#and fang duobings suffering from it

[potahun]

My boy fang duobing when he said something to the effect of ‘yeah well im angry at him but doesnt mean i hate him’ is very much part of why all his and li lianhua’s pseudo breakups and reconciliations dont feel like too much drama

They’re like that. It’s his personality vs li lianhua’s way of being and the love languages that clash but the love is there and they are aware. Especially fang duobing. he knows he's in there for the long haul

[momosandlemonsoda]

WIP Wednesday

I’m plugging away at ch 19 of the rock star au (aka Dance the Silence Down) so have a couple of bits. In this chapter, the showcase finally happens and I’m writing sections in each of the three POVs. Here are the first parts of DFS and FDB’s POVs (I haven’t written LLH yet).

Di Feisheng:

Dusk2Dawn is packed, like it always is on these nights—showcases are guaranteed to bring in a big crowd, which is why the venue runs them monthly. It’s why DFS had already played one, plans to play another, though he’s been trying to put together a band before he comes back. Too bad he’s been far too distracted by Xiangyi to make more than half-hearted efforts to pull a band together. He can admit to himself that he’s been hoping that Xiangyi will snap out of his… funk, depression, whatever, and agree to play with him. After Wednesday, well—

After Wednesday, he thinks, leaning against the bar and ordering a beer, he’ll be lucky to get Xiangyi to speak to him at all tonight.

It’s been a long fucking time since he’s played something so incredibly wrong. To learn that Xiangyi doesn’t even play piano anymore—it makes him sick to his stomach just to think about it. Everyone knew the stories—discovered by Qi Mushan, an amazing musician in his own right, in an orphanage playing piano at age 4. On the concert stage at 11, touring until he “quit” at 16 to start a rock band with his brother… Xiangyi once told him that his earliest memories were of someone singing him a lullaby; that he remembered picking the notes out on the piano over and over again, and never knowing what it was until Qi Mushan told him it what it was. And then, of course, he’d learned to play it flawlessly.

***

Fang Duobing

“You look so cuuuuuuute!”

Fang Duobing can feel his cheeks heat up as Kira plucks at his sweater.

“I told you the white cable knit was the best option, you look like you’re on the cover of Vogue.” She turns to Chenchen. “Doesn’t he look like the perfect singer-songwriter?”

“Um,” he starts, but Chenchen cuts him off.

“I still think you could have gone edgier,” she says, making a little moue of dissatisfaction. “Let me do your makeup now, you need more mascara for your eyes to really pop.”

It’s all he can do not to bat her hands away and cover his face in mortification. He reminds himself that his friends are just being supportive no matter how embarrassing it is to have them fuss over him in front of Li Lianhua.

“It’s fine,” he mutters, trying to duck away, but Chenchen grabs his arm and then makes him squat down so she can reach his eyelashes. Damn it.

He can see Li Lianhua out of the corner of his eye, standing silently nearby with on hand in his pocket, the other holding Fang Duobing’s guitar case, his long hair pulled back half-up, half-down. He looks a little pale but otherwise his usual shit-eating self, and he laughs silently when he catches Fang Duobing’s eye.

“There!” Chenchen announces, “I think that’s perfect. And I like the way you did your hair, the leather guan makes you look like a cross between a wuxia hero and a bad boy.”

Oh no, he thinks, watching Li Lianhua mouth the words, “Bad boy,” before he clearly bites down on the inside of his cheek so he doesn’t burst into hysterical laughter. Sourly, Fang Duobing hopes he gets a canker sore. Jerk.

[shijiujun]

WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH 莲花楼 MYSTERIOUS LOTUS CASEBOOK

Guess I’m back for another rec, you know I’m there when I get minimum two bromance dudes and historical and OOMPH if you liked The Blood of Youth this might be up your lane!! Slightly similar main character premise but super good, the trope never gets old!!

TL;DR

- Stupid disciple + his (unknowing) shifu - Enemy bros “where is my shixiong’s remains?!” + “defeat me and find out” vibes who have to work together and form their deep friendship and get past misunderstanding and mystery blah blah love it - All-powerful legendary swordsman losing all his powers and becoming a legendary physician - Everything is about dead shixiong we don’t even know how the man looks like - Investigations and jianghu shenanigans, cases!!!  - Uwu puppy dog and good in martial arts disciple and his sickly, ex-legendary and still cool shifu who doesn’t know he’s a shifu LMAO - Yes uwu bromance, especially cuz shifu is DYING and he is WEAK and he gonna spit out blood and faint everywhere as they find cure for him 

-----------

AIRING DEETS

Total episodes: 40

Premiered on: July 23

VIP ends: August 18

Can be watched from iQiyi

Airing schedule: 6 episodes on the first day, 2 episodes everyday after for 6 days, then 8 episodes a week except for the last week, that has 6 episodes with finale

SUMMARY

Ten years ago, Li Xiangyi who was master of Sigu Sect, challenged Di Feisheng, master of the Jinyuan Alliance, to a fight on the seas, where they both end up critically hurt as Li Xiangyi tries to find out where his shixiong’s (Shan Gu Dao) corpse and bones went - his sect was attacked on the same day, and when he returns to the sect, critically injured, he sees some of his deputies blaming him for the attack, and instead of going in, he disappears after that.

