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Okay I think a lot of people actually start their unlimited flow (UF) danmeis with this one but I only read this close to the end of last year and MAN DID I REGRET NOT READING THIS EARLIER because it was insanely good! And deserves its spot as a big UF fave. A strong main lead who’s never forgotten about his childhood friend and that childhood friend who forgot him in memories but not in body or spirit. Yes this one is transmigrator x system!!! ALSO THE ART FOR THE AUDIO DRAMA IS DAMN GOOD

Summary

Chi Xiaochi, a talented actor who’s just won Best Actor award, dies on the stage he receives his award on after the hanging lights above him crash onto him - as he dies, he dies full of regrets, and sees flashbacks of the time he spent with his childhood best friend, who died years ago.

He wakes up in another world and is tied to a system 061, who guides him through his mission in each world. 061 is unlike most systems and is very caring towards Chi Xiaochi, and from the system, Chi Xiaochi feels something very familiar about the way the system talks and behaves as they go through each world together.

In each world, Chi Xiaochi transmigrates each time into the body of a main lead (usually the shou), who has died after suffering physically/emotionally from their asshole partner who betrayed them or caused them grief, leading to their anguish and resentment. At the time of death, their anguish and hatred is heard by the overall big system (that governs all systems) and they’re given a chance to let Chi Xiaochi take over their body, go back in time, and do things differently, and get revenge. His goal is to accumulate regret points from the gongs who have let the shous down.

Chi Xiaochi’s first world is indeed full of angst and gouxie, where the ML has been in a relationship with this closeted man, and in the original storyline, that man allows his sister to steal ML’s composed song, sells it to another artist for profit, and ML releases it as well a few days after under another company, only to be hit with plagiarism accusations and online bullying from netizens as a result. The man begs him not to ruin his sister’s future at his expense, and on top of that, has never introduced ML to his parents and was secretly seeing another woman on the side. ML dies with regret, depressed and in despair.

Chi Xiaochi knows how it goes, and as he comes to grips with his new reality now, he stares at the man before him - the man who says he loves the ML, the person of whose body he’s in right now, who keeps making the ML compromise for his selfish reasons - and resolves to make this man regret ever being born.

In the meantime, 061 teaches Chi Xiaochi how to love again, even if he doesn’t remember who he is. And through each ML in various worlds that CXC has to become and help, he forms unexpected connections and makes new friends with some of them too.

They have to figure out just why 061 lost his memories because technically all systems were once humans who then died after, and all come with their memories in their past life - and Chi Xiaochi has to deal with the animosity coming from one of the systems’ managers, that seems to have something against him.

Read

Novel (Online) | Novel (Print) | Translations | Manhua | Audio Drama

Characters

1. 池小池 Chi Xiaochi - Incredibly strong acting skills and very bold, he knows exactly what to do the moment he sees the ML’s tragic story and very adaptable to different types of revenge strategies. He has a lot of empathy for the MLs whose bodies he inhabits while he helps them to take revenge. Personally, he’s had a pretty tough childhood with terrible parents, and Lou Ying, his childhood friend, has always been his shelter and strength, until the day he died, partially because of him. Lou Ying has always been his only worthy connection to life, and he was absolutely destroyed when he died. He gets a second chance with 061, and he’s quite sure that this man is Lou Ying after falling in love with 061 - but have to figure out how to get back to the living world together.

2. 061 娄影 Lou Ying - Absolutely devoted pre-system and as the system for CXC. He’s loved him all his life, and he was actually a system who remembered CXC and was rushing throughout thousands of missions with several hosts so he could hit his target and return back to the world of the living to be with CXC again. But as a system he also gets real-life updates for CXC, and when CXC was at his lowest point due to an incident with his parents, Lou Ying breaks rules and appears in the living world, wanting to meet CXC once after comforting him as an online friend, but is taken away and has his memories erased due to his infraction. The system manager also has an agenda of its own, and used this opportunity to make 061 work for him fully. When CXC turns up, he’s assigned to him, and with the help of his other system friends who actually know what CXC means to him, finds his memories back and fights against the system manager

Other Things I Liked in the Novel

The novel is honestly pretty genius because it weaves CXC’s past and his life with Lou Ying throughout the novel, and you don’t realize what happened between them, why Lou Ying died, until much closer towards the end, and it’s not confusing or jarring at all. He died while protecting CXC from his predatory teacher, but the teacher got to walk away scot-free as no one believed that a kind person like him would be capable of molesting a male teenager, of everything. Before CXC was almost r*ped by the teacher, Lou Ying burst into the house to save him, and was pushed off the balcony and fell to his death. Lou Ying’s family resents CXC as a result as well

The good thing is they get to go into a world where CXC can exact revenge against this teacher, and against his parents who let this happen, and in the meantime save the other boys who were abused by him

Really loved how the other systems who have been working with 061 for the longest time all know that the love of his life is CXC, and they both worry like 061′s parents as they’re conflicted over whether to tell 061 that he better hold onto this person without alerting the system manager. They both really do their best to make sure 061 is reunited fully with memories, with CXC, and help to deal with system manager in various ways as well

I do like that not every case is full on irredeemable revenge because some of the gongs actually do 100% love the ML but due to various reasons e.g. possessive nature they alienate ML from the rest of the world so they truly belong to them alone, and other cases where the ML actually still love the men who let them down, and CXC fixing the world and helping them to collect regret points from the gongs, means some of these MLs actually get a second chance at happiness in an environment and time where nothing went wrong

There’s a zombie apocalypse one, a spaceship AU etc., sooo many worlds they cover plenty!!!

