#and wants better for li ming

[bevioletskies]

gemini & fourth (in every universe) ↳ heart/li ming vs. tinn/gun vs. kongthap/atom + chin grab

"Do you think I don’t feel anything? Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to act like I was your friend today?"

[stiltonbasket]

Shen Yuan should transmigrate as Qiu Haitang! He *could* break himself and SJ out of the horrible Qiu household, but Qiu Haitang showing up “early” only to kidnap SQQ’s littlest disciple would also be funny.

"Why are you here?" Shen Qingqiu asks flatly, as he leaves the bamboo house with Ming Fan in tow.

"I heard that you took on a new disciple," says the woman before him.

Qiu Haitang does not meet his eyes. She has not looked him in the eye for the better part of twenty years—not since that first murder on the road, when she came to bring him a basket of food and found Shen Qingqiu and Wu Yanzi with blood still dripping from their hands—but even so, her avoidance of him has never grown easier to bear.

"I did," Shen Qingqiu replies. "What of it?"

"I told you not to," Qiu Haitang says, her hands curling into fists. "That—Li Haoran was to be the last. You promised me."

"Ning Yingying wanted a shidi."

"I don't give a damn what Ning Yingying wanted," she says sharply. "You swore you would never take in another boy."

Silence.

"If I go into the house," Qiu Haitang continues, her voice deceptively calm, "tell me, Shen Jiu—what will I find?"

At this, Ming Fan steps forward and stretches out his hands in supplication. "Shiniang—"

"Be silent," she snaps. "Your shifu is a lost cause, and that can't be helped; but if Disciple Ming cannot learn from his mistakes, then you don't need to speak in front of me. Did you even think of coming to fetch me when you saw that he had picked up another little shidi to bully?"

With that, Qiu Haitang snorts and sweeps past him into the bamboo house, where Luo Binghe is still kneeling in the middle of the front room with tea trickling down his tearstained cheeks.

"There, don't cry," Shen Qingqiu hears her whisper. "You didn't do anything wrong. Can you look up so that jiejie can dry your face?"

"Shizun—shizun told me to kneel," the little wretch in the house replies, half-sobbing. "It's this lowly one's fault. I offended him, so of course this disciple should stay here and reflect."

"You didn't offend anyone," Qiu Haitang says gently. "He has a terrible temper, and he never learned how to control it. It's not your fault."

"But—!"

Qiu Haitang hushes Luo Binghe again, after which Shen Qingqiu hears nothing further: for at that moment, his wife seemed to have recalled the existence of the bamboo house's privacy wards—but later that evening, she returns to house with a sheaf of papers and flings them down on Shen Qingqiu's desk.

"Sign these," she tells him.

Shen Qingqiu glances at the first page in bemusement. "What are they?"

"Dissolution papers for Luo Binghe's discipleship. What else?" Qiu Haitang's lip curls. "From now on, I'll be his Shizun instead."

He lifts an eyebrow. "Did Yue Qingyuan give you these? He approved when I asked for that little beast, you know."

"He must have thought you'd wait at least a week before doing something to the child," Haitang says coldly. "I told him that he could either give Binghe to me or send him to Bai Zhan; and he was determined to save face for you, so he chose me."

And then, when Shen Qingqiu does not reply:

"Sign them, Shen Jiu. You don't want to know what I'll do to you otherwise."

At this, Shen Qingqiu picks up a brush and signs his name at the bottom of the dissolution form: for the last time he and Qiu Haitang fought in earnest, she fed him a cursed tonic that had him babbling in tongues before a hundred-odd dignitaries at Huan Hua.

"Thank you," she bites out: and with that, she turns on her heel and blows out of the bamboo house like a gust of chill wind.

Not for the first time, Shen Qingqiu finds himself wishing that he had left Qiu Haitang behind at the Qiu estate when he fled with Wu Yanzi. But her father and brother were dead, and she believed that she was betrothed to him; and when he saw her great brown eyes staring at him through the flames of her home, some power beyond Shen Qingqiu's own had prevented him from turning his back on her.

She was not meant to accept when I offered to take responsibility for her, he thinks dully, watching through the open window as his wife strides towards the women's compound on the other side of the mountain. She hated me then, and she hates me now—so what was it all for?

Shen Qingqiu has pondered upon that question night and day since he and Qiu Haitang first bowed to one another, not long after his instatement as Qing Jing's head disciple; and he is no nearer to the answer by the morning he is widowed, nearly a decade later.

What point was there in saving her? he wonders, as a grown Luo Binghe weeps in the streets of Hua Yue with Qiu Haitang's still body cradled to his breast. Would it not have been better for her to die after the first betrayal, rather than live to be betrayed twice?

"Why are you all just standing there?" he hears Ming Fan roar. "That's our Shiniang! What are you afraid of? At most, that white-eyed wolf she raised will just beat us all to death!"

"Leave it."

Ming Fan stares at Shen Qingqiu in dismay, his eyes so swollen with tears that he scarcely seems able to see through them. "What is Shizun saying? What do you mean, leave her? She's our only Shiniang—she's your wife!"

Shen Qingqiu gazes at the cooling corpse in Luo Binghe's arms for a little while longer; and then, at length, he turns away.

"Your Shiniang's end was of her own making, Ming Fan," Shen Qingqiu says, already starting towards the group of screeching cultivators trapped behind the wards at the other end of the street.

"Shen-furen has made her bed. Let her lie in it."

[thatswhatsushesaid]

mysterious lotus casebook has thrown such a wrench into the gears when it comes to accurately guessing who my favourite character is going to be in any given cdrama or novel. like

okay it goes without saying at this point why i like jin guangyao, especially if you've been following my blog for longer than five minutes. tl;dr antagonist of circumstance who could have been the protagonist but for the POV of the novel; the unresolved yearning and shared sanctuary of his dynamic with lxc; the absolute dogshit treatment he gets in the fandom discourse. he's ray bait. of course i love and stan.

then there's shi wudu from tgcf, a character i absolutely did not see myself coming to like and stan the way that i have, but if mxtx didn't want me to find him so sympathetic and compelling, she shouldn't have written him desperately trying to comfort shi qingxuan while he was sobbing uncontrollably over he xuan ordering him to cut his own brother's head off. 🥲 also his metal "i make my own fate" monologue, which i need to revisit sometime just to gush about it here, it's so good! and then there's no one at his funeral other than xie lian, ling wen and pei ming--and pei ming, oh!! "i don't even know if your eyes are closed," he says when he finds shi wudu's remains. waaahhh still not over it.

then we have xiao jinghuan from nirvana in fire who, and i cannot stress this enough, is a beautiful, articulate, intelligent, talking trash can prince who would drive a cybertruck. i want to shake him aggressively and also put him in a position where he can make different choices, because i just strongly believe that in the right fix-it scenario, he could survive the events of the show! no really, i think he could! would he be a better person, exactly? ...i mean, no, but do you really want him to be? i need him to be that guy who invites himself to parties only to leave in the middle of conversations to go outside and take a call on his stupid bluetooth device that he never removes from his ear, ever.

also i think a geology degree might fix at least 30% of his problems. we need to treat him like a cat, you can't discipline him towards making better decisions, you just have to redirect his attention, in this essay i will--

anyway that brings us to who my actual favourite character is in mysterious lotus casebook, and yeah, it's fang duobing.

