#zuo xiao qing

[nemainofthewater]

Welcome to the 'Best Character with [X] surname' polls!

This is where I take several characters from different Chinese media (mostly cnovels and cdrama) and run a poll on which one is the 'best'. What does best mean? It's up to you! Whether you love them, are intrigued by their characters, love to hate them, or they're your '2 second blorbos whose personality you made up wholesale', these are all reasons for you to vote for your favs!

NB: the surnames are not exactly the same in all the cases, as often they will be a different character. I am, however, grouping them all together otherwise things got more complicated.

If you can't find a surname, it's because I couldn't find enough candidates (at least 3 from 3 distinct medias) to compete. Feel free to submit candidates!

I will be posting several polls at a time, so do come back and check this masterpost to remember which polls are ongoing, who the winners are, and who's coming up next!

Finished polls: Xing/Rong/Nan/Ren/Pan/Qu/Fu/Sui/Tan/You/Sima/Xuan/Chang/Xun/Shangguan/Jian/Qian/Shu/Xi/Yuwen/Cai/Sha/Yin/Ceng/Helian/Zeng/Lou/Mi/Ji/Ping/Tong/Tuoba/Ge/Murong/Hei/Niu/Tao/Si/Pang/Zi/Gongsun/Mao/Qing/Lian

Chi/Shan/Tian/Dao/Chao/Xin/Ran/Sang/Cang/Miao/Yao/Zang/Chong/Nangong/Kong/Hai/Deng/Kang/Jun/Chun/Gui/Peng/Gong/Dai/Bao/Bian/Leng/Xian/Kan/Hou/Shao/Kou/Zuo/Lai/Tie/Huan/Min/Xiong/Cen/Dou/Misc

There's only a certain number of hyperlinks that can be added per post, so the rest of the completed polls can now be found here

All the details of the individual polls under the readmore

An - posted 15/03/24 WINNER An Zhe

Bai - posted 28/02/24 WINNER Bai Fengxi

Baili - posted 22/03/24 WINNER Baili Qingmiao

Bao - posted 1/05/24 WINNER Bao Rongxing

Bi - posted 26/03/24 WINNER Bi Changfeng

Bian - posted 1/05/14 WINNER Bian Cheng

Cai - posted 7/04/24 WINNER Cai Quan

Cang - posted 23/04/24 WINNER Cang Jiumin

Cao - posted 8/02/24. WINNER - Cao Weining

Cen - posted 7/05/24 WINNEER Cen Xiao

Ceng - posted 8/04/24 WINNER Ceng Aiyu

Chang - posted 3/04/24 WINNER Chang Geng

Chao - posted 21/04/24 WINNER Chao Zi

Chen - posted 9/02/24 WINNER Chen Qingxu

Cheng - posted 10/03/24 WINNER Cheng Shaoshang

Chi - posted 19/04/24 WINNERS Chi Zhanggui and Chi Xiaochi

Chong - posted 25/04/24 WINNER Chong Ming

Chu - posted 12/03/24 WINNER Chu Wanning

Chun - posted 28/04/24 WINNER Chun Shen

Cui - posted 11/03/24 WINNER Madam Cui

Dai - posted 30/04/24 WINNER Dai Mubai

Dao - posted 20/04/24 WINNER Dao Mingsi

Deng - posted 27/04/24 WINNER Deng Kuan

Di - posted 16/02/24 WINNER Di Feisheng

Ding - posted 7/03/24 WINNER Ding Rong

Dong - posted 21/03/24 WINNER Dong Yi

Dongfang - posted 25/03/24 WINNER Dongfang Qingcang

Dou - posted 7/05/24 WINNER Dou Cheng

Du - posted 26/03/24 WINNER Du Cheng

Duan - posted 23/03/24 WINNER Duan Baiyue

Fan - posted 27/02/24 WINNER Fan Xian

Fang - posted 24/02/24 WINNER Fang Duobing

Fei - posted 20/03/24 WINNER Fei Du

Feng - posted 28/02/24 WINNER 'Other'

Fu - posted 31/03/24 WINNER Fu Yao

Gao - posted 13/02/24 WINNER Gao Xiaolian

Ge - posted 13/04/24 WINNER Ge Chen

Gong - posted 30/04/24 WINNER Gong Yu

Gongsun - posted 17/04/24 WINNER Gongsun Heng

Gu - posted 7/03/24 WINNER Gu Xiang

Guan - posted 17/03/24 WINNER Guan Hemeng

Gui - posted 29/04/24 WINNERS Gui Wen, Gui Yang, Gui Bai and 'Other'

Guo - posted 9/02/24 WINNER Guo Changcheng

Hai - posted 26/04/24 WINNER Hai Lanshi

Han - posted 17/03/24 WINNER Han Ying

Hao - posted 16/03/24 WINNER Hao Du

He - posted 22/03/24 WINNER He Xuan

Hei - posted 14/04/24 WINNER Hei Xiazi

Helian - posted 9/04/24 wINNER Helian Yi

Hong - posted 8/03/24 WINNER Hong Qigong

Hou - posted 3/05/24 WINNER Hou Bin

Hu - posted 6/03/24 WINNER Hu Tianying

Hua - posted 21/02/24 WINNER Hua Cheng

Huan - posted 6/05/24 WINNER Huan Xiaoyan

Huang - posted 20/03/24 WINNER Huang Shaotian

Huo - posted 25/02/24 WINNER Huo Xiuxiu

Ji - posted 11/04/24 WINNER Ji Xue

Jia - posted 18/03/24 WINNER Jia Kui

Jian - posted 4/04/24 WINNER Jian Buzhi

Jiang - posted 12/02/24 WINNER Jiang Cheng

Jiao - posted 27/03/24 WINNER Jiao Liqiao

Jin - posted 29/02/24 WINNER Jin Ling

Jing - posted 14/03/24 WINNER Jing Beiyuan

Jun - posted 28/04/24 WINNER 'Other"