Also very very satisfying to see some of the really terrible gongs get their just desserts!!!!!

[zhexiannv]

Jin Ling  🍋   Don’t re-upload or use

[zhexiannv]

MDZS Audio Drama Listening Guide

AKA Lace has listened to the Audio Drama an unholy amount of times and might as well put her knowledge to good use

(Suibian Subs) (Episode Guide by pumpkinpaix) (Purchasing guide for iOS)

NOTE: This is my own, personal opinion on what’s the preferable order to watch the MDZS Audio Drama extras.

The AD is by far the most accurate adaptation we have, and not only it follows the novel 1:1, it adds quite a lot of content that had only been left implied or left off-screen in the original text. However, there are also some events that do happen in the novel, but had to be put aside in an extra episode, either because of time restraints or for the sake of pacing. So, I’ve tried to set up this list to compensate it! The order is either based on at which point we learn such events in the novel, or if this event isn’t in the text, then it’s based on what I believe the best time to listen to the extra would be.

If you feel overwhelmed by the amount of extras and don’t know where to start, hold my hand and i’ll show you the way (*•̀ᴗ•́*)و

Keep reading

[zhexiannv]

A quick sketch of #HeXuan because I can’t wait for his reveal!

Permission granted by the artist. Do not repost or edit without permission. Support the artist on their page 😊

Artist: blackwatervial

Source

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(Tap for better quality!!)

Wei Wuxian says... uhm... Happy pride month??

[zhexiannv]

The contradictions between WWX’s words and actions are some of the funniest elements in MDZS like one moment he’s swearing up and down that he isn’t gay and the next moment he is slapping NMJ’S corpse tiddies like a car salesman slapping the roof of the SUV he’s trying to sell you and yelling Lan Zhan look at his massive badonka donkas

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teen dad wkx and his little flea

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i think you can put it in the text of "canon fodder," which is used frequently in chinese novels to describe someone who's just used to boost the status of the main characters, like an enemy or obstacle that gets defeated, and it shows off the main characters' power or smth

So I was looking up what “Moling (秣陵)” meant, and when separate it becomes “horse food mountain” or otherwise put “fodder mountain”.

Fodder: a person or thing regarded only as material for a specific use.

And I don’t know what to do with this information. 

[zhexiannv]

The one undeniable edge that svsss has over its sibling books is its ability to get you attached to side characters. By the end of mdzs average reader has a 50% chance of hating even the main characters most beloved younger brother, but by the end of svsss average reader has a 0% chance of hating and not relating to a guy literally named Masturbation

[zhexiannv]

"Lan Zhan."

He turns to his husband, gaze inquisitive, his hands never leaving the fur of the bunny he's been stroking. They're sitting underneath a tree in the bunny field, side by side - as they'll always and forever be.

"I was thinking about something."

"Mn?"

"So technically I'm - what age is Mo Xuanyu's body, 20 something, right?"

A nod.

"So you're, like, 37."

"Yes."

"So you're basically a cougar."

The tips of Wangji's ears dust pink. "Wei Ying!"

A thoughtful stroke of chin. "Hm, no, more like a sugar daddy."

"Wei Ying!"

He laughs heartily, then leans into Lan Wangji's side with emphasis. "How scandalous, Hanguang-Jun! I would've never guessed you like them younger."

Wangji nods sagely, leans to stroke a lock of hair away from his husband's face. "Mm. Only you. I like you young."

It's Wei Ying's turn to blush, and Wangji sighs contently, a little teasing smile at the corners of his lips.

The bunny flops away from his arms at the perfect moment for Wei Ying to take its place.

[zhexiannv]

[x]

[zhexiannv]

it’s 4am feelings about hua cheng again. just reading the early arcs and thinking abt hua cheng’s perspective.

he’s 800 years old, a ghost king who has very much reached the end of his growth. he’s powerful he’s confident he’s peaked. and now he gets faced with his god, able to meet him on equal footing, and equally able to PROTECT his god from any harm that might come to him. and he MEETS his god. he doesn’t go in feeling entitled to anything, but he thinks he at least knows what to expect. he knows what points of his character he will be judged for. he knows what a righteous god will and won’t like.

he steels himself for the rejection at those moments — but instead, his god turns out to be the weirdest funniest little guy ever. so sweet and good and kind, but also beaten down and tired in the same ways hua cheng is. he doesn’t ever judge hua cheng for his choices. every time hua cheng thinks he knows what’s coming xie lian turns it around on him, and hua cheng can’t help but just. laugh. and fall in love.

