#as Zhou says 'we deserved more’

[dye-it-rouge-et-noir]

I suggest any person who has finished the entire Three-Body Problem series to listen to this song from the final season of the radio drama:

Some of the lyrics take from the song Singer (歌者) sang in Death's End, hence the title being Singer! There are additions which coincide with plot points in the book as well, which are the last two verses. After listening to this, I think it makes the passage with Singer more impactful with an aural reference for the song!

[23victoria]

Passing the Phone

f1 grid x reader

warnings: cussing, unhinged, satire, complete jokes (are they?...), dark humor ig…idk, talk of age gaps, sa allegations, no just kidding...very much reading people to the filth

authors note: lmaoo don’t ask me why i wrote this cause idk…but this is so unhinged 😭😭 please don’t take offense to this and if you do…i said don’t…all jokes i love them, some of them, you can find it funny or you won’t, just wanted to get this out of my drafts

want to be tagged in my works?! CLICK HERE!

f1 masterlist

Video starts with Y/N holding the phone, in selfie mode.

Y/N: I'm passing the phone to someone who had the biggest breakup in F1 history with a blond German boy named Nico.

Lewis: Babe, no!

Y/N: What, too soon? It's been years but okay! Sorry! Okay, let me start again. I'm passing the phone to someone who said "Fuck Mercedes" and is going to Ferrari for 2025!

Lewis: Y/N, no!! You cannot say that! You’re gonna get me in trouble!!

Y/N: Fine, fine, fine. I'm passing the phone to the GOAT of this generation with the most wins in F1 history, yet he was robbed of the championship in 2021.

Y/N passes the phone to Lewis.

Lewis: stares at Y/N then laughs “I'm passing the phone to someone who is known more for his memes than driving skills.”

Lewis passes the phone to George.

George: laughs “Hahaha real funny…I'm passing the phone to someone who took six years to get their first win."

Lando: “Dude, what the fuck?! Fuck you, Woody! I'm passing the phone to someone who's younger than me yet acts years older than me.”

Oscar: “....You're not funny... I'm passing the phone to someone who's most likely losing their seat next season.”

Logan: “The fuck, Oscar! I thought we were friends! Low blow, mate. I'm passing the phone to someone who has yet to get P1, yet all his friends who got into F1 after him have won races already.”

Alex: “....And that, Logan, is why you're losing your seat. Mr. What The Fuck is A Kilometer. Anyway, I'm passing the phone to someone who just got brutally murdered by an interviewer on Sky Sports regarding their F1 career, if you could call it that.”

Daniel: “You shouldn’t be talking Mr. I Have No Wins….eat shit…I'm passing the phone to the shortest person on the grid but cusses more than anyone here.”

Yuki: “That interviewer was right, why the fuck do you still have a seat in F1?!! Dickhead. I'm passing the phone to a man with good fashion sense and his teammate might steal his seat.”

Zhou: “Bro….really. I'm passing the phone to someone who acts like he's Australian when he’s not…oh, and his seat is at risk too.”

Bottas: “Yeah, yeah, whatever mate. I'm passing the phone to someone who has enough penalties in just nine races that he can be banned from racing in F1… permanently.

Kevin: “You're so funny, Bottas, hahaha…ha. I'm passing the phone to a dickhead.”

Nico: “Fuck you too asshole. I'm passing the phone to a person who has a shitty ass dad who deserves to be in jail.”

Max: burst out laughing “Ah, no lies told there. I'm passing the phone to someone who only has a seat to protect me from having any real competition…”

You laugh in the background “Oh shit.”

Checo: blank stare “Motherfucker! That just shows your true colors... I'm passing the phone to... who am I supposed to pass it to... uhhh... Y/N.

Takes phone 

Y/N: “Oh, I know! I'm passing the phone to someone who has sexual assault “allegations” against them, but the FIA wants to hide it. I can’t go near him for my safety, so I’ll just turn the camera towards him... *pans the camera to Christian Horner*

Everyone is stunned and silent, then there’s Lewis laughing in the background 

Y/N: “Oh! I have another one! Hey Kelly, “i hear you like them young”, to be more specific at the ripe age of 17... mhmmm, she's a pedoo. What Kendrick say “TRYNA STRIKE A CORD AND ITS PROBABLY A MINNORRRR” *pans the camera to Kelly Piquet*

silence.

Lewis: runs towards Y/N and grabs the camera “Yup, that's enough for today. You're trying to start problems and get people beat up”

Video ends with Lewis taking the phone away from Y/N, shaking his head while laughing.

.•☆.°.•.*₊ ☆ .*₊ .• ☆.°.• .

✿ .° • everything taglist • °. ✿ : @ham1lton @ietss @animeandf1lover @nelly187 @heartsfromtaeyong @bloodyymaryyy @nor-4 @zacian117 @mel164 @uhhvictoria @hadidsworld @magixpracticality @exotic-iris13 @tellybearryyyy @zabwlky1999 @sya-skies @lillysbigwilly

@eoduuung

.•☆.°.•.*₊ ☆ .*₊ .• ☆.°.• .

*sooooo……that’s the end….LMFAOOOO, again…DO NOT COME FOR ME…ITS JOKES (is it really though)*

© 23victoria 2023-24 I all rights reserved. do not republish, steal repost, modify, translate or claim my work as your own

[welcometothejianghu]

Welcome to another round of W2 Tells You What You Should See, where W2 (me) tries to sell you (you) on something you should be watching. Today's choice: 山河令/Word of Honor.

Word of Honor is a 2021 adaptation of a novel by priest that tells the story of two beautiful murderers, their three kids, and their collective attempts to ignore the fetchquest madness that has taken over the rest of the jianghu.

Look, you know what Word of Honor is. Doing a rec for this is like doing my rec for Nirvana in Fire -- I am not introducing you to a new concept. Even if you haven't watched it, you've probably osmosed enough through the rest of Tumblr to have an opinion on it. At this point, if you haven't seen Word of Honor, I'm assuming it's for one of two reasons: either you haven't gotten around to it yet, or you haven't been sufficiently moved by what you've seen fandom do with it.

So I'm going to give you five reasons to watch the show, and they're probably not going to be the reasons you've seen already. Not to say that the other reasons are bad, but you've heard them already, right? What I've got for you are five somewhat more unexpected reasons that may just convince the fence-sitters that this nut-flavored morass of toxic relationships is worth your time.

1. No matter how gay you think it is, it's gayer

Okay, sure, you've probably been given the impression that this show is real gay. But I don't know if you know how gay it is. This show is so gay that we still haven't seen many of the other BL-flavored shows filmed around the same time period or since, because Chinese censorship gay-panicked and locked them all away before they could air, because Word of Honor was just too gay.

Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing (L-R above) are in love. The story does not make sense if they're not. There is no story if they're not. Everything else in the show is set dressing to this incredible adventure story of two horrible people who fall for one another.

Oh yeah, did I mention that they're both bad guys? One's a fascist toddler-murderer and the other's a cannibal mob boss. These two deserve one another, in every possible sense of that phrase. In any other property, they'd be the villains -- and even here, they're still kind of the villains! It's just that the heroes are worse.

What's more, their two actors absolutely understood the assignment. They got the memo. They read the book. No one ever had to sit them down midway through shooting and explain their dynamic. They had it from the table read. When given creative freedom, they chose to double down and make the gay shit even gayer.

But the actors weren't the only ones who knew what they were doing! Everybody working on the production was pretty much in full-on Let's Make A BL mode. There are no gay accidents here. It's so gay that it's actually gayer than the version that aired. If you can do a little lip-reading (though beware of spoilers in those links), you can get at the original filmed version, which had a number of lines that were too homo and/or sexual for Chinese television.

No, they don't kiss. They don't have to. This is the TV version of the tweet about, what's gayer, gay sex or whatever these two have going on? The answer is, whatever these two have going on.

It's so gay that they're not the only gays. No, I'm not going to tell you who the other gays are, in part because spoilers. But trust me, they're there. Lesbians too! And a bisexual elderly polycule! And one pair of hets that we love love love, and most other heterosexuals are creepy and gross. And if that's not an accurate representation of how the world looks to queer people, I don't know what to tell you.

2. Go nuts!

You are not prepared for the product placement.

Word of Honor started off having a budget, so they went ahead and started spending that budget in the way you do when you're making a TV show. Unfortunately, circumstances changed, and their budget became much less, which meant they couldn't keep making that TV show unless they got more dollars. But where to get a sponsor for a fairly low-profile wuxia BL property?

Enter our hero: Wolong Nuts.

I have seen actors do bumper ads in costume for products from their various sponsors, and I have seen actors do bumper ads in character for the same. But the feeling of seeing a modern product diegetically hawked mid-scene by ancient fantasy characters is like none other.

Something like 40% of Word of Honor's total budget came from this nut sponsorship. And here the thing: It worked! It sold nuts! Hell, I’d buy them if they were sold anywhere near me; I like nuts in general, and nuts that support the queers in particular.

I'm including this as a selling point because, come on, it's funny as hell. But it's also a good place to warn you that Word of Honor has what we're politely going to call a spotty use of its funds. Some things, like everyone's outfits and the score, are lavish and beautiful. Other things, like some of the sets and a lot of the CG, are janky and sad. Crowd scenes are thirty humans and a bunch of Blender assets. I've never seen so many fake plastic trees together in one place before. There's a lot of visible hairnets. Like, a lot.

