#character: luo yao

[movielosophy]

Love Like The Galaxy~Are you done with all the lovey-dovey?

[rarepears]

Nie Huaisang, Lan Xichen, Jin Guangyao, and Nie Mingjue all reincarnate together into PIDW, and become disciples around the same time as Luo Binghe.

The drama of this is of course enhanced by the facts that NMJ & JGY died "early," but NHS & LXC lived to the end of their natural lives as cultivators, and so some of their perspectives and opinions on events have naturally changed with age. (tfw the passage of time renders you unfamiliar to your once-loved ones)

Eventually they talk about their feelings and reconcile and such, and this ends up derailing the plot of PIDW severely as the rest of the PIDW characters confusedly observe quite possibly the weirdest disciples Cang Qiong's ever seen

NMJ on Bai Zhan, with no clue what's going on because he died first and NHS & LXC haven't told him anything

NHS on An Ding, thoroughly enjoying what's pretty much a vacation to him at this point and possibly running an interpeak illicit goods market (definitely not to distract himself from any of the emotions having NMJ & JGY alive and nearby would be causing him, Everything Is Fine) I haven't decided if he'd get involved with the whole og!SQH and MBJ situation tho

LXC on Qiong Ding, because I feel like he'd see himself in Yue Qingyuan and lowkey hate him for it and I think that could be interesting

JGY on Qing Jing, because he's the objectively the funniest/most interesting character to throw into the mess that is SJ and LBH. The way I imagine it, he's doing the most direct derailing of the plot, because he mostly accidentally gets right in the middle of the thing that is going on between those two

I feel like as I wrote this it became more serious than I originally intended so just know that I'm mentally picturing this like a fic that's interspersed with outsider POV of the 4 of them being completely deranged about eachother

(Also I'd feel bad taking away LXC's brother so LWJ and WWX + friends are busy doing hot girl shit being rogue cultivators. I think WWX should be a half demon so he gets to keep the cultivation and steal some of LBH's protagonist energy. If this was a fic then the rest of the Untamed gang would be perfect to use for side characters during off-peak missions)

*grabs popcorn and sits down to hear more*

Nie Huaisang is having too much fun waiting the two idiots called his shizun and shizun's poorly kept secret of a boyfriend go flailing around on these terribly unromantic dates BUT THE TWO WERE TRYING SO HARD that it was cute. He wonders if he should do something to help the poor idiots out... Should he?

Maybe he should...

(Watch Shang Qinghua and Mobei Jun suddenly have a number of sex pollen accidents over the next few months....)

Lan Xichen would be an old man and a good voice of reason for Yue Qingyuan. Although he's head disciple and a very good one at that (if only because his Big Brother instincts can't be held back and he MUST interfere to help prevent history repeating once more), Lan Xichen has made it very clear that he would never accept becoming sect leader.

Also don't forget Liu Mingyan in the background writing about a 4 person sex orgy. At least, that's her personal theory for why there's so much UNRESOLVED TENSION between these four sus male disciples. And also, because it's fun.

It's even funner when you consider that Nie Mingjue is out of the loop of Cang Qiong stuff even on Bai Zhan because he tags along on so many of Liu Qingge's missions that he's probably spending like 8 months of the year outside of the sect.

(Nie Huaisang gets "assigned" to missions that happen to take place near Nie Mingjue's hunts.)

Meng Yao is Meng Yao and he still craves the approval of Male Authority Figures That Could be his dad. Also Meng Yao still likes to climb up the social hierarchy and power. AKA Luo Binghe growing mushrooms in the corner at seeing ANOTHER QING JING disciple THE SAME AGE AS HIM being given SO MUCH ATTENTION AND APPROVAL by shizun.

Luo Binghe develops a complex over Meng Yao of course.

(Shen Jiu approves of Meng Yao because he understands these characters very well and know how to manipulate (cough kill or injury them physically or mentally) them easily. Plus Meng Yao is actually competent.)

[More in #Nie Huaisang Lan Xichen Meng Yao and Nie Mingjue reincarnate into PIDW and are Cang Qiong disciples at the same time as Luo Binghe is AU

[mxtxfanatic]

Alright mxtx fandoms, let’s discuss class distinctions. I see a lot of people who discuss the theme of classism in mxtx works by collapsing all class groups into two categories: the ultra rich upper class who make all the rules and the poverty-stricken lower class who are oppressed by them. However, this is rarely the case in her books. The prime examples I can think of are in tgcf and mdzs.

In mdzs, a lot of people claim that Wei Wuxian and Jin Guangyao come from “similar backgrounds,” but this is most definitely not the case. Yes, Jin Guangyao went unclaimed by his father until later into his adulthood after his mother’s death, but Meng Yao did not grow up poor. Meng Shi was a famed courtesan with high-profile clients before she had her son, and having Meng Yao was a plan for her to be made into a mistress or second wife (which ultimately failed). Sisi was almost turned into a second wife, which is what caused her to be attacked and ruined her looks. Sex workers operated in a weird social space in ancient history where they existed as an industry, but class distinctions between different kinds of sex work still existed/exists and Meng Shi was definitely not on the low end of the scale. Even if Jin Guangyao had never been acknowledged by his father, he still found an honest job as a bookkeeper before meeting Lan Xichen. Meanwhile, Wei Wuxian was a street orphan with no family, money, status, who barely remembered his name, and definitely no benefit of an education due to how young he was orphaned, who was eventually taken in as the companion servant to a local lord-equivalent’s son. Neither of these characters started off as gentry, but they were not of the same class growing up.

In tgcf, Mu Qing is touted as a “poor”/working-class character by a large portion of the fandom, but… there’s no real evidence that he is? I mean, I have no doubt that, given the circumstances of his father’s death and his mother’s eventual disability, he was in poverty at some point, and this seems to be corroborated within the narrative by the fact that he is well-known and loved by the street orphans in the city. However, you cannot tell me that the personal servant to the crown (and only) prince to an entire kingdom is surviving off poverty wages. You’d be better-served making an argument to me about Anne Boleyn being an accurate historical representation of English serfs. Hong Hong’er, actual child living in poverty, is notably set apart from Mu Qing: from his fraying, patched clothes to his dirty hands to Mu Qing’s unwillingness to touch him… Mu Qing is set apart from the upper crust because 1) he is not of nobility but, more importantly, 2) his father was a criminal publicly executed for treason. And #2 is particularly damning for Mu Qing’s status amongst the nobility because Feng Xin, also not from a noble family, is (conditionally) accepted amongst the same elite snobs in a way Mu Qing is not (which makes sense since why would a noble like the son of a man who may have conspired against their rule?). Interesting to note, though, that the only time Mu Qing is unquestionably included in the array of the elite is when Hong Hong’er is being ostracized by the same group (minus Xie Lian). So while Hua Cheng and Mu Qing both had childhoods outside the nobility, Mu Qing was not anywhere near the level of poverty Hua Cheng had to live through.

