A journey to love fandom today I offer you: Yu Shisan/Qian Zhao
HEAR ME OUT: I was already lowkey shipping them during the Jinsha introduction arc, during which
One of the workers approaches Qian Zhao, and Yu Shisan politely ushers Qian Zhao away.
and then: after they rescue Qian Zhao, while they are waiting for Ruyi and Jin Meiniang to finish talking, Yu Shisan flirts (yes, I said flirt) with Qian Zhao
Yu Shisan: Qian Zhao gege, have a tangerine
In Chinese, 哥哥 (gēgē) can mean two things: Older brother, or used between couples (kind of like the Korean 'oppa 오빠', which can mean older brother, or in relationships)
(Reddit discussion / Ximalaya discussion on the topic)
Note that Yu Shisan usually addresses Qian Zhao with "lao Qian (老钱)", a sort of nickname convention used between men who are close friends, so his use of "Qian Zhao gege" here is most definitely deliberate
There's also the little interactions between them that are cute too!!!
And I was so glad that people on Lofter thought the same way too, I've been deep diving there for AJTL fics and have come across a number of 十三昭 (ShisanZhao) fics.
(they make great edits too!! like this one):
caption: (Yu Shisan) knows you care, that's why he dared to use his life to threaten/stop you, but in the end (he) could only watch as you fell in his arms...
(I've recced two fic below, if anyone's interested).
if it was Yu Shisan who got hurt at the smoke tower instead
carefree and easy
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So I dragged myself kicking and screaming and, yes, mostly in denial, through the last episodes of A Journey to Love.
My thoughts can be summarized as follows:
Obviously this is mainly due to me being horrifically traumatized by Yuan Lu’s death. After all, they told us from the get go he wouldn’t live to 20. They made it clear he had a deadly heart disease. And then. They had the nerve. They had the audacity. They had the actual fucking bahoonga BALLS to follow through!?
But then I found myself sobbing at literally every good guy death scene, plus all of the mourning scenes. The latter was in large part thanks to Alen Fang's acting - deepest apologies to him for just referring to his character as 'the slutty one' for the majority of the show. Not that I was wrong. Also thanks to strong performances from He Lan Dou for Yuan Lu's death.
Anyway so I need to add this gif x4 for the Liudao Hall babies:
Qian Zhao, da ge, who made mistakes but always did right in the end
Sun Lang, who just wanted to hold something fluffy at the end, dying a hero
Yuan Lu, who died in his princess's arms after running to deliver a letter rendered useless by the Emperor of An's greed.
Yu Shisan, who lived as he lived and had such a happy moment with Chu Yue right before it all became irrevocable.
When they added Yu Shisan to the snowball fight, I just about lost it. Liu Yuning's acting there - having the realization about Shisan's death as he watched them play in real time was so well done. Really hurt.
Plus I'll make a couple of versions with edits.
For the Wu Emperor. I knew it was gonna happen from the spoilers but damn, him genuinely learning the value of friendship and brotherly love made me root for him. Dude did not deserve to go out like that. Thank goodness for the magic of CDramas where he lived just long enough to pass on his will to Ning Yuanzhou, and do one last act of good.
It also ensured Duke of Chu was able to pass on his command to his daughter, Chu Yue, before dying of the same (was not clear if her bro died or not, or if dad was always going to choose her).
And for Deng Hui. Started out thinking he was just a sexist bastard. Turns out he was one of the most principled characters in the show.
Their deaths didn't make me cry, but I respect them.
Also loved Chen Du Ling's (Empress of Wu) small part in this. I may not like all of her characters but she can deliver a scene and hold a room. It was a bit cathartic to see her put every man in their place, and basically decide the fate of two countries, even though her lament that she'd only ever have power through another held true.
Ah Ying, my baby girl. This is a character that could have turned people off from the beginning. Thanks to strong writing and stronger acting, it did not. I was super impressed with He Lan Dou. She can dial it up and dial it down in a single take, and can play big dramatic scenes with a subtlety that some older actors cannot grasp. This was the first thing I've seen her in, though for her and Chen You Wei (Yuan Lu) I might watch Tiger and Crane if someone tells me it's good.
I still think Li Tongguang is a perverted and creepy child, who never managed to learn (except in literally the last ep), but at least I trust that he will treat Ah Ying well. I don't hold it against him for screwing up the battle - he was trying to be benevolent but made a bad choice.
The main couple win it for me this year. What an inspired pairing. They beat out heavy hitters including Bai Lu x Everyone which was near impossible. Something to do with letting Liu Shi Shi use Liu Yuning's height against him at every possible moment. Also the 'if you die, I'll finish the job and then follow you' is my favorite dynamic. I swear when Ruyi threw those bombs, NOT NEEDING TO HAVING ALREADY SUCCEEDED AT KILLING THE KING AND PRINCE, just to join him, y'all I died. Good for whoever posthumously gave her the Marquis title on her own (not just furen) - couldn't tell if it was Li Tongguang acting as regent or Dayang (great shot of those two at the end).
The final episode was one of the best final cdrama episodes I've seen. I might have to make another post about that. In sum, despite losing a large portion of the well-loved cast, the remainder gave a world-class finale. The visuals were incredible (explosions are my favorite). The final scene was beautiful (though I'm a bit surprised they gave it to Chu Yue instead of Ah Ying who knew all 6 of them closely).
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Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 一念关山 | A Journey to Love (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Qian Zhao & Chai Ming
Characters: Chai Ming, Qian Zhao
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, chai ming lives, Triple Drabble, Brotherhood, Imprisonment, Rescue
Series: Part 13 of V's Drabble Collection
Summary:
Chai Ming has lost track of the days he and his brothers have spent imprisoned when Changqing-hou has them all chained up and dragged out to be entertainment at his little feast to intimidate Li-wang.
(or, Chai Ming lives.)
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