#character: xu meng

[heymeowmao]

Gen Z (后浪) E22 ° Washing Tou Tou~

[movielosophy]

后浪 ep 12 | Meng Meng, you like that? I’ll get it for you.

[eastofakkala]

The Sunshot Generation as Babies/Toddlers

(And That One Story that was always told about them when they got older).

Wei Wuxian: Surprisingly, was a very good kid. There are shockingly few juicy stories. 

Lan Wangji: By contrast, he was an absolutely feral toddler who terrified EVERYONE. Lan Xichen was the only one who could settle him down. It got so bad that Wangji got to attend class with his brother, because discipline did not work. 

Jiang Cheng: Very cuddly baby/toddler. Was nearly kidnapped once or twice because he was offered cuddles. Developed his temper/paranoia/general prickliness later on. 

Jiang Yanli: Accidentally kidnapped Wen Chao once. She wanted to give him soup because he looked sad. He was one year old and could not properly explain he was supposed to stay in place. They were halfway to Lotus Pier when it was discovered that the Jiang delegation had accidentally taken Wen-gongzi hostage. 

Lan Xichen: Much better toddler than Wangji, but for a while refused to walk anywhere on his own. Surprisingly, the adult who gave in to his (very muted) temper tantrums most often was Lan Qiren. 

Nie Mingjue: At his 100-day ceremony, he cried every time Wen Ruohan got close. His father was very apologetic. His mother thought it was hysterical and had to duck into antechambers to laugh in private. 

Nie Huaisang: Normally too sick to do much, but bit Jin Guangshan one time at a delegation when he didn’t listen to the also-small Nie Mingjue’s warnings that Sang-er didn’t want to be held at the moment. Once again, his father was very apologetic. Mingjue was extremely proud of his didi. 

Wen Xu: Made the mistake of shoving Yanli at a discussion conference. She tried to tell him to stop, but he didn’t listen. After the third time, she gave in and shoved him back, knocking him off the pier and into the water. 

Wen Chao: Went through a period of time when his favorite adult was Wen Zhuliu, and he would throw a raging temper tantrum if anyone else handled him. This included servants, other sect leaders, his father and his mother. Neither he nor Wen Zhuliu were ever able to figure out why. 

Wen Qing: While she did not cry very often, she scowled so fiercely at everyone that her parents had an exorcism performed on her at one point for fear that she was being possessed by a very unfriendly spirit. Nope, she just had enough of everyone’s nonsense before her hundredth day. 

Wen Ning: Very nice baby. One time accidentally ripped the head off a doll and cried for hours until Wen Qing fixed it. She explained that he was giving it surgery. 

Jin Zixuan: Very quiet baby. Was routinely taken to healers to ensure he wasn’t sick. Nope, he was just boring. 

Meng Yao: Could climb before he could walk. Meng Shi learned this the hard way when she turned her back and found him on top of a table, clapping his hands and babbling excitedly at her. It was the only time she well and truly freaked out. 

Mianmian: Was left alone in her parents’ garden one afternoon. When they returned, it was to find that she’d somehow dug up five worms and declared herself the worm empress. Once her husband heard the story, he teased her with it for weeks. 

[dilebe06]

My Top Male Characters of 2023

[zuko-always-lies]

ATLA Overall Character Stats

One thing I have been wondering for a while is how many lines of dialogue each character has in ATLA. I recently figured out an easy way to calculate it, so here are the stats for the entire series. You can look at the stats for Book 1, Book 2, and Book 3 at those links.

There are 9985 total lines of dialogue in the series. They are divided up as follows:

Aang 1796 lines, 17.99% of total lines Sokka 1635 lines, 16.37% Katara 1433 lines, 14.35%(this increases to 1439 lines and 14.81% when you include "Young Katara") Zuko 776 lines, 7.77% (this increases to 809 lines and 8.10% when you include "Young Zuko) Toph 508 lines, 5.09% Iroh 337 lines, 3.38% Azula 211 lines, 2.11%(this increases to 232 lines and 2.32% when you include "Young Azula") Jet 134 lines, 1.34% Suki 114 lines, 1.14% Zhao 107 lines, 1.07% Mai 82 lines, 0.82%(this increases to 83 lines and 0.83% when you include "Young Mai") Hakoda 77 lines, 0.77% Roku 67 lines, 0.67% Ty Lee 64 lines, 0.64%(this increases to 66 lines and 0.66% when you include "Young Ty Lee) Bumi 55 lines, 0.55% Ozai 55 lines, 0.55% Yue 53 lines, 0.53% Hama 49 lines, 0.49% Long Feng 46 lines, 0.46% Piandao 43 lines, 0.430645969% Mechanist 42, 0.420630946% Kuei 40, 0.400600901% Bato 38, 0.380570856% Pathik 38, 0.380570856% Pakku 37, 0.370555834% Teo 35, 0.350525789% Chong 33, 0330495744% Warden of Boiling Rock 33, 0.330495744% Young Zuko 33, 0.330495744% Jeong Jeong 32, 0.320480721%

