kingsandbastardz

[kingsandbastardz]

Chin tilt. Last one counts cuz his butt chin is under threat.

Here's to him keeping up the trend in Hero Legends, SLY and whatever he's filming this year 🙏

#xiao shunyao

[kingsandbastardz]

2023.08.10 reuters of dfs riding on the beach for the special episode [x]

Previous dfs horse post.

#mysterious lotus casebook #di feisheng #xiao shunyao #horse #cr: ybybyb #behind the scenes

[kingsandbastardz]

I'm not allowed to add video to a reblog, apparently:

@a-memory-a-distant-echo posted footage of Fang Duobing and Li Lianhua horse riding - and since I'm a completionist, here's XSY's bts vlog where he rides in the beach and plays with Dahuang. [x]

Across several dramas, I noticed xsy often rides with only one hand on the reins and his other hand either free or gripping the pommel/ his front armor flap, etc.

Also some photos from a different angle

Additional reuters here.

#mysterious lotus casebook #di feisheng #xiao shunyao #behind the scenes #horse #xsy mlc vlog

[kingsandbastardz]

One sentence prompt but it's 2:

"A-Fei is an adult, educated, and he's not slow, so why do you explain everything to him so clearly, but you won't have the courtesy to do the same for anyone else? It's almost like you actually tell him the truth."

"what do you mean," li lianhua says mildly, "i always tell the truth."

"do not start with me," fang duobing says, pointing an imperious finger at li lianhua, "you liar!"

"how hurtful," li lianhua murmurs, taking a sip of tea.

"hurtful? you think that's— okay, no, i'm not falling for that, you sly old fox."

"again with the name calling," li lianhua says, in that infuriatingly calm tone.

"answer the question," fang duobing says, "no more prevaricating."

li lianhua is quiet, face unreadable. fang duobing hates when he does that.

"a'fei," he says finally, "is a man it's better not to have misunderstandings with, that's all."

fang duobing scoffs. "you always talk like you're so familiar, so why be afraid of that?"

"perhaps it's a matter of respect," li lianhua says, scratching his nose.

"are you saying you don't respect me?!" fang duobing squawks.

"hulijing," li lianhua says, standing up, "i think it's time to go home."

"hey," fang duobing says, trailing after him, "answer the question!"

a'fei detaches himself from the wall by the door, eyes glittering. he gives no indication of having heard the conversation but fang duobing gives him a suspicious look anyway. he points two fingers at his eyes, then at a'fei, then his eyes again. a'fei sneers.

"li lianhua," he says, falling in beside li lianhua, "i have a question."

fang duobing stops dead. "do not answer that!" he cries, running to catch up with both of them, hulijing trotting merrily at his side.

*

fic meme requests still open!

#yessss this is fantastic #mysterious lotus casebook #li lianhua #fang duobing #di feisheng #fic meme #fanfiction

[kingsandbastardz]

笛花 prompt fill for @kingsandbastardz The groupchat had a burst of inspiration from @lyselkatz's post-canon fanart of silver-haired Li Lianhua and bearded A-Fei, and wanted to play around a little.

[Being officially dead doesn't mean they no longer solve problems. Dead bodies keep appearing with distressing regularity.]

-----

Normally, a dead body found in the streets of Jia Town isn't their problem. But three bodies scattered in different places in one night? Even Li Lianhua's old fox ears begin to twitch as the news breezes through the morning market bustle. 

“Don't,” Di Feisheng warns, as his husband stops to inspect some radishes being sold by Sun Erniang and ever so casually inquires about the strange nature of the injuries found on all three corpses.

She claims she doesn't know much, but the excruciating detail with which she is able to describe the blood which was seeping from the corpses’ eyes, nose, and ears, and the bloom of black bruising on their necks when they were discovered, means that the farm wife rumor mill has been hard at work.  

After he's wrung out every last scrap of detail that Sun Erniang knows—for her neighbor's cousin’s brother-in-law works at the local yamen—Li Lianhua turns and deposits an armful of radish and cabbage in the woven basket Di Feisheng is holding. The farmer has been well-rewarded for her information, he observes.

Li Lianhua turns, bidding her a good day. He cozies up to Di Feisheng, relieving him of the basket and uses the excuse of steering him through the crowd to hang off his arm so they can convene in low tones. 

“So, A-Fei,” says Li Lianhua lightly. “Do you think this is the Qiankun Wudu Shou 乾坤五毒手 or the Tiangang Xuanwu Zhi 天罡玄武指?”