Kan - posted 3/05/24 WINNER Kan Jian

Kang - posted 27/04/24 WINNER 'Other'

Kong - posted 26/04/24 WINNERS Kong Xiu and Alexis Kong

Kou - posted 4/05/24 WINNER Kou Baimen

Lai - posted 5/05/24 WINNER Lai Zhongshu

Lan - posted 23/02/24 WINNER Lan Wangji

Lei - posted 12/03/24 WINNER Lei Wujie

Leng - posted 2/05/24 WINNER Leng Yue

Li - posted 18/02/24 WINNER Li Lianhua

Lian - posted 18/04/24 WINNERS Lian Yufan and Lian Qiao

Liang - posted 13/03/24 WINNER 'Other'

Lin - posted 14/02/24 WINNER Lin Chen

Ling - posted 6/03/24 WINNER Ling Wen

Liu - posted 16/02/24 WINNER Liu Qingge

Long - posted 23/03/24 WINNER Long Zhi

Lou - posted 10/04/24 WINNER Lou Yao

Lu - posted 5/03/24 WINNER Lu Guang

Luo - posted 24/02/24 WINNER Luo Binghe

Ma - posted 13/03/24 WINNER Ma Xiuying

Mao - posted 17/04/24 WINNER Mao Panfeng

Mei - posted 14/02/24 WINNER Mei Changsu

Meng - posted 29/02/24 WINNER Meng Zhi

Mi - posted 10/04/24 WINER Mi Chong

Miao - posted 23/04/24 WINNER Miao Renfeng

Min - posted 6/05/24 WINNER Min Yunzhong

Ming - posted 26/02/24 WINNER Ming Yi

Misc - posted 7/05/24 WINNER Gongyi Xiao

Mo - posted 18/02/24 WINNER Mo Xuanyu

Mu - posted 22/02/24 WINNER Mu Nihuang

Murong - posted 13/04/24 WINNER Other

Nan - posted 29/03/24 WINNER Nan Feng

Nangong - posted 25/04/24 WINNER Nangong Si

Nie - posted 15/03/24 WINNER Nie Huaisang

Ning - posted 19/03/24 WINNER Ning Yingying

Niu - posted 14/04/24 WINNER Niu Chunmiao

Ouyang - posted 5/03/24 WINNER Ouyang Zizhen

Pan - posted 30/03/24 WINNER Pan Zi

Pang - posted 16/04/24 WINNER Pang Yizhi

Pei - posted 20/02/24 WINNER Pei Ming

Peng - posted 29/04/24 wINNER Peng Sanbian

Ping - posted 11/04/24 WINNER Ping An

Qi - posted 22/02/24 WINNER 'Other'

Qian - posted 5/04/24 WINNER Qian Jin

Qiao - posted 10/02/24 WINNER Qiao Wanmian

Qin - posted 16/03/24 WINNER Qin Banruo

Qing - posted 18/04/24 WINNER Qing Ge

Qiu - posted 25/03/24 WINNER Qiu Congxue

Qu - posted 30/03/24 WINNER Qu Lingfeng

Ran - posted 22/04/24 WINNERS Ran Lin and Ran Yun

Ren - posted 29/03/24 WINNER Ren Ruyi

Rong - posted 28/03/24 WINNER Rong Changqing

Ruan - posted 21/03/24 WINNER Ruan Nanzhu

Sang - posted 22/04/24 WINNER Sang Zan

Sha - posted 7/04/24 WINNER Sha Hualing

Shan - posted 19/04/24 WINNER Shan Gudao

Shang - posted 3/03/24 WINNER Shang Qinghua

Shangguan - posted 4/04/24 WINNER Shangguan Qin

Shao - posted 4/05/24 WINNER Shao Lin

Shen - posted 23/02/24 WINNER Shen Wei

Sheng - posted 4/03/24 WINNER Sheng Minglan

Sima - posted 2/04/24 WINNER Sima Yi

Shi - posted 8/03/24 WINNER Shi Qingxuan

Shu - posted 5/04/24 WINNER Shu Yanyan

Si - posted 15/04/24 WINNER Si Yilin

Song - posted 19/02/24 WINNER Song Lan

Su - posted 13/02/24 WINNER Su Zhe

Sun - posted 15/02/24 WINNER Sun Wukong

Sui - posted 31/03/24 WINNER Sui Zhou

Tan - posted 1/04/24 WINNER 'Other'