More obscure characters below

Guard 29 0.290435653 Haru 29 0.290435653 Joo Dee 29 0.290435653 June 28 0.280420631 Wu 28 0.280420631 Zhang leader 28 0.280420631 Xin Fu 27 0.270405608 Zei 27 0.270405608 Chit Sang 26 0.260390586 Sozin 26 0.260390586 Shyu 25 0.250375563 Gan Jin leader 23 0.230345518 Fong 22 0.220330496 Smellerbee 22 0.220330496 Ursa 22 0.220330496 Young Azula 21 0.210315473 Actress Aang 19 0.190285428 Gyatso 19 0.190285428 Yu 19 0.190285428 Arnook 18 0.180270406 Meng 18 0.180270406 Sun Warrior chief 18 0.180270406 Wan Shi Tong 18 0.180270406 Canyon guide 17 0.170255383 Captain 17 0.170255383 Jin 17 0.170255383 Lee 17 0.170255383 Oyaji 17 0.170255383 Tong 17 0.170255383 Actor Sokka 16 0.160240361 Actress Katara 16 0.160240361 Fisherman 16 0.160240361 King Bumi 16 0.160240361 Li 16 0.160240361 Tho 16 0.160240361 Tyro 16 0.160240361 Warden 16 0.160240361 Yon Rha 16 0.160240361 Bully guard 15 0.150225338 Due 15 0.150225338 Actor Zuko 14 0.140210315 Chey 14 0.140210315 Lao 14 0.140210315 Male guard 14 0.140210315 Pirate captain 14 0.140210315 Chan 13 0.130195293 Dock 13 0.130195293 Herbalist 13 0.130195293 Ghashiun 12 0.12018027 Huu 12 0.12018027 Ticket lady 12 0.12018027 Calm man 11 0.110165248 Female guard 11 0.110165248 Kay-fon 11 0.110165248 Lo 11 0.110165248 Lo and Li 11 0.110165248 Ying 11 0.110165248 Actress Azula 10 0.100150225 Earthbender captain 10 0.100150225 Gan Jin tribesman 10 0.100150225 Great Fire Sage 10 0.100150225 Headmaster 10 0.100150225 Jee 10 0.100150225 Kanna 10 0.100150225 Oh 10 0.100150225 Qin 10 0.100150225 Senlin Village leader 10 0.100150225 Song 10 0.100150225 Yung 10 0.100150225 Dai Li agent 9 0.090135203 Fisherman's wife 9 0.090135203 General Sung 9 0.090135203 Gow 9 0.090135203 Hahn 9 0.090135203 Haru's mother 9 0.090135203 Koh 9 0.090135203 Pipsqueak 9 0.090135203 Shinu 9 0.090135203 Soldier 9 0.090135203 The Boulder 9 0.090135203 The Duke 9 0.090135203 Xu 9 0.090135203 Gansu 8 0.08012018 Kenji 8 0.08012018 Kwan 8 0.08012018 Mother Superior 8 0.08012018 Old man 8 0.08012018 Shuzumu 8 0.08012018 Yagoda 8 0.08012018 Cabbage merchant 7 0.070105158 Fire Sage 7 0.070105158 Fung 7 0.070105158 General How 7 0.070105158 Koko 7 0.070105158 Male student 7 0.070105158 Man 7 0.070105158 Pao 7 0.070105158 Tashi 7 0.070105158 Than 7 0.070105158 Trainer 7 0.070105158 Villager 7 0.070105158 Warden Poon 7 0.070105158 Due to Tumblr limatations on length, I had to put the remaining characters(those with 6 or fewer lines) in a two separate posts .

[baoshan-sanren]

best cdramas I’ve watched since the last one of these posts in 2022 (and some I’m still looking forward to seeing)

Heroes (watch on WeTV VIP | watch on bilibili) Adapted from the novel "Shuo Ying Xiong Shei Shi Ying Xiong" (说英雄谁是英雄) by Wen Rui An (温瑞安) starring Zeng ShunXi, Yang ChaoYue, Liu YuNing, Baron Chen and Meng ZiYi. I would’ve watched this thing for the cast only. Everyone is queer vibes. Not a flashy drama, but will emotionally shred you. The character development is totally worth it. Throughly entertaining, even when it punched you in the gut. 8/10

The Wind Blows From LongXi (watch on iQIYI VIP | watch on Viki) Adapted from novel "The Wind Rises in Longxi" (风起陇西) by Ma Bo Yong (马伯庸) starring Chen Kun and Bai Yu. I’ve been waiting for this drama for two years and it was worth every second of the wait. The cinematography in this thing is bonkers. The use of light and shadows, the muted colors, the indoor shots opening up into well-lit courtyards, the gritty sound mixing, the whole thing just blew my ass away. Chen Kun and Bai Yu are masters of their art. Fckn masterpiece. 11/10

Who Rules The World (watch on WeTV VIP | watch on Netflix) Adapted from the novel "Qie Shi Tian Xia" (且试天下) by Qing Ling Yue (倾泠月) starring Yang Yang, Zhao LuSi, and Xuan Lu. One of the rare romance dramas that really appealed to me. A well-balanced mix of court intrigue and martial world heroics. Unlimited blorbo potential. It’s hard to outshine Yang Yang (who gives major Mei Changsu vibes through like the first third of the drama) but Zhao LuSi and Xuan Lu together? Magnificent. Breathtaking. Brilliant. 8/10

