaphor for a mans backdoor entrance.

Chinese Calender: Year dates/era for a story> The Chinese calender uses Tian Gan Di Zhi [Heavenly stems, Earthly Branches] system to mark the year. [Meaning lost] There are ten heavenly stems, and twelve earthly branches [Zodiac adjacent] Each Stem and Branch is associated with either Ying | Yang and one of the elemental properties, wood, fire, earth, metal and water. The Stems are and branches are combined in cyclical patterns to create a calender where every unit of time is associated with certain attributes: Analysing such a calender for the stem, branch characters and their elemental associations was considered essential information in divination, fortune telling, wedding dates, and even buiness deals.

Confucianism:

Is a philosophy based on the teaching of confucius, it placed heavily importance on respect for ones elders and family, a concept broadly known as Xiao "Filial piety," the family structure is used in others that have similair behaviours, such as respect of a student to a teacher, or people of a country towards their ruler.

Cores/Golden Core: A good Cultivation base/Core/Foundation: Means learning from the right age, good training and keeping consistent and percevere. A bad Cultivation Base/foundation: Means you were half-assed it/ sabotaged with an improper manual, learned too late/early, can be prone to Qi deviations.

Meridians: Qi travels through the body, like a magical bloodstream, or map/rivers of the body. redirecting, manipulating, or halting qi circulation focus on targeting the meridians at speicific points of the body, known as acupoints. Technqiues that can block qi prevent a cutlivator from using qi until the block is lifted.

Qi Circulation: The metabolic cycle of qi in the body, where it flows from the dantian to the meridians and back. This cycle purifies and refines qi, and good circulation is essential to cultivation. In Xianxia, Qi can be transferred from one person to another through physical contact and can heal someone who is wounded if the donar is trained in the art Qi Deviation:

"To catch fire, and enter demonhood." occurs when ones cultivation becomes unstable. Common causes include: Unstable emotional state, or strong negative emotions, practicing cultivation methods incorrectly. Reckless use of forbidden or high-level arts. or succumbing to the influence, of demons and evil spirits. When qi deviation arises from mental or emotional causes, the person is often said to have succumbed to their inner demons or "Heart demons." Symptoms: Panic, paranoia, sensory halluciantion, and death. Fixes [not cures] : Forced relaxation, voluntary or forced by external party, massage, meditation, or qi transfer, from another individual.

The golden core forms and replaces the lower dantian, becoming an internal source of power for the cultivator. Cultivators who detonate their golden core, almost always die in the end. The destruction/removal of a core is permanent and cannot be recultivated as there is no longer a lower dantian o form it, its destruction stops an individual from ever performing to cultivate qi normally ever again.

Tradtionally cultivating a golden core is in nine stages, but is often simplified in fiction; Qi Condensation/ Qi Refining Foundation establishment Core foundation/Golden Core Nascent Soul. [A cultivation technique where a soul can project it's soul outside its body and travenl indipendently, this can allow them to survive the death of their physical body and advance to a higher state. Deity Transformations Great Ascension Heavenly tribulations

Dantian: Refers to three regions in the body, Navel, Chest, forehead. The lower is three finger widthds below and two finger widths behind the navel. This is where the golden core is formed and is where Qi metabolsim process begins and progresses upward.

Pilles and Elixers: Magic medicines that can heal wounds, improve cultivation, extend life, etc. These are usuallly delivered in pill form and created in speical kilns.

Spirit Stones: Small gems filled with Qi that can be exchanged between cultivations as a form of currency. If so desired the Qi can be axtracted for an extra energy boost.

Currency: In most dynasties was based on the exchange of Silver and Gold, weight was also used to measure the denoniminations of money. i.e: One Liang of Silver."

Daoism: Daoism is a philosophy, of Dao. Involves coming into harmony with the natural order of the universe, which makes someone a "true human." safe from external harm and who can affect the world without intentional action.

Disciples/sect:

Clan and sect members are known as disciples. Disciples live on Sect grounds and have a strict hierchy based on skill and seniority. They are divided into Core, inner and outer. With core being the highest, Higher ranked disciples get better logdgings and other resources. A sect is like a family, hence the name for martial sibling, and teachers are parents.

Incense time: A common way to tell time. One incense time: is roughly 30 minutes.

The Three Realms:

Split into three realms, the heavenly realm, the mortal realm, the Ghost realm. Heavenly realm: Heavens, heavenly officials. A Celestial court where gods reside and rule. Mortal Realm: Realm of humans. Ghost Realm: Refers to realm of the dead or in scum villain/demon realm.

