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hami-gua · 4 months

Text

I'm back!!!

I'm back!! I was literally in no spirits to write fanfics, but thinking about picking it back up again.

Really have been in a Honkai Star Rail brain rot lately (mostly about xianzhou men ^^), and many ideas just popped into my brain. So please read through all of it and tell me which one you think I should start first. And please repost or share it with others! Comments are important!! I know it's long, but just bear with me. It's vital for me (>.<)

Long Fics:

Jing Yuan x Reader

Trope: Childhood friends to lovers

Relationships: Jing Yuan x Reader, TBD

About: Based off of a Ming dynasty emperor who only loved one woman (his childhood friend) for his whole life.

Reader Gender: Female

Tags: Fluff, Angst, Hurt/comfort, Ancient China au, childhood friends to lovers, Honkai Star Rail x Reader, hsr x reader, female! Reader, jing yuan x reader, hsr jing yuan, honkai star rail jing yuan, jing yuan x you

♡ ꒰ ◞ ◟ ꒱⌒)ᦱ 𓈒 ૮₍ ´ . ˕ .` ₎ა 𓈒 ⊹ ໒ ꐦ ｀ヮ ´ ა

Dan Heng x Reader

Trope: Reincarnation

Relationship: Dan Heng x Reader, TBD

About: Loosely based off of the c-drama 三生三世 (it’s really just an ost that inspired me). Dan Heng loves reader for the longest time, but instead of him reincarnating, it’s reader. Basically, reader is mortal while Dan Heng is immortal and heavenly law states that immortals aren’t allowed to fall in love with mortals. Essentially Dan Heng breaks that rule many times and gets punished many times (i.e. heavenly prison, loss of status, etc). And what if reader becomes immortal one day?

Reader Gender: Neutral

Tags: Fluff, angst, hurt/comfort, guzhuang, immortal x mortal, immortality, Honkai Star Rail x Reader, hsr x reader, gn! Reader, dan heng x reader, hsr dan heng, dan heng x you, suggestive, reincarnation

♡ ꒰ ◞ ◟ ꒱⌒)ᦱ 𓈒 ૮₍ ´ . ˕ .` ₎ა 𓈒 ⊹ ໒ ꐦ ｀ヮ ´ ა

Jing Yuan x Reader

Trope: Maiden and knight

Relationships: Jing Yuan x Reader, TBD

About: Another one based loosely off of c-drama (again, it’s the ost doing it for me). This time loosely based off of Love Like the Galaxy. Some characters may be more calculating than in the show. Only really thought of this cuz of Jing Yuan being a general.

Reader Gender: Neutral

Tags: Fluff, angst, hurt/comfort, guzhuang, Honkai Star Rail x Reader, hsr x reader, gn! Reader, jing yuan x reader, hsr jing yuan, honkai star rail jing yuan, jing yuan x you

♡ ꒰ ◞ ◟ ꒱⌒)ᦱ 𓈒 ૮₍ ´ . ˕ .` ₎ა 𓈒 ⊹ ໒ ꐦ ｀ヮ ´ ა

Blade x Reader

Trope: Good x Evil

Relationships: Blade x Reader, TBD

About: Another another loosely inspired by the c-drama, Love Between Fairy and Devil. Though no, reader isn’t really gonna be an innocent dunce from the start. May display dumb, but not make it her personality. People around reader keep trying to tell them to stay away from the evil ones, but reader doesn’t really listen (cuz folks really don’t be telling them what the evil people look like) and ends up meeting the leader of said evil forces, Blade. Plot starts towards the beginning of the war between the good and evil.

Reader Gender: Neutral

Tags: Fluff, angst, hurt/comfort, guzhuang, Honkai Star Rail x Reader, hsr x reader, gn! Reader, blade x reader, hsr blade, hsr blade x reader, blade x you, hsr blade x you

♡ ꒰ ◞ ◟ ꒱⌒)ᦱ 𓈒 ૮₍ ´ . ˕ .` ₎ა 𓈒 ⊹ ໒ ꐦ ｀ヮ ´ ა

Dan Heng x Reader

Trope: Can MDZS be a trope itself?

Relationships: Dan Heng x Reader, TBD

About: Inspired by MDZS/The Untamed. Although it won’t be danmei and will deviate with the fact it’s more chronological than having long periods of flashbacks (yes I’m looking at you Untamed, why tf did you spend so many episodes on flashbacks and then everything after just went by so quickly??? But that’s just my opinion -- anyways). Obviously not everything is going to be 100% accurate since this is a fanfic inspired by MDZS/The Untamed and Star Rail isn’t that.

Reader Gender: Neutral

Tags: Fluff, angst, hurt/comfort, guzhuang, Honkai Star Rail x Reader, hsr x reader, gn! Reader, gn! Reader, dan heng x reader, hsr dan heng, dan heng x you, suggestive, resurrection

♡ ꒰ ◞ ◟ ꒱⌒)ᦱ 𓈒 ૮₍ ´ . ˕ .` ₎ა 𓈒 ⊹ ໒ ꐦ ｀ヮ ´ ა

Blade x Reader

Trope: Princ(ess) and knight

Relationships: Blade x Reader, Dan Heng & Reader (platonic)

About: Blade is assigned to be the personal guard of lord/lady by none other than their brother, Dan Heng. The lord/lady only thought of Blade as a sword and shield, they never thought they’d ever fall for the man with many mysteries. Yet they know, that those who hold many mysteries are the ones most likely to betray and use. That was just the way of court life. However, a small part of them just hopes -- wishes that Blade would never betray or use them for ulterior motives.

