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#Xiao Chiye now too ^^
t110n · 2 years
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mcrcki · 2 months
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here i come with another MASSIVE event plotting / starter call (this time with over 20 characters bc who even am i) !! before i get too much into event stuff, i just wanna put up some housekeeping things so i'm not just repeating myself over and over in the discord : i will be dropping almost all of my pre-event threads. meaning, i will only be keeping the thread if it is an active plot that needs to be continued because we aren't at a place to infer the ending. i am just so utterly overwhelmed with my number of drafts that i really need to just start fresh, so i'll be using this as my chance to spam the heck out of y'all's calls and get way more threads that i actually have muse for. i'm sorry if we had a thread you really wanted to continue, i just need a fresh start. now for housekeeping for my call, as always this will be capped. i wanna write with everyone but i can't if i get a million requests from one person so!! the cap is three starters per writer!! blind date starters will not count towards that cap. otherwise, please LIKE for plotting messages, and REPLY for starters (pls specify muses unless previously discussed!!)!
in the meantime, if you wanna see what my clowns are wearing, please follow this link to my pinterest :))
alani tiure | star wars | blind date w. cami o'connell ( 3 / 4 )
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she/they pronouns : imma be so for real and say that they think they're absolutely too good for this lmao, their dad is a crime lord in the city, and really they're just here to take advantage of some free drinks and maybe check in on some clients. her date is going to have to be okay with her being slightly stuck up but will absolutely be down for some dancing despite it. potential plots ➛ drinking || dancing || looking around the museum || general chatting || anti social food/bar behavior || attempting an escape || flirting || chaotic shenanigans || stealing your date
starters : sofia robbin sloan torres, ellie williams, cami o'connell
beatrice | over the garden wall | date w. wirt ( 1 / 4 )
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she/they pronouns : going with her favorite boy loser, wirt. definitely here just for the free party and to do something fun, now that she's human again she's taking advantage of all the things they missed out on as a bird. will definitely be here to make friends, they're a little rude at times but i promise they're kind when you get past the kind of rude exterior !!! down for shenanigans !! potential plots ➛ drinking || dancing || looking around the museum || general chatting || anti social food/bar behavior || attempting an escape || flirting || chaotic shenanigans || stealing your date
starters : xiao chiye
branwen | a court of thorns and roses | blind date w. enola holmes ( 1 / 4 )
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she/her pronouns : winnie LOVES THIS, she hasn't gotten to have fun in pretty dresses in ages, she was still young the last time they were able to have any kind of formal party so they're really enjoying this. she wants to see everything this party has to offer so she'll be dragging her date around everywhere, wanting to take it all in potential plots ➛ drinking || dancing || looking around the museum || general chatting || anti social food/bar behavior || attempting an escape || flirting || chaotic shenanigans || stealing your date
starters : he xuan
daniela dimitrescu | resident evil | blind date w. jeremy smith ( 2 / 4 )
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she/they pronouns : ok tbh, daniela only came to this and signed up for a blind date to possibly grab an easy snack. they're a man-eating monster idk what anyone expected here. but tbh, once they saw the girl she's actually simping over (and will not make a move yet for one reason or another) they're going to be flirting and going so far to make her jealous, it doesn't matter with who tbh. also open to some absolute chaos if you wanna do something Bad potential plots ➛ drinking || dancing || looking around the museum || general chatting || anti social food/bar behavior || attempting an escape || flirting || chaotic shenanigans || stealing your date (for murder purposes)
starters : myri tiure, henry creel
danika fendyr | crescent city | flying solo ( 3 / 4 )
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she/they pronouns : listen danika like.. just got here, she's just getting used to the city and her memories again with her friends, since so much happened back home. she's spending the majority of her time crashing her bestie's date, for various reasons, but will be out on the floor dancing and drinking as much as she wants, enjoying the hell out of a free party potential plots ➛ drinking || dancing || looking around the museum || general chatting || anti social food/bar behavior || attempting an escape || flirting || chaotic shenanigans || stealing your date
starters : bryce quinlan, apple caramela, hunt athalar
elain archeron | a court of thorns and roses | date w. lucien vanserra ( 2 / 4 )
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she/her pronouns : this is elain's first ball in the city, and she's very much looking forward to a night where she can just dress up in a beautiful dress and dance with her husband. things have been... rough with her family unit so she's just happy to let loose a little bit and enjoy everyone's company and dance the night away potential plots ➛ drinking || dancing || looking around the museum || general chatting || anti social food/bar behavior || attempting an escape || flirting || chaotic shenanigans || stealing your date
starters : lu junyi, lucien vanserra
evangeline ennar | throne of glass | blind date w. choi nam ra ( 2 / 4 )
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she/her pronouns : evangeline grew up in a high fantasy world, getting dressed up in fancy clothes for a ball is all she could've hoped for coming here, and now she's old enough to really enjoy it, she is going to be having the best time for real. will be helping her mom glare at her not dad, but other than that, she would love some friends so just dance around with all night potential plots ➛ drinking || dancing || looking around the museum || general chatting || anti social food/bar behavior || attempting an escape || flirting || chaotic shenanigans || stealing your date
starters : choi nam ra, aedion ashryver
kaya dura | star wars | blind date w. lola flemming ( 2 / 4 )
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they/she pronouns : kaya is not really in the dating and dancing mood, they are still getting over their ex after a very hard breakup, where her ex killed her and all that fun stuff. so, they're really trying to like.. get themselves out there and get over her, so they signed up for this blind date and are forcing themselves out into public again. will probably get drunk for the first time and just want to forget everything to have fun potential plots ➛ drinking || dancing || looking around the museum || general chatting || anti social food/bar behavior || attempting an escape || flirting || chaotic shenanigans || stealing your date
starters : kaiden monsula, kasil monsula
keelan cardulo | fourth wing | date w. mira sorrengail ( 0 / 4 )
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she/they pronouns : lowkey her and mira's first public appearance as a couple, especially after everything that happened back home that resulted in keelan's death, she is very much looking forward to getting to dance with their girlfriend and just enjoy that. is a bit anti social if they don't know you, so when mira is inevitably somewhere else, find them hanging to the shadows potential plots ➛ drinking || dancing || looking around the museum || general chatting || anti social food/bar behavior || attempting an escape || flirting || chaotic shenanigans || stealing your date
starters :
leia organa | star wars | date w. han solo ( 3 / 4 )
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she/her pronouns : mom and dad night out!!! leia's a mom of six now, and while ya know four of the six are adults with some having children of their own, and the other 2 are less than six months old, she just wants to have a little fun. the past year has been.. hard. and despite being the president and having to be here for this ball, she would so much rather be home right now, avoiding all the memories that valentine's day now brings out in her mind. last year was the worst night of her life and she will in fact be drinking a lot to forget all that bastilla did a year ago. #thereturnoffloorgana potential plots ➛ drinking || dancing || looking around the museum || general chatting || anti social food/bar behavior || attempting an escape || flirting || chaotic shenanigans || stealing your date
starters : din djarin, ahsoka tano, winter celchu
louise vance | harry potter | date w. thea hughes ( 4 / 4 )
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she/they pronouns : a party???? hell yeah lou is gonna be there, they love this whole vibe. will 100% be testing the limits of security and trying to ride the t rex skeletons and any other shenanigans they can get into. they're here with their best friend in the whole world, thea, and they're definitely just friends, if you see them slow dancing really close that's just what besties do potential plots ➛ drinking || dancing || looking around the museum || general chatting || anti social food/bar behavior || attempting an escape || flirting || chaotic shenanigans || stealing your date
starters : thea hughes, emmeline vance, bucky barnes, willie
marlene mckinnon | harry potter | flying solo ( 2 / 4 )
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she/they pronouns : marlene lowkey is working this, and will be having fun but trying to stay focused on her job. she's unaware currently so, they'll just be hanging around with whoever is kind of hiding in the outskirts of the party, could absolutely be convinced to dance/will flirt given the chance, but mostly just here to have a fun day at work potential plots ➛ drinking || dancing || looking around the museum || general chatting || anti social food/bar behavior || attempting an escape || flirting || chaotic shenanigans || stealing your date
starters : dora tonks, esther mckinnon
morrigan | a court of thorns and roses | date w. cassandra dimitrescu ( 2 / 4 )
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she/her pronouns : this thing with cassandra has been a bit of a whirlwind romance, and she's found herself really swept up in the other, and will absolutely be spending a lot of her time in their arms. but considering how her family life has been lately, she will also be checking in on family and doing what she can to make sure reporters aren't going too wild with everything going on with rhys and her family. potential plots ➛ drinking || dancing || looking around the museum || general chatting || anti social food/bar behavior || attempting an escape || flirting || chaotic shenanigans || stealing your date
starters : cassandra dimitrescu, rhysand
omega archeron | star wars | date w. kirei monsula ( 1 / 4 )
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she/they pronouns : if i had a nickel for every time one of my muses is on a date with their best friend and convincing themselves it's not a date, i'd have 2 nickels-- anyways, omega will be here, fulfilling her role as senator archeron's messy as hell kid, and drunk as shit nearly getting kicked out for shenanigans around the maze, and also perhaps drunkenly making out with their best friend kirei that they've been pining after for years. potential plots ➛ drinking || dancing || looking around the museum || general chatting || anti social food/bar behavior || attempting an escape || flirting || chaotic shenanigans || stealing your date