Tang - posted 12/02/24 WINNER Tang Fan

Tao - posted 15/04/24 WINNER Tao Ran

Tian - posted 20/04/24 WINNER Tian Qi

Tie - posted 5/05/24 WINNERS Tie Yinyi and Tie Miansheng

Tong - posted 12/04/24 WINNER Tong Lu

Tuoba - posted 12/04/24 WINNER Tuoba Yan

Wan - posted 24/03/24 WINNER Consort Wan

Wang - posted 26/02/24 WINNER Wang Pangzi

Wei - posted 8/02/24 WINNER Wei Wuxian

Wen - posted 2/03/24 WINNER Wen Kexing

Wu - posted 15/02/24 WINNER Wu Xie

Xi - posted 6/04/24 WINNER Xi Ping

Xia - posted 11/03/24 WINNER Xia Dong

Xian - posted 2/05/24 WINNERS Xian Ge and Xian Qing

Xiang - posted 19/03/24 WINNER Xiang Liu and Xiang Nanfang

Xiao - posted 20/02/24 WINNER Xiao Jingyan

Xie - posted 21/02/24 WINNER Xie Lian

Xin - posted 21/04/24 WINNER Xin Ziyuan

Xing - posted 28/03/24 WINNER Xing Zhi

Xiong - posted 7/05/24 WINNERS Xiong yipei and Xiong Chumo

Xu - posted 25/02/24 WINNER Xu Da

Xun - posted 3/04/24 WINNER Xun Feizhan

Xuan - posted 2/04/24 WINNER Xuan Shen'an | The Empress

Xue -posted 11/02/24 WINNER Xue Yang

Yan - posted 19/02/24 WINNER Yan Wushi

Yang - posted 3/03/24 WINNER Yang Wuxie

Yao - posted 24/04/24 WINNER Yao Zhen

Ye - posted 10/02/24 WINNER Ye Baiyi

Yi - posted 9/03/24 WINNER Yi Bichen

Yin - posted 8/04/24 WINNER Yin Yu

Ying - posted 17/02/24 WINNER Ying Hecong

You - posted 1/04/24 WINNER You Huo

Yu - posted 11/02/23 WINNER Yu Ziyuan

Yun - posted 1/03/24 WINNER Yun Biqiu

Yuan - posted 27/02/24 WINNER Yuan Boya

Yue - posted 4/03/24 WINNER Yue Qingyuan

Yuwen - posted 6/04/24 WINNER Yuwen Xuan

Zang - posted 24/02/24 WINNER Zang Ming

Zeng - posted 9/04/24 WINNER Zeng Xiangdong

Zhan - posted 10/03/24 WINNER Zhan Yunfei

Zhang - posted 17/02/24 WINNER Zhang Qiling

Zhao - posted 1/03/24 WINNER Zhao Yunlan

Zhen - posted 24/03/24 WINNER Zhen Ping

Zhi - posted 14/03/24 WINNER Zhi Xiu

Zhong - posted 27/03/24 WINNER Zhong Li

Zhou - posted 2/02/24 WINNER Zhou Zishu

Zhu - posted 9/03/24 Winner Zhu Hong

Zhuge - posted 18/03/24 WINNER Zhuge Liang

Zi - posted 16/04/24 WINNER 'Other'

Zuo - posted 5/05/24 WINNER Zuo Ran

[lonelylonelyghost]

Decline (2023) is a pretty cool little thing

So, I just stumbled upon this short Cdrama today and ended up watching it in one go. It was actually much better than I expected!

Basically, smart and free-spirited Su Cheng Xi (in white) crosses path with no-nonsense Sui Han Bai (in black) while investigating a strange disappearance of a theatrical troupe, and the fun starts from here.

Hidden identities, the mysteries of the past, treasure maps, murders and bromance - literally, what more could you possibly want??

It's a 20 episodes drama, 10 minute each. Viki combined it into 7 longer ones, which is much better to digest, at least for me.

************************************************************************

The first thing that I noticed was - unexpectedly really good cinematography! I am generally quite lenient towards the technical side of shows, but I still have eyes, and those eyes were pleasantly surprised today. The chase scene at the very beginning was beautifully shot. Do you see the colors? Chef's kiss!

************************************************************************

Second great thing is characters.

Su Cheng Xi - a wandering detective, mischievous and seemingly carefree, but also very sharp and with the hidden agenda:

Sui Han Bai - an uptight and serious constable of Dayong City, follow-the-rules kinda guy... Or so it seems. But more on that later. For now - behold the visage:

When those two meet for the first time, they literally have a battle in slow motion, dramatic song and flower petals in the air. Sure, that's totally normal thing for anyone to do, what are you even talking about.

There are also two female characters present, but they don't feel like being there just to appease the censorship overlords. It's hard for me to say anything about them without spoilers, but the dynamic between them and the boys is interesting.

Yue Xiao Qiao, an assassin from Qianji Pavillion:

Zuo Han Qin, Dayong City Lord's daughter:

This is Zhao Yin, a servant of Su Cheng Xi, he's there and he's nice:

************************************************************************

Third thing is the plot and pacing. This is a crime-solving drama, so there is an (unusually high) number of dead bodies to identify and secrets to uncover. The cases are not overly complicated, but at the same time quite interesting. I managed to guess some of the twists, but was also surprised by others.

Because of the shorter run-time there are no unnecessary fillers, something is always happening to someone. Sometimes several events are going right after another or even simultaneously, and you're sitting here like wtf. But in a good way, you know?

(Skulls are awesome, and frankly there should be more of them in every drama).

And at the same time the pace doesn't feel overly rushed. We have time to witness some dramatic flashbacks, tender scenes and some funny moments sprinkled in between.

Also-also, and this is a slight spoiler, but I know that a lot of people are pissed about generally crappy endings in cdramas, so I'm happy to announce that Decline has a good one! Like, wow, what a rare thing this is. Though not every mystery is solved, so there's a potential for season 2, but at least you won't be left feeling like you've been slapped in the face with a rotten fish afterwards.

************************************************************************

Forth thing (and this is my personal opinion), this drama is definitely a love story between Sui Han Bai and Su Cheng Xi. They obviously don't say anything out loud, and regard each other as "best friends" (this "xiong di qing" aka "brotherly love" excuse has been cracking me up since Guardian), but come on. Like, you literally have several tropes that are common in het romance dramas! And the lengths that they go in order to protect each other? Simply insane.