Ten years later, Li Xiangyi is now Li Lianhua (Lotus Li LMAO) and he’s an eccentric but skilled doctor who has his eyes on earning money. By chance, he meets Fang Duobing (Fang Many Illness LMAO), a young, aspiring detective who’s super skilled in martial arts, but he’s been unable to enrol in Bai Chuan Yuan (the past Sigu Sect), a sort-of sect that plays an enforcer role in the pugilistic world and helps to solve cases, arrest wrongdoers, and the like. Fang Duobing’s dream is to get in, but as he’s the only son of two powerful people who’ve been refusing to let him be part of Bai Chuan Yuan, he’s failed the test 3 times despite being the most-skilled one there. On his third try, however, he tells the four masters of Bai Chuan Yuan that his shifu is Li Xiangyi, a Li Xiangyi who used to be a part of Bai Chuan Yuan and is still greatly missed by the four masters. They agree to it, but only if FDB solve three cases with arrests.

His first case leads him to meet LXY who’s now known as Li Lianhua, and their meeting doesn’t go off to a great start; FDB is idealistic and a rich, wealthy young master at heart who’s never suffered much hardship, and LLH drugs him after and scolds him for being too trusting of people and being too obvious, going around with two servants. LLH leaves him with parting words, only to meet him again later at the scene of the crime.

They solve cases together from there; LLH is still looking for his shixiong’s body ten years later, and decides to solve cases with FDB as a guise to get closer to the truth, making use of FDB slightly. Later, Di Feisheng recognises him, and the three of them are forced to become allies/friends to uncover a greater conspiracy. The clock is ticking for them as well, as Li Xiangyi was poisoned and injured ten years ago, and was given only ten more years to live. The story begins in the year that he’s meant to die.

*Fang Duobing met Li Xiangyi when he was young and still sickly, and Li Xiangyi encouraged him, and Fang Duobing held onto his every word and suffered a lot to become healthy again and as skilled as he is today, all because Li Xiangyi said those words to him that year ;-;

WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH

(1) Fight scenes are GREAT 

- Water water water

- All female sect?!

(2) Bromance, subtle for now, but greater later I assume - ZENG SHUNXI’S FACE HE SO PUPPY BLURBLUR AND SMILING?! AND CHENG YI SMIRKING?! Like Fang Duobing is just wagging his tail and running after a person he doesn’t know is truly his shifu as he claims LOL

(3) Shifu Li Xiangyi not knowing he was shifu to Fang Duobing

(4) Li Xiangyi being the reason for Fang Duobing to EXIST but Li Xiangyi ain’t around anymore (not) and he sad and Li Xiangyi can’t tell him who he is UWUUUU

(5) Familiar faces hehe if you are a SNGX/The Blood of Youth and SHL fan 

(6) CASES ARE INTERESTING!!!

[sarah-yyy]

what: period cdrama // 40 eps, roughly 45 mins each (we’re on ep 29 atm, paid subscription required for vip eps) where: iqiyi (you can also dl the app) // youtube // (ps - usual disclaimer that i do not use eng subs so i don’t speak to the quality of subs) why: do you enjoy jianghu mysteries?? double/hidden-identities??? the shifu-complex trope??? enemies to friends (with a v Divorced-Exes vibe)?? this is the show for you. would enjoy if you enjoyed the blood of youth.

meet Li Lianhua, a somewhat famous jianghu doctor who is rumoured to be able to bring back the dead. this chill but odd man lives in a super cool caravan he built himself! spends his free time gardening and learning how to cook! he's got a cute pet dog as a companion! he is in his Zen Era, everything is going great for him*.

but i promised y'all hidden identities so, surprise surprise!! Li Lianhua is also known as Li Xiangyi, presumed dead master of the Top Jianghu Sect who has been MIA for the past decade

Li Xiangyi was poisoned + seriously injured in battle ten years ago, and for a variety of reasons, decided to retreat from jianghu to live his life in relative peace (while also searching for the remains of his shixiong). the poison he suffers from is fatal, it is emphasised he doesn't have long to live. (*except for the dying bit)

ANYWAY. while going about his day to day, Li Lianhua meets:

Fang Duobing, wannabe jianghu detective. this boy has a++ martial arts skills!! he's (relatively) smart!! he would make a good detective!! but his attempts to do so have been foiled by his Super Influential™ parents who do not want him in harm's way. all my boy wants to do is to successfully enrol in jianghu detective academy and travel the lands!! solve crimes!! he eventually weasels his way into a probationary position by telling the masters of the academy that his shifu is Li Xiangyi

cue extremely fun exchanges like:

FBD: if my shifu li xiangyi could see me now- LLH: your who???????????

these two have a funny strangers to jokingly enemies (LLH made a fool out of FBD and like drugged him the first time they met) to begrudging partners solving crimes to friends dynamic going on, absolutely a+++. FBD goes from 😤 at LLH to must protect this weak man i have decided is my best friend really quickly. i love one (1) boy.

there is also another key character in this, which really just. is the cherry on top of everything that the show has given us so far.

meet Di Feisheng. "villain" extraordinaire. has one (1) goal in life - beat LXY. "killed" LXY in battle ten years ago, but suffered severe injuries himself, so he's been recuperating for the past ten years.