I feel like svsss escapes this sort of broad-stroke application of class status to characters because most characters really do either fall into one of the two groups or we are not given background information on them at all. We know that Shen Jiu and Yue Qingyuan were child slaves, with the former being bought by a cruel master and the latter being able to escape and join a sect. We know that Luo Binghe, while not a child slave, was a child servant working with his adoptive mother under cruel masters who were directly the cause of his mother’s death. Slight distinction, but functionally not any different in their effects and outcomes. Shen Yuan is said to come from a wealthy family in his world, and Liu Qingge and Liu Mingyan do, as well. All the major demon characters are nobility. The only character we see who does not fit into this distinct divide is Shang Qinghua, but his background only becomes fleshed-out in the extras. Not to say that classism isn’t also a theme, but it’s function is used differently here than in the other two novels (especially since in svsss, we are working with parallels feeding into cycles of abuse and how to break said cycles rather than recreating them into infinity).

So with all this said, I think it may actually help discussions of the classism theme within these different mxtx fandoms to acknowledge and take into account the nuances within the class positions that these characters occupy. Why is it that the functionally middle-class characters, after gaining a crumb of acceptance from the elites, tend to turn against those lower on the rung? How do characters of the same background and class status interact with others of differing status, and what makes their reactions different from each other despite being raised under similar conditions? What is mxtx trying to say about class as a social or even moral divider by adding all these class nuances or (with svsss) lack thereof into her various narratives?

[baoshan-sanren]

best cdramas I’ve watched since the last one of these posts in 2023 (and some I’m still looking forward to seeing)

A League of Nobleman (watch on WeTV VIP | watch on AppleTV | watch on Viki | watch on bilibili | watch on YouTube) Adapted from the novel "The Mystery of Zhang Guo" (张公案) by Da Feng Gua Guo (大风刮过) starring Jing BoRan, Song WeiLong, Hong Yao, Guo Cheng and Wang Duo. Definitely gay, but in like a very focused, we-have-a-mystery-to-solve way. Loved the acting and the plot; cannot believe people actually gave Song Weilong shit for his acting in this drama. He was aMAzing. The downside is that the editing grew progressively sloppier as the drama progressed, and although majority of the visuals were very satisfying, I never realized how crappy the quality of the light was until I tried gifing some of the scenes. The upside is Jing BoRan holding kittens. Enough Said. 7/10

The Blood of Youth (watch on Viki | watch on YouTube) Adapted from the novel "Shao Nian Ge Xing" (少年歌行) by Zhou Mu Nan (周木楠) starring Li HongYi, Liu XueYi and Ao RuiPeng. Love this goddamn drama. I adopted the entire cast within the first 3 episodes and then I spent the next 37 terrified that half of them would get killed off. There’s def some major character death in this drama my chickens, so keep that in mind (and not a canonical death either, from what I understand). Anyway, this is my fave genre by far so I’m never really picky, but this drama is exhilarating and gorgeous from beginning to end. Highly recommend. 9/10

New Life Begins (watch on iQIYI | watch on Viki | watch on YouTube) Adapted from the web novel "Qing Chuan Ri Chang" (清穿日常) by Duo Mu Mu Duo (多木木多) starring Bai JingTing and Tian XiWei. Just sweet and fluffy. The plot is easy and devoid of complexities, but very satisfying nonetheless. The acting is definitely on another level. The entire cast has bonkers chemistry, and it’s about time someone made good use of Bai Jingting’s comedy potential. One of the top 5 easy viewing dramas on my rewatch list.  8/10

The Legendary Life of Queen Lau (watch on Viki | watch on YouTube) Adapted from the web novel "Huang Hou Liu Hei Pang" (皇后刘黑胖) by Ge Yang (戈鞅) starring Li JiaQi and Li HongYi. Loved this. Although it doesn’t shy away from difficult subjects, this is basically a comedy from beginning to end. Not gonna lie, I mainly gave this a go for Li Hongyi, but it’s hard to even notice him when Li Jiaqi is in the room. There’s no shame in being overshadowed by superior talent :) 7/10

(yeah, after all this, I rewatched Nirvana In Fire again)

Under the Microscope (watch on Apple TV | watch on Bilibili | watch on iQIYI VIP | watch on Viki) Adapted from the novel "Xian Wei Jing Xia De Da Ming" (显微镜下的大明) by Ma Bo Yong (马伯庸) starring Zhang RuoYun and Wang Yang. Continuously impressed by Zhang RuoYun’s skills. This drama is 90% grit and tension. Drool-worthy visuals. Interesting plot. Sound mixing that gives me a Mo Ran style boner. Make your friends watch it and they will hate you. 9/10

Till The End of The Moon (watch on YouTube | watch on Apple TV | watch on Viki) Adapted from the web novel "Hei Yue Guang Na Wen BE Ju Ben" (黑月光拿稳BE剧本) by Teng Luo Wei Zhi (藤萝为枝). Starring Luo Yunxi and Bai Lu. This was so breathtakingly gorgeous. The chemistry between the actors, the visuals, the special effects, the costumes, everything is stunning in this drama. The romance is by no means original, but still manages to draw you in. Absolutely worth watching at least once. 8/10

Still waiting on:

Immortality - based on danmei novel The Husky and His White Cat Shizun by 肉包不吃肉 starring Chen Feiyu and Luo Yunxi (you can think I’m a clown but you’d be wrong bc I’m a wholeass circus)

Winner Is King - based on the danmei novel Sha Po Lang by Priest starring Tan Jianci and Chen Zheyuan

Step By Step Lotus - based on historical novel Return to Ming Dynasty as Prince by 月关 starring Zhang Binbin and Luo Yunxi

Eternal Faith - based on danmei novel Heaven Official’s Blessing by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu starring Zhai Xiaowen and Zhang Linghe

Joy Of Life Season 2 - based on wuxia novel of the same name by 猫腻 starring Zhang Ruoyun and Li Qin

Story of Kunning Palace - based on the novel 坤宁 by 时镜 starring Bai Lu and Zhang LingHe

Flying Phoenix - based on danmei novel of the same name by 風弄 starring Dai Jingyao and Shu Yaxin

The Story of the Bat - based on danmei novel Bat by Feng Nong starring Mao Zijun and Zhang Yao

The Longest Promise - based on xianxia novel Zhu Yan by 沧月 starring Xiao Zhan, Ren Min, and Zhang Yunlong

Mysterious Lotus Casebook - based on wuxia novel 吉祥纹莲花楼 by Teng Ping 藤萍 starring Cheng Yi and Zeng ShunXi

Follow Your Heart - historical drama starring Song Yi and Luo Yunxi 

The Thirteen-Hongs in Canton - historical drama starring Zhu Yawen and Yu Haoming

White Cat Legend - based on manhua of the same name starring Ding Yuxi and Zhou Qi

[mirageofadesert]

Shui Long Yin Booting Ceremony

Today, the cdrama Shui Long Yin, starring Luo Yunxi, Xiao Shunyao, Chen Yao, Ao Ziyi, Jeremy Tsui, Lin Yun and Bao Shangen, started filming in Hengdian. While some actors like Riley Wang were absent, others like Li Jiahao (Nian Baiyu from TTEOTM) made a surprise appearance!