The show was originally planned as being 45 episodes long. It wound up being 36 + a tiny epilogue. That's a huge cut! I’ll say to its credit that you mostly can’t feel the seams; the production team did a heroic job killing their darlings (in many senses) while keeping the narrative coherent. If you know about the original vision, though, you can identify pretty quickly where the excised material should have been. Don’t be surprised when the last two episodes in particular smack you like a hit-and-run.

They blew a truly unwise amount of the budget on costumes in general, and Wen Kexing's costumes in particular, and thank goodness. (@canary3d-obsessed has done a noble job of cataloging everyone's wardrobes, and some of the details are just stunning.) See that red outfit he's wearing there, with the elaborate, delicate embroidery? That apparently took two people literal months to hand-sew. It's a terrible use of limited funds, and I am living for it. Even when Wen Kexing looks awful, he looks stunning -- especially when you put him side by side with Zhou Zishu, who is wearing the jianghu equivalent of slutty yoga pants and a thrift-store dollar-bin t-shirt that says IT'S WINE O'CLOCK SOMEWHERE.

So if, while you’re watching, you’re ever disappointed by the quality of the production in front of you, just console yourself by thinking: That’s nut money, baby.

3. The ghosts (and everyone else) doing the mosts

This is a show that somehow managed to accumulate a tremendous supporting cast of actual grown-ass adults, then had the wisdom to make them play a wide variety of balls-to-the-wall bonkers roles.

You can't throw a rock in a crowd scene without hitting a dozen actors with resumes as long as their arms, who have been acting since before you were born. Apparently they poached a couple veteran film and stage actors from other contemporaneous productions and had them come over to film bit parts on their days off. If you see a character played by an older actor who's getting more lines and face time than you think their character strictly deserves relative to their importance to the plot, and you're like, hm, I wonder if this older actor has a career that includes roles in several dozen other shows and/or stage productions, the answer is yes.

I've seen the tone of the show described as melodramatic, but I don't think that's quite it -- it's more operatic. People speak to the middle distance and play to the back row. Several actors have the body language and line delivery that makes it seem like they're always about three words away from breaking into song. Several of my favorites are downright camp. It's magnificent.

Statistically, everyone in this show is a bad guy. There are the respectable people who don't mean to be bad guys, but wind up being bad guys anyway because they support bullshit systems. There are the morally grey folk who are willing to become bad guys because they think they'll be the good guys when all is said and done. And there are the bad guys who know they're bad guys and are going to chew every piece of scenery in the vicinity about it, so watch out.

My favorite collection of scene-stealing weirdos is probably the clutch of freaks that make up the ghosts of Ghost Valley. They're not actual ghosts -- this is not a supernatural show. They are instead living people who call themselves ghosts because they've found themselves on the margins of society for one reason or another, and have created their own little society! With hookers! And blackjack! And also a little murder, as a treat!

These ghosts are so extra that they actually have a Top Ten List, where all the ones that have code names and specific costumes hang out. How do you get on the Top Ten List? By killing one or more of the people already on it, of course! I told you these guys are villains! They're not even the only villains! They're not even the only villain organization! It's wall-to-wall bad guys around here! And oh my goodness, the actors are clearly having a ball with it.

When the screenwriter came to adapt Faraway Wanderers (the novel) into Word of Honor, she realized that there weren't a whole lot of ladies in the book -- so she invented/adapted some for the show and made most of them sinister! (In fact, if you watch Legend of Fei -- and you should watch Legend of Fei -- you can see a lot of the inspiration for said ladies.) Some of the female characters in the show were men in the book, while others weren't even in the book at all. They all feel organic, though, and not like someone was trying to get Strong Female Character Points. It's the good representation you get when there's a lot of representation, so nobody has to be The Girl, and all the girls can just be people.

...Alas that another casualty of the budget cuts is that several of the lady characters did not get to live up to their full ass-kicking potential. But that potential is still there! The badassery may be implicit instead of explicit, but you don't doubt that many of these women would eat your heart at the slightest provocation, and you would thank them while they were doing it.

This show is perfect food if you're the kind of viewer liable to get sucked up into the worlds of villains, NPCs, bit parts, optional side characters, and other narratives going on outside the main storyline. Because there's a lot going on outside the main storyline. I mean, that's kind of the running joke of the whole novel, that there's this whole complicated political plot happening, and yet our dudes are over here studiously trying to not know what the hell is going on. Obviously that's harder to preserve in a show, but it's still a key feature of the narrative. Most of the Big Power Play What-Not is always happening a few towns over from where the main party is at any given moment. I know people who've watched the drama several times and still can't explain whatever's happening with all that. That's fine. You roll with it for the sake of everything else.

So! Do you like gazing upon delightful character actors and having imagination adventures about the unexplored workings of a bunch of tantalizingly mysterious and often very sexy weirdos? Great! This will keep you busy for a good long while.

4. The juciest pining in the jianghu

I said I wasn't going to tell you about all the gay shit going on here, and I'm not. What I do want to cover, however, is how much gay shit isn't going on here -- and by that I mean just how much of the show's gay longing is unrequited. If you like it when the boy yearns for the other boy, friend, you will feast well tonight.

You have likely already, through fandom, been alerted to the existence of the biggest gremlin in the land and an understandable number of people's favorite character, immortal grandpa Ye Baiyi. What may not have been conveyed, however, is just how tragically gay this bitch is. The ultra-condensed, scrubbed-for-spoilers version of his backstory is that he was in love with a guy who got injured because of him, so he decided to stay and live on a mountain with that guy and the guy's wife and coparent their son with them, all the while never once telling the guy how he felt.

This is not me with slash goggles on. This is canon. Well, okay, the "in love with" part is only confirmed in the book, but Huang Youming, Ye Baiyi's equally gremlin-like actor, has also clearly done the reading and understands how to break your heart with it. Ugh, it's so good.

Shidifuckers, rejoice! Zhou Zishu has Han Ying, his devoted little dumpling who would -- and does -- do anything for him. Back in Zhou Zishu's regrettable (but very fashionable) fascist days, he had a bunch of little underlings; one of them was Han Ying, who still works for the same evil empire. Problem is, Han Ying isn't evil. He was never loyal to his job; he was always just loyal to Zhou Zishu. It's cute the way Wen Kexing hisses like a cat upon meeting Han Ying and immediately identifying him as a rival for Zhou Zishu's affections. If you like OTPs that occasionally roll in a service-top third, please consider that adorable muffin boy up there.

And speaking of quitting your job, have you ever had the problem where you had to orchestrate your own death to get away from your toxic boss who won't stop sexually harassing you, and that motherfucker still expects you to show up for your shift next weekend? Meet Prince Jin, who has refused to accept Zhou Zishu's resignation letter with extreme prejudice.

Zhou Zishu isn't even the only ex he's mad he drove off! But that's just a namedrop in the show; see my bonus selling point for instructions on how to get into that whole gay-ass story. [insert obligatory "Prince Jin is not Helian Yi" disclaimer here]

...Nope, uh-uh, we're not going to get into what's going on with Scorpy. Suffice it to say, this is one of those cases where the show can't outright call a thing gay (though uhhhh it sure can imply a lot of it!), but it can set up an unspoken Gay Bad Idea as a direct, textual parallel with a canon Straight Bad Idea and be like, see? see? Anyway, daddy's boy there has deliciously terrible taste. This is the one that'll have you screaming crying throwing up etc.

And then there's this handsome jackass, who isn't doing the pining, but is the unfortunately heterosexual object of the often confused and misdirected longings of his friends. About the first thing you know about Rong Xuan is that he died before the series begins, so you only see him in a few flashbacks. The precious few times you do, though, you're treated to scenes of him holding court among his besties (many of whom are the spectacularly cast younger versions of major older male characters) while they all wrestle with varying degrees of homo longing for his cocky dreamboat self. You ever wanted to fuck a straight guy so bad you got both him and his wife killed about it? Because somebody in this drama sure has!

I sense you think I'm making this all up, that I'm just a fujoshi looking at the world through rainbow-colored glasses and telling you about her favorite slash pairings. Friend, I am not. Okay, I am being a little cheeky about the last one, but I swear that everything else I have listed in this selling point is about as textual as the show could make it, if not outright straight (ha ha) from the books.

(I have a whole separate theory about how priest herself is a real-life queer, based on how basically everyone in her works is either queer-coded or a token straight who's on thin ice, but that's a subject for a completely different Tumblr post no one's ever going to read, so save us both the time and imagine I already wrote it.)

I cannot stress to you enough how much this show knew what it was doing with the queer stuff. I love how amazingly toxic so much of it is, too, because one of the big themes of the show is that secrets will destroy you and everyone you love. If you have gay longing in a society that forces you to hide that gay longing, yeah, you're going to be extra-vulnerable to making some shitty decisions because of it! You're either going to suffocate yourself by keeping silent, or you're going to open yourself to intimate partner abuse you can't reveal to anyone else, or you're going to do some murders about it! Or some combination of the three! Either way, it's not good!

Also, tell your partner about your chronic health conditions, whether they be Can't Remember My Past, Would Eat A Guy If I Had The Opportunity, Stuck Some Nails In My Chest And Am Now Dying And Also Can't Get A Boner, or Whoops Took The Nails Out Of My Chest And Still Can't Get A Boner. Oh, and tell your partner if you're about to run off and go confront your dangerous ex. And absolutely tell your partner if you're about to fake your own death. Just ... learn to have conversations with the people who love you, okay? Avoid huge amounts of narrative suffering with this one weird trick!