[zhexiannv]

something something infinite glory vs fallen from grace, how tgcf’s whole point is its range. how the whole point is to show extreme contrasts: xie lian floating through the sky as a hero vs lying drunk and filthy at the bottom of a grave pit. shi qingxuan the vibrant privileged god vs the disfigured beggar. pei ming the great warrior vs the easily humiliated coward. hua cheng the too-brave solider boy vs the fearsome ghost king vs the playful and sometimes vicious san lang. it’s still just you.

it’s you when you’re glorious and worshipped and loved and beautiful, it’s you when you’re vulnerable and pathetic and desperate and ugly. it’s you when you are dressed up in finery, it’s you when you are filthy and covered in mud. its you when you’re kind and benevolent, it’s you when you’re petty and angry. it’s you when you are dying for a noble cause, it’s you when you wield a sword for twisted vengeance. it’s all you, in all that it is possible for a human to be. and all that is worth loving. because it is you.

[zhexiannv]

light and ash

[zhexiannv]

I would *love* any additional linguistic details you can provide on the Baifeng Mountain scene where Queen Yanli absolutely eviscerates asshole-cousin-Jin (as Jin Zixun is known in our household). The subtitles are incredible enough, but I'm sure there are so many details I'm missing that would make me love Yanli even more (if that's possible). Anything you wanted to share would be welcome!

okay okay so I went back and rewatched that scene to answer this ask and god is it painful to sit through, because:

Wei Wuxian is like, on the edge of tears for this entire scene, which prefigures the entire conflict in episode 32 during the second siege of Nightless City. Both times, he’s frustrated and furious, and every single one of his arguments made in cold, cool logic gets shouted down by louder voices who want nothing more than to see him dead, punished for his aberrant genius. Both times, they cast aspersions on his ambition, his person, his audacity, his upbringing -- and most of all, they insult (without knowing) his greatest sacrifice, the likes of which no one knows, no one can even really comprehend. It makes me SO MAD. 

This is the last time Wei Wuxian has both of his emotional anchors — Lan Wangji and Jiang Yanli — present to pull him back from an emotional brink. Not that anyone, y’know, appreciates the immense emotional effort it took him to not eviscerate Jin Zixun on the spot. We don’t really talk about the immense emotional control and self-discipline Wei Wuxian has to not go berserk at literally any second — we should talk about that more. Can I get some snaps for our resident demonic cultivator?

Sect Leader Yao is in this scene, for some unknown reason, and speaks. Ugh. Can he stop doing that

Jin Zixun gets out of this scene without actually delivering the apology that Jiang Yanli demanded, the weasel.

But! In the name of shijie, we persevere!

I’m not going to translate the entire scene (because I’m not, I’m not re-translating the entire show, if I say it enough times I’ll believe it), but here are some interesting blocking/dialogue things I noticed this time around:

Jin Zixun is so?? breathtakingly??? rude????

which, I know, is not exactly a surprise or a deep insight, but this scene really hammers home how goddamn infuriating he is.

Wei Wuxian spends this entire confrontation trying to get away — he turns his back on Jin Zixun, speaks to other people, anything to rein himself in and, y’know, not smash Jin Zixun’s face into smithereens — but Jin Zixun continually chases him around the clearing, constantly getting in Wei Wuxian’s face. It’s like Jin Zixun is trying to get in a fight with Wei Wuxian, and yet, when Wei Wuxian offers him that fight, Jin Zixun backs off.

I might be overthinking this, but it really seems like Jin Zixun is trying to employ a variation on 苦肉计 kurouji (one of the 《三十六计》，The Thirty-Six Stratagems) by deliberately goading Wei Wuxian towards violence. It’s almost as if he’s trying to get Wei Wuxian to attack him, so that, during the inevitable fall-out, he can point at his own injuries and yell loudly about Wei Wuxian’s lack of culture, lack of control, lack of education, etc etc. 

It’s also a pretty high-risk gambit in this case, which makes me wonder if someone put him up to it… cough Jin Guangshan cough

Or, y’know, Jin Zixun is just that obnoxious, his arrogance cultivated through a childhood of luxury and that unquestioned belief in his inherent superiority. That’s also possible.

Anyways, Jin Zixun’s asshole-ry doesn’t stop with Wei Wuxian; right after Jiang Yanli apologizes to Jin Zixun — apologizes! — on behalf of Wei Wuxian, Jin Zixun straight-up walks away from her bow. She is literally still bowing to him, torso inclined, eyes lowered. The correct and courteous thing to do in this moment is to acknowledge the apology, whether that’s accepting it or denying it, so that Jiang Yanli can straighten up and they can talk face-to-face like two people of the same rank and generation. But no-o-o — he walks away from her, goes over to Wei Wuxian, rubs it in his face a bit more, before finally acknowledging the apology with a magnanimous and dismissive gesture, declaring that the apology is not necessary.

Seriously? You just went after Wei Wuxian for a solid four minutes, and now you’re saying that apologies aren’t necessary? What the fuck do you even want, you piece of--

UGH. Anyway. Let’s talk about Jin-furen, who’s bobbing along concernedly in the background.