I love our fox-dragon Tang Lici! Luo Yunxi looked absolutely stunning! Just look at this cutie!!

After the ceremony, Luo Yunxi changed hairstyle, make-up and costume and went to shoot the first scene!

Now I'm waiting (not so) patiently for the official poster and cast announcement. While I have only read the first 3 chapters of the novel, I think I recognize some of the characters.

[poorlittleyaoyao]

Actually I find very fitting how women are treated in mdzs. Mdzs's world is homophobic, classicist and misogynistic. Imo Mdzs's world represents the worst of the real world, so I find very suitable that in a patriarch/misogyny society where reputation is what matter the most, women payed the consequences of men's choices. The fact that they have no agency makes their stories even more tragic (like Greek heroines) imo. I've read historical novels from a very youth age, so I am accustomed to this. (disclaimer : that doesn't mean that I am not frustrated with the narrative or our assholes as wwx wn etc... ). What makes me very upset is how fans treat mdzs's women! Wq is not a Mean Lesbian, who is just wwx's best friend. jyl is not just wwx's mom or, even worst, a badass kickass (she is ill! She can't cultivate! Madam yu would love to have a badass daughter, but she can't! She has a chronic illness!!! ). And madam yu reminds me so much of Medea but she doesn't have the same hype. These women are trapped two times : firstly by the narrative and then by fans and I find myself less tolerant towards the latter

When I saw this ask yesterday, my gut response to the comparison between Greek tragedies and MDZS was to be like "no!! it's not the same!!" But I couldn't immediately identify why I felt that way. All the works that have given me lasting brainworms are historical tragedies with mostly-male casts and moral complexity. Everything I vibe with can be traced in some way back to getting fixated on the Trojan War, MDZS/CQL included. So what's different? I have been pondering it ever since then. So thank you, anon, for making me think!

For me, I think what it comes down to is that the issues you mentioned--the classism, the homophobia, and the misogyny--aren't actually explored within the text itself. The in-universe homophobia primarily manifests itself as people saying slurs at Wangxian. There is no external pressure to enter into heterosexual unions and have children to ensure a line of succession (3/4 of the sect leaders are unmarried after the timeskip, after all), nor is there the internal conflict of unpacking internalized homophobia. Classism is examined more with JGY's whole deal, but when the only character pointing out the flaws in the status quo is the Crimes Man, it muddles the message somewhat.

As to the misogyny... with the notable exception of QS, none of the women in MDZS die for reasons that relate to in-universe inequality. YZY, A-Qing, WQ, and JYL all die making the active choice to protect someone or something. Taken individually, all of their deaths make sense. The problems is when you take them as a whole, and you realize that the mortality rate for women in the series is off the chain. Below is a list of all the named characters who show up for more than one scene in MDZS. Bolded characters live, struck-through characters die.

Wei Wuxian Jiang Yanli Jiang Cheng                 Yu Ziyuan Jiang Fengmian           Wen Qing Lan Wangji  Granny Wen Lan Xichen                   Wang Lingjiao Lan Qiren                     Madame Jin Lan Jingyi                     Qin Su Lan Sizhui                   Luo Qingyang Wen Ning                      A-Qing Wen Chao                                            Wen Ruohan                                         Wen Zhuliu Jin Zixuan Jin Ling                                               Jin Guangshan                                                Jin Zixun Jin Guangyao Nie Mingjue Nie Huaisang Xue Yang Xiao Xingchen Song Lan Su Minshan Ouyang Zizhen Sect Leader Ouyang Sect Leader Yao

That's bonkers! It's even worse if you don't count the dead characters who quote-unquote "deserved it" for murdering people, which changes the list to:

Wei Wuxian Jiang Yanli Jiang Cheng                 Yu Ziyuan Jiang Fengmian           Wen Qing Lan Wangji  Granny Wen Lan Xichen                   Madame Jin Lan Qiren                     Qin Su Lan Jingyi                     Luo Qingyang Lan Sizhui                   A-Qing Wen Ning                       Jin Zixuan Jin Ling                                               Nie Mingjue Nie Huaisang Xiao Xingchen Song Lan Ouyang Zizhen Sect Leader Ouyang Sect Leader Yao

Again, the women's deaths each make sense individually, but as a trend, it's fucking wild, and that's what bothers me. There's no actual honest-to-god plot reason why the ratio has to be this way. Why can't Lan Qiren be a strict auntie? Why can't the juniors be a mixed-gender group? Additionally, there's the matter of how the deaths are treated. NMJ's death is the entire reason for the book; JZX's memory is invoked as much as JYL's. It's not that bad things happen to the women, it's that they're unnecessarily killed off at a disproportionate amount.

ALL THAT SAID. ALL THAT SAID!! You're absolutely right about fan treatment. One would think that these interesting women who don't get to take center stage in canon (and thus have a lot left to explore!) would be a GOLDMINE, but instead they're sanded down like you said. It must be ROUGH trying to find fic about JYL in particular, because so much of what she's tagged in is just her being WWX's Gentle Soup Sister in the background. Wangxian is far and away the biggest pairing WQ's tag--not just for MDZS, but for The Untamed, where she's a much bigger character! I sense that you're more charitable towards the canons than I am, anon, but at least the canons are honest about what they're about and aren't patting themselves on the back for their super progressive inclusion of a Mean Lesbian Friend or whatever.

[nemainofthewater]

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

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

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

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

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

Currently ongoing polls:/Qing/Lian/Chi/Shan/Tian/Dao/Chao/Xin/Ran/Sang/Miao/Cang/Yao/Zang