"one of these things is not like the others" i hear you singing already, "one of these things does not belong" and to that i say no, he absolutely does belong, because just like /gestures @ all of the above, jin guangyao, shi wudu, and xiao jinghuan, fang duobing burst onto the scene and defied all of my expectations about what i was going to experience through following his journey through the story. and yes, usually i am drawn towards the more morally ambiguous characters in a story, but that's often because the protagonist characters don't give me quite as much crunch (nb: mei changsu is plenty crunchy, nobody @ me about that! but he and jingyan are a unit to me, and i'm talking about individual characters right now).

fang duobing delivers the crunch, but the delivery vector is through subverting my expectations about what a character of his type is going to deliver in the story. yes, he is Good™️, which can sometimes be an interest killer for me because the Goodness becomes a stand-in for any real character depth or development, but that isn't the case with fang duobing. from the very start he's complex and multifaceted; yes, he's earnest and sincere and a bit naive (to begin with) and coddled, a well loved young master from a rich family who's never had to want for anything in his life. but he also spent the majority of his early years too sickly to even walk, unsure if he'd ever be able to stand up and actually hold a sword, let alone follow in li xiangyi's footsteps to perfect xiangyi swordplay. and he's sharp, and quick-witted, and observant, and he learns and matures (and, in my opinion, falls in love) right in front of our eyes--and the emotional range that shunxi commands in this role! absolutely outstanding.

none of this even taps into how well he emotes, and i don't even just mean with his expressive eyes, tho those are responsible for making me burst into tears in episode 40, i won't even lie. but you can mark the moment he masters yangzhouman and xiangyi swordplay, because his combat demeanour changes, too.

anyway uh i don't. really have a point with this lmfao i was just mulling over who all my favourite characters have been in past shows and books i've gotten into recently (shoutout to wang zhi from sleuth of the ming dynasty, who i did not include here only because i haven't finished the show), and how fang duobing should NOT be among their number, and yet he is. he is, and i will fight and kill for him 🔪 not that he needs it but, you know, i'm here for you anyway xiaobao.

[zenfiii]

Why is there almost no content about Shen Qingqiu and Gongyi Xiao?? They have a lot of potential!!

Shen Qingqiu saw him from behind. There was something in his bearing, in the way he spoke and in how he addressed him that brought him some comfort. He couldn't put a name to it, though. Or rather, he didn't want to name it. Shen Qingqiu kept walking behind him, followed by Shang Qinghua who was still talking to him about God knows what.

“Master Shen is too kind.” pronounced the young man, looking at Shen Qingqiu's gifts with a smile.

Opening his fan, he unconsciously stroked his head.

"This master hasn't done anything very special. It is simply a courtesy gift from me and Shang Qinghua for helping us that time. There is no need for extra thanks."

Gongyi Xiao actually expected nothing less from Shen Qingqiu, an immortal master as wise and kind as him could not have done anything but genuinely thank him, but that small, seemingly unconscious action moved something in the younger man. With a gentle smile he nodded his head.

"Thank you. I will keep it well."

Speaking, Gongyi Xiao was briefly mentioned in the conversation. This made Shen Qingqiu's eyes light up and, without realizing it, he began to flatter him more than usual. After he finished his short (long) speech, Shang Qinghua was finally able to speak.

“Cucumber, I actually wanted to ask you something about him.”

Shen Qingqiu was a little surprised. Wasn't he the author? Why would the author have to ask him about a character of his? However, he nodded.

"Don't you think he's being too nice to you? I mean, coming here to return the favor to you for giving him something once is normal, but already five times is a bit..." he couldn't continue but, seeing Shen Qingqiu's expression, he knew that the other one had understood what he was referring to.

At least he thought so, not considering that he was talking to Shen /I believe my own lies/ Qingqiu.

"What? He's a good boy. Even if the protagonist is good at everything because his dumb ass author made him that way because he needed to be that way, Gongyi Xiao borders on his same greatness. He is honest and hardworking, as well as gentle and kind, with a sense of morality quite a bit better than some I know. If it weren’t for Luo Binghe, you know very well that that boy would have been among the best if not the best within the cultivation world."

There was a brief pause before the following. His voice changed, a little softer, bordering on melancholy.

"Besides, what difference does it make to you if he returns the favor more times? I like it when he comes. The other disciples adore him too."

Shang Qinghua stared at him for a while. He sipped his tea. 'Ah, so that was it.'

Shen Qingqiu and Gongyi Xiao were talking in the distance, completely oblivious to everything else. Ming Fan pouted.

"So he really went for another one, huh.."

Ning Yingying put on a sad smile.

"It's better that way. Shizun is finally coming out to get some fresh air. And if it's because of him, then, so be it. Ah... he actually reminds me so much of a-luo that I can't judge shizun."

Ming Fan shrugged.

"He could have chosen to spend time with any of his disciples..."

Feeling the girl's elbow on his stomach, Ming Fan groaned for a moment and continued to sweep with the girl, a little resentfully. But it was better that way. At least his shizun was smiling more often again. And it didn't look forced.

Poor sqq, who doesn't want to admit what he feels around gyx. And poor gyx, who doesn't know that he's a replacement for someone more important for sqq 😗. I tried to make it cute but somehow everything always goes off track... At least this isn't like, super sad 🥲

[waitmyturtles]

Last Twilight, episode 12: final reflections

Wow. It took me all of this past weekend to process this finale, notwithstanding the usual life craziness that has dogged me lately.

Let me preface this whole thing by saying that I'm confused by what I watched. I'd say that, overall -- I actually quite liked this series, and I especially, absolutely ADORED JimmySea, Namtan, and Mark, and their acting. JimmySea kicked major ass, and I really hope they get another big and complicated show to chew on.

I also want to say that between episodes 11 and 12, I felt that I saw uncharacteristic editing clunkiness from Aof Noppharnach and his team that left a lot of necessary emotional and ethical processing on the cutting room floor. I think that's what's ultimately making me feel uneasy about the process of watching this, but -- funnily enough, I'm not nearly as "angry" about the ending as I was with other bad shows that fell apart in their last quarter recently. It was obvious that MhokDay were going to get together.

But I needed to walk a few more steps with them on their journey to that end.

Before I got my eyes on the finale, a few reactions on social media, from Tumblr to Twitter gave me the case of the jibbles. Namely: that the story of Last Twilight would have worked better if Day had stayed blind through the end.

I wasn't really understanding how that construction could work without walking through some sort of ethical minefield.

Now that I've seen the finale -- especially that infamous 4/4 segment -- I understand better what those arguments were saying.

Yet, I'm still dogged by a kind of ethical confusion here. And maybe that was one of the points of this finale, another one of Aof Noppharnach's perhaps now-famous-or-infamous emotionally inconclusive endings.

To me, there are two ethical potholes that this show stumbled on:

1) The ethics WITHIN the fictional piece itself for a character to not depict the process of considering the various fates he might face vis à vis a potentially reversible impairment, and

2) The ethics of a REAL audience ultimately wanting a different outcome for a fictional character to NOT have an impairment reversed.

TL;DR — I don’t think Last Twilight spent enough time having Day consider the permanence or impermanence of the various fates he faced, including permanent blindness. I don’t think the characters, and as such, the audience, spent enough time understanding that a corneal transplant was always going to be Day’s endgame.

Last Twilight was marketed as a show focused on disability, on a man going blind in a society that prioritizes the able-bodied, and how he would adjust to his disability, and of course (this being GMMTV), his falling in love. As fans, we were prepared to receive a whole show about a character with a disability, not as a side pairing, à la Heart and Li Ming in Moonlight Chicken.