Di Feisheng strokes his beard thoughtfully. Since his retirement from Jianghu ten years ago, between the travels, the sunsets, and the chores to do around Lotus Tower, he's managed to amass quite the collection of esoteric martial arts tomes. Between the two of them, there's not a single technique that can escape their discerning eye, but that doesn't mean that the old fox should be poking his snout where it doesn't belong. If the Emperor ever gets word that Li Lianhua yet lives…well, Di Feisheng doesn't need to remind his husband of how suddenly the quiet life they've managed to lead will come to a juddering halt.

“I'd have to see the bodies myself to know for sure,” Di Feisheng hears himself saying, even though he knows where this is going to lead. 

“Exactly what I was thinking,” Li Lianhua agrees, with a mischievous grin playing about the corners of his mouth. “The yamen is that way,” he says, nudging Di Feisheng to turn right down the next street. 

“Don't worry,” Li Lianhua continues, before Di Feisheng can even open his mouth to voice his concern. “Sun Erniang’s neighbor’s cousin's brother-in-law works there. They won't tattle on us.”

Di Feisheng merely grunts, and lets his husband lead him onto the next mystery. It's only been a week since the last one. He begins to wonder whether they are somehow cursed, or if his husband is just terrible at minding his own business. Perhaps it's a bit of both.

#mysterious lotus casebook #di feisheng #li lianhua #dihua #fanfiction

[kingsandbastardz]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: 莲花楼 | Mysterious Lotus Casebook (TV) Rating: Not Rated Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Fang Duobing/Li Lianhua | Li Xiangyi, Di Feisheng/Fang Duobing, Di Feisheng/Fang Duobing/Li Lianhua | Li Xiangyi, Di Feisheng/Li Lianhua | Li Xiangyi, Huli Jing & Li Lianhua | Li Xiangyi, Di Feisheng & Huli Jing, Fang Duobing & Huli Jing, Li Lianhua | Li Xiangyi & Qiao Wanmian Characters: Fang Duobing, Di Feisheng, Li Lianhua | Li Xiangyi, Huli Jing (Mysterious Lotus Casebook) Additional Tags: fang duobing-centric, angry duobing! depressed xiaobao! puppy is tired and hurt, my name meta fic, fang duobing vs fang xiaobao vs xiaobao, di feisheng vs a-fei vs di-mengzhu, li lianhua vs li xiangyi, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Hanahaki Disease, tweaked a little bit to fit the wuxia, oh qiao wanmian is mentioned, Chronic Illness, Chronic Pain, for the hanahaki, Unrequited Love, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Getting Together, those are all mutually-exclusive tags, Depression, During Canon, Post-Canon, Case Fic, (one case), Body Horror, Sickfic, again the hanahaki, told as a series of linear vignettes, Grief/Mourning, Angst, Domestic, Loss

Summary:

It’s never a good day to be Fang Duobing. It’s certainly never a good day to be Fang Xiaobao. Not when he learns who Li Lianhua truly is.

And definitely not when he learns what the ache in his chest truly is.

(My first mlc fic that I wrote originally on paper has finally gotten posted! Be prepared for my hanahaki au to have angst, name meta, and crying.)

#mysterious lotus casebook #di feisheng #feihua #difanghua #fanghua #fanfiction

[kingsandbastardz]

i know that it's at partly just that i do not generally post when i ride, but fang duobing, bounciest boy on the screen at all times, posting incredibly dramatically, is very funny and charming to me. he really wakes up and is like 'fuck yeah, every day is leg day, work them thighs!'

like, sir. please. you're gonna die. how far are you riding. how can you possibly sustain that, you cannot, it is impossible. how will you walk when you get off that horse. your thighs will be of steel, by which i mean utterly incapable of moving.

#now i want to know about dfs's riding - i have reuters of him riding during and between takes #supposedly xsy spent his childhood outside riding horses all day like a good nw boy #i know know he seems to control his horse better than cheng yi on the hero legends set #mysterious lotus casebook #fang duobing #li xiangyi #horse riding

[kingsandbastardz]

A Jianghu Mystery of the Middle Xi: The Tomb of Li Xiangyi

By Qiling, University of □□ (2024)

Left: A photograph of the inscribed text at Li Xiangyi's tomb, reading, "The grave of the Sigu Sect's departed Sect Leader, Li Xiangyi". Right: Artist's sketch renditions from eye-level frontal and aerial side views, recreating how the tomb may have appeared during the Xi dynasty.