The Legend of Hao Lan (watch on iQIYI VIP | watch on Viki | watch on tubi) starring Wu Jinyan and Nie Yuan. So this was like, The Story of Yanxi Palace cast, remixed. Was it great? Not really. Did I watch every episode? Yeah. I honestly think that Wu Jinyan could just make faces for 50+ sixty minute episodes, and I’d still watch every minute of it. Still, a fascinating take on the Warring States Period, and actually based on a woman who helped her son become the King of Qin, then ultimately the First Emperor of China. I think 99% of the budget went to costumes, and tbh, it was totally worth every penny. 7/10

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

The Silent Criminal (watch on Apple TV | watch on Bilibili | watch on iQIYI VIP | watch on Viki) starring Li Jiaming and Wen Sheng. So incredibly gay. Hilarious, yes, but predominantly gay. Murder, intrigue, suspense, pining; this little drama literally has everything. Did it impact my life and leave a long-lasting impression? Not really. But I was most throughly entertained. 7/10

My Heroic Husband (watch on Amazon Prime | watch on iQIYI VIP | watch on Viki) Adapted from the novel "Zhui Xu" (赘婿) by Fen Nu de Xiang Jiao (愤怒的香蕉). Starring Song Yi and Guo Qilin. Actually, the majority of Joy of Life cast is in this drama, including a cameo by Zhang Ruoyun in the very beginning. Cast aside tho, I fckn love this drama to pieces. Song Yi and Guo Qilin have amazing chemistry, and they’re so goddamn adorable together I can’t even stand it. The plot is far from complex but immensely satisfying. Excellent drama on a mediocre budget, one I plan to regularly rewatch. 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

A League of Nobleman - based on danmei novel The Society of Four Leaves by Da Feng Gua Guo starring Song Weilong and Jing Boran

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

Song of The Moon - based on wuxia novel 奔月 by 蜀客 starring Zhang Binbin and Xu Lu

Story of Kunning Palace - based on the the web novel 坤宁 by Shi Jing starring Bai Lu and Zhang Linghe 

Under the Microscope - based on the novel 显微镜下的大明 by 马伯庸 starring Zhang Ruoyun and Qi Wei

Till the End of the Moon - based on the web novel 黑月光拿稳BE剧本 by Teng Luo Wei Zhi starring Luo Yunxi and Bai Lu

[allmydokkuns]

if there's anyone Mandarin-speaking bilingual active on here and still has spoons for MDZS, I have a bit of a linguistic question but not enough knowledge to find an answer myself that I'd appreciate some help with!

I know the fanon fix it courtesy name for Meng Yao being accepted into Lanling Jin is "Ziyao," as in the correct generational character "Zi-" to match Zixuan and Zixun, plus his birth name. Is there any reason he can't still have his birth name and a courtesy name specific to his generation? Same thing goes for Mo Xuanyu.

I've been trying to think of good names for them in a scenario where this does in fact happen but all I've found so far is

偿 cháng for MY bc JGS doesn't deserve paternal rights, which only makes sense if you're privy to the poly fixit that lives rent free in my head...

Unfortunately I've come up with nothing for MXY for now, mainly because there's a particular kind of resonance between character birth names, courtesy names and personal titles that's hard to balance correctly for anyone who doesn't have a lot of working knowledge of the original language.

Anyway if there's anyone out there who has some ideas, reblog/comment/tag me on this post because my brain ain't spitting up much rn. Much thanks. I also remember reading something by someone else talking about how Lanling Jin goes by generations when it comes to deciding names for male descendants and that the radicals in Lan Xichen's and Wangj's birth names seem to be aligning by design, but I don't have enough spoons to find characters that contain the "xu" sound while also having some kind of relevant meaning for both MY and MXY. So instead I tried to think of word characters with good connotations that would be used to name sons as if the two of them had been accepted into the family with good intentions, dunno if I succeeded. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯qq

((now the rest of this is just gonna be some thoughtvomit because what even is coherent sentences anymore, abrupt topic change bc my joints are too messed up to make a separate post))

Perhaps I'm misunderstanding traditional family dynamics, but there is no real reason for Lanling Jin to not accept both Meng Yao and Mo Xuanyu into Lanling Jin except for 1) as established, Jin Guangshan is a philandering rapist piece of shit that has absolutely no intentions of taking responsibility for his offspring and sexual proclivities, or 2) they're attempting to save face for the clan and trying to do the thing where if they do not acknowledge the existence of these children then the problem does not exist?