It so happened that Day's visual impairment was corneal deterioration -- a condition that could lead to permanent blindness, and thus qualify him for a corneal transplant.

What I'm struggling with is the crux of the ethical dilemma that this show was ALWAYS going to have to deal with: that a corneal impairment of the kind that Day experienced, in the prime of his life, could very well be reversed with surgery, a surgery that has tremendous success rates.

As such -- as we got that clarification in drips throughout the series -- this show was actually not ONLY going to be about the newfound adjustment of a recently-impaired man to an ableist society. It was ALWAYS going to have this door of ANOTHER major change, the reversal of the impairment, just slightly cracked open. I'm not sure that I, as a viewer, was fully prepared for this, even as Night and Mae Mhon spoke about "eye donations" as givens in the middle of the series. I believe the show needed to be much louder, earlier, about the "hope" that Day could "go back" to "living a normal life," instead of framing the high majority of the show around his adjustments to his impairment.

As we went through Day's adjustment to life outside of his room, I believe we needed to hear, FROM DAY HIMSELF, that a corneal transplant was a conclusion that HE believed in, that HE wanted. A failure of this series was that we unfortunately only heard that from his family members, leaving us to only ASSUME that the conclusion of the reversal of his impairment was ALSO Day's intention.

For a story that was very much about an individual's developing agency and self-advocacy: I believe I needed to hear from Day himself that he was good and ready for the final surgery. I only assume that was the case, as I saw his own body and mind in the hospital. But I believe, for dramatic success, that I could have used a basic, "I'm ready," from him, to make segment 4/4 more complete and contextual, against the story of adjustment and resilience we had so far seen before then.

And what a story of adjustment and resilience we had gotten, as Day had established a full career for himself, without Mhok next to him, during one of the time jumps of episode 12.

For my sake, as I process what I watched this weekend, I want to come to grips with what I thought were the major themes of this show, and see if I can come to some sort of sensible conclusion about what happened here.

This show was focused on:

1) the romance between Day and Mhok, 2) Mhok's caretaking and companionship being the lever to help Day out of his room and back into the world from which he had retreated after the onset of his visual impairment, 3) Day slowly learning how to function again in a society that prioritizes the able-bodied vis à vis his visual impairment, 4) Day learning how to self-advocate for himself in the face of those who condescend to him and/or keep him trapped in compassion bias postures,

and more that I'm sure I'm missing, but those are the themes that resonated the most with me.

I think the general feeling on Tumblr is that, save for the romance, that themes 3 and 4 were contradicted out of existence in the face of the sudden flip to the surgery of segment 4/4.

I think not hearing from Day himself that he was ready and willing for the surgery was a lost moment. I don't believe Day was ever acting as if he would choose anything else OTHER than surgery throughout the series. BUT, AT THE SAME TIME: what we had watched prior to 4/4 was his story of adjustment.

My biggest ethical concern here, vis à vis the audience reactions that I've read, is that NO ONE -- in fiction or in real life -- owes me a story of heroism. If there is an individual who has been impaired since birth, or is dealing with a degenerative condition later in their life, and has the opportunity to address or reverse the condition, who am I to say that that individual SHOULD NOT address their condition?

For me, this is huge. I believe this is a huge ethical dilemma that Last Twilight ultimately does not face. I wish this series had been much more centered, earlier on, about the utter REALITY that Day could have his condition reversed by surgery, in words he'd say himself, rather than assumptions made for him, on behalf of his family, who.... I presume were established to be some sort of legal conservators for him, as Mhon continued to be the one to receive eye donation text messages.

(I concede that I don't know if this is a more common set-up for disabled individuals in Thailand, as I would assume in the States, that Day himself would have been the one to receive that message directly.)

For this show to have seemed emotionally and artistically complete: I needed to hear from Day himself that surgery was an endgame that he was banking his hopes on. I also needed to understand, much more statistically clearly vis à vis the show, of the absolute risks that Day faced towards having permanent blindness for the rest of his life. Because the show ALSO needed to focus on the establishment of the romance between Mhok and Day, we missed out on the show taking time to explain to us, the viewers, of the absolute risks that Day faced in any of these scenarios -- and thus, we would have had MUCH more context into the nuances of the resilience that Day needed to establish for himself as he re-adjusted to society, with his numerous fates lying before him.

I'm going to borrow the words of @hallowpen in their final review here, to say that this show at the end needed much more "breathing room." I think @hallowpen is so right in saying it like this, because these two factors that I just laid out, geez -- the first 7/8ths of the series being about Day's social adjustment against the utter suddenness of the successful surgery and his sudden jump back to what's been translated as his "normal life" -- just clash so tonally. (I do wonder if we're getting as nuanced a translation on "normal" as we could be.)

I think this is about the most confused final review of a show that I've written. There is an ethical heaviness to all of this that's weighing on me, that I think I still need time to comb through.

I also feel that I simply do not know enough, by way of my lack of cultural competency into how Thai society approaches issues of public and private health, if Day’s unseen choice to get the surgery would have been a given among majority Thai audiences, AND that majority Thai audiences would not have asked for the kind of internal debates that I think the show could have used.

I feel thrilled that Day can see Poomjai/Mee, after making that wish in episode 11.

But I think, if this show was about a journey for someone to learn how to successfully advocate for his own agency -- that, at the very end, I needed to see that agency exercised, by him, to get to the part of the reversal of the impairment that I assumed he wanted.

Again: Day doesn't owe me his story of heroism. If fiction doesn't want to give me that, from a character with a recent impairment, I don't have the right to ask for it.

But the missing bits of artistry to get me, the viewer, to only an assumption, has led me to surprising ethical places, that will leave me wondering about what happened in this series for a long time.

[newkatzkafe2023]

The BALLADS OF SUN WUKONG

Yandere Monkey king harem x Manipulative Queen Reader

Chapter 5 Youthful indiscretions part 2

The Wukongs were currently back at Flower fruit mountain, each of the men were making plans to impress and improve your opinion on them. Nezha Wukong was doing some online shopping ordering real diamond jewelry and dresses.

(Nezha Wukong) Ohhhhhhhhhh she's gonna love this😁

(Netflix Wukong) She's gonna look like those big beautiful movie stars🤩

(Lmk Wukong) Are you sure this is a good idea for you to spend all that money??🤨

(Nezha Wukong) Oh please, this is all pocket change. Besides, this is all for our beautiful Y/n🥰

While Lmk, Netflix, and Nezha continue alot of online shopping shopping to impress you🛍. HIB, BMW, MKR Wukong, and the destined one discussing stage two of their plan.

(HIB Wukong).......Did you guys see the ranking?😐

(BMW and MKR Wukong) We did👿

The Destined one nodded, but he was just as pissed off as he and the monkey kings looked at the date rank chart the one we posted for the suitors to see

Jin Zhāng

Fu Gao

Aizen Cai

Ming Li

Kai Du

Rui Bai

Pai Wang

Monkey kings + Destined one

the very bottom of the barrel, the destined one felt the audacity of the ranking board. Making him low-key angry but he remained calm because the group had a plan to better their chances with you.

(BMW Wukong) So we were able get info and made a folder on our queen y/n😌

(MKR Wukong) But we are still missing a few possibly crucial details on her, fruity had did his best but we still need more material😑

(Destined one)(So any ideas on what are we gonna do now???)😥

Meanwhile you had went out to a local park. You looked around in your mini binoculars looking for something...............or someone😈

Across the playground you had gone to for your daily yoga Exercise was Luier and Silly girl, you watched as HIB Wukong went to a park Kiosk to get food when the kids got hungry and that when you made your move.