Among the numerous important archaeological finds from the Xi Dynasty, the tomb of Li Xiangyi is not the most well-known, nor has it yielded any artifacts of particular intrigue, yet it has raised questions about certain points in history since its discovery. The tomb constitutes a small site, near a mountainous overlook which should have received little common traffic at the time of construction. Its structure is in line with some other aristocratic burials of the Middle Xi period: aboveground, with a chamber at the center of a raised rectangular dais several meters wide, large enough to bear only a single individual. A stone marker, which has survived in legible condition until today, declares it the tomb of Li Xiangyi, leader of the Sigu jianghu sect.

Records about Li Xiangyi are found at other archaeological sites contemporary with this tomb, and so his name is not an obscure one. The Sigu Sect complex has already undergone excavation for nearly two decades, with evidence that Li Xiangyi spent several years there as its first sect leader and founder. His tomb is within two hours' walking distance of the Sigu site, though isolated in its location, compared to the Sigu Sect's grand mountain entrance. (The complex itself was inhabited well after his death; bamboo slips cite Qiao Wanmian as the Sigu Sect's next major leader some years after, who oversaw it for several more decades into the later Xi). In addition, the Baichuan-Pudu site, closer to the eastern coast and historically the headquarters for the Baichuan Court, is affiliated with Li Xiangyi. Its origins apparently began as an offshoot of the Sigu Sect, which grew into its own independent legal organization after his death.

Legends surrounding Li Xiangyi's life have been well-documented, both at Sigu and Baichuan-Pudu, but also in books and transcriptions of oral stories at sites around the country. These are dated to both the Middle and Late Xi periods, as well as a few scattered mentions in writings from the following dynasty. As a jianghu sect leader and swordsman, Li Xiangyi's reputation truly preceded him. Some tales speak of his early accomplishments, ridding towns of villainous tyrants and defeating criminals. Others talk about the founding of the Sigu Sect when Li Xiangyi was seventeen, and his subsequent missions leading his fellow swordsmen to protect the borders of the country. Not all of these narratives can be verified with surviving historical proof, and given Li Xiangyi's status in the shifting canon of folklore, the percentage that are hyperbole or fiction is likely significant. However, one that is true, and is the most frequently told story throughout these sources, is that of Li Xiangyi's death.

All texts place Li Xiangyi as having died relatively young, with some providing a specified age, generally around twenty. He perished in a duel with Di Feisheng, leader of the Jinyuan Alliance, a rival jianghu organization and presumed threat to the Sigu Sect. As the sources say, the Jinyuan Alliance killed Li Xiangyi's sect brother, Shan Gudao, and in retaliation he used the Sigu Sect to launch a war against the Jinyuan Alliance. His final battle was the last in this war, dying in the East Sea on Di Feisheng's ship. The Jinyuan Alliance in return was badly defeated by the Sigu Sect; excavations at its first compound in the last five years have shown evidence of siege, with fire having destroyed large parts of the buildings. Afterward, the Sigu Sect disbanded without Li Xiangyi, with only the Baichuan Court continuing to function, before being resurrected one decade later.

Given this knowledge we have about Li Xiangyi, the matter of his burial should be straightforward. He had a tremendous impact on the jianghu in the few short years that he stood at its peak. He died heroically, if tragically, to obtain justice for a brother. He was honoured with a tomb, standing guard over the sect he dedicated his youth to. Why, then, is said tomb regarded as somewhat of a mystery?

This tomb was first stumbled upon during extended surveys of the Sigu site territory, with excavation taking place within the last two years. Parts of the stone chamber and foundation of the dais have withstood time, as have most things left inside. The tomb bears no signs of looting. However, there are some details which, alongside discoveries from other archaeological sites, contribute to a shadow of uncertainty on the existing narrative of Li Xiangyi's life.

Firstly, is that the austerity of the tomb does not line up with what we know of Li Xiangyi. Although overall sufficient enough for someone of his great reputation, the tomb is rather plainly embellished. There are an unexpectedly small number of burial objects inside, with those present being neither rare nor expensive. For all his contributions to the jianghu, less money and resources were poured into remembrance of Li Xiangyi than seems proper for his time.

Secondly, and far more significantly, is that the tomb holds no human remains. Whether the fact of Li Xiangyi having no recovered body to bury was made public is unknown; if it was, we do not have record of it. Certainly those who arranged for the tomb to be built and sealed would have carried this with them the rest of their lives, but no one else may be accounted for. Granted, it is not impossible for a disappeared body to have been common knowledge or presumption, as Li Xiangyi was killed at sea with no guarantee of being found. Yet this, combined with the ordinary appearance of the tomb, causes the entire site to appear... a nominal thing. Constructed to maintain acknowledgement of Li Xiangyi's absence, though his death was only marked by words, rather than a physical state.