Reader Gender: Neutral

Tags: Fluff, angst, hurt/comfort, guzhuang, Honkai Star Rail x Reader, hsr x reader, gn! Reader, gn! Reader, blade x reader, hsr blade, hsr blade x reader, blade x you, hsr blade x you, protective! Blade

♡ ꒰ ◞ ◟ ꒱⌒)ᦱ 𓈒 ૮₍ ´ . ˕ .` ₎ა 𓈒 ⊹ ໒ ꐦ ｀ヮ ´ ა

Luocha x Reader

Trope: Immortal and mortal

Relationships: Luocha x Reader, Fu Xuan (just filling in the role of the monk)

About: Based off of the Legend of the White Snake. Deviation will occur. Reader doesn’t have a sister, and Luocha is an actual doctor not scholar. Reader will not be imprisoned in a pagoda (like is some shows/rendition of the story).

Reader Gender: Neutral

Tags: Fluff, angst, hurt/comfort, guzhuang, Honkai Star Rail x Reader, hsr x reader, gn! Reader, luocha x reader, hsr luocha, luocha x you, hsr luocha x you

One-Shots

Jing Yuan x Reader

About: Very loosely based off of Fuhao, the Shang dynasty warrior queen. Reader is is a priestess and a warrior, going off to fight battles and returning victorious until one day, she didn’t return. Stricken with grief, Jing Yuan prepares a burial and tomb for his beloved queen.

Reader Gender: Female

Tags: Fluff, angst, hurt/comfort, guzhuang, Honkai Star Rail x Reader, hsr x reader, gn! Reader, jing yuan x reader, hsr jing yuan, honkai star rail jing yuan, jing yuan x you,

♡ ꒰ ◞ ◟ ꒱⌒)ᦱ 𓈒 ૮₍ ´ . ˕ .` ₎ა 𓈒 ⊹ ໒ ꐦ ｀ヮ ´ ა

Dan Heng x Reader

About: Dan Heng (Imbibitor Lunae) takes a stroll for a break. Then stumbles upon a unique looking figure: softly resting atop their hair were two long feathers of grey color. He had never seen someone like them before, so curiosity getting the best of him, he approaches them. Only for them to turn and look at him. That’s when he froze, both in embarrassment and in fear. Da peng, the only child of the phoenix to feast upon dragons. Da peng, the one who stands before him with a curious gaze.

Reader Gender: Neutral

Tags: Fluff, silly, no dan heng they're not gonna eat you, Honkai Star Rail x Reader, hsr x reader, gn! Reader, dan heng x reader, hsr dan heng, dan heng x you, chinese mythology

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unforth · 1 year

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I've been trying for ages to figure out how to put something into words about The Youth In Fandom and I still don't think I've quite got it but I did reach an insight about it that I think is valuable enough that I'm gonna take a stab at writing it.

For starters, I want to make it clear, there is no "The Youth In Fandom Problem." Based on my efforts running the art sideblogs for danmei fandoms, I can say with a fair degree of confidence that a vast minority of people of all ages are antis, purity wankers, pro-censorship, ageist, etc. Even among people who mark their bios with their age, it's a shockingly low percentage of people under 18 who are being super weird about this stuff, and I think that's something a lot of older folks bemoaning The Younger Generation could stand to know and be reminded of. This isn't a majority, it's just a vocal minority, and tbh...that vocal minority has always been there, at least in my own fandom experiences.

That said, I've personally been the target of "y r u in fandom, old woman? Go take care of your kids!" bullshit, and yes it's definitely real and yes it definitely happens. (I am not old, I am not a woman, I was here before the people who said that to me were born, and I spend all the rest of my time taking care of my kids, so...).

All that introduction is to posit a theory:

The kinds of people who say "you should grow out of it, you're too old for fandom, etc." don't actually really...like what they like.

I know that sounds batshit. They're here blogging about it 24/7, of course they're obsessed! But I really genuinely find myself wondering...like...are they actually obsessed? Or are they just performing obsessed because that's what their peer group is doing? Are they just following along with their friends, mimicking their friends' enthusiasm, going with the flow because they're scared of what will happen if they say "actually I didn't think that show was very good"?

I ended up with this as a theory to posit because is to arrive at "you should grow out of it," you have to start with "I will grow out of it." And to get to "I will grow out of it," you have to start with "I may be into this now but I will definitely Change." And to get to "I will definitely Change," you have to start with the base assumption that loving certain types of media isn't just part of who you are, but rather a temporary persona you've assumed overlaying some deeper Self that will be revealed with time - or that's already been revealed and that you're deliberately masking for whatever reason.

Lemme put it less abstractly (but more longwindedly, lmao).

When I was 16, I was fucking terrified. There were all these things I loved - Star Trek, Hercules and Xena, Babylon 5, Slayers, Evangelion, Fushigi Yuugi, the Wheel of Time, many others - some I'd been into for years, some I'd only just discovered. And I looked at the adults in the world around me, who didn't sleep with stuffed toys, who got into long-term romantic and sexual relationships, who settled into careers that they stuck with for 20, 30, 40 years, who had heaps of responsibilities, and it was so frightening I literally had trouble sleeping at night. My senior year of high school, I trained myself to sleep with a pillow instead of a stuffie because "what would people in college think if they saw me snuggling a stuffed wolf?" That was something I was prepared to sacrifice to be An Adult (tm), something I was (irrationally) ashamed of, something that wasn't so much a part of my personhood that I couldn't give it up. When I left home to go to school at 17, I left my wolf at home. (I brought him with me a year later, and he's now on my bookshelf. Less disposable than 16-year-old me thought, as it turns out, but that's another story.) But there were things about myself I wasn't prepared to sacrifice to fit in during college. I still wore my Star Wars shirt. I still hung my anime posters. I still listened to J Pop. My roommate might judge me. My classmates might judge me. My professors might judge me. I didn't care. Loving those were part of who I was, and I wasn't prepared to give that up.