************************************************************************

Speaking of protectiveness, Sui Han Bai. This guy surprised me the most in terms of his disposition. Based on the initial impression, his dynamic with Su Cheng Xi (playful vs strict), and his archetype that we've all seen in previous dramas, you'd think that you know what kind of character this constable is going to be, right? Well... I don't want to spoil anything, but there was a moment in ep.3 where I was like: "Holy shit, he could just do that?" So I'm just going to put this picture here, and leave it up to you to guess the context:

This was a scene where I was like, I love this guy. Devotion, combined with ruthlessness. Delicious.

************************************************************************

Overall, I really liked it! Adding this little gem to my collection of mystery-solving boys. The history books will write that they were really good friends.

This has been your friendly ghost from Abyss, with some recommendations on how to distract yourself from the horrors of existing（*＾-＾*）

[shookethdev]

a o e i i er ai ei ao ou an en ang eng ong i ia iao ie iu ian in iang ing iong u ua uo uai ui uan un uang ueng ü üe üan ün a o e er ai ao ou an en ang eng yi ya yao ye you yan yin yang ying yong wu wa wo wai wei wan wen wang weng yu yue yuan yun b ba bo bai bei bao ban ben bang beng bi biao bie bian bin bing bu p pa po pai pei pao pou pan pen pang peng pi piao pie pian pin ping pu m ma mo me mai mei mao mou man men mang meng mi miao mie miu mian min ming mu f fa fo fei fou fan fen fang feng fu d da de dai dei dao dou dan den dang deng dong di diao die diu dian ding du duo dui duan dun t ta te tai tei tao tou tan tang teng tong ti tiao tie tian ting tu tuo tui tuan tun n na ne nai nei nao nou nan nen nang neng nong ni niao nie niu nian nin niang ning nu nuo nuan nü nüe l la le lai lei lao lou lan lang leng long li lia liao lie liu lian lin liang ling lu luo luan lun lü lüe g ga ge gai gei gao gou gan gen gang geng gong gu gua guo guai gui guan gun guang k ka ke kai kei kao kou kan ken kang keng kong ku kua kuo kuai kui kuan kun kuang h ha he hai hei hao hou han hen hang heng hong hu hua huo huai hui huan hun huang z za ze zi zai zei zao zou zan zen zang zeng zong zu zuo zui zuan zun c ca ce ci cai cao cou can cen cang ceng cong cu cuo cui cuan cun s sa se si sai sao sou san sen sang seng song su suo sui suan sun zh zha zhe zhi zhai zhei zhao zhou zhan zhen zhang zheng zhong zhu zhua zhuo zhuai zhui zhuan zhun zhuang ch cha che chi chai chao chou chan chen chang cheng chong chu chua chuo chuai chui chuan chun chuang sh sha she shi shai shei shao shou shan shen shang sheng shu shua shuo shuai shui shuan shun shuang r re ri rao rou ran ren rang reng rong ru rua ruo rui ruan run j ji jia jiao jie jiu jian jin jiang jing jiong ju jue juan jun q qi qia qiao qie qiu qian qin qiang qing qiong qu que quan qun x xi xia xiao xie xiu xian xin xiang xing xiong xu xue xuan xun

NAKU 🫵

[eyenaku]

Ji ji fu ji ji

a o e i i er ai ei ao ou an en ang eng ong i ia iao ie iu ian in iang ing iong u ua uo uai ui uan un uang ueng ü üe üan ün a o e er ai ao ou an en ang eng yi ya yao ye you yan yin yang ying yong wu wa wo wai wei wan wen wang weng yu yue yuan yun b ba bo bai bei bao ban ben bang beng bi biao bie bian bin bing bu p pa po pai pei pao pou pan pen pang peng pi piao pie pian pin ping pu m ma mo me mai mei mao mou man men mang meng mi miao mie miu mian min ming mu f fa fo fei fou fan fen fang feng fu d da de dai dei dao dou dan den dang deng dong di diao die diu dian ding du duo dui duan dun t ta te tai tei tao tou tan tang teng tong ti tiao tie tian ting tu tuo tui tuan tun n na ne nai nei nao nou nan nen nang neng nong ni niao nie niu nian nin niang ning nu nuo nuan nü nüe l la le lai lei lao lou lan lang leng long li lia liao lie liu lian lin liang ling lu luo luan lun lü lüe g ga ge gai gei gao gou gan gen gang geng gong gu gua guo guai gui guan gun guang k ka ke kai kei kao kou kan ken kang keng kong ku kua kuo kuai kui kuan kun kuang h ha he hai hei hao hou han hen hang heng hong hu hua huo huai hui huan hun huang z za ze zi zai zei zao zou zan zen zang zeng zong zu zuo zui zuan zun c ca ce ci cai cao cou can cen cang ceng cong cu cuo cui cuan cun s sa se si sai sao sou san sen sang seng song su suo sui suan sun zh zha zhe zhi zhai zhei zhao zhou zhan zhen zhang zheng zhong zhu zhua zhuo zhuai zhui zhuan zhun zhuang ch cha che chi chai chao chou chan chen chang cheng chong chu chua chuo chuai chui chuan chun chuang sh sha she shi shai shei shao shou shan shen shang sheng shu shua shuo shuai shui shuan shun shuang r re ri rao rou ran ren rang reng rong ru rua ruo rui ruan run j ji jia jiao jie jiu jian jin jiang jing jiong ju jue juan jun q qi qia qiao qie qiu qian qin qiang qing qiong qu que quan qun x xi xia xiao xie xiu xian xin xiang xing xiong xu xue xuan xun

[awu-wangxuan]

xie wanru // the rebel princess, ep 49

[movielosophy]

The Rebel Princess | there are good and bad times.