I understand that some people spin it as being Madame Jin's intolerance for these illegitimate sons given her abuse of Meng Yao after Zixuan's and Yanli's deaths in canon timeline, but that doesn't make a lot of sense to me given how little presence she has in the plot and sect since she married into Lanling Jin. Not saying her taking out negative emotions on someone who for all intents and purposes she should be treating kind of like her son is right, because abuse is still abuse, but other than that it seems her only purpose in the plot is to give Zixuan a mother, Yu Ziyuan a sworn sister, Jiang Yanli a mother-in-law, and Jin Guangyao someone else to hate in Lanling. She's not distinct enough to have a canonical name other than her title as Jin Guangshan's wife, and besides which, being the wife she has no real power to make any decisions regarding the family's heirs. Moxiang Tongxiu straight up set up Lanling Jin as the wealthiest sect after Qishan Wen falls and they just so happen to be the only sect with only one (1) child born of the sect leader and his wife? Sus. Legally everything would have been all well and good if JGS was forced somehow into legitimizing both his illegitimate sons (the sons specifically, since having an illegitimate daughter does your family no real good in a Confucian society unless you're going to marry her out for political purposes) and they were raised as they should have been, especially since both MY and MXY seem like intelligent people. Zixuan gets some backers, Madame Jin gets some more kids and JGS gets some concubines, everyone wins! Even the sect's line of succession is more secure if he suddenly gets two sons. In short, there were so many ways JGS could have taken control of this situation as the father and sect leader and spun it to somehow come out smelling more like roses BUT HE ACTIVELY? CHOSE to give absolutely no shits and just let his wife, kids and sect suffer the consequences of this particular paternal dysfunction. And we all know what happened because he gave too many unnecessary fucks where they were not needed :^) or consensual :^)))) fuck that guy honestly tbh.

Now granted that was a whole sidebar, and maybe I'm thinking about this too hard but does nobody else think it's weird that of the Great Sects, only the male characters in Yunmeng Jiang and Gusu Lan have both canonical birth and courtesy names? It's almost like MXTX gave only the male characters most relevant to the story one of each honestly, since the only two exceptions that are coming to mind now are Su She (Minshan) and Xue Yang (Chengmei). Of course there is the argument that Wen Ning also has a courtesy name, but does it really count when no one uses it to refer to him? The naming stuff in this story are all over the place actually -- Jiang Cheng is the only sect leader of his generation that is referred to primarily by his birth name, but bc WWX is an unreliable narrator it's probably because he always called him that and somehow conveniently forgot he no longer had a right to call him that after he voluntarily left Yunmeng Jiang, therefore we as the audience also call him that... The fact that JC and WWX both seem to have courtesy names when they're kind of young for them, but that also goes for Lan Wangji. Neither the Nie brothers or Jin Zixuan have canonical alternate names, so either it wasn't very important to the plot (though it kind of is in Lanling after the Campaign when JGY gets legitimized but not really since it's the wrong generational character), but what's going on with Qinghe Nie's naming choices? This kind of inconsistency is fine if you handwave the whole thing about degrees of intimacy and formality and stuff but it gets funky if you stare at it long enough.

And that's not even scratching the surface of the weirdness surrounding the women in MDZS -- as few and shortlived as they are. Yu Ziyuan is the only wife of a sect leader in the named sects with a canonical name and title that isn't her married sect's clan + Madame, and the only one we see with any kind of sway both martially and in the everyday running of Yunmeng Jiang. Most importantly, she's the only woman in the series to have her own personal title! Also, again, sidebar, but Jiang Yanli choosing to go by Madame Jiang in fic instead of Young Madame Jin is a mood and a whole chef's kiss tbh. I think also in the kind of household I've been imagining her in after her marriage she could also be called "xiao-furen" (young Madame) where Madame Jin could also be properly called "lao-furen" (old Madame) to differentiate them according to subservient members of the household, in-house? That's a whole nother thing tho, in-group (household, sect, clan) versus outgroup (other sects or clans, and in some ways, your maiden clan if you married out).

Anyway. All of you writing Madame Yu as the root of all trouble in the Yunmeng Jiang family are being culturally insensitive and midkey misogynistic -- looping back to the discussion on JGS being a piece of shit father and sect leader, all his sect's family dysfunction is his inability to keep it in his pants and properly manage his paternal responsibility for the fruits thereof because in a Confucian setting, wives must obey husbands, sons must obey fathers, and both mother and son have therefore no power to override JGS's shitty parenting and leadership decisions re: powermongering and lack of legitimate heirs. Madame Yu's dissatisfaction with Jiang Fengmian's neglect of his only legitimate heir for some other person's son, even if that person's son is the current head disciple for the sect, is valid, because neglecting the next sect leader means neglecting the sect's future. Again, not saying her punishing WWX for stuff that he may or may not have done with Zidian was right. Wei Wuxian might be brilliant and talented and all that, but he doesn't have the right temperament to lead as a sect and clan must be led: with prudence, diplomacy and caution. Again, not WWX-bashing, but I think my favorite description of him goes something like "Wei Wuxian has never met a situation he didn't think couldn't be solved through escalation, and you all think Jiang Cheng is the emotional one?" Jiang Fengmian is an interesting contrast to both Jin Guangshan and Qingheng-jun in that he embodies the idea of physically there, but emotionally unavailable father, whereas JGS is maliciously neglectful and Qingheng-jun is practically non-existent. Granted we don't get a clear idea of how JFM is with JC outside of what that dynamic is like with WWX but I don't think very highly of a father who will scold the son that labored for who knows how many days to save his shixiong's life while praising said shixiong for something he didn't even accomplish alone in the same breath. It's the whole pattern of "ignore what Jiang Cheng accomplishes but lavish praise on Wei Wuxian who would have gotten into even bigger trouble if Jiang Cheng wasn't looking out for him too" that gets me with him. They're both children, you be the adult and sect leader they deserve and look past your biases against your wife (allegedly) and from your past (allegedly) to give them the tools they need to succeed together once you've kicked the bucket.