I found solace by looking at the adults in my life who hadn't had to give up their "childish fancies." I looked at my mother, who introduced me to Star Trek, and thought if she didn't have to stop loving Star Trek to be An Adult, then why should I? I looked at my grandfather, on whose bookshelves I first found the Lord of the Rings, and thought if he didn't have to give up LotR to be An Adult, then why should I? They might not wear fandom shirts, they might not go to conventions, they might not engage in the same way that I did, but they still loved these things, and it gave me hope.

When I was saw adults who still did fan things, who dressed how they wanted, who had cool hair styles or colors, who had tattoos, I thought "wow, what a cool person. I hope I get to grow up to be like them. I hope I'll be that comfortable in my own skin when I'm that age, because I'm sure not that comfortable in my own skin NOW."

I'll have to change in some ways - find A Career, figure out this "attraction" thing everyone keeps fucking talking about, buy a house, all the rest - but I'll be able to love the things I love.

I will still be "me" when I'm an adult, just Me-Plus-More.

I wanted to grow up to be that adult. I was prepared to take figurative arrows, to fight, to slog through, to retain the part of me that felt most valuable - my ability to love the things I loved without apologizing for it. And I knew I could do that, because I already had. Man, the shit people gave me in middle school for being an out-and-proud Trekkie? smh. It was baaaaad.

Time passes. Now I'm 40, and yes, I have changed. I've had more than one career. I got married. I figured out I never did have to figure out that "attraction" shit because I learned asexuality existed and. uh. Oh. I had children. I bought a house.

And I still have a bookcase of manga and I still have a Tumblr blog and I've found new fandoms - many, many new fandoms - nearly all for franchises that didn't even exist when I was 16 and so so scared that I used to literally break down and cry over the prospect of "having" to "give up childish things."

I got myself through on the belief that I'd still be me, and I was right. More than 20 years later, I AM still me.

And that's what leads me back to "why do The Youth think they'll age out of fandom?" And it leads me back to "I can only assume their fandom participation is mostly performative." Because look. This is who I was when I was 10 and read Lord of the Rings, and it was who I was when I was 12 and I started watching Star Trek when Voyager debuted, and it's who I was when I was 17 and I pulled an all-nighter to watch the second season of Fushigi Yuugi, and it's who I was when I was 21 and spent my birthday totally sober and gaming with my friends, and it's who I was at 26 when I got buried up to my eyeballs in Supernatural, and it's who I was at 37 when I watched The Untamed and knew as easy as breathing oh my god I've found the next obsession.

If it's an embraced, realized, adored part of your persona, there's absolutely no reason to think it's going to go away. And there's no reason nor need for it to. There are always gonna be people who judge others for having passions, and there are always gonna be people who embrace others for having passions, and you just gotta identify and avoid the former and find and adore the latter. If you're young, and you love fandom, and you're afraid you, too, will "have to" give up childish things...congratulations! You've got nothing to be afraid of! You never have to change that aspect of yourself!

But...I know these teens on Tumblr who are bullying others already know that because they can see us everywhere. And instead of going, as I did, "oh wow, those older people who still love the things they love are cool! how reassuring! I can be like them!" they think "EW OLD PERSON NOT ALLOWED THIS IS MY ROOM DO NOT ENTER."

And that's weird. When I try to think, "What kind of mentality would lead someone to feel that way, act that way, etc.?" I arrive at: being in fandom is something that they're embarrassed about. Something they're ashamed of, that they think is shameful. Something childish and therefore only for kids, even when the media they're a fan of is entirely made for and by adults. Something they think is made for them in that moment but that they'll be able to easily discard when they move on to more important parts of their lives. Something they know in their heart is transient. Something they're just doing because their friends are doing it.

That's when they'd think "why would an adult still do this?"

When it's something you "know" will be "just a phase," you don it like you don the identity of "high school student," something that'll get shucked a minute after graduation.

And while I found the idea of giving up fandom terrifying, I again can only assume that for these type of person, NOT giving up fandom becomes something terrifying. "Of course this is transient. Of course I'm going to change. I can't wait to change, I hate who I am now! Why did these so-called adults not change? Changing to not like this kind of thing is a sign of Maturity and Adulthood that I am eagerly waiting for, because I believe there's something wrong with being this way, and therefore I assume the adults I see doing this are immature, have something wrong with them, are childish, cannot be Doing Adulthood Right, because they didn't give up the thing."

"I know, in my heart, that I can't WAIT to change, so if they don't want to change, if they haven't changed, something must be wrong with them."

And don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this is the only reason. People are way too complex for there ever to be One Explanation Of All. I'm sure some of the teens who engage in ageist bullying just think they're ~cool~ and ~different~ and their name is Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way. Others are just uncomfortable with adults, with or without cause, and think "you don't belong in the same space as me." Some surely have drank the conservative kool-aid even as they've tried to change and are pantomiming the bullshit they were fed by those around them in new and unpleasant ways. Some think "this media was made for people like me and anyone who isn't like me can't possibly be engaging it in the Correct And Proper Way."

Some will grow out of it - out of fandom, or out of thinking that being an adult in fandom is wrong/bad/inappropriate/immature/whatever.

A few especially unpleasant ones...won't.

Unlike young!me, who looked at fannish grown ups and thought "wow, I could grow up to be like them, they're so cool!", you think "ew, I hope I don't grow up to be like them, they're so weird!"

And if that's you...why are you here?

If you don't actually like who are you when you're in fandom, that's okay. You don't have to stay. If you lose your friends because your interests change, then those friends stink and you didn't need them anyway; people who actually care about you will always keep by your side even if your interests and theirs diverge. But just cause YOU are performing your interest in fandom...doesn't mean the rest of us are. Some of us genuinely like it here. And you might think that's fucked up of us, but it's honestly none of your fucking business. You do what you gotta do to grow up, and leave the rest of us already-grown-ups alone.