[kassylin]

Wanru finally realising that Xiao Qi is a threat. To ovaries lol

I LOVE that scene XD

What was she drinking? I need that stuff in my life too T_T

[whumpetywhump]

The Rebel Princess - Ep. 28

[weeguttersnipe]

You curse me three hundred times a day. Aren’t we still sleeping together?

Battle of Changsha (Chinese series, 2014)

[anon-family-incorrect-quotes]

少年之名 2020  MV Teaser

Also known as: We are Young 2020, Shao Nian Zhi Ming, SNZM

This is Youku’s newest boy group survival show with PD Zhang Yixing, Mentors Cheng Xiao, Hu Yanbin and Han Yu. They will be joined by director Guo Jingming (who directed the mv, and is involved in the set up for the stages this season). It is unique as the only boy group survival show airing this year in china.

Notable trainees include: Li Xikan, Zuo Ye, Xu Shengen, Luo Jie, Hu Wenxuan, Su Xunlun, Lin Mo, Akey, Jin Fan, Zhanyu, Lin Ran, Zuo Linjie (rumored center)

Check reblog for link to official video.

[dreamingsushi]

Dance of the Phoenix - Episode 2

Hey hey hey! It’s me again! I’m a little obsessed with this one. Sometimes, we just feel for one peculiar type of drama and lately... Chinese xianxia drama are really my thing. So yeah. I will finish the other ones, especially Train because it so damn good, but after.

First episode just set the story slowly for us. Feng Wu used to be a super strong bad cultivator girl, but she got her spiritual energy anihilated by Zuo Qingluan and lost all of her memories. She used to be the student of famous cultivator Mu Jiuzhou and she sets on a journey to get her spiritual energy back, so she could retrieve her memories. While at the Yuanlai tavern, they are attacked by the firecloud giant hawk and she’s saved by main guy, Prince of Jun. If you’re ready, let’s get started with episode 2 now!

I’m a little disappointed in the fighting scene. I guess because it was in the air so they couldn’t move as freely? But usually, that’s not a problem in Chinese movies and dramas. That’s the one thing they’re super good at actually, so it kind of bothers me. However, I must say the the 3D animation was better than I expected, pretty detailed. It definitely looks like an animation, but still. I was impressed. In the, they can’t manage to beat the hawk and the brig bird seems drawn by Feng Wu’s ring and it takes her away. Jun Linyuan goes to save her while his friends try to comfort her servant, who’s really mad that they dare say her mistress will surely die. She leaves pretty upset. Prince Jun’s two friends will follow him to help and the ladies... well the junior one wants to help the prince, but Zuo Qingluan says they’d better try and help the people around since there are beasts lurking these days. But it seems she’s looking for someone named Zhao Ge, which could be the reason she doesn’t want to leave. Who knows.

Back to Fengwu. She decides she won’t let the Hawk take her life away, she’ll do that choice herself. So she jumps from its claws and fall on a cliff. However big birdie isn’t having it that way. He wants her and when she’s either to be eaten or pushed down the cliff, prince charming comes in and saves her. Until she’s clumsy and falls and makes him lose his sword. That’s not looking good at all. Well she eventually falls down the cliff and he jumps in to save her. They end up landing in a pond of water. That was very fortunate. I think that actually, if you were to fall from very into water, you could severely injure yourself. Anybody knows anything about it? Oh yeah that’s true. The only thing the prince can’t do is swim. VERY FORTUNATE INDEED. Well at least Feng Wu knows how to swim and she goes to save him.

At first she wants to part ways, but as soon as she hears it’s the frozen forest, she wants to stick with him so she can get the celestial fruit. Then he leaves her behind to go get some herbs so she won’t be freezing to death, or something like that, I didn’t carefully pay attention. She then decides to follow some sort of bee, thinking she might gain some spiritual energy. She grabs the nest to eat it and as she runs away she bumps into Feng Xun who helps her to get rid of the bees. She eats the royal jelly and stop being cold.

Jun Linyuan finds back his swords and conveniently find an herb next to it. He makes so it would protect Feng Wu, as pay back for saving him in the water. He joins Feng Wu, Feng Xun, Xuan Yi and Mu Yao by the pond they fell in earlier only to find out that she’s not feeling that cold anymore. He seems disappointed. They have a little disagreeement about if they should take her with them or not, Feng Xun really eager to keep her and both Xuan Yi and Mu Yao wanting to leaver her behind. In the end she ends up being Feng Xun’s responsibility. While getting dinner ready, Mu Yao praises Zuo Qingluan and they end up talking about Feng Wu.

When Feng Wu was a kid, she knew Jun Linyuan, Feng Xun and Xuan Yi. Once when they were at Jun Linyuan’s place, him and Feng Xun fought to decide which one of them would marry Feng Wu. So she said she would marry the person who would eat the insect venom. So Jun Linyuan ends up eating it, but this thing is the loveless insect venom, which means he won’t be able to fall in love. Feng Wu feels really bad about it and asks to marry Jun Linyuan someday. That made poor Feng Xun really sad for a while. Now, since the engagement is cancelled, they ask him about it and he says it’s all rumours. And based on the discussion... I feel it might not be that engagement is not cancelled, but more that he’s not the one who cancelled it. We’ll see in the future if my guess is right.

The young master of the darknight court has also reached the frozen forest and he even fought with the Giant firecloud hawk, even though the big bird escaped. Then his subordinate suggests they go back to rest and wait to come back when they have reinforcement, as everyone has been in injured, but Yu Mingye won’t back off. He needs to beat Jun Linyuan into getting the celestial fruit.