Edit: more to be added later -_- this is a cheat sheet to look back on when I have to use these terms [ps I write fanfics for fun, and I'm more focused on my art etc, so I am half assing this stuff but I'm only making this sheet to be polite, I'll still try to incoporate this stuff and be respectful but I'm not writing an actual properally researched novel here its just for fanfictions]

_________________________________________________________

Links for meridians/aacipunctures:

We pass qi by this paths, cultivation = qi gong, you can see qi praticioners in youtube^^

Here, qi spinning a paper in real life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKqHm7qs2Fg

I also asked someone online [Cryptidpatriarch] about what would happen if Luo Binghe was given a courtesy name I mean, Shen Yuan would or would've thought of one so this was one suggestion.

when you join a clan, you assume the clan name, because it is your new family and you abandon the original name to be a new person, with a new family, in which case he should take the name of the peak. Cang Qiong = firmament, reach the sky peak... Bing Hé Qiong= ice river through the firmament. 竹河 = bamboo river Hé = river Bing = ice

[bizarrequazar]

GJ and ZZH Updates — December 31-January 6

previous post || all posts || following week

And we're back! Sorry for the break between posts, thank you all for your patience.

This is part of a weekly series collecting updates from and relating to Gong Jun and Zhang Zhehan.

This post is not wholly comprehensive and is intended as an overview, links provided lead to further details. Dates are in accordance with China Standard Time, the organization is chronological. My own biases on some things are reflected here. Anything I include that is not concretely known is indicated as such, and you’re welcome to do your own research and draw your own conclusions as you see fit. Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or additions. :)

[Glossary of names and terms] [Masterlist of my posts about the situation with Zhang Zhehan]

12-31 → Gong Jun's studio posted eleven photos of him rehearsing for his performance that evening. Caption: "The lark @ Gong Jun Simon shines, see you tonight"

→ Deeyeo posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.

→ 361° posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun. (1129 kadian)

→ Dragon TV posted a short video with footage from Gong Jun's rehearsal.

→ Chinese whalers who bought the scam's photobook (the one that was being sold on a soft-core porn site, see 10-26) started posting photos from it. The content includes such things as Zhang Sanjian shaving, eating, etc. and feels very voyeuristic, so 100% it's aimed at dreamgirls. Photoshopping quality is on par with the scam's usual stuff.

→ The Instagram posted six photos of "Zhang Zhehan".

→ Gong Jun performed at Dragon TV's New Year's Eve show, performing his song 明天晴空万里. [performance video] [on stage with Justin and Johnny] [backstage interview]

→ Gong Jun's studio posted nine photos of him from a New Years photoshoot. Caption: "The blue sky is thousands of miles away, and the clear waves are vast; whatever your heart desires, you will go wherever you go. @ Gong Jun Simon is gilded with colour and feels the beauty of the past."

They later also posted a video from the same shoot. Caption: "The sound of pressing the shutter, and the smiling expression was frozen. Waiting for the update of the four seasons, enjoy the clear sky with @ Gong Jun Simon."

01-01 → Gong Jun's studio posted four photos of him holding balloons spelling out "2024". "Starting a new journey in 2024, @ Gong Jun Simon wishes everyone a happy New Year and a fun and promising new year!"

→ Gong Jun posted a douyin of him doing a little dance with Justin and Johnny Huang (two of his costars from Go Fighting). Caption: "Dance with your brothers! Happy New Year 🎉" BGM is Stay by The Kid LAROI feat. Justin Bieber.

→ The Instagram posted ten photos of "Zhang Zhehan" at a New Years fanmeet in Thailand. During this fanmeet, Zhang Sanjian reportedly said that he has been less active(???) recently because his mother has been in and out of hospital due to a viral infection, and has gone blind in one eye. The post he later made about this was worded in a very impersonal way. A reminder that the real Zhang Zhehan was very private about family matters like this, including never mentioning his father's death in 2016 until his post-813 interview with Li Xuezheng.

→ 361° posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.

→ Gong Jun posted two photos of himself with a puppy. Caption: "Wishing everyone a prosperwoof 2024!" This was reposted by his studio with the added caption, "@ Gong Jun Simon and everyone will be prosperous in the new year!" He also posted these and two more photos to his Xiao Hong Shu, caption "Woof woof woof! Happy New Year!", and his Instagram, caption "2024 woof woof woof!"

→ Gong Jun's studio posted a year in review video for 2023. Caption: "Annual report, please check it out! In 2023, cultivate 'Ye' morally, be meticulous in every 'Si', and interpret various forms and postures with ingenuity. In 2024, actor @ Gong Jun Simon is 'modest' and a 'beginning' of a brilliant generation, running towards the ideal 'rank' with enthusiasm."

→ The Instagram posted four photos of "Zhang Zhehan" holding an apple.

→ For New Year's Day, Gong Jun changed his Weibo auto-reply to "Happy New Year, I send you a song of wealth, Do re mi fa fa fa fa fa!" The following day, he changed it back to the "Now that you're here, won't you stay?" auto-reply that he's had it set to since the Word of Honor concert. [screenshot]

01-02 → One of Gong Jun's lawsuits against an anti was announced to have been settled in Gong Jun's favour. It's worth noting that it was closed in September but could not be made public until now.

→ 361° posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun. (1129 kadian)

→ Gong Jun's studio posted a video of Gong Jun with the puppy. Caption: "@ Gong Jun Simon: Is it warm? 🐶: Warm, but want to escape."

→ Gong Jun posted a commercial he did for 361°. [subbed video] Caption: "Put down your endless work and trivial matters in life, go out, and you will discover the big world. In the new year, let’s go wild with me and @ 361degrees."