starters : hunter
rosemary winters | resident evil | flying solo ( 1 / 4 )
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she/they pronouns : now for my girl that knows she's in love with her best friend but her best friend doesn't know her and is here with another girl!!!!! honestly rose will be in a corner getting so drunk, glaring daggers at mouse's date and wanting nothing more than to be the one dancing with them. please come try to drag them out of this slump they are sulking HARD potential plots ➛ drinking || dancing || looking around the museum || general chatting || anti social food/bar behavior || attempting an escape || flirting || chaotic shenanigans || stealing your date
starters : lyra ayala
rowena ravenclaw | harry potter | date w. hunter ( 1 / 4 )
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she/her pronouns : rowena is uneasy after the last masquerade that happened in the city, and last valentine's day, and will be spending a fair amount of time at hunter's side until she realizes that this is actually safe, that things are normal and she can cut loose a little. will be spending a lot of time dancing and mingling, happy to talk to anyone who needs some friendly conversation, even if she may just info dump at you. is VERY excited that this is at the museum and may spend more time wandering the exhibits than actually dancing. potential plots ➛ drinking || dancing || looking around the museum || general chatting || anti social food/bar behavior || attempting an escape || flirting || chaotic shenanigans || stealing your date
starters : arnold
sella palpatine | star wars | date w. allana solo ( 4 / 4 )
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she/her pronouns : oh sella is LIVING FOR THIS. valentine's day is her fucking holiday and she will be making up for how hellish the last one was. considering the fact that her and allana have yet to have a single good date on a holiday, she is going to be spending as much time as possible making her girlfriend twirl her around the dance floor. if anyone needs a dancing partner, sella will also let you spin her :)) she is just here to get a little tipsy and enjoy all the love in the air potential plots ➛ drinking || dancing || looking around the museum || general chatting || anti social food/bar behavior || attempting an escape || flirting || chaotic shenanigans || stealing your date
starters : rey palpatine, steve rogers, sion val palpatine, allana solo
sophie hatter | howl's moving castle | date w. howl pendragon
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she/they pronouns : once again, sophie has been dragged to one of these parties because their husband loves these things far more than she does. howl dressed them, and as long as he agreed to a babysitter, sophie agreed to come to this. they are not the biggest dancer, a bit too self conscious to put themselves out there like that, she doesn't like drawing attention to herself. which is difficult when your husband is wearing a glittery pink suit but... potential plots ➛ drinking || dancing || looking around the museum || general chatting || anti social food/bar behavior || attempting an escape || flirting || chaotic shenanigans || stealing your date
starters : cindy moon
sorrel blackbeak | throne of glass | flying solo ( 2 / 4 )
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she/they pronouns : i am planning on letting sorrel get their memories back during the event so she's going to be having a little bit of a time trying to find the rest of the thirteen and reunite now that her memories are back. once that's sorted though, she will be a little anti social but if someone asked her to dance, they're not one to say no. potential plots ➛ drinking || dancing || looking around the museum || general chatting || anti social food/bar behavior || attempting an escape || flirting || chaotic shenanigans || stealing your date
starters : asterin blackbeak, manon blackbeak
tatum riley | scream '96 | blind date w. conrad fisher ( 2 / 4 )
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she/her pronouns : tatum is just trying to put herself out there, to enjoy some good things in the city, even if she's a little on edge with just throwing herself into a blind date roulette, she knows she's gotta get out of her comfort zone so she's going to make the most of this party and enjoy the heck out of it. even if that means someone's gotta drive her ass home cause she's gonna be gone potential plots ➛ drinking || dancing || looking around the museum || general chatting || anti social food/bar behavior || attempting an escape || flirting || chaotic shenanigans || stealing your date
starters : sam carpenter, jake wheeler
vesta starkos | star wars | blind date w. riley matthews ( 1 / 4 )
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she/they pronouns : listen vesta is unaware and super normal right now, and she wants to dance with a pretty girl. even if she's a little sus of all the people who keep staring at her like they know her, they just wanna dance and have a little fun, to cut loose instead of thinking about school. is up for some shenanigans and drunken adventures if people are down potential plots ➛ drinking || dancing || looking around the museum || general chatting || anti social food/bar behavior || attempting an escape || flirting || chaotic shenanigans || stealing your date
starters : ramona flowers
victoria sutherland | twilight | date w. james witherdale ( 2 / 4 )
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she/her pronouns : vic will never pass up an opportunity to dress sexy and dance on her mate, she has absolutely zero shame and does not care who is watching them. she also loves to use these events as a perfect little hunting ground. vic will probably be upset that it's not turning into a nightmare but, she can make it a nightmare if she really gets that bored. until then? she will be annoyingly hanging all over her mate all night. potential plots ➛ drinking (not alcohol) || dancing || looking around the museum || general chatting || anti social food/bar behavior || attempting an escape || flirting || chaotic shenanigans || stealing your date (for a drink ;) )
starters : heidi volturi, bella swan
violet sorrengail | fourth wing | date w. xaden riorson ( 2 / 4 )
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she/her pronouns : did violet show up to this ball 90 minutes late, looking very flushed? yes. is she going to talk about it at all? absolutely not, her siblings are here and her friends can infer what's going on. now that she's here, vi will be happy to dance and enjoy the party with her friends and just get a few moments of normalcy considering the ticking timebomb her life has turned into, she is going to be savoring any moment of normal young adulthood with her family and friends thank you potential plots ➛ drinking || dancing || looking around the museum || general chatting || anti social food/bar behavior || attempting an escape || flirting || chaotic shenanigans || stealing your date
starters : sgaeyl, xaden riorson
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zarasu · 1 year
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I've started reading Qiang Jin Jiu and I have a feeling that this book is going to take over my life.
I will wait to make a thread about 'why you should read qjj' until I read a bit more but my impressions so far are:
Basics about qjj: it's a webnovel, it's a danmei, it's xianxia and has a lot of court intrigue. Apparently there will also be a lot of smut later, which I look forward to.
The mc, Shen Zechuan, is very smart, very cunning and ambitious but hides it behind a gentile mask and is, above all, very very beautiful.
So beautiful, in fact, that this one prince legit dropped his teacup when he saw him (I'm still laughing about that).
His love interest, Xiao Chiye, is the youngest prince of Libei, a region in the north. He's very smart too, but he's also incredibly rude, intentionally cultivates a reputation of being a lazy drunkard and hates Szc with a passion.
You can probably guess it: it's enemies to lovers. Now, I'm normally not a great fan of that trope but well. There's this scene fairly early on when they're still teenagers and have a fight and they're literally rolling around on the floor, pulling at each other's hair and Szc bites Xcy so hard he leaves a scar behind.
And ngl, that was the moment where it had me. That was hilarious.
They're still enemies where I'm at right now, but there's already so much romantic tension, my god.
The court intrigue is really fun as well. It's thankfully well explained (or I'd be lost, I freely admit that) and I enjoy that all the characters have well thought-out motivations and reasonings behind their actions.
Also, so far, at least two strong female characters have been introduced, which is not that common in a danmei, but which I very much enjoy. The empress dowager, who rules through the emperor and everyone knows it, and a female general called Qi Zhuyin who might just be a lesbian and who will maybe actually get a female love interest? Don't quote me on that though, I don't really know anything yet.
Anyway, really enjoying this read so far, looking forward to telling y'all more later!
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langliblade · 1 year
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xiao chiye's first and last love
"I am a man burning with ambitions, and Qudu is the teacher that taught me to restrain all those desires. My encounter with Lanzhou did not happen by accident. He was the last line of defense when I was about to hit my limit and lose it. He is also the indulgence and freedom I lost and regained."
**if anyone ever reads this (i doubt it unless i share this on my twt) and anything in here is familiar ...it's bc i rephrased some of my tweets while typing this. anyway.....
desire has always been xiao chiye's shackle.
xiao chiye's haughty young master act was a defense. it was a way to be on guard and to hide his true feelings and intentions. still, it's not like he faked all of that. he's admitted to himself multiple times that he gets pretty crazy about things and he has always been someone unrestrained.
to the criticizing eye of the noble clans and court officials in qudu, they think that xiao chiye has a short temper and is the usual entitled young master especially when he's always with li jianheng. they go to donglong street almost every night to enjoy themselves, to drink and chat until the sun rises, to surround themselves with beautiful women.
so it isn't really surprising that they think xiao chiye is a crazy dude when it comes to sex. of course i say "crazy" as in he's crazy in whatever standards they had.
what no one would believe, or even consider, is that xiao chiye's greatest desire has always only been libei. being sent to qudu wasn't just being separated from his family and his home-- it was also losing his first love.
and isn't it crazy that probably his first experience with love is loss? add that to the fact that the night he slept with lanzhou in the room, the night he thought "wow i am really filled with immense desire for this man", was the night he thought back to his shifu, zuo qianqiu's tragic story. how he loved and how he had to win a battle by letting go of that love.
to him, desire is something that will someday hinder his ambition. it will hinder his comeback to libei, it will be an obstacle for his goal of standing on equals with his father and eldest brother.