5. Putting his whole Zhang Zhehussy into it

See, Gong Jun (playing Wen Kexing) is not what I'd call a great actor. This is more of a case where you take a guy, you cast him as a character whose motivation can be summed up as "I want to fuck that man in half," and then you cast opposite him a man that the guy in question clearly actually wants to fuck in half. And you let the magic work.

Zhang Zhehan (playing Zhou Zishu), however, legitimately knocks it entirely out of the park. Whenever the camera's on him, it's hard to take your eyes off him. He holds his own in a sea of veteran actors. He can do comedy and tragedy with equal panache. It's lucky he's such a beautiful crier, because Zhou Zishu cries so much. I have never seen someone more perfectly portray the mood of "in love and absolutely furious about it."

As the story goes, when he auditioned, he actually wanted to play Wen Kexing -- but the director told him, look, while you'd be great at that, I can find another Wen Kexing, but I'm never going to find another Zhou Zishu.

Zhou Zishu is bad man who has done terrible things and resigned himself to suffering to atone for his crimes, and he is so mad to find himself at the end of his life suddenly having a reason to keep living. Zhang Zhehan does a pitch-perfect tsundere right up to the point where he breaks. I'm not going to call it an understated performance, because nothing in this show is understated, but it is often times subtle and always complex, and fuck does he have a good crazy grin.

One of the first things you find out about Zhou Zishu is that he's got just a couple years left to live, over which time all his senses are going to deteriorate. In fact, they've already started going. And as the show goes on, you can watch Zhang Zhehan play it so you can tell when he's missed something he should otherwise have picked up on, reacting to noises and touches a split-second late. It's a testament to what a thoughtful job Zhang Zhehan's doing, keeping track of how much of Zhou Zishu has already slipped away.

There are, if you've read the book, legitimate complaints to be made about the adaptation's interpretation of Zhou Zishu's character, and I get that. But you can't say that Zhang Zhehan isn't pulling off exactly what he means to here. I say this too as someone who loves the novel: I think it works. Given the constraints of Chinese television in particular and cinematic adaptations in general, the show made the right choices when it came to figuring out what were the more filmable, actable options, and Zhang Zhehan plays every one of those choices within an inch of his life.

Also did I mention he's like the most beautiful man to ever exist? Holy crap. You're going to be so mad about what they do to his face for the first several episodes.

Don't worry, it washes off eventually.

caveat: Kind of a bummer!

You may have been warned that this one's got a sad ending. Well ... yes and no. On the "no" side of things, there's a "secret" mini-episode 37 that rolls back one of the major points of tragedy. (It's also clearly the first version that got shot, and then they shuffled around and redubbed some material to make the aired end of episode 36.)

But oh man, not all of them. Plenty of characters we love do not make it to the end. Like ... kind of a shockingly large number. Some are dispatched offscreen, some have tragic onscreen deaths, some are probably dead given the circumstances we last see them in, and a couple aren't dead yet but are almost certainly going to be soon.

(It's also kind of a meta-bummer! I mean, I don't recommend falling down the rabbit hole of what happened with Zhang Zhehan's career after the show aired, but tl;dr, it's not great.)

So yeah, it's not an outright pain simulator, and if you've got the mettle for Nirvana in Fire or Guardian, you should be okay here. But hoo boy, don't just blunder on in expecting a cheerful romp from start to finish, because ... yeah. I said it before: This is a story about a bunch of bad guys. Bad guys don't live long lives, nor do the good people who get tangled up in their shit. Just be prepared!

bonus selling point: black and white husbands

Okay, I will tell you who one of the other pairs of gays is. You'll see the two of them show up near the tail end of the show, and then you'll decide you want to know more about what their whole deal is, and then you'll read Qi Ye, which is a novel entirely about gay pining, and then it'll be all over for you.

Ready to wander this way?

There's a number of ways to watch this one! Viki, Netflix, YouTube, and Amazon Prime all have you covered -- but Viki's the only one that has the epilogue at the ready, so I'd go there if you can.

And I get it, if you're enough of an aging hipster that you don't want to play in the same sandbox everybody else is playing in. Believe me, I understand that impulse on a visceral level. After all, this is not a small fandom -- 7718 works on AO3 (at time of writing) isn't Untamed levels of content, but it's nothing to sneeze at. Maybe you want to leave this one for a little while longer, until the hubbub dies down a bit more and people's attention is redirected by a different gay and shiny thing. That's valid. I get it.

But if you do, I still encourage you to get around to it someday. For all its flaws -- and yeah, it's got flaws -- it's a good, solid story that makes you feel lots of feelings about some fascinating characters in some beautiful costumes, running around being real queer (and okay, occasionally straight) to beautiful music. This, to me, is television.

Fun fact! There is also a Japanese dub, if you feel like taking it at that speed, and the guy who voices Zhou Zishu is the voice of Kaworu from Evangelion, and the guy who voices Wen Kexing is the voice of Victor Nikiforov from Yuri on Ice. See what I mean???

I'm telling you, everybody ships it.

[mtkay13]

Qi Ye ensemble cast poster, second edition

Yet another one of those LOL Qi Ye just has that power over me. You know the drill; more info below!

I'll go straight to the point: my main reason to draw this was because I wanted to draw the most somber, dark-looking Helian Qi possible with some dark cross-hatching effect. And because I don't want to draw a Helian Qi solo image because who the HELL does that, I had to turn it into an ensemble cast thing again. I just REALLY like to do that for Qi Ye, for some reasons!!! For a general note, first: shading was a PAIN but making a nice composition and thinking about how to make a hierarchy that both works in terms of storytelling and visual composition was fun. I also liked finding out the "color scheme" to use and I do like lineart. So, now, little notes about each character, and the obligatory name poster just so I'm sure we all know whom I'm talking about:

Jing Beiyuan: I've mentioned it before but drawing Beiyuan is like. The easiest for me, I think, out of ALL Qi Ye/TYK characters combined. He happens to have my general goto "pretty face" (which conveniently has peach blossom eyes). I'm happy with how he turned out here! And got to put the sable around his neck which makes for a nice additional touch. Helian Yi: He's easy to draw as well and I'm glad with how the guan turned out. He initally looked sideways, but I liked it better having him wistfully stare into the distance. Helian Zhao: has the exact same face as in the other, coloured poster, and that cracks me up bc that wasn't even intentional. Helian Pei: GDI I find him so hilarious. He looks so done and out of it. Shout out to all his bird as well, which, I find, really complete the look. Helian Qi: I can't possibly say that I love him as an antagonist because there's nothing to love about this literal trash, but I'm still grateful that we got some of the most rancid stuff going on in Qi Ye just because of him and I'm always here for that. He deserves the villain visual treatment, at least. He was VERY fun to draw and I tried to push that nasty grin and shading as much as possible. He turned out exactly how I wanted him to! (the shading on his face and the balance of light and shadow was a bit of a challenge, actually)

Wuxi: Again, a rather easy one, always pleasant to draw! I loved working on his hair (but complained a lot while doing so)--which I think turned out nicely. Bai Wuchang: Finally! Finally I draw him!! He had to be there, since he's like. The base of the whole Qi Ye plot. Lining him was....... a pain, but at least it looks nice.

Su Qingluan: nothing much to say--I think it's always important to have her there in Qi Ye stuff, and I put her next to Helian Zhao because of how he tried using her--but it did make me feel bad for her when I realised that. Song Ping'an: The real star of the show, lowkey, but always alert and present. Feng Xiaoshu: FINALLY. PRINCESS JING'AN. I'm sorry I took so long to draw her. I want to work on a proper design, I swear. To make up for having completely forgotten to include her in the other spread. I'm so sorry. I like how her face turned out! Liang Jiuxiao: I never, ever, EVER get enough of drawing him. Have I mentioned how much I like him? How much of a great surprise he was reading Qi Ye? How many times I've wanted to high five because finally someone is as confused as I am? I love drawing this very specific smile on him, SO satisfying. Also Bichen said he was "THE Qi Ye antagonist" and I live for that LOL Zhou Zishu: do I really need to say anything atp Jiang Xue: I'm so sorry I put Xiao Xue next to ZZS. The cruelty. But she came out really cute didn't she T_T Anyway that's it. I'm still obsessed with Qi Ye and given my current (totally secret) retranslation project I'm nowhere near done going crazy about this book.

[variouspolltournaments]

Propaganda

Zhou Zishu: Ok so his villainy is kinda downplayed in Word of Honor/Faraway Wanderers (especially in WoH) cause like the whole point is that he wants to retire from being a villain but like I think he still fits here. Like ok episode 1 opening scenes are him leading an attack to wipe out a whole household of an official for opposing the crown prince, being told that he's on the evil side, him going to the official's daughter and telling her she needs to commit suicide, having the last remaining member of his martial sect request a torturous 3 year execution that he invented basically because he can no longer serve under him, and then the reveal that he also picked the 3 year torture execution thing in order to quit and also because he thinks he deserves it. This is like the first half of episode 1 in the show where they downplay some of his more evil stuff!