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

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

All the details of the individual polls under the readmore

An - posted 15/03/24 WINNER An Zhe

Bai - posted 28/02/24 WINNER Bai Fengxi

Baili - posted 22/03/24 WINNER Baili Qingmiao

Bao

Bi - posted 26/03/24 WINNER Bi Changfeng

Bian

Cai - posted 7/04/24 WINNER Cai Quan

Cang - posted 23/04/24

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

Cen

Ceng - posted 8/04/24 WINNER Ceng Aiyu

Chang - posted 3/04/24 WINNER Chang Geng

Chao - posted 21/04/24

Chen - posted 9/02/24 WINNER Chen Qingxu

Cheng - posted 10/03/24 WINNER Cheng Shaoshang

Chi - posted 19/04/24

Chong

Chu - posted 12/03/24 WINNER Chu Wanning

Chun

Cui - posted 11/03/24 WINNER Madam Cui

Dai

Dao - posted 20/04/24

Deng

Di - posted 16/02/24 WINNER Di Feisheng

Ding - posted 7/03/24 WINNER Ding Rong

Dong - posted 21/03/24 WINNER Dong Yi

Dongfang - posted 25/03/24 WINNER Dongfang Qingcang

Du - posted 26/03/24 WINNER Du Cheng

Duan - posted 23/03/24 WINNER Duan Baiyue

Fan - posted 27/02/24 WINNER Fan Xian

Fang - posted 24/02/24 WINNER Fang Duobing

Fei - posted 20/03/24 WINNER Fei Du

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

Fu - posted 31/03/24 WINNER Fu Yao

Gao - posted 13/02/24 WINNER Gao Xiaolian

Ge - posted 13/04/24 WINNER Ge Chen

Gong

Gongsun - posted 17/04/24 WINNER Gongsun Heng

Gu - posted 7/03/24 WINNER Gu Xiang

Guan - posted 17/03/24 WINNER Guan Hemeng

Gui

Guo - posted 9/02/24 WINNER Guo Changcheng

Hai

Han - posted 17/03/24 WINNER Han Ying

Hao - posted 16/03/24 WINNER Hao Du

He - posted 22/03/24 WINNER He Xuan

Hei - posted 14/04/24 WINNER Hei Xiazi

Helian - posted 9/04/24

Hong - posted 8/03/24 WINNER Hong Qigong

Hou

Hu - posted 6/03/24 WINNER Hu Tianying

Hua - posted 21/02/24 WINNER Hua Cheng

Huan

Huang - posted 20/03/24 WINNER Huang Shaotian

Huo - posted 25/02/24 WINNER Huo Xiuxiu

Ji - posted 11/04/24 WINNER Ji Xue

Jia - posted 18/03/24 WINNER Jia Kui

Jian - posted 4/04/24 WINNER Jian Buzhi

Jiang - posted 12/02/24 WINNER Jiang Cheng

Jiao - posted 27/03/24 WINNER Jiao Liqiao

Jin - posted 29/02/24

Jing - posted 14/03/24 WINNER Jing Beiyuan

Jun

Kan

Kang

Kong

Kou

Lai

Lan - posted 23/02/24 WINNER Lan Wangji

Lei - posted 12/03/24 WINNER Lei Wujie

Leng

Li - posted 18/02/24 WINNER Li Lianhua

Lian - posted 18/04/24

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

Lin - posted 14/02/24 WINNER Lin Chen

Ling - posted 6/03/24 WINNER Ling Wen

Liu - posted 16/02/24 WINNER Liu Qingge

Long - posted 23/03/24 WINNER Long Zhi

Lou - posted 10/04/24 WINNER Lou Yao

Lu - posted 5/03/24 WINNER Lu Guang

Luo - posted 24/02/24 WINNER Luo Binghe

Ma - posted 13/03/24 WINNER Ma Xiuying

Mao - posted 17/04/24 WINNER Mao Panfeng

Mei - posted 14/02/24 WINNER Mei Changsu

Meng - posted 29/02/24

Mi - posted 10/04/24 WINER Mi Chong

Miao - posted 23/04/24

Min

Ming - posted 26/02/24 WINNER Ming Yi

Mo - posted 18/02/24 WINNER Mo Xuanyu

Mu - posted 22/02/24 WINNER Mu Nihuang

Murong - posted 13/04/24 WINNER Other

Nan - posted 29/03/24 WINNER Nan Feng

Nangong

Nie - posted 15/03/24 WINNER Nie Huaisang

Ning - posted 19/03/24 WINNER Ning Yingying

Niu - posted 14/04/24 WINNER Niu Chunmiao

Ouyang - posted 5/03/24 WINNER Ouyang Zizhen

Pan - posted 30/03/24 WINNER Pan Zi

Pang - posted 16/04/24 WINNER Pang Yizhi

Pei - posted 20/02/24 WINNER Pei Ming

Peng

Ping - posted 11/04/24 WINNER Ping An

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

Qian - posted 5/04/24 WINNER Qian Jin

Qiao - posted 10/02/24 WINNER Qiao Wanmian

Qin - posted 16/03/24 WINNER Qin Banruo

Qing - posted 18/04/24

Qiu - posted 25/03/24 WINNER Qiu Congxue

Qu - posted 30/03/24 WINNER Qu Lingfeng

Ran - posted 22/04/24

Ren - posted 29/03/24 WINNER Ren Ruyi

Rong - posted 28/03/24 WINNER Rong Changqing

Ruan - posted 21/03/24 WINNER Ruan Nanzhu

Sang - posted 22/04/24

Sha - posted 7/04/24 WINNER Sha Hualing

Shan - posted 19/04/24

Shang - posted 3/03/24 WINNER Shang Qinghua

Shangguan - posted 4/04/24 WINNER Shangguan Qin

Shao

Shen - posted 23/02/24 WINNER Shen Wei

Sheng - posted 4/03/24 WINNER Sheng Minglan

Sima - posted 2/04/24 WINNER Sima Yi

Shi - posted 8/03/24 WINNER Shi Qingxuan

Shu - posted 5/04/24 WINNER Shu Yanyan

Si - posted 15/04/24 WINNER Si Yilin

Song - posted 19/02/24 WINNER Song Lan

Su - posted 13/02/24 WINNER Su Zhe

Sun - posted 15/02/24

Sui - posted 31/03/24 WINNER Sui Zhou

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

Tang - posted 12/02/24 WINNER Tang Fan

Tao - posted 15/04/24 WINNER Tao Ran

Tian - posted 20/04/24

Tong - posted 12/04/24 WINNER Tong Lu

Tuoba - posted 12/04/24 WINNER Tuoba Yan

Wan - posted 24/03/24 WINNER Consort Wan

Wang - posted 26/02/24 WINNER Wang Pangzi

Wei - posted 8/02/24 WINNER Wei Wuxian

Wen - posted 2/03/24 WINNER Wen Kexing

Wu - posted 15/02/24 WINNER Wu Xie

Xi - posted 6/04/24 WINNER Xi Ping

Xia - posted 11/03/24 WINNER Xia Dong

Xian

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

Xiao - posted 20/02/24 WINNER Xiao Jingyan

Xie - posted 21/02/24 WINNER Xie Lian

Xin - posted 21/04/24

Xing - posted 28/03/24 WINNER Xing Zhi

Xiong

Xu - posted 25/02/24 WINNER Xu Da

Xun - posted 3/04/24 WINNER Xun Feizhan

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

Xue -posted 11/02/24

Yan - posted 19/02/24 WINNER Yan Wushi

Yang - posted 3/03/24 WINNER Yang Wuxie

Yao - posted 24/04/24

Ye - posted 10/02/24 WINNER Ye Baiyi

Yi - posted 9/03/24 WINNER Yi Bichen

Yin - posted 8/04/24 WINNER Yin Yu

Ying - posted 17/02/24 WINNER Ying Hecong

You - posted 1/04/24 WINNER You Huo

Yu - posted 11/02/23

Yun - posted 1/03/24 WINNER Yun Biqiu

Yuan - posted 27/02/24 WINNER Yuan Boya

Yue - posted 4/03/24 WINNER Yue Qingyuan

Yuwen - posted 6/04/24 WINNER Yuwen Xuan

Zang - posted 24/02/24

Zeng - posted 9/04/24 WINNER Zeng Xiangdong

Zhan - posted 10/03/24 WINNER Zhan Yunfei

Zhang - posted 17/02/24 WINNER Zhang Qiling

Zhao - posted 1/03/24 WINNER Zhao Yunlan

Zhen - posted 24/03/24 WINNER Zhen Ping

Zhi - posted 14/03/24 WINNER Zhi Xiu

Zhong - posted 27/03/24 WINNER Zhong Li

Zhou - posted 2/02/24 WINNER Zhou Zishu

Zhu - posted 9/03/24 Winner Zhu Hong

Zhuge - posted 18/03/24 WINNER Zhuge Liang

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

Zuo

[phnmnt]

