#in other news meatbun thanks for my life

[cherryhua]

First of all, thank you for accepting me in the fandom, and the platform in general. I am in no way shape or form, a professional review\analysis character but only a huge fan of TGCF , and I love to scratch the plot as a fan as well as a long time Danmei reader and share my little thoughts with the fandom. please feel free to call me out on my bs,i love discussions and food for thoughts.

The reason behind this post is to add my little two cents regarding something that, I believe in my humble opinion, is a little something about HuaLian that doesn't get enough attention. Hua cheng is portrayed as this romantic,obsessed bad boy, who has no interest or compassion towards others ( which to an extent is true, but i'll get into that in a bit), and Xie Lian being this good, oblivious meatbun, who made some mistakes and now just roams aimlessly in peace.

putting Hua Cheng in front of Xie Lian is literally like one of them looking into a mirror ( just with a different set of clothes hehe ) , and in order to explain my point I'll divide it into little parts,so this might be long but please bear with me.

- Arc and character development :

when we Meet Xie Lian at the beginning of the novel, we meet him at the end of his arc ( or close to it ), his rise and fall, taking responsibility and humbling himself, and realising his limits and make peace with it was already done in the past ( Book 2 and 4).What remains to complete his arc is him finding his happy ending, which is mainly: learn to love himself again ( and of course being with Hua Hua). loving oneself, is not limited to gaining confidence, or self worth, but it's also the gain of freedom to be oneself without any fear of judgement, including to love for one's selfish reasons : in the past, Xie Lian, loved his country, his people, his friends and his parents either because that's the natural thing to do or out of responsibility and commitment. However, his love for Hua Cheng is different: he fell in love, deeply to almost a damaging degree because he found THAT missing piece that will finally complete him, but as someone who always puts others first, this realisation was something new, extremely scary, but freeing . ( ''only after meeting you, did i realise is such simple thing to be happy").The same thing is applied to Hua cheng, we meet him at the beginning of the book, but at the end of his arc, he has matured, took control over his fate and changed it, avenged his God, and made himself the strongest to protect him, however his arc needed his happy ending to finally be completed : knowing he is worthy of love too ( and of course being with his Taizi Dianxia ).

Their arc, and character development is always mirrored through book 2 and 4, only it's backwards: they always meet at crucial points of their lives, when one is rising and the other is falling, yet at the same time being each other's light at the end of the tunnel,And I think that's MXTX's way of telling us that these two are destined soulmates despite the impossible circumstances surrounding them them . at the beginning of book 2 ( which is the start of their arcs) : in their first meeting, Xie Lian was this magnificent, privileged, powerful Crown prince destined to only greatness, who's confident, low-key arrogant ( and little sassy hehe ), loved by his parents, friends and people and overall at the highest points of his life,. While Hua Cheng, was this impoverished, bullied self hating child. who's abused by his family ( and it's heavily implied that his mother died out of illness), beaten by strangers, and is in so much pain and agony that he wishes to put an end to everything, himself included. This encounter resulted in Xie Lian ( being in the highest point ), saving Hua Cheng from falling to his death ( who was at his lowest point), but this encounter was the start of the change in both of their lives.

The second time they met, was in the Xie Lian small temple, at that time Xie Lian had ascended to godhood ( the highest level a human can reach ), and was dealing with the whole Yong'an fiasco, which would eventually be his downfall. At that moment, Hua Cheng was dealing with su*cidal thoughts, poverty, being homeless, hunger, bullying.. ( the lowest state a human can reach), in a moment of despair, He asked Xie Lian what is the meaning of life, since he is in such pain he doesn't want to live anymore, ' tell me God, what should i do?', to which Xie Lian asks to make him his reason to live, and if he doesn't have a reason, then he should live for him, making him that reason. This moment of guidance is also mirrored again in the present at the end of the novel, when hua Cheng was at the edge of dying. in a moment of despair Xie Lian broke down " no one listened to me talk for years, just tell me what should i do ?", to which Hua Cheng replied that he is Xie Lian's most devoted believer, and as long as Xie Lian is in this earth, he will refuse to die. Of course, we need to read a little between the lines here, there was no doubt that if a God has no believers, or statues he will vanish from existence, but what kept Xie Lian alive up until this point, was his one true believer's existence : Hua cheng, and because of his Love and devotion he will defy death itself to come back and live, and continue on living for Xie Lian, the ame way Xie Lian is the reason that kept ( and still keeping ) Hua Cheng alive.

A third, and important instance and the real changing point in both of their arcs is in book 4 : When Xie Lian met Wuming ( Hua Cheng ) as Bai wuxian. The outcome of this interaction was : Hua cheng dying a second time, sacrificing himself to save Xie Lian's humanity, while Xie Lian deciding to take responsibility for his deeds, Resulting in Xie Lian's second banishment, getting his powers sealed, his Luck sucked dry, and becoming a magnet to evil fortune, and finally he become this nobody, impoverished scrap collecting guy, living for the sake of living. While Hua Cheng's fate changed, raised as a ghost king, his luck turned from bringing disasters to bringing only good fortune, and the rest is history.

After this, the two never met again. Part of it is due to Xie Lian's bad luck, but another part is that their character development is almost completed, and what remains to finally give it closure is their final meeting.

There are many other instances like this throughout the story which i won't go into all of them all otherwise i would be writing for days hehe.

- character treats :

Hua Cheng is described as this nonchalant, non caring ,cold, sassy, strong, know-it-all guy, which are all true characteristics of his. He's also known for not caring about anyone who isn't Xie Lian, not even himself. Xie Lian is no different either, but a lot of those character threats are not as obvious as Hua Cheng's for the simple reason that Xie Lian is polite, and keeps most of his thoughts to himself. Xie Lian is very snarky, and thankfully because we are reading the novel from his point of view, we get to know when he is mentally rolling his eyes, or being genuinely annoyed with something. Xie Lian also forgets everyone's existence when Hua Cheng is present, he's just a little low key about it. I think the reason why one is outspoken about how he feels while the other keeps it to himself, is how the two were raised and brought up : Xie Lian after all was a royalty, a crown prince who was properly educated, although we know there were times where that education was blown away by the wind ( ehm book 4 ehm ), reason why he isn't lacking any manners ( and it will be unfair to say Hua cheng does, only he feels that his good manners are only for his Dianxia, he doesn't care too much if the rest of the world found him rude), but also, because Xie Lian was born, and raised in privileged environement , he was always surrounded by good, and hope since he was little, everyone was nice to him, respected him and loved him, or at least pretended to be, after all he was the king and queen's only child.Unlike Hua Cheng who was born into poverty in an abusive environment, he only saw the evil side of humanity since he was a child, making it very hard for him to have the slightest consideration to anyone's feelings, or at least feel obliged to be nice to anyone. After all, no one was ever nice to him, so why should he burden himself with casual formalities ? Of course, other than being sassy queens, the two of them also share the same insecurities : Both Xie Lian and Hua Cheng thought they were unworthy of love. Both of them were petrified by their past selves, and both of them made peace with the idea that they're destined to be alone.

- Morals :

Both Hua Cheng and Xie Lian shared the same views, that in my humble opinion summed up the message behind TGCF : first, Fate is something that can be changed and controlled, thus you get to decide which path you walk in, and when you do, you should accept the consequences of it. Second, when you love someone, you love them for who they are, in their glorious and lowest moments, and not for what they are.

The two expressed these ideologies throughout the book simultaneously, but I think Hua Cheng takes the credit for this more than Xie Lian in the fandom : Hua cheng told Xie Lian in HX arc : "the one standing in infinite glory is you; the one fallen from grace is also you. What matters is 'you' and not the state of you", but Xie Lian also told Hua Cheng in the Banyue arc : "If I like you, you can be a beggar and I will still like you. If I dislike you, you can be an emperor and I will still dislike you". and this is one of the reasons why the two support each other's decisions despite sometimes not agreeing ( like the Gambles den for example) .

Hua Cheng Also made it clear, that people have the freedom to choose which paths they walk on, himself included.it doesn't matter if you would succeed or fail, what matters is are you brave enough to take that step, and stand up for what you believe in. This way of thinking is expressed by Xie Lian over and over again as well, especially through the first book, when he openly defies the heavens or when he chooses to create a third path, one that aligns with his own beliefs .

- Love for each other :

Hua Cheng's Love started in the past, while Xie Lian's in the present. I see a lot of comments saying that Hua Cheng falling in love was too easy and didn't make sense. isn't that what love is ? emotions are never meant to make sense. With that said, Hua Cheng feelings started as a child's admiration, and slowly turned to love and a deadly obsession ( deadly to himself since he died for his love three times ) and it only kept on growing every time he met Xie Lian and got to get a little glimpse on who he TRULY is ( keep in mind that of all people, Hua cheng was the only one who saw Xie Lian at his best, and at his worst). The same also happened with Xie Lian, he met Hua cheng for the "first" time on the ox Cart, and instantly thought "damn bruh ,you fine AF!", to the point he couldn't look at him directly into his eyes without feeling uncomfortable ( which reminds me of a similar incident in book 1 :  when Xi Lian was with Hong Hong Er in the cart, having the same conversation they are having on the current Ox Cart, which is Hua Cheng introducing himself and telling Xie Lian that he has nowhere to go.Hua hua was also so shy he couldn't look at Xie Lian straight in the eyes without blushing --> remember what i said about mirroring their experiences ? *wink**wink ) , but this admiration only kept on growing until it reached an explosive, destructive level, especially after finding out who Hua Cheng is to him. Hua cheng might have died for Xie Lian before, but i have no doubt in my mind that Xie Lian would do the same for Hua cheng in an instant : remember in the last extra ( the birthday gift one ), Xie Lian, while dealing with the most agonizing pain, he ran away looking for Hua cheng; and held into him with a deadly grip more than he would held into his own life, asking him to stay by his side and never to leave him again : he can take the pain, he can take thousands of swords piercing his heart, but he can't take Hua cheng being away from him.

Overall, in my humble opinion, although Hua Cheng and Xie Lian are present as different individuals ( which they are in some aspects), they also have so much in common that I feel it's a crime not to point it out.