imagine his goddamn surprise when he fucking meets LLH who he thought he defeated ten years ago. (side note: LLH is supposed to look nothing like LXY, but DFS recognised him p much instantly!!) he also learns that LXY was poisoned all those years ago, and was not in his best condition during their battle.

cue DFS going absolutely obsessed with curing LLH of his fatal poisoning so that they can go at it again, this time without any handicaps :)

SO ANYWAY these three go around solving cases together, while LLH/DFS also look into the inconsistencies of certain things that happened ten years ago. all the while the three of them are bickering the entire time.

tl;dr - this is the dynamic we've got going on:

FDB: this is LLH my boyfriend (but he doesn't know it yet) who is also my shifu (but i don't know it yet), and this is his extremely annoying ex-husband DFS who hangs around us and i absolutely HATE (and low-key want to throw in jianghu prison) because they are obviously hiding something from me, but also i would probably die for these two

if you need more convincing:

the cases have all been fun so far - the pacing of the show is quite good, and the cases don't really tend to drag on

the fight scenes are really cool - again, if you liked what they did in the blood of youth, you'll probably like this as well

frail and sickly Cheng Yi, always a bonus

i am going to, at some point, write fic about dfs railing fbd quiet while llh watches, someone hold me to this

[acequinz]

Another thought on the modern au where FDB and DFS cultivated immortality and reunited with LLH.

Li Lianhua clearly does not seem to remember any memories from life before where he had lived and suffered with them.

Maybe it was the absence of those memories that made this Lianhua so callous and borderline mean.

"So are either of you gonna explain why you dragged me or are you going to stare at me for another half hour before following me to my house and murdering me in front of my cats?" Li Lianhua spoke, taking a big obnoxious sip of his boba tea.

"nothing like that, we just needed to talk to you because-" Fang Duobing stopped, trying to think of a reason that wouldn't send him running.

"is it a bet then?" Li Lianhua interrupted the pause, "you wanna see which one of you can get into my pants first for bragging rights?"

Di Feisheng huffed at that, "what kind of bet would that be? Utterly preposterous."

"oohh that is a big word, did not think you would have it in you. But then again I am too hot to be a bet" Li Lianhua nodded with a playful smile, he leaned over with his cheek on his hand and looked between them, "do you want me to be your third so you can figure out that intense needy heat between you two?"

"wha-”

"no-"

"why would you -"

"are you crazy- "

"okay that's enough, you are both cute enough so I will consider it." Li Lianhua exclaimed, sliding them his card and left them still stuttering over his previous words.

"he's different" Fang Duobing grumbled, rubbing his face still trying to grasp what had happened.

"Hmm not that much," Di Feisheng breathed out a simple adoring chuckle, the familiar buzz from years ago lighting up under his skin.

"I can't believe he just said that," Fang Duobing whined, letting his head rest on the table.

"he was always fast at clocking things like this” Di Feisheng hummed, patting the younger one the head.

"he was wrong though!" Fang Duobing shot up, "we already figured everything out!"

"mhmm but we still need him as our third," Di Feisheng added, looking amused through and through.

"aren't you taking this in too easy a stride?" Fang Duobing grumbled but agreed anyway.

"Li Xiangyi is Li Xiangyi always," Di Feisheng pressed a kiss to the side of his face letting it blaze up in redness.

"shut up! That's my Li Lianhua!" Fang Duobing pouted and snatched the card that was left behind on the table.

"they are the same person Xiaobao~" Di Feisheng drawled before getting up and following him.

[mx-myth]

Mlc au where li lianhua just. Doesn't re-enter the jianghu. He has a couple of Big Realisations and disassociates so hard that li xiangyi is permanently dead now and he's not touching that shit with a ten foot pole.

He still meets fang duobing except they meet during on of fdb's probationary cases because he's like, sprained his wrist. He's also bleeding a lil' bit everywhere so when he sits down at the booth where llh has set up shop llh is like who is this yucky boy. Fdb is like daifu I'll pay you x amount of money to heal me. Llh ups his first impression to yucky rich boy.

Anyway it turns about when llh isn't there to guide him fdb is really reckless. But guess what! He always meets li-daifu wherever his case is! Isn't it a miracle? (Llh is long-suffering. Why does this (his, unfortunately) yucky little rich boy keep coming back to him)

Very soon fdb starts giving him gifts instead of money (because he has no money management skills). He starts off small like flowers and little soaps then desserts and then suddenly he's showing up with a set of fancy robes for llh (who had seen fdb looking at him all intently when he was estimating his measurements and thought he was checking him out. It was the start of a minor - soon to be major and ongoing - crisis) (but it turns out he likes the fucking robes).

At some point fdb runs into A Spot during one of his cases and declares, to everyone in the vicinity, that he's li xiangyi's disciple. This is overheard by di feisheng's spymaster (I CANNOT remember what his name is) who reports it back to dfs, who is like hmm, interesting.

And obviously, the most logical response here is to kidnap him and announce that he has li xiangyi's disciple held hostage.

Llh hears of this, scoffs because xiaobao can take care of himself, paces for ten minutes, and then grumbles to himself while grabbing his sword and booking it. He bursts onto the scene and it's all like:

Dfs: ...li xiangyi? You're alive?

Fdb: li lianhua-daifu!!! ...why do you have a sword.

Dfs: oh, i get it, you went into hiding. *shaking fdb* is this your new boytoy

Llh: di feisheng! Unhand him, he's a paying customer!

