#golden stage

[huaepiphany]

How does mine wife fare?

[web-novel-polls]

Writing propaganda is so difficult for me bc, like, how do I even begin to show it better than lines like “You are the breath-taking view of mountains and lakes in the remaining years of my life, the rising clouds tinged in sunset colours. Now and forever, I will keep on loving you a little more” (4 o’clock flower) or “He loved him so much, missed him so much, he missed him in the barracks, he missed him in battle. In the depths of his shattered memories, he loved him, thought of him, missed him.” (Yuwu) or “If it’s with you, if I can be together with you… I am fearless.” (Where is Our Agreement to Be Arch-Rivals?) or “Only after having met you did I discover that its such a simple thing to be happy” (TGCF) or “In this life, you will be the only one in my heart. In the next life, and the life after that, I will forever remember you, so long as my soul hasn’t scattered.” (Qi Ye) or “To place my life in your hands, even if my end is death, it is something I’ll never regret” (Peerless) or “You are just like my reverse scale. You live, I live. You are my life. Therefore, no matter how difficult things are in the future, or how arduous life becomes, I want you to live” (Nan Chan) or “As long as this ending can be changed, I am willing to die for him a thousand times” (Mist) or “I fantasize about seeing my reflection in your eyes on day, just one look, I’ll be willing to do anything that is asked of me, even pulverizing my body and shattering my bones no matter how many times…” (LHJC) or “Whatever he wants, I’ll give it to him. If he wants my life, I’ll stake my life for him… there’s no betrayal to be had.” (Liu Yao) or “I will always be with you. Life or death, I will bring you home” (2ha) or “This love has always been doomed. Yet, knowing that it’s perpetual doom, that it’s infinite destruction, the moths still throw themselves into the fire until they meet their very deaths” (Cold Sands) or “I hope that you will hate me all your life” (Golden Stage) or “Won’t you turn back and look at me? If you turn back and look at me just one time, even if you were to ask me to climb up to the roof and jump off, I’ll do it.” (GuoMen) or “Whereas Ruan Nanzhu sat at his side, gazing at Lin Qiushi with admiration in his eyes, his whole look a litany of I love you I love you I love you” (Kaleidoscope of Death), or…

[goldenstage]

updated textless artworks of the golden stage audio drama for episodes 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 11, and 12. of varying quality. uploaded to my google drive.

update: i found the artwork for episode 6

[badass-queer-couples-battle]

Don't you think it's funny cause actual canon gay characters in BL manga will say "I love you" but only the shounen bromance can spew out some of the most romantic shit akin to a 19th century poet writing a letter expressing his surpressed love for his lover 😭.....

Genuniely can't tell if it's bait or not, but I'm going to treat this ask seriously anyway.

Here, have some examples of beautiful and poetic expressions of love in BL media!

I'm going to start with my favourite murder husbands, Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu from Word of Honor/Faraway Wanderers!

This happens in episode nine, less than one third into the story- it's that early, they've known each other for like a week and are already able to tell they're meant to be. They've made their decision to be together, and over the course of the story:

They defend each other multiple times and fight side by side in multiple episodes, sometimes protecting their adopted kid/mentee Chengling as well

Zhou Zishu is willing to go against the whole martial arts society for his boyfriend. With zero hesistation, might I add.

They both know the other has done horrible things (lots of murder on both sides here) and that's not only okay, it's a big part of why they're soulmates and get each other so well!

Zhou Zishu is slowly dying (poisoned nails in his chest, long story) and Wen Kexing can and will risk his life to save him. Don't worry, they get a happy ending both in the show and the novel even if the show's last episode is behind a paywall and Netflix didn't even include it for some reason?

But enough about them, let's move on to the immortal fantasy genre boyfriends Hua Cheng and Xie Lian from Heaven Official's Blessing!

Please note how Hua Cheng is ready to accept Xie Lian in whatever state he's currently in- as a god, a fallen outcast, even grieving and angry and at his absolute lowest. He's stood by Xie Lian in his worst moments, even if at the time Xie Lian had no idea it was him.

Hua Cheng has loved Xie Lian for 800 years, ever since he was a boy Xie Lian saved from falling to his death during a procession.

Xie Lian became a god, then fell due to horrible circumstances, almost committed a war crime against another nation that destroyed his country, spend 800 years wandering the mortal realm as a poor cultivator with his powers greatly reduced, and eventually ascended to become a god again. Throughout it all, Hua Cheng loved him and did his best to help him and then find him.