Is Madame Yu perfect? No, but I do think she loves her children and recognizes the responsibilities she has to Yunmeng Jiang, and she knows as a wife, mother, and fighter, that nothing she does or teaches or passes onto the children in her care means as much as the recognition and explicit support of her husband the sect leader. Jiang Fengmian's presence and legacy in the story is very faint. But Madame Yu? I see echoes of her in all three Yunmeng Jiang kids. But then I see her getting turned into the nagging wife stereotype and it makes me angry that the most developed female character in this story so often gets the short end of the stick in fanfic. Obviously I can't control what some of y'all write and there are some cultural/political nuances that exist in the story that a lot of the fan base may not be familiar with, so yeah I can understand why she gets watered down like that, like any other character in the story does and I'm not calling anybody out for it. But if some of y'all took one look at the so-called sect leaders in this story and immediately decided that it was their nagging, abusive hag of a wife that was the problem, I don't think we're reading/watching the same thing. Also, Wen Ruohan doesn't have a wife mentioned at all that I'm aware of and you could 100% argue that he's the root of most of the political BS that happens in the story, so do with that what you will.

Anyway I'm tired and my joints be protesting so I'm gonna call it a night. If you read this far, take a virtual cookie for making it all the way to here, thank you. If you're new to this hellsite and thought this was intriguing/interesting, reblog or comment and help a bitch out with some engagement, these posts take a lot out of me and if you'll remember, I did have some questions before the meta that I'd like to get out to the wider fan base. Likes don't do shit except make the OP feel like they're yelling into a vacuum. Y'all have a good one.

[wangxianficrecs]

Magnanimous in Victory by giraffeter

Magnanimous in Victory

by giraffeter

E, WIP, 55k, Wangxian

Summary: Turning back to Lan Xichen, Wen Xu smiles. “Very well,” he says. “Since you beg so humbly for your brother’s life, I will grant your dying wish. The Nightless City is home to a number of courtesans, and I think your brother will look quite pretty in paint and silks. Let anyone who visits the Nightless City be witness to the Lan Clan’s shame. Let them see what will happen to their sons, if they disobey.” ~ After Cloud Recesses burns, Wen Xu brings Lan Wangji — the last Lan — back to Nightless City as his prize. Not to be outdone, his brother Wen Chao soon returns with a prize of his own: the Jiang Sect's senior disciple, Wei Wuxian. The Wens will come to regret this particular set of choices. Kay's comments: This story got me completely hooked and I'm so curious to see how it plays out! For the time being it's a story where things go very wrong, Lan Wangji, the last Lan, gets taken to the Nightless City to become Wen Xu' courtesan and soon, Wei Wuxian gets brought as well and becomes Wen Chao's courtesan. They had to adapt to the situation of they want to survive, but of course, they also thirst for revenge and the story is tagged as angst with happy ending and everybody lives/nobody lives (apart from, you know, the Lans) and I really love it so far. It's absolutely heart-breaking, but also so good. Nie Huaisang and Meng Yao are there as courtesans as well and it's just. I love this look into the world of their little prison, how they becomes allies and how they plot. Mind the tags! Excerpt: Wen Xu sits back down on the bed behind him; Lan Wangji only flinches a little at the hand that smooths up his side, his bicep, up to run a mocking fingertip along the white ribbon still bound around his temples. The camp outside is still raucous with the victory celebration. Lan Wangji shivers. Will Wen Xu keep his promise? Or throw him, naked, into the night? With a casual gesture, Wen Xu uses his qi to extinguish the lanterns in the tent. Firelight from outside casts long shadows on the tent walls. Lan Wangji huddles further into himself, away from Wen Xu, who stretches out beside him and wraps one arm around Lan Wangji’s churning stomach with a contented sigh. “You did very well, especially for your first time,” Wen Xu tells him. “Be good for me like that in Qishan, and I’ll make sure you never want for anything. You’ll see.” He pulls Lan Wangji closer against him in a mockery of a lover’s embrace. “I’m going to take such good care of you, A-Zhan.” Lan Wangji lies awake for a long time, listening to the sounds of the camp, to Wen Xu’s breathing relaxing into sleep. He hasn’t wept since his mother died, but he can’t help but shed a few tears now, silent in the dark. He weeps for his sect, his uncle, for Lan Xichen pleading on the Hanshi floor. For Cloud Recesses lying in ashes. For the Second Jade of Lan, murdered with the rest of his clan, leaving only Wen Xu’s plaything behind.

wip, wip rec week, pov alternating, canon divergence, major character death, somebody lives/not everybody dies, prisoner of war, courtesan lan wangji, courtesan wei wuxian, courtesan nie huaisang, courtesan jin guangyao, hurt/comfort, emotional hurt/comfort, angst with a happy ending, rape/non-con, underage, violence, sexual violence, aftermath of violence, dead dove: do not eat, getting together, love in a hopeless place, sunshot campaign, burning of the cloud recesses, espionage, lan wangji/others, wei wuxian/others, minor jin guangyao/nie mingjue, nieyao, bottom lan wangji, bottom wei wuxian

~*~

(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for this hard-working author if you like – or think others might like – this story.)