Jin-furen’s shifting role

So I’ve got a lot of mixed feelings on Jin-furen, but most of my uncertainty about her is because we don’t get much of her onscreen at all. I love that she is completely and totally unafraid to call Jin Zixuan out on his disaster het bullshit, and she does try to defuse the situation here by intervening both with Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixun (let’s remember that Jin-furen is the one to yell at Jin Zixun, backing up Jiang Yanli’s demand for his apology). And I absolutely adore seeing the solidarity between Jin-furen and Jiang Yanli in the brief moments where they’re allied against the men in the scene.

At the same time… Jin-furen is complicated. She has, objectively, the worst husband in the series, yet manages to maintain an air of dignity and command that belies her petite height (everyone in this cast are goddamn giants but words cannot encompass my love for the fact that Jiang Yanli, in all her five-foot-six glory, tells local necromantic six-foot beanpole and younger brother to stand behind her). As she watches Jiang Yanli tear Jin Zixun a new one, you can see this mix of emotions on her face — the instinct to tell Jiang Yanli to back off, to keep her head down, to silence herself because that’s how women stay safe in this world, that’s how women survive, balanced equally with a respect and unspoken support for Jiang Yanli because you go girl, knock these asshole men down a few pegs, they deserve it.

Part of the reason why this scene’s so complicated is because there are so many parties, and so many different agendas at play. We have:

Jin Zixuan, disaster het, trying to communicate his affections to the love of his life and failing spectacularly

Jiang Yanli, resident queen, too good for this world, too pure. Trying not to get her heart broken and also defend her little bro

Wei Wuxian, necromantic beanpole, trying to defend his shijie from this man who keeps hurting her feelings, trying not to lay waste to everything within a square mile

Lan Wangji, just passing by, trying to make sure the love of his life doesn’t cause an inter-clan incident

Jin-furen, the only grown-up around, trying to get her disaster son to talk nicely to his former betrothed while looking out for the daughter of her best friend

Jin Zixun, local asshole, trying to get Wei Wuxian to attack him

Literally everyone has a different motive in this scene, which makes this moment delightfully complex. But at this moment:

don’t pretend I can’t see you, Jin Zixuan

Another thing I couldn’t help but track was Jin Zixuan’s presence in the background of this scene (remember when this scene started with Wei Wuxian interrupting disaster hets Jin Zixuan and Jiang Yanli? Ah yes, gentler times) — he’s there, watching everything unfold, watching his beloved roll up her sleeves and go toe-to-toe with Jin Zixun, watching even his mom yell at Jin Zixun — and he does… nothing?

“你这个臭小子” -- Jin-furen, actually

I keep thinking about how Jin Zixuan grew up — lonely, proud, adrift — and why he doesn’t try to intervene in this scene, to talk Jin Zixun down the way he does in episode 31 (RIP. For Jin Zixuan. Not Jin Zixun). I wonder how many people he can call close friends — he’s the sole legitimate heir of the Lanling Jin Sect, elevated and isolated in his status and skill in a way not-unlike coldly aloof Lan Wangji (and boy do I have thoughts about how bitterly lonely Lan Wangji is throughout his life thanks to his reputation), except Jin Zixuan doesn’t have an elder brother who understands him, doesn’t have someone who can tease him and listen to him and watch out for him. No, he’s just got this one asshole cousin around his age that he tolerates because Jin Zixun’s foul mouth and foul temper is never directed at him. I can’t imagine that Jin Guangshan was a particularly good father to Jin Zixuan, even if he does do, y’know, the bare minimum of refraining from kicking Jin Zixuan down the steps of Jinlintai; and considering that Jin-furen was the one to bring up suspicions about the ‘‘‘‘‘‘propriety’’’’’ of Wei Wuxian and Jiang Yanli walking together (seriously Jin-furen, the thought had never crossed my mind before you brought it up), I can’t imagine that she would let Jin Zixuan get too close to, say, Mianmian/Luo Qingyang.

Nothing particularly coherent here, but this scene got me thinking about how profoundly lonely Jin Zixuan must have been while growing up, although I doubt he admitted would ever admit such a weakness to himself. Which might explain why he doesn’t try to rein in Jin Zixun, here — he doesn’t want to alienate, the only other person his age that his parents let him talk to.

He’s still a disaster of a man, though. Someone get him some proper socialization, stat.

Hands, Feet, and Siblings

All right let’s get some dialogue and translations up in this post. I did (deep sigh) do the thing where I muted the episode on YouTube and turned on the English subs, and shockingly… it’s not terrible? I mean it’s not great (seriously, what’s going on with ‘preys,’ just use the verb ‘hunt’ like a normal person please) but the meaning of the lines are pretty well-communicated. I do want to look a bit at these two lines, because I’m in the business of appreciating language AND Jiang Yanli:

Jin Zixun, right after Jiang Yanli apologizes to him, before she utterly roasts him: 但是，看在江姑娘还有江宗主的面子上，道歉就不用了。毕竟云梦江氏和兰陵金氏本来就情同手足嘛。/ But, considering the feelings of Jiang-guniang as well as Jiang-zongzhu, this apology is not needed. After all, the Jiang Clan of Yunmeng and the Jin Clan of Lanling are as dear to each other as hands are to feet.