→ The Instagram posted five photos of "Zhang Zhehan" and one of a bedazzled music note.

01-03 → Gong Jun posted a commercial he did for L'Oreal. [subbed video] Caption: "This time, [L'Oreal] and my care are not just about the scales of the hair, making the hair smooth and shiny; they are also extended to nature to jointly protect the strange and rare scales and life of pangolins. Let's 'protect your skin and shine' with @ L'Oreal Hair Care."

→ The Instagram posted five photos of "Zhang Zhehan" and one of clouds.

01-04 → Nothing of note.

01-05 → 361° posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.

01-06 → Gong Jun's studio posted a behind the scenes video of a photoshoot he did with Tissot. Caption: "Behind-the-scenes footage drop TIME! @ Gong Jun Simon rode on his beloved motorcycle"

→ LaLaTV re-aired the first five episodes of Castle in the Time.* They previously aired these on 12-27, but people aware of the Zhang Sanjian situation have been avoiding bringing attention to it. *Zhang Zhehan's old drama that is suddenly and suspiciously being aired in Japan, see [here] for info.

Additional Reading: → N/A

previous post || all posts || following week

[kdram-chjh]

Cdrama: Till The End of The Moon (2023)

Detrás de cámara de Chen Duling y Dengwei #shorts | Hasta el fin de la luna | YOUKU

Watch this video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/kCwHowl4a50

[kdramaqween]

To finish off the year, here's my TOP 23 Ships from dramas I watched in 2023

1. Kim Doo Shik ♥ Lee Mi Hyun

Moving

2. Cha Jin Woo ♥ Jung Mo Eun

Tell Me That You Love Me

3. Seo Do Guk ♥ Han Yi Joo

Perfect Marriage Revenge

4. Xin Qi ♥ Min Hui

The Love You Give Me (C-Drama)

5. Choi Kang Ho ♥ Lee Mi Joo

The Good Bad Mother

6. Dongfang Qincang ♥ Xiao Lanhua

Love Between Fairy and Devil (C-Drama)

7. Jung Ki Ho ♥ Seo Mok Ha

Castaway Diva

8. Moon Jang Yeol ♥ Bong Ye Bun

Behind Your Touch

9. Gu Won ♥ Cheon Sa Rang

King the Land

10. Cho Yong Pil ♥ Cho Sam Dal

Welcome to Samdalri

11. Yoo So Joon ♥ Song Ma Rin

Tomorrow With You

12. Kang Hee Shik ♥ Kang Nam Soon

Strong Girl Namsoon

13. Dong Go Yun ♥ Jung Da Eun

Daily Dose of Sunshine

14. Gong Tae Gyeong ♥ Oh Yeon Doo

The Real Has Come

15. Jang Seon Gyeol ♥ Gil Oh Sol

Clean With Passion for Now

16. Cha Min ♥ Cho Se Yeon

Abyss

17. Heo Joon Jae ♥ Shim Cheong

Legend of the Blue Sea

18. Kim Tae Hee ♥ Baek Dong Joo

May I Help You

19. Jung Gu Won ♥ Do Do Hee

My Demon

20. Nam Si Heon ♥ Han Jun Hee

A Time Called You

21. Jang Tae Sang ♥ Yoon Chae Ok

Gyeongseong Creature

22. Lee Kang ♥ Moon Cha Young

Chocolate

23. Cha Eun Ho ♥ Kang Dan Hee

Romance is a Bonus Book

[minsarasarahair]

People who like The Blood of Youth cdrama better check this upcoming Dashing Youth cdrama because its a prequel so same world and characters are heavily connected to Blood of Youth. You'll watch the youth of Tang Lian's master(Baili Dongjun), Xiao Se's uncle(Xiao Ruofeng), Wuxin's dad(Yi Ding Zhi), Qianluo's dad(Sikong Changfeng) and Lei Wujie's(Lei Mengsha) father. Its a coming-of-age wuxia story again so expect the bromance/friendships and romance. From what I see in the teaser, Li Hongyi aka Xiao Se's actor from Blood of Youth made a guest appearance here for some reason.

Yes, I watched every version (Great Journey of Teenagers, Blood of Youth, The Young Brewmaster's Adventure, Tales of Dark River) because the donghua is special to me since its my first 3D donghua and I like the story. I watched it while waiting for SVSSS s1 donghua back then to get used to 3D animation style.

There is a rumor that Gong Jun will be the Su Muyu for Tale of Dark River's live action adaption and I don't know how to feel about that. I'm really disappointed to his FXM Dongfang Yuechu's portrayal. I love Gong Jun's Wen Kexing okay and I'm not a hater but donghua Su Muyu is my favorite character so I have very high expectations. I'm not even impressed by his cdrama's costume styling when I watched Blood of Youth. AT LEAST THE DONGHUA MADE HIM INTERESTING. Sure, Wen Kexing and Su Muyu have similarities but so is there differences. I sure hope he will not do what he did as Wen Kexing and try different approach. GONG JUN, YOU BETTER DO YOUR BEST OR ELSE! Tbh if you ask me, Su Muyu is more similar to WOH Zhou Zishu because he's an assassin or Jianghu guy who work for the imperial court so his spinoff story is very politics-ish. You have the dark river politics, jianghu politics and imperial court politics all-in-one. He's not really revengeful and not super expressive. He's more like a guy stuck with unending politics and murder because he wish to protect something. He's a morally gray complex character.