He was given a tomb, but was Li Xiangyi truly dead before it was built?

In terms of the aforementioned other archaeological site findings, there is one that potentially implicates Li Xiangyi's death at an interesting political junction, within the context of the dynasty. The Xi Dynasty was unstable and relatively short-lived, established after taking back the Central Plains and adjacent territories from the southern conquering state of Nanyin. It endured for just under two centuries, the first of which was fraught with pockets of conflict, with many jianghu skirmishes such as that between the Sigu Sect and the Jinyuan Alliance. The greatest threat to the Xi Dynasty (until its fall) came one hundred years after its founding. Recovered archival records from the Xi capital excavation report that remaining Nanyin loyalists attempted a coup, supported by jianghu organizations, including a restored Jinyuan Alliance (although whether Di Feisheng was still its leader at this time is unclear). This attack was ultimately unsuccessful, but important to note is that the leader of this renewed Nanyin force is described as being Shan Gudao, Li Xiangyi's former sect brother.

Although Li Xiangyi brought the Sigu Sect into a war upon news of Shan Gudao's death, that demise seems to have been faked, with Shan Gudao disappearing underground only to reappear as part of a later rebellion. Could Li Xiangyi have been aware of this? Was his reaction to Shan Gudao's apparent death genuine? Or part of a coordinated plan, using him as a reason to destroy the Jinyuan Alliance to eradicate any future resistance? Did Li Xiangyi, too, fake his death alongside Shan Gudao, in service of a shared cause? Were remnants of the Sigu Sect instructed to build an empty tomb, cementing Li Xiangyi as a dead hero so he could work in the shadows of the jianghu instead?

This is merely speculation, contradicted by the fact that if Li Xiangyi had indeed done as such, unlike Shan Gudao, after his duel with Di Feisheng he has no reappearance in any surviving records or at any archaeological site. As well, Li Xiangyi should have had no motivation for committing to such a scheme, with even loyalty to Shan Gudao a stretch to putting all the lives of the Sigu Sect on the line. That being said, history has a way of surprising the present, and this theory may not be entirely ruled out. At any rate, Shan Gudao's survival is a baffling accompaniment to Li Xiangyi's (lack of a) burial, one which will hopefully receive clarifying answers in future archaeological developments.

Perhaps the strangest piece of the puzzle concerning the end of Li Xiangyi's life, however, is Di Feisheng. After the Jinyuan Alliance was scattered by the Sigu Sect, stories regarding Li Xiangyi declared him dead and disappeared. Yet not unlike Shan Gudao, he became known in the jianghu once more about ten years later, witnessing the Nanyin attempted coup and living long after. His tomb remained intact, and was excavated eight years ago as part of the greater Tianji Mountain site project. The location of Di Feisheng's tomb is surprising, not only because it directly links him to the powerful and wealthy He clan of Tianji Manor, but also because he was buried beside their sole young master during the Xi Dynasty, Fang Duobing.

The son of financial minister Fang Zeshi and engineering master He Xiaohui, Fang Duobing became a notable youxia travelling the jianghu in the emperor's name, assigned in the wake of the attempted Nanyin coup. According to palace records, he was also betrothed to the Princess Zhaoling, although the marriage agreement was eventually formally dissolved. What is otherwise known of Fang Duobing was his admiration of Li Xiangyi, having styled himself as a follower and disciple of him during his youth. As well, one eye-catching artifact among Fang Duobing's burial goods was a preserved wooden replica of a blade, with Li Xiangyi's name carved near the hilt. Likely a children's toy, prized and kept safe throughout Fang Duobing's life.

The exact nature of the relationship between Di Feisheng and Fang Duobing is not entirely certain, but it must have been a very close one, for Di Feisheng to have the privilege of burial on the Tianji estate. This topic justifies future study for our understanding of the Tianji He clan, already known in prior generations for its socially subversive relationships, but pertinent to Li Xiangyi is that the man whose most infamous act was to kill him, was laid to rest next to one who revered him. Why was there such a bond between these two figures, if the stories of Li Xiangyi's death have had any truth to them? Did Li Xiangyi really die by Di Feisheng's blade? Did Li Xiangyi's empty tomb, plausibly signifying Di Feisheng's innocence, alter his relationship with Fang Duobing? Or indeed, did Li Xiangyi, the man himself, have a part to play in this?

No traces of him from this time remain in the archaeological record, true. But this should not be taken to mean without doubt that he was not alive then at all.