Jiang Yanli, in the process of absolutely destroying Jin Zixun: 阿羡是我云梦江氏子弟，自小同我姐弟二人一起长大，情逾手足。你脱口而出家仆之子，恕我不能接受，因此还希望金子勋公���向我云梦江氏魏无羡道歉。/ A-Xian is one of our disciples, of the Jiang Clan of Yunmeng. Ever since he was small, he grew up with the two of us, dearer than hands or feet. You threw out the words ‘son of a servant.’  I beg your pardon*, but I cannot tolerate this. And so, I hope that Jin Zixun-gongzi will apologize to Wei Wuxian of our Yunmeng Jiang Clan.

*Jiang Yanli, here, uses the words 恕我 shuwo, which literally means “forgive me” but often appears in phrases like 恕我直言 shuwo zhiyan / ‘forgive me for my blunt speech,’ and thereby has this vague aura of ‘sorry-not-sorry’

Okay! So I’ve bolded the relevant chengyu in both lines of dialogue: Jin Zixun says that the Jiang and Jin Clans are 情同手足, which gets translated in the YouTube subs (and on Pleco, for the record) into “as close as brothers.” Totally correct! Absolutely conveys the appropriate sentiment! Pretty much means this in Chinese! But on a character/semantic level, has no thing to do with brothers or siblings:

情 qing - (n.) feelings, sentiment

同 tong - (adj.) just as, like

手 shou - (n.) hand

足 zu - (n.) foot

Literally, the idiom expresses ‘as dear as hands and feet, such that you are never apart from them, even for a day.’ Since it’s often used to express the closeness of two people on a sibling-esque level, it’s not surprising that it gets translated the way it does. But if we want to get down to the meaning of it, it’s like saying that someone is as close to you that they’re practically the same body — inseparable as hands and feet.

So Jin Zixun says that about the two sects, but Jiang Yanli takes that one step further and modifies the chengyu into:

情 qing - (n.) feelings, sentiment

逾 yu - (v.) to exceed

手 shou - (n.) hand

足 zu - (n.) foot

which is pretty much the same sentiment as another established chengyu, 情逾骨肉 qingyugurou / ‘dearer than one’s own bone and flesh.’ The point here is that Jiang Yanli, by changing the second character, emphasizes that Wei Wuxian is dearer to her than any political alliance with the Jin Sect. Sure, fine, our two sects are close as hands and feet, she says, but Wei Wuxian is more important to me than hands or feet.

Shijie is the literal best.

Throughout this whole confrontation, Jin Zixun tries his level best to isolate Wei Wuxian, attacking him for his alternative cultivation, for his parentage, questioning his morality, his righteousness, deploying all sorts of verbal abuse isolating and demeaning Wei Wuxian and his achievements. And since Wei Wuxian is trying not to cause trouble for Yunmeng Jiang (Yu-furen’s last words to him still echo in his mind), he doesn’t try to call on any sort of relationship with Yunmeng Jiang to defend himself, taking all of the insult onto himself alone.

Jiang Yanli will not stand for this. Wei Wuxian is hers, is Yunmeng Jiang’s, is not alone. It would be so, so easy to leave Wei Wuxian out in the cold — they’re surrounded by an overwhelming majority of Jin Sect and randos (including — ugh — Sect Leader Yao); they’re on their own. She doesn’t usually pull rank or assert authority loudly in public debate, but in this moment she does. When Jiang Yanli goes off on Jin Zixun, she claims Wei Wuxian, makes it known that there will be no dividing of the two of them (which, I think, is part of what prompts Jin-furen to switch sides and demand that Jin Zixun apologize as well), that an attack on Wei Wuxian is as good as an attack on Yunmeng Jiang.

Someone is attacking her little brother, so she’ll go to fucking war for him. 

pour one out for Jin Guangyao

Jin Zixun narrowly avoids having to apologize to Jiang Yanli (still seething about that, by the way) thanks to the arrival of Jin Guangyao and Lan Xichen. Jin-furen immediately storms over to Jin Guangyao and lays into him, since he’s a convenient scapegoat whom she already holds a grudge against (is it logical? no. is it good of her? no. but does she have the literal worst husband who needs to be set on fire? yes. and does Jin Guangyao remind her of that fact? unfortunately, through no fault of his own, yes). What upsets me the most about this, though, is that Jin-furen calls Jin Guangyao 废物 feiwu / ‘good-for-nothing, useless thing.’ Underneath it all is the the implicit judgment of class and status — Jin Guangyao’s eternal raw nerve, son of a prostitute.

Jin-furen smacks the pleasant smile right off of Jin Guangyao’s face, and it’s decidedly… unpleasant. There’s colloquialism in modern Mandarin, 躺枪 tangqiang, which literally means ‘to get shot even while lying down.’ The idea here is that there’s a conflict going on (usually somewhere on the internet) and someone, who’s trying to lie low, definitely not engaging, still gets dragged into the whole mess. They’re keeping their head down and they still get shot.