They're both adorable and the definition of a power couple once they're reunited- no spoilers, but they eventually fight an incredibly powerful god side by side and win & the last scene in the story is them reuniting for good since there's no more obstacles to their immortal love.

Let's move on to my favourite Japanese BL, Our Dining Table (also available as a series that came out semi-recently, but the examples below are from the manga.)

Yutaka is a lonely salesman who meets Minoru, a restaurant worker and his much younger brother Tane grieving the death of their mother.

Yutaka and Minoru hit it off by bonding through food they cook and share. The series is incredibly heartwarming, and as seen above Yutaka becomes a much happier person thanks to both his new relationship and big brother-like bond with little Tane.

As a little bonus, the whole found family together!

This post can't be complete without Golden Stage (or Golden Terrace, as the English official translation calls it).

Fu Shen and Yan Xiaohan aren't even in love at this point! This is at the beginning of the story, when their marriage has just been arranged by the emperor and they're still bitter rivals.

Yan Xiaohan is already protective of his future husband- later on, he also builds him a mansion meant to accommodate his disability (nerve damage in both legs, which requires a wheelchair and/or crutches). They're both incredibly powerful military generals, and the emperor was an idiot thinking an arranged marriage would humiliate them.

Of course they fall in love, of course they're a power couple, of course they send each other letters through trained geese when they're separated during the war, of course they run to each other as fast as they can across a wide cold river when they're finally reunited! Of course they're important to me!

....Aaand how about some Wangxian to wrap up this post? They need no introduction, an absolutely wonderful and complex relationship in a complex fantasy/intrigue story available in several forms - the books, the animated series (as seen above), the live action series, the audio drama, there's so much!

Some of their most beautiful moments:

Lan Wangji writing a song for Wei Wuxian and naming it Wangxian. Years after it's composed, Wei Wuxian plays it and LWJ is able to recognise him even in a different body.

LWJ begs WWX to come with him to Cloud Recesses, to safety, after WWX makes himself an enemy of the whole cultivation world for protecting innocent people.

They confront the final villain together, and work together to expose his crimes. This is also when their final love confession happens, and it's hilarious- in front of everyone's salad, WWX declares he also wanted to sleep with LWJ.

Despite censorship, the animated series was still able to allude to their wedding, showing them in red wedding robes (unfortunately can't find a gif rn)

Respectfully, if you genuinely think BL doesn't have beautiful love confessions and displays of romance, you need to find better BL.

[attorneytrash]

started golden terrace and i'm so so so so normal about it. political intrigue and affairs of state ft. gay people. sorry if they have a canon appearance this is what they look like to ME

bonus:

[fixaidea]

So here's the thing: I don't usually engage with or care about top/bottom discourse EXCEPT when I think it's funny, sooo...

Let's do some Science and examine Pingxie in a Very Serious Manner.

To do this, first let's take a look at some data gathered from all the danmei novels and shows I know (relevant for calibration you know, since they have actual canon top/bottom dynamics.)

SVSSS

Shen Qingqiu - Since his cause of death wasn't starvation we can assume - well, at least hope - that he can make instant noodles, if nothing else, but he will absolutely avoid having to cook if he can help it.

Luo Binghe - As the Protagonist he of course has to be The Bestest at everything (...except sex, apparently) and it's mentioned that both Bingge and Bingmei use their culinary skills to woo the people they want to sleep with. He's also the top, even though everyone involved would be better off if he wasn't.

MDZS

Lan Wangji - Becomes a pretty decent cook, as per the extras. Prefers to top.

Wei Wuxian - It's not like he's incompetent, he doesn't burn or undercook the food, it's just that his taste is so extreme that his dishes are basically inedible to anyone else.

TGCF

Hua Cheng - No special talent for cooking, but at least he's not actively dangerous. There's no on-page sex scene in the novel, but it's made obvious that he tops.

Xie Lian - Biohazard. Weapons-grade culinary anti-talent. Gastronomy's answer to Vogon poetry.

Golden Stage

Ulike in most of the other novels on the list, food doesn't really have much symbolic meaning and not much is said about either Fu Shen's or Yan Xiaohan's cooking skills, exept for a brief mention of Fu Shen pickling eggs to pass the time. This is a rare couple that canonically switches.