Dfs, nodding: I see. Boyfriend then. But you haven't had the balls to court him properly, huh

They have an argument that is actually just them exchanging small talk. Fdb is slowly dying because this is dfs, villain of the jianghu, so why is he having a reaction to him scruffing him like a kitten? Also, is li-daifu actually li xiangyi???

Long story short about three weeks later dfs arrives for dinner. And then he just. Keeps showing up. The third time he shows up fdb is there also having dinner with llh. They bristle at each other like street cats but eventually it becomes a Thing That They Do.

(In the background dfs is picking up the fucking slack and destroying the whole nanyin revival plot. Fdb keeps unintentionally and accidentally foiling related plots as he takes cases)

(Fdb: I found this in my latest case and I don't know what it is. *holds up the Rama heavenly ice shard or whatever it is*

Dfs: ...it's a screwdriver.

Fdb, who has never seen a screwdriver in his life*: oh, okay *sticks in a drawer of the lotus tower and immediately forgets about it*)

(Dfs thinks it's amusing bordering on ridiculous because fdb just keeps bringing these artifacts back. But he doesn't know what they are and neither does llh so the lotus tower is turning out to be a really safe place to put them)

Also because this version of llh actually knows from the start that he wants to live. He just never actively looked for a cure because he didn't have much to live for in his little life. But now he does so he accepts the Styx flower or whatever dfs finds for him and they all live happily ever after.

(*Edit: oh I'm an idiot. Of COURSE fdb knows what a screwdriver is. He lives with the Queen of Inventing Clever Things (master he my beloved) for god's sake. I think if he knew dfs was lying to him he wouldn't be able to let it go, since we all know how he is. So I don't know what dfs would actually tell him lmao)

[kseniyagreen]

Dance with the ghost

I'm thinking again about the theme of ghosts in Mysterious Lotus casebook, and I'm inclined to think that it's not really about physical death. But about social death. The word ghost appears many times throughout the drama.

But the real ghosts in the drama are ghosts in the same sense as in The Word of Honor. Rejected by society. People invisible to society. Or people whose suffering is invisible to society.

In every case under investigation there are such people - women captured by a tyrant, strange people, disabled people, people with mental disorders, people with unusual appearance, injuries.

By investigating the cases, Li Lianhua and Fang Duobing make these people visible. First of all, thanks to Li Lianhua's gift of seeing. But Fang Duobing also has the prerequisites for developing this ability - from the very beginning he sees Li Lianhua, his first "ghost" . And then through it he learns to see others. By choosing the life of a ghost, Li Lianhua becomes susceptible to the lives of other ghosts. But he is still afraid of becoming a "lonely wild ghost" - someone who no one sees and who cannot be at peace with himself.

He goes through the journey, plunging into the world of ghosts and becoming imbued with sympathy and understanding for them. In this context, the theme of the ghostly marriage of Li Lianhua and Di Feisheng is also not about death and doom. On the one hand, it emphasizes the fact that they are both “ghosts”, in this metaphorical social sense.

On the other hand… this can also be seen as a metaphor for queer relations in conservative countries. When two people live as spouses, but for society their marriage is “ghostly”, invisible. And even queercoded love stories in dramas end up being “ghostly”. They are seen only by those who are able to see, but for everyone else they seem to be absent.

So the relationship between Li Lianhua and Di Feisheng is ghostly, because society does not accept their union.

But there is another side to the ghost theme. Who are the real restless spirits in this drama? Ghosts that exist beyond the boundaries of society? Or those who are struggling to establish themselves in this society? The ones who behave most like ghosts in this drama are the antagonists. They strive for one goal with such obsession, as if having achieved it they will be able to become real.

But they do not feel contact with themselves or with others. Therefore, their thirst for existence cannot be satisfied.

They get power - but it seems to them not enough. They receive love - but love makes them visible, which is unbearable for them, so they destroy everyone who loves them.

Shang Gudao received all the teacher's power, but it did not help him win. Because he didn't even remember the first lessons. Because he had never really seen the teacher, but Li Xiangyi had.

The ability to see and be seen is precisely what makes a person real.

But if the connection with someone or with a whole society becomes too destructive, unbearable, a person may choose to become invisible to others in order to remain real to himself.

Is this flight or protest? Maybe both. One thing is for sure - this is a failure for society.

As for the person himself... sometimes one or two people who really see you are enough to exist.

[howlingmoonrise]

my last work for battleship is done, and it's time to say goodbye to team mermaid!

for @acernor, who i thought was super cool when we last spoke: i was over the moon to see you'd submitted a prompt to the collection and really wanted to write this for you! if there is one thing i can say about this fic is that it very much kept to your prompt of dfs bottoming, even if i wasn't too sure in which direction you'd like to see this ship in particular go. i hope you enjoy it 💖💖💖

many many thanks also to @a-memory-a-distant-echo for the very wrinkly-brained dfs takes, incredible brainstorming, major cheerleading, and for putting up with a truly ungodly amount of whining! i owe you like a thousand and shall continue to bother you ceaselessly 💖

--

Pairing: Di Feisheng/Fang Duobing

“You’re so cold,” Fang Duobing says as he pours him a fresh cup of tea, the brush of his hands warming him in ways the blankets will not. “I wish Li Lianhua had left more instructions.” He looks so distressed, Di Feisheng thinks hazily. It’s ridiculous - he’s hardly Li Lianhua, withering away like a plucked flower, and he’s suffered through so much worse besides - and yet the pup is acting like he’s dying on his watch.  This is nothing. He’s just-- cold. Very cold. Colder than he was as an orphan on the streets, shivering in threadbare robes and not yet knowing how to start a fire. Colder than when the sea had claimed him ten years ago, icy and biting down to his bones. Di Feisheng curls further into himself - the dampness of his hair is not helping, soaking into the fabric wrapping his back, and neither is the stray breeze he can feel make its way through Lotus Tower. Every shiver feels like it’ll shatter him into pieces, like ice on the ground. It’s nothing. He just has to wait it out.