[staydandy]

Fireworks of My Heart (2023) - 我的人间烟火 - Whump List

List by StayDandy Synopsis : Fire chief Song Yan and ER doctor Xu Qin reunite after ten years. The two parted ways in their youths due to family. When they meet again, both of them have grown and changed a lot. Due to the nature of their work, Song Yan and Xu Qin's paths continue to intersect. Song Yan leads the firefighters in a brave fight to save others. No matter how many tests of life and death come his way, he never veers from his original aspirations. His persistence encourages Xu Qin gradually untying the knot that has troubled them for years. They walk side by side, overcoming family differences to be together as they guard this beautiful city in their own ways. (MDL) AKA : My Fireworks on Earth | Waiting for You in a City

Whumpee : Song Yan played by Yang Yang • Suo Jun [fire Instructor] played by Vin Zhang • Jiang Yu [fire Instructor] played by Wang Yan Lin • Liu Jun Ping [firefighter] played by Zhao Ren Jie • Yang Chi [firefighter] played by Meng A Sai • Zhan Da Peng [firefighter] played by Yi Da Qian

Country : 🇨🇳 China Genres : Action, Romance, Medical

Notes : This is a Full Whump List • Adapted from the web novel “Waiting for You in a City" (一座城，在等你) by Jiu Yue Xi (玖月晞) • So many characters to whump I nearly ran out of colors

Episodes on List : 16 Total Episodes : 40

*Spoilers below*

01 : [flashback] Song Yan shot … [present] toothache … blown back by an explosion

02 : Toothache

04 : Pierced in the back with broken metal.. treated at hospital

06 : Wrist lightly scratched

08 : Suo Jun collapses, pain, retches … face burned, arm paralyzed, hospitalized

12 : Jiang Yu exhausted from 20km run, collapses.. tries to run more, collapses.. bruises & blisters on his feet

13 : Song Yan stung by hornets, carried into hospital (comedic)

15 : Liu Jun Ping falls down a mountain side, foot stuck in a crevice, Song Yan stays with Jun Ping, temperature dropping, shivering.. Jun Ping carried out … leg bruised & bandaged

18 : Yang Chi's hand is cut in a fight … treated

21 : [flashback] Song Yan shot several times, passes out.. wakes, receiving field-aid, passes out again.. hospitalized

22 : [present] Supports a collapsed wall with his own body while someone tries to break it apart, feels the force of every blow of the sledgehammer … slips while helping carry a sledge of concrete

23 : … continued from previous ep. ... Throws up, unsteady, exhausted, continues to retch … trapped under a collapsed building, unconscious.. debris fallen on top, pierced through stomach by rebar … rescued, unconscious the whole time

24 : … continued from previous ep. ... 4hr surgery.. in medical tent … walking with crutch

30 : Jiang Yu is blown off a 2nd story floor by an explosion, knocked out

31 : Song Yan gets cyanide poisoning during a mission, dizzy, passes out … ambulance, oxygen mask, unsteady heartbeat, chest compression, shocked with defibrillator.. hospitalized

33 : Zhan Da Peng is caught in a flashback & explosion, knocked out, heavily burned, buried in debris

More Whump Lists for this show: simply-whump

[thatswhatsushesaid]

It pains me how nearly every single character treated JGY badly. Stunning that he isn't a total monster honestly

I mean I'm sure if you asked certain corners of this fandom, you'd find plenty of people eager to discuss with you in great detail just how monstrous they believe he truly is!! thankfully we are not in that corner of this fandom; we're in the corner composed of people who paid attention to his chapters and who don't take everything said by his every critic and enemy at face value 🤌

while I do believe that jgy's empathy programming is maybe wired a bit differently from other people's (or perhaps was just deeply and fundamentally altered as a direct result of the circumstances of his childhood and the cruelty he endures almost daily until jgs's death), I wish more attention was paid to jgy's many acts of kindness, compassion and generosity, things he does in the text for no reason at all other than the desire to help someone because it is within his power to do so.

it's an act of selfless bravery for young meng yao to throw himself between his mother and the john who is trying to hurt her, and he's injured seriously in the process when the john ends up shoving him down the brothel stairs in response to his intervention

young meng yao has nothing at all to gain through allowing himself to be beaten and abused by wen xu's cultivators while in hiding with lxc during the war--in fact, he could potentially gain quite a lot in the short term or long term through cooperating with the qishan wen, because what other connections does he have? but he doesn't! he protects lxc because he wants to protect him, even if it costs him quite a lot to do so

we know that jgy loves spoiling nhs and showering him with gifts, and I know there's plenty of ~discourse~ around whether he's doing this to drive a wedge between nhs and nmj (yawn), but I just genuinely love how clear the text is that not only does nhs just delight in getting fancy new stuff from jgy every time he visits, but these gifts are specifically tailored to nhs's interests in art and calligraphy, because jgy has been paying attention to nhs as a person.