Yep, that’s Jin Guangyao in this scene; just tryin’ his best to be helpful, to smooth things over, to resolve conflicts, and Jin-furen slaps him in the face. Even Lan Xichen looks actively uncomfortable, and steps up to defend him.

Man, this whole scene is such a mess (from an in-universe perspective, not a production standpoint. The production is impeccable and needs no notes), and part of it is because there are so many personalities and agendas clashing in a high-stress environment.

But one last dig of the knife:

Jiang Cheng shows up late to the no-good-very-bad party, and he’s all concern for Wei Wuxian. Where are you going? he asks. Come with me to the Hundred Flowers Feast.

And Wei Wuxian removes Jiang Cheng’s hand from his arm--

I can’t get over the fact that Jiang Cheng stares down at his hands, totally disbelieving that Wei Wuxian just shrugged him off

says, I’m going into the city to roam for a bit. Go on your own, and Jiang Cheng watches him walk away, disbelieving, confused, left in the dark and the dust.

(and the next time Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng see each other, it will be in the grand hall of Jinlintai, when Wei Wuxian stands before the assembled clans and snatches away a cup of wine, sets fire to his bridges and counts down from three, because that single, fateful trip into the city will be when he meets Wen Qing again for the first time since she reached inside him and cut away his childhood at his own request, the beginning of an end long in coming)

[zhexiannv]

I don’t think anyone needs me to do a why-you-should-read for 2ha because I’m late af to the party, but no danmei rec is complete this year without 2ha and shizun and mo ran! I have feels okay, a lot of them!!!! Like?!! CHU WANNING?!!! So ethereal and gorgeous and deserves everything in the world, and also a shrine in my room dedicated to the beauty and grace and power that is shizun.

So here’s me trying to summarize and also delve into specific parts of 2ha as much as I can, although because I’m new to the fandom I’d say don’t take my word for it entirely XD It’s just Hao Yi XIng (Immortality) is coming out soon and we’re all gonna lost our shit, and it’s cool to have read the novel before the show comes out. This will be the first of… five parts I think to a full 2ha post, but no worries, I won’t like vomit em all out in the first week of January.

We can all agree on a shizun shrine though. Right? RIGHT?!!

Anyway with this one I’ve basically done 10 recs before 2021 approaches, so here’s the compilation:

Enter 2021 with these Danmei Novels (with full descriptions + links)!

- Part of Min’s ‘Why You Should Read’ Series - 

Summary:

Emperor of the cultivation world, Taxian-jun (also known as Mo Ran or Mo Weiyu) has basically committed every sin there is and has at the point right before his death, slaughtered and killed innumerable people. The novel starts with Taxian-jun’s death as he kills himself, tired and weary of the world especially after his shizun, Chu Wanning died. He wakes up in his teenage body, in the first year he became a disciple, and decides that he has a chance to redo everything - to keep the love of his life, Shi Mei, from dying and to ensure that his cruel and hateful shizun, Chu Wanning, will not get the chance to let Shi Mei die again.

As his teenage, young self, however, as much as Mo Ran hates and resents CWN, he recalls all the times he spent with CWN in his previous life, where he made him his consort after stripping away all his cultivation and powers, wanting to punish him for not saving Shi Mei by keeping him at his side in that position. He lusts after CWN in this present timeline, remembering all the times they were in bed together, but is also conflicted about his shizun because on one hand, he hates him, but on the other hand, he can’t help but keep noticing shizun and paying attention to what he does. 

As he goes through the same events that he experienced in his first life as a disciple, Mo Ran continues to hate CWN but begins to see his actions in different light. He always thought that CWN thought him to be inferior, and that CWN was a pretentious, arrogant asshole, but as he goes through these same events with different changes (for example, he recalled sitting out of his very first mission with CWN and Shi Mei, but found himself actively involved, working together with his shizun in this present life), the time spent together allows him to better understand CWN’s actions now and also back then in their previous life when he was still a disciple.

CWN on the other hand, despite how he supposedly treats Mo Ran, actually dotes on and is very fond of Mo Ran (this was the case in the previous life, not that he has any recollection of that, and also in this life). He thinks that he is not good-looking and is undeserving of attention, concern and love, and so only knows how to quietly give and makes sacrifices without asking for anything in return. He knows that Mo Ran likes Shi Mei, and is both depressed and angry about that on his own.

As Mo Ran gets to know CWN all over again (and also hurting him here and there in the process), they reach the fated battle where CWN let Shi Mei die (in the previous life) in this life, and desperate still to keep Shi Mei from dying, he replaces Shi Mei’s role in the battle and nearly dies himself.

From then on, truths are revealed about both the previous and current timeline, and Mo Ran has to chase and woo his shizun back, all the while trying to figure out what is the mysterious force that sent him back in time to his current timeline and what danger lies ahead for him and CWN as they try to basically save the cultivation world from destruction.

- Timelines:

0.5 refers to Taxian-Jun and Chu Wanning as Chu Fei (Consort Chu) 

1.0 refers to Mo Ran as a teenager and Chu Wanning before the events of THAT battle

2.0 is when Mo Ran becomes Mo-zongshi and the Chu Wanning then as they date properly, fall in love, all the UST etc. hahahaha

- Chapters where everyone will warn you to prepare yourself for:

278-280, and no one can tell me otherwise

*This is also a highly contentious danmei novel, some for good reason, most of the times for dumb reasons. Do see the trigger warnings here on the sort-of official 2ha carrd, but also do read my thoughts/disclaimers at the bottom of the post.