[web-novel-polls]

Have You Read This Web Novel?

If you’re in the process of reading this web novel, please choose whichever option best fits your situation. You do not have to be completely finished with it to answer “yes.”

If you’ve never heard of it, please read the description below the cut!

See similar polls and results here!

Novel Updates:

As part of the imperial family, every move by Chu Yuan in this game of chess is made with apprehension, fearing that with a moment of inattentiveness, the whole match will be lost in a single move. Ascending to the throne at eighteen, not half a year passes before civil strife erupts in Yun Nan. Though the thoughts of the old guard at the imperial court are not exactly identical, they are all waiting to see how the new emperor will put an end to this. Unexpectedly, before this side could make a move, a few thousand miles away, the King of Xi Nan, Duan Bai Yue, had already personally commanded troops to attack in all directions; not half a year had passed when peace was restored. Sparse moonlight shines into the palace; Chu Yuan stamped the wax seal himself, and had a secret letter sent urgently to Yun Nan 800 miles away — this time, what must we(1) give in exchange? Brush marks passed through the back of the paper; it almost can be seen, when writing this line, how angry the young emperor was. Duan Bai Yue spread out a piece of paper unhurriedly, replying with only one word. You. Note (1): Chu Yuan is using the royal ‘we’ here. The Emperor’s Strategy is the fourth book in Yu Xiao Lan Shan’s Jianghu/Strategy series. Each book is standalone, but there are character cameos and mentions that don’t disrupt the flow of the main story of each book. 1st book: Everywhere in Jianghu is Wonderful 2nd book: The Jianghu is Full of Local Tyrants 3rd book: The Bandit’s Strategy 4th book: The Emperor’s Strategy 5th book: Return Together

Carrd:

A tale of an emperor and a king separated by thousands of li and a thousand words left unsaid.

[hunxi-after-hours]

hunxi’s danmei awards 2.0! (aka 2022 edition)

Featuring the return of some categories such as:

Best Worldbuilding

Best Interrogation of Themes (aka the “Rent-Free Award”)

Best Moment That Wrecked Me (aka the Knifiest Award)

Best Beleaguered Side Character Award

Best Unreliable Narrator

As well as never-before-seen categories like:

Best Himbo

Most Brilliant Moment of Backstabbery

Most Ambitious Scope

Most Heartwrenching Line Delivery in an Audiodrama

…and more!

This year’s candidates in the running:

《小蘑菇》 Xiao Mo Gu by 一十四洲 Yi Shi Si Zhou

《不小心救了江湖公敌》 Bu Xiao Xin Jiule Jianghu Gong Di by 六木乔 Liu Muqiao (有声漫画 audiomanhua season 1)

《无双》 Wu Shuang by 梦溪石 Meng Xishi

《问鹿三千》 Wen Lu San Qian by 光合积木 Voicegem, 吼浪文化 Houlang Studio, and 斗木獬编剧工作室 Doumuxie Screenwriting Studio

《师弟还不杀我灭口》 Shidi Hai Bu Sha Wo Mie Kou by 子鹿 Zi Lu

《默读》 Mo Du by priest

《督主有病》 Du Zhu You Bing by 杨溯 Yang Su

《海中爵》 Hai Zhong Jue by 七药 Qi Yao

《哏儿》 Gen’er by 南北逐风 Nan Bei Zhu Feng

《杀破狼》 Sha Po Lang by priest

《金牌助理之弯弯没想到》 Jin Pai Zhu Li zhi Wan Wan Mei Xiang Dao by (nominally) 非天夜翔 Fei Tian Ye Xiang and (mostly) 传奇火箭队 The Legendary Rocket Team

(unmarked spoilers, including but not limited to these titles, under the cut. for introductions of these titles, click here. for last year’s danmei awards, click here)

Best Worldbuilding

Winner: 《杀破狼》 Sha Po Lang by priest

This award goes to 《杀破狼》 Sha Po Lang for the effortless ease with which p大 manages to merge the genres of imperial intrigue, steampunk mecha, alternate history, and wuxia elements. Over the course of the novel, priest explores how the development of 紫流金-based technology leads the fictional Liang Dynasty into industrial revolution, and doesn’t hesitate to include all the negative consequences of early industrialization. So you’ve rolled out mechanical alternatives for farming? Have fun dealing with the uprisings of unemployed farmers while fending off international threats on your borders. So you want to roll out paper currency/government bonds to stimulate your war-torn economy? Good luck even getting people to trust the validity of paper the way they trust the hardness of coin. In a way, 《杀破狼》 Sha Po Lang carries on the tradition set down in priest’s earlier novel 《七爷》 Qi Ye of protagonists using decidedly underhanded methods to effect the change they wish to see in the world, and the morality thereof remains just as thorny in 《杀破狼》. what would you do in the name of peace? how much of yourself can you give away before you are no longer the same person?