In like episode 10, we also get a flashback scene that confirms he killed children in service of his goals, but also like his main regret/thing he has the most guilt over is that he lead all of his martial brothers to their deaths by bringing them along with him. He only felt bad about killing Princess Jing An cause she had been Jiuxiao's lover, not cause like he falsely accused her father of treason for not going along with what he was doing. When he does good stuff, he says he's trying to take a couple years off of his punishment in the afterlife. The only reason he's not actively hated by the martial arts world when he returns is cause they don't know he was the leader of Window of Heaven. He meets Wen Kexing, the Ghost Valley Master, who is considered one of the worst evils of their era and is like "yeah we're soulmates I guess." When Xie Wang sees the two of them together he says "why are those two devils together." He's invented some of the cruelest torture techniques of their time too

Again, I'm just pulling these from the show where they tried to make him a better person!!!! That's not even touching on the stuff in Qi Ye, where they show more of him from before he quit. He doesn't get redeemed, he just retires

Zuko: He’s a villain. His goal for most of the series is to catch the only survivor of a genocide to be allowed back into his old position as a prince. In pursuit of this, he threatens an innocent old woman, burns down a village, steals a healer’s horse, etc.

He’s a protagonist. His story, from horrible backstory to his other obstacles and even his emotional journey are all portrayed throughout the series. He eventually learns that his family are evil and goes against them to join the team of heroes.

Also, this is Zuko. You guys know Zuko.

[idkwhatimdoinghere1655]

British GP 2024!

Mads' Race Recap!

Ok so this is a bit of a different race recap, since I was there at Silverstone this weekend and I got to watch the pretty cars and handsome boys go vroom vroom! So there are definitely things that I will have missed as they weren't show on the screens or it didn't happen right in front of me, so bear with.

Just want to also say what a brilliant weekend I had. It was truly awesome to see my literal hero (Chazzles Leclezzles) in the flesh and get to see him screw around with Carlitos all weekend. Watching the football with George and Lewis was also epic. Such a fucking cool weekend, I can't even describe it. I would post videos, but they all have me screaming in the back or giggling uncontrollably.

Red Bull - Right, if you had told me that this time last year, I would be cheering for Max Verstappen, I would call you a fucking dipshit. BUT NO. There I was, sat on a wall, screaming for Max to overtake Lando... look, it's all for Charles' points, OK? I want that P2 in the championship and I think it is the least that that man deserves, but we'll get there in a few. Anyway, how Max was faster than the fastest car on the grid on softs on the hard tyres himself is unreal and henceforth why he deserved that P2 more than Lando. And it was Lando's call to go for the softs so there is no one to blame but himself. Again, not who I'm meant to be talking about but I digress. Checo needs firing, OK? Just get rid of the man. This is the 47932874 week in a row that he has faffed it up. We're at a point where both Ferraris, both Mercs and a McLaren have won races, but not both Red Bulls? This guys seriously needs to step up or step out. Even with Charles' monumental fuck up (that was not his fault in the slightest), he STILL finished 17th. The only one behind him was ZHOU IN HIS FUCKING WHEELIE BIN ARE YOU KIDDING ME CHECO-

Ferrari - I went for Charlos, and Charlos is what I got. But they fucked Charles over so goddamn badly I cannot even describe to you how mad I was. I literally yelled 'the fuck are you doing it's sunny!'. There weren't any clouds incoming, they were a solid 4 minutes away. They tried to be clever and bring him in before everyone else, but they instead completely ruined his race and finished off an already shitty weekend for the poor guy. What else does he have to do? He has proven that he has the ability time and time and time again and they give him absolute bullshit like this and I have fucking had it. Charles is a world champion, but he's not going to be unless they get their shit together and start using more than a single brain cell between them. He had a great start, nice overtake on Lance, and then he got absolutely screwed. The amount of anger I felt was unparallelled. If I was him, I would've retired the car and quit right then and there. But he carried on like he always does, and gave it his all as usual. I adore him, it was so so so cool to see him drive, even if it didn't pan out how we all wanted. Also, Matt from FP1 (got to see them live, it was great) said he thinks Charles sold his soul to the devil for the Monaco win, and I agree. Meanwhile, on the other side of the garage, Carlos was doing pretty well. Qualis were disappointing, but not too bad overall. There was no point in trying to scrap Oscar, Oscar was a lot quicker. I would've liked the P4, but my boy got fastest lap so I will take that. Can I just say this man looked so done during the drivers parade like... he didn't want to be there. Anyway, I went all dressed in Forza Ferrari colours, might not have been the race we wanted for them, but I got to see Carlos in the Ferrari for the first and last time, so I won't complain. Forza Ferrari. Forza Charlos.

McLaren - Oscar could've 100% had a shot at winning that race if they hadn't pulled him in too late for inters. That's just how it was. He drove great just as he always does, if they had brought him in earlier, he definitely could've won. Lando came P3 on his own accord, he could've won. There were so many people with Lando merch on and I was like no people no. People were feral for this man. Everyone else had to sit on the same truck for the drivers parade, but he got to go around on his own little McLaren. Was pretty sick though I can't lie.

Mercedes - LEWIS HAMILTON OH MY GOD I GOT TO SEE HIM WIN AND I GOT TO SEE IT LIVE AND WE ALL CHEERED AND WE WATCHED THE FOOTBALL WITH HIM AND WE SAW HIM CRY AND ONTOP OF THE PODUM AND EVERYTHING IT WAS SO SO SO SO SO SICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a drive from Lewis, seriously. He did so well, so happy, loved hearing the anthem twice in a day. On the complete other hand, I could have sobbed for George. I nearly did sob for George. I saw him go into the pits and we all thought that he was pitting really early, but then his name dropped and he was out of the race. I was gutted for the man, seriously. Him getting pole was so cool but then he was out, just like that. I was so devastated, we all were. Thank you Lewis, for such an emotional win on home soil in front of the people that adore you the most. And thank you George for giving us all hope and being an absolute comedic genius.

Aston Martin - Got to see their HQ opposite the circuit, that was really cool. They did a lot better this week, which was nice to see. Finally a top 10 finish, but didn't see much of them this weekend.

VCARB/RB/REDBULLSHITTYEDITION - Again, didn't see much of these two over the course of the weekend. Yuki got points though! So that's always a nice little thing for him.

Haas - NICO HULKENBERG WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS WEEKEND JESUS LORD. When he got a fastest time in... Q2 I think, everyone around us went 'what?' with a collective gasp of surprise. He overtook Lance and absolutely slayed, came out with 8 points, I was so happy. And I was just glad to see Kevin icl I have become a big KMAG fan as of recent and I love him. I want Kevin merch. I've decided I want Kevin merch.

Alpine - What a shit show. Got to see Pierre spin out right in front of me in FP3, so that was one of the best parts of my weekend. Then he just never came out. We were counting Alpines and only ever saw Estie so that was that. Estie did what he could have bless him.

Williams - They did well this weekend I can't even pretend like they didn't. Logan was close to points, Alex got some points, they did wonderful.

Kick Sauber - Zhou got into Q2, what a slay, great job. VALTTERI FINISHED IN FRONT OF A RED BULL LET'S GO JAMES IT'S VALTTERI AAKSDLASKDJASLDKJA

[f0point5]

What's your silly season prediction? I have been thinking bc to me there's no way Carlos doesn't have a seat for next year.

So we know that Lewis/Charles are in ferrari and Mclaren have their drivers locked down.

I think mercedes is gonna take Checo. Why? first they don't have the car to be breaking others drivers contract, they need a midfield that can help George but still be good at getting points, I feel Checo is better in a top car but not the top car. They need someone who bring some marketing, they are gonna take a blow now that Lewis is gone but Checo have the North America audience and is probably the driver that brings more money beside Lewis. I don't feel Kimi is ready for a Mercedes seat yet, Checo is old enough to retire when he's ready.

That leaves the RBR seat free, the obvious choice would be Carlos, I was very on board with this till the whole Horner mess and realized how messy Jos is and still have some power within the team so I bet he won't let Carlos get that seat lol. My bet is on Fernando then, I know Markos don't want him but Horner will, no way Daniel is getting that seat sorry.

So then Carlos to AM with Lance, hopeful it gets better and he can fight for podiums at least, he really deserves a top seat.

Zhou stay with Sauber but Bottas is gone, I'm not sure they would take their academy driver so my bet is Nico, he's wanted by Audi so he's just getting in one year early.

Haas stay with Magnussen because they won't have two rookie but Ollie gets the other seat.

Yuki stay and Daniel is out, Liam get his seat.

Williams stay with Albon, the other seat I'm not sure... I feel Kimi should do another year in f2 but Toto may get cocky and get him the seat. If not they would get maybee Gasly, I feel he wants out of alpine and this is the best he can get.

Alpine stay the same if Gasly doesn't leave, if he is gone then they are getting one of their academy drivers maybe Jack.

I agree with a lot of what you’ve said.

However, based on how things stand now, i think RB will resign Perez. They don’t need any more damn upheaval and he is delivering right now, as well as not making a nuisance of himself.

I think a lot of this hinges on Kimi and how he does in f2 and how much testing they are able to get him. But lets say he ends up needing another year in f2.

I think Alonso to Merc, and Carlos to AM. Alonso is not happy with the performance of the car, even Krack said it, he doesn’t want to drive in 10th. Toto likes a proven entity and Alonso is certainly that. But the other thing about Alonso, he’s old. He’ll take a one year contract because he doesn’t know how long he wants to do this, and Toto doesn’t have years to be offering, because he has to keep the seat warm for Kimi. You could say Carlos is ideal for Merc because there’s only one year until Audi comes in, but i have a sixth sense that Carlos would either want to bed down at Merc, or not go there at all. So I see Alonso to Merc on a one year contract, and Sainz to AM to hedge his bets on staying there if Daddy Warbucks manages to produce a good car, or switching to Audi if it’s the trenches.