"I attempted to survey the horizons for a glimpse of Libei from the top of the tallest building in Qudu, but even Meng could not see it when it flew up into the clouds. It was then I understood for the first time how much of a remote possibility it was to return home."
after the autumn hunt, he realized that it was a mistake to "put all his eggs in one basket" and show off his capability. he thought it would be enough for him to go home, but it only tightened his cage. now that everyone knows he isn't just a haughty young master, they are now even more scared to let him go. they refuse to let him go home and be an even bigger problem in the future.
he has given up on his desire and chose to kept it in.
and then he meets shen zechuan.
shen wei's son that was made to bear the guilt of a hundred thousand deaths. the powerless man who has no one in this world. he too is in his own cage. despite all that, xiao chiye sees that this man still has the desire to live on even if it's "more of an agony than dying".
xiao chiye recognizes himself in him, he sees how he's also just smiling and bearing it for the sake of something else. for the sake of revenge? to go back home? whatever it is, he sees that they're in a similar kind of pain.
"He was the last line of defense when I was about to hit my limit and lose it. He is also the indulgence and freedom I lost and regained." he saw that to have desire is to be human. it isn't just a hindrance, it could also be a way forward. simply by meeting shen lanzhou, by recognizing their shared pain, by understanding him, he had been changed.
his first love was libei, and he lost it.
so the next time he experiences a similar feeling he used to get taming eagles and horses, when riding freely in the open grass, when being a wolf in his nature-- it's not a shock that he becomes obsessed with that feeling immediately. it's not a shock that it starts from lust mingled with the painful grasping for a feeling similar to happiness. it's not a shock that he finds the love he lost in shen zechuan.
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qjj livetweets
reposting my livetweets so far:
this,,,, THIS is hot girl shit
waiting for help on the qjj paywall,,,,, time to start 2ha
i think it's very reasonable of me to be obsessively speedreading through qjj fics while waiting to unlock the rest of the official chapters. i think im being very normal about this.
log: ive gone through every english cezhou fic on ao3 and am now so desperate im about to start google translating the chinese
omg xcy has a family??? that's so rare for main characters,,,
xcy: i'm definitely not attracted to him    xcy: i'm going to invite him up to my private cabin in the mountains
“Sometimes your gaze is truly very ruthless.” Before Shen Zechuan could reply, Xiao Chiye continued, “But of course, a little ruthlessness gives you flavor.”    xcy: you're so mean to me.     xcy: i'm into that
DING TAO HAS A LITTLE VENT DIARYYYYYYY THATS SO CUTE
this is so cute i love him
this is now a ding tao stan account. i love him.
not to babygirl shen lanzhou but,,,,, to be taken care of by xiao chiye,,,,,,, to live a sickfic with your beloved that you also often consider murdering,,,,,,,
poor lang tao xue jin. he's seen too much
AND NOW SUDDENLY HE'S GIVING HIM A BETROTHAL GIFT???? I THOUGHT YALL WERE STILL PRETENDING NOT TO LIKE EACH OTHER????
the best pillow talk is a discussion on political warfare. we all know this.
real boyfriends defraud assholes together and that's what i love about cezhou
HE CALLED HIM ER-LANGGGGGG
not to stan cezhou on main but,,,,, oxytocin is their song. it's them.
ngl,,,,,,, when xiao fangxu is leading this cavalry,,,,,,,,
I AM NOT GENERALLY INTO OLDER MEN BUT
holy shit i never expected shen zechuan to lose his shit like that. go off i guess but wow
i probably should have made my qjj tweets one thread but it's too late now. i'm too used to tumblr
it in fact does NOT get old to have xiao chiye and shen zechuan actively going at it with the three stooges guarding from the window and actively wishing they were dead
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sanctissimx · 2 years
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meme. 
Gymnophoria - the sense that someone is mentally undressing you (cezhou) @numinousdread .... im so sorry
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He’s not used to waiting. But for Shen Zechuan, he will. 
Xiao Chiye sits patiently within the glow of the hundreds of red silk lanterns that adorn the wall and ceiling of Shen Zechuan’s immodest dressing room. He’d spent a small fortune on them, and on the porcelain bowl full of lotus seed tangyuan in ginger broth he’d ordered expressly from the most renown pâtissier of the city. A gesture of some degree of grandeur, an attempt to impress the indifferent chanteur. Perhaps it’s a little too extravagant, he ponders belatedly as his eyes sweep the purview of his venture. But if there’s anyone who’d appreciate the theatricality of such a gesture, he trusts it would be an opera singer, surely. 
In an effort to busy his anxious hands, Xiao Chiye reaches for the cup of exorbitantly expensive pu-erh tea he’d brought as well, prepared by Shen Zechuan’s attendant. A plume of steam unfurls when he removes the lid, a momentary distraction upon which he can direct his attention until it’s ripped away at the sound of the door opening. Shen Zechuan floats through the threshold with an unpurposed grace, followed by his dutiful attendant. Without thinking, Xiao Chiye straightens, sitting up properly, though he does not rise to greet him. They exchange a wordless nod, an acknowledgement that goes no further than that. Xiao Chiye knows that though he is a prince’s son, he belongs in this space only because Shen Zechuan has allowed him to.
Dressed in a plain robe of funereal white, Shen Zechuan is as silent as a specter as he approaches his vanity, methodically opens all his cosmetics, and alights upon his chair with the authority of an emperor upon a dragon throne. Xiao Chiye makes no move, even tries not to breathe too loudly, in utmost respect of the ritual before him.
Shen Zechuan paints the rice flour white across his brow with a wide brush, over his eyes, upon the swells and hollows of his sculpted cheeks, and finally over the petal-pink lips Xiao Chiye’s gaze delights in lingering upon. The exquisite features of his face are obscured in the opacity of the white, to his spectator’s curious disappointment. But vermillion is daubed upon his eyes, edges softened into a delicate haze and cut with an artful black liner to emphasize the elegance of his phoenix eyes. Eyes Xiao Chiye wishes once might glance his way. 
Next comes the elm-soaked hair, woven in artful waves upon his brow, adorned with jeweled pins that glitter so assiduously in the candle’s light Xiao Chiye would hardly be surprised if they were true diamonds. His mind wanders for a moment, wondering what patron of his past or present might have been generous enough to gift such treasures….
Immediately he thinks of Li Jiangheng, his foremost rival in the attentions of the opera singer. And the only one he can think of with enough disposable income to make an empress of an entertainer. It incenses him, the thought of losing out. But less so than the devastation of losing him. 
“...Viceroy?” 
Xiao Chiye looks back to see Shen Zechuan glancing at him over the point of his shoulder, eyes lowered with an arresting demureness. “Sorry?” he asks, his attention now reverted to him. “I asked if you didn’t have a sweetheart you’d rather be with tonight,” Shen Zechuan asks, reaching for another diamond pin. “It’s the Shangyuan Festival, after all.” 
Xiao Chiye stands, rising slowly to his feet, walking purposefully over to Shen Zechuan’s side to pluck the pin from his hand. “I’m here, aren’t I?” he replies, his somber smile undisturbed even as Shen Zechuan attempts to snatch the pin back from his hands. Unsuccessfully. 
He gestures obscurely to the walls around them, covered from floor to ceiling in giant red lanterns. “Since you couldn’t enjoy the festivities, I decided I’d bring the festivities to you.” 
Shen Zechuan gives him a stern look that might have been frightening if it hadn’t been so lovely. Even under all that paint. Xiao Chiye lets his gaze linger upon the part of his pretty mouth, enchanted utterly by the sight of the clandestine pink tongue that peeks out behind the brazen crimson of his painted lips. Xiao Chiye wonders how hard a slap he’d receive if he caught him by his pale chin and thumbed away the red that hides away the pale pink of his lips from him. 
Willowy fingers unfurl, palm extended in requisition of that stolen pin, demanding its return. But Xiao Chiye only taps the diamond head of the pin against his free hand. “Let me adorn you with it,” he offers instead. 
Shen Zechuan huffs out a laugh with no edge of mirth to it, lowering his eyes once more to soften the inevitable blow. “I’m afraid you haven’t earned that right,” he says softly. “Even if I weren’t terrified at how crookedly you’d apply it.” 
Shen Zechuan looks away, feigning a distraction to allow a moment for Xiao Chiye to regain his face, while amending the slight with the elegant rondeur of his cygnet throat bared for his perusal. It’s an ambiguous invitation at best, and yet Xiao Chiye hedges his bets upon the possibility, touching a careful fingertip to the fine hairs at the nape of that perfect, unpainted neck. Under his touch, he feels Shen Zechuan tense, though he doesn’t move as Xiao Chiye drags his fingertips down the valley of his spine, against the gentle protrusion of his bones. 
And when he does, moving just out of range of that insouciant caress, Xiao Chiye snatches the edge of the collar back, only to be thwarted by the hand Shen Zechuan smooths over the nape of his neck, hiding it away from his wolfish eyes. “That is also not permitted,” he admonishes softly, but there is no mistaking the threat the lies between those words. 
“Then tell me what is,” Xiao Chiye demands, as genteel as he can manage.
Shen Zechuan looks at him with exasperation. “You’ve earned nothing from me,” he explains simply, as though he were placating an unruly child.