(Queen Y/n) Bingo😈

You then grabbed your yoga mat and head for a part of the grassfeild, and set up your place and begin your Routine feeling relaxed as you felt the wind in your long fur but also made sure the kids see you

It didn't take long at all for Luier to notice you a tall pretty monkey lady, and Silly girl looked over and giggled at you and started to waddled and crawl to where you are.

(Luier)(nervous) Wait Silly girl Don't bother the lady😥

Luier ran to stop his baby sister but she already reached you, as you went into your child's pose you hear giggling and peaked to see a baby girl.

(Queen Yn)(cooing) Why hello little one🥰

Silly girl giggled as you held her close, she was the cutest thing you have ever seen and reminded you of a baby monkey with how she would climb on you.

(Luier)(nervous) I'm sorry about my sister miss😥

(Queen Y/n)(smile sweetly) Oh don't even apologize she's adorable😇

You sit and and drink some water as silly girl sat and tried to catch your tail, from behind you and that's when you introduced yourself

(Queen yn) My name is Yn, who are you little man???😇

(Luier)(shocked) Oh uhh I Luier, that's Mt little sister Silly girl😮

(Queen Yn) Oh nice to meet you know, are you both alone?

(Luier) No my dad is here he's buying lunch 🙃

(Queen Yn) Oh he sounds like a good daddy😏

(Luier) Oh yeah he's the best father ever😄

(Queen Yn)(smirking) Really tell me more???😏

Then Luier ran his mouth like a wheat-eater on rocket fuel, as he talked about anything and everything. Mostly about his dad, his friends and about the other kids too. You smirked remembering fruity, so they know each other good. Then, after a while, Luier started to ask questions about you, which kinda surprised you, but you were more then happy to answer😈

(Luier) so what's your favorite color?🧐

(Queen Yn) Black😇

(Luier) What's your favorite animal?🧐

(Queen Yn) Cats😇

(Luier) what's your favorite food?🧐

(Queen Yn) BBQ, seafood, spicy food, Etc😇

(Luier) What country did you always want to go to?🧐

(Queen Yn) Fuji😇

(Luier) What do you like to do?🧐

(Queen Yn) I like going shopping, sparring, traveling, spa days, throwing parties, and I hope to one day go to Saturn😇

(Luier) wowie🤩😯........Are we friends now🫣

You pause and smile at him, before Silly girl began to mumble

(Silly girl)Ma........ma......ma........ma👶

You froze and looked down at the human girl

(Silly girl) Ma...ma...mama...mama...MAMA👶

You smiled happily at Silly girl's jumbled words, before you turned to Luier

(Queen Yn) We are more then that Luier☺️

Luier Smiled cheerfully at you before you noticed, that Wukong was coming back with a bag of food. You decided to take your leave as you gently place Silly girl in his back basket.

(Queen Yn) it's time for me to go dear, it was nice meeting you

(Luier) Bye Miss Y/n, see you later

HIB Wukong finally arrived to see Luier by the grassfeilds, looking in the distance

(HIB Wukong) Hey you Two are you both ok?😧

(Luier) Ohhhhhhhhhh yeah Silly girl, wondered off to bother this lady but she didn't mind😀

(HIB Wukong) Oh, didn't I tell you not to talk to strangers🤨😠

(Luier) but Y/n was so super nice to us, and even didn't get mad a me asking questions

HIB Wukong spat his peach soda out at the info that Luier shared

the love of his life was here, just now talking lovingly to his two children. This immediately messed with his fatherly instincts, especially when Luier explained how you happily played with Silly Girl and how you answered every question Luier had with out a problem.

(HIB Wukong)(shaken) Umm it's getting late, we need to go home now

Luier was confused but nodded as him and Silly girl was hastened out the grand park, he needed to know what the conversations were about and why did you choose to approach Luier.

Meanwhile you walked home smirking you knew already that the monkey kings were spying on you, Fruity being a bit of a give away but...

What's wrong with making the ball roll faster😈

Phase two complete On to phase 3😈

FEEL FREE TO REBLOG😈

[apparently-i-am-an-adult]

So I can watched episode 7 of My Stand in yesterday and I’m having some feelings.

I know we’re all loving Ming’s realization and what that means for him and Joe, but I’ve been thinking about what it says about Tong.

Think about what the audience knows about him initially: he’s a huge action star with a big fan base. From behind, his stand-in is identical to him. His girlfriend is the daughter of a rich family and her brother is desperate for his attention.

The first time we see him, he’s late for the shooting. He walks in with food without a care and says he would have come in later if he’d known they were going to have to move locations. The next bit I remember is the pool rescue scene, and he ditches that and has Joe do it. He’s so uninterested in his job he doesn’t even want to go to a press conference for a movie he’s starring in.

This is the biggest action star in the film industry and we don’t see him act once.

For me, I’m getting the implication that after Tong became famous, he got bored with the actual process of acting, but still uses his notoriety to do basically whatever he wants. So what if he shows up late? What are they going to do, fire him?

Even when the director threatens to kick him out of the movie if he doesn’t go to the press conference, he doesn’t even flinch. To him, it’s an empty threat. It’d be like kicking Tom Cruise out of the Top Gun franchise or Mission: Impossible.

Another crewmember even says the movie will be a disaster if they replace Tong with someone else, let alone a stand-in.

We the audience know that Joe has been Tong’s stand in for a while. He’s clearly been picking up a lot of the slack that Tong has been dropping, and he’s good at what he does, and Tong knows it. He knows it better than anyone.

Episode 7 shows us the scene that made Tong famous, and then reveals that he didn’t even do it. Joe did. And nobody knows because Joe was new and didn’t get credited. All the fame, all the notoriety, it should be Joe’s. And I think Tong is aware of it. Not that he thinks Joe deserves it, not at all. But he is 100% aware of what Joe does for him. Joe does all the work, and he gets to slap his name on there and take the credit.

The episode 7 reveal is fantastic because it adds so much more depth to what we have in episode 4: Tong isn’t just enraged at the audacity his stand-in has to try and replace him, he’s terrified because he knows he could.

TL;DR: Tong is a hack and he sits on a throne of lies. I can’t wait for this bitch to get his comeuppance.

[wanderlust-in-my-soul]

Mirror mirror on the wall,who are the top 5 greenest flags of them all?

What a great question! I love myself a green flag I can look at with dreamy eyes.

My personal greenest falgs of them all are my comfort characters. I am very fond of them for different and not so different reasons.

Mhok from Last Twilight

He was the best person ever! I love how he treated Day with so much love and care and just as every one else around too. He protected the people who he cared about deeply. And he deserves so much better! I am still bitter about the ending. He made Day comfortable and made him enjoy life again and be brave and made is dreams come true.

Li Ming from Moonlight Chicken

He was so true to himself. He knew what he wants and what he likes and he was not ashamed of it (and he shouldn't be!). He opend the world for Heart and was not afraid to fight for what made him happy. He is the perfect first boyfriend and I hope they live happily ever after abroad.

Im HanTae from Sing My Crush

Hantae started with a deep feeling of friendship-love for Baram. And he tried to protect this special friend of his and wanted to make every dream of him come true. And over time he finally understood, that he truely loved his bets friend and that journey was just beautiful. He was the best and loudest support for Baram as a friend and also as his boyfriend.