Shen Yuan shixiong AU - Part 23

Letter to Ning Yingying - On the way home [Shen Yuan & Luo Binghe’s letter]

Ning Yingying sat excitedly in front of her shixiong and shidi’s room, a thick package cradled to her chest. She had just finished cleaning the room behind her, a habit she had taken after they had both set out to travel. She opened the package in her hands quickly, grabbing at the familiar small stack of rice paper. The first page was full of ink blotches and smudges. Who knows what kind of shenanigans those two were up to when writing this letter. The first lines were refined and elegant, Ning Yingying recognized her shidi’s handwriting right away and smiled.

“Dear Ning Shijie,

This shidi greets shijie! The mid-autumn festival is fast approaching and we are currently on our way back home, just like we had promised everyone we would. We've had an amazing time on our travels, but it is time to return before shixiong misses you all too much… or does something stupid. He’s always been a bit reckless but I discovered that he truly is a danger magnet. Just the other day, he nearly fell off two cliffs... just trying to look at plants. I swear I’ve grown white hairs in the last few months.”

Ning Yingying giggled, imagining the scene. Shixiong truly had no regard for danger when he found something that interested him. She moved her eyes to the next lines that took the bottom of the page plus a good portion of the next one. The penmanship was different, this one being livelier while being just as graceful as the previous one. It was Shen shixiong’s. More ink smears could be seen, there were even a few black fingerprints staining the right side of the second page.

“Alright, I’ll admit: Shixiong does miss Yingying and the others. A long time has passed… We’ve been gone for more than a year and Binghe is already taller than I am. I fear everyone will have grown so much that they will not need shixiong anymore when I come back. Such a terrifying thought!

To tell the truth, Binghe and I were going to surprise you all by returning earlier than we originally planned, but we encountered a small “problem” during our last night hunt. In the middle of hunting a particularly annoying yao that was causing trouble in the region, Noodle entered a kind of meditating state. The problem was that it happened right in the middle of fighting the yao and Noodle got hurt. After taking care of the night hunt, we took him to a nearby sect to heal him, hence why we pushed our return back. After a full week, I was finally able to stabilize his condition and I was able to settle him in his qiankun bag before hitting the road once more. I will study his condition further when we get back. At least now, the danger seemed to have passed.

Also, don’t listen to Binghe, I was perfectly fine when I was cataloging and gathering herbs. And his head looks completely fine to me, you don’t need to worry about him.”

Ning Yingying grinned. Those two really grew close while traveling, didn’t they? But Binghe seemed set on never telling their shixiong his feelings for him. How silly. She shook her head with a smile. She would have to sit her shidi down upon his return so he doesn’t take a weird oath on his own.

Ning Yingying was also glad that Noodle wasn’t too hurt. She never felt at ease with the spiritual creature, but she knew just how much that dusu snake meant to her shixiong. The latter would be inconsolable if anything happened to his scaly friend.

The letter continued on in Luo Binghe’s handwriting.

“I am convinced shixiong enjoys seeing me worry and wouldn’t mind my whole head turning white because of it-”

A big smudge nearly masked the entirety of the last characters of the sentence. Ning Yingying could picture the smack Shen shixiong gave Luo Binghe while reading over his shoulder as the latter wrote. The message resumed on a completely different subject.

“This shidi included a perfected version of the martial technique shijie has been practicing in the package. Shixiong and I have taken your notes into consideration and adapted the technique to suit your swordstyle better. Hopefully it will be easier to blend it in now. We will soon be able to give you better pointers as we’ll be back to train all together.

We’ve made good time and are currently more or less a 4 day ride away from the sect. Shixiong and I can’t wait to see you again!”

The correspondence ended with both their signatures squeezed together at the bottom of the third page. Ning Yingying couldn’t help but let out an excited noise. Both of her favorite people were about to be back! She gathered the package they had sent her and ran to announce the good news to the other disciples.

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 8.5 - Part 9 - Part 10 - Part 11 - Part 12 - Part 13 -Part 14 - Part 15 - Part 16 - Part 17 - Part 18 - Part 19 - Part 20 - Part 21 - Part 22

[pippuns]

Try doing one sentence summaries of the cultivation/danmei stories you have read so far. Then, try one sentence summaries of other cultivation stories that you plan to read at some point, without looking them up. Just summarise from what you /think/ they're about. It can be as bad or incorrect as you want.

novels i've read

MDZS - jin ling's uncles have a custody battle over the missing body parts of jin ling's uncle (ft. 20 years of suffering from jin ling's uncle).

SVSSS - author transmigrates into a self insert x protagonist fanfiction of his own work as a side character but does not realize this until his #1 hater proves him wrong about how luo binghe is not going to fuck him

Tai Sui - local city fuckboy completely destroys the fabric of society by becoming a piece of weed

novels i plan on reading

Liu Yao - group of kids have a very good and fun found family time while rebuilding the sect, assuming you ignore The Horrors

JWQS - horse girl with a lot of gender commits numerous atrocities and this somehow lands her a wife

TGCF - guy breaks the mxtx record of yearning by doing it for 800 years straight, putting liu qingge to shame

erha - don't let the title mislead you, this is apparently angsty as fuck, but also there Sure Are Some Kinks In Here

[web-novel-polls]

Five Love Languages of Danmei: Pining Bracket

Mingqian from Liu Yao: the Revitalization of Fuyao Sect

Characters: Yan Zhengming and Cheng Qian 

Liu Yao Carrd Link

Submission:

"A hundred years, Cheng Qian! A mortal's lifetime would've passed just like that"  Poor single mother Yan Zhengming keeping the family alive because SOMEONE couldn't stay alive... The way Han Tan was able to recognize Cheng Qian because YZM kept drawing portraits of him... The fucking. slappy ring. Anyw yeah Yan Zhengming be pinin'

Bingqiu from The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System 

Characters: Luo Binghe and Shen Qingqiu (Shen Yuan)

Submission:

Luo Binghe spends roughly 11 years pining for Shen Qingqiu before Shen Qingqiu gets a clue about his feelings. This includes 2-3 years in the Abyss and 5 years Shen Qingqiu has been dead. But the pining never stopped!

["Anti-Propaganda" that attacks other characters is NOT allowed. Please only give reasons to vote FOR a character/ship.]

[nihilara]

so, i know my carrd is clunky, and messy and bad. so i've decided to make a big masterpost for kuro's hsr au. because as i play it, it is growing, and evolving as i find new things to !!! over. plus i feel it's a bit easier to just have the verse post here on my tumblr anyway where folks can see it easier.

𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄: hamasaki kuro , just kuro please.

𝐀𝐆𝐄: 1000+ , his exact age isn't known. he's legit forgotten it.

𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐒: favored of the plagues author , cat guy ( express crew ) , killjoy , emanator of yaoshi ( not anymore. ) , more to come i'm sure...

𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐇: abundance ( previous ), later path dependent on plotting :)

as you know, kuro's home world died.

the planet just could not sustain life anymore, and while it isn't coincidence that yao/shi chose him to be an emanator- it didn't happen until the planet was dead. a husk essentially, for him to implant the power of the abundance within, and bring it back with that alone. making it completely reliant on the aeon, and an ecological horror show of never ending life and growth.

during his time as an emanator, kuro worked to spread the influence of yao/shi to other worlds too. and unfortunately, the xian/zhou was collateral damage to these endeavors. which has earned him not only a bounty, but a permanent ban from any of the xian/zhou alliance ships. the damage he did to them was... comparatively minimal to what he did to the world he was focused on at the time. but it has given him history with certain characters, that is both traumatic, and brief-- enough that it's not necessarily reliant on fine details, for kuro to be a wanted criminal by the xian/zhou and potentially in hot water with the IPC.

the reason he stepped off his path... is unknown. but there's some speculation among those who knew of him. that yao/shi abandoned him perhaps, that he saw the truth of abundance, that it terrified him. the real reason is much too complicated. and he will not discuss it with anyone.

the astral/express & jarlio/VI

kuro didn't immediately join the express, he did wander for a while. it didn't feel right to pick up a new path right away. and despite losing his status as an emanator, he'd maintained his immortality-- though he's yet to suffer the effects of mara, despite his surprisingly long life. only time will tell there.

welt and hi/meko know about kuro's past. and he is accepted a temporary passenger who's job is to help pom pom in keeping the train tidy. though his stay ends up being much longer than any of them anticipated. making a home in a large room of a secondary passenger car. where he has about 6 cats, not including mimi. who he's convinced is hyper intelligent, and has a genuine personality. he gets along with the crew as much as he can. never really putting himself out there, and usually... usually avoiding visitors to the express whenever they come by to see the mc. the only one he will come out to see consistently is ar/genti.

he really wasn't too present for the first arc, but he did leave the train with the other three. and got to see jarlio/VI with mimi. they mostly stayed out of trouble, and sorta just,,, vanished for a bit. found back on the train when it was finished.

the luo/fu, the xian/zhou, and jing/yuan

kuro really does his best to not be a part of this one. his history, as mentioned above, with the xian/zhou is not good. and he has quite the bounty on his head, despite the several of centuries since he last saw the fleet. when he does actually leave to board the luo/fu he wears some extra accessories to disguise himself. but, jing/yuan despite the distraction of the stellaron & phanty/lia... finds him.

it's after this point, that kuro's past and history with yao/shi become entirely public to everyone. and he is almost imprisoned in the shackling prison. something he barely escapes thanks to ?????????????????? then vanishes entirely from the express, along with mimi. hm.

pena/cony, boot/hill & the IPC ( a wip, im playing through it now )

long story short- kuro ends up at the pena/cony. how he gets there is still pretty up in the air. but he does have his own room.

( meaning i will be adding more to this post as i go!!! )

in that span of time however, between the luo/fu and the pena/cony-- he does meet boot/hill. i'm aware his lore is also very unfinished, open, and much of his backstory is really just speculation. but i've got a bit of plotting going, and the two of them are in a bit of an in-between stage at the moment. making the two's meeting entirely possible and,, potentially beneficial to both? also, boot/hill is optimistic, and frankly quite unhinged. where as kuro tends to be nihilistic, and more mellow in comparison. it's a funny sort of interaction, very silly, i love it.

i do wonder if kuro's relationship or opinion of the IPC is also sour. though it's nothing compared to the xian/zhou, kuro's hands are not at all clean. and he's messed up at least one ( smaller ) planet in the past so, hm.

BIG potential for kuro to become a galaxy ranger as end game :)

[movielosophy]

Love Like The Galaxy~ These love-indulging scrolls are bad influences on the ladies.

[huasahyo]

I have read Qiang Jin Jiu and honestly think I'll never recover

(Spoilers ahead!)

Oh god, where to start this? Maybe I should start with the very begging: I didn't understood shit. I just saw a kid being tortured and lots of information. When I felt it was too much, I went after the translated map and OMG that was so helpful! Bless the translators for that. After looking carefully at the map, things started to make sense.

As the story went, before the end of book one I was not very familiar with all the characters. I kept mistaking Hai Liangyi for Hua Siqian lol. But during my reading I started to take some notes and was never confused again. The thing is, this book has A LOT of characters and some of them are introduced early but only become major players later (Yao Wenyu, Hua Xiangyi...)

Even though this huge ensemble would make characters easy to forget, this doesn't happen. The author managed to create likeable and rememberable characters pretty easily??? I fell in love with many of them at first read, even if they didn't show up a lot. And there were characters that got me completely off guard, I wasn't expecting them to be so cool and relevant, BUT THEY WERE (Fei Sheng, Kong Liu)! And the antagonists were also brilliant, I love a good story where everyone has a point and no one is actually evil: People from Biansha had their truths and in a war there are no right sides, Xue Xiuzhuo wanted the best for Dazhou (even though I can't forgive what the did to my baby Yuanzhuo), and Li Jianting??? WHAT A LEGEND! Also, Feng Quan plot twist left me speechless, what an interesting character. Every character was very human (in the good and bad way), everyone had their own goals and beliefs. I actually might do a second post screaming about every character because I have a lot to say about them. (hello hasen my love)

The Plot??? Perfectly done. AND WELL EXPLAINED! I was always a little afraid of reading novels with a lot of politics, but I really dug this one. The problems with grains, provisions, registry, army and BRO THERE WAS EVEN SOME AGRARIAN REFORM SHIT

The way this author write the MOST well written battles I have read, without using any magic... it's just... I never thought I would be so enthusiastic about cannons, rocks and GRAINS.

The conflicts in Zhongbo could be all repetitive, but they weren't at all. Each prefecture that Lanzhou took back had a interesting story.

The war with Biansha was also brilliantly written. The way Amu'er was attacking Dazhou from the inside out and the scorpions with those hammers??? My man was a genius. Sadly, he could never have predicted Bai Cha and her son.

Talking about that, the family relationships are a great point in this. Seeing flashbacks about Lanzhou, Ji Mu, Ji Gang and Hua Pinging made me CRY! They were so happy... And seeing Xiao Chiye with his brother and HIS DAD LIKE... Xiao Fangxu and Ji Gang best daddies. Fei Sheng and Yin Chang too, what a beautiful chapter the one that they talk after Fei Sheng has a fight with Qiao Tianya.