oh and I have to give a shout-out to the trains in this book, I’d give this award to 《杀破狼》 Sha Po Lang for its (re-)invention of trains alone

Best Interrogation of Themes (aka the “Rent-Free Award”)

Winner: 《小蘑菇》 Xiao Mo Gu by 一十四洲 Yi Shi Si Zhou

I listened to 《小蘑菇》 Xiao Mo Gu via audiodrama before I read the novel, and every time I finished an episode I would have to just sit for a few hours, processing. Despite its seemingly lighthearted premise,  《小蘑菇》 Xiao Mo Gu shows us an apocalypse in all its cruel magnificence. The oppressive atmosphere of unending martial law, the seductive proximity of despair, the omnipresence and unpredictability of death, the utter lack of justice or closure or meaning in a world slowly grinding to a halt, the vast, inhuman lengths civilization will go to in the name of survival... to this day,  《小蘑菇》 Xiao Mo Gu haunts the solemnity of my early mornings with questions like what would you condone to survive? and wherein lies the locus of meaning when everything it means to be human has been stripped away? and like. I haven’t been the same since my mushroom phase, okay

Best Beleaguered Side Character Award

Winner: Ji Bolan from 《小蘑菇》 Xiao Mo Gu by 一十四洲 Yi Shi Si Zhou

This poor man had to deal with his childhood friend growing up to be a governmentally-licensed and universally-reviled mass murderer, the complete breakdown of the laws of physics, and witnessing Lu Feng and An Zhe flirt in front of his salad soup, all during the apocalypse that he is frantically trying to solve. Frankly, he’s allowed to roast Lu Feng as much as he wants, and the fact that he’s voiced by the same person who did AD!Jiang Cheng and AD!Xiao Zheng (winner of last year’s Best Beleaguered Side Character Award) is 1) extremely funny, 2) very on-brand, and 3) further proof that being in voice actor fandom 其乐无穷

Best Moment That Wrecked Me (aka the Knifiest Award)

Winner:  《默读》 Mo Du by priest

The character of Fei Du in priest’s 《默读》 is easily the character who had me clawing at the walls the most for the better part of this year (I’m still clawing at the walls, if we’re being honest). I am in love with everything about the way priest wrote him; from his introduction as the flamboyantly aggravating playboy chasing after Tao Ran (brilliant character work there as well as brilliant comedy, 感谢陶然不弯之恩 etc etc) to the slow, methodical reveal of his backstory and how deeply, deeply traumatized he is, Fei Du is one of the most complex and intelligent and nuanced and terribly lovable meow meows characters I’ve had the good fortune to run into

To pick a single Fei Du moment? A single one? Well if I have to choose, unfortunately it’s going to have to be chapter 180 朗诵（五） for the simple reason that it hurts me:

他恨不能撕裂时空，大步闯入七年前，一把抱起那个沉默的孩子，双手捧起他从不流露的伤痕，对他说一句“对不起，我来晚了”。

[Luo Wenzhou] wished he could tear apart time, to barge back into that moment seven years ago and pick up that silent child, to cradle those hidden wounds and say to him, “I’m sorry I was late.”

“我来晚了……”

“I was late...”

直到上了救护车，费渡才好像是有了点意识，难以聚焦的目光在骆闻舟脸上停留了许久，大概是认出了他，竟露出了一个微笑。

Fei Du only seemed to recover a semblance of consciousness when they loaded him into the ambulance. His eyes, unfocused, stopped on Luo Wenzhou’s face for a while before smiling slightly.

骆闻舟艰难地看懂了他无声的唇语。

Luo Wenzhou read his words in the soundless shape of his lips with difficulty.

他说：“没有了……怪物都清理干净了，我是最后一个，你可不可以把我关在你家？”

He said, “They’re all gone... All the monsters are taken care of, I’m the last one. Can you lock me up in your house?”

I’m just. if you need me I’ll be screaming about sunflowers in the abyss

Best Unreliable Narrator

Winner: Yan Zhuoqing and the Deer God of 《问鹿三千》 Wen Lu San Qian by 光合积木 Voicegem, 吼浪文化 Houlang Studio, and 斗木獬编剧工作室 Doumuxie Screenwriting Studio

surprising shortage of unreliable narrators in this year’s contenders, but 《问鹿三千》 makes up for it by having not one, but TWO unreliable narrators involved. can you believe that BOTH of these semi-immortal dumbasses have amnesia? smh Deer God you’re literally the god of time and memory, how you’ve even gotten this far I’ve got no idea

honorable mention: Fei Du from 《默读》 by priest. this man had the audacity to say the words “我没有创伤” / “I’m not traumatized” after asking for Luo Wenzhou’s assistance in recovering some of his repressed memories that he’d blocked out because of the — you guessed it — trauma