Wu Zheng from Innocent

He was not in an easy position. He fell in love with Zheng Yu Shi, a young man who suffers from childhood trauma and a DID, which developed from it. And while Zheng Yu Shi also fell for Wu Zheng, his protective part Noah is straight and not that fond of the idea of their relationship. There were many obstacles for Wu Zheng and he always was calm and understanding and just the best person ever. I love him.

Pisaeng from Be My Favorite

He was the epitome of patience. He loved Kawi for a long time and I just loved his journey of him coming to terms with his sexuality. He was a really good friend for Kawi, didn't push him and just listend to his problems and gave him food. And he loved him in every timeline, even when Kawi was a totally douche. And I loved them together and the life they built together.

That are my five greenest flags of them all! Thank you so much for this ask! 🌼

[sunshinechay]

15 Day BL Challenge! Part 3!

Day 33: It’s toxic and I know it. Favourite toxic trope? (we don’t judge here)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

As many people who follow me will know, I am a big fan of toxic ship, for better or for worse. I often times just find the dynamic more interesting, the way the character’s interactions more fascinating. I also enjoy trying to see if the show can make a justification that is even approaching believable. Bonus points if the show knows it’s toxic and never tries to justify it, I eat that shit for breakfast.

(The usual disclaimer that while I enjoy toxic tropes in fiction, their real life behavioural counterparts should be avoided.)

So with that in mind:

Possessiveness to the point of insanity.

While it’s one of my favourites, it has to come with certain conditions. I only want it if it’s the actual couple of show. If it’s the SML/SFL who is the possessive one, I tend to find it more pathetic than interesting. I mean where is the fun of being possessive of someone who isn’t into you. It’s only interesting for me if the LI is at least kind of into it.

I can’t not use MingJoe as an example for this. This is what I mean for this trope, at it’s finest. Ming is a possessive asshole. The narrative and Joe knows it and Joe is actually pretty into it. At least he is once he realizes that it’s actually him Ming is into and not Tong. Ming is kind of insane and maladjusted on the best of days, but do anything to threaten his Joe and he will completely give up the ghost and go full possessive insanely rich asshole on you. No one is safe, not even if his own family, if they threaten Joe.

The stalker extremely pushy love interest

It is cute in real life? No it really isn’t, but in fiction it’s a bit of a different story. This type of trope that can used a couple of different ways and I love them all.

Prapai is a stalker. I love him to death, I love his and Sky’s love story but he is a stalker and there is no two ways about it. Still I love their love story because in at least in fiction, you can try to justify it as is something the other party may need. Sky needs Prapai’s persistence (mostly because therapy doesn’t exist in the MCU but I digress). Sky need it because he clearly likes Pai almost from the beginning but his very understandable hang ups when it comes to relationships is getting in his way of expressing that and developing a normal relationship and since Sky won’t go to therapy, Pai will just stalk him in order to wear him down enough that Sky is willing to admit that he also likes Pai. Especially when you factor in how successful their relationship is once it gets past this stage and they are essentially equal partners.

Toh and Nuea are another version of the trope that I love, especially because it flips the trope in it’s head. Toh is the definition of benevolent stalker (if such a thing exists) because he is literally just happy to watch just afar and collect weird keepsakes. He doesn’t harbour any kind of belief that he even can take it any further much less that he should. Nuea is aware of Toh’s stalking way before he and Toh ever even have a conversation and, unlike with Sky, it is very obvious from the beginning that Nuea is unequivocally into it. He matches Toh’s freak perfectly and is in fact that one to push their relationship until Toh is finally able to take the last few needed steps for them to be equals in their relationship.

[lunabug2004]

You know, I've seen a lot of reactions as well as comments people have made about Moonlight Chicken, and one thing that always rubs me the wrong way is when people try to blame either Jim or Li Ming alone for their strained relationship throughout the series. I don't know why it's so hard for some people to see that both of them are in the right and in the wrong in multiple ways! They both needed to be better at respecting and communicating with one another! (The only thing I find unacceptable is when Jim yells at Li Ming when he finds out Li Ming is gay. I know that Jim was just worried, but that was wrong in so many ways, like I can't imagine the consequences it could've had if Li Ming wasn't so strong-minded. I also don't like the way Jim reacted after the bike crash but that's a little more understandable.)

But, back to the point, I mainly see people say that the way Li Ming talks to Jim is unacceptable, and while I do agree that the way he speaks to him is not good, it's usually because Jim is trying to get him to do something he doesn't want to do. And at times when Li Ming was obviously very stressed already. Plus, as many have said, and we've all been there, teens will be teens. And Li Ming is a teen in a not-so-favorable situation with trying to figure out his future, so I feel that's why is attitude is not the greatest. Now, I will admit that I am biased towards Li Ming bc he is my fav character (& Fourth one of my fav actors), but I'm also not trying to say that Li Ming is in the right either. He definitely should not have spent the night at Heart's without letting Jim know, and in general he could've been more understanding of where Jim was coming from during their fights, and tried to communicate better (as well as been more respectful). On the other hand, Jim should've respected Li Ming as a blooming adult instead of a child, as well as let him feel safe enough to communicate what he wanted. Respect is a two-way street, and when Li Ming felt Jim wasn't respecting his decisions, he started being less respectful towards Jim. The reason Li Ming didn't want to communicate his plans to Jim is because he didn't make him feel like he would be supported.

Anyways, I feel like I'm repeating myself now so I'll stop, but the fact that these characters are not so black and white is what makes Moonlight Chicken such a great, realistic, show.

[tbhimnoteasyonmyself]

15 Day BL Challenge - DAY 35

Hello, everyone!

What’s Your Favourite Genre of BL?

As @vegasporschetruther once told me: I am a queer stereotype. But you know what? I'm proud to be.

Found Family

The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb, I believe. And family means a lot more when it's purposeful, when it's what you chose to have, not what chance gave you.

There's not much else to say other than it brings me comfort and joy when I see ppl find their safe place, regardless of their blood ties.

It is a familiar story, after all.

Examples:

Jack, Joke, Hoy, Tattoo & Aran + Hope and Save, if you want to go there (Jack & Joker)

So much of this series is about forgiveness and how poor people are forced to be in terrible situations and, thus, do terrible things. And the story of these men is supporting each other in their attempts to break out of the cycle of violence in place. And they do it wonderfully, no wonder they were the 1st group to come to mind.

Jim, Wen, Li Ming, Heart, Gaipa, Leng & Praew + Alan in a near future (Moonlight Chicken)

They sure are an odd mix of ppl, with dissonant characteristics but the struggles make them stick together. There's truly so much that could be said about these characters and the narrative of this series but nothing describes it better, I think, than saying it's a story about care and how if we all care a little about the people in front of us and let them, in turn, care about us, maybe things will be fine in the end.

Zizhu, Kexing, Chengling, Weining & Gu Xiang (Word of Honor)

For a series with so many crimes (most of which violent), it sure as hell is a story about how love is the root of goodness and how it heals us and makes want to be better. It's a shame the family that was built here didn't survive as we wished for, but we can't deny they found their solace of a world not ready to understand them in each other.

HONOURABLE MENTION: Coming of Age

As a 22-year-old, teenagehood isn't so far away from me yet. Plus, I'm figuring so much stuff out, learning so much. I would just be lying if I said this kind of story doesn't resonate with me. It fucking does.