And if you do genuinely love it and you're just scared because you think you'll have to change - that you'll reach some mystical age of majority and suddenly wake up a different person...you won't. For better and for worse, you'll still be you, so if there's things about yourself you don't like, it'd be better to start working on unpacking that psychological baggage now, because there's never gonna be a miracle point where you Feel Better And Like An Adult unless you put in the effort to change.

Teenagers...you will not grow up to be a new person. You will never give up who you are. You will grow up to be You-Plus-More.

And if that's something you hear and go "omg that's great news!" then I'm glad to be the one who told you. Take heart. There's hope. You can be you and that WILL be okay. You can face up to and grow from the things about yourself you don't like. You can learn more about yourself. You have time, and you will be able to improve yourself, to become more like the parts of yourself you like and less like the parts you hate.

And if that's something you hear and go "oh god no that's the worst" then you need to stare that reaction in the face and understand that the only way change is coming is if you make it happen for yourself. No one is strong-arming you into being a fan. If it's not for you...then stop. It's literally that easy. But don't take out your uncertainty and fear on other random people who are more comfortable with themselves than you are. Most of us are not here because of fear. We're here in the face of our fear, as a fuck you to our fear, because we also grew up being told we'd have to give up so-called childish things to be An Adult, and it turns out that was a pile of bullshit and we can have careers AND anime posters. And we can afford more anime posters, cause our parents are no longer telling us how to spend our money.

If your participation in fandom is primarily performative...just stop performing. Be yourself, and find your OWN passion, and stop shitting on the people who have managed to be more true to themselves and their own interests. You're not cool and edgy and different; you're just an asshole and a bully, and I pity you.

Anyway as you can tell from this rambly mess of a post, I haven't really gotten my finger on my point yet, but idk. I've been thinking about this and I think there's something there???

#unforth rambles #drama #hopefully now that I've written this I can finally get it out of my head #my posts like this pretty much always flop but that's okay #if it helped me think things out for myself #about why some people are Like That #then its job is done #anyway I wrote this post in between helping my daughter get dressed #and getting my son on the bus #and making tea #and straightening up the living room #and now i gotta start work in three minutes #the big difference between teen me and adult me is that now I have to fit the fanning into these miniscule windows of time #between all the More Important Things That Need Done #it's tiring but it's worth it

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hunxi-after-hours · 1 year

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Hi hunxi! In your post the other day about The Way Spring Arrives, you said in the tags that you’d put it on a list of required reading for people interested in danmei. I’m curious, is there anything else you’d recommend for people who want to learn more about the culture/context surrounding danmei? Thanks!!

oh goodness, I suppose I did say that somewhat flippantly but I do want to take a moment and reiterate that I am not qualified in the slightest to make a list of required reading, nor do I think that required reading is a thing that should necessarily exist, since we should all read whatever we'd like in our own free time; there is no moral directive on what someone should or should not read, we're all just here to have a good time!!

but! for those so inclined, I... don't think I have so much a reading list as a series of reading thought exercises?

first of all, some academic articles that I found deeply worthwhile:

Jin Feng's 2009 paper: “Addicted to Beauty: Consuming and Producing Web-based Chinese ‘Danmei’ Fiction at Jinjiang”

Tian Xiaofei's 2015 paper: “Slashing Three Kingdoms: A Case Study in Fan Production on the Chinese Web.”

Xi Tian's 2020 paper: “Homosexualizing Boys Love in China: Reflexivity, Genre Transformation, and Cultural Interaction”

Xi Tian's 2021 paper: “More than Conformity or Resistance: Chinese “Boys’ Love” Fandom in the Age of Internet Censorship”

Yang Ling & Xu Yanrui's 2017 paper: “The love that dare not speak its name: The fate of Chinese danmei communities in the 2014 anti-porn campaign”

Yang Ling & Xu Yanrui's 2013 paper, “Forbidden love: incest, generational conflict, and the erotics of power in Chinese BL fiction”

The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories ed. Yu Chen and Regina Kanyu Wang. I've already gushed about this elsewhere, so I shall leave this be for now

this is by no means a comprehensive list, merely the ones that have really stuck with me for various reasons. I compile a table of contents of my research booklets here, and @dulharpa has been kind enough to share their immense resources here

I'd like to stop short of compiling a list of danmei novels for people to read because folks have different genre and narrative tastes than I do. instead, I think what might be more interesting and customizable would be a kind of reading challenge, paired with thought exercises:

read works by three (or more!) danmei authors

what recurring themes, character traits, narrative tropes, or cultural aspects to you observe across works by different authors? what differences do you notice? do you think these similarities/differences are hallmarks of the genre, coincidental stylistic choices, authorial interests, or wider cultural trends? how do different authors address certain issues, or avoid them altogether? how do these choices affect the content and style of the text, as well as your perception of and/or response to these texts?

read two different danmei novels by the same author (if you can wrangle it, try to read novels in different genres)

what recurring themes, character traits, narrative tropes, or thematic commonalities do you observe across an author’s works? how do the different narrative or genre contexts of each novel affect characters and themes in each work? do you observe changes in an author’s perspective, views, or opinions on common themes and/or social issues from novel to novel?

read a danmei novel that is not wuxia, xianxia, or xuanhuan

how do aspects of worldbuilding differ across genres? what new aspects of culture, character, or language do you observe in a different genre setting? how much character or worldbuilding do you think is attributable to genre convention, and how much isn’t? what do you think readers find attractive about wuxia/xianxia/xuanhuan settings? what do you think readers find attractive about other genres?

read a danmei novel set in modern day China

how do the emotional and narrative stakes of novels change depending on time period? what were you surprised by? what similarities or resonances did you recognize between the text and your own life? how does the fabric of the setting in this novel differ from novels set in other time periods and settings? in what ways do class and power factor into character conflicts and relationships? how do these differ from the way class and power are addressed in historical novels? what is the role of tradition and history in this novel? do you find the text more realistic because it’s set in modern day? why or why not? how important do you think “realism” is to the text and the readers? why might this be? how important is “realism” to your reading experience? why might this be?