Xiao Chiye’s eyes are intent on him as he moves closer, enough that Shen Zechuan can feel his tea-mild breath warm upon his brow. “I’ve brought a sky’s worth of lanterns to you,” he points out. 
“And tanguyan fit for a noble’s tongue,” he adds, demonstrating both his understanding of Xiao Chiye’s efforts, as well as his indifference to it. “An entire festival within my walls. Yes, I know.” 
It’s entirely unsentimental and utterly utilitarian for Xiao Chiye to believe that any efforts on his part—even unwanted ones— constitute reciprocation of some manner of Shen Zechuan. But the expectation of reciprocity is the only language that nobility and men of Xiao Chiye’s kind understand, so he turns back to him with a soft smile to offer compromise. 
“So let us celebrate,” he decides, picking up another pin to show the viceroy. “In honor of Shangyuan Festival, how about a few riddles? If you win one of me, you’re free to adorn me as you please. If I win one of you, then I’ll dress myself, as I please.” 
Xiao Chiye’s expression is mildly perturbed, but there’s no deliberation in his mind. “Alright,” he concedes. And then, without hesitation: “You first.” 
Shen Zechuan looks almost pleased, his eyes drifting to the lantern-lined ceiling as he thinks of a riddle to begin with. “He is a grumpy man with thick skin and a big fat belly. Mute if you ignore him, loud if you keep touching him,” he recites, conducting the lilt of his words with the diamond hair pin in his hand. 
Xiao Chiye frowns. 
“Ten seconds,” Shen Zechuan warns cheerily. “Nine, eight …”
“I don’t know,” Xiao Chiye states, unhappy about his first defeat.
Shen Zechuan plucks the hair pin from his hand as delicately as he would a dahlia’s petal, and places it in his hair. “Too bad. A drum.” 
Xiao Chiye clicks his tongue with displeasure. “My turn. Two houses with doors wide open. They allow a million people in but can’t stand a tiny grain.”
It gives Shen Zechuan pause enough. “I give up.” 
Xiao Chiye takes the diamond pin from Shen Zechuan’s hands and places it precisely beside the one already nestled expertly within his hair. “A pair of eyes,” he says at last, satisfied with his work. 
Shen Zechuan laughs softly, his eyes landing upon the breadth of Xiao Chiye’s shoulders. “Clever,” is his verdict, spoken in half a whisper. He clears his throat. “They are twin sisters of the same height; they work in the kitchen, arm in arm. Whatever is cooked, they always try it first. But they despise soups.”
“Chopsticks,” Xiao Chiye answers easily, reaching into the red lacquered box for a silk peony hairpin in a staid deep coral, and affixes it above Shen Zechuan’s left ear. “A thousand threads, a million strands. Reaching the water, vanishing all at once.”
Shen Zechuan finds himself hesitating not for lack of answer, but for the unexpected scent of Xiao Chiye’s nearness: of the brightness of a wild sun, the gelid fraicheur of a wind descended of mountainsides, that blows through tall, untouched grasses in a faraway idyll. 
“Ten seconds,” Xiao Chiye reminds him, and Shen Zechuan is quick to assert plaintively, “I don’t know.” 
“A rainfall,” the viceroy informs him, answer curt, and points with a flick of his chin towards the aoqun hanging upon the door.  Shen Zechuan reaches for a pale pink one, but Xiao Chiye stops him. “No,” he says, imperiously. “The red one.”
Shen Zechuan reaches for the dark crimson aoqun embroidered with white peonies, but it’s Xiao Chiye who divests it from the hanger, holding it open for him to slip into. Xiao Chiye arranges the robe with exacting care, positioning the stiff collar perfectly center to Shen Zechuan’s nape.  Shen Zechuan peers down to straighten the blouse, unwittingly exposing the slightest sliver of skin that peeks out from behind the guard of the high collar. Xiao Chiye’s wanton gaze lingers upon it, taking advantage of Shen Zechuan’s distraction, until he realizes what he’s doing and catches his wrist to stop his hands. 
“I’ll do it,” Xiao Chiye says softly, and there’s only an edge of imperative to his words. He starts from the bottom, lining up the knot button with the clasp and fastening them methodically. There’s a shadow of consternation that flickers upon his brow when he gets to the last one, just at Shen Zechuan’s throat. Xiao Chiye swallows hard, his downturned eyes perusing the tenuity of the opera singer’s slender throat, the semblant translucence of his pale skin complimented by the vermillion red of his collar. Sure and steady are Xiao Chiye’s fingers as they attend the final button, in what appears to be assiduity on the viceroy’s part. But his fingers linger upon the clasp, unwilling to let go of the provisional closeness. 
He lets out a breath at last, his hands falling away in surrender to their obsoletion, knuckles brushing upon Shen Zechuan’s lithesome chest as they do.  “Your turn,” he says finally. 
Shen Zechuan’s pulls a demure but dubiously mischievous smile at the corners of his rubicund lips, rests the tip of his index finger upon his chin in pantomime of thought. “Hmm,” he hums, his smile widening to show teeth like pearls glinting in the delicate lamplight. “Sometimes it’s curved like a smile, other times, it’s round like a plate.”
Xiao Chiye says nothing, his footsteps the only sound in the silence of the room as he drifts over to the closet behind him. He skim through the robes, pulling out a cloud-white pei with water sleeves the color of a pale sky darkening. “The moon,” he says softly, his breath warm against the shell of Shen Zechuan’s ear as he leans in to supply the answer, excusing his nearness by draping the robe over Shen Zechuan’s narrow shoulders.
Shen Zechuan watches as Xiao Chiye moves away, realizing the gravity of this game as he slips his arms within the pale pei. The indomitable red of his high collar peeks through the opening of the pei’s collar, as insouciant as a tongue. There’s a note of quiet pleasure upon his features as he examines the combination, choosing a dark red skirt embroidered with gold fauna to match. “What belongs to you, yet others use it more than you do?” he asks, and Shen Zechuan’s half distracted with the arrangement of his skirt, tucking and arranging as he must. 
Occupied with his costume, Shen Zechuan does not see Xiao Chiye choose a gilded fengguan from a mannequin’s head, a stunningly ornate headdress ornamented with nine dragons and nine phoenixes, covered in gold leaf and inlaid with hundreds of glass beads of deep carmine that glitter as exultantly as real rubies. “I’m waiting,” Xiao Chiye reminds him, catching the point of Shen Zechuans jaw to angle it upwards and watch his face as he crowns him with the phoenix coronate. 
The fan of his inky lashes flutter timorously before Shen Zechuan dares to look up at the viceroy through them. Xiao Chiye recognizes the practiced flirtation, but the realization brings no less admiration for his proficiency. “Me?” he asks, the brilliant smile he pulls breaking as beautifully as a dawn. 
Xiao Chiye clicks his tongue in displeasure, his hand dropping away at once. 
“Your name,” Shen Zechuan laughs, reaching for his ivory fan at the edge of his vanity. “Naturally. It’s a very good riddle, of course.” 
The viceroy leans hard upon the vanity, brow purled in an unhappy louring. “You knew the answer.”
Shen Zechuan walks to the mirror to examine his costume and finds himself pleased. “I did,” he admits. “But you’d already crowned me. It seemed a waste to undo your efforts.” 
Xiao Chiye pushes off the edge and walks over to station himself behind him. “You knew all the answers,” comes his quiet accusation. “The whole time.” 
Shen Zechuan’s gaze is piercing in the mirror, staring at Xiao Chiye in vivid coquetry. “The Viceroy is too comfortable with triumph,” he contends, and Xiao Chiye’s vaguely aware of being condescended to, even in the gentle lilt of his erudite words. “I wouldn’t presume that you would know that sometimes—”  He turns to him now, eyes meeting his with nothing less than audacity. “Sometimes one must lose to win.” 
He punctuates his point by tapping the tip of his fan beneath the point of his jaw, smiling to himself as he returns to the vanity to examine his makeup one last time. 
“And what have you won?” Xiao Chiye asks, still sullen in spite of Shen Zechuan’s concession and his apparent victory. 
Shen Zechuan carefully pulls a heavy brocade sash over his head, and arranges the sash deftly upon his shoulders. “The company of Xiao Chiye,” he replies easily, turning to him in his full glory, his face neutral under all that makeup. It’s a gesture meant to show him how uncontrived the statement was, bereft of the guile of artfulness or artifice. That he means it.
“It isn’t winning if it was yours to accept in the first place,” Xiao Chiye argues, almost peevishly. “I’ve been asking for an audience for you for weeks now. Maybe months. You could have had my company whenever you wanted it.” 
“Not the playboy Viceroy,” Shen Zechuan asserts. “Not the lecher, not the drunk, not the one who keeps the company of that boorish Prince Chu—who, by the way, I understand you have a bet with? Regarding my favors and who might win them of me first?” 
Xiao Chiye does not move, does not flinch from Shen Zechuan’s accusatory gaze, the tips of his ears a perfect berry-red the only indication of his remorse. 
“I don’t care, actually,” Shen Zechuan continues, but the way the lilt of his words adopt a slight staccato hint otherwise. “But it was nice… to see a glimmer of who you are. Behind all that. I really hadn’t much faith that there was anything of note.”