[accio-victuuri]

wait.. i’m literally on here or weibo almost 24/7 ( as you can tell lol ) but I feel like i missed something. i’m seeing clowning related to xz’s photos and how it looks like he is a groom and it’s a wedding photoshoot. the place is also famous for wedding shoots ( allegedly, idk. i’m not from there ) so turtles are imagining again. lol. freakin coincidence that wyb’s GRA photoshoot was done at a wedding shop. plus the “wedding outfits” for weibo night. which is all clowning and galaxy braining.🌌

now, we’re joking around, like where’s yibo? he should be taking photos with his partner.

then i see comments that there is this one song WYB recently listened to. meaning, as recent as when XZ flew to singapore which is called 超人不会飞 (superman can’t fly) by Jay Chou. i know WYB and everyone else is a big fan of Jay Chou but the clowning comes from the timing of when he listened to it. let me get to that first.

here is the song if you wanna listen to it. 🎶

turtles are interpreting it as WYB longing to “fly” to where XZ is and be with him but he can’t because of all his work commitments. he wants to take a breather. thinking about what his life is and the constraints, and at times like this, when they spent days in Beijing, but now they have to be apart, it affects him even more.

however when i read the lyrics, it could also be because he can relate to what jay chou is singing about. here’s the english translation i found here. i have bolded the ones i felt like WYB relates too. literally no need for explanation. just read it. It fits with his status in life so much that it’s almost scary.

妈妈说很多事别太计较

ma ma shuo heng duo shi bie tai ji jiao

Mum said one should not be too fussy over most matters

只是使命感找到了我 我睡不着

zhi shi shi ming gan zhao dao le wo wo shui bu zhao

But my sense of mission found me and i can't sleep over it

如果说骂人要有点技巧

ru guo shuo ma ren yao you diao ji qiao

If scolding someone requires some skills

我会加点旋律你会觉得 超屌

wo hui jia diao xuan lu ni hui jue de chao diao

I will add a tune and you will feel it's very cool (diao)

我的枪不会装弹药（弹药）

wo de qiang bu hui zhuang dan yao (dan yao)

My gun is not loaded with ammunition

所以放心不会有人倒（人倒）

suo yi fang xin bu hui you ren dao (ren dao)

So don't worry, nobody will collapse

我拍青蜂侠不需要替身 因为自信是我绘画的颜料

wo pai qing feng xia bu xu yao ti sheng yin wei zi xin shi wo hui hua de yan liao

I don't need a double for The Green Hornet because confidence is the coloring for my painting

我做很多事背后的意义远比你们想象

wo zuo heng duo shi bei hou de yi yi yuan bi ni men xiang xiang

The meaning behind the things I did is far beyond your imagination

拍个电视剧为了友情与十年前的梦想

pai le dian shi ju wei le you qing yu shi nian qian de meng xiang

Filming a tv drama is for friendship and a dream 10 years ago

收视率再高也难抗衡我的伟大理想

shou shi lv zai gao ye nan kang heng wo de wei da li xiang

No matter how high the rating is, it can't match my noble ideal

因为我的人生无需再多一笔那奖项

yin wei wo de ren sheng wo xu zai duo yi bi na jiang xiang

Because my life do not need another award

我不知道何时变成了社会的那榜样

wo bu zhi dao he shi bian cheng le se hui de na bang yang

I don't know when I have become a society's role model

被狗仔拍不能比中指要大器的模样（怎样）

bei gou zai pai bu neng bi zhong zhi yao da qi de mo yang (zen yang)

Can't show the paparazzi the finger and have to put on a magnanimous front

我唱的歌词要有点文化

wo chang de ge ci yao you dian wen hua

The lyrics I sing must have some degree of literacy

因为随时会被当教材

yin wei sui shi hui bei dan jiao cai

Because it might become teaching material anytime

CNN能不能等英文好一点再访

CNN neng bu neng deng ying wen hao yi dian zai fang

Can CNN interview me when my English gets a little better

时代杂志封面能不能重拍

shi dai za zhi feng mian neng bu neng chong pai

Can i reshoot the Time magazine cover

随时随地注意形象

sui shi sui di zhu yi xin xiang

I must take care of my image at all times

要控制饮食不然就跟杜莎夫人蜡像的我不像（本来就不像）

yao kong zhi yin shi bu ran jiu gen du sha fu ren la xiang de wo bu xiang (ben lai jiu bu xiang)

I must control my diet or i won't look like the "me" in Madame Tussauds (it doesn't look like me in the first place)

好莱坞的中国戏院地上有很多手印脚印

hao lai wu de zhong guo xi yuan di shang you heng duo shou yin jiao yin

There are many handprints and footprints at Grauman's Chinese Theatre

何时才能看见我的掌

he shi cai neng kan jian wo de zhang

When will mine be seen there?

如果超人会飞 那就让我在空中停一停歇

ru guo chao ren hui fei na jiu rang wo zai kong zhong ti yi ti xie

If Superman can fly then let me take a breather in the sky

再次俯瞰这个世界 会让我觉得好一些

zai ci fu kan zhe ge shi jie hui ran wo jue de hao yi xie

Overlooking this world again will let me feel better

拯救地球好累 虽然有些疲惫但我还是会

zheng jiu di qiu hao lei sui ran you xie pi bei dan wo hai shi hui

Saving the world is tiring, though I am a little tired, I still will

不要问我哭过了没

bu yao wen wo ku guo le mei

Don't ask me if I have cried

因为超人不能流眼泪

yin wei chao ren bu neng liu yan lei

Because Superman can't cry

唱歌要拿最佳男歌手

chang ge yao na zui jia nan ge shou

(You) must get best male singer award as a singer

拍电影也不能只拿个最佳新人

pai dian yin ye bu neng zhi na ge zui jia xin ren

A newcomer award is not enough if you act

你不参加颁奖典礼就是没礼貌

ni bu can jia ban jiang dian li jiu shi mei li mao

Not attending award ceremonies is considered rude

你去参加就是代表你很在乎

ni qu can jia jiu shi dai biao ni heng zai hu

And if you do, it means you are over-concerned about it

得奖时你感动落泪（落泪）人家就会觉得你夸张做作（做作）

de jia shi ni gan dong luo lei (luo lei) ren jia jiu hui jue de ni kuang zhang zuo zuo

When you won an award and teared, people will think you are fake and exaggerating

你没表情别人就会说太嚣张

ni mei biao qing bie ren jiu hui shuo tai xiao zhang

When you have no expression, others will say you are too arrogant

如果你天生这个表情 那些人甚至会怪你妈妈（妈妈）

ru guo ni tian sheng zhe ge biao qing na xie ren sheng zhi hui guai ni ma ma (ma ma)

And if you are born with that expression, they will even blame your mum

结果最后是别人在得奖 你也要给予充分的掌声与微笑

jie guo zui hou shi bie ren zai de jiang ni ye yao ge yu chong fen de zhang sheng yu wei xiao

In the end someone else gets the award, you also have to give ample applause and smile

开的车不能太好 住的楼不能太高

kai de che bu neng tai hao zhu de lou bu neng tai gao

The car you drive can't be too luxurious nor can you live too high up

我到底是一个创作歌手 还是好人好事代表

wo dao di shi yi ge chuang zuo ge shou hai shi hao ren hao shi dai biao

Am I a singer-songwriter or a representative of good men and good deeds?