read a webnovel that was not serialized on JJWXC

there are many other Chinese internet literature platforms, such as 长佩文学 and 奇点文学网. explore one (or more!) of these literature platforms and note any observations about differences, similarities, or things you’re surprised by. how does this inform your understanding of the larger scope of Chinese web literature? in what ways are literature and genre organized differently from what you’re familiar with? compare and contrast your experience reading a non-JJWXC novel with a JJWXC novel. what was the same? what was different? do you think these similarities/differences are influenced by the different audiences of these websites or larger societal trends in media and culture, or something else entirely?

read a webnovel by a danmei author that is not danmei (i.e. 言情 / heterosexual romance, 无CP / no romance)

what similarities do you observe between this novel and a danmei novel written by the same author? what differences do you observe? how do narrative reflections of gender and character dynamics differ? what other themes, issues, or narrative aspects do you notice coming to the forefront when the focus has shifted away from male/male romance? what were you surprised by? what weren’t you surprised by? has your perception of the author’s views on gender/gender dynamics changed? if so, how? if not, why do you think this is?

read a danmei novel with 2+ adaptations into other forms of media (e.g. audiodrama, donghua, manhua, live action)

what do you think about this novel generates wider media attention and interest? how do the characters and narrative change from text to adaptation? why do you think this happened? how did the popularization via adaptation affect the original text, if at all? how did you come to discover this text, and how many platforms did it have to jump to get to you? why do you think this text received attention on the platform you first heard of it? in what ways beyond the content of the text itself did this novel draw wider attention?

read a danmei novel with no adaptations in other forms of media

why do you think this novel hasn’t been chosen for adaptation yet? in what ways would this novel be challenging to adapt? what medium do you think this novel would be best suited for? how would an adaptation of this novel change your perspective and experience of this text? what would you hope to see in an adaptation of this novel?

read a traditionally published work of Chinese speculative fiction

how does a traditionally published work of Chinese fiction differ stylistically and narratively from the web literature you’ve read? what does the wider field of Chinese speculative fiction look like? how do the imaginations and concerns of Chinese authors manifest in their worldbuilding, setting, characters, themes, and conflicts? how do subgenres of Chinese speculative fiction resemble and differ from genres you’re more familiar with? what did you like about this work? what puts you off about this work? did this work raise any questions or themes that you haven’t thought about before? what aspects of the novel seem rooted in contemporary Chinese society, and which themes seem more universal? if reading in translation, did you identify any moments where context was lost between languages? were there footnotes in the translation, and if so, how did they affect your reading experience? if not, did you ever wish there were footnotes? what kind of additional context did you wish you had? how do you think the translation influenced your reading experience? how high-profile is this work of Chinese speculative fiction, and why do you think this is?

read a novel written by a Chinese diaspora author

how do characters, themes, settings, and worldbuilding differ from the perspective of a diaspora writer? what aspects feel the same? how does translation on linguistic, cultural, or metafictional levels factor into the text? what is the role of tradition and reception in the narrative? what other influences can you spot in the text? what Chinese work would you put this text in conversation with, and why? how are different cultures portrayed in diaspora works vs. non-diaspora works? based on this text, have cultural values shifted in diasporic reception? what is the relationship presented in the text between identity and nationhood, tradition and ownership?

okay I had way too much fun coming up with those discussion questions, but I genuinely do think that these are interesting thought and reading experiments to pursue! I think there’s a lot you can learn about danmei, internet literature, and the wider cultural context of these phenomena simply by taking some time to sit back and reflect on these texts, or observing Chinese fandom interactions (there can of course be a language barrier in doing so, but I’ve learned so much from 弹幕 culture and I heartily encourage other people to do so).

and seriously, if anyone ends up trying this reading challenge, please let me know how it goes!! I’m still pushing myself to read outside of my comfort zone (a lot of these challenges are ones I’ve posed to myself), and would love to hear if other folks have thoughts on their reading journeys

#hunxi book tag #hunxi thinks about danmei and gender #心怀杂念字数无量

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hamliet · 7 months

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weird how alice degraded bl and yet their hs has a ton of bl tropes there

I mean, yeah. It's white privilege and ignorance at its finest. I've talked about this at length before, actually.

It's kind of a disservice to Asian BL not only by appropriating its tropes, but also just sheer privileged bliss. People in communities that are not as progressive on LGBT rights are not only less likely to be able to come out, but also less likely to be able to even explore their sexualities and gender identities. It's easier to just conform and to not think of desire and what it means, especially when we think of sexuality as a spectrum.

It also ignores older queer media in the west that has influenced BL, which was influenced by yaoi, which itself emerged as a distinct market/genre in the 1970s. Nothing's as insular as it appears; for example, Queer as Folk (the 2000 US version) is reportedly huge in China today, and I can see that it's influenced Kinnporsche and danmei novels. QaF also was the first US media ever to show sex between two men on TV--in December 2000.

Yeah. We're not even 23 years out from that.

But of course, explicit sex scenes between two men or two women have existed long before that in yaoi, which itself draws from literary and artistic traditions across the world that have existed from ancient times, because gay people have existed from, y'know, ancient times.

I don't want to keep harping on AO, though. I hope they learn, and the posts were from over a year ago, so I'm hopeful they are in the process of doing so. Though I don't really keep up with them. The reason I also can't be too hard on AO was that even 7 or so years ago, I would have agreed with them about yaoi because I didn't know any better. And I was wrong, and I am still learning, and I hope I will continue to learn.

I'll again also reiterate that I do not care at all that Heartstopper has no sex in it; good for them because not all stories need it! Sweet, innocent stories have their place and can be just as powerful and necessary as those that are darker and more explicit. I just think declaring that a story's lack of queer sex is somehow revolutionary is ignorant at best and rewriting history at worst.