#tian guan ci fu #wu ming #xie lian #tgcf spoilers #yin yu #shi qingxuan #lang qianqiu #feng xin #qi rong #xianle trio #tgcf manhua #tgcf novel #tgcf art #tgcf donghua #tgcf meta #tgcf liveblog

[yiifu]

also i’m finally finally done with the main story bit of yuwu, still have the epilogue and extras (murong lian’s diary) to finish but wow like,, it’s been a truly wild ride. this story is so jam-packed because things just keep happening and it’s blown my mind more than mdzs. at some point during the last few chapters i was seriously gonna lose my mind with moxi. man’s made of steel istg how could he keep going after everything that’s been thrown at him? one of my fav lines was something about how moxi felt that he kept showing nothing but sincerity to everyone around him, and everyone around him had nothing but facades and lies to offer in return. his sincerity has been taken advantage of so many times, even by gumang. and i love that the story is not afraid to tell us that. sometimes even the ones we love also hurt us a lot. but in the end, moxi still never backs down on his sincerity. he stayed true to himself and what he believes in till the very end. our little fireball, stove, princess, shidi, the spirit of tuntian itself. i love him so much :(

(on a side note i found it very very cute how tall and terrifying xihe-jun, commander of the northern frontier army with a face like ice, has the cutest nicknames ever like, ‘stove’, ‘little fireball’, ‘princess’, even ‘silly princess’ im just like *head in hands* yes he is tall and scary and intimidating but he is also a tiny squishy baby)

also, this story just keep on having plot twists left and right, even until the last few pages. just when you think there can’t possibly be anymore twists left, meatbun just springs a surprise on you T-T mo xi and gu mang finally got their well-deserved happy ending and who would’ve thought that in the end, it’s murong lian who stays with our heroes? was a pity that murong chuyi had to go, i really liked him a lot and he never got a chance to showcase his real personality to others and to us readers. poor guy.

as for what happens after that, here are my headcanons: i suppose yue chenqing will rise to take over the northern frontier army commander position and ofc the head of the yue household. ximang and murong lian remain happily at the academy and raise the next batch of cultivators who will go on to establish great cultivation sects and change the world (look at the nangongs mentioned in the extras! i see what u did there meatbun). the haitang tree absorbs murong chuyi’s teachings which then manifests in chu wanning centuries later. jiang fuli leaves with su yurou to resume their nomadic lifestyle or settle down in a small village somewhere. they have children and somewhere along the way down their descendent line, jiang xi is born and he establishes the guyueye sect and becomes rich just like his ancestor once was. peace is established in chonghua once more, but things keep changing in the imperial jianghu and centuries later the new emperor of the mortal realm, taxianjun, wrecks havoc upon the land.

if there’s anything all these xianxia cultivation danmei novels have taught me, it’s that sometimes in the end, all anyone wants is a simple life in domestic, pastoral bliss. heroism and legacy is good, but the cottagecore enthusiasts were always right. sometimes it’s just better to be a commoner and live a quiet life away from the public eye. 

i haven’t finished 2ha yet, so there are some things that i’ve yet to look out for in the story e.g. mentions of the ancestors of the characters in yuwu. am very excited for that. thank you meatbun for creating these characters and this world!

#yuwu #mine #finally done with this story after like 3 weeks of binge-reading #best experience of my life #ofc i'm sad now that it's over #i couldn't wait to finish the story but at the same time now that i'm done i feel so empty like i miss these characters #i miss experiencing yuwu for the first time and getting my mind blown and screaming over the characters

[hoarder-of-stories-27]

In response to your fav ship dynamic, flawd holy being/demonic being devoted to them, what are the ones other than Good Omens? Please and thank you? I love ineffable husbands and need more of that dynamic in my life. 💖

Hey! I checked your profile and didn't find anything about whether you're a minor or an adult (which is super valid! heck yeah practice online safety), so I'm saying this with the disclaimer that these are all adult novels with adult themes including but not limited to sexuality and gore/death/etc. If you're a minor, as a blanket statement, I don't recommend reading them until you're older, though of course reading them would be your choice still and you're the one who knows your tolerance for adult themes.

With that out of the way: Hualian, Bingqiu, Ranwan, and maybe Wangxian fit that dynamic! Those are all canon gay pairings (as in, the books focus on the romance between two men who kiss on the mouth multiple times on the page, and Hualian is the only pairing that doesn't have explicit sex scenes, though it is clear that they do canonically have kinky sex) in novels by the Chinese authors Mo Xiang Tong Xiu and Meatbun.

Here, I'll copy-and-paste my summaries for each novel from this post:

Tian Guan Ci Fu, or Heaven Official’s Blessing (Hualian): a disgraced god meets a disguised ghost king who treats him with a surprising amount of respect, and starts to work on healing from eight centuries of trauma. My favorite book ever. Sweeping fantasy romance with fascinating background characters and themes of criticism of mob mentality. Main content warnings: abuse, gore, suicide. No explicit sex scenes; definitely still an adult novel.

(Note on the dynamic: this is the one I was mainly thinking of, making that drawing. It's SO good.)

Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System (Bingqiu): a terminally online webnovel-obsessed Redditor-equivalent isekai’s into his favorite/most hated harem novel, and finds out, to his surprise, that the protagonist is gay??? Comedy that would be angst from any other character’s perspective. Main content warnings: dub/noncon, painful sex, internalized homophobia. There are a few explicit sex scenes between the main couple, including a dub/noncon/fuck-or-die scene.

(Note on the dynamic: Shen Qingqiu, the not-Redditor, is the flawed holy being, kind of. He's a cultivator - something like a wizard, maybe, in Western terms? though of course it's its own thing. Luo Binghe, the protagonist of the harem novel, is the demonic being devoted to him.)

Mo Dao Zu Shi, or Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (Wangxian): a disgraced dead man who’s definitely straight, trust him, is given new life and proceeds to unravel a mystery with the help of an old friend. Casefic vibes with themes of criticism of mob mentality. Main content warnings: uhh it’s been a while but definitely at least death and torture. There are a few explicit sex scenes between the main couple, including dubcon/drunk sex and CNC.

(Note on the dynamic: Lan Wangji is the flawed holy being. Wei Wuxian is the not-dead-anymore man "Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation" refers to, though watch out for the differences between how people perceive him and how he actually is.)

Erha/2ha, or Dumb Husky and His White Cat Shizun (Ranwan): an emperor who’s committed every crime, especially rape and murder, kills himself and wakes up as his teenage self, given a second chance with his teacher, the man he wronged most. Casefic vibes with themes of criticism of punitive justice, very dead dove. Biggest, most important content warning: rape. There are multiple explicit rape scenes, and they are integral to the story. I read this book for the rape scenes, and I was not disappointed. Do not read this if fictional rape is a trigger for you. Very good book.

(Note on the dynamic: Chu Wanning is the flawed holy being - another cultivator. Heads up that Mo Ran, the emperor, is very unlikable at first, but there is a happy ending.)

To anyone following me - please feel free to add on with other examples of this dynamic! I'd be interested as well. :D

#asks #ultramarine316 #my posts #long #tgcf #hualian #svsss #bingqiu #mdzs #wangxian #2ha #ranwan #/nsfa mention #/kink mention #/noncon mention #/death mention #/suicide mention #-responsible

[thirdofjune]

[Chapter 144 SPOILERS]

i just need to have this excerpt here, i cannot express how much i love this book wtf

the translation is credited to yummysuika, i don’t own anything! i didn’t post only screenshots of it since sometimes i think they’re harder to read than the typed text!

喜欢——这个词多含蓄，多模糊。

Like——how reticent, how ambiguous of a word.

它不像“爱”那么直白赤裸，一出口就能烫伤别人的心，它有许许多多的理解方式，给了多少痴男怨女机会，可以故作从容地一表心意，泄出心中满溢的爱意。

It wasn’t as straightforward and naked as “love”, burning people the moment it’s said, but it had so, so many ways for interpretation, and had given countless pining lovers the chance to confess whilst pretending to be calm, venting the overflowing love in their hearts. 

墨燃默默地想：我喜欢你，但不会惊扰你，强迫你，你以为我所说的喜欢，只是师徒情谊，那样对我而言虽有遗憾，但对你，却也再好不过了。

Mo Ran thought to himself: I like you, but I won’t alarm you or force you. You think the like I speak of is only the affection between master and disciple, and that might be a disappointment for me, but to you, it couldn’t be better. 

楚晚宁则默默地想：你说喜欢我，是因为怜悯、因为授业之情，救命之恩，这不是我想要的那一份喜欢，但是为了换来你如今的好感，我已经做了所有我能做的事情，我再也没有力气，也没有筹码去换取你更多的情意。能得到你对我作为师尊的一句认可，一声喜爱，也足够了。我不再强求。

On the other hand, Chu Wanning thought to himself: You say you like me, but it’s only out of pity; because I taught you and saved you. This isn’t the like I wanted, but I had already done all that I can to exchange for this current favourable impression; I have no more energy nor bargaining chips to exchange for more of your love. That I can earn the validation as a shizun from you, a word of affection, it’s enough. I won’t ask for more. 

the mutual pining....... i think there’s not getting over ranwan/2ha ever 

#ranwan #2ha #2ha spoilers #i miss talking about 2ha nonstop #but i also don't feel like being annoying over it on twt anymore so #im only being annoying here bc i can use the read more tab and basically talk alone lmfao #in other news meatbun thanks for my life #hai.txt

[dangermousie]

Mousie’s absolutely subjective, very biased Top 10 web novels list

Please note that this is hardly aiming to be objective, if one can even be properly objective about a work of fiction. It is 110% based on my preferences, which means this list is heavy on the angst and has nothing set in the modern day. It is also heavily danmei-centric, even though I read way more het romance than danmei, because for whatever reason, most of the danmei I’ve read has been insanely good.

10. Return of the Swallow - one of the two non-danmeis on this list. Smart and nuanced and with a large cast of characters. Our heroine is a long-lost daughter of the family that is brought back in and has to cope with familial struggles, crazy royals, court intrigue, invasion et al. It’s SO GOOD! There is romance with the sexy smart enemy general but honestly, it’s the heroine that is the main selling point for me.

9. Transmigrator Meets Reincarnator - the only other non-danmei novel on this list, this was my very first web novel and what drew me into this insanity. This is just a ton of fun, probably the lightest novel on this list, not an ounce of angst to be found. But it’s hilarious and features competent heroine and tsundere hero and I will always love it for opening a new world to me. Anyway, our heroine transmigrates into the novel as the female lead. Unlike the original lead though she doesn’t want to seek adventures and angst - she just wants to comfortably live with the wealthy, nice husband heroine has. Alas, said husband is no longer nice since he has previously lived this story where he was betrayed by FL and then transmigrated/reincarnated into the past. Oh well, the heroine opens up businesses and makes friends. And eventually, her husband realizes his wife is way different this time around. This actually doesn’t have much romance, not until close to the end, but this is so fun I don’t care.

8. Lord Seventh - I am only partway through this so far, but it’s already on the list because it’s smart and somehow intense AND laid-back (not sure how this works, but it does) and is honestly just a really really solid and smart period novel, with the OTP a cherry on top of a narrative sundae. Plus, I love the concept of MC deciding he is not going for his supposedly fated love - he’s tried for six lifetimes, always with disaster, and he’s just plain done and tired. When he opens his life in his seventh reincarnation and sees the person he would have given up the world for, he genuinely feels nothing at all. (Spoiler - his OTP is actually a barbarian shaman this time around, thank you Lord!)

7. Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (MDZS) - oh come on, how are you even on this tumblr if you don’t know MDZS/The Untamed? This was my very first danmei and it’s so much fun! I love everything about it - the unreliable narrator, the looping structure, the main OTP, Wei Wuxian’s laidback, traumatized insouciance, everything. Anyway, the plot in the event you somehow transported here from 2005 is that the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, Wei Wuxian, was defeated by the righteous sects over a decade ago and fell of a cliff to his death. Only now that same Wei Wuxian opens his eyes in another body and everything that was supposed to stay in the past starts again.