Talking about Qiao Tianya, it was refreshing to see a novel with more LGBT characters. The secondary pairings were great, they didn't steal the spotlight from cezhou, but were very enjoyable (even though THAT happened between Songyu). I just wished we could have seen more Qihua moments and OH GOD KONG LIU AND LUO MU??? That got me truly off guard, wasn't expecting at all. Also, I found really interesting how Lanzhou basically got a LGBT parade following him at the end, that was truly the gayest empire ever. I have so many headcanons here, let me scream them: Xue Xiuzhuo is AroAce, Li Jianting is a non-binary legend and Huo Lingyun a Bi King. Also, Fei Sheng is not straight. Said it.

The little animals in this??? I WAS TERRIFIED WHEN LANG TAO XUE JIN FELL IN THAT HOLE YALL I THOUGHT HE WAS GONNA DIE. But luckily he didn't. Meng, Hunu, Feng Shuang Ta Yi were all the cutest, I need more novels with cats.

THE CHILDREN - Ding Tao, Li Xiong, Xiao Xun and Jiran. They served chaos, humor and cuteness. I really liked whenever they showed up.

THE LADIESSS - If you have read my other posts you know I love some powerful women. This story did not disappoint me in that sense. Hua Hewei had some despicable acts, but she really got everyone on her hands despite never leaving the inner palace, good for her. Hua Xiangyi is a way better version of her aunt, my girl was smart and cared for the people, an amazing woman. QI ZHUYINNN owns my life, I really adored the fact that she was a badass and that she never hated the fact she was born a girl, slay. Bai Cha was really out there helping women that were sold and their children, that is some real sorority there. Lu Yizhi was so kind, loved seeing her interactions with Lanzhou. Li Jianting was everything, her story was one of the saddest and yet she was doing her best to become a ruler. Duo Er'lan was amazingly brave, even more than Hasen, mad respect for her.

And last, but definitely not least, there is cezhou. I have no words to explain how much I adored these two. The way both of them got their own development and had their own private goals and went after them, so good. They are so well written that I wanna scream. The chapters that are focused on Lanzhou's feelings are not big in number, even when he is the main character, his feelings are shown in discreet ways (the handkerchief!) and most of the time we don't know what he is plotting or thinking. But when we take a peek at what's going inside of his heart, it's... astonishing. And I love seeing how he actually cared for the side characters, even though he doesn't show a lot.

And Ce'an kind of caught me off guard, I thought he was going to be a totally different character but he went and delivered

Xiao Chiye was a perfect fit for Lanzhou and Lanzhou was a perfect fit for Xiao Chiye: they were both in similar situations where only them could understand each other's suffering, and after they leave Qudu we see how much of a match made in heaven they are (not just romantically, but strategically).

THE SEXUAL TENSION AT THE BEGINNING YALL... They were scheming/fighting and flirting at the same time. Iconic.

Read this, you won't regret it!

By the way, I started reading the story in December and finished by March, but I completely forgot to post this! College has been frying my brain these days.

Hopefully I will resume my Sha Po Lang reading and come back here to tell my opinions on the book. (Not sure when though.)

See ya!

[mxtxfanatic]

Hello, new danmei fan here. I'm really late into danmei, just started last year (so I missed the hype). Just when I confused which blog to follow, I found your blog. Thanks so much for this blog of yours, it really helped me to understand more of the stories. I just finished MDZS, TGCG, SVSSS and now I'm reading 2Ha.

For this ask game, can I ask MDZS or SVSSS?

Before I start reading, many people said that SVSSS is inferior to other MXTX works, after finishing the books, I disagree, because I enjoy them all the same....

I mean, if starting last year is considered "late," then I'm also behind, because I only started reading things a few years ago lmao! But it's never too late when fandoms are still booming (for better or worse). So I see we're finishing out the mxtx novels.

MDZS

Favorite Character: Wei Wuxian

Favorite Arc: all Drunk Lan Wangji encounters!

Character I Think is Underrated: Lan Wangji, if i have to hear “he’s boring” from people who can’t read one more time…

Character I Think is Overrated: all of the antagonists and villains. Jiang Cheng is not "single mother!jiujiu," he is just a bitchless Wen Chao. Jin Guangyao is not "poor little Meng Yao forced to do things against his will," he is a a calculating murderer who will scheme against, betray, and kill anyone who stands between him and ultimate power. Madam Yu is not a "girlboss" (unless we accept the real meaning of that word, which is a woman who gains power by ingratiating herself into oppressive systems as the female alternative to corrupt male leaders), she is a domestic abuser who made every single person in her family and husband's clan miserable.

Favorite Ship/Pairing: Wangxian

Something I Love About the Book: I love the way this book is adamant about good always eventually being rewarded. That even if the outcome of doing good was terrible, that does not make the effort wasted or useless. Lan Wangji protecting Wei Wuxian at Nightless City was worth it even if he was almost killed for it, because it made sure that the yin tiger tally did not end up in the Jin Clan's hands as a completed weapon. Wei Wuxian saving the Wen was worth it even though he was killed for it, because A-Yuan got to live. Wen Qing and Wen Ning saving Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian was worth it even though Jiang Cheng betrayed them in the end, because their clan still got to live through its last descendant. None of their actions were met with immediate rewards, but the larger implications of them led to better outcomes than had they just kept to themselves and the status quo of corruption, as everyone else had.

SVSSS (my favorite of the three 🤗)

Favorite Character: Luo Binghe, hands down

Favorite Arc: Holy Mausoleum Arc, cause y'all (Shen Qingqiu 😒) gonna stop falsey accusing my baby, today!

Character I Think is Underrated: Bing-mei version of Luo Binghe, not because he's "unpopular," per se, but because mainstream fandom's perception of him seems to be that he is just Bing-ge who cries, and this is a complete mischaracterization of his character based on popular fanon. I see too much hate for him in this fandom because of it

Character I Think is Overrated: Shen Jiu. The man was a child abuser and died to one of his victims because he chose to be a child abuser. There is nothing tragic or unfair about that. Leave that man in the ether where he'll hopefully never have a chance to harm another person again.

Favorite Ship/Pairing: Bingqiu

Something I Love About the Book: Shen Qingqiu. The man is trying his damndest to do right in what he considers a doomed narrative, but the moment he realizes that his efforts have actually made things worse, he immediately pivots his actions. He never tries to justify himself, deflect from criticism, or misplace responsibility. He has one goal in mind, and that is to make as many people's lives as he possibly can better than what they originally ended up as.

[mirageofadesert]

Luo Yunxi's next drama is coming!

This is what we know can assume so far! I got so excited, I had to write about it!

Well, first of all, a lot of this information hasn't been confirmed yet. Particularly around the cast, there are many contradictory rumors.

The drama is currently called Shui Long Yin (水龙吟). It will likely start filming mid-November 2023 in Hangdian. It's going to be a long shoot with 4-5 month. This means it's likely going to have a full 40 episodes.

The drama is an adaptation of Teng Ping's novel 千劫眉. This is the author from the recently aired Mysterious Lotus Casebook. Going from what I have picked up from the original novel, there are some similarities between both stories, mainly centering on the dynamics between multiple male characters, with no female love interests. There is also the possibility, that MLC scriptwriters added some parts of 千劫眉 to the other story, so both might be a bit (too) similar. So we will see what kind of further adaption will be made.