just--look at how focused nhs is on comparing the inscriptions on the fans, he's clearly intellectually engaged by what he's doing, and nmj could not give less of a fuck. it makes me very angry on nhs's behalf, and at this point nmj hasn't even kicked jgy down the jinlintai steps yet!!

it also kills me how overjoyed nhs is by the arrival of his knight in shining armour, even if he is mostly just glad that nmj is gonna redirect his temper at someone else for a while lmfao. but like it's clear at this moment that 1) nhs is just happy to see jgy, and 2) nmj, while still going through life with a hair-trigger temper, is clearly still capable of finding nhs's reaction to jgy as something funny/amusing, and not solely a source of anger/resentment. makes me very 🥺

look!! /gestures @ all of that, look at how jgy tries to intercede on nhs's behalf here with nmj (and please appreciate with me nhs's precious and emphatic agreement lmfao hush a-sang you are not helping). I think the bits I highlighted below just emphasize how tuned in jgy is to nhs's interests and how seriously he takes them:

the things that jump off the page and grab me by the throat here are nhs's immediate fascination with the cultivation technique that jgy and nmj are discussing, because you'd think that anything even tangentially affiliated with cultivation would be something nmj would want to nurture an interest in. but beyond that just the confirmation in the text that jgy, knowing nhs does have an interest in music, previously procured and delivered him a first edition of something that clearly held nhs's interest and so enthralled him that he is unable to stop himself from talking about it! he's so excited, and intellectually engaged by the gifts that jgy has brought him--and then nmj just... shuts him down so completely that he flees the room. just. what the fuck, da-ge.

and it's pretty clear that jgy is also thinking the same thing, though he clearly can't come out and say "respectfully, chifeng-zun, but what the fuck," and still expect to keep his neck attached to his shoulders. so he uses the only effective tools at his disposal to try to get through to nmj: speech and diplomacy. and I will never understand why fandom ascribes such nefarious intent to what he says 👆👆👆 right here. "brother, if you're concerned for huaisang, softer words would do no harm." "it isn't that huaisang is a good-for-nothing, but that his heart lies somewhere else." "the only person whom I can't discern is you."

(tangent: if my math is right (end of sunshot to nmj's qi deviation), this is a 4-5 year long stretch of time during which we see meng yao, and then jin guangyao, working himself to the literal bone trying to understand and get through to nie mingjue. it clearly frustrates him that he has failed at doing so, and he does not hide this from nmj! which is why it galls me that nmj does not do even a tenth of this work in trying to understand jgy in return post-sunshot.)

...wow this turned into a post deconstructing jgy's gift-giving as an expression of his understanding and acceptance of nhs as a human being, and I make no apologies for it.

but maybe nie huaisang should apologize to his san-ge's fierce corpse just saying 🍵

[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!

[heymeowmao]

迷航昆仑墟 | Lost in the Kunlun Mountains E12 ° Stubborn

[movielosophy]

后浪  | Washing Tou Tou

[tavina-writes]

of course you know i'm gonna say sangyao, but just for fun, i'm also throwing ningsang out there.

Biscuit!! :D

Sangyao: Sometimes I feel insane about them. This is an eternal:

Ship It

What made you ship it?

Is there a reason NOT to ship it???? There can be something so personal about the "destroys your life on purpose and also by accident" thing they have going on! The amount they care about each other! I could go on LONG tangents about sangyao I'm obsessed with them.

What are your favorite things about the ship?

The fundamental way that they're so important to each other even in situations where there was no reason to start or continue being important to each other except that they still CHOSE to care.....mmm delicious. Did spoiled young master NHS need to give a shit about Meng Yao? No! Did Chief Cultivator JGY need to continuing giving a shit about "I don't know I don't know I really really don't know SOB"? No! Did they care anyway? Yes! Arguably this has made them so terrible for each other. I want to keep rotating them in the pear wiggler.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

I'm not sure. I guess my unpopular opinion is that I don't think time traveler JGY could kill a NHS who hasn't done anything to him yet but I DO think a time traveler NHS could murder Meng Yao. These two can contain multitudes!!! :DDD

Ningsang: I think the big problem here with this ship is that I just haven't thought about them a ton and would only see this working out in an AU where they have to care about each other due to some sort of forced proximity issue. I haven't decided what sort of issue that would be because I also don't think they're each other's type very much so there would have to be a lot of character development on top of the AU that pushes them together. Like, I could ship it. I can ship almost anything! I'm a devout multishipper at heart! I would read about them! But I queried my brain about any prompt ideas I might have them and all I got was radio static :(. (This is especially weird to me bc I'm also a devout NHS/Wen Xu girlie so ??? I should've been able to think of something???)