6. Heaven Official’s Blessing (TGCF) - people either love its meandering narrative, picaresque structure and cast of thousands, or find it a detriment compared to much more compact MDZS. I love it even more than MDZS for those very qualities. It does have a rock-solid, darling OTP, but what really elevates it to me are the MXTX trademark combo of snarky/light tone hiding a ton of trauma underneath, the insanely intricate world-building, and what it has to say about the nature of grace and goodness. Xie Lian is one of my top 5 web novel characters and probably in top 10 from anywhere. Oh, and while MXTX’s stuff is not as angsty for me as Meatbun’s or even Priest’s, there are always exceptions, and there is one chapter in this novel that pretty much broke me and sometimes I still flashback to it and feel unwell.

Anyway, what is it about? There is a commotion in the heavenly realm - Xie Lian, the Crown Prince of a long-destroyed kingdom, has ascended to Godhood. That in itself is not so exciting. However for Xie Lian this is the third time (!!!!) as he’s ascended and lost his godhood twice prior. And now, the biggest joke of the divine realm is back, throwing the heavenly realm into chaos. And elsewhere, Hua Cheng, one of the four most powerful demons of that Universe, sits up and takes notice.

5. Golden Stage - my perfect comfort novel. Probably the least angsty of any danmei novel on this list (which still means plenty angsty :P) It also has a dedicated, smart OTP that is an OTP for the bulk of the book - I think you will notice that in most of the novels in this list, I go for “OTP against the world” trope - I can’t stand love triangles and the same. Anyway, Fu Shen, is a famous general whose fame is making the emperor antsy. When he gets injured and can’t walk any more, the emperor gladly recalls him and marries him off to his most faithful court lackey, the head of sort of secret police, Yan Xiaohan. The emperor intends it both as a check on the general and a general spite move since the two men always clash in court whenever they meet. But not all is at is seems. They used to be friends a long time ago, had a falling out, and one of the loveliest parts of the novel is them finding their way to each other, but there is also finding the middle path between their two very different philosophies and ways of being, not to mention solving a conspiracy or dozen, and putting a new dynasty on the throne, among other things. It always makes me think, a little, of “if Mei Changsu x Jingyan were canon.”

4. Sha Po Lang - if you like a lot of fantasy politics and world-building and steampunk with your novels, this one is for you. This one is VERY plot-heavy with smart, dedicated characters and a deconstruction of many traditional virtues - our protagonist Chang Geng, a long-lost son of the Emperor, is someone who wants to modernize the country but also take down the current emperor his brother for progress’ sake and the person he’s in love with is the general who saved him when he was a kid who is nominally his foster father. Anyway, the romance is mainly a garnish in this one, not even a big side dish, but the relationship between two smart, dedicated, deadly individuals with very different concepts of duty is fascinating long before it turns romantic. And if you like angst, while overall it’s not as angsty as e.g., Meatbun stuff, Chang Geng’s childhood is the stuff of nightmares and probably freaks me out more than anything else in any novel on this list, 2ha included.

3. To Rule In a Turbulent World (LSWW) - gay Minglan. No seriously. This is how I think of it. it’s a slice of life period novel with fascinating characters and setting that happens to have a gay OTP, not a romance in a period setting per se and I always prefer stories where the romance is not the only thing that is going on. It’s meticulously written and smart and deals with character development and somehow makes daily minutia fascinating. Our protagonist, You Miao, is the son of a fabulously wealthy merchant, sent to the capital to make connections and study. As the story starts, he sees his friend’s servants beating someone to death, feels bad, and buys him because, as we discover gradually and organically, You Miao may be wealthy and occasionally immature but he is a genuinely good person. The person he buys is a barbarian from beyond the wall, named Li Zhifeng. It’s touch and go if the man will survive but eventually he does and You Miao, who by then has to return home, gives him his papers and lets him go. However, LZF decides to stick with You Miao instead, both out of sense of debt for YM saving his life and because he genuinely likes him (and yet, there is no instalove on either of their parts, their bodies have fun a lot quicker than their souls.) Anyway, the two take up farming, get involved in the imperial exams and it’s the life of prosperity and peace, until an invasion happens and things go rapidly to hell. This is so nuanced, so smart (smart people in this actually ARE!) and has secondary characters who are just as complex as the mains (for example, I ended up adoring YM’s friend, the one who starts the plot by almost beating LZF to death for no reason) because the novel never forgets that few people are all villain. There is a lovely character arc or two - watching YM grow up and LZF thaw - there is the fact that You Miao is a unicorn in web novels being laid back and calm. This whole thing is a masterpiece.

2. Stains of Filth (Yuwu) - want the emotional hit of 2ha but want to read something half its length? Well, the author of 2ha is here to eviscerate you in a shorter amount of time. This has the beautiful world-building, plot twists that all make sense and, at the center of it all, an intense and all-consuming and gloriously painful relationship between two generals - one aristocratic loner Mo Xi, and the other gregarious former slave general Gu Mang. Once they were best friends and lovers, but when the novel starts, Gu Mang has long turned traitor and went to serve the enemy kingdom and has now been returned and Mo Xi, who now commands the remnants of his slave army, has to cope with the fact that he has never been able to get over the man who stabbed him through the heart. Literally. This novel has a gorgeously looping structure, with flashbacks interwoven into present storyline. There is so much love and longing and sacrifice in this that I am tearing up a bit just thinking of it. If you don’t love Mo Xi and Gu Mang, separately and together, by the end of it, you have no soul.

1. The Dumb Husky and His White Cat Shizun (2ha/erha) - if you’ve been following my tumblr for more than a hot second, you know my obsession with this novel. Honestly, even if I were to make a list of my top 10 novels of any kind, not just webnovels, this would be on the list. It has everything I want - a complicated, intricate plot with an insane amount of plot twists, all of which are both unexpected and make total sense, a rich and large cast of characters, a truly epic OTP that makes me bawl, emotional intensity that sometimes maxes even me out and so much character nuance and growth. Also, Moran is my favorite web novel character ever, hands down.

Anyway, the plot (or at least the way it first appears) is that the evil emperor of the cultivation world, Taxian Jun, kills himself at 32 and wakes up in the body of his 16 year old self, birth name Moran. Excited to get a redo, Moran wants to save his supposed true love Shimei, whose death the last go-around pushed him towards evil. He also wants to avoid entanglement with Chu Wanning, his shizun and sworn enemy in past life. And that’s all you are best off knowing, trust me. The only hint I am going to give is oooh boy the mother of all unreliable narrators has arrived!

The novel starts light and funny on boil the frog principle - if someone told me I would be full bawling multiple times with this novel, I’d have thought they were insane, but i swear my eyes hurt by the end of it. I started out being amused and/or disliking the mains and by the end I would die for either of them.

#cnovel #2ha #yuwu #to rule in a turbulent world #lsww #sha po lang #golden stage #return of the swallow #transmigrator meets reincarnator #lord seventh #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #heaven official's blessing #the dumb husky and his white cat shizun

[xiaoguiheyu]

93.

Xie Qingcheng took the drugs when he saw metal ebola patient 3 killed his own father and then took his own life. The drugs made him normal again.

And then he met he yu. Originally he didn't intend to become he yu's doctor but when he saw how Lu Zhishu treated he yu, xqc decided to be his doctor. And he would been his doctor for the next ten years had Qin Ciyan not died.

No one knew what he and Qin Ciyan meant to each other, their relationship as father-son, master-disciple was unknown to everyone even Xie Xue. Xie Qingcheng wasn't allowed to attend Qin Ciyan's funeral and that was the first time in a very long time that he broke down after losing another parent in such a brutal way.

Tbh Qin Ciyan and Xie Qingcheng's relationship was such pure one, they both loved and cared for each other like they were real family though they weren't. I honestly love fictional pseudo family relationships, I always love this type of bond. I cried so much while reading this chapter I had a hard time looking at the screen. I don't know how to deal with Xie Qingcheng's suffering, he has so much external and internal suffering, it's crazy. I feel so bad for Xie Ge, he is such a strong and good person but he's had so many bad things happened to him but he still didn't give into his suffering, it's like the theme of this novel 'don't succumb in the face of suffering'.

Qin Ciyan left such big impact in Xie Qingcheng's life, he saved him, he gave him a new meaning of life with jellyfishes, and even Xie Qingcheng's smoking addiction originated because he wanted to feel close to his late master. Their relationship was truly such heartwarming one which is why it absolutely shatters your heart after Xie Qingcheng loses Qin Ciyan.

When meatbun said angst and knives are at the end of the book, I believe her, because the real knives He Yu and Xie Qingcheng are going to face would probably be at the end. But these parts that she wrote are not angsty to me, these parts that touches my heart and makes me cry and feel for these characters is the brilliance of the writer's writing. And I love meatbun and her writing. 2ha brought me out of my book slump and I have her to thank for that.

#bing an ben #case file compendium #xie qingcheng #he yu #hexie

[voidcat]

– Fresh Start p.2 / Pestering

Fandom: Haikyuu!!

Genre: fluff

Word Count: 1.1k

Characters: Hinata Shoyo, you

Summary: Ever since your confrontation with Hinata, his words don’t leave you alone. And him pestering you for not playing from time to time at the most unexpected moments doesn’t help either. 

first part

Ever since that day something changed within you. Your view towards anything you do was improved by hundred. And it was all thanks to the one and only Hinata Shoyo.

This also meant that you’ve started to tag along with him to practice, been to some of his matches and helped Yachi around. Seeing them all play with such compassion and meaning was like entering a brand new world. Your hands would itch with the need to grab a ball yourself and play. Sometimes the ball would go to your direction during a practice match and it’d take everything in you to stop yourself from running there and receive it. 

The team seemed to be aware of that too, they would offer to play with you sometimes before cooling down or ask you to throw the ball at Kageyama so he could set. It was nice to be able to hit the ball with your fingers, to receive once in a while and to run around, sure, but watching them play at their full performance... Now that was something entirely different and more thrilling.

Your teacher had just handed out your examined assignments, your grades written over the paper. You weren’t sure what to feel. You had passed and the grade wasn’t so low, but it wasn’t exactly high enough for your and your parent’s tastes either. Beginning your day with such happiness, its source unknown to you; only for it to get buried with a snap, just like that.

Hinata noticed the drastic change in your mood so first thing he did at break was to approach your desk. “Do you know what I do whenever I’m down?” You just looked at him, signaling him to proceed. “I close my eyes and try to remember one of the spikes I’d done with my eyes open. I can see the surprise and distress in the rival team’s faces again, hear how the ball goes through the hair like ‘Wooosh!’ and hits the ground with such force.”

I guess it makes sense, you think, to remember one of your happier moments for a cheer-up. But then Hinata continues: “Oh, right. Sorry I forgot, you can’t do spikes. I guess this wasn’t the best idea to give.” The wide grin on his face tells enough that he’s joking and knowing him long enough, you don’t need to see his face to know that he’s joking. Yet you won’t get let the little shrimp get away with calling you out in such a way and so you don’t speak to him until the next day. It is one of the longest days he has, trying as many ways as he can to make it up to you and to apologize. Needless to say, seeing him so miserable is a delight to Tsukki and he even pays for your meatbun after the practice.

Oh how naive of you to think that would be the only time. You realize what a powerful card you’ve granted Hinata with your shameful, in his eyes at least, history of volleyball. Having the upperhand at one thing against you is such a joyful thing, one he doesn’t use often, to keep the dramatic effect from wearing off.