专辑一出就必须是冠军

zhuan ji yi chu jiu bi xu shi guan jun

My album must be ranked top once released

拍了电影就必须要大卖

pai le dian yin jiu bi xu yao da mai

My movie must sell well

只能说当超人真的好难

zhi neng shuo dan chao ren zhen de hao nan

I can only say, being a Superman is difficult

如果超人会飞（超人会飞）那就让我在空中停一停歇（停一停歇）

ru guo chao ren hui fei (chao ren hui fei) na jiu rang wo zai kong zhong ti yi ti xie (ti yi ti xie)

If Superman can fly then let me take a breather in the sky

再次俯瞰这个世界 会让我觉得好一些

zai ci fu kan zhe ge shi jie hui ran wo jue de hao yi xie

Overlooking this world again will let me feel better

拯救地球好累（地球好累）虽然有些疲惫但我还是会（我还是会）

zheng jiu di qiu hao lei (di qiu hao lei) sui ran you xie pi bei dan wo hai shi hui (wo hai shi hui)

Saving the world is tiring, though I am a little tired, I still will

不要问我哭过了没

bu yao wen wo ku guo le mei

Don't ask me if I have cried

因为超人不能流眼泪

yin wei chao ren bu neng liu yan lei

Because Superman can't cry

=====

I don’t think there is anything wrong with how cpfs are relating this to cpn cause that’s just how it is. But sometimes, there are other reasons why they do what they do.

SO MY CONFUSION COMES FROM HOW THE HELL DO PEOPLE KNOW WHAT HE RECENTLY LISTENED TO. I can’t seem to dig up how or maybe it’s something we don’t talk about. I have never experienced this kind of tidbit related to them before so I wanna know the source. Or is this like the gaming cpn where certain people know and they will not divulge the boy’s account for privacy? if anyone knows, feel free to comment. If i find out in the future, I will share.

[moonsorchid]

Rewatching ep.31 of Love Between Fairy and Devil and blogging my reaction

Here it is. The much dreaded episode 31. Spoilers ahead.

Nooooo. Not the grass bracelet. She made it with so much love and care for you, DFQC :(

And then DFQC orders Xunfeng – who is overjoyed when he sees people suffering – to keep an eye on her. Good choice, DFQC, what could possibly go wrong?

Perhaps it’s my idea – I tend to be biased when it comes to Xunfeng – but does he enjoy this more than he should?

Ronghao is alone with Xiao Lanhua. What could go wrong?

So he tries to kill her. But if she dies, then DFQC dies too

Oh DFQC felt her suffering and he tries to find her

Changheng! I have never been so happy to see you! (still a part of me foolishly believes that somehow she will be saved)

Poor Xiao Lanhua. She’s crawling to the sword in order to kill herself. It’s not fair :(

Everyone died during the battle. THE END

Yes, Changheng show him!

Ok, now Ronghao takes off his mask. Oh come on, Ronghao why do you have to be so handsome? I want to hate you, but I can’t. I mean you expect an evil monster behind the mask and you get one of the most handsome men in the world, all wrapped up in sadness and blurry eyes

I get anxiety by watching Xiao Lanhua slowly trying to reach for the sword, while DFQC musters all his remaining strength to reach her. And the music. Ufffff

Omg she took the sword, she took the sword. Nooooooooo :(

Yeah, show us her happy moments with Si Ming, now, break our heart even more

“Everything in this world is fate, but love.” So Xiao Lanhua, chooses to love him, chooses to kill herself to save him. I am sad, world. I am sad

She stabbed herself :( and now he found her but it was too late

The scene where she soars into the sky, goosebumps

All the dead persons in the battlefield are revived and the statues come to life. Ronghao of course only cares about Chi Di

The mark of the curse is erased on DFQC’s forehead. This is so sad

And the first thing she says is “This is great. You are fine.” All she cares about is him. :( I can’t, I seriously can’t.

He takes her to see the sun. Like he used to take her, back when they were living in Arbiter Hall. Back then he did so to make her feel better, so that he could use her power. Now because she is dying.

“Smile.” This is heartbreaking

And it’s not only that she died, her body was gone too. Poor DFQC

DFQC has recently regained his emotions and he had to feel and understand all of them in such a short time. How can one handle all this pain and grief? Especially a person who has been devoid of feelings for almost all his life?

The 100.000 soldiers were released, there is also truce now for 100 years

Jieli lies to Shangque making him believe she was working for the Lord of Haishi from the beginning and no one threatened her. Poor Jieli and poor Shangque

Baby dragon is so pure :(

“How long did I sleep?” asks ChiDi. About 30000 years

Oh no no no no no no no, the dream scene. Noooooo this hurts more than the death scene

“I think I had a nightmare. Let me hug you.” *taking deep breaths to calm myself*

They deserved to have these moments in reality. Ugh. I get upset because we were robbed.

I can’t help thinking that the director was like “Dylan, Esther, just be yourselves.” These scenes look so much like their bts

“We have been married for 500 years.” My baby boy lives his fantasy dream life

Aaaand he is dreaming

All I have to say is that this was painful.

[ryin-silverfish]

I feel most modern adaptations don't capture Erlang Shen's wild side. In a way that's fair. He's been a very mainstream and high-ranked god for so long that to use modern lingo, he can be comfortably labeled as an "establishment sell-out". So many people have an image of him as a pure law-and-order guy, for better and for worse. I'm not going to talk about the "official" Daoist identities for him because they do their best to make him seem respectable by linking him with official sponsored waterworks projects or other forms of government-condoned activity -- I just want to talk about the folk perception, because that's the guy everyone except Daoist fundamentalists are worshiping. In early myths and myth-derived entertainment, especially stories about his youth, Erlang is very wild and rebellious. He spends all day hunting with his hound and hawk and laughs away the idea of taking orders from Heaven. He was fostered or at least aided by his aunt, Queen Mother of the West, giving him essentially a protector as he ran roughshod around China, splitting mountains to save his mother and sealing suns under mountains he carried over his shoulders. His retinue consisted of "exotic" foreigners -- golden-headed slaves Guo Yaji and Sayikun who held his blade and cared for his hound. His foot soldiers were 草头神/Wild Gods. He led the Chinese equivalent of the Wild Hunt, flushing demons out of mountains. His name was mentioned alongside the God of Death 阎罗 and the Lord of Ages 太岁 in Water Margin as a fierce god suitable for an outlaw to imitate. All in all, he reads like an upper class delinquent, someone both inside and outside of the established social order. Most modern portrayals of Erlang don't have this ambiguity.

Ohhh, I happened to read a Chinese paper that talked about the exact thing...well, maybe not the exact thing, but it is about the remaking of Erlang's image in Yuan-Ming era operas and vernacular novels!

Erlang in Pre-Song era sources, when he was not yet Li Bing's son and just an ambiguous mix of Li Bing, Lord of Sichuan + God of Guankou, was not very humanized. Like, sure, he was a regional guardian and a slayer of dragon, but there were pretty much no description of his looks or personality.

When Zhao Erlang first appeared, his image shifted into that of a martial general, but everyone's favorite "Handsome Second Lad" was mostly a creation of Yuan-Ming Zaju plays and novels.

And the paper compared and contrast the Erlang of Zaju plays and novels: in the former ones, exemplified by plays like "Erlang Drunkenly Shot the Demon-locking Mirror", he was kind of a hothead, and prone to impulsive decisions.