Best Himbo

Winner: Situ Jin from 《督主有病》 Du Zhu You Bing by 杨溯 Yang Su

I think it’s safe to say that Situ Jin is a Very Good Egg With No Braincells Whatsoever. None. This man had to be bullied into a hurt/comfort scenario by his future wife, and when she came to him for comfort, grieving her father’s death, he responded to her “now I’m all alone” with “don’t cry: you’re one, I’m one, together we’re two.” proud of u for basic math, bro, but is now really the time. his other highlights include: thinking dreamily about his wife while in prison, defending innocent bystanders regardless the personal cost, and continually failing to seek medical attention while bleeding out

Side Character I’m Still Mad About (aka the Gongyi Xiao Award)

Winner: Fu Luo from 《海中爵》 Hai Zhong Jue by 七药 Qi Yao

so it turns out that I am Weak for this very specific kind of character, the one who is a Good Kid, the one who tries their best to be responsible and reasonable, the one who could honestly be a protagonist in another novel. double points if you can trust them with a spreadsheet (Bian Yanmei), triple points if they’re delightfully lowkey devoted to the actual protagonist (can I get a wahoo for the Jiangzuo Alliance in here??)

and you know what the author does? murders them with prejudice

tl;dr I’m still not over Fu Luo, because like oh man that scene was well done but also ouch

"most memeworthy/meme-able"

(this one’s for you, @presumenothing)

Winner: 《督主有病》 Du Zhu You Bing by 杨溯 Yang Su

I mean I literally—

this book is a Very Serious and Somewhat Grimdark book, but I have to say the sheer amount of misunderstandings that occur are comical in their quantity. have you ever met two people more in love with each other and less capable of uttering a single sentence about it, it is only by the grace of the author that these two didn’t murder each other before their happy ending at the many given opportunities throughout the book

"most deserving of a shenshen OST"

(this one’s also for you, @presumenothing, ty for all the brilliant category recs)

Winner:  ........?

this is such an interesting award category to consider, because it’s like asking “which one of these texts would you like to hand a steak knife to gut you with,” but it also begs the question of what a shenshen OST would bring to the text that the existing music/adaptation doesn’t. it also raises the question of what kind of narrative (grand, sweeping, vast in scale or minute, gentle, heartbreaking?) would be most compatible with a shenshen OST?

my first thought was 《小蘑菇》 Xiao Mo Gu, since it has both the monumental scope and the fragile, breakable heart that shenshen OST’s are so suited for (他只是一个小蘑菇 goodbYE—), but the music of the 《小蘑菇》 Xiao Mo Gu AD is already so perfect I don’t actually want to add anything to it. my next thought would be 《问鹿三千》 Wen Lu San Qian — again, for that blend of scale and sorrow, wistfulness at what can never be and gratitude for what we have. but 《问鹿》 also has five songs already, and while a shenshen OST would be nice, it most certainly isn’t necessary

so I think I’m going to cheat and give this award to a title that isn’t even on the list of candidates this year, one that already has a shenshen OST: 《天宝伏妖录》 Tian Bao Fu Yao Lu by 非天夜翔 Fei Tian Ye Xiang, which has the great fortune to have Zhou Shen’s 《天地为念》  for its ongoing donghua title song. what a beautiful, meditative song; what an ethereal, gently sorrowful melody. extra brownie points because I maintain that Zhou Shen and 锦鲤 Jin Li (the voice of Kong Hongjun) are counterparts of each other in their respective industries, and also because I’m ride or die for both of them

"most untranslatable ever"

(category shout-out to — you guessed it — @presumenothing)

Winner: oh ABSOLUTELY 《金牌助理之弯弯没想到》 Jin Pai Zhu Li zhi Wan Wan Mei Xiang Dao by 非天夜翔 Fei Tian Ye Xiang and 传奇火箭队 The Legendary Rocket Team

I consider myself fairly proficient in audiodramas on 猫耳FM as a medium/genre now; I’m familiar with the ways script adaptation dovetails with post-production, the roles the voice directors and producers and casts play, the different twists that can happen with 报幕, what names to keep an eye out for while checking out the production team... so when I say that this audiodrama knocked me flat on the ass when I first listened to it, I really do mean that I was in no way prepared for the chaos that was to come. where do I even begin to describe it? the speed? the unhinged energy? the unending 吐槽 / roasts? the brilliant comedic pacing? the extremely 洗脑 片尾曲？whatever the hell this is?

this audiodrama is not only the most untranslatable ever due to the high concentration of internet and culture-specific slang, but also apparently the most impossible to explain ever. idk. listen to this AD and lose your mind

Most Brilliant Moment of Backstabbery

Winner: ch. 116 of 《无双》 Wu Shuang by 梦溪石 Meng Xishi

I described 《无双》 Wu Shuang as “a book about roasting your rival first, saving your dynasty second,” but perhaps didn’t do justice to the sheer lengths these two will go to one-up each other. I’d like to take this moment to recognize a certain flamboyant demonic sect leader (that is somehow not Yan Wushi) for not just habitually backstabbing (gently, for funsies) his love interest but also getting some frontstabbery (once, with great intention) in as well. truly, no one out here is doing it like Feng Xiao

honorable mention: 《不小心救了江湖公敌》 Bu Xiao Xin Jiule Jianghu Gong Di by 六木乔 Liu Muqiao, for the sheer quantity of backstabbing that occurs. maybe this is simply what happens when all of your characters are professional evildoers at fluctuating levels of retirement