You two are just walking one day, still trying to decide how to spend the day. As you keep talking and defending why going to a cafe is better than seeing a movie for that day, you trip your feet over one of the tiles. You regain your posture before you can fall, with the help of Hinata grabbing your right arm. That’s when he drops the bomb: “Maybe your walking would be more balanced and your steps more solid on he ground if you were still playing.” You just stare at him, your mouth hanging open for a full minute.

It doesn’t end with that of course. Whenever Shoyo gets a chance, he strikes. You make him pay afterwards and he seems so regretful but it doesn’t matter the next time arise.

You could be going through old photos and feeling sad that you don’t have the same muscle tissue you once had 2 years ago and he replies: “Well if you eat all these carbs and chocolate and don’t do any exercise or a sport, like volleyball; it’s only expected not to have as much muscle in your body.” At that you hit his head with the photo album, a little smile on your lips. Because somehow his stupid remarks always manage to make you smile, or make you laugh. Hence the turning your head away and refusing to look at him or hitting him, so he won’t see how he succeeds with his words.

It has been a short while since your exams and the teachers are announcing your grades. This time it’s more dreadful than usual. Your motivation had been lacking lately and being lost at what you want in life, you weren’t prepared enough. Some of the grades are as bad as you feared expected them to be. You try to keep your mind clear of negative thoughts but the situation at hand makes this difficult. And as always Shoyo senses your worries and is right besides you to comfort. “Do not feel bad for what’s in front of you right now but keep planning for what is to come. It’s just like... When you’re in a match and the opponent blockers are so tall and strong. They keep blocking you and you are at a loss for any trick to use against them, feeling more helpless than ever. Then at one point, time seems to slow down, you can see them as clear as day, the ground behind them is inviting as ever, you can spot all the empty and defenseless areas. And as time keeps on hold, waiting, you aim and hit the ball to the space between their limbs. The victory that spike gives is the most successful you can ever feel, you know. It brings hope to you and your team, getting you hyped up to do it again.” His voice softens as he tells all these, probably from memory. His eyes are filled with a burning fire of hope and ‘you can do it’. 

And then he says the dreaded words, hitting his forehead with the palm of his head: “Ah, why am I even telling all these things to you when it’s clear how meaningless they must sound? After all, you didn’t even spike properly, let alone against blockers.”

Before he can do one of his trademark grins that always follow these remarks or even process what is happening, you get up from your seat like lightning bolt. Grabbing your bag with one hand and Shoyo’s with the other, just like he did all these months ago, you drag him out of the classroom.

“W-wait! Where are you taking me??” You can hear the worry in his highpitched  voice. You can’t help but roll your eyes at that, your lips curving into a smirk.

“To the gym, dumbass. You’re gonna show me how to spike.”

#haikyuu #haikyuu fanfiction #hinata shoyo #reader #reader insert #hinata x reader #picking up fights #friendly banter #continuation #fanfiction #hinata fanfiction #i may change the title #pestering doesnt sit right #crossposted on ao3 #established friendship #friendship #haikyuu!!

[fan-gyaldump]

  Erased

Bakugo x reader fanfic

Part 1 

Content warnings: Angst, Swearing

Hearing the sound of the vacuum cleaner from the neighbours above was the last thing y/n wanted to hear after waking up with an excruciatingly painful migraine. Shutting her eyes shut as she tried to force herself back to sleep and never wake up, or to sleep until the vacuuming would stop. However as much as she tried to sleep, she knew for a fact that she had to get up and was not prepared to spend another day indoors.

Her routines were starting to drive her insane. Wake up,lay in bed doing nothing, eat, sleep, drink, eat, drink some more and finally go to bed knowing that her hangover would bite her in the ass in the morning. But she preferred this than what her life used to be.

Giving up her dreams to be taken by the League of Villians was probably. No. Most definitely the worst decision she had ever made in her life. Allowing herself to succumb to such a lifestyle with nothing but pain and tyranny was what got her into this mess. Living in a shitty apartment, with hardly any money to her name and with no will to live anymore. But why she kept going, she had no idea.

There was no way she was going to try to become a hero again. For multiple reasons: 1) She had given up on her hero partnership with fatgum 2) joining the league meant getting all of her records and information removed permanently and 3) she didn’t want anyone from her old class back at UA to find her like this. Not like this. Sure they graduated already and most of them became some of the best heroes in Japan, but that made it even worse to get back out there and start fresh, she would be so far behind, catching up would be impossible.

Deku had become the new number 1 hero, Todoroki took over Endeavours spot, Uraraka became the number 5 hero and Bakugo.

God she couldn’t even say his name without feeling pure disgust in herself. For leaving him and everyone else like that, removing herself completely from their lives, causing all that unnecessary stress on both them and the media, the scandals, the conflict, the search parties and everything else. All because she was too stupid to think twice about what she was doing.

She pushed herself off of her bed slowly and shakily, groaning to herself as her migraine only got worse with the more she moved. As soon as she got up, her vision became blurry, the room began spinning and she could feel herself about to throw up. Luckily for her it was just her iron deficiency acting up again, slowly going away with the more breaths she took. She dragged herself over to her sink to wash her disgustingly greasy and sick face. Hoping that it would cleanse her of everything else she had. She looked into the mirror to find that her dark circles had gotten worse, along with her complexion. She looked dead, pale, weak and most of all, pathetic. A shower better fix this

Katuski propped his head against his palm, skimming through paperwork from the last villain attack he had been involved with. Some asshole who thought it would be a good idea to keep an entire apartment complex hostage and rig the security systems. It wasn’t hard from the pros to find him and through him into jail but the worst part was always the paperwork. But this is just one of the many responsibilities he had to endure if he wanted to be the number 3 hero in all of Japan.

Villains were seen as slightly more valuable to Katsuki, he hoped that at least one of them would know where you were or if they knew what had happened to you. Every villain would be asked those same questions by him. Even though it had been 2 years since your disappearance, he never stopped looking.

His trance like state was interrupted by a notification on his phone, pulling him back to reality. He opened to check what it was only to find. A memory from 3 years ago. A picture of him and y/n at a dinner party after a mission that th it had completed regarding a group of terrorist villains that had been on the run for months at that point. He looked at the photo, eyes fixated onto her smile, her eyes and the way she looked so happy with him and how happy he looked with her. That was one of the last times he had been with her until she went missing. He hated himself for not being able to track down t he bastards that took her, for not being able to be with her and for having that argument with her before she left. He still needed to say so many things to her. He wanted to tell her that he still loved her so much and that he just wanted for things to go back the way they were.

“Sir?” His receptionist called out to him, forcing him to look away from the photo. “You’re late for your meeting with red riot. He’s waiting for you on the 6th floor.” She handed him a clipboard, her fingers lingering on his oak wood desk. Standing in front of him in a provocative way, trying to get his attention.

Bakugo looked at her, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion as to why she was trying to act sexy around him. It wasn’t like it’ll work or anything, he knew damn well what she was thinking and he wasn’t amused at all. He stood up from his chair and walked past her, completely ignoring her advances and thanked her with a low hum. He left his office with a scowl on his face and with his thoughts consumed by y/n, picturing her smile in his head.

After a well deserved shower, a warmish meal and changing into a clean pair of leggings, a t shirt and an over-sized hoodie, y/n found herself sitting on her sofa again, waiting for her phone to recharge after using it the whole night. She began to stretch her muscles out of boredom, hearing the satisfying clicks of her joints fill the quiet and empty room. She let out a long sigh of satisfaction, feeling less tense now that some of her many knots in her muscles were relived. After a few more minutes of sitting there quietly, she got up from her seat and began stretching other parts of her body some more, starting from her legs and gradually working her way up towards her neck. She began to feel more energized as she kept moving around her living room, With this sudden rush of energy she had, she decided to start doing some workouts starting with push ups after moving her coffee table to make more room for her exercises. Working out up to a point where she had completely forgotten about her phone.

Y/n raided her cupboards for the fifth time, in disbelief that she had no more rice left, upset that she couldn’t make her egg fried rice that she had been craving since her shower. Pissed that she actually had to go out to buy some rice from the store. She let out a loud groan of frustration, pleased that she lived alone so she could scream and shout to her hearts content.

Picking up her keys from her counter and her wallet, she left her house for the first time in 4 days. Unaware of how shitty her timing was.

The bell rung as she opened the door with little effort, giving a small smile to the shopkeeper behind the counter and quickly glancing up to the surveillance screen that was hanging at the top of the store. She went down the aisles and scanned over the products that were placed on the shelves ever so neatly. humming to herself, leaving her shabby apartment felt nice every once in a while. Opening the refrigerator door to where the cartons of milk were, she took out one carton and continued her search. Paying no attention to the sound of the door opening and somebody walking in. 

“Afternoon ma’am!” the voice sounded chipper and enthusiastic. She’s definitely heard it before. 

“Oh my God! I cant’t believe this! You! You’re in my store. I’m a huge fan sir really i am!” The shopkeeper cheered, sounding happier than ever.

“Please, there’s no need for the formality”

Y/n’s body froze after recognizing the familiar voice, her grip on the milk carton tightened. There was no way in hell this was happening to her right now. She didn’t want to believe what horrible luck she had. 

Denki Kaminari. Also known as Chargebolt. Former classmate and close friend of her ex Katsuki Bakugo. 

Y/n glanced up to the camera slowly, so she could plan out her quickest form of escape without being spotted. He stood by the entrance, talking to the lady behind the counter and was in the middle of taking a picture with her. If she planned this properly, she should be able to buy what she needed and leave inconspicuously.

The conversation she picked up on so far from them both was him being in the area just for today to do some patrols and quickly needing a bottle of water and maybe some meatbuns. 

Her hood couldn’t cover up her whole face but it covered up enough for her to go unnoticed. She watched the screen closely and waited for him to move from his spot so she could go to pay. Once he moved towards the snacks section, she swerved her way around the aisle, already pulling out her wallet to pay for her items as quickly as possible. 

After reaching the counter and dropping the milk and rice on the counter top with shaky hands, y/n fumbled with her wallet and was prepared to pull out any note as long as she could get out of there quickly. Now it was just up to how quickly this lady was prepared to attend her. 

To make things worse, she was fixated on the picture she took with chargebolt. Oh come on please just hurry the fuck up. she tapped her fingers aggressively on the counter trying to get her attention back on her. 

“oh sorry about that miss. Would you like a bag?” 

“Yes” Y/n’s response was short with a hint of irritation in her voice. 

“No problem.” The employee began preparing a bag to place her items in. She may have been fast but for y/n, she wasn’t fast enough. Soon, Denki was lined up behind her, meatbuns and waterbottle in hand. 

“Oh did you want a picture too?” He asked, unaware of the other person in the store with him.

Cocky much?  

“No. I’m fine” Y/n tried her hardest to speak as low and as quickly as possible so that he wouldn’t be able to recognize her. 

Denki stood surprised, it was rare for him to find a fan that wouldn’t want a picture with him. “Oh okay” He took a look at her hoodie, recognizing the pattern at the back. “Hey i had a friend that used to wear the exact same-”

“That’ll be 500 yen.” The cash register chimed. 