The discovery of Li Xiangyi's tomb has been an exciting development for studying this era of the Xi Dynasty, but it has also outlined doubt in areas of one man's life that were previously taken as likely facts. Li Xiangyi's tomb is scarcely fitting for his name as a founding sect leader, built more for the sake of its existence than anything else, and there was no body sealed inside to begin with. In addition, Shan Gudao— someone dear to Li Xiangyi— established a precedent of faking his death. Di Feisheng, known across the jianghu for killing the man, held a close bond with someone later in life who had personally looked up to Li Xiangyi, and so he may not have been fully responsible for Li Xiangyi's death to begin with.

What truly happened to Li Xiangyi, resulting in a tomb such as this? The past holds the answer, knowing things that we do not. Hopefully the future of archaeology will continue leading to new discoveries, and allow us to more completely understand the legend that was Li Xiangyi.

#one of my favorite formats is the fake analysis/ academic paper - reminds me of the book House of Leaves #especially cuz there are so many ways to follow up like someone else writing a paper refuting orig author's interpretation of events #fanfiction #mysteries lotus casebook #li xiangyi

[kingsandbastardz]

Lion’s Mane Jellyfish (x)

#jellyfish #nature #animals

[kingsandbastardz]

So, internally, I'm like several gangs (I'll call them Memory, Energy, Seratonin, Focus, Depression-and-Artistic-Rage) and a dopamine cartel called Executive Function that are all in a mexican stand-off in the chapel that is my skull. At any given moment, a dove flies through between my ears and they immediately do their best to murder each other in a bullet-ridden John Woo/Wick hail of bullets and knives.

The very narrow amount of time I have until one of those things destroys all the rest is what I get for drawing anything.

So I just go straight to brush. Commit to your lines, ppl. When in doubt, black it out.

artists on tumblr stop fukcing lying to yourselves you never draw those sticks and circles when you sketch stuff out you just die and you know it

#thought collection #art

[kingsandbastardz]

I will never forget how two chinese college students found a spider and created a genus called Hotwheels and named the spider Hotwheels Sisyphus

#so meta in both a fannish and literary manner #tbh more scientific discoveries should be named with this kind of whimsy #animals #spiders #hotwheels

[kingsandbastardz]

Supercut of 肖顺尧 Xiao Shunyao's appearances in the behind the scenes of 《水龙吟 (The Water Dragon's Chant)》

#xiao shunyao #shen langhun #shui long yin

[kingsandbastardz]

AKA The Star Trek AU

Star Trek fusion for Mysterious Lotus Casebook -- you don't need to know about Star Trek to understand this! I will follow the planet-of-the-week format for the different cases, with a work for each case. Each case is broken into several chapters where the commercial breaks would be, for the more authentic Star Trek feel.

Fang Duobing is a human from Earth itself, not a colonial brat; Di Feisheng is a very unconventional Klingon, and Li Lianhua is a self-proclaimed space bastard of undisclosed provenience. His companion animal Fox Spirit is probably not just a dog.

The sects are ships from different species; at this era in Star Trek, we mostly have the Federation, Klingons, and Romulans. The Lotus Lodge is a small research vessel, RV Lianhua Lou which conducts 'research' only by virtue of her owner, Li Lianhua, being a doctor. Or maybe solving cases with Fang Duobing counts as research, too?

Episode 4 -- The Lotus Eaters pt. 2

The murder of three mail order brides at a forsaken human outpost hides a much deeper secret: - everything is lotuses, and it actually hurts a lot of people! Li Lianhua and Di Feisheng follow the trail of a mysterious message. Fang Duobing finally catches up.

At the Guo family's residence and place of business, Li Lianhua finds himself greeted by a skeleton. Di Feisheng is very helpful, and Fang Duobing isn't good at grudges. The mystery grows ever more mysterious.

CW for fantasy or fictional setting racism, this time not only about Klingons but also about the colonized natives of the planet-of-the-week. Prepare for some nasty takes from the Guo family!

#mysterious lotus casebook #li lianhua #fang duobing #di feisheng #star trek AU #fanfiction

[kingsandbastardz]

#tumbleweed #reference #russian thistle #invasive species #interesting info in the notes

[kingsandbastardz]

肖顺尧 Xiao Shunyao as 沈郎魂 Shen Langhun in the character promo for 《水龙吟 (The Water Dragon's Chant)》

#shui long yin #shen langhun #xiao shunyao

[kingsandbastardz]

Xiao Shunyao as Shen Langun in upcoming Xuanhuan WuXia drama 水龙吟

#shui long yin #shen langhun

[kingsandbastardz]

水龙吟 character concepts

#shui long yin #luo yunxi #xiao shunyao #alen fang #bao shang en #chen yao #jelly lin #ao ziyi