The team has to take a break for the night and they split into two groups to get some wood for a fire camp. Jun Linyuan, Mu Yao and Feng Wu are together. While picking up wood, Mu Yao pretends to fall down and that Feng Wu pushed her. Classic. And end of episode 2.  Will Jun Linyuan believe Feng Wu or  Mu Yao??

So in my last review I talked about how pretty is the opening of this drama. I hope you listened and took the time to watch it and listen to it. Now, I request you to watch and listen to the ending. It’s beautiful. The costumes of this drama a GORGEOUS. Visually, I must say that it’s so far one of my favourites. We’re just two episodes in, so it may change but. It’s really amazing.

The pace of this episode was a little better than the first one. I think they had a lot of background to introduce in episode one and that felt a little bit rushed, but now I feel it’s going to be super nice and I’m super excited for the rest of this series. Honestly.

I hope you enjoyed this recap and see you in episode 3!

[neuxue]

if it's not too much trouble, would you consider translating the chinese TU memes? It seems like they're funny... but I don't know any Chinese and I tried looking them up but I still don't get it 🥺

I assume you're referring to this incredible post (and not to, like, Chinese CQL memes in general). In which case yes I can try, because it’s hilarious.

(Usual caveats: I'm not Chinese, and my Mandarin is far from fluent)

(And a request: I'm just explaining the jokes to the best of my ability - if you find them funny all the credit belongs to the OP so go like/reblog that post instead of this one!)

Okay, so all of these are basically puns/wordplay, based on various forms of swapping out a character (Hanzi) from the name of a character (fictional) for another one that sounds the same but means something different.

In order:

1. Wei Wuxian: The first image is just his name, 魏无羡, and in the second one it swaps out both characters of wuxian (无羡) to get youxian (有线). The joke is that 无 is a negation roughly meaning 'without', whereas 有 means 'to have' and therefore functions as an opposite (i.e. 无 denoting the absence of something and 有 denoting the presence), and 羡 (xian) from Wei Wuxian's name means 'envy' but sounds like 线 (xian), which means 'string' or 'thread'. So if you're reading it aloud, it sounds like 'Wei without a thread, Wei with a thread'.

2. Lan Wangji: This is playing on 'Lan Zhan' - 蓝湛, where 湛 (zhan) is pronounced the same way as 站, which means 'to stand'. So the first image is just his name, but aloud also sounds like 'Lan stands', and then the second two are 蓝坐 (lan zuo) where 坐 means 'to sit', and 蓝躺 (lan tang), where 躺 means 'to recline' or 'to be lying down'.

3. Jiang Cheng: Playing on his courtesy name, Jiang Wanyin - 江晚吟 (individual characters meaning river + evening + song). The play here is specifically on 晚, 'evening', replacing this in the first image with 早 (zao) - 'early morning', and in the second image with 午 (wu) - 'afternoon'/'midday', before finishing with his actual name where of course 晚 (wan) is 'evening'. That the images go chronologically and also frame a kind of dawn/noon/evening of his life, starting with the brightness of morning and ending with the evening of, er, mourning, is just added genius and it hurts me.

4. Lan bros: Okay so ‘vacuum cleaner’ is 吸尘机 (xichenji), where the 吸尘 (xichen, literally ‘inhale dust’) has the same pronunciation as 曦臣 (xichen) in Lan Xichen’s name. So that’s the first image. The second plays on the fact that the 机 (ji, ‘machine’/’device’) of 吸尘机 is the same ji as in Lan Wangji’s name. So the second image is just 吸尘机 and is thus playing it as Xichen (same pronunciation as Xichen but different characters) and Wangji (same 'ji' as in his name) and thus the two Lan bros.

5. Wen Qing: I love this one. I love her name. Wen Qing is 温情 (warm + ...情 has many shades of meaning depending on context and/or the word it's in, but in this context along the lines of sentiment/emotion/feeling). The wordplay is mostly off of 温, in kind of a similar form as the Jiang Cheng set - it goes from 冷 (leng - 'cold') to 温 (wen - 'warm' and also her actual surname) to 热 (re - 'hot'), with expressions to match.

6. Wen Ning: Playing on his rarely-heard courtesy name Wen Qionglin - 温琼林 (individual characters are warm + jade + forest). But 琼 (qiong - fine jade) is homophonous with 穷 (qiong), which means ‘poor’ (as in impoverished) or ‘to exhaust/use up’. The first image is captioned with his name, but the second plays on 琼 sounding like 穷 by replacing 琼 in his name with 富 (fu), which means ‘wealthy’/’abundant’/’prosperous’. Oof.

7. Jin Guangyao: Man this one works so well. Jin Guangyao is 金光瑶 (individual characters are gold + light + jade), and the play is on swapping 光 (guang), which means ‘light’, for 暗 (an), which means ‘dark’/’dim’. But also 光 has connotations of honour/glory/goodness (and is the same guang as in Hanguang-jun), and 暗 has connotations of secret/hidden/clandestine. (Also I always think of Wei Wuxian on the rooftop in ep22 describing his three months in the Burial Mounds to Lan Wangji as 暗无天日的日子 - literally something like dark, sunless days but as an idiom 暗无天日 can mean total darkness but also an absence of justice. Anyway I digress. Or do I).

8. Jiang Fengmian: His name is  江枫眠, and the character this one is playing on is 眠 (mian) which means ‘dormant’/’asleep’, which in the second image is then swapped for 醒 (xing), which means ‘to awaken’.

9. Xiao Xingchen: The first image is just his name,  晓星尘 (why is his name so pretty - individual characters are dawn + star + dust). The joke is that 晓 (xiao), which means ‘dawn’ or ‘daybreak’ sounds the same as 小 (xiao) which means ‘small’ (or ‘young’). So the picture of him is small... and then then in the second, larger image the first character of his name is swapped for 大 (da), which means ‘big’. Why is this so fucking funny.