There’s a silence between them, a stillness that neither of them are willing to break. Xiao Chiye’s ears feel scorched with a shame so great, so enervating, that he’s ultimately reduced to the unlikely boldness of having little left to lose and asks, “And what have I won of you?” 
Shen Zechuan laughs mirthlessly through his nose. “I considered offering you the opportunity to undo the work of your own hands. Isn’t that what you’ve wanted all evening? But I don’t think you’ve quite earned that, either.” He moves to a vase the pluck a white peony streaked with amaranth red, and tosses it in Xiao Chiye’s direction. “You can come back when it’s faded.” 
He staggers to catch it, but snatches it out the air, nearly crushing it in his hand. His fingers unfurl and so does the bloom within the palm of his hand, and Xiao Chiye stares at it to discern its meaning. “Tomorrow?” he asks, hopeful. 
Shen Zechuan’s turned in silhouette when he opens his fan and hides his pleased grin behind it. He bows once to the Viceroy, the little pearl strings on his phoenix coronet tinkling softly as he does. As if on cue, an attendant opens the door, through which Shen Zechuan might make his escape. But he turns back suddenly, fan stuck to the palm of his hand as his eyes light up in remembrance. “The tangyuan!” he exclaims, but his face falls immediately into a beautiful consternation. 
Xiao Chiye looks to the wooden box upon the vanity and slides it open, the large porcelain bowl  within. “Ah,” he replies, reaching into the box and uncovering the bowl. The white and pink tangyuan float within the ginger-sweet broth, like perfect summer moons. “They’re a little cold, but no colder than if you eat them later.” 
Shen Zechuan strides forward, gathering his water sleeves to his chest as he turns his mouth up for Xiao Chiye’s perusal, lips parting obediently. “Feed me.” 
Xiao Chiye stares at that rosebud mouth in bloom for him, remains frozen in aesthetic arrest of the sight of him before he reaches for the spoon and scoops one out for him. He holds it up to Shen Zechuan’s lips, that accept the ingress of the porcelain between them, the deep crimson of his lips closing about the pure white of the tangyuan and sucks it cleanly into his mouth. 
Shen Zechuan’s eyes lower as he daubs carefully away at the ginger broth at the corners of his mouth, his pink tongue peeking out as he licks his lips clean. “Tomorrow,” he confirms at last, commits a shallow bow as he watches Xiao Chiye slowly bring the empty spoon to his own mouth.
There’s only the residual sweetness of the ginger left upon it, but it’s the ghost of Shen Zechuan’s lips that he means to consume. And somehow he knows that, fan opening to hide away the pleased smile before he floats out of the waiting door like a gilded fantasy. One that Xiao Chiye is sure he’d do anything to dream up again.
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cantalooprat · 1 year
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Qiang Jin Jiu
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What I Liked
its like... its like golden stage but actually Good lmao
the main ship is absolutely precious, i cant with them?? god i screenshotted so many of their scenes together. it's a beautiful enemies to fling to mutually supportive lovers relationship.
rereading their early interactions... its so... mygod. the sexual tension truly is unhinged. crazy how xcy was so HORNY. All. The .Time. the way he Eyes szc's nape. the way he's like "this guy is bad news" but also "IM SO THIRSTY"
from "kicking him with the intention to kill" to "his attention commanded by the white bird in the still and silent world" i could die for their romance
i am so invested in songyu as a side ship
THE LUO MU AND KONG LING SCENE it lasted like several paragraphs long n i was lowkey wtf bc i didnt notice the romantic tension but when it was implied i was like,,, WTF,,,, W T F,,,,,,,, i nvr noticed but im So Sad
the plot is? good? n also the politics r surprisingly easy to follow? i wonder if its bc im more experienced now, but i remember reading golden stage n being so fukin confused
also the writing is Exquisite and prob the translation too, the scenes are so vividly written, ch 100 gave me shivers
the white bird scene (in the quotes section below) is also soo beautifully written im in love, tbh theres so many beautifully written scenes
What I Disliked
i am so invested in songyu and i spoiled myself that they're the side ship w a bad end so. so its a con. bc im sad.
i am too smallbrain for political mindgames. my eyes glaze over and my brain turns into mush post-rebellion when the author shifts to whatever it is that happens in qudu (the capital, bc im sure to forget this).
Notes
im not actually done w the wn by the time im writing this lmao bc tls r ongoing n i am impatient
i had to write this bc i have so many qjj feelings i shall update again when im done
Quotes
“Two million isn’t enough to marry the wolf pup of the Prince of Libei. Such a betrothal gift is not worthy of my Xiao Ce’an.”
“To marry me, two million isn’t enough. I want Lanzhou’s priceless smile that even a thousand gold cannot buy.”
The dark blue dome of heaven lay out in a spread behind Shen Zechuan. He lifted his arms to remove his overcoat, exposing the earring on his right ear as he moved. His sleeves slid down to reveal the secured, snow-white sleeves of his inner garment underneath. He was just like a white bird stopping for a rest in this still and silent world, commanding all of Xiao Chiye’s attention in just a matter of an instant.
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lcvelxss · 4 months
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@mvsicinthedvrk asked:
♫ + 22 for jamie & xiao chiye || Leave Me Alone - NF
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"I don't need advice from my doubts right now, but I could definitely use another person's perspective. Do you think any of the colors clash too harshly?" they asked, indicating the planned layout of the flowerbed.
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mvsicinthedvrk · 8 months
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Was that [NI HAN JIN]? Oh no no, that was just [XIAO CHIYE], a [CANON CHARACTER] from [QIANG JIN JIU]. They are [TWENTY THREE] years old, use [HE/HIM], and [ARE NOT] aware that they are not actually from Washington DC. Too bad they can’t stray from this city for long. {ooc: ollie}
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yeah i have severe brainrot since starting this novel two days ago so here we are, he's too smart for his own good and loves a challenge a little tooooo much, here's xiao chiye.
(in other news if you want to read an exquisitely-crafted story about political machinations featuring enemies (to lovers? supposedly?) pls read qiang jin jiu thanks)
how long has your character been here
he thinks he’s been living here for at least five years, and has actually lived here between 1-5 years.
what is your character’s job
he's a managing executive of xiao legal group, which is based out of new york but has a substantially-sized d.c. branch that deals in all kinds of corporate and finance law, among other things. it's a pretty high-profile legal firm with a lot of lawyers working for it
chiye has essentially been assigned to oversee the d.c. branch, since his father & older brother run the main office back home.
he is 23 with no law degree and seemingly underqualified for this
where has your character been pulled from in their fandom
roughly where i am reading which is chapter 40-something but it doesn't particularly matter right now as he's currently unaware
has any magic affected your character
he has lost his memories. other than that, no.
and any other information you might find useful for us and the other members to know:
xiao chiye!! i love him! his courtesy name is xiao ce'an so sometimes he'll use that to introduce himself, depending on the situation.
he gets described as a "wolf" a lot in the novel, partly because of familial ties and ties to his home of libei, but also because chiye definitely matches that description-- he's rugged, bold, fierce when it comes down to it, and says what he wants to say regardless of opinion most of the time. he can definitely be an asshole but 😂 he can be a lot of fun (in my opinion), because he's also very quick-witted.
also in the novel, one of his main issues is that his older brother xiao jiming is the commander of the libei cavalry, and their clan is worryingly powerful according to those in the capitol. so xiao chiye was "promoted" to be the head of the imperial army to keep the xiao clan and libei calvalry in line-- as now he can't leave the capitol, and he's essentially a political prisoner. a prisoner with a lot of military power! but still stuck there, when he very much just wants to go back home to libei. :(
so therefore!!! in d.c.:
xiao chiye's working for xiao legal group, as previously mentioned. he does not particularly want to be there, and is working there out of familial obligation only since his father and older brother told him to. the only bit of internal motivation he has is that he's also there at the d.c. branch to investigate former shady dealings involving potential employees who may have been wrapped up in an embezzlement scandal and other crimes that tarnished the firm's reputation.
he is so damn smart. far too smart for his own good, though most of the time he'll pretend not to be-- the basic vibe he likes to give off at the moment is: slacker, playboy, not great at his job. he always toes the line of upholding his family's reputation, or being the more disappointing youngest child. rip. as mentioned above: he also does not have a legal degree, so i imagine public perception (as well as his own employee's perception) would think that he's vastly underqualified and was only promoted because of his family ties.
however, he would also be secretly very fucking good at his job and probably has amassed a number of connections and informants, and has found ways to subtly (and legally) reappropriate company funds as necessary, to help promote his own interests and punish departments in the law firm that he suspects had to do with the scandal from years ago 😌
he's the kind of person who would be able to definitely fuck you over in a written contract if you weren't reading carefully enough, because he knows all the ins and outs and loopholes to use. but as long as you don't deserve his ire, you won't have to worry about receiving it.
other personality trait information: he desires things very deeply. at the same time, he doesn't talk about his personal life or preferences unless it's to mislead others or make a point. he's often hot-tempered and definitely cocky & arrogant. he can be polite and respectful when the situation calls for it, but its usually not genuine. it takes a lot to earn his favor and his admiration. he's obsessively attentive to details. he's a fantastic liar. he will not hesitate to make people's lives difficult. he is a good time at a party. he won't back down from a challenge. he is many things l;kajd;lfkj;
and finally, he also has a gryfalcon, which is the largest falcon in the world (with a four-foot wingspan!), its name is meng and it has free rein in his penthouse, though he also opens the windows and lets it fly free because it'll always come back.
as he's unaware, he needs a lot of connections, so i will post in the plotting channel for plots shortly :)) thanks in advance for your consideration!