Before he could finish his sentence, Y/n pulled out a 5000 yen note from her wallet, slammed it onto the counter and rushed out of the store with a quick and rushed thanks.

With the way she moved so fast, both Denki and the assistant stood shocked at the unusual behavior of that customer. “She forgot her change.”

Denki grew suspicious. This unknown female that wouldn’t look at him, her rushed behavior and her hoodie that looked an awful lot like y/n’s? It had to have been her. His suspicions got the better of him and he couldn’t pass up this oppurtunity. “I’ll go give it to her” And with that he took the change and followed her. Keeping his distance in case anything went down.

Loud shouts were coming from an alleyway nearby, someone was obviously in distress and was in desperate need of help. A man and a woman from what Denki could make out.

He peered his head around the corner and saw the hooded customer held in a tight and uncomfortable embrace from a stranger who had a sharp claw against her face. Taunting her and saying inappropriate things to her. Things like ‘doll’ and ‘sweetheart’. He watched closely at what the woman might do. If this was the y/n he thought it was, then she would have no problem getting herself out of this situation, if it wasn’t then he would step in and help. He just hoped it was her.

She struggled against this mans grasp, trying her hardest to break free from him. “Let go you bastard!” She screamed, prying one of her arms free.

This was it. he thought. Just one arm needed to activate her quirk.

They didn’t call her the knockout hero for nothing. Her quirk allowed her to make any person blackout if she could just place her fingers against their temple, which releases a chemical that connects to all the neurons of that persons brain and causes it to get scrambled enough for them to pass out. 

Denki couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear, this new found discovery was the best thing he had encountered so far. He couldn’t believe his eyes, one of his closest friends that went missig to years ago was standing right in front of him. The hero that everyone had been looking for, ws now here in the same alleyway as him. He couldn’t wait to tell everyone.

Y/n huffed out a few shaky breaths before picking up her bag and began making her way out of the alleyway. She was stopped in her tracks when she felt two strong arms grab her by the shoulders and caused her t urn around, a loud gasp escaping her lips along with her heart rate to increase again. 

“I knew it” Denki said breathlessly, his eyes scanning every inch of her body, hands firm on her shoulders and a smile wide on his lips. “You’re alive! You’re okay! Holy shit. Holy shit I can’t believe this.”

Y/n stood in shock and fear. How the fuck did she get in this situation? what was she going to do? how did this happen? So many questions flooded her mind, each and every one of them scaring her even more. She didn’t know what to do. She was too scared to face them now. She Couldn’t face them now. And she was not about to face any of them now. 

Run 

Without a second thought, Y/n shoved Denki’s hands off of her, threw her bag in his face to slow him down and began running towards her apartment, taking the main road she she knew more people would recognize him and give her a better chance of escape.

“Y/n! Wait!” 

#katsuki #my hero academy fanfiction #katsuki x reader #boku no hero x reader #my hero acadamy #bakugo #mha #bnha x reader

[ryuukia]

[Translation] ORIGIN -Dark and Light- Behind the scenes ④

I said I wanted to finish posting all the backstage moments during the event gacha, so here it is. Swiiiiiits profiles might take some more because I’m not proofreading that with Ryota (uni sucks life out of us)

Once I’m done with the profiles too, I’ll be making a masterpost~

Assistant translator & proofreading: @ryota-kunstranslations (you’re an angellll)

Please don’t repost/reuse my translations.

☆The obedient person who can’t be tamed ☆

Ryota: Aah, come on, who’d throw a plastic bottle here? What if someone got hurt? So careless

Ryota: Nozomu, come here. You were rubbing your knees a while ago. It’s better to disinfect them just in case. Hey, come here already.

Ryota: I’ll stay and clean up, so it’s fine if Mamoru returns before I do. You have to work on the new song, right? Did you forget anything? Really, it’s ‘cause you keep spacing out.

Ren: Ryota-san! Ryota-san! Recently, I’ve been thinking that whenever I look at you, I feel like I can understand what the words “tsundere moe” really mean!!

Ryota: …...th, thank…… you……

Kensuke: wwwwwwww

☆ Do you see them? ☆

Shun: Tomte-san is so friendly and cute. Ah, hey, that tickles (giggle)

Yuri: I think he’s always wanted to meet the demon lord, he seems happy

Shun: I am honored. I couldn’t find the time to visit the fairy world lately

Kakeru: …...What are they doing talking to thin air? Those two, I mean..

Arata: Kakerun, we lose if we react. As long as it’s not a ghost then it’s not scary. I’m satisfied with just that. (serious face)

Kakeru: Showing that facial expression was definitely your first mistake.

Kakeru: (Nakai-san is also a fairy, but everyone can see him… fairies are deep)

☆ A gentle moment with a gentle person ☆

Morihito: ……-blows-

Dia: …… -blows-

Mamoru: …… -blows-

Arata: …… -puffs-

Issei: ……

Morihito: The cocoa is delicious

Dia: One cup after physical training is exceptional, isn’t it?

Mamoru: I feel healed…

Arata: The sweetness is just right…

Issei: …… (nod nod)

Koki: I’ve been making sandwiches as a snack, would you like some?

Aoi: I also helped. Egg sandwiches, fruits sandwiches and others. There are a lot.

Yoru: If you want something substantial, there’s also fried chicken!

All of them: Are you gods?

Koki: You’re exaggerating (laugh)

☆ People who are in high spirits ☆

Nozomu: I, no.1, Nanase Nozomu, shall start!!!

Lise: Okay! Please do!

Rui: Fight

You: You seem excited www. What are you doing?

Nozomu: For real? (Haduki You style)

Lise & Rui: That was close

You: You all better get ready.

※It was an imitation contest

☆ Are you good at dancing? ☆

Tsubasa: Well then! I’ll do it! I’ll dance!

Iku: I won’t lose either!

Koi: I’ll also give my best~!

You: Hey hey, if it’s dancing then it’s definitely gotta be me.

Kai: Oh, it looks like you’re having fun!

Shu: Shouldn’t we show them how the seniors do things once in a while?

Kensuke: If this is a test of strength, then I won’t lose!

Hajime: If it’s a competition then, there’s no way I’d back down.

Shun: My my, if Hajime participates, count me in too

Soushi: Looks like I’ll be representing SOARA. As a former athlete, I won’t hold back.

Tatsuhiko: Same here

Shiki: The seniors are making a stand

Lico: I’m the female representative!

Issei: Eichi too, come on, fight

Eichi: No way no way no way no way! I was thinking of joining in too but there’s no way I can just throw myself in at that kind of line-up!

Ichiru: If I were you I’d join them right away...!!

Rui: I feel like my energy’s being sucked out just by looking at them standing there

Aoi: Rui, let’s hang on a bit more (bitter smile)

Yuri: Movement that goes with music is simply beautiful.

Morihito: That’s right. Everyone is so cool

☆ A healing view ☆

Kakeru: …… (nom nom)

Dai: (......It looks like it)

Rikka: (......Indeed)

Stare

Kakeru: Ha! You’re watching!

Dai & Rikka: ! (jerk)

Kakeru: Dai-chan-san and Rikka-san, you've been looking at that lizz and back at me for a while now! If you think that I resemble a squirrel that much, shouldn't you be contributing to make my cheeks puffier? Please buy me at least one meatbun right now!

Dai: Roger (bitter smile)

Rikka: Please accept our humble treat (laugh)

☆ Unshakable Man ☆

Arata: Sigh~......

Aoi: You’re lying on the floor…… (bitter smile). Are you that tired?

Arata: Ah, no, I’m staying like this because I’m wondering what’s the best angle to take photos from.

Shu: You look spirited

Koki: Really full of spirit

#tsukino production #tsukiuta #tsukipro #origin #english translation #origin backstage #six gravity #procellarum #sq #solids #quell #alive #soara #growth #mutsuki hajime #shimotsuki shun #takamura shiki #izumi shu #eto koki #kaname tatsuhiko #i was about to type sora but he's not here

[my-woozi-happiness]

On a cold December day

Shouyou dragged his feet along the ground as he followed his parents to the 5th house of today. They were going to move, again, and honestly Shouyou was sick of it. He wanted a place where he could stay for longer than 2 years.

"Shouyou, if you don't like looking at the houses then go check out the shops, ok?" Shouyou's mother looked back at her son who had his arms wrapped around himself, mumbling to himself.

"Ok...but don't kill me if I get lost in this 'big' neighbourhood" Shouyou stuck his tongue out as his mother rolled her eyes.

"We'll call you when we're finished" She fixed her son's hoodie "Please behave yourself ok?"

Sighing, Shouyou nodded, giving his mother a small smile.

"You know I will, mom" Waving to his parents, he turned around to walk back to the shops they saw on their way here.

Looking around he spotted what seemed to be a ramen shop.

"Finally, food!" Keeping his eyes trained on the shop he walked straight to it without looking where he was going.

Opening the door slowly, Shouyou peeked inside. The shop was empty.

"Maybe it's too early...?" Shouyou closed the door behind him, jumping as he heard a deep voice.

"Welcome, what can I get for you?" A tall, raven haired boy stood behind the counter. He seemed to be Shouyou's age.

Shouyou sat down slowly, looking over the menu.

"Udon ramen, please" Shouyou lowered the menu only to lean back as the raven haired boy was suddenly too close.

"Why are you wearing a hoodie? It's like 28 degrees outside" The boy raised an eyebrow "Aren't you hot?" 

Tugging on his hoodie, Shouyou answered him.

"It's not that warm...I think it's kind of chilly." Lowering his head, Shouyou mumbled something about the udon.

"Well, if you say so" Turning back, the tall boy started on Shouyou's order "You're new here, aren't you?"

"I am, my parents had to move for work, they're out there looking at houses. I got bored" Shouyou scrunched up his nose. "Even though this town is small, the houses are pretty big."

"They are big, my parents are always gone so I always have to house to myself. Can get boring." The boy chuckled "One udon ramen." placing the bowl of ramen in front of Shouyou he leaned back to watch his reaction.

Shouyou leaned forward, sniffing it before taking a small bite.

"Mmh! This is really good! You don't look like you can cook." Slurping some more of the noodles, he looked at the boy who glared at him.

"I'm not as good as my grandfather but I'm getting there." He crossed his arms as he continued the glare at the red head.

"What is your name? Mine's Hinata, Hinata Shouyou." Shouyou licked his lips grinning.

"Kageyama...." Kageyama cocked an eyebrow as Shouyou started to pout. "What?" 

"I told you my name! You should do the same!" Shouyou jutted out his lower lip.

Chuckling, Kageyama pushed himself off the counter, disappearing into the back.

"Geez, he's so weird." Finishing the rest of his ramen, he stretched his arms above his head. "That was good~!"

Shouyou turned his head to the door as two elderly people walked in.

"Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Honda, welcome" Kageyama bowed. "The usual?" 

"Good morning, Tobio-kun." Mrs. Honda smiled warmly as she took her seat. "Yes, please" 

"Coming right up." Kageyama quickly went back behind the counter to make their order.

"Tobio-kun~" Shouyou grinned as Kageyama tensed up. "Now I know your name," placing the money down on the counter he hopped off his chair. "See you again, Tobio~" 

Shouyou walked out laughing as Tobio glared at him.