10. Wen Ruohan: lfaksjerlskjerj okay so his name is 温若寒 (individual characters warm + like/as if + cold/winter), and the play here is on 若 (ruo - ‘like’ or ‘as if’) sounding similar to (though in this case not a perfect homophone of) 肉(rou), which means ‘meat’. So the second image is just... Wen Frozen Meat.

[myhamartiaishubris]

Hey here's a Love in Between x Nirvana in Fire 2 crossover fic idea that I'm never gonna actually write:

The NiF2 elements are really just there to service the more LiB heavy story because that epilogue keeps nagging me (spoilers under the cut).

LiB and NiF universes are going to be reconciled by really lazy handwaving, aka let's pretend they're neighbouring countries.

Shanshui Du and Langya Ge are sister sects. Shanshui Du was already pretty obviously a pastiche of Langya Ge, plus a lot of the LiB aesthetic seemed to pay homage to NiF (especially 2) so I think this works. It would also make sense that an intelligence network would span nations but might need to change its name so it doesn't seem like it's encroaching too aggressively across borders (idk it makes more sense in my head). Also Wen Siyuan is basically Lin Chen's spiritual successor so (shrug emoji).

Lin Xi is travelling the world for medicinal herbs, just like she was doing at the end of NiF2. This gives her a reason to be in the LiB world, especially at Fangwai Gu since it's a medical sect. Xiao Pingjing can be with her, or he can come after receiving a message from her.

Let's say she arrives at the end of the LiB story, when Zuo Qingci comes back with a fresh stab wound (Su Yunluo should take up embroidery, she seems to really love poking holes in things) and literally two days from dying.

Time for some handwavey justification that the show didn't bother to give us: Lin Xi, being from a different country, has different experiences with poisons/diseases. Even though Zuo Qingci and his master are really experienced physicians, Lin Xi's foreign perspective and lateral thinking (as demonstrated when she's trying to cure Xiao Pingjing's poison) give her an edge.

Also, let's not forget that Su Yunluo still has all those super rare medicine ingredients. Those are probably handy.

And now, time for the illness recovery trope! Lots of coughing up blood, whump, hurt/comfort, etc etc.

While we're at it, let's do a bit of character study as well.

Xiao Pingjing has also been poisoned, lost family, and he's a former prince like Zuo Qingci (the titles are a bit confusing but the point is they're both ex-nobility/ex-military). I want them to have a conversation that really highlights how they foil one another, where Xiao Pingjing shares how he struggled with outliving his brother and father, and they deal with their survivor's guilt together. I want him to tell Zuo Qingci something along the lines of, "The thing about surviving and suffering is that you have to want to live. You have to want to live so, so hard." Also, in this crossover they'd be roughly the same age but Zuo Qingci is an older brother (to Yan Qing) while Xiao Pingjing was the baby of the family, so I think that could create some interesting dynamics, ie for Xiao Pingjing to say something like, "Older brothers are always sacrificing themselves for their siblings. But sometimes the only way to save the younger sibling is to not die for them." Idk, I want Zuo Qingci to go from grudgingly surviving for Su Yunluo to really, desperately wanting to live because he is alive, now. And I want Xiao Pingjing to acknowledge his conflicting feelings about the way his brother died for him.

But the boys can't have all the fun! Time for Lin Xi and Su Yunluo to talk. I think this one will be really interesting because Lin Xi loves Xiao Pingjing but doesn't tie her identity to him, while Su Yunluo has been so lost her entire life that she'll cling to someone as if they decide her fate—first her master, then Zuo Qingci. I want Lin Xi to help Su Yunluo realize that her life is her own, and that cutting out the "I'll die without you" aspect of her love for Zuo Qingci won't actually make her love him less.

Oh yeah and Xiao Pingjing can maybe help Zuo Qingci realize that isolating himself and only making connections to manipulate people for his own ends isn't the healthiest coping mechanism. And like, he should probably just. Be nice to Su Yunluo. Like a proper boyfriend.

Idk just!! Healthy couples!! Because goodness knows LiB desperately needs them (but NiF2 gave us honestly one of the best, healthiest, arguably the most feminist romance).

I was also thinking about a side plot where Pei Wan (you know, the "empress") is put under house arrest because of her father's crimes and Zuo Qingci hatches a plan to break her out. I just think she and Yan Qing had the beginnings of what could be two really clever and interesting characters. Pei Wan especially would probably like to captain her own fate, maybe work for Shanshui Du (even become the next sect leader?) and never, ever marry.

[smylealong]

That's it. At the end of episode 57, I have reached the end of my tether with The Rebel Princess. At this point, it is very evident that the writer is pantsing. Every male character, with the exception of Xiao Qi, is apparently bad. I won't be talking much about Xiao Qi and A'Wu. I want to talk about everyone else. Spoilers ahead.

Seriously? What is this even? Not one man can stay good, is it? Even characters that started out to be good seem to be going down the drain and that is just not okay.

Even though it made me mad to see Song Huai'en go down the path of corruption without any apparent motivation, I was still okay with it. I could even buy him falling for A'Wu given what the two went through. I can understand him getting scared of his own feelings and running to marry Yu Xiu, both as a punishment to himself and to make sure that he doesn't make a mistake. All of that, I can buy. But then, he is missing for large chunks of the series and then when he comes back, he is apparently evil incarnate (with a new mustache and beard to go with it.) And I am just... not buying it.

I read somewhere that even Wang Su becomes bad and I just cannot take it any more. I'm sure the later episodes provide answers, but I don't have the patience to wait for it anymore.