*There are also some spoilers below, but none that’s really significant. However, just in case, do skip!

Read:

Novel (Online) | Novel (Print) - Pirated, Uncensored Version + Official Vol. 1 Dec 2020 Print (Censored) + Official English Print on 7S | Novel Translations | Fan Audio Drama | Manhua 

*Normally I wouldn’t put any pirated version links, but this current one is the only one that has a proper print and the extras and notes are really hard to find even online, but this pirated version has compiled everything, no section is missing. But of course please do support the original versions, both online on JJWXC and the physical prints

Watch:

Hao Yi Xing (Immortality) - Slated for Spring 2021 release (TBA) | 50 episodes

Last I heard, they were supposed to be cleared for a Feb/Mar launch this month, but the review told them to make some adjustments so it’s likely to be delayed

I mean, for good reason, because there is NO WAY you can run platonic for the live-action based on the story, and the production itself has also reassured fans that they would be doing the novel justice (and from leaks, this does seem to be the case and damn, there’s NO WAY you can go pure platonic on this one, even bromance is far-fetched)

Luo Yunxi is a god among peasants, and Chen Feiyu is cute af

Some details are definitely being changed, for e.g. CWN obviously can’t be a Consort, so he’s been relegated to the Zither Player role (but if I’m not wrong the role itself like traditionally is also half euphemism for someone who sleeps with the Emperor as well)

2.0 Mo Ran - 1.0 Chu Wanning - 2.0 Chu Wanning 

1.0 Mo Ran - 0.5 Chu Wanning - 0.5 Mo Ran

Characters:

1. 墨燃 Mo Ran - His courtesy name is 墨微雨 Mo Weiyu and in the 0.5 version he called himself 踏仙君 Taxian-jun, which literally means a king who steps on deities/cultivators (fitting, since he slaughtered a lot of them). Initially, Mo Ran actually chose CWN as his shizun because he was the best-looking, and that was possibly one of the only times someone actually chose CWN voluntarily, and for that he always had a special place in CWN’s heart. 

As Taxian-jun (0.5) he forced CWN to marry him after stripping him of his powers and cultivation, imprisoned him for basically 8 years in the palace. He kills himself a little after CWN’s death, and then wakes up as CWN’s disciple again as a young teenager. He’s the last of CWN’s three disciples, and has a big, warm and kind heart. He also obviously was very fond of his shizun before things went spiralling out of control for various reasons that will smack you in the face after you finish 311 chapters.

He’s very intelligent, having actually mastered two of the three forbidden spells of the cultivation world in the 0.5 timeline. In the 1.0 timeline, he’s obviously still pretty talented/gifted for a disciple. In his past life, his chosen weapon was a sword called Bu Gui, and then in the present 1.0 timeline, he was given a whip that is connected to CWN’s whip (i.e. they were made from the same tree and were actually one full piece together before they broke into two). He accidentally names the whip “Jian Gui”, and everyone facepalms at that.

After he and CWN get past like….some of their misunderstandings (about maybe 70%, not that they knew it then), Mo Ran becomes full on devoted to his shizun, only has eyes for his shizun, totally clear that he perhaps liked Shi Mei, but never as much as he loves shizun, which is pretty amazing.

As Mo-zongshi (2.0), he’s super ripped, and CWN totally thirsts after him too XD

Has a really sad past that will only be revealed much later, and in the present timeline he is very much doted on by his uncle and auntie, who are Xue Meng’s parents.

2. 楚晚宁 Chu Wanning - WHERE DO I EVEN START. Talented, legendary gifted cultivator with not one but THREE weapons, in which the one he uses the most is Tian Wen, the whip. He doesn’t usually use Jiu Ge, the zither weapon, or his sword, Huai Sha, unless absolutely necessary. Also called 玉衡 as a title (晚夜玉衡 in full i.e. Yu Heng of the Night Sky), and in their sect, he’s referred to as Elder Yu Heng (玉衡长老).

Art picked by bookstores from various artists for the official print:

He has a really bad temper and takes no bullshit, and despite being really handsome, his self-esteem is down in the gutters - he thinks he’s not worthy of love and attention, and I recall in the first arc he always thought “who would love someone like me”. Because he’s so fearsome, other disciples don’t dare to talk to him or go near him, and he always eats alone, tends to his own wounds alone and basically does everything alone. No one cares about whether he’s eaten, if he’s hurt or not, etc. 

They’ve basically placed him on such a high pedestal that they forget that he’s just a person too. His bad temper also comes out usually when disciples think they can joke around with him or tease him etc. Everyone covets him in a sense that all sects want him to join them, and everyone knows him. He just takes no shit and kicks ass all the time.

Fond of Mo Ran (not romantically) when he first chooses him as his shizun when he is much younger. His romantic feelings for Mo Ran develop later, but he was first drawn to Mo Ran simply because he could feel how warm and kind Mo Ran’s soul was, and basically how he brightened up his life by not being afraid of him etc.