Read on AO3

[xiaobaosnoona]

Dramas I would like to force people to watch with me (but can't since kidnapping is illegal)

part 5

What I want to enrich my life with is bromances with steady homoerotic undertones, suffering narrators and crime solving poly-husbands. Mysterious Lotus Casebook has it all.

Mysterious Lotus Casebook (2023)

wuxia/bromance/crime solving/martial arts/chinese drama

The first spectacular scenes of this drama introduces us to the hero and legend Li Xiangyi, number one on the martial arts list, and his "nemesis" Di Feisheng. Li Xiangyi is defeated and falls into the east sea, and that's when the real story starts.

Ten years later he lives as physician Li Lianhua in his movable Lotus Tower and grows turnips with his dog. He's endearingly sassy and clever, and ultimately just wants to be left alone. Trouble finds him though, and so does the young hero Fang Duobing. Though Lianhua makes several attempts to shake the annoying youth off, he fails miserably. He gangs up with Fang Duobing and his former nemesis Di Feisheng to unravel the mysteries of their shared past, and of course, to save the world.

From start the fight scenes are breath-taking, and the protagonist instantly pulled me in. He is the suffer-in-silence type of man with deep scars, and lies just spontaneously roll off his tongue whenever he needs them. Duobing, also affectionately called Xiaobao (little treasure), is a wide eyed, sometimes naive, and righteous young man who wants to make the world a better place. Feisheng's number one goal is to make sure he get's to fight the hero Li Xiangyi once again, but beneath the surface this grumpy man has a gentle affection for his old enemy and his little treasure.

The three main characters form a unbreakable bond through the show and it's honestly the best thing about it. The second best thing is the whump. The third best thing is Li Lianhua's sword dances. The drama is pretty, well made, and the acting is honestly some of the best acting I've ever seen. The character growth is what always does me in, and we have plenty of it in these forty episodes.

Just watch it. It's really precious.

[eirenical]

Hey, MLCB fandom. We've been bombarded with some amazing photoshoots today, and I've been losing my entire mind over them all day, so GUESS WHAT. You all get to suffer with me.

For reference, the photoshoots and edits that inspired this post: [Cheng Yi in white] [BTS video of Cheng Yi in white, starring the photographer arm that sent this whole thing down a difanghua path instead of just a fanghua path] [@difeisheng 's edit/compilation of Cheng Yi and Zeng Shunxi's parallel photoshoots] [@la-muerta's edit of the photographer arm that made that vision a reality]

I don't have extensive context for all of this, but Di Feisheng, Fang Duobing, and Li LIanhua have gone to an event of some kind.  Maybe it's Di Feisheng' gallery opening.  Maybe it's Fang Duobing unveiling a new invention at a huge conference.  It doesn't matter.  What matters is that they all go, and they all have to get dressed up, and the event lasts all evening and long into the night and they don't make it home until well after dawn.

They get home and Fang Duobing has been in these clothes for far too long now and he desperately needs to get out of them and shower off the excitement of the night.  There's too much of a buzz under his skin and he's been talking everyone's ears off the entire ride home and he's losing patience with himself, so surely the others must be losing patience with him as well.  He needs a chance to let the buzz of energy die down a little bit before he irritates the others past the point of being able to deal with it, so he heads off to the giant bathroom to do just that.

Li Lianhua is quiet.  Mellow.  He didn't get drunk, per se, but he's somewhere in the slightly buzzed vicinity; enough that he's floppy and tired and half in love with the world and just wants to be petted and held, something he'd gotten plenty of on the drive home, but he still wants more.

(If pushed, he might admit that he doesn't handle crowds well, that he hasn't done since his days as a child prodigy fell far behind him.  Crowds do nothing but intimidate him now, bring back memories he'd rather leave far in the past, but he wants to support his partners, even if he has to blur the world a little to get through doing it.)

Di Feisheng has been rigidly well-behaved and contained all night and remains so even after they get home.  He has his own childhood traumas and handles crowds as well as Li Lianhua does.  He doesn't appreciate being touched by strangers, even accidentally, but crowds are a necessity in his line of work, sometimes, and there's nothing to be done for it. Now that he's home, he should be able to relax, but he can't.  He won't be able to until the hypervigilance fades.  So, he doesn't really want to be alone, but his choices… he could join Fang Duobing, let that inane chatter wash over him along with the water from a hot shower, to take the edge off his nerves.  But he doesn't want to be naked right now, doesn't want to be that vulnerable until his he's no longer twitching at every errant sound. So he stays with Li Lianhua.  To make sure he doesn't do something stupid while impaired.  It wouldn't be the first time.