Thanks for the ask! :D

Ship It/Don't Ship It Ask Game

[mostlikelytofangirl]

Summary: New Year becomes "take your fake boyfriend to your shady businesses" day for Wen Ruohan because his sons made an oopsie, and picking them up from the police station (and discovering their own plans for the celebration) was just the beginning of his heartheadache.

Characters: Meng Yao, Su Minshan, Wen Ruohan, Wen Xu, Wen Chao, Wang Lingjiao

We are continnuing with the holidays chapters bc there's some stuff happening before MY goes to celebrate Chinese New Year with the Jins, and it's all about Family Emotions(tm).

Also teaching MY how to handle mafia-ish ventures, so little warnings for threats of violence, hush money and mentions of fights.

[mqfx]

id love to hear your thoughts on jyl! freudian or otherwise, with however many mentions of soup that you prefer 🥺🤲

just saw this :0 well i wouldn't say that i have many intelligent thoughts about jyl anymore especially since i don't really get the chance to talk about mdzs / cql much so i'm afraid i'll have to disappoint you on this count (which makes me a hypocrite i know)

but i did go insane below this line so watch out!

but i will say again what i said a few weeks back about us (fandom, society--you choose) missing out on a broader richer storytelling experience (?) when we continue to look over women's stories to get to the "more interesting" men because "well the author made more content about them so there's more to work with". not gonna belabor this point bc many have already pointed out that people will come up with all sorts of elaborate headcanons to talk about mr. blorbo who showed up in the back for ten seconds but nary a word to spare for the women who did quite a lot of narrative heavy lifting. did you know that i literally found a fic where wen chao becomes a ghost and gets together with qi rong in the underworld? do you see the same effort given to women with a similar level of narrative importance or prominence?

in this case part of it IS the fault of mxtx; more named men have died in mdzs than there are named women characters in it altogether (and even then, most of those women died too!). let's count:

women: wen qing, granny wen, jiang yanli, yu ziyuan, luo qingyang (mianmian), baoshan sanren, cangse sanren, a-qing, madam jin, jinzhu and yinzhu, meng shi (jgy's mom), qin su (jgy's wife). i bolded the ones who are dead by the end of the series (total: 13 women, 11 of whom are dead)

"important" men who died: wei changze, jiang fengmian, jin guangshan, jin zixuan, jin zixun, jin guangyao, jin rusong (child), su she, wen chao, wen zhuliu, wen ruohan, wen xu, wen ning (came back), song lan, xiao xingchen, xue yang, nie mingjue, wei wuxian (came back), mo xuanyu (total dead: 19, or 17 if you don't count the resurrected, 16 if you don't count the child)

13 total women characters vs let's say 16 dead men. and i'm sure i missed a few (<- nearly forgot xue yang) but who cares right now. what does this say about mxtx's priorities as a writer, or at the very least how women figure in her imagination?

''but charlie! they had a great impact on the narrative!" this is true. without meng shi's suffering there would be no raison d'etre for jin guangyao. without baoshan sanren's teachings there would be no xiao xingchen and song lan's tragedy, and no a-qing means we wouldn't even have known. no cangse sanren means no wei wuxian means no story at all. no wen qing = no core transfer. no jiang yanli = no jin ling, no yunmeng brothers, no heart to tether them from falling off the edge of morality (both have committed heinous acts in war regardless but jiang yanli represents for them why they had to do it. she's their home and their family that they fought to protect--and for what!) i could go on with each one, but my point is that if you take even one of these women out of the story, it all falls apart, right?

so why don't i hear anything about them?

and because you asked and i love you, let's focus on jiang yanli here: WHY is she more often than not excluded or otherwise glossed over in all the myriad discussions about how tragic the yunmeng brothers are? was she not also their sibling, their family? did she not also suffer the war and the near-total wipeout of her sect? the death of her husband? she DID but no one seems to give a shit about her unless it's to fucking call her SOUP as if that's the only thing she did!

no paragaph-long popular elegiac posts on her experiences and the incredible fortitude it might have taken not only to withstand all that but to do so with nothing but forgiveness? (speaking of forgiveness: that she forgive jin zixuan at all? out of unwavering love????) because it's not easy to stay kind in regular real-life conditions let alone what she had to face, on top of which was the daily terror that she might lose the last three people in her family she depended on as a non-powerful woman in a misogynistic society. how much of this was because mxtx couldn't be assed to develop her character, and how much of it is actually because despite what mxtx might have written, most people would not even notice because she's a woman?

the thing with interpreting fictional works or talking about characters is that you can't accurately pinpoint how much of the character was authorial intent, how much is your projection, and how much was a happy accident. what makes the curtains blue? i could just as easily say that "jiang yanli was the strongest character in mdzs because unlike the men who used their pain to justify their descents into crimes, heinous acts, and corruption, she (who had suffered equally or worse) managed to remain steadfast to her principles" as i could "jiang yanli remained static as a character because mxtx couldn't think of a way to develop her, or otherwise didn't give a shit about her role aside from sacrificial lamb for wei wuxian's and jiang cheng's pain".

but we can't even get to those goddamn discussions when people refuse to take her as seriously as they take their fucking war criminal beeboos so i'd be wasting everyone's FUCKING TIME