I'll leave off with this portion of an interview with the creators of the American QAF, who are themselves a married gay couple who have been together for like... 30? years. I'm bolding the parts I want to emphasize.

COWEN The first time we heard about Queer as Folk was in the Calendar section of the L.A. Times. The whole article was about [how] no one will ever have the g ts to do a show like this in the U.S. People thought [the US version] was going to be a much softer show than Russell’s [original British version], and we knew it had to be outrageous and more sexual. The sex on our show probably was the most political statement we made. Because we all grew up seeing gay people represented on TV — if they were ever represented — [as] eunuchs or clowns. We never saw gay people having a sex life or being complete people. We had a list of subjects that we were determined to write about because we grew up at a very inhospitable time in the U.S. Not just the Defense of Marriage Act and Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, but we didn’t have gay marriage here until 10 years after the show ended.

LIPMAN ... We wanted our Queer as Folk to be a celebration of being. We saw movies and TV shows where gay people would hang themselves; they’d walk into the ocean to drown. We didn’t want any of that. We used the sex on the show to be joyous, angry, vindictive, self-destructive …

COWEN … and celebratory. There were so many topics that we needed to address because it was such a politically oppressive, scary time....

DUNN That also was the only representation that I saw: It was suicide or it was Disney villains. That was queer representation for me, and so seeing this show that was just so irreverent, so joyful, so sexual, so free, and it still dealt with the realities of being queer.

Every story is in a sense a product of its time, and it's not bad that Oseman is writing their story to address concerns they have and issues they deal with. It's just not inherently any more revolutionary and definitely not more inherently moral than queer media with sex in it.

#ask hamliet #qaf #kinnporsche #danmei #sexuality

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mdzsartreblogs · 2 years

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Look, it's 4 am here and I probably shouldn't post this at all but I've been thinking about it a lot for months and something that happened yesterday really drove it home so fuck it.

You guys realize I'm a real fucking person, right? My name is unforth, I run 8 art blogs because I fucking love danmei and I fucking love art. I'm not a bot. There is no algorithm. I do all the finding art, all the tagging, all the queueing, all the organization, by hand. Across my blogs I usually spend about 2 hours a day everyday on this, and that's about enough to barely keep on top of it. If I want to catch up on my huge backlog, it takes longer.

I am a real human. I have a real job. I have a wife. I have two small children (6 and 4). In the past year my wife and I have both had surgery, my son has been sick 5 times already, my kids have had to miss week upon week of school due to illness, covid exposures, car issues, and more. Four members of my extended family have had covid. I could go on, but fuck it.

I do this because I love fandom, I love art, I love artists, and I love organizing things. It's good for my brain. And it means a lot to me to help artists grow their platforms, to help get more eyes on their work, their merch, their commissions, their shops. But I also work my ass off. I own a small business I started 2 years ago that is growing, and doing okay, but has still not done well enough for me to take a single paycheck in that time (the owner always gets paid last. Everyone else gets repaid first).

This blog has something like 1800 followers.

Yesterday I reblogged a thing for my own latest project and just said, "signal boosts appreciated" and I got 1 reblog. From over *eighteen hundred of you*.

My name is unforth. I just adopted two guinea pigs. I think my son is sick again. I had to beg my dad for money to pay our mortgage this month. I've spent hundreds of hours for over two years running this blog and it feels like y'all care *so fucking little* that I might as well be invisible, a bot, a machine, a memory.

I am a real person.

And I'm about this close to saying "fuck it" and walking away from this project because being nothing feels like *shit.*

I don't need or want thanks, but yall should CARE. Not just about me, either. I've seen how few notes artists get on calls for commissions, on their shops, on their personal projects. We're all real people! And no you don't "owe us" but ffs common courtesy suggests if you like what we do you'd help all of us get more eyes on our stuff. No ones saying "give money" but among your followers, or among their followers, there might be someone who Wants The Thing but if the post doesn't spread no one will even know The Thing fucking exists. Folks say they want more indy art, indy stories, queer creators, on and on, but act like even giving a project signal boost is asking too much. I'm so exhausted watching people I care about beg for scraps. I'm so exhausted begging for scraps myself. It should be a no-brainer - if you like what someone creates HIT THE FUCKING REBLOG BUTTON.

And yet.

I'm so tired, yall.

It's now almost 5 am. I shouldn't post this. I'm going to, though. And if I do quit, when I do quit, don't say I didn't warn you.

#unforth rambles

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minisculecosmos · 2 months

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Folks… I have finished Fellowship of the Ring.

Spoilers below.

Oh boy. If you saw an earlier post of mine, you’d know that I knew of Boromir’s death (unfortunately) going into reading the whole thing, but what I did NOT know was that it was in Fellowship??

My poor bean (that’s another bad pun).

Also just like… the way the fall of Lothlorien ties into how so much land was forever destroyed by the wars of Tolkien’s time (WWI/II). There’s just no way to return to what was Before. I don’t know if the connection is deliberate but it feels like it is. And ugh, Galadriel back with the awesome one liners. I’ll miss her.

Points for Sam for actually hiking it over to Frodo on the boat.

I hate to see the Fellowship break up but I get why it happened and why it even needed to happen. I just hope that we see Arwen and Eowyn soon because of it. Frothing at the mouth over those two I swear. (Where is the shieldmaiden??? Women!!!)

Onto the Two Towers for even more pain and despair‼️

Last thing: It’s been so nice to be back in a book fandom. I think I mentioned it in a tag, but especially one that’s so fleshed out with worldbuilding is just such a nice change after streamline (my followers know this) nothing but danmei and thai BLs for like, a few years now. I feel like I’m getting some analytical braincells back while simultaneously losing them all over again due to screaming over these characters internally. Just… ✨LITERATURE✨.