But Li Lianhua is just... wandering around the room.  He's wandering around the room and slowly undoing the buttons at his cuffs… his neck… all the way down his chest to reveal the half-sheer singlet underneath.  He's wandering the room, undoing his clothes and gently touching things like it's the first time he's ever seen them, in spite of having lived in this room already for nearly three years.

And something about that soft wonder on his face relaxes something in Di Feisheng, finally releases him from the coil of tension he's been wound around all night.  So he does what he always does when a moment means something more than it should.  He pulls out his camera and begins taking pictures.

Li Lianhua notices, of course, and his gentle meanderings start to become a little bit of a performance.  Not a true dance, he hasn't done that in years, not since—  Di Feisheng cuts off the thought before he can dwell on it for too long.  They'd both lost too much in the accident that had ended Li Xiangyi's career and turned Di Feisheng into a fugitive for a decade.  Tonight isn't about them.  It isn't about that.  It was about their Xiaobao's accomplishments, about realizing the dream they'd helped him bring to fruition together.  And right now, it's about Li Lianhua, and a dance that isn't a dance.  Here in this room is the one place Li Lianhua allows a spectre of his former self to rise, allows himself to enjoy being noticed, being watched.  Because it's them.  Because he enjoys when the two of them watch him, focus on him, blocking out everything else but the safety of the space they've carved out here together.

And so, Di Feisheng takes picture after picture: Li Lianhua at the window, staring out into the garden, Li Lianhua in the hallway, hand settled gracefully on the railing as though at a barre, Li Lianhua in bed, rolling around and rumpling up the sheets, half asleep already the moment he's supine among the blankets and pillows. 

And he sends each one of those pictures to Fang Duobing.

Even Li Lianhua manages to take one very shaky selfie of himself sprawled in their bed, rumpled and bleary-eyed and barely awake.  Di Feisheng sends that one, too.

It isn't more than a minute later when Fang Duobing comes sprinting down the hall, clad in nothing but his boxers, wet hair half in his face, as droplets of water drip down his chest.  He's holding his phone in front of himself like a talisman, eyes narrowed accusingly at Di Feisheng.

Di Feisheng simply smiles and slides onto the bed to pull Li Lianhua into his arms for a kiss.  By the time it's over, Li Lianhua is draped half in his lap and whimpering, pulling at the sleeves of his shirt as he tries to peel it off and mold himself around Di Feisheng's body at the same time.

Di Feishing looks back up… and smiles wider.  "I didn't want to you miss the show."

Moments later, he has a armful of very wet Fang Doubing toppling them all over into the blankets.

It's undignified.  It's clumsy.  It's ridiculous in so many ways—more giggling fits of laughter than moans of pleasure.  And Di Feisheng wouldn't trade it for anything.

[thesilversun]

Wip Wednesday time, a bit from Before the Dawn again.

Fang Duobing and Qin Po talk about helping Ali Lianhua.

—

“What about Di Mengzhu?” Qin Po asks. “What are his intentions?”

There is a lot that Fang Duobing doesn’t know for certain, but there is one thing that he’s sure of. “He wants him to live. He wants to save him. He been searching for the Styx flower because he want to give it to him.”

“All that hope pinned on a flower.”

“You don’t think it will work?” If she says no, Fang Duobing isn’t entirely certain he isn’t going to burst into tears. It’s the one thing that they’ve been holding onto, one last desperate little scrap of hope.

“He’s been ill for a long time,” she looks at him, sad. “He should have come to me in those early days. I wouldn’t have been able to cure him, but he would have suffered far less. But then, I think he thought he deserved in it someway.”

“He doesn’t! He-”

“Shh, let him sleep. I didn’t say he did. I said he thinks he did.” she sighs. “He still does. He feel so guilty about everything, even living.

“Do you think the Styx flower will work?” Fang Duobing asks, “If I can keep giving him energy, it will be enough to make it work, won’t it?”

“If he lets us help him through it I think there’s a good chance it will. He might never how he once was, you will all need to prepare for that. He’s suffered a lot and somethings can’t always be truly healed.”

“As long as he lives, that is enough.”

“For you. Will it be enough for him?”

“For A-Fei?” He knows how much he want a rematch of even terms. To have that taken away will be a bitter disappointment, but even more than that he knows he wants Li Lianhua to live.

“For Li Lianhua.”

As far as Fang Duobing can tell regaining everything he was doesn’t matter to Li Lianhua and is something that he’d probably rather avoid. “He doesn’t want to go back to being Li Xiangyi.”

“True, but he still likes being able to come to the rescue, to protect those he cares about. Even if it means giving more of himself than he should, pushing himself to point of injury or harm. You’ve seen him do it. You’ve been on the receiving end of it, I’m sure.”

Fang Duobing nods, and wishes he didn’t know such things.

“How would he manage if he lost being able to do that? If he lost all his inner energy, all his ability to use it to fight and to heal.” She looks levelly at Fang Duobing. “If he could never use Yangzhouman again. Would he be able to accept that?”

There’s no way of knowing, and he cannot make that decision for him. He said he wanted a simple life of cooking, fishing and laying in the sun. He looks at him sleeping, eyes still tear swollen, face too pale from spending so many years in poor health. He wants nothing more than to go over to him, to lay down beside and hold him tight, sheltering from any harm the world might direct at him.