'Maybe this town won't be so bad.' Looking back he saw Tobio scowling as he cooked the ramen.

"Shouyou! Where were you? I tried to call you several times but you didn't pick up!" Shouyou's mother rushed over to him.

"Ah, I'm sorry mom. I think I might turned it off. I had some ramen just now," Shouyou smiled. "Did you find a house yet?"

"We did find one indeed. Your mother is in love with it," His father laughed as his mother scolded him gently. "I already made a call, our things will arrive tomorrow afternoon." 

"That's awesome!" Shouyou smiled widely, he didn't like the idea of moving to yet another town, but after meeting Kageyama he had a feeling it would get interesting, fun even.

"Shouyou, we're going back to the hotel now." His mother waved him over.

Looking back one more time he saw Kageyama looking at him, Shouyou felt himself blushing at the intense gaze the other held. Turning his head away he quickly made his way to his parents.

'What was that about...' Shouyou shook his head, resting his head against the window of the car as they made their way back to the hotel.

The next day his parents were busy carrying the boxes inside their new house. Shouyou watched, leaning against the car.

As he heard a fence slam closed he looked up only to see Kageyama coming from the house next to his.

"Tobio!" Shouyou ran over only to stop and back away as Tobio glared at him. "H-hello.."

Growling, Tobio slid a hand through his hair.

"Hey, sorry," Tobio looked as more boxes were carried into the house "You...you're going to live here?" 

Nodding, Shouyou rocked back and forth.

"My mother fell in love with this house, we're moving in today. My mother said that that would be my room." Shouyou pointed at a window that was on the side of the house.

"Great...right across from mine." Tobio mumbled.

"Huh? Did you say something?" Shouyou tilted his head.

"Nothing. I have to go now, do some shopping." As Tobio was about to turn around he felt tugging on his arm.

"Can I come along? My dad won't allow me to carry anything cause I would 'break everything that we ever own'," Shouyou rolled his eyes "Please let me come along?" Tugging more onto Tobio's arm he whined.

"Ugh, fine. Just don't be...loud." Tobio tugged his arm back.

"Mom, dad! I'll be back soon!!" Shouyou placed his hands on Tobio's back, pushing him forward. "Go go! Before they start to ask you questions."

As they walked around in the market, Tobio glanced at Shouyou's hands.

"Your hands are cold and you're wearing a sweater," Tobio sighed, placing an item back that Shouyou placed in the cart "Stop putting random stuff in the cart!" 

"I'm always cold, my body never seems to get any warmer. It's way worse in the winter though." Shouyou shrugged, he didn't know any better and it's not like it's life threating anyway. "Oh, I want this tonight." Grabbing a few random snacks he threw them all in the cart.

"I will hurt you if you throw in one more thing," Tobio narrowed his eyes as he saw Shouyou reached for another bag of marshmallows. "I swear to go- Hinata!!" 

Laughing, Shouyou ran away laughing. He decided to hide outside, leaning against a wall, waiting for Tobio to come out.

Shouyou blinked as a bag dangled infront of him.

"You will pay me back for these." Tobio dropped the bag in Shouyou's hands.

"You really bought them for me, thank you." Peeking into the bag, Shouyou smiled.

Making their way back to their houses Shouyou moved closer to Tobio. He was getting sleepy.

"Oi, don't walk so close and walk up straight," Tobio looked down at the red shorty. "O-oi!" Holding out his arms to catch Shouyou as the boy fell forward.

After some struggling, Tobio managed to get Shouyou on his back.

"I barely know him and he's making me do these things." Huffing, Tobio started walking.

For the next 5 months the boys grew closer to each other, going on a first name basis and sleeping over at each other's places. They always were alot more...touchy with each other.

In 3 weeks it was Tobio's birthday and Shouyou wanted to do something for him. He knew Tobio loved volleyball and loved to cook. 

Shivering and pulling his scarf further up Shouyou didn't see where he was walking as he was thinking about what to get for Tobio.

"Oi, watch where you're going," Tobio pulled Shouyou to his side. "What are you thinking about?" Pulling his own scarf off, Tobio wrapped it around Shouyou's neck instead. "If you're too cold we could go somewhere else." 

Shaking his head, Shouyou clung onto Tobio's arm.

"No, I want to go to the festival, you promised we would go together. Besides, you said you had something you wanted to tell me." Shouyou grinned, snuggling closer as he got colder.

"On the first snow of the year, yes I will tell." Tobio smiled, walking along with Shouyou.

"Eh? But what if we won't get the first snow today??" Shouyou stopped walking, looking up at his best friend.

"Then you would have to wait a little longer," Reaching over, Tobio grabbed onto Shouyou's hand "Come on, they're selling meatbuns over there." 

Shouyou stumbled after Tobio with a pout on his lips.

"I want 3 buns," Shouyou took out his wallet to pay for them, opening his mouth in protest as he saw Tobio paying for them. "Tobio~ I wanted to pay for them." Shouyou whined.

Chuckling, Tobio gave Shouyou his bag of meatbuns.

"It's fine, I asked you to come with me so I will pay for whatever you want today." tucking his own bag under his arm he cupped Shouyou's face, rubbing Shouyou's cheeks.

Munching on the meatbun, Shouyou looked up at Tobio with curious wide eyes. Swallowing he cleared his throat.

"Should we continue? There is so much more to see and do!" Shouyou jumped up and down. "S-stop rubbing my cheeks, you're going to wipe off my freckles." Shouyou stuck his tongue out as Tobio raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, like I can actually do that." Shaking his head he followed the red head to another foodcart. When Tobio felt the wind getting stronger he looked up at the sky. 'It should be soon...'

"Oh! Tobio, win that for me please?" Shouyou pointed at a big bunny plush, smiling widely. "Don't set the ball but throw it." Shouyou covered his mouth laughing. Tobio could feel his eye twitching, it was only once he did that, did he really have to mention that again?

"Fine, but I'm only going to try once, ok?" Tobio felt annoyed when Shouyou just waved him off, gripping the small ball in his hands he stared at the cans. 'Shouldn't be that hard.'

For some reason Tobio was panting, he was sure he hit atleast one of the cans. Clenching his fist he glared at the man who was laughing at him.

"Tobio, it's ok," Shouyou looked at him smiling "Lets continue ok?" 

"Do you want the damn plush or not!?" Slamming more money onto the counter Tobio gripped onto the balls. After 6 more tries Tobio was fuming, he wanted nothing more than to throw this man against those cans.

Shouyou tugged onto Tobio's coat, sighing.

"It's just a plush, Tobio. I don't need it anyway." Shouyou flinced when Tobio turned his head to glare at him.

"One more time...." Swinging his arm back he threw the ball with such force that the cans and the table fell down "What the...." reaching over the counter he grabbed the man by his collar "They were glued on the table!??" 

The man held his hands up, laughing nervously, trying to get away from Tobio.

"Y-you can h-have the plush!" Once the man pulled away from Tobio he gave him the bunny plush and another plush when Tobio wouldn't stop glaring at him.

"Woah, you're scary when you can't win, Tobio~" Shouyou laughed, holding the plush close to him. "Thank you for the plush." pulling Tobio down Shouyou placed a soft short kiss against Tobio's cheek.

"Le-lets go to the lake..." Grabbing Shouyou's hand, Tobio made his way towards the lake.

"The lake? I didn't know they had any stalls there..." The more they walked the more Shouyou realised they ventured away from the festival.

When they arrived, Shouyou stared at Tobio who just looked across the lake.

"Shou..." Tobio looked down at his shorter friend "Do you remember when we first met?" 

"I do," Shouyou giggled "Tobio-kun~" Shouyou laughed as he remembered it.

"I...I liked you from that moment, when I found out you were going to start living next to me, I pretended to be annoyed but I was actually happy." Tobio looked down at the ground, noticing it started to get white. 'The first snow...'

Shouyou smiled, his cheeks turning red, not only from the cold but also because of Tobio's confession.

"I have never felt like this, but whenever I'm with you, I just feel the need to hold you close, to spoil you..." Tobio looked up a little as he saw Shouyou stepping closer to him. "What I want to say is, I'm in love with you, Shouyou." 

Watching as the plush dropped to the ground, Tobio was surprised when Shouyou wrapped his arms around Tobio's waist.

"I'm in love with you too, the moment I looked into your eyes, I could feel it." Shouyou lifted his head from Tobio's chest to look into those dark blue eyes.

Shouyou stood on his toes as Tobio leaned down, closing his eyes slowly, Shouyou shivered when he felt those lips touch his own. Their first kiss. It wasn't perfect at all but to Shouyou there was still something magical about it.

Tobio pulled away first, smiling softly as he saw that Shouyou still had his eyes closed. Pressing his lips against his boyfriends forehead he couldn't help but chuckle when Shouyou started to giggle.

"So this is what you wanted to tell me." Shouyou smiled widely, pulling his boyfriend down for another kiss.

"We should go home, you feel like ice." Bending down he picked up the plushies, grabbing Shouyou's hand with his other hand. "I'll make sure you're nice and warm" 

"Eeh~? Tobio you're such a pervert!" Shouyou poked Tobio's arm who looked at him with wide eyes.

"You're the pervert for thinking I'm going to do something to you," Tobio laughed at Shouyou's pout "So, you do want me to do things to you? I didn't know you were like this, Shou!" 

Shouyou's face turned red, pushing Tobio away.

"S-stop talking nonsense!" Shouyou sped up his pace, turning the corner to walk into their street. "You better walk faster or else I'll make a mess of your room!" 

"Like hell you will! Last time you did that my mother scolded me and made me clean up everything!" Tobio started running after Shouyou. "Why did I even gave him a key...?" Tobio mumbled as he saw Shouyou go into his house.

Shouyou rummaged through Tobio's closet, taking out a dark brown sweater and putting it on, kicking off his pants he gathered the pillows and blankets from Tobio's room and dragged them down the stairs.

Tobio raised his eyebrows as he watched the smaller boy struggling to hold everything up.

"And what are you going to do with those?" Tobio crossed his arms as he followed Shouyou into the livingroom.

"Your blankets are thicker than the ones you have in here." Settling infront of the couch and between the table, Shouyou got comfortable under the blankets. Looking up he smiled proudly up at Tobio.

"I'm going to make some hot chocolate for us." Shaking his head, Tobio made his way into the kitchen.

"And lots and lots of snacks!" Shouyou looked over his shoulder, watching Tobio disappear into the kitchen.

Placing the last bowls of snacks onto the table, Tobio looked out of the window.

"The snow is piling up quickly..." Tobio looked at the clock, it was already nearing 5pm, but he doubted his parents would make it home.

"We could make a snowman!" Shouyou beamed, already ready to climb out of the blankets.

"Hell no, you already feel like you might freeze to death, it's way too cold outside and there's too much snow to move around," Tobio slipped in next to Shouyou. "Stop pouting, your lips might stay like that"

"You could keep me warm when we're outside though," Shouyou glanced at his raven haired friend. "Your touches are the best." 

Tobio's face flushed red. Deciding to ignore that comment he reached for the marshmallows, dumping a few into his hot coco.

"Your feet are ice cold, why aren't you wearing any socks?" Tobio let out a shriek as Shouyou pushed his feet under Tobio's legs. "W-why are you doing that!?" 