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hiddenwashington · 8 months
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@mvsicinthedvrk said : Was that [NI HAN JIN]? Oh no no, that was just [XIAO CHIYE], a [CANON CHARACTER] from [QIANG JIN JIU]. They are [TWENTY THREE] years old, use [HE/HIM], and [ARE NOT] aware that they are not actually from Washington DC. Too bad they can’t stray from this city for long. {ooc: ollie}
accepted! welcome to washington d.c. xiao chiye [ni han jin]! please send in your account within 24 hours! please be sure to take a look at the checklist now that you've arrived! we look forward to seeing you around the city! 
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t110n · 7 months
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hamliet · 2 years
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I Am My Own Nightmare
Rereading Qiang Jin Jiu and getting so. much. more. out of it the second time around caused me to notice a recurring motif throughout the story. Actually, several motifs, like that it is way more based in alchemy than I first thought--
But anyways. The motif I want to talk about is that of Xiao Chiye and Shen Zechuan rescuing each other (and themselves) from their worst nightmares. 
Chapter 96: Leaving Qudu
Xiao Chiye flipping over a city wall to rescue Shen Zechuan, who is trapped inside and probably about to get himself killed in a futile attempt to save his Teacher Qi Huilian is literally Xiao Chiye facing his own nightmare of being stuck forever in Qudu. At this point, Xiao Chiye’s been trapped in Qudu for years as a glorified hostage to keep his own father and brother in line, and it was all futile anyways. In the end, Xiao Jiming still got poisoned and defeated and injured, and Xiao Fangxu still had to return to the battlefield. Li Jianheng got killed too. 
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(art by Jianyachi on Twitter, who has given permission for use)
So, Xiao Chiye rescues Shen Zechuan from Xiao Chiye’s nightmare... only to symbolically see that Xiao Chiye is not facing just his own trauma, but the trauma Xiao Chiye inflicted. Everything about the confrontation between Shen Zechuan and Han Cheng is a callback to the start of the novel, from Qi Huilian being dragged before the city gate in chains just like Shen Zechuan was to Han Cheng’s demand that Shen Zechuan humiliate himself to save his Teacher. 
A disheveled Qi Huilian was dragged out. He fell into the rainwater and cursed, “Treacherous traitor!”
Yanking at the chain, Han Cheng spurred the horse forward and dragged Qi Huilian through the streets. He pointed at Qi Huilian and said to Shen Zechuan, “Haven’t you been looking for him for a long time? He’s here! Shen Zechuan, come and get him!”
“Traitor, traitor!” Qi Huilian was boiling with fury as the dragging smeared his face with muddy water.
Han Cheng looked at Shen Zechuan’s pale face, then at the dark expression in his eyes. He said, “Your eldest brother is the Hereditary Prince of Jianxing, I remember that the Biansha Cavalry dragged him to his death alive. But there is no love lost between you both, so you weren’t hurt by it at all. Are you hurting now that it’s your teacher’s turn today?”
Han Cheng mistakes whom it is he’s symbolically giving a “turn” to. It’s not reminding Shen Zechuan of Shen Zhouji, whom he didn’t even know, but Shen Zechuan’s own being dragged before the city gate to be kicked to death by Xiao Chiye that he’s alluding to. Learn to read, Han Cheng! (this is a joke, but also shows how Han Cheng misunderstands whom Shen Zechuan is loyal to; his filial piety has nothing to do with his blood family, nor should it).
Han Cheng then asks Shen Zechuan to do this:
“...If you still want him to live, then kowtow to me and admit your mistakes! Kneel and call me ‘father’ loudly three times, and I’ll spare him, and you as well!”
Shen Zechuan strode a big step forward and said, “Deal!”
Which of course calls to mind Xiao Chiye’s request in front of the temple years ago:
Xiao Chiye retracted the whip and said, “You can say anything, but who knows whether or not they are true. How about this? Bark a few times like a dog. Once I’m satisfied, I’ll let you off tonight.”
Shen Zechuan said nothing.
The Squad Commander was scared witless by Xiao Chiye’s eyes and shoved Shen Zechuan a few times.  
The color drained from Shen Zechuan’s face as he said timidly, “… At least let me do it before you alone.”
Xiao Chiye then flips back over the wall, descending into his own nightmare to pluck Shen Zechuan out, and has to face his previous self: selfishly making cruel demands of a boy he knew nothing about, willing to kick a battered and beaten man while he’s already chained. He sends Meng, a symbol of Xiao Chiye’s free nature, to claw Han Cheng’s eye out. To leave Qudu, Xiao Chiye’s nightmare, and find freedom, Xiao Chiye has to first face the worst parts of himself--face the fact that his cruelty and aggressiveness can imprison not only others, but the best parts of Xiao Chiye. It’s pretty telling that after this rescue, Xiao Chiye promises Shen Zechuan that he should never have to be in pain again, and tells Shen Zechuan he loves him. 
Chapter 174: Burning Tower
Of course, we have to talk about the chapter where Shen Zechuan declares that he is his own nightmare. 
“Regardless of who my parents are,” Shen Zechuan turned his head to the side and whispered into his ear, “I am Shen Zechuan. Whether your word is the truth or a lie is of no significance to me at all. I am my own nightmare.”
...
Shen Wei, Bai Cha.  
He did not care for them at all.
Is this true? Well, ish. I’ll write more about this another time. Shen Zechuan is not exactly a reliable narrator. It may be somewhat true in how he regards himself, for sure, but it isn’t true at all in how the world regards him, and how the world regards him does affect him whether he wants it to or not. 
The symbolism of this scene is that Shen Wei’s legacy is a burning tower trapping Shen Zechuan with seemingly no escape. Lei Jingzhe then tells Shen Zechuan something that should make him look twice at himself:
“You’re really the world’s most pitiful child. Do you know how Bai Cha died? Shen Wei found out her real identity, then strangled her to death with his very own hands. You were born of abhorrence. Why did Shen Wei raise you? Did you think you were regaining lost grounds when you crawled your way out of the Chashi Sinkhole and returned to Zhongbo after experiencing all that hatred and sorrows?” He let out a dreary laugh and said cruelly, “You made it all out to be so incredibly touching, but you didn’t expect it, did you? No one will accept you for how you are. If Libei were to find out who Bai Cha is, Xiao Chiye’s blade would turn on you.” 
He challenges Shen Zechuan’s identity at its core, asking if he really is Shen Wei’s son, asking if he really is born of love or of assault, asking if he is part Biansha, the army that traumatized Shen Zechuan at the Chashi Sinkhole and took away Ji Mu and Hua Pingting. He tells him that no matter, once Xiao Chiye finds out, he will turn against Shen Zechuan. The truth is muddled here, some parts honest and some parts lies, all cruel: symbolic of Shen Zechuan’s relationship with the Shen legacy.
But here’s where Lei Jingzhe is wrong: even if he had been telling the truth about Bai Cha (and he wasn’t), Xiao Chiye would not have turned against Shen Zechuan. Their loyalty to one another is not born out of some sense of filial piety or tradition or even bloodline: it’s out of love. If Shen Zechuan were to find out everything he thought he knew about his family was a lie that went up in flames, if he fell from that pyre, Xiao Chiye would still catch him. Which is exactly what Xiao Chiye does. 
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(art also by Jianyachi on Twitter; please support them!) 
This scene also challenges Shen Zechuan, though, to face what his parents might be and to actually consider what he wants and why. If he wants to reunite and lead Zhongbo, he can’t do it just because he’s Shen Wei’s blood, and he can’t do it without facing Shen Wei’s legacy. Lei Jingzhe calls out Shen Zechuan’s own hypocrisy here: he needs to face his legacy and the worst possibilities of who he is and what he could become in order to move forward. If he wants to move forward, he has to look back and ask himself to what extent these legacies matter. With Xiao Chiye to catch him, he’s able to leap off the worst possibilities of what his past might be and to let it burn.
There’s another similarity with Shen Wei that Shen Zechuan has to face during this confrontation with Lei Jingzhe. Shen Zechuan had considered himself a weapon rather than a person for so long (which infuriates Xiao Chiye off to no end; hence why he was so angry after Shen Zechuan risked his safety atop the burning tower). He uses his own body as a weapon, and risks himself carelessly. And this is directly compared what Shen Wei did:
When Shen Wei was once again faced with the choices presented to him as he stood before the fork in the road in front of him, he hesitated for only a moment before ending her.    
He was a blade.
Who eventually stabbed himself bloody.
It of course also calls back to Xiao Chiye’s own mentor, Zuo Qianqiu’s, decision to shoot an arrow through his wife to defeat his enemy. Zuo Qianqiu considers himself to have died when he shot that arrow, after all, and the message is clear: fear and love do not coexist, and if you live in a place where the worst parts of yourself remove what you love, then... you might know yourself, but you also might be afraid of yourself. 