On RBR, I don’t think anyone over there wants to add the sainzs to the list of obnoxious families involved in whatever is going on over there. And I don’t think they want to be playing games with Alonso either. They want to let Max do what Max does with minimal interruptions and as fun as Fernando is I don’t think his antics would be washing over there. I think Horner has lost too much pull over there to be making waves. He’s survived the assassination attempt but at the cost of realising he is ALONE in that garage. I don’t think he’ll be willing to stir up any animosity from Jos or Helmut by trying to bring back Daniel. And with Daniel’s performance he has no leg to stand on.

Yuki is a lock until 2026 which means Daniel is out and Liam is in (I think Liam has already signed).

Agree that Bearman and KMag will be the lineup for Haas.

Would love to see a whole new lineup for Sauber, but unlikely. I think they’re just as likely to stick with Zhou and Bottas as to get rid of them, because I think Audi will want a totally new lineup In 2026 anyway. I’m not sure what the pipeline is like for Sauber if Ferrari academy drivers go to Haas. Would not be surprised at all if it was Nico, I’d like to see him stay on the grid. Wouldn’t be surprised if it was Daniel, as an Audi audition and for the marketing.

I think Alex has one more year on the contract at Williams so he’s locked in. Sargeant definitely gone. I don’t know who else is in the Williams academy so can’t say who will get the seat. I am very skeptical about Kimi getting it. I think it will take James Vowles having NO other option before he takes on a Mercedes’ junior. I don’t think it’s unlikely that Kimi will go straight to Merc in 2026 (or 2025 honestly. They could use it as a test year for him if they are just giving up on the current regs). But yeah I see another rookie at Williams. Unless they get a hint that Alex is leaving…in which case they’ll be scrambling for someone with experience but idk who they will find. I don’t think they’ll take Gasly with that attitude of his.

I see alpine sticking with the baguettes. Maybe they dump Pierre but that’s a big maybe because the heck else are they going to get? Doohan doesn’t seem like he’d do a better job and their car is so bad a rookie might not even be able to keep it out of the wall. If they don’t improve the car, I see them sticking with the current lineup.

So yeah I mostly agree. But I’m just SO excited to see a couple of rookies on the grid, and Liam too.

[sundayisforthegals]

The Austrian GP

The Austrian Grand Prix will go down as one of the most exciting races this season. I am so happy for the Haas team! Just look at the joy in the pit as their two cars finish with points! A well-deserved success and I hope they continue their progress!

On to the elephant in the room: the Lando-Max Incident. Frankly, this situation was bound to happen. Once another driver finally has the speed to compete with the front-runner, they are one hundred percent going to take the chance. You could see it at the end of the Spanish GP when Norris was creeping up on Verstapen’s car. The McLaren pit tells Norris on the radio that Verstappen was struggling and...

...according to the Red Bull Race Report from Barcelona "[the] gap between the top two fell 5.7 seconds."

Norris and the McLaren Team must have thought they found Verstappen and Red Bull's weak point: the end of the race. Today, Norris pits at 10:04 for medium tyres and then begins his hunt for the leader. Two minutes later, Norris has the fastest lap and gets the gap between them down to a second. Thus begins the madness.

Norris tries and fails to properly overtake at lap 59, then at lap 63 Verstappen moves outside to maintain his position as Norris tries to overtake him. Finally, at lap 64, they make contact.

The big question everyone has been asking is, whose fault is it? If you go back and watch both of their driver's views and the highlights it's clear that Verstappen moved to his left to make the right turn as Norris tried to get outside of him. Depending on which driver view you watch it could be either driver's fault. You could say Lando was way too close or Max didn't check his mirror; however, there are two more important things to take away from this race. McLaren can catch up to Red Bull and Verstappen is not ready for when his car is no longer the fastest.

If you look at the back of the pack in this race, the cars are tyre-to-tyre and some make contact. In the earlier part of the race, Alonso makes contact with Zhou (lap 22) and takes a ten-second penalty for it. Also when the Alpine cars finally pass Alonso (laps 34, 35, 36) they are practically wheel to wheel around the next turn.

Yet, in this post-race interview with Verstappen, he states this about his incident with Norris:

"Yeah, it's, of course, unfortunate stuff, stuff that you don't want to see happening. It's as simple as that... But we also did so many things wrong throughout the race that we put ourselves, you know, in a position like that. So those are also things that we have to look at to improve."

Verstappen is right. The Red Bull team made some mistakes that definitively reduced the gap between Norris and Verstappen (for example their rather long last pit stop). However, the Red Bull strategy appears to be, let's create a huge gap between ourselves and the rest of the field because we have the talent to do that. Yet the effectiveness of this strategy is beginning to wear off as we see McLaren close this gap in these last two races. Verstappen is trying to speed away from the close-quarters competition which is standard for the middle of the pack. If Verstappen maintains this mentality, this could hurt Red Bull as the other teams get faster.

From the front runner's perspective, head-to-head, aggressive, and close competition is only OK at the back of the field. Other teams are finding their rhythm and Verstappen has to push a harder fight to defend his title.

[lestappenforever]

After properly waking up (and finally not having any more wake up for the race till Vegas, WE DID IT), here’s a bit if my analysis of the race, which is my favourite so far, a bit even more than Japan, because of its chaos and emotions

First, hometown hero. Zhou was not driving the car based on anything, other than pure emotion. He was living his dream in a way that I wish everyone could one day, honestly I’ve been emotional since that sprint shootout when he reached SQ3 and so proud that he is making history and realising his dream. On a more technical aspect, Sauber meed to get their shit together, the car is not good, and the fact that we celebrate them having a pit stop less than 5 seconds is so disappointing. They need to get it together to get points and be in that fight.

Nico Hulkenberg is a Goat, there I said it. The way he is taking that Haas places is just phenomenal, and honestly I think he deserves a proper team, and he so deserves to be on a podium, more than just one time. Kevin had an okay race, except of course, for ruining Yuki’s. But if K-Mag did not get his shit together, Ollie very easily could replace him next year, especially since Komatsu is no Guenther, and he will not have the mentality of fucking the youngster over.

RB’s weekend was going very well, in terms of race not sprint, that sprint was not great, but the circuit is not for them, and it’s Yuki’s first time there, so an off weekend (a normal one) was not going to be the worst thing in the world. But the way the race played out, with Kevin knocking Yuki out if the race with a stupid crash, destroying his race, and then Fernando locking up and hence lance knocks Daniel out with a crash that was so easy to prevent if he was focused on the car in front of him instead of the apex during the time of a safety car returning to the pit, the pack all close together and still getting up to speed. Yeah, that sucked for them, Daniel especially who was in contention of points. But other than that, the strategy was kind if fucked up, but it could have been saved at the end if it were not for both Astons.

As I said last race week, the Alpines are slowly but surely getting better. They started having pace today, and even if it were anyone else other than Nico, Esteban could have gotten points, but Nico Masterclass. This season is showing who is the leader of the French team, and it’s Estie. He’s extracting every single once if pace in that car, even if there isn’t any, and is showing that he’s the one. Pierre, tbh is getting better as well, but not to the Esteban level of almost Q3 and potentially points. Actually I feel like Pierre has not given much (expect for the Dutch GP last year) where he’s showing that the move to Alpine was a right choice for him.

George is impressive, and I hate to say it, more that Lewis is. He’s getting out everything out of the car, and I feel is working harder to keep Mercedes alive this season, with both the sprint and the race, with snagging that last point in the sprint from a shit quali, to an impressive performance in a track that doesn’t suit the new Mercedes cars, and trying his damn best all weekends, I’m genuinely impressed and proud of him, especially with the way he’s working to show the team that he could be a leader. Meanwhile I feel like Lewis is just trying to finish the year to go to Maranello, granted he’s trying, but I feel George is working harder.

McLaren, I have mixed emotions, Oscar was okay, again his first time on that track, but when compared to Lando, he did okay, not great. Lando was actually phenomenal, pulling that one stop, and doing so well in that, holding Checo back almost half of the race, he should be extremely proud of himself. And on that note, I love seeing Adam Norris down when Lando and Max are on the podium, I feel he’s proud of his son, but also Max, and I am just so happy and giddy

Ferrari, Idk what to feel. On one hand, Charles was phenomenal, but on the other, all these plans just give me anxiety, again, pulling that one stopper, but Checo got him, in a track that doesn’t feel of seem suited for the car, actually impressed. Carlos however, seemed to have gotten in his head, from saying yesterday that if he got Max he would have won the sprint, to the unnecessary fight with Charles on the sprint, he’s getting cocky, and that won’t help his situation of getting into a good team next year.