"My feet are cold and you are warm" Shouyou grinned at his boyfriend. He felt his face grow warm at the thought of finally being with Tobio.

"What? Why is your face getting red? Are you getting sick?" As Tobio reached out he heard Shouyou let out a high pitched scream when the lights and tv turned off. "Stop screaming, power went out" 

"You know I don't like the dark, Yama~" Shouyou whined as he held onto Tobio's arm.

Tobio scoffed but wrapped his arm around his smaller boyfriend, pulling him closer.

"We'll just have to wait it out, nothing we can do about it," leaning down Tobio placed a kiss on Shouyou's forehead. "If you want we can go to my room and watch the snow fall?" 

"Can I light some candles? I promise I will place them somewhere where I can't knock them down this time." Shouyou peeked up at Tobio in the dark.

Tobio chuckled, squeezing his adorable boyfriend.

"You can do that. You go up first, I'll bring up the snacks and our drinks." Tobio watched as Shouyou stumbled up the stairs, clutching onto the blankets.

Shaking his head with a smile he slowly walked into the kitchen, being careful not to walk into something. Finding what he looked for he made his way back into the livingroom, placing everything on the tray.

"It's so beautiful." Shouyou stood infront of the window, watching as the thick snow covered their town more and more.

"I see you put on some pants and socks." Tobio closed the door with his foot, looking around the room at the different candles Shouyou lit. 

"I got cold without you" Shouyou pouted, sitting down on the floor as Tobio got closer.

Wrapping his arms around Shouyou's waist, Tobio planted his chin on top of his boyfriend's head, looking out the window.

Shouyou leaned back against Tobio's chest, sighing happily, closing his eyes he could feel Tobio's heartbeat against his back.

Looking down, Tobio couldn't help but smile. He didn't know if they would stay together forever and to be honest, Tobio didn't even want to think about the future. He only wanted them to live now, this very moment, his small boyfriend in his arms, all nice and warm.

Everything was perfect for now on this cold December day.

#HC! cold hinata owned by headphone-love #kagehina #fic #fanfic #haikyuu

[dangermousie]

CFC 165

Soooo, we got to the part of the narrative where I am terrified to open every new chapter. Good times!

1. I am sorry, Nangong Liu, your wig has been snatched (tm @hamliet) LSZ didn’t just only tell the boss of her evil org about He Yu being with XQC as soon as she got the information, she literally forwarded him the videos. Let me repeat, the woman sent x-rated videos of her own son having sex with someone just so as to back up her tattling. She is a p2rn distributor of videos of her own kid. Let that one sink in for a second as to the kind of violation that is.

2. Bwahahahaha I love evil org boss going “Your kid’s porn tapes are boring, thanks, not my thing.” I laugh so I won’t punch things. The thing that is interesting to me about this exchange is twofold though: (1) Duan is evil but he’s also smart unlike the utterly dumb mother - they want He Yu’s cooperation not forced participation otherwise they’d have taken him long ago. Which is why he told momster to get affectionate with her kid and draw him in; not become a sex video distributor! (2) the reason they want He Yu’s cooperation is because he would be nice to have but is not necessary to them and if he cavils the value of benefits from him is not worth the trouble. He is (relatively) safe in not being that important - they have other means to simulate his blood gu (with obedient water) so they are waiting and seeing with him (in part also to see if his power gets greater and then they would be more interested.) It’s an interesting set-up and turns on its head my theory of org forcing He Yu in by threatening XQC. Unless He Yu’s powers get stronger, they simply don’t care enough.

3. Fffffff...of course evil org knew about He Yu x XQC already. I am so grossed out. But also, the fact that Duan says XQC is not allowed to be killed - tormented yes, killed no - freaks me the hell out - because that might mean org knows he’s the first emperor (or at least connected to him) and !!!! But on second thought, it doesn’t feel like that either - it feels like a more emotional connection perhaps. Is he Chen Man’s older brother? Some other thing? I should stop guessing, Meatbun always shocks me anyway. But also - does this mean Duan knows XQC is dying? He seems to know a lot of stuff. And if so, does he plan to do something about it?

4. But Duan tells momster she can hurt XQC if she wants just not kill. I hate them ALL!

5. Oh God, Anthony is all “let’s watch the p@rn again, I would have thought XQC would be the top” and seriously we knew Anthony was sent by evil org to be the doctor but the sheer level of violation of everyone in HY’s life who is supposed to be closest/he is supposed to be most vulnerable with etc being like that! This is the level of “everyone is out to get me” but true. (Yes, it’s a violation of XQC too, of course, but at least it’s not gleefully done by people who are supposed to be closest to him but (to him) randoms.)

6. Also, Anthony was the one who wanted XQC and HY die in the reservoir?!?!?

7. Why is HY’s mother so stupid? She seems to have the same understanding of human relationships and emotions as a malfunctioning robot. Her genius plan:”break XQC and HY up, then HY will turn to me.” UMMMMM - I am not talking about cruelty (she wants to remove his supports so as to become his support and manipulate him) because it’s like discussing Sartre with a dog -pointless as far as she is concerned. But how does one lead to the other? Even if HY was single, he’s 20, that’s not the age for someone to get closer to his mom after a breakup. Like - what?!

8. XQC secretly hoping to see HY again but then feeling sad because HY is outside in the rain with no umbrella :( And he feels something and starts typing come and get an umbrella but stops before he hits send and he sees HY just stand there stupidly in the rain waiting because he sees the sign that XQC is typing and this honestly guts me so much. And then he finally walks away with face wet from rain or tears and XQC can’t sleep all night. GRRRRRRRR I can’t!

9. Chen Man (who is always so boring to me omg) is about to confess but he went to park the car and XQC walks to his room to find drunk HY outside and this is gonna be fun!

That was a hell of a chapter!

#cnovel #meatbun doesn't eat meat #case file compendium

[dangermousie]

Chapters 21-22 of Case File Compendium

Thanks to @vierran45​ for showing me how to automatically pre-purchase all the upcoming chapters on jjwxc. You are a life-saving genius!

Also, these chapters definitely confirmed that XQC chain-smokes as a way to de-stress because no matter how he tries to convince himself he has no emotions, he has plenty and the stress is eating him alive. No surprise he chooses such an awful coping method - ch 22 showed he’s terrible at taking care of himself!

Not as terrible as He Yu is at it though - every chapter shows what a pressure cooker HY is under - XQC asks him how can he consider dating when his condition is not under control and you KNOW that is in the back of HY’s mind as well, even though he’s defiant with XQC - it’s as if he’s trapped behind glass watching others live normal lives. Even XQC both says he needs to make connections and then says it’s dangerous, at the same time.

Btw:

If you only knew, boys!

But honestly, I cannot wait to see how unbreakable fortress of self-protective ice that is XQC will melt enough not just to date HY (younger, “wrong” gender etc) but to date him despite that it’s reckless dangerous madness to date someone with that condition.

I think this exchange is the crux of so many things so far - HY may be smart but his EQ (like that of all Meatbun protags) is not the highest to put it mildly. He should be able to tell but his emotions and issues are so tangled in everything that he cannot. And also yeah - he’s a teenager, a group of people not usually known for maturity, by very definition.

What is it with Meatbun and dogs? There was Gu Mang who thought he was a wolf and had a BFF dog and Mo Ran who’s literally the “dumb husky” of the title (I will never be over how in the extras it mentions Taxian Jun and Goutou the dog can completely understand each other as if they can converse!)

Also, the BDSM innuendo continues. That log book was full of people thinking that XQC would make a perfect gong and HY the perfect shou and Meatbun is writing the opposite but...I am not saying that log book is 100% wrong either.

If Hell exists, He Yu’s parents should burn in it. They clearly give NO fucks about their kid at all. HY is a well-controlled mess but considering his upbringing and situation, it’s a miracle how well-behaved he is. I wonder if it’s not just his temperament or desire to control his condition but because he knows if he acted out he’d be locked up or worse so quick your head will spin.

Also, that convo between XQC and HY’s pos Dad does seem to indicate that it wasn’t the dad who wanted XQC gone back then (so what really happened?) and confirms that XQC def feels he owes the dad so WHY.

Also, most important - the reason the Dad calls is to find out about what happened in the Psychiatric Hospital. He couches it as being concerned for He Yu but we all can tell he wouldn’t notice if He Yu got set on fire as long as it didn’t interfere with Dad’s business so I am buying that 0%. My feeling that HY’s fam is involved in whatever horrible stuff is going on has now reached near-certainty and HY will be lucky if his own family doesn’t stick him in a cage once they find out about his powers.

In other news, it turns out XX likes someone else entirely (the usual good girl likes the bad boy thing) and poor HY finds out and yeah. Ouch.

Great, he’s started self-harming again, to keep himself in check. That’s a Meatbun novel, all right.

But the thing(s) that strike me about He Yu - to control and cope he turns the damage inward - harming himself so as not to lose control at others. But also, even in the middle of all of this, when XX asks him to go take care of XQC who’s gotten sick with an allergy attack aftermath, he still goes and does a good job.

And that is why he’s a Meatbun protag, all right.

Anyway, this novel is 100% awesome!

#cnovel #meatbun doesn’t eat meat #case file compendium

[dangermousie]

Heelo mousie! Love your blog! Do you mind recommending some of your favourite Chinese BL novels or shows?

I've seen the untamed and read it. I'm currently reading heaven's official blessing and I saw the donghua. Anything other than these two?

Awww, thank you!

Novels: I am gonna be lazy and literally copy/paste the entire danmei section of my top 10 web novels post (except MXTX’s stuff since you are already reading it.) Let me know if you need help finding any of these.

Lord Seventh - I am only partway through this so far, but it’s already on the list because it’s smart and somehow intense AND laid-back (not sure how this works, but it does) and is honestly just a really really solid and smart period novel, with the OTP a cherry on top of a narrative sundae. Plus, I love the concept of MC deciding he is not going for his supposedly fated love - he’s tried for six lifetimes, always with disaster, and he’s just plain done and tired. When he opens his life in his seventh reincarnation and sees the person he would have given up the world for, he genuinely feels nothing at all. (Spoiler - his OTP is actually a barbarian shaman this time around, thank you Lord!)

Golden Stage - my perfect comfort novel. Probably the least angsty of any danmei novel on this list (which still means plenty angsty :P) It also has a dedicated, smart OTP that is an OTP for the bulk of the book - I think you will notice that in most of the novels in this list, I go for “OTP against the world” trope - I can’t stand love triangles and the same. Anyway, Fu Shen, is a famous general whose fame is making the emperor   antsy. When he gets injured and can’t walk any more, the emperor gladly recalls him and marries him off to his most faithful court lackey, the head of sort of secret police, Yan Xiaohan. The emperor intends it both  as a check on the general and a general spite move since the two men   always clash in court whenever they meet. But not all is at is seems. They used to be  friends a long time ago, had a falling out, and one of the loveliest  parts of the novel is them finding their way to each other, but there is  also finding the middle path between their two very different  philosophies and ways of being, not to mention solving a conspiracy or  dozen, and putting a new dynasty on the throne, among other things. It always makes me think, a little, of “if Mei Changsu x Jingyan were canon.”