Choosing duty over loved ones is not always the best answer (Shen Wei, Zuo Qianqiu--Shen Zechuan’s father; Xiao Chiye’s mentor, though of course Zuo Qianqiu is able to then learn to love his students and come back to the effort for them). Choosing love over duty is also not always the right answer (see, Mu Ru and Li Jianheng). Yet, sometimes love is the right choice (Xiao Fangxu, Ji Gang; Xiao Chiye’s father and Shen Zechuan’s mentor) especially when tempered with wisdom. It’s a complex theme that is more question than answer, and this scene forces Shen Zechuan to ask who he is, but the fear can be soothed by love. The nightmares might not cease, but you can walk through them with others.
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And that’s precisely what Shen Zechuan does, and finds himself in Xiao Chiye. The parts of him that are a blade, a weapon, are tempered by Xiao Chiye, and the parts of Xiao Chiye that want to imprison others as he himself was once imprisoned are challenged and tempered by Shen Zechuan. These traits of theirs are both flaws and strengths, and they compliment each other perfectly. 
With the case of the Zhongbo troops’ defeat unraveled, the primary issue Shen Zechuan faced was not only the threat of the cavalry from the east, but also how he should naturally progress to stand on his own feet under the stain of Shen Wei’s name...
“During my time in Duanzhou, I thought that if there ever came a day when I grew up, I would change my family name and take on shifu’s family name to become a Ji. Then I’d be a squad commander in Duanzhou, just like my big brother.” Shen Zechuan glided his fingers along gently; he was like the imprisoned moonlight as he lay here in Xiao Chiye’s arms. “But then, while at Zhao Zui Temple, I came to the realization that I would still be Shen Wei’s son even if I were to change my family name.”
With a face that bore a striking resemblance to Bai Cha, all traces of Shen Wei seemed to have been erased by his mother. But those traces lay concealed deep within him, manifesting into a different kind of insanity... 
Xiao Chiye could succeed in keeping Shen Zechuan under lock and become Shen Zechuan’s sheath.
... 
“They all say that I resemble my old man.” Xiao Chiye looked at Shen Zechuan, “When I was sent to Qudu, I thought it was a punishment, because I had once been complacent over it. There in Qudu, I wanted to strip off the part of me that belonged to Libei...”
That was a sort of restless torture. Xiao Chiye did not even know who he should hate during that period of time. He knew that his father and brother were not at fault—he could only hate himself...
“You may be Shen Wei’s son,” Xiao Chiye whispered, “but you’re mine.”
Through this encounter, Shen Zechuan has to face his hypocrisy: like Lei Jingzhe, he can betray and manipulate and use others, and he is Shen Wei’s son. But, Xiao Chiye protects him from himself (as a sheath protects a blade’s owner from stabbing themselves).
Chapter 208: Chashi Round 2 
In one of the latest released chapters, Xiao Chiye tricks the Biansha troops to arriving at the Chashi Sinkhole and defeats them there. Ish. (For a moment the novel scared me and made me think something happened to Lang Tao Xue Jin, which is utterly unacceptable, but fortunately the horse is fine.)
Of course, throughout the novel Shen Zechuan has been having actual nightmares of the massacre at the Chashi Sinkhole. Waking to find Xiao Chiye with him is of course symbolic itself (especially because they first have sex after Shen Zechuan wakes up from just such a nightmare). 
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Just as the scene in Qudu to end volume 1 puts Shen Zechuan in Xiao Chiye’s waking nightmare, this scene puts Xiao Chiye in Shen Zechuan’s nightmare. Now Xiao Chiye is the one trapped in the Chashi Sinkhole, the place Shen Zechuan lost his older brother, his freedom, his name, and where Biansha then slaughtered so many in Zhongbo. 
...the moment he entered the vicinity of Chashi Sinkhole, that nightmare came surging to the surface like a tidal wave, and the familiar stench of blood choked his nose and throat. Shen Zechuan gasped for air, unable to see Xiao Chiye in the bloodshed.
Shen Zechuan shouted in a grim voice. “Xiao Ce’an—!”
Fei Sheng... jumped up and down, waving his blade as he shouted. “The sinkhole, in the sinkhole, Second Master is in the sinkhole!”
In that instant, Shen Zechuan’s face turned a shade of ghastly white. With icy-cold limbs, he rolled off the horse; even his hands that were holding onto Yang Shan Xue were trembling. Blood seeped through his white robe, wetting it as he stepped over the corpses. All he could see was the sinkhole that appeared in his nightmares millions of times...
Nightmare and reality overlapped. Shen Zechuan had seen his own body strewn among the corpses here before, but he had never imagined that Xiao Chiye would be among those lying here.  
But, some things are different. This time, Biansha is the one who ended up there by mistake, which shows Xiao Chiye and Shen Zechuan have grown from their traumas and defeats and can reverse their worst nightmares into nightmares  for their enemies--which is exactly what they need to do: face the worst parts of themselves and overcome them, together. Xiao Chiye gets to be the one enacting a trap. Shen Zechuan can pull him out of it, even if Xiao Chiye ends up trapped by his own traps. 
And the worst part of Shen Zechuan’s nightmares he gets to reenact:
Over the course of seven years in which he was plagued by nightmares, Ji Mu turned into a grotesque skeleton. Shen Zechuan forgot what his elder brother looked like; he could not even remember their last conversation.
Why didn’t he pull Ji Mu up?
Shen Zechuan crawled his way out, then fell back in again. In the first few years, he would still lie within and cry inconsolably. And so, “Shen Zechuan” was left behind here.
This time, he is able to pull Xiao Chiye up and out of the sinkhole, and to see his face: 
He dug up the body before Lang Tao Xue Jin among the bloodied mountain of corpses, raking so hard with his hands that they both turned slick with blood. The ‘corpse’ suddenly raised a hand, and grabbed hold of Shen Zechuan’s wrist with speed and accuracy.
“Lanzhou,” Xiao Chiye felt suffocated under the helmet. “Lan…”
Shen Zechuan had already pushed off Xiao Chiye’s helmet. In that whirling snow, he got a clear look at Xiao Chiye’s face, and with no regard for the bloodstains, he hugged Xiao Chiye’s head tightly in his embrace.  
Here, Xiao Chiye is not only a symbolic reflection of Ji Mu, but also of Shen Zechuan himself. He’s pulling Xiao Chiye out of the nightmare, just as Xiao Chiye is pulling him away from his worst self. Xiao Chiye is experiencing what Shen Zechuan experienced before he gave Shen Zechuan that kick years ago. The bloodstains are also symbolic: it doesn’t matter if Xiao Chiye stains him, if Shen Zechuan stains Xiao Chiye. They’ll bear it, together. 
Who Xiao Chiye and Shen Zechuan have to defeat are not Hasen and the Biansha Calvary, nor are they the Empress Dowager, Xue Xuizhou, and/or the rotten Dazhou Empire. They have to defeat themselves, first, and learn to turn these losses into victory. 
Future Chapter ? Hasen
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Just a theory: there’s one nightmare that Xiao Chiye is noted to have that Shen Zechuan is depicting comforting him from within the story that hasn’t been reenacted yet: 
He heard Hasen, Hasen—this name being shouted everywhere.
This word was a shadow haunting him relentlessly.
At night, Shen Zechuan could not sleep well. He had to wake up every now and then to make sure Xiao Chiye was still there, but when he awoke this night, Xiao Chiye was not inside....
Shen Zechuan watched Xiao Chiye’s tears slide down slowly. He understood everything; to this day, Xiao Chiye was still lost in his memory of that blizzard. The wolf pup that had run alone for dozens of li had not returned at all.    
Shen Zechuan embraced Xiao Chiye hard and stood on tiptoe to cover the back of Xiao Chiye’s head, as if he was a barrier, taking the physically and emotionally battered Xiao Chiye completely into the protective shelter of his arms.
Xiao Chiye rescued his father’s head from Hasen, but it was just a head. It wasn’t really his father. Considering the ongoing motif of nightmares and reenactments, one metaphorical and one literal for Shen Zechuan and one metaphorical for Xiao Chiye, and here we have one literal one for Xiao Chiye that hasn’t been addressed yet... I’d bet anything Hasen is going to get his hands on Shen Zechuan at some point, but this time Xiao Chiye will save Shen Zechuan’s life. 