Guardian

Zhao Yunlan - This man considers instant noodles cooked with coffee an okay way to surprise a boyfriend. He really wouldn't mind topping, which he keeps lamenting throughout the book, but he's paired with Shen Wei who might just have the strongest set preference out of everyone on this list.

Shen Wei - Likes to dote on Zhao Yunlan by cooking for him and is genuinely very good at it.

Word of Honor (mind, I have only watched the show here)

Zhou Zishou - Can keep himself alive, but left to his own devices would probably make due with charred-and-yet-undercooked fish or something.

Wen Kexing - A competent cook. While obviously not detailed in the drama I looked it up (or asked someone, I can't remember) and he's the top here.

Erha

Chu Wanning - Perfected exactly one (1) dish, is rather... unfortunate otherwise. You could not pay this man to top.

Mo Ran - Excellent cook. Actually worked in a kitchen at one point in his life, giving and receiving food is basically his main love-language.

Now that we have examined these canon couples and have drawn all the relevant conclusions, let's apply what we learned to our non-danmei, might-as-well-be-canon-but-isn't ship.

Wu Xie - Can cook just fine both in the novel and the drama-verse even if it doesn't come up too often. In the first season he cooks up a pretty decent feast for his friends and in the Yucun books he helps come up with the dishes they would serve in their restaurant.

Zhang Qiling - The entire Thing of this poor sod as a character is that he knows how to survive but not how to live. Taking the time to prepare nice meals or cook anything beyond basic sustenance just... doesn't fit that picture.

So.

I rest my case.

[danmeireadingthoughts]

My thoughts while reading Golden Terrace I, without context: a thread.

(possible spoiler warning.)

[flower-of-the-desert]

I finished Golden Terrace recently and I loooooved it. It was such a fun novel, Fu Shen and Yan Xiaohan are so funny and sweet together and their dynamic is delicious.

I love the development of their relationship and how Fu Shen in particular fell into his feelings and became so possessive and protective of his wife 😵‍💫. And seeing the depth of Yan Xiaohan's devotion is so 😍🥹💗 10/10 great read

[maria-taiwin]

For who really like the "subversion of stereotypes" (no shame of other tropes, i just like variety), I feel very lucky to have known Yan Xiaohan, Wen Kexing and Yan Zhengming in danmei fandoms.

Top gay men who doesn't feel threatened if they get called wife or other fem cute nicknames, there is no toxic masculinity who coincides with the "i'll be less of a man if I get called wife/princess etc, after all I'm the top in bed so I'm the Man" mindset. They give no fuck 👌

I repeat, no shame to different dynamics but it's refreshing and nice and so real to me personally seeing also this fluid representation on mlm couples 🌈

[yinyuworld]

Fu Shen: "Gege?"

"It’s okay." Yan Xiaohan lowered his head to watch him, sighing silently in his heart with a slight bow on his lips. "Call me that again and I can just give up the darkness and turn to the light for you".

✨ this quote is from book Golden Stage by Cang Wu Bin Bai

📌 official illustration for the Golden Stage audio drama

[nemainofthewater]

Best character surnamed: Fu

Come and vote for the best characters with the same surname!*

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!

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

Propaganda is very welcome! If I’ve forgotten anyone, let me know in the notes.

This is part of a larger series of ‘best character with X surname’ polls’. The overview with ongoing polls, winners, and future polls can be found here

[shijiujun]

Handmade Danmei Sketchbooks ❥

Edit: Almost sold out 😂 that was a surprise

[web-novel-polls]

WN Non-Sapient Animal Upper Bracket

["Anti-Propaganda" is NOT allowed. Please be courteous and only give reasons to vote FOR a character.]

The Victimized Geese Turned Messenger Birds from Golden Stage

Submission: VICTIMS OF UNJUST WORK CONDITIONS. Fu Shen shoots them down (but doesn't kill them), heals them and gets them working as messenger geese cuz he wants to send a message to Yan Xiaohan during wartime and there were no phones in Ancient China. Good birds who Deserve Better.

Luo Yiguo from Silent Reading / Mo Du 

Type of Animal: cat

No propaganda submitted

Carrd Link

[goldenstage]

golden stage official thai release cover art. quality is the best i could find so far

Update: slightly better quality

[incorrect-web-novels]

Fu Shen: I know you, Yan Xiaohan. You may be evil, but you’re not stupid

Yan Xiaohan: I’m sure there’s a compliment in there somewhere.

[smittenskitten]

You know it's true love when they get gay married to their enemy (the love of their life) because of imperial edict