In JTTW and FSYY, however, he was a lot more calm, humble, and cunning, though JTTW paid homage to his pride and "rebellious hermit god" status more than FSYY, in which Yang Jian is a lot more quiet, polite and strategically-minded.

The paper argues that the Yuan-Ming plays and novels signified the shift of Erlang's image from a purely martial general to the "Confucian General" (儒将) archetype, someone who possessed both scholarly and martial virtues.

Similarly, this shift also made him a lot more closely connected with the imperial court, both celestial and mortal, and played up his loyalty + filial piety.

Now that I finished info-dumping about this really neat paper: yep, I'm not the biggest fan of "Erlang as the upholder of Celestial Justice" either, even though his more "lawful" portrayals had some basis in Qing novels like 八仙得道传 as well as Liaozhai (the short story, Xi Fangping, has him acting as a Baogong-like figure to this guy who had been wronged by corrupt Underworld officials.)

What I feel like modern adaptations + perceptions tend to overlook, however, is his "Regional Guardian" status. Someone intimately connected to the land and people of Sichuan, whether it is the wilderness of its mountains, or the irrigation projects that tamed the rivers, or the opera plays and fine wines of the Country of Heaven——天府之国.

Like, in JTTW, when SWK impersonated him and sat inside his temples, he received your average prayers for blessings and fortunes, but also requests as mundane as asking for a son or a cure to their sickness.

(While I was watching JTTW '86 adaptation of that scene on Bilibili——which was amazing and hilarious, people were like "This is what Erlang does all day?" and jokingly calling him "Erlang Community Clinic" in the scrolling comments.)

To me, he is a guy who may be too prideful for the heavens, but never considers himself too good for mortals. A true son of Shu who'd find the choice laughably easy, if he was ever asked to pick between "Upholder of Heavenly Laws" and "Lord of Sichuan".

Which is why portrayals of him as this Blood Knight-esque "Hound of Heaven" irk me, a lot.

[poetry-protest-pornography]

Okay, episode 3 part 2, mostly as cried about to @hotasfahrenheit while watching, with random additions.

Part 1 here

I am going to perish. Look at these soft, happy boyfriends? (She says as though she is unaware of the looking kidnapping)

Look at Ming being a competent boyfriend!

Help:

I'm gonna cryyyy

Joe, please stop undervaluing yourself

Ming.

He bought you a present.

The correct response is "thank you"

I TAKE IT BACK, YOU DID GOOD BABY

He is so happy about that watch 😭

Oh, ffs

HE SAID NO YOU FUCK

Mia: I lost it but I was just reading a post earlier where someone was basically like "what if part of what's actually happening is Ming actively choosing Joe over Tong just like he loves that watch, because he doesn't have to have the movie star, he can have the normal guy too" and 😭😭😭

Me: NO LISTEN

"I can like something normal"

While looking at Joe -- who constantly devalues himself and accentuates his normal-guy-ness -- with full heart eyes

Ming doesn't want a political marriage and to run the family business!

He wants a little house and a quiet life that he gets to choose

He wants *Joe*, specifically

And this is him telling Joe that! That even if he's not "special" (lies, Joe is incredible) he is still valuable, and loveable, and Ming still values him (in his fucked up little emotionally repressed gremlin way, BUT HE'S WORKING ON IT!). This is Ming looking at Joe and telling him outright "why can't I like you". The way he's looking at that watch? It's the same way he looks at Joe

Ffs I want to throw myself into traffic

May, no.

Let him say no

No one at this table is happy or comfortable

THEY WERE SO HAPPY A MINUTE AGO 😭 MING WAS GOING TO GIVE JOE THE MUGS 😭

Oh, I hate it so much more when it's Ming saying "stand in" than when someone else says it, and that already hurts my feelings so much

"I didn't know you were so close", bitch, you saw them making out in the bathroom, shut the fuck up

SOL TO THE RESCUE AND MING IS SO MAD ABOUT IT

Sol:

Ming, you already have so, so many problems, baby, please stop gulping down that wine

(I mean, I geddit, Tong sucks, but slow down)

May with the sister superpowers

May explicitly telling Ming that he should be with whoever makes him happy, after the shit show where they had to pretend to not be together is so necessary for Ming, but so ouch for me

He's smiling just *thinking* about Joe, help

Tong 100% knows Ming likes him, and asking him to stay to watch him propose to his sister is so unnecessarily cruel

Ming. You know he doesn't do his own stunts, come onnnn

My poor emotionally bereft baby

Baby, that is the back of the man you love-- like for realsies, not for safe emotionally unavailable reasons-- you should recognize him, but also you should not tear it into little pieces

Joe, put him on the floor in a blanket

Joe I'm so serious

It'll be good for him

Fine, fine, Mr Fancy Pants can get the couch

THE MUGS 😭😭😭

Oh no

The Realization

Ouch ouch ouch

No really, put him on the floor. It's better than he deserves right now

I'm losing my mind about this show

I knew it was going to consume my brain

[beifong-brainrot]

Avatar's hottest woman tournament

Round 1 summary

Suki defeats everyons's favourite deadbeat mom, Ursa, with 72.1% of the votes!

Proving that the people prefer bad bitches over good girls, Kuvira defeats Kuruk's dearly depated sweetheart, Ummi, with 85.1% of the votes

Grabbable waist tournament champion, Lin Beifong proves to be hotter than even the combustion bender P'Li, by nearly 85% of the votes. Fans threaten riots if she doesn't win the competition. I am scared.

In a round that had many voters in a crisis, good girl with a femme fatale face Asami Sato blows past Stacy's Opal's mom, Suyin Beifong with 75% of the votes

Rangi cements herself as the hotter Avatar lover, leaving Ta Min in the dust after garnering a whopping 89.1%

Though her mother may not be passing to round 2, Opal Beifong certainly will be, after ripping First Lady Buttercup Raiko to shreds with 86.4% of the votes

Firelord Izumi may be named after a fountani, but it was Master Waterbender Katara who made our voters squirt this round, as she wins qith nearly 80% of the votes. [I am so sorry I have no idea what came over me this bullet point]

Through the power of milfness, Yasuko Sato blows past Avatar Yangchen herself, with a respectable 63.7%

Sweet mommy Senna lambasts her husband's niece, Eska, charming her way into 72.1% of the votes

Avatar Kyoshi proves herself the superior boulder tossing babe as she takes Chief Toph Beifong to court , winning with 78.9%

Sadly, it seems Kya shall not be joining her husband Hakoda in Avatar hottie stardom as Avatar Korra takes the round by storm with 80.2% of the votes. Shame on you for once again seperating this lovely couple.

In the closest round by far, Zhu Li pushes past Pema with 57.7%, despite @airteacher's cashing in 20 votes for the latter. [I'm sorry man, if it makes you feel better I voted for ur wife]

Silver vixen Kya II absolutely OBLITERATES Poppy Beifong with a glorious 91% of the votes, gaining the highest percentage of votes this round

Mover star and certified bombshell Ginger slays CIA Dai Li puppet Joo Dee with 87% of the votes

Goth gf June whips past certified milf Naoki with almost 85%

Hei Ran proves herself worthy of being in this competition, and me a fool for forgetting her the first time, by defeating Ming-Hua with 74% of the votes

And so, 16 contestants pass to Round 2. Ready your voting fingers, friends of all nations, for round 2 begins now.

Also. A friendly reminder that if you want your propaganda to be included in the next round, you should submit it this round. You can either tag me or reblog your chosen contestant's poll with it. Good voting!