Best Comfort Media

Winner: 《哏儿》 Gen’er by 南北逐风 Nan Bei Zhu Feng

earlier this year, I went around asking various people: what makes a book, movie, or other text comfort media for you? listening to the answers, it occurred to me that I don’t really have texts that I turn to on a semi-regular basis to re-read or re-watch. especially because my favorite books tend to be the ones that rip my heart out through my throat, the idea of choosing a “comfort read” from among them seems somewhat, er, misguided

and then I ran into 《哏儿》 Gen’er, which is the only text I’ve chosen to carry over from last year’s danmei awards because the second season of the AD  aired this year. this webnovel/AD is also, genre-wise, the outlier in this year’s awards — no magic, no speculative elements, not a single sword in sight, just slice-of-life, daily trials and tribulations, characters balancing budgets and bantering backstage and discussing art over hotpot. the cast and characters of 《哏儿》 feel real and lived-in in a way that is so deeply precious to me; at times throughout the year, I would simply cue up the beginning of S2E2 to listen to the first fifteen minutes or so to quiet down. the ongoing discussions threaded throughout the narrative about the roles of traditional culture and art in modern society, how to adapt traditional forms to contemporary values and preferences, and the ever-relevant question of how to get other people to care about things you love... 《哏儿》 hits different, hits real close to home, asks thought-provoking questions in a gentle, lighthearted manner in a way that is totally unique among the danmei works I’ve read, so here I am, conferring this new, foreign honor upon it. it’s a first for both of us!

Most Ambitious Scope

Winner: 《问鹿三千》 Wen Lu San Qian by 光合积木 Voicegem, 吼浪文化 Houlang Studio, and 斗木獬编剧工作室 Doumuxie Screenwriting Studio

I know, I know — very bold of me to give this award to an audiodrama that’s still airing, that we don’t know if it’ll ever be completed, but I still have to take a moment to yell about this completely original episodic gufeng AD, because like... wow. there is no answer key; there is no original work; there is no blueprint to work off of, no pre-existing fanbase of readers to appeal to. this entire project with its xuanhuan scope will succeed or fail based on its merits alone, and what scope it has, too — from the five voice actor songs (I guess everyone in 光合积木 can sing too??? sure that’s fine I guess) to penning scripts that play specifically to the voice actors’ strengths, to engaging with thorny dynamics of family and relationship and devotion and misalignment, I think it’s real gutsy of the 《问鹿》 creative team to embark on such a vast and ambitious project, and carry it off as well as they did. now it’s just 乖巧坐等更新.jpeg hours, fingers crossed they come back for a season 2

Best Work I Was Songbaited Into

Winner: 《小蘑菇》 Xiao Mo Gu by 一十四洲 Yi Shi Si Zhou

Definitely the first thing that even put 《小蘑菇》 Xiao Mo Gu on my radar was 奇然’s 《风过荒野》  appearing in my YouTube algorithm. The song’s arrangement is haunting, lyrical,  and so unlike any other AD song I’ve ever heard. The second season’s 《极光入夜》 is also transcendent in lyrics, composition, and the fact that both of the main voice actors can sing 哎呦还让人活吗—and don’t even get me started on the beautiful piano and string covers they work into the soundtrack! 声罗万象请受我一拜！

let’s put it this way: I actually went out of my way to translate the 《小蘑菇》 songs (here and here) for how hard they go. one day I’ll get over the lines “玫瑰静默凋谢” and “审判是我于你的吻别” but today will not be that day

honorable mention: 《督主有病》 Du Zhu You Bing by 杨溯 Yang Su, for having the opposite energy of the 《默读》 AD asdlfskdfjs no less than FIVE original songs composed for a THREE season AD. I was on the fence about listening to this AD until I heard 远皓ZIL’s 《燃灯》, which immediately joined my playlist before I’d even read the book. Again, the lyricism, the arrangement, the melancholy, deeply thoughtful atmosphere of the song got me interested in exactly what kind of maddeningly angsty plot could result in these lyrics:

我愿抚拂前尘 燃着灯 做你归途的引 / I would brush away the dust of our past and light a lamp, and be what guides you back

只求你破迷津 渡极乐 回首看我在等  / I only pray that you break free from the labyrinth and deliver paradise, to look back and see me waiting

我匍匐入尘埃 叩长阶 奉上所有虔诚 / I crawl through the dirt, pressing my forehead to the stone steps of the long stairway, offering up all of my piety

 只为听你亲将 相思说 那纸情书太薄 / just to hear you say, yearning for me, that this love letter is too thin

不载残生颠簸 无你我 苦不可脱 / it cannot carry what’s left of our tumultuous lives — without you or me, life would be bitter with no escape