Red Bull, I AM SO FUCKING IMPRESSED AND I CANNOT BEGIN TO SAY HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS TEAM AND AM SO PROUD OF THEM. Max was just phenomenal, despite the sprint quali that was apparently not so great because the car was not set up for rain. Simply because the forecast didn’t show much rain. As for the race, damn I can’t believe the team did that, 2 perfect double stacks with a total pit stop time of 8 for changing 16 tyres. The pit crew are the actual heroes today. Checo you could see that he’s disappointed, and that shows how much he’s comfortable in the car, and how at one he is with the team, in addition to knowing the stakes at hand. But nonetheless, he was phenomenal in a weekend that according to him, wasn’t great. But yeah, this race was just amazing and chaotic and tbh, I love this chaos. And up next Miami, what will each one do, especially since Max never got pole there (just like Jeddah). We shall see

(Also, hoping the girls next race have a good weekend, especially the Red Bull girls, not because they’re Re Bull, I’ve been impressed by Hamda since COTA last year, and I called she’ll be the RBR girl)

I have nothing to add to any of this, so I'll just leave it in all its glory as it is. ❤️

[aworldforastage]

A Totally Subjective List of Favorite Danmei Novels I Read in 2023

Joyful Reunion :: 相见欢 by 非天夜翔

Governor's Illness :: 督主有病 by 杨溯

The Return of Cambrian Period :: 寒武再临

The Plays of Lips and Teeth :: 唇齿之戏 by 张佩奇

Blazing Armor :: 火焰戎装 by 水千丞

After the Disabled God of War Became My Concubine :: 残疾战神嫁我为妾后 by 刘狗花

Wilderness Vegetation :: 荒野植被 by 麦香鸡呢

In Name Only :: 有名 by 木更木更

Placid Chang’an :: 太平长安 by 盐盐 Yany

Eternities Still Unsaid Till You Love Me :: 欲言难止 by 麦香鸡呢

Joyful Reunion :: 相见欢 by 非天夜翔

“相见欢，原本是我们的曲子。” "'Joyful Reunion' originally belonged to my people."

[action, political intrigue, coming of age] -- At its heart, Joyful Reunion is a young man's coming-of-age, as he grows up in a war-torn world and decides on the type of man and leader he wants to become. This novel isn't easy to read with it pacing and length, but its reputation as an iconic historical political danmei is well-deserved. There are no "good people" and "bad people", just humans trying to survive in a harsh world and live their own truths. The main romantic arc is fairly light, while the most controversial (i.e. beloved) "second male lead" in all of danmei is lurking in the background. But I love that Duan Ling finds someone who supports him through his worst days, and they give each other strength and hope to stay true to their best selves.

Governor's Illness :: 督主有病 by 杨溯

“去吧，”沈玦道，“你生，我去找你。你死，我去陪你。” “Go,” Shen Jue says, “If you live, I’ll come find you. If you die, I’ll go with you.”

[wuxia, secrets and conspiracies, revenge plot] -- The powerful Governor of the Eastern Depot has a massive bounty on the head of an infamous assassin. Who knew it's because they are childhood friends who want to find each other? Despite a tiny bit of palace intrigue, this is mostly a wuxia story, focusing on the complicated bonds between masters and disciples, and far too many blood debts and sect secrets. The first part of the novel is brutal. I love plot-heavy stories but I intentionally ignore parts of this one during re-reads because it is just so heartbreaking (unrelated to the romance arc). But Xiahou Lian never stops seeing the best in Shen Jue and Shen Jue never stops wanting the best for Xiahou Lian. And that strong bond gives them -- and readers like me -- some hope and comfort as secrets and enemies from the ghosts of Xiahou Lian's past continue to launch them into one action-packed challenge after another. (My review here)

The Return of Cambrian Period :: 寒武再临 by 水千丞

这就是末世，个人的悲伤在全世界的悲伤面前，渺小无比。 This is the apocalypse, and the grief of an individual is utterly insignificant compared to all the grief in the world right now.

[apocalypse, action/adventure, superpowers/mutations] -- I don't know how to summarize 1.7 million words briefly so here's a much lengthier review. It's an action-adventure with super-powered humans and mutant "monsters of the week". It's a mystery and heroic epic trying to solve and conquer the cause of the apocalypse. It's a social commentary sketching out what humanity keeps and saves and becomes when modern society crumbles. It's a love story -- many love stories, romantic and familial and platonic and more-- that reminds you what gives humans the courage, purpose, and determination to stand up in face of overwhelming adversity is love for and from the people we keep in our hearts.

The Plays of Lips and Teeth :: 唇齿之戏 by 张佩奇

周辰瑜回到舞台中央，说：“这出《乌龙院》，我和贺辰烽常说，不过这还是我头一回演阎惜娇。” 说着，他转过身，对身旁的晏朝说：“人家第一次都给你了，你要对我负责。” 晏朝：“……” Zhou Chenyu returns to the center stage, and says, "I have performed 'Wu Long Yuan' many times with He Chenfeng, but this is my first time playing Yan Xijiao." He turns to Yan Zhao, who is standing beside him, "I'm giving you my first time, you need to take responsibility." Yan Zhao: "..."

[ celebrities, comedy, traditional arts] -- This is a novel for when you want stories about celebrities, with all the fun of "CP fans" and Weibo drama, but also a break from actors and idols. A TV host and a Xiangsheng actor meet in a reality show that teaches them about each other's careers. While they are expected to provide some fan service to boost ratings, they also develop genuine respect and fondness for each other. With a comedian as a main character, this novel kept me laughing with xiangsheng performances and the main couple's funny antics. There is a bit of angst when the main characters struggle with their careers and their relationships with their respective families, but luckily, they find each other and a path forward together.

Blazing Armor :: 火焰戎装 by 水千丞

可那个"孩子"，他又天真又残忍。 But that "child", he is so innocent and cruel.

[mystery/procedural, romance, firefighters] -- A departure from the norm in the 188 Boys Club, this novel is a plot-heavy slow-burn romance, following the work of fire captain Ren Yi and police officer Gong Yingxian. I got really drawn into the "cases" (fires) that Ren Yi deals with, and learned so much about fire trucks, rescue protocols, and fire risks of various materials. Gong Yingxian is a traumatized genius orphan with a large inheritance, weird hobbies, and no social skills. He repeatedly hurts Ren Yi's feelings and betrays his trust, for reasons ranging from uninformed callousness to intentional manipulation, but technically none of that is about their romantic relationship. I don't want to downplay the seriousness of his actions, but there is something precious about the guy who confesses his feelings with the bones of his dead pet lizard, and gets frustrated because Ren Yi can't decipher the romantic symbolism of the lizard's heart-shaped tail bone.

After the Disabled God of War Became My Concubine :: 残疾战神嫁我为妾后 by 刘狗花

“瞧好了，他，靖王，我是他的妾，他是我夫君。” "Look carefully! Him, the Prince Jin, I am his secondary concubine, he is my lord husband."

[transmigration, romance, political intrigue] -- History professor Jiang Suizhou fails a student paper for using unofficial records, and ends up transmigrating into the wild events chronicled in the paper. Like any decent protagonist of a transmigration novel, Suizhou saves himself from a gruesome fate, falls in love with the coolest person in their universe, and change the world for the better. Despite the setting, the political plot is kept light and simple. A great treat for when you want sugar-pie feel-good comfort read with a tiny bit of plot.

Wilderness Vegetation :: 荒野植被 by 麦香鸡呢

如果可以，谁不想体体面面的，体面地爱人，体面地被爱。 If given the option, who wouldn't want dignity? To love with dignity, and be loved with dignity.

[scum gong crematorium, reconciliation, mental illness] -- My favorite HE crematorium novel! Xu Yan dumps emotionally abusive boyfriend Shen Zhi whom he has loved and tolerated for years, and starts a new life and career with supportive friends and family. This is finally a sane universe where no one retcons or minimizes or excuses Shen Zhi's actions, even if there were genuine misunderstandings and he genuinely loved Xu Yan. During the crematorium phase, Shen Zhi respects Xu Yan's boundaries and refusals (though he does repeatedly return to ask again). It takes time, but he works hard to grow as a person, to think and behave differently, and eventually lets Xu Yan go out of love and respect. When Xu Yan initiates the reconciliation, it feels like they have a chance this time because they have both changed and grown in meaningful ways.

In Name Only :: 有名 by 木更木更

“当他落在了我这儿，我这儿就是春天。” "When he lands where I am, where I am becomes spring time. "

[actors/celebrities, fake relationship, mature characters] -- Two award-winning actors fake a relationship to quash a scandalous rumor. They gradually get to know the real person behind the other's accomplished career and polished public persona, and fall in love. The tone of the story veers is mostly sweet and funny, with a splash of angst that they conquer with their own strength and each other's support. It's so comforting and relaxing to read about the love story of "mature men" in their early 30s who know how to communicate productively, take care of the people they like, and really accept and empathize with each other's imperfections. (I wrote about the novel here.)

Placid Chang’an :: 太平长安 by 盐盐 Yany

“你既然选择了大理寺，查找真相、还原真相就是你的事，而我身为摄政亲王，稳定朝局，制衡天下是我的事。你做你该做的，剩下的我来处理。” “Since you have chosen to join the Court of Judicial Review, investigating and uncovering the truth is now your duty; I am the Prince Regent, so stabilizing the court and governing the nation is my duty. Do your duty, and I will handle the rest.”

[mystery/procedural, court politics] -- The newest Zhuangyuan Su Cen has a sharp mind and keen eye for solving mysterious. As a high-profile rookie official, he is soon swept into the factional rivalries at court -- and the Prince Regent's bed at night. The plot is mainly driven by a series of cases Su Cen investigates for his work and at the behest of people around him, and many mysteries point back to a few old cold cases and a secret organization. The grand finale feels a bit underwhelming compared to the set up, and the side characters are somewhat flat, but the individual cases and the main couple are engaging. The relationship arc is a sweet but measured exploration into the charms and woes of a relationship with large gaps in power and age (40-ish vs early 20s). They are both capable but not overpowered, leaving the story with believable suspense throughout.