“He’s scared,” Qin Po says, when Fang Duobing hasn’t replied. “He's going to need us all if he’s going to pull through this.”

[potahun]

Contrasting apples and pears but-

I was thinking about it yesterday and watching Nirvana on Fire is also very fun for me because Mei Changsu is the exact opposite of Li Lianhua by virtue of the genre and message of their respective drama, and this is despite having almost the same character premise

Both are bisexual chronically ill protags who should have died a decade ago but didn’t and are now living on borrowed time under a new identity. They are both better at thinking/talking their way out than fighting due to their ailments, and suffer health consequences from their actions when they overdo it. they have a goal to accomplish before dying, thereby accelerating their impending deaths (though li lianhua's fate is a lot more hopeful than mei changsu - i do know that nif spoiler). they both tell very little straightforward truths. but those are all superficial similarities.

NiF is a political drama, taking place in the imperial court. Mei Changsu's character is therefore a person who serves a goal first and foremost (as far as i can see, this has to do with destroying the current emperor's reign). the momentum behind the drama is whether this goal can be accomplished, and mei changsu's fate comes second to that. this is also why Mei Changsu, fundamentally, has to calculate every move with a relatively far-sighted vision. he has a single goal and any wrong steps will land him and many others dead.

MLC, while a wuxia/suspense/murder-mystery drama, is ultimately a drama that emphasizes the great importance in the little things in life. Li Lianhua is according a liar, not a strategist. He lies sometimes with very little care as to whether he gets caught, he lies recreationally, he lies with his vision set on the short-term and sometimes because he has nothing to do (????). He gets pulled along by fang duobing and is a wanderer, despite having a goal he does want to accomplish before his death. no matter how much he tries to detach himself, he is also, ultimately, a man who has trouble putting down his sentiments, and who is entangled in his bonds to this world. accordingly, those bonds and feelings matter as much, or matter more, than his original goal (find sgd's corpse and what happened to him) in the end.

this makes me vaguely speculate about the way personal feelings will be dealt with in NiF vs the weight they have in MLC. meanwhile, in contrast, the complexity of the plot is sharply emphasized in NiF and the intricacy quality of the plot (as in, events)'s construction should largely surpass MLC. anyway im enjoying NiF a tremendous lot so far AND i still adore MLC to the moon and back

[madamadragon]

I suffer from insomnia and this is what I wrote in the middle of the night

Here is the incipit of a little Fanfiction:

-------

Fang Duo Bing snorted for the umpteenth time that morning, he had done nothing but follow Li Lianhua around the market carrying all the baskets and was starting to get tired.

He put his purchases on the ground and then massaged his aching shoulders, when he looked up he noticed that the doctor was no longer in front of him.

He began to look for him and saw his figure, wrapped in the new green robes that he had recently given him, bent over rummaging in a stall a little further on.

He breathed a sigh of relief, for a moment he thought he had run away again.

He was about to pick up the baskets when his attention was caught by two young girls who passed by him chatting enthusiastically.

“It has already gone around the entire Jianghu!”

"It became my favorite book! The part I loved was the wedding dress part!"

"Oh, when the lotus hero was investigating the murders of the three brides, that part was beautiful but I prefer the scene in the wedding chamber, the love and passion between the two protagonists was captivating!"

Fang Duobing frowned in confusion, what they were talking about seemed strangely familiar.

He hurried to reach the two girls and with a radiant smile stood in front of them.

"Sorry to intrude ladies, may I ask you what you are talking about?"

The two girls exchanged a look and then giggled.

"Don't you know, young master? A new book is becoming popular in Jianghu" said the girl on the right.

"It's the love story between a fake miracle doctor who turns out to be a legend in the world of martial arts and his enemy" explained the girl on the left and then took a book out of her purse.

It was gold with green trim and the cover was engraved with The Hero of the Lotus and the Villain of the Sword.

The girl handed it to him and Fang Duobing opened it and studied its contents. The more he read, the more his eyes bulged.

This was absurd, the plot of the book was incredibly similar to what had happened to him in the last few months.

“Can I borrow it?” He asked the girl, he definitely had to show it to Li Lianhua.

"I'll give it to you, I have three copies" replied the girl showing the other books in her bag.

Fang Duobing thanked her with a small bow and then ran towards the doctor.

“Li Lianhua!” he called out to him, waving the basket of vegetables in the air.

The man rolled his eyes and then turned to him.

"Do you have to scream like that? The whole market heard you"

"It's important, look" and without further explanation he threw the book at him.

Li Lianhua caught it immediately. He glanced at him and then snorted a laugh.

"It's just a book"

"Open it"

Li Lianhua shook his head in exasperation and opened the book. He began to read and the more he turned the pages the faster his eyes moved behind the words. At one point he slammed it shut and then waved it in front of Fang Duobing.

"What nonsense is this?!"

[naryrising]

Writing patterns

Rules: List the first line of your last 10 (posted) fics and see if there's a pattern! I was tagged by @yletylyf (thanks!)

The trip to Thailand was meant to be a simple week-long vacation, mainly to get used to travelling together. (In the Frame, Haikyuu, Asahi/Nishinoya.)