The drama will be directed by Chen Zhoufei, who has done mostly modern dramas, as well as the recently shot Shao Nian Bai Ma Zui Chun Feng Season 2, another Wuxia bormance drama.

We can assume, that the drama will be produced by Otter Studio again, who already worked with Luo Yunxi for Immortality and Till The End of The Moon. As for the broadcast platforms, rumor has it, that there is an ongoing biting war between Yukou and Mango. Currently, it seems like Mango TV is winning, and the show will be additional aired on Hunan TV - which will reach a broader audience! I'm not an expert on this, but not many Wuxia and Xianxia dramas get aired on TV, so this is a big deal!

The rumored cast of the drama changes from day to day. The two names attached to the show the longest (besides Luo Yunxi) are Xiao Shun Yao and Chen Yao. Both have been acting with Luo Yunxi before in either TTEOTM or in Chen Yao's case in the yet to air Immortality and Follow Your Heart. There is another cast member of Follow Your Heart appearing on the possible cast list for the first time: Cheng Lei!

While I haven't seen Chen Yao in a drama yet, I'm really excited about the possibility of Xiao Shun Yao, who I loved in Mysterious Lotus Bookcase, and Cheng Lei, who was one of my favorites in My Journey to You. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, since the cast will likely change! But then there is also this:

As for the rest of the cast, in today's melon, Bao Shangen, Lin Yun and Yu Chengen are (tentative) named. All of them are young and upcoming actors. So far, there doesn't seem to be a real female lead, just like in the novel. However, other melons name Liu Haocun or Zhang Xueying (Princess Silver) or Bao Shangen as potential candidates for the female lead. So we will have to wait for the official announcement. But it's fun to speculate!

Another rumor I saw is that my beloved Sun Zhenni (Pianran from TTEOTM) will make a guest appearance! I also wouldn't be surprised to see some of the usual suspects making another appearance next to Luo Yunxi!

Now, as someone that adore world-building, I'm particularly excited about the style of the show. It's said to be a mix of wuxia and xianxia tropes and aesthetics, and this is a main reason that so many platforms are interested in it. We get some indicators from the poster.

Let's look at the details of the official poster:

White hair, I repeat, white hair! The main character Tang Lici is described as ruthless and is famous for his long white hair! I'm so excited for this. Are we finally going to see Luo Yunxi in white hair for a drama?!

I also love the color scheme of white, peach and black of the poster. It looks like there is a black flute stuck in his belt. He is also holding a bowl of food, maybe a seashell? That looks too random, to be a coincidence. So he likely will use musical cultivation as a weapon.

I'm not sure how the dragon relates to his character. Maybe he is one, maybe he is called one? Either way, it would be Luo Yunxi's third time playing a dragon, after Wangye and Runyu. This one seems to be related to water again.

In his most recent interview, Luo Yunxi mentioned, that he is already preparing for the role, learning lines and diving into his character. I can't wait for more!

Sources: Twitter 1, Twitter 2, My Drama List

[mejomonster]

Huai dao: 1 i hope Sheng Yao dates KING OF ACTING SHU JIU (who is secretly Hei Xiazi from dmbj i am standing by that)

2 i do think sheng yao and su junzi (and the conflict of su junzi being married) situation aspects was somewhat worked into the 3 persom situation of fei du/luo wenzhou/tao ran in modu. The characters are different, and modu is way more intense about it (all 3 of the modu people have way more trauma and unhealthy coping mechanisms and Intensities to them than sheng yao or su junzi so far). But the fun ideas played with are definitely sparks of excitement during Huai Dao, and i can see why they were worked in modu.

3 i want more jiang hu backstory! Idk about shen yexi having ptsd, as he (as far as i know) had a support network of friend coworkers and has been using fairly normal coping mechanisms for stress that arent like causing any major issues for him. But i do think jiang hu (based on hints so far) has either some childhood trauma or actual past-work trauma. The childhood trauma theory: if this is like modu, then the cases may parallel one or both leads mental states. In that case: jiang hu had a childhood where he was expected to be perfect and fell short/felt guilty, or perhaps he was a victim to something and seeked to appease them to feel in control (like 2nd huai dao case). Which could be adult work trauma and could be very broad frankly: it could instead be that he had an old workplace where his mistakes led to something bad for someone (maybe patients or coworkers) so he took on an unfair amount of guilt he put on himself (or someone im authority blamed him and he believed them in that it was his fault), or he felt so out of control (in any kind of abusive workplace tbh) that he ended up guilty abd scared of Following Orders or Protocol or Superiors and failing to help who he intended (both a corrupt workplace or even just a run of the mill police one/societally normalized stressful workplace) couldve caused it.

I tried to word it before and went on a tangent so im going to try and just quick state what i hope comes across clearly. So i think priest doesnt use mental health terms particularly well in Huai Dao. It gets better in later novels of priests novels (modu handles terms better - including parts where things arent named, which is sometimes more realistic of trauma and levels of it and depression and anxiety and just how like the range of how we cope and what messes us up is vastly different and results in different ways for people, and what deeply affects one person may make no result in another). But in Huai Dao because of specific term labelling, and it being on perpetrators of harm, it can fall into a kind of reinforcing certain ideas - which is my biggest warning if you read. The actual portrayal of characters feels realistic TO each individual characters cirmstances and feels reasonably realistic. So i think priesr doesnt let it affect actual portrayals. But atuff like say a criminal having ocd but no one on the investigation team having ocd... you know. Its like if you have 1 gay character in a story and theyre a villai. Its fine to do a gay villain, but if its ur only gay character then readers as a whole may just reinforce their belief 'gay people are bad' unless you have some other neutrally or well treated gay character to reinforce that your story is not intending to say all X are bad. Idk if that makes sense? (Like... again modu compares childhood abuse cases, in fact a variety from Fei Du and the Su girl forced to harm otjers as children and what theyre like older, to zhang donglai with an absent dad and his own fucked family issues, to various side characters... and because theres people who turn out all kinds of ways, and fei du is a lead wr root for, theres never the feeling of the story seeming to indicare people abused as children are 'bad.' Instead the story just more broadly is showing how things could turn out varyingly, and how a wide spectrum of ppl have lived through that kind of trauma). I think huai dao if it leaned less on labelling terms might have worked better, or some side or main chqracters having similar mental health issues that the writing paints as people we root for or feel sympathy toward like victims. So like. Mm a weak spot for sure. Expected to run into it in tjis genre, its not an uncommon flaw in many a crime novel or show. But it is something to be aware of. while i think if a main cjaracter eventually does reveal they have mental health issues is may help lessen the kind of abrasiveness currently. But qho knows. This is a problem widespread in stories.

I think the characters tjemselves function as you expect ppl to in their situation. So as realistic characters things feel not illogical or so unrealistic it drives me up a wall. But yeah the terms and a bit of the selection of who has what background has some not ideal choices.