Eternities Still Unsaid Till You Love Me :: 欲言难止 by 麦香鸡呢

其实他知道不应该用‘等’来形容。许则像只风筝，没有人握着线，风筝在高空被吹得飘摇不定，但还是竭尽全力地留在原地，不是等谁来牵那根线，只是希望能再看某个人一眼。 Actually, he knows it shouldn't be called "waiting." Xu Ze is like a kite with no one holding the string. The kite wobbles as it flies high in the sky, but it still tries so hard to stay in place, not waiting for anyone to pick up that string, but just hoping to see that certain someone on more time.

[ABO, Alpha/Alpha, (temporarily) unrequited pining, amnesia] -- Scholarship kid Xu Ze has harbored a secret crush on Golden Boy and fellow Alpha Lu Heyang for years. They eventually begin a secret relationship in high school, but it ends after Lu Heyang gets amnesia, and they don't meet again until years later. The pining in this story is absolutely suffocating. Xu Ze has always prepared for his feelings to remain unrequited, and Lu Heyang is far from forthcoming and reassuring about his own feelings and commitment during their high school relationship. After adult Lu Heyang risks everything to recover his memory of their relationship, it's devastating to see Xu Ze break down in Lu Heyang's arms, finally coming to terms with how desparately he has wanted and waited for this reunion, and finally getting his Lu Heyang back. (I wrote more about this novel here)

[charles-leclerc-official]

A beautiful analysis as always XD Charles really showed the world exactly why Max consistently refers to Charles as one of his, if not the, biggest competitor and it's so refreshing to see his luck finally turn around in the most meaningful way.

I do love everyone saying Carlos should have lost his 3rd place when there are very clear rules for that and Zhou had very clearly NOT gotten through sector 1 before the red flag, seeing as the poor guy got a front row seat to the Haas/Checo crash and had to pick his way around all the debris.

Oscar's performance in Monaco has me so excited! This is his Second Year and he's already this close to his teammate and doing this well on a track like Monaco? Once he figures out tyre management, it's over for everyone. He will be the proper track terror he was born to be XD Sprinkle in another full year or two of experience? (I just need him to go to another team. I know McLaren has a good car, but Oscar, you deserve the best)

I have no shame, sending all this Oscar love to a known and loud Charles fan, but we all know Charles is going to be getting the next WDC after Max's reign is over (This year? Maybe? There are things in the air!). Charles is fabulous and I will continue to support him, but I am having fun supporting a shiny new driver too XD (And I will continue to be riveted by your glorious dedication to Charles, because he 100% deserves good things and you, Luci, and your dedication to putting into words the love an appreciation you and the world feel for that man? Thats a good thing. I am so glad you share it with us.)

Oscar did get a free tyre management course from his adoptive father for the entire grand prix, so I expect he will be improving rapidly in that area this year.

I think we are going to see a lot more from Oscar this year, he has the skills, I don't think it will be much longer before he puts it all together.

If I ever shut up about Charles/Ferrari that's not me, someone took me out.

Thank you thank you for the lovely words <3

[aiyexayen]

nie huaisang/zhou zishu

okay look. i know this is supposed to be a mini ficlet but i simply cannot write it. instead let me paint you a scene:

open on bujingshi, zoom in to find nie huaisang and zhou zishu conversing on a stony balcony.

"must you go so soon?" but it's not quite serious, just part of a flirtatious game.

a game that zhou zishu easily joins in on, a good-natured tease and "if i let my disciples run things much longer i'm afraid of the state of my sect when i return."

a faux reluctant agreement and a directive to at least visit again soon, and make sure to bring kexing-ge again.

"are you secretly hoping for a war between our sects?"

nie huaisang asserts that it isn't *that* bad, and anyway, he prefers it when da-ge is furious at anyone else because it keeps him from hounding nie huaisang.

the conversation turns more serious, the twinkle in their eyes clearing in favour of sincerity as zhou zishu genuinely expresses his gratitude for the nie sect taking such good care of him and his troublesome shidi.

after all, we find out, if nie huaisang hadn't advocated for them to his da-ge and if the nie sect doctors hadn't agreed to treat him, zhou zishu certainly wouldn't have been able to recover.

a moment of relative openness, acceptance of gratitude and wishes for good health from now on, the implication that nie huaisang may have gotten more in the agreed-upon exchange than they need vocalise.

and a few exchanged touches that suddenly seem more intimate than one would expect.

eye contact that stretches just a few seconds longer still.

the sense that much more would be happening if they were not in public--that much more may have happened already.

it's broken when zhou zishu turns to face out toward the road, out toward symbolically looming darkness. "i think my health will soon be the least of our concerns."

dialogue that dances around the nature of the oncoming storm, and a mutual understanding that for all their mutual care, they will do anything they need to do to keep their own homes safe.

a moment of quiet,

"where is nie-zongzhu? i would convey my regard to him as well before departing."

but nie huaisang doesn't know--he hasn't heard him shouting at all this morning. him *or* kexing-ge. "do you think they've finally killed one another?"

as if on cue, a sharp, alarming cry sounds from the hall behind them. sharing a brief, concerned glance with nie huaisang, zhou zishu turns and runs toward it. nie huaisang, fan fluttering, follows.

more alarming sounds, crashes, etc. as they walk swiftly down halls to the source.

"FUCK you, you bastard!"

zhou zishu pushes open the door, ready to mitigate an all-out fight, but--

"tch, i don't--*ngh*--think so. i won fair and--*ngh*--square; the only one getting fucked today is--*nghhh*--you."

zhou zishu stares.

nie huaisang stares.

the two vigorously fucking figures against the table across the room full of absolute rubble don't even notice.

slowly, zhou zishu pulls back and closes the door.

"well," nie huaisang says, recovering enough to laugh as he taps his fan against his hand and fiddles with the edge, "i guess you won't be leaving so soon after all."

"wrong." zhou zishu plucks the fan up and waves it in front of his own face in a show of nonchalance as he sets off back down the hall, eyebrows lifting suggestively. "i told lao wen we were leaving today. i greatly look forward to the moment he remembers that means riding a horse."

scene pans up as nie huaisang follows and they walk off together back toward where they came from.

"zishu-ge, you're wicked."

"it's what he deserves."

[laughter]

[musical sting that ends the scene as it fades out]

[lurkingshan]

More detailed thoughts about this finale under the cut because I am having a lot of feelings

The final reveals of how Zhou Luo and Nan Ya agreed on a plan, arranged the crime scene, and staged a fight were excellent. All of that felt right.

I was glad to see them finally share a kiss and have one moment of connection together before everything hit the fan, but the way it happened was all tangled up in the fake Xu Yi fight and it was in a blurred reality moment. They really never got to experience physical intimacy together.

They used Chen Ling really effectively to manipulate Nan Ya and I both loved and hated it.

I am devastated Nan Ya broke and gave them away but I can’t say it was out of character or felt wrong. She’s just so fucking tired. She’s run out of fight and she couldn’t have one more life on her conscious. I understand her choice.

And I understand that once Zhou Luo knew she caved he couldn’t live with himself if he got off scot free. It was so devastating and frustrating but the way they ultimately fell apart felt right.

I like the choice for Lin Fanglu to finally crack them and immediately feel shame because he knows damn well he’s been fighting so hard to punish two people who don’t deserve it. This is not justice.

I was initially excited when they did the time skip and revealed that the tape exonerated Nan Ya—it felt like the drama was finding a way to right the wrong and I liked that it was Nan Ya’s quick thinking in recording the fight that saved her.

BUT THEN THEY FUCKING BLEW IT

As soon as we opened on Qingli after that reveal I knew we were in for some cdrama bullshit after the show managed to avoid it for 27 eps.

I am actually fine with Zhou Luo staying in the town and raising Wanwan as an outcome, but I am absolutely NOT fine with them leaving Nan Ya’s whereabouts and release unknown, not telling us anything about their relationship or reunion, and making that moment all about Qingli’s despair over Zhou Luo’s ruined prospects.

It felt disrespectful to both Nan Ya and the core relationship to give us no closure on their future and it reeks of censorship.

I’ve seen some chatter that the novel depicts their relationship and ending differently, if anyone has the details please share so I can rewrite this in my head.

[frostythefrostedfox]

Time for that Williams analysis I promised earlier.

To sum things up: Sargeant Sucks, Albon doesn't deserves to be here

But before y'all come with your pitchforks out, allow me to explain

This sport has a weird tendency of underdogging certain people and teams, and I get it, rooting for the little guy (mandatory Yuki joke) is always the most fun, those tears that came from Zhou in China were very real, I felt those, and I loved it, those 5 seconds of Lando not knowing what to do on the podium in Miami, I felt that bro, and I am happy for him, today's pole for Leclerc felt like it matters more than any other he has every acheived, and I am happy for him, not only as a Tifosi, but as an F1 fan in general.

We all were pointing at the screen like thar DiCaprio meme in Miami when the Haas pulled that point finish despite that ad infinitum string of penalties for one of them, unsportsmanship behaviour? My dude, that team play at its finest!

I don't ever think we will be able to agree what the fuck happened in that SC release, and if it was fair or not to Lewis and Verstappen alike

But sadly, that usually blinds peeps and makes them forget, or at least makes them unaware of why the little guy is the little guy, and that is the case for Williams in general, so obviously seeing something like Albon did today, P9 on the (objectively) worst car and worst team in the grid in 2024 put a smile in my face, that's the Monaco magic I am here to see, it's all you broski, YOU did this, you deserve it.