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langliblade · 1 year
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first post for first cezhou moment that shifted the universe and changed my life forever
“Have you mistaken me for someone else?” Shen Zechuan tilted his eyes towards Xiao Chiye. “Just looking at you in a different light.” Xiao Chiye retracted his gaze.
i always talk about this on twitter but i have realized tumblr is a great place to dump 1k word thoughts i’m doing this from now on it’s like my diary theres even options to bold your text or italicize it this is it for me!!
anyway...i’m really obsessed with this cezhou moment because i firmly believe it’s the beginning of xiao chiye’s sudden intense obsession whether he knows it or not. this is not just about shen zechuan’s nape, although that’s also a very big part. this is the moment he realized they were in a similar situation. of course he didn’t realize it fully just yet it was just a moment of “woah ...” I mean he even confirmed like a chapter later i think that he really meant that he saw him in  different light.
yeah yeah this might all be intentional writing but i just love talking about qjj so i’ll talk about this like it’s something i have to prove when it’s literally a FACT!! 
first of all, just a few moments before the banquet, xiao chiye was talking to chen yang about repairs for the mt. feng training grounds thing he just got. chen yang mentioned how it’s a shame for them to spend money to bribe ministry of works. xiao chiye said “Even if they squat on our heads to pee on us, we still have to fix up this place.”
he’s willing to let go of his pride and money and reputation just for this, because he’s thinking of the bigger picture (which is having a place for the imperial army thats out of the eight great training division’s eyes)
back to the banquet. immediately, the men went straight to objectifying shen zechuan because really who is he? He’s a traitor who has no connections that intrigues everyone because he is good-looking. they keep talking about how “if he was female..” and shen zechuan did not react. but xiao chiye saw him and saw that he was smiling. i’m sure no one else but xiao chiye would recognize the face of someone who has to take it all in silence because it’s not a battle worth fighting in that moment. basically xiao chiye had a “he just like me fr” moment.
the rest of the banquet is just more firm evidence because the donkey was meant for shen zechuan, but xiao chiye saw the hidden meaning behind it and felt that it was too relatable lol that’s why he got mad. personally i think shen zechuan did not get that part about xiao chiye because he still thinks he’s this haughty young master (hence, the qi hulian lecture about xiao chiye’s actual capabilities). 
i love this quote and moment so much because it’s such a solid FOUNDATION of how cezhou got to understand each other. their hatred comes from being too similar, their understanding comes from shared experiences. they have always alwaaays been a pair for each other and this scene just makes me crazy because of that.
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qjj livetweets pt.2 but only on tumblr
|| for the record this contains like. so many spoilers. ||
good cop bad cop cezhou,,,,,, big brain 
the way that i’m putting off work to keep reading CANT be good for my future but,,,,, scary men doing scary things,,,,,
ugh im going to have to draw them scaring the shit out of this man aren’t i
actually, props to the like. three people in this book who actually do their jobs non-evilly. kudos to yall you’re the backbone of da zhou. maybe four? i could add more but they’re all like accessory to major crimes so idk. let’s go with three
just realized the empress dowager is kind of a small fry at the moment. girl what are you up to
THEY KILLED OFF FOURTY THOUSAND SOLDIERS FOR SOME FUCKING GRAIN?????????
oop i bet that’s shen zechuan’s secret mastermind at work
xiao chiye: uh no actually my dad just isn’t a SLUT like the rest of you
oh shit the kids died this is happening fast
AND NOW LI JIANHENG?????
solid speech. five stars for emotional damage. 
FUCK IT UP XIAO CHIYE
bro why the FUCK are you making this long-distance (yes i get why. no i do not care)
QI HUILIAN????
you know what sir. yes. be proud of yourself.
hommygod he said he’d bear the burden - my emotions im in mental turmoil
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO I KNEW IT WAS COMING BUT NOOOO
beat ass and kill people, my darling lanzhou. you deserve it after this
MURDER BOYFRIENDS
‘Lu Guangbai washed both of his hands clean in the rain and held up his long spear once again.’ the symbolism here is so damn obvious and yet i love it so damn much
yeah im sure it took so much convincing for her.
oh poor hai liangyi. you were one of the three with a moral code.
wait does li jianheng count for the moral code??? he wasn’t really all that upright, just kind of a dumbass. i still love him tho
oh poor baby
omg not the “it hurts” no i’m flashing back to tgcf and it’s making it even more painful
OH DARLING
i love qi zhuyin but this is NOT the time for me to be bisexual
but,,,,,, to say qudu is just. not a priority at the moment is too funny. girl what do you mean
qi zhuyin: if my dad says anything.... just tell him to shut the fuck up
ding tao i would marry you with a warped frito as my ring
oh so he’s stupid stupid
hot
PLEASE sir you can’t just tell him he’s broke like that
oh and it turned into foreplay
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andoqin · 3 years
Text
Novel Rec
Qiang Jin Jiu / 将进酒 by TangJiuqing
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QiangJinJiu (QJJ) is about two men who at the outset couldn’t be more different, or really from more different circumstances, who are thrust together by the vagaries of politics and fate and find that they have many similarities that bind them together. 
Shen Zechuan is the only surviving son of a concubine of a traitor Prince (not royalty prince) who barely survived to adulthood (no thanks in part to our second main character) and is now on the path to bloody revenge on essentially the whole of this empire’s aristocracy. 
Xiao Chiye is the youngest son of another country prince, surpremely blessed in physical abilites and the arts of war. His family is responsible for a large part of the nation’s defense and so he is sent to the capital as a sort of hostage for the emperor not to suspect his family of traitorous thoughts as well. This is the worst kind of environment for him, because he grew up on the wide plains and hates the confines of the city, 
SZC and XCY’s first meeting does not go well (SZC is imprisoned and already close to death and XCY gives him a kick that is pretty much meant to send him to the underworld) but they both grow up imprisoned by the politics of the capital. SZC hides away for years, before he comes out into public to execute his revenge and at first XCY’s dislike of him holds true, but soon enough the fascination between the two of them leads them to have what is pretty much a one night stand. 
From there their relationship develops further and further while the outside world believes them to be on opposing sides. And while the two of them definitely have their own goals, they are an amazing force when combined. 
My personal feelings/review: 
I really, really like the way this relationship is developed, initially there is so much animosity, but you can tell there’s something else there too and they have sex fairly early on. Afterwards it doesn’t immediately develop into love, but neither can deny that the attraction they feel is real. SZC even goes to a brothel to see if he feels anything when looking at the kind of men/boys to be found there, but they leave him entirely cold and it is only when he is with XCY that he feels that heat.
One thing that I really appreciated was that SZC looks (and mostly acts) like a pretty boy, but he can chop people’s heads off like nobody’s business if he so desires and that’s something that XCY really appreciates about him too. He is ruthless when it comes to reaching his goals, as he needs to be, but if 
Furthermore the politics in this novel are insane in the best way, there are so many names you have to remember and so many named characters play an important part down the line. 
Another thing I appreciated, which is similar to LSWW, everyone (in their camps) knows XCY and SZC are together and it’s not really commented on beyond the fact that the guards often have to listen to them fucking haha. In the most recent (translated) chapters they have been talking about getting married as well! I don’t think that’s technically a thing in this universe but who’s gonna stop the two of them. They are *such* a great unit together, but they also understand that they have to fulfill their own goals. 
The translation is going very fast, currently there’s 110/282 Chapters translated with a new one coming out around every 3 days. 
I have no idea if it has a happy ending (if you have spoilers, pls hit me), I could see this ending up either way, but honestly what a ride no matter what.
TL;DR: should you read QJJ?
If you like really intricate plots, tropes like enemies to (devoted) lovers, murder couple, and possibly bringing down all of the aristocracy as a main goal? Yeah, do check it out!
Edit: maybe I should include links too...
English translation here: https://jade-rabbit.net/category/bl/qiangjinjiu/
Original JJWXC link: http://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=3373718
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dangermousie · 3 years
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So there's a rumour that Xu Kai would be one of the leads for QJJ adaptation. If it's true, who do you think would be best suited as his pair?
If someone told me this (a) before I started reading QJJ and (b) before the recent spate of Xu Kai dramas, I'd have been mega excited.
Now. Hmmm.
While I will always have a massive soft spot for him thanks to The Legends and Arsenal Military Academy, his last five (!!!) dramas have been not my thing, to put it mildly, so I am beginning to instinctively freak out when I see him cast as the lead because this is approaching Zheng Ye Cheng "I adore you but whoever picks your scripts should be fired" territory.
But let's hope, if this is true, it breaks the curse.
More important issue: cast as who? Shen Zechuan or Xiao Chiye? Please say the latter!
Because I am a huge Xu Kai fangirl but he is so utterly wrong for Shen Zechuan, my brain breaks a little. I remember a rumor back way when about him being cast as Xie Lian in TCGF and honestly, I could even see that way more, then this.
Shen Zechuan is drop-dead, icy, elegant gorgeousness and intense stillness. Think young Chen Kun. Or young Zhu Yilong. Or if you are thinking of current actors, someone who has the same vibe as Li Dai Kun, Cheng Yi or Bai Jing Ting. I adore Xu Kai, but his looks, demeanor and entire vibe so do not fit the character.
Unless they want to cast him as Xiao Chiye? Say yes, because I can actually see this way more. He's physically all wrong - XCY is not a side of a barn but an entire farm in terms of height and shoulders and build. But it's cdramas so they are never gonna cast someone as bulky. Xu Kai is 6'2" so he's got the height, at least. Xu Kai can do the arrogance and the smirk and the feral killer aura - hopefully he can do the brains too.
If he gets cast as XCY, I'd say Li Dai Kun as Shen Zechuan. Chen Kun and Zhu Yilong are way too old, and if we are casting Xu Kai,so is Cheng Yi. Plus, I think LDK is a great pick, and the height difference is definitely there and much bigger than if we cast 6' Bai Jing Ting - LDK is 5'9" so that's a whole 5" height diff. I approve.
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And
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You know, I would genuinely be happy with this.
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