He does a lot of things for Mo Ran silently without him knowing, and lets Mo Ran misunderstand him on multiple occasions, knowing that even if he cleared things up, it wouldn’t change how much Mo Ran likes Shi Mei.

After the events of that single battle, in the 2.0 timeline, it’s CWN’s turn to be slightly oblivious as Mo Ran tries to care for him and woo him and let him know that he’s loved, but once they get past that, it’s so much love istg it makes you believe in love and weep all at the same time.

3. 师眛 Shi Mei - Beautiful gorgeous Shi Mei who is Mo Ran’s love and who he is fighting to keep alive in the 1.0 timeline. Shi Mei’s cultivation is in the direction of healing, and thus the way he trains is different from how the rest of them trains. He’s very respectful and considerate to his shizun, and is also the person Mo Ran thinks treats him the best. Mo Ran loves his special spicy wontons as well ;-;

4. 薛蒙 Xue Meng - Mo Ran’s younger cousin who in the 0.5 timeline hates him for taking shizun away and for killing his parents. In 1.0, he just detests Mo Ran and calls him a dog all the time. He’s been spoilt as the only child of his parents, and is also expected to take over the sect one day from his father. This gives him a bit of a complex XD He’s considered a little brash and impulsive, and definitely a little narcissistic as he thinks he’s the best looking so far, but he’s pretty much kind underneath all the preening. Has a huge sense of justice, and all he cares about are the people closest to him and his family. He also worships shizun a lot and always wants his attention, which shizun will give depending on the situation.

5. 梅寒雪／梅含雪 Mei Han Xue & Mei Han Xue - This ain’t a typo hahaha these two brothers’ names are pronounced exactly the same but the character for ‘Han’ is different. One of them is flamboyant and a playboy, another is a little stoic and serious, with the latter always cleaning up after the former while the former breaks the hearts of women all over the region. They don’t feature very prominently in the first arc and come out more in 2.0 onwards, but it’s good to note that the both of them are possibly Xue Meng’s closest friends in both the 0.5 and 2.0 timelines, and after.

My Favourite Arcs & Moments:

The 1.0 arc is the most fun, I have to say - The plot isn’t as complicated yet then, and all you have is Mo Ran being his rebellious, horny teenager self going against shizun and also being confused by how much he wants shizun etc. 

Xia Sini arc - There’s the arc where CWN becomes a kid version of himself in size due to injuries where he’s called Xia Sini, and masquerades as a junior in the sect while he’s in that form - He also forms a bond with Mo Ran in that form, as Mo Ran seems to take a liking to this cute younger junior who acts like an adult

Hell arc - I will not give any spoilers but damn it was both hilarious and also my heart died at the same time

Farming arc - Everyone who has read 2ha knows of farming arc in 2.0 timeline, because we get two idiots thirsting quite obviously for each other, and also Mo Ran half naked all the time while shizun not quite deciding whether he wants to cover him up or stare at him for longer

The huge reveal arc - This one ripped my heart out, stomped on it, and then went for my eyes because I was crying so hard and for two days straight. The painful and devastating part is when Meatbun FINALLY links all the missing parts together and connects all the arcs and you’re literally slapped in the face with new revelations and a totally new understanding of what happened in 0.5 and 1.0 and then you wanna slap yourself too because now you’ve done it, you’re in this fandom, you’re in this black hole and your heart and brain and soul hurt

————

In terms of moments, I frickin died at the part where 1.0 Mo Ran first gets his whip and there’s a rule where whatever you say after you hold onto the weapon has to be the weapon’s name - And because I think Mo Ran trips or something, he said “Ah shit!” = “啊，见鬼” - And he inadvertently named his whip the equivalent of damn it/shit/crap basically, while everyone including shizun was like “damn it you stupid dog”

1.0 Shizun getting flashbacks from 0.5 and thinking that it’s just because he’s too horny and sinful and that’s why he’s dreaming of sex with a different Mo Ran like that (but it’s not, they actually happened in 0.5)

When Xia Sini waits for Mo Ran to have dinner with chicken soup he cooked and Mo Ran abandoned him to go find Shi Mei, and then ate up all the soup by himself without realizing that Xia Sini hadn’t eaten yet because he was waiting for him. Xia Sini says he’s a person too, he gets hungry, he hurts, etc. and I was like SHIZUNNNNNNNNN!!!!!

The fact that CWN is an idiot at life in general like cleaning or cooking or anything else - even 1.0 Mo Ran before he understood CWN was like “how the hell is he still alive”

FIREWORKS MOMENT y’all!!! It fulfils the unrequited love angst but also a bit of resolution, and from the leaks of the live-action drama for THIS VERY MOMENT we are all gonna die

WHEN MO RAN KNEELS DOWN IN FRONT OF SHIZUN!!!! 

I also liked it when CWN seemed surprised and also proud at all that Mo Ran had achieved as Mo-zongshi later

My Thoughts:

(Under the cut)

Keep reading

[zhexiannv]

mu qing march