But at the same time, is Monaco, the odd one out, the circuit where car and team matter little, talent and balls matter lots, this race is some sort of equalizer, where everyone has to fight with the same tools and the same weapons, everyone loses their advantages or at least their effect are reduced to a minimum, Monaco aint a place where you win the race, is a place where you win the Weekend, you win this by properly setting up your car, by properly understanding its flow, by getting a good quali session and by managing your race, other races Begin at (roughly) 2PM local time, Sunday and ends, at worst, 2 hours later; but not Monaco, Monaco's race begins at 1PM local time, Friday and ends at 4PM local time, Sunday when too much.

So why is Logan Sargeant dead last once again?

We saw Checho on P16, Alonso P15, Max P6, Albon P9, Gasly P10, so having cars off-placed is not the exception, is the norm, so why is he, again, at the back again?

The decision of sitting him out in favour of Albon sounded cruel and everyone rose up in discontent, but think about it this way, you're a team principal, what would you do? Would you want to give the team the biggest chances of finally doing something worth of praise or do you wanna be fair even tho you know where that road ends, and be honest with yourselves, and be realistic too, because we all known damn well how this sport is, fairness is rarely the rule anyone plays by here.

And since I know how y'all are, I am not saying the dude is a flunk, a dud and that we should kick him to the curb like a sick horse, not even remotely, the dude has talent, that is why he is sitting where he is sitting, that's why he is "One of the 20" (Yes, I preordered the game, champions edition, leave me alone), he wouldn't have gotten here any other way, but, to put it bluntly, his talent aint as big as the talent the other ones in the grid seem to have, he would do better in a less stakes series, maybe a more forgiving series, or perhaps he just needs more experience, after all we are all different and we all learn at different speeds, so maybe he could benefit from a couple years as development and simulation driver before getting into that seat again.

Time after time Sargeant has been stuck at the back of the grid, and the only time he wasn't, in Suzuka, he put himself there with a solo mistake in the underpass turn.

His time to shine was today, getting into Q2 would have certainly proven that all he needed was time, that he is all that, he is him, he just need us to be patient with him and maybe give him a car that aint the 2024 Williams, after all that is what happened to Stroll, after banging the wall the first he went on the track in Australia, everyone ruled him as a paid seat, get him out and blah blah blah, now he is a solid driver that more often than not pulls in consistent results, not his fault Alonso is the main character of F1 and has plot armour.

But he didn't, he was at the back of the grid, as usual, so what else am I supposed to make out of this? He should totally finish the season, he has earned that much, but he certainly hasn't won the seat, and if the rumors about Sainz going to Williams are true, what can I tell you mate? Can't blame Williams for trying to scrape the barrel and get out of that pit they've been in since the last regulation change.

I know he is the favourite pookie of the grid, look at the little guy! But we have to be real here, and we all have to acknowledge there is a difference between Fanon and Canon, from what I know Logan is an amazing person and a very charismatic young lad, but that shouldn't deter the judgement of anyone when we talk about his numbers and performance, these are two different subjects and they are not intertwined in any way, after all we all know how Alonso can be, specially at his sassy worst (McL/H era) yet his achievements are what they are.

The dude just aint performing, and that's the truth, is not about points, is about how consistently he has been stuck in the last place, I would love to see an american driver actually be good at this sport, the last one we had before him was Rossi with Haas and we all remember the Singapore SC incident when he almost bricked the race for everyone because he didn't knew the rules.

But ont he flipside, Albon... Oh boy, he really showed us today didn't he? I think that being signed by RB is the worst mistake a driver could ever make, because their standard is not a bar, is a whole sculpture, pose included, that you must match to perfection or else you're worthless, once their found Vettel, they wanted every other driver to be just like him, and gave them Vettel's car to measure up isntead of letting them drive their own car, until they found up someone who stepped up, Verstappen, and now is more of the same, anyone who aint him is expendable, and that was the case for Albon, but time after time he has put that paperweight of a car he drives now in places where it shouldn't be, so there has to be something in there right? RIGHT?

Albon would certainly benefit a lot from going to a team where he aint hitting the ceiling since day 1, something with room to grow, every other time when it has been in his hands (except for the australia incident) he has delivered, and he certainly did today, this boy has something, he aint HAM, VES, he certainly aint a VET and totally not an ALO, but he is something, and that something should be given at least the chance, and I hope he gets the chance to go up instead of keep going down, because from what it seems, there aint much down left from here to go to.

Maybe the new regulation change will be kind to him if he stays at Williams, maybe we'll see some phoenix rising type story right here, and I really hope that's the case, because Williams is a Legacy team like Ferrari for a reason, and it is just so painful to see their name associated with such atrocious performances and lackluster appeareance, Pastor Maldonado won with a Willians FFS, it wasnt like the last time Williams was good the years began with a 19

For me, personally, I just don't think I have it in me to sit in my chair for another race and keep hoping Seargeant will improve, that a miracle will happen, that things will get better, I just don't have it anymore, specially not when the season seems to be favouring the little guys, First non dutch anthem weekend by Sainz, Lando's maiden win, cut streak with today's P6.... But I do find myself rooting for the big guy at Williams more and more, I want to see Albon do things, let him cook, boy's a chef if you give him some room.

[hils79]

Hils Watches Kiseki: Dear to Me - Ep 6

Oh my god he baked Fan Zerui a cake even though he doesn't like sweet things himself. It's too cute. I can't.

I love that wiping food off someone's mouth is a drama classic but I've never actually seen anyone do it irl (I mean apart from to little kids)

OH NO! Because the reaction you want when you confess your feelings is a spit-take of beer in your face and then the person immediately leaving

Abandoned again and left alone with a face full of spit beer and a barely touched confession cake. It's too sad.

Sweetie, you ARE a teenager

Liar. Also, it's unfair how hot he looks in those glasses.

Ah, so I was right about his age. I wonder how old Fan Zerui is meant to be.

Ah, we have to establish that Fan Zerui is a noble gangster who has never killed anyone. I'm curious how he ended up injured in the beginning of episode 1 then. I'm assuming at some point we'll find out.

I love that this family dinner is two gay dads and their three gay sons

God, I really want hotpot now

This is so delightfully messy. Ai Di loves Chen Yi, Chen Yi loves Chen Dongyang, Chen Dongyang loves Zhou Minglei, Zhou Minglei loves...idk, his job?

More dramas should have elder gays

Aww, sweetie, no. Still learning how to make cakes for the boy who says he doesn't like you back.

Okay, so we know Bai Zongyi is 17 and we know Ai Di and Chen Yi are 18 and 21 respectively because we saw the candles on their birthday cake. So Fan Zerui is older than them but he can't be much older, right? I mean he's old enough to pass as a teacher but he's not obviously older. Maybe mid-20s?

Words to live by

Ouch. Asking the boy who loves you how to win the man you love.

Ai Di might be an impulsive murder kitten but I'm starting to think he's the only one of the younger generation with a braincell

Oh no. I was hoping their first kiss would be once Chen Yi sorted out his feelings. Not when he's drunk and openly admitting to being in love with someone else. Ai Di deserves better.

OMG! Ai Di bit him! He's such a feral little gremlin I love him.

Oh my god now Ai Di is also undercover at the school. I'm not sure inviting multiple gang members to your school to stop a different gang from dealing drugs is the way to go about it.

Poor kid probably didn't have much if anything of a school experience. Let him take part in a stupid contest if he wants to!

Ai Di is determined that if he can't be happy and in love then at least he can help someone else be

Oh no there's a storm and Bai Zongyi is alone. Which I think Fan Zerui has just also realised.

Aww now the tables have turned and Fan Zerui is taking care of a hurt Bai Zongyi

Son of a bitch I can't believe the episode ended here! And I have to go and do stuff now so I can't watch the next one until later.

[variouspolltournaments]

Propaganda

Ren Hoek: No Propaganda Submmitted

Zhou Zishu: Ok so his villainy is kinda downplayed in Word of Honor/Faraway Wanderers (especially in WoH) cause like the whole point is that he wants to retire from being a villain but like I think he still fits here. Like ok episode 1 opening scenes are him leading an attack to wipe out a whole household of an official for opposing the crown prince, being told that he's on the evil side, him going to the official's daughter and telling her she needs to commit suicide, having the last remaining member of his martial sect request a torturous 3 year execution that he invented basically because he can no longer serve under him, and then the reveal that he also picked the 3 year torture execution thing in order to quit and also because he thinks he deserves it. This is like the first half of episode 1 in the show where they downplay some of his more evil stuff!

In like episode 10, we also get a flashback scene that confirms he killed children in service of his goals, but also like his main regret/thing he has the most guilt over is that he lead all of his martial brothers to their deaths by bringing them along with him. He only felt bad about killing Princess Jing An cause she had been Jiuxiao's lover, not cause like he falsely accused her father of treason for not going along with what he was doing. When he does good stuff, he says he's trying to take a couple years off of his punishment in the afterlife. The only reason he's not actively hated by the martial arts world when he returns is cause they don't know he was the leader of Window of Heaven. He meets Wen Kexing, the Ghost Valley Master, who is considered one of the worst evils of their era and is like "yeah we're soulmates I guess." When Xie Wang sees the two of them together he says "why are those two devils together." He's invented some of the cruelest torture techniques of their time too

Again, I'm just pulling these from the show where they tried to make him a better person!!!! That's not even touching on the stuff in Qi Ye, where they show more of him from before he quit. He doesn't get redeemed, he just retires

Patrick Bateman: No Propaganda Submitted