#mini reads lotr #lord of the rings #the hobbit #reading lotr #tolkien #middle earth

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bipirate · 1 year

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chinese-american here, and like 2.5 generations in as well, so my perspective is primarily informed by the reading I've done on gender and sexuality throughout chinese history -- I feel like the question of whether wwx (or mxy, for that matter) is textually gnc is a question that lives within a specifically western perspective. it's hard to consider this question and not think about how westerners have always projected femininity onto asian men, because masculine gender expressions in china have not necessarily corresponded to masculine gender expectations in the west throughout history. like, even mxy's interest in makeup has correspondences to opera singers' use of makeup, which was and I think still is well within conventionally understood gender roles (there's also some overlap with the gender expressions of male sex workers, which is a whole other thing, but during various periods in imperial china not necessarily outside the bounds of mainstream society). I think even regular-ass courtiers and noblemen powdered their faces in the tang period. idk this question is also thorny because we're talking about a fantasy world that mashes up various historical traditions and was created under modern conditions and sensibilities which are yknow much different (and, in many ways, heavily influenced by competition with and imitation of the west), and I have much less perspective on that since my family hasn't lived in china since the 30s and so I don't have a lot of context for current mainland cultural expectations. wwx is definitely a subversive character bc I think most danmei protagonists are there to challenge and subvert confucian patriarchal values, and gender's a part of that, but idk not in a specifically gnc way, or not the way like modern queer people in the west understand that term as an identity. if anything it's more like, every queer person is seen as gnc by a strictly heteronormative society anyway. (and/but, homosexuality was a variously acceptable thing for centuries throughout chinese history! and within that, there have been subsets of gender roles that are also reflected in wwx and mxy's characterization. also his joke about birthing a-yuan from his own womb is like a joke I have heard every one of my cis gay friends make at least once.)

anyway this is also not to say that nobody should be projecting transness onto fictional characters, lord knows I do it all the time! sorry for the single paragraph ramble and no need to respond to this if you've already let go of the topic, and ty for specifically asking chinese people what they think. I'd def be interested to hear what folks with more direct experience/context have to say as well

this is super interesting and insightful, thank you so much for this! i don't want to add that much to this because of my limited western understanding of the topic but i think you're very right in that the question of wwx being 'canonically gnc' is itself a very western one, and on reflection definitely one i've been thinking about from that limited perspective.

#ask #anon

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to-fanartists-with-love · 5 months

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Below are the main tags by medium and under the link to the tags, all the fandoms I've posted about in alphabetic order. The fandom and the characters that appear are tagged too but you're gonna have to look into my blog search function. You can also search the tags by canon art, gif, collage or doujinshi (for fancomics).

anime (aka. all animation bc I'm too lazy to modify the tag with the proper name)

blue eyed samurai, code geass, castlevania, link click, mawaru penguindrum, puella magi madoka magica, shojo kakumei utena, trigun stampede, yuuri on ice

book

all for the game, all of us villains, a song of fire and ice, bartimaeus trilogy, edas, greenwing and dart, kane chronicles, kingkiller chronicle, kusuriya no hitorigoto, les miserables, nine worlds, omniscient reader's viewpoint, percy jackson universe, silmarillion, the scholomance, the folk of the air, the locked tomb, the vampire chronicles, villains series, wheel of time

comic

dc universe

danmei

bing an ben, erha he ta de bai mao shizun, golden terrace, liu yao: the revitalization of fuyao sect, modao zushi, mo du, tian guan ci fu, tian ya ke, qiang jin jiu, qian qiu, scum villain self saving system, yuwu, zhen hun

film

dune 2021, star wars, the handmaiden

manga

akatsuki no yona, banana fish, berserk, bleach, blue period, boku no hero academia, bungou stray dogs, cardcaptor sakura, death note, detective conan, d.gray man, dungeon meshi, eroica yori ai wo komete, fullmetal alchemist, hetalia, hikaru ga shinda natsu, hikaru no go, hunter x hunter, jibaku shonen hanako-kun, jujutsu kaisen, kaze to ki no uta, kuroshitsuji, magic kaito, naruto, one piece, pandora hearts, ranma 1/2, rg veda, shaman king, showa genroku rakugo shinjuu, spy x family, soul eater, tsubasa reservoir chronicle, uruwashi no yoi no tsuki, vampire knight, vanitas no shuki, witch hat atelier, xxxholic, x/1999, yugioh, yu yu hakusho

original art

tv show

house of the dragon, interview with a vampire, nirvana in fire, the untamed, wheel of time, word of honor

video game

genshin impact, persona 5

webcomic

girl genius, homestuck

Enjoy! And remember it's always nice to like, reblog or comment if you loved the art!

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hourglassfish · 8 months

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A nerd speaks

Quick note – all my writing here has been so long, and so dense. It feels a) a bit sad, and b) like I should apologise. Especially cus the one I’m working on about Syd and Richie is gonna be a fucking beast I think.

But it’s really been fun to me to do some writing that is not for my job? And I feel really inspired by lots of the meta I find here. So thanks to the community of people thinking out loud about The Bear! And if you are reading this, I’m really grateful, and I really welcome and appreciate comments. I keep trying to respond but it will only let me do that from my danmei account, for some reason, and I’m trying not to cross the streams.

Also to say I am neutral in any and all shipping discourse, I support hopeless romantics (sydmarcuses), platonics (down with love corners!), the horny romantics (sydcarmys), AND the chaos gremlins (sydrichies). I have time for lovers of American indie films (clairecarmys), fans of european cinema (luca/marcus, luca/carmy) traditional slash shippers (richie/carmy, Richie/mikey, carm/new York chef). I will respectfully RESPECTFULLY sit separately from those whose honesty about their own fantasies I can only aspire to ( x reader folks, god bless you), but I WILL make eye contact and share a solidarity based nod.

Me personally? I wanna talk about HR!