I also want to talk about Helan Zhen. When he came in initially, kidnapping A'Wu with the flying ninja, I was intrigued. During that arc, he proved himself to be a complex villain with deep character motivations and good back story. But then, in the later arcs, he just becomes a 2 dimensional villain with one motivation - A'Wu. And the entire tribe of Hulan is painted with one broad and rather insensitive stroke. Are you telling me there is no one, not one person in that entire tribe, that has a character that is not defined in three words?

Next comes Zitan. In the initial episodes, I actually liked him but then, he just went from bad to worse, flushing himself deeper and deeper into the turd pile. His pining and obsession with A'Wu was downright sickening. He was just blergh.

I must say that it's not like I don't like complex grey characters. I do. Some of my favorite characters include, Zuko, Azula, Nam Seon Ho, Li Chengze, Nie Huaisang. See a pattern? I like characters that are complex villains/morally grey (I know Zuko and Huaisang can't really be called villains, hence added the morally grey bit). But, I need to be able to see and understand their motives. Which was what was missing for me in here. In my mind, I love A'Wu but she loves her husband and therefore I will be bad is a boring plot point and I lost my interest soon. Which brings me to the villain I enjoyed.

I actually liked Ma Zilu's arc and it was presented very well. Props to Purba Rgyal for that brilliant portrayal. He started out as a master manipulator and went down the complete psycho route, creating pure chaos and I LOVED IT! He met with a tragic end, but the route he chose, that was the only possible outcome.

Wang Lin is a snake. Period. Nothing else to say.

As for the women, well, they fare better. In the sense that they are a little more complex. Since they are not the ones tripping over their shoelaces for A'Wu, they actually manage to develop some character. Other than A'Wu, there's Grand Elder Princess, Noble Consort Xie, Yu Xiu, Maidservant Xu, Hu Yao, A-Yue, and Gu Caiwei. Each of them is awesome and wonderful. Kudos to the writer for giving us good female characters.

But then there are the skanks. Empress Wang, Xie Wanru, Su Jin Er, Huan Mi and Wang Qian. With the sole exception of Huan Mi, who was forced into a marriage she didn't want and then resorted to adultery, every other one wanted to harm A'Wu. Like, seriously! This world bloody revolves around A'Wu, and that hurts my brain.

I do want to talk about Xie Wanru, though. Full credit to the writer for giving me a complex vamp with very understandable motives. I actually sympathized with her right up to the moment where she let the wet nurse take the fall for her and the nanny's mistakes. That said, the actress did a wonderful job in portraying a new mother's helpless frustration at the incessant wails of her newborn. I have been there. It is a terrible place to be in. You are recovering from giving birth, your body is changed in ways you are only now beginning to comprehend, your sleep cycle is shot, you feel like you're walking through a fog, your hormones are all over the place, your breasts hurt, you are experiencing hairloss like never before, and then you have an infant that just wouldn't stop crying! You love that little defenseless ball of tears, but you are just so tired. You just need a break. One night of peaceful sleep. That's what you are begging for, and you don't get it. It is a horrible place to be in. Not saying that what she did was right, but I felt it. I understood. Full marks to Zuo Xiao Qing for that portrayal. It was BRILLIANT.

Next I must talk about the use of rapes, attempted rapes and the complete disregard of bodily autonomy of a person. Three characters are raped and three are sexually assaulted. Xiao Qi and Maidservant Xu, both take decisions that would directly effect A'Wu's health and body, without talking to her even once. That part angered me so much, I went on a fullblown rant about it. But I will spare you all the details. In summation, it was just..

Credit where credit is due, though. Wonderful cinematography. The sweeping shots of beautiful locations, the gorgeous sets, beautiful colors and outstanding costumes. The drama looks beautiful. Also, I must add that the OST is very soothing and definitely enjoyable. The theme song does remind me of WuJi, but just the initial notes. Acting is mostly spot on, with some occasional minor lapses here and there, but that's no big deal. Performance wise, I have no complaints. In the first 30 or so episodes, this drama was truly one of the best things I have seen in C-Dramas. The story was taut, the presentation fresh and the fight scenes were bloody fantastic (I noticed the pun, yes.). Even the age issue became a non-issue for me at this point. The show began to falter from episode 32-33, where A'Wu has her miscarriage, but I have gone on and on about the problems I have with the show. Before the final closing paragraph, I must acknowledge the one thing that impressed me the most. Periods treated as a normal thing. That was just so heart warming. Full points to the makers for that.

In closing, this is definitely not the worst show I have seen, but this show got the longest rant from me. Why? Because I was truly invested and thus, feel very let down. I wish the show did not try to juggle so many plots, only to drop many of them and have them smash spectacularly. If you want to watch something complex, refreshing, beautiful and engaging, do yourself a favor and watch Joy of Life instead. Skip this one.

I give this a grudging 6 on 10.

[awu-wangxuan]

"only my death will protect jing'er. a'wu, i was wrong to you in the past. don't blame me. please take good care of jing'er for me from now on. teach him how to speak and write for me. have him stay far away from state affairs. it's fine if he's a mediocre person, as long as he lives well. [...] this is probably karma. i committed quite a few bad deeds. i've schemed here and there. they have finally caught up with me. however, i never thought you would be protecting my jing'er this whole time. i only hope that heavens will punish only me and won't give my jing'er a hard time. [...] a'wu, i trust only you. i can entrust jing'er to only you. starting from today, you are jing'er's mother. [...] jing'er will repay you on my behalf"

empress wang - the rebel princess | episode 52

[movielosophy]

The Rebel Princess | Motherhood.