Sha Po Lang - if you like a lot of fantasy politics and world-building and steampunk with your novels, this one is for you. This one is VERY plot-heavy with smart, dedicated characters and a deconstruction of many traditional virtues - our protagonist Chang Geng, a long-lost son of the Emperor, is someone who wants to modernize the country but also take down the current emperor his brother for progress’ sake and the person he’s in love with is the general who saved him when he was a kid who is nominally his foster father. Anyway, the romance is mainly a garnish in this one, not even a big side dish, but the relationship between two smart, dedicated, deadly individuals with very different concepts of duty is fascinating long before it turns romantic. And if you like angst, while overall it’s not as angsty as e.g., Meatbun stuff, Chang Geng’s childhood is the stuff of nightmares and probably freaks me out more than anything else in any novel on this list, 2ha included.

To Rule In a Turbulent World (LSWW) - gay Minglan. No seriously. This is how I think of it. it’s a slice of life period novel with fascinating characters and  setting that happens to have a gay OTP, not a romance in a period  setting per se and I always prefer stories where the romance is not the only thing that is going on. It’s meticulously written and smart and deals with  character development and somehow makes daily minutia fascinating. Our   protagonist, You Miao, is the son of a fabulously wealthy merchant,   sent to the capital to make connections and study. As the story starts, he sees his friend’s  servants beating someone to death, feels bad, and buys him because, as  we discover gradually and organically, You Miao may be wealthy and  occasionally immature but he is a genuinely good person. The person he buys is a barbarian from beyond the wall, named   Li Zhifeng. It’s touch and go if the man will survive but eventually he does and You Miao, who by then has to return home, gives him his papers  and lets him go. However, LZF decides to stick with You Miao instead, both  out of sense of debt for YM saving his life and because he genuinely  likes him (and yet, there is no instalove on either of their parts, their bodies have fun a lot quicker than their souls.) Anyway, the two  take up farming, get involved in  the imperial exams and it’s the life of prosperity and peace, until an invasion happens and things go rapidly to hell. This is so nuanced, so smart (smart people in this actually ARE!) and has secondary characters who are just as complex as the mains (for example, I ended up adoring YM’s friend, the one who starts the plot by almost beating LZF to death for no reason) because the novel never forgets that few people are all villain. There is a lovely character arc or two - watching YM grow up and LZF thaw - there is the fact that You Miao is a unicorn in web novels being laid back and calm. This whole thing is a masterpiece.

Stains of Filth (Yuwu) - want the emotional hit of 2ha but want to read something half its length? Well, the author of 2ha is here to eviscerate you in a shorter amount of time. This has the beautiful world-building, plot twists that all make sense and, at the center of it all, an intense and all-consuming and gloriously painful relationship between two generals - one aristocratic loner Mo Xi, and the other gregarious former slave general Gu Mang. Once they were best friends and lovers, but when the novel starts, Gu Mang has long turned traitor and went to serve the enemy kingdom and has now been returned and Mo Xi, who now commands the remnants of his slave army, has to cope with the fact that he has never been able to get over the man who stabbed him through the heart. Literally. This novel has a gorgeously looping structure, with flashbacks interwoven into present storyline. There is so much love and longing and sacrifice in this that I am tearing up a bit just thinking of it. If you don’t love Mo Xi and Gu Mang, separately and together, by the end of it, you have no soul.

The Dumb Husky and His White Cat Shizun (2ha/erha) - if you’ve been following my tumblr for more than a hot second, you know my obsession with this novel. Honestly, even if I were to make a list of my top 10 novels of any kind, not just webnovels, this would be on the list. It has everything I want - a complicated, intricate plot with an insane amount of plot twists, all of which are both unexpected and make total sense, a rich and large cast of characters, a truly epic OTP that makes me bawl, emotional intensity that sometimes maxes even me out and so much character nuance and growth. Also, Moran is my favorite web novel character ever, hands down.

Anyway, the plot (or at least the way it first appears) is that the evil emperor of the cultivation world, Taxian Jun, kills himself at 32 and wakes up in the body of his 16 year old self, birth name Moran. Excited to get a redo, Moran wants to save his supposed true love Shimei, whose death the last go-around pushed him towards evil. He also wants to avoid entanglement with Chu Wanning, his shizun and sworn enemy in past life. And that’s all you are best off knowing, trust me. The only hint I am going to give is oooh boy the mother of all unreliable narrators has arrived!

The novel starts light and funny on boil the frog principle - if someone told me I would be full bawling multiple times with this novel, I’d have thought they were insane, but i swear my eyes hurt by the end of it. I started out being amused and/or disliking the mains and by the end I would die for either of them.

The Wife is First - OK, this one did not make my top 10 web novels but it’s a sweet, fun gay cottagecore fest. Our ML, a royal prince, and his spouse, a smart if delicate aristocrat, keep house, eat noodles, play with their pet tiger, make out and spoil each other rotten, while occasionally fighting battles and outwitting their court enemies. It’s so very mellow. That couple redefines low drama - they are both nice and functional and use their brains. It’s as if a nice jock and a nice nerd got together and then proceeded to be wholesome all over the place.

I mean, the set up could be dramatic - our ML the prince, lost his fight for the throne and is about to be killed. The only person who stayed loyal to him is his arranged husband the aristocrat guy who ML never treated nicely since he resented marrying him (marrying a man in that world is done to remove someone from the ability to inherit the throne.) And yet the husband stood by him not out of love but beliefs in loyalty blah blah. Anyway, he transmigrates back into the past right after their wedding night and is all “I got a second chance OMG! I don’t want the throne what is even the point? I want to live a good long life and treat the only person who stood by me really well!” And he proceeds to do so to the shock of the aristocrat who had a very unpleasant wedding night and generally can tell the man he just married would rather eat nails than be married to him. But soon enough (no seriously, it’s not many chapters at all) he believes the prince is sincere blah blah and then  they get together and they pretty much become cottagecore goals.

In terms of dramas, I only do period dramas (or novels) so I am not the person to be able to recommend any modern BLs. There is a flood of upcoming (hopefully) period BL dramas but it’s relatively thin on the ground now. The two I will recommend is Word of Honor (which is AMAZING) and Winter Begonia (which I just started watching but which owns me already.) I have a tag for both - the one for the former is huge and I cannot recommend either strongly enough. I’ve heard good things about The Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty, but I am not big on mysteries so haven’t watched it for myself.

In terms of the upcoming BLs, the ones I am most looking forward to are Immortality and Winner Is King, but The Society of the Four Leaves also looks promising.

#asks #cdrama #cnovel

[dangermousie]

I wanna slap HY so freaking bad. I don't want him to get together with XQC anymore. He Yu x Mental Facility is the correct ship, and then they part ways, with XQC having a new life in a different place.

For me if ever the time comes they both mutually realized their feelings for each other, they will understand that there's no hiding it but they decided that they shouldn't be together at the very end of the story.

god, MB's so good that I'm in so much pain. She really writes what she wants without any hindrances now and I really love that she can do whatever she wants, but I can't hide my emotions. 😂😭

I would like to subscribe to your newsletter!

I genuinely hero-worship Meatbun for a lot of reasons, and one of them is she unflinchingly writes what she wants and she DNGAF if you like it or not - get on the train or get out of the way. Sometimes it makes for a truly uncomfortable reading but it’s also wonderful to have an author who is secure in herself and what story she wants to tell and is a master of what she’s doing. No matter where her stories go, I trust her, and it’s an amazing feeling.

Regarding the shipping - at the moment (I say that qualifier because if anyone could work a miracle and get me to change my mind eventually, it’s MB), I do not ship He Yu x XQC and just feel full-body shudders at the thought of them as a couple. The way the latest chapter contrasted XQC having a PTSD breakdown from the same memories HY is using as his personal spank bank - YIKES. MB makes no bones about how what happened that night WAS rape and was brutal and dehumanizing and scarring and everything else He Yu wanted it to be for XQC. None of that “and he secretly enjoyed it and would love to go for repeats.” Once the drugs wore off, that was it. (In fact, one of the many many many reasons I cannot see them as a couple is XQC was always apathetic about sex and that night made it even worse and I think he went from indifference to outright aversion thanks to trauma. Chances of anyone inveigling him into bed, let alone that person being his rapist, are sub-optimal.)

And the thing is, I do not think He Yu deserves XQC (about which more below) but also, I don’t think He Yu deserves to be happy, period. He is a monster who did something monstrous. He deserves a jail cell combined with mental facility treatment, but he does not deserve a reward. He may very well become worthy of happiness later - people are capable of change and growth and as 2ha shows, Meatbun strongly believes that anyone and anything can be redeemed provided the person wants that redemption, but for now he is not.

Speaking about HY deserving XQC, he does not. (Yes, in RL, love is not about deserving but (a) this is fiction and (b) it’s not like XQC wants him making the question of deserving become immaterial.) XQC, who lives as if he’s already dead, deserves at most all the good things, but at the very least peace and someone caring for him - someone being considerate. And that is the opposite of what HY gave him and could give him. What did HY give him? Degradation and pain, and he did every bit of it on purpose - how could I wish any person to be a couple with someone who carried out, deliberately and at length, something so horrible with such precision (and knowing exactly what to say when - like pushing the exact buttons to get XQC not call for help, and even getting a kick from talking to his father on the phone during etc etc - that is someone who barring change should be locked up forever as unsuited to be out among humanity.) But even leaving that aside (and I realize that’s like the famous “other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?”), what can HY offer? He has no idea how to be in a relationship, he’s needy and lacking boundaries, he lashes out, he’s vindictive, he’s cruel, he’s not much of a homemaker/caretaker and even before anything else happens, all he does is snark and needle XQC. What would XQC get out a relationship to counteract all of these? I suppose he could get someone who could go all night but that is not something XQC has any interest in. He COULD be loyal but then seeing how he turns when he thinks he’s betrayed, that sort of cancels itself out.

He Yu’s utterly devoid of love environment, combined with his extreme personality and his illness all created a perfect storm and those videos etc lit the spark. It totally makes sense for him to snap the way he did. But it shows that he does not deserve to be around a dog, let alone a human being.

The fact is that week plus after, he still doesn’t even think that raping someone is wrong. That even if everything he thought about XQC was correct, that raping someone is NEVER ok, under any circumstances, is something that does not cross his mind. It shows that he is a moral wasteland and so I cannot root for him.

Caveat - I have read novels which had a bad guy in love and that can be a trope that’s done well - bad guy doesn’t see anyone as having intrinsic value except for their OTP. But! If this is where the story is going, it’s still miles off because what you need in that set up is for bad guy to worship the object of their affection even as they set the rest of the world on fire. Not to take them apart and then pleasantly contemplate it, feeling justified.

To bring 2ha back to it, I never shipped 0.5 Taxian Jun x Chu Wanning and still do not (later TXJ x CWN, or that whole dynamic post flower revelation, yes, but initial - no) and so this is the same here, only worse because there we had xianxia and timeline distance, but also CWN had a thing for TXJ before things went wrong.

OK, this is getting long.

Conclusion - I want XQC to be happy at the end. I don’t really care what happens to HY at this point though he’s interesting to read about. But I trust Meatbun.

#asks #case file compendium #cnovel #meatbun doesn't eat meat