I also want Carmy to get a pet. Maybe like the ugliest dog you’ve ever seen, like a really smelly one that is actively incongruent with the rest of his life but he loves them, and they love him. A pet demands that you get some fucking perspective, because whatever happens they need feeding and walking, and cleaning and playing with and hugging or whatever. It is also an incredible thing, when you feel fundamentally unlovable, to be loved by a creature who reminds you of the beauty of the universe, AND just wants to hang out together as they enjoy their existence. So, you know. That might be good for him.

Maybe also for him to do some travelling that is not related to work. Could we send him to trek through a jungle or something? Something physically and mentally demanding enough that he doesn’t freak out at the stillness, but outside with lots of fresh air, very different to a kitchen and the chance to look at beauty and maybe eat new things, Cus he’ll want that.

OK, bye now xxx

#the bear #carmy berzatto #sydney adamu #marcus the bear #richie jerimovich

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darwingirl · 1 year

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I’ve trying to understand my obsessive and besotted repose to Cang Lan Jué. I’ve watched it five times in a rather short period of time. I haven’t multi-binged since I was a kid and read “Little Men” nine times for completely different reasons and satisfactions. I am mainly a danmei fan, and checked out CLJ just to “see” if I might like it. Actually watched part of the first episode and thought it was “twee,” but the kicker is that I only watched part of that episode.

Then watched “Eternal Love” and was completely unexcited about its hetero plot lines (except maybe the fox and the god who wiped his name off the love list eons ago), so never again. But my daughter mentioned that folks really liked CLJ, so I went back, watched the entire first episode and the rest is obsession.

So now I’ve given lots of thought and many viewing hours to what it is that makes CLJ so captivating for me. Dongfang Qingcang—incredibly sexy. Yeah, but it’s the fact that he’ll go all the way to “I’m a little fairy,” to MLS and back that makes me love his willingly to abandon his gravitas and play for laughs. The gender bending itself doesn’t hurt either, but mainly it’s doing it all and giving it his all that wins me over. So I’m conflating the aactor and the character here—sorry to purists, but it’s so appealing and is part of his growth.

Also every main character grows and changes, the essence of good literature. Shangque, Jie Li, Danyin, Orchid, ChangHeng, Yun Zhong, Rong Hao, Xue Wan Qing, Die Yi. The arc of growing self-knowledge I find very powerful and beautiful. At bottom all are love stories (including unrequited ones) that through their growing self-knowledge enables each character to find and keep their love or NOT—but then there’s acceptance of the loss and growing/moving on. Except for Die Yi who dies having never even been noticed by Rong Hap—but that happens …..

And I love the Moon tribe. And all the music. And the scene in which Rong Hao and ChangHeng are floating through a Chinese landscape painting, and—-well you get the picture.

Will I watch it again and read it when I can get it? YEAH.

#cang lan jue #dongfang qingcang #yu shuxin #xianxia

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sleeplesscenarios · 2 years

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SHIP MEME - RANWAN VERSION

Send me a danmei ship and I’ll answer:

Who wakes up first? Chu Wanning wakes up habitually early and Mo Ran would love to sleep more or at least stay in bed for longer, he will always make sure to wake up before Chu Wanning so he can prepare breakfast and everything else for him.

Who is grumpiest in the morning? Grumpy Cat Chu Wanning.

Who cooks breakfast? Yeah, Mo Ran... With all due respect, Chu Wanning is banned from the kitchen.

Who serves the other breakfast in bed? It's Mo Ran, see the first point and the point above. :')

Who suggests the skip work and stay home? Mo Ran because while Chu Wanning is a responsible person, the world could burn down for all Mo Ran cares, he just wants to cuddle and maybe he could convince Chu Wanning to engage in some other activities too...

Who falls asleep on top of the other? We'd have some problems if Mo Ran squished Chu Wanning so let's go the other way around. Also, Mo Ran loves to have Chu Wanning lying on his chest!

Who always has to be touching the other? MO RAN! Chu Wanning is fine as long as Mo Ran isn't touching anyone else but Mo Ran has to always hold hands, rest an arm on his, stand so close they're touching, etc. possessive puppy.

Who stays up until 2 reading? Chu Wanning, he could be reading or tinkering with something, and he gets so absorbed in his work that he just doesn't notice how much time passed. Mo Ran has to physically drag him to bed or he can stay up until the morning.

Who kisses their partner while they’re sleeping? Look, we all know Mo Ran definitely does this but!! Imagine that Chu Wanning is observing Mo Ran's peacefully sleeping face and then very-very-very carefully leans over and places a featherlight kiss on his forehead (or cheek or lips) because this is the time when it's the easiest for him to summon his courage. And he immediately blushes after the act even though nobody has seen him. And and he panics when Mo Ran moves a bit - nobody will ever know if he woke up and is just being considerate for not exposing Chu Wanning or if he was really sleeping.

Who is most adventurous? I feel like Mo Ran but I also feel like Chu Wanning is not far behind him, it's just that he's afraid of trying out new things so he prefers what he already knows even though he IS curious. Mo Ran has to kind of read his mind and trick him into everything. :')

Who is most protective? Well, both. Mo Ran is very straightforward about it but Chu Wanning is also very-very protective, especially since he's older so aside from the love and care, he also feels a sense of responsibility that he must take care of the younger one.

Who cares too much? CHU WANNING!!

Who is most competitive? Also Chu Wanning, Mo Ran will literally have no idea that they're having a competition, and even if he does, he will just find a way to let Chu Wanning win so he won't be sulky about it.

Who sings in the shower? Well, Chu Wanning would never do something so "shameful" so it has to be Mo Ran who just belts out vulgar folk songs while showering :')

Who is more likely to get naughty in inappropriate places? Mo Ran but Chu Wanning really doesn't have much complaints about it at the moment...

#2ha #ranwan #ship meme #send me some danmei ships!!#this is fun

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