Audiodrama Adaptation with the Strongest First Episode

Winner: 《督主有病》 Du Zhu You Bing by 杨溯 Yang Su

Adaptation is a delicate and tricky practice; how do you accommodate for the limits of production, the requirements of medium, when it comes to translating a work across dimensions? And particularly when it comes to AD’s, how can you capture a listener’s attention within the first few episodes, to bait them into the story and make them willing to pay money to unlock what happens next?

this award has to go to 珞玉 Luo Yu and 子穆木 Zi Mumu for their adaptation of 杨溯 Yang Su’s novel 《督主有病》 Du Zhu You Bing. The book itself runs chronologically, from the two main characters first meeting each other as children, the months they spend together, their sudden (and deeply traumatic) parting, and then resumes the narrative the next time they meet each other seven years down the line, attempting to kill each other (in their defense, it was dark, and neither of them were sure if the other survived the massacre that separated them in the first place). Episode 1 “故人来” of the AD begins with that reunion as Shen Jue, disposing of a body, finds an injured assassin just outside the palace walls. They grapple in the dark until they recognize each other, and the way post-production editing fills in their backstory through a quick, tantalizing flashback and brings the listener back out of it by overlapping young!Xiahou Lian and present!Xiahou Lian saying the same lines (“shaoye, remember: don’t look back, don’t say anything—”)... well done, well played, I sure paid money to listen to the rest of this AD

Audiodrama Adaptation with the Strongest First Ten Minutes

Winner: 《海中爵》 Hai Zhong Jue by 七药 Qi Yao

haha I think I’m hilarious, but while 《督主》 has the strongest first episode I would also like to shout out how good the first ten minutes of 《海中爵》 Hai Zhong Jue are. seamless transition from baby Hailian to adult Hailian, from quiet lullaby to sea battle, and establishing Hailian’s sass, competence, kindness, and swashbuckling swagger as well as introducing Fang Tinglan (and his shamelessness asldfksj). credit has to go to the director 齐杰, the scriptwriter 虾仁猪心@一梦还江月, and the post-production editor 时柒@丶为之奈何 for pacing the opening scene so well, and an extra special shout-out to 梅梅 (韬韬你是最棒的) for the funniest little “bye~~~” as he throws someone off a boat

Most Heartwrenching Line Delivery in an Audiodrama (aka the Knifiest Award, audio edition)

Winner: S1E7 of the 《默读》Mo Du audiodrama

I can yell for years about how talented voice actors are, but there are specific moments while listening where I have to pause for a second or ten and silently mouth “damn”

杨天翔 Yang Tianxiang’s performance as Fei Du in season 1, episode 7 of the 《默读》 Mo Du audiodrama knocks it out of the goddamn solar system with the plaza broadcast scene — this was a scene that I was pretty eh on in the novel, but after listening to it in the AD... 当! 场! 封! 神! with Yang Tianxiang’s measured delivery, the slow excavation of the depth of Fei Du’s anguish, the forced steadiness of his voice when he says “你们如果都这么狠心，为什么以前还要表现出好像很在乎我们的样子?” / “If all of you were always this cruel, why did you pretend to care about us so much in the beginning?” underlaid by the devastatingly quiet, melancholy piano backing of 《以沫》 that then kicks into the sequence that culminates in 何忠义 He Zhongyi’s “等我回来!” / “Wait for me to come home!”... (silently screams into a paper bag) I’m not okay and I haven’t been okay for months

Honorable Mentions:

S2E2 “也恨相逢” of 《督主有病》 Du Zhu You Bing by 杨溯 Yang Su: specifically for 梅梅’s line “少爷，这是我的命” / “shaoye, this is my fate.” for a scene that didn’t even exist in the original novel... hot damn wow

E12 “绝不复寡“ of 《师弟还不杀我灭口》 Shidi Hai Bu Sha Wo Mie Kou by 子鹿 Zi Lu: 锦鲤 has the range and this AD proves it! While he spends most of the AD being generally the comedic, satirical commentary, Zhong Yan/Qin Mingxi absolutely begging, tears in his voice, for Gu Xuanyan to leave him to die in this scene? look I’m not immune to this trope either

S1E13·上 of 《问鹿三千》 Wen Lu San Qian by 光合积木 Voicegem, 吼浪文化 Houlang Studio, and 斗木獬编剧工作室 Doumuxie Screenwriting Studio: (cups hands around mouth, yells) 马! 老! 师! it’s hard to explain the heartbreaking context of the line I have in mind without giving away the entire story, but 马正阳’s throat-scraping scream of “我要你爱我” / “I want you to love me!” is wince-inducing from the sheer force of the raw anguish in it

wooooo and that’s a wrap! thanks for tuning into the 2022 danmei awards :)

looking forward at my reading list, I’m not sure I’ll be doing a 2023 round since my reading is taking me in different directions and I simply might not have enough candidates to fill out a whole awards post next year (and I suspect I’ll have gone so far off the map that people won’t even have the faintest idea what I’m talking about anymore asldkfajsd)

it’s been fun!!! catch you all in the new year!!