Nik didn't know how it happened. (The Scene of the Crime, Adventure World AU, Nik/Lamont)

Yin Yu hadn't asked for any of this. (Just In Case, TGCF, Quan Yizhen/Yin Yu)

The Purple Island wasn't inhabited, or at least not anymore. (Rare and beautiful, Books of the Raksura)

Wen Qing pulls her hands back, stained red. (Four Quarters, MDZS)

Many cures for the Bicha poison had been proposed to Li Lianhua over the years he had suffered from its effects. (Carried by the torrent, Mysterious Lotus Casebook, Di Feisheng/Fang Duobing/Li Lianhua)

Xie Lian had become so accustomed to his San Lang's regular (indeed, frequent!) infusions of power that the fact that he couldn't as easily pursue his former path of cultivation was not a significant loss. (Working Order, TGCF, Feng Xin/Hua Cheng/Mu Qing/Xie Lian)

The evening should have followed their normal routine. (Jump/Push, Haikyuu, Takeda/Ukai)

By this point in their marriage, Miku was used to Tatsu coming home with some kind of injury - a black eye, for instance, or a cut on his forehead. (No Rest For The Wicked, Way of the Househusband, Masa/Miku/Tatsu)

Kyutaro's father was the one who named the café Yadorigi - mistletoe. (Yadorigi, Buddy Daddies)

Commonalities: Short sentences. Sentences that set up the basic premise of the story (taking a trip to Thailand; seeking a cure for poison, going to a formerly inhabited/now deserted island; there's a cafe and here's how it got started...) Sentences that indicate a thing has just happened, or is soon going to happen, and possibly that that thing is not as expected ("meant to be" or "hadn't asked for this" or "should have"). You don't know yet what that thing is. You have to keep reading to find out.

I'll tag @measured-words @fireheartaw @kyrstin @bettsfic @ietjesiobhan @brigdh @hedonistvenus and anyone else who wants to do it! (no pressure though)

[popotobun]

Blood singing in his veins for wip wednesday!

Blood singing in his veins, breath heaving and ragged, Di Feisheng knelt above his opponent, victorious. Pinned to the ground, dao stabbed into the ground against his neck, Li Lianhua smiled at him. Unlike the last time he’d wanted to fight, the former head of Sigu Sect was not sallow-skinned and suffering. He glowed with renewed health and satisfaction at their battle. 

Once, he would have insisted on calling the man by his first name, but Li Xiangyi had died. Not ten years ago at his hand, but he had died nonetheless, leaving behind Fang Duobing to carry his legacy and Li Lianhua to live in the background. There was a time he wouldn't have understood, but he knew now that his friend preferred watching from the sidelines. 

Most of the time at least. Di Feisheng had cajoled him into a fight at last and did not regret it in the least. If he never got to battle Li Lianhua again, he was satisfied.

[deepbluewithyellow]

Another look at ep. 17: Yun Biqiu isn't present at XZJ and QWM wedding. I reckon he hardly ever attend any festivities with the other members of Baichuan Court/Sigu sect since he thinks he ruins their happiness:"

Or maybe this is related to Biqiu secluding himself from the world :"

Ma poor boi thinks he doesn't deserve happiness:"

Even worse, maybe he's not invited to the wedding at all :" He can play the guqin, he can make others happy, why doesn't he attend the wedding?:"

I think he suffered the most amongst the victims of JLQ, since:

- Di Feisheng had still a couple of loyal followers and didn't lose everything

- Li Xiangyi was poisoned yes, but someone saved him and he had a reason to live (find his shixiong's body), and he was hardly hated by anyone. His followers and comrades remained faithful to him even after his disappearance. Travelling and learning healing helped him grow from an annoying, boastful teenager into a fine man, and he built quite a good reputation as a healer.

- But Yun Biqiu? He lost nearly all the respect of his comrades, lost his friend and leader, was stabbed in the chest and left to die, (he was later apologized to but) his closest shimei still hates him (I reckon she had an unrequited love for LXY), he could trust no one with his pain, he's ridiculed from time to time by his shimei, anxiety and seclusion almost robs him of his looks (his hair turns gray, he looks pale and tired since he sees little sun and possibly gets little sleep), he can't have a family since he hates himself for falling for JLQ, etc etc.

He needs help, he needs a recovery from being manipulated, his mind is fucked up and he carries lots of guilt (which he shouldn't, the death of the 58 members of Sigu sect isn't on him but on Xiangyi - and their own pride since all of them were willing to attack Jinyuan alliance to retrieve Shan Gudao's body. With our without the Bicha poison, they would have died because of Li Xiangyi's bad strategy and stubbornness). But he gets none. His comrades hate him so much that on his trial day, he is sentenced to death based on whatever was on the surface, and no one waited for a second opinion that might add something to his case. They paid no attention to how easily they got into JLQ's hideout (thank god Fang Duobing did), and were just focused on finding Xiangyi and waging war. Poor man, he was about to die because no one waited a second to use even one more braincell and they were ready to blame everything on him and supposedly bring back peace.

But I think he did enough: he understood his mistake, studied everything harder and maintained whatever good connection that could help him with everything, put two and two together and found out that JLQ is the real culprit and not somebody simply helping DFS, and faced the devil without even faltering a step. He did it solely out of his own wish, without anyone supporting him. He deserves to be respected after everything is over, just as much as LXY is.