Had to hunt down this post by @difeisheng to be sure but. Dfs and fdb are twelve years apart in age. You know what else happens every twelve years? The same animal year in the chinese calendar.

Anyway what I'm saying is that, FEASIBLY, we may not be that far off the mark when we all joke about difang being guard dogs.

MLC's prop department has been having fun

Tinfoil hat time. I've been tracking the movement of Li Lianhua's pillows at the Lotus Tower (yes I know, crazy)

Anyway, here are my findings that I think will be interesting to know:

(Episode 1) We are given 1 shot of a pillow. It's rust colored with a white center - he uses it in his own bed.

(Episode 8) We now see 2 pillows. One white one on the bed (llh's) and a grey-bluish colored one on the side dresser. Being that Fang Duobing has been staying there, I have assigned this color to him.

(Episode 13) We still see the grey-blue pillow that I assume is FDB's. He was using the white one here because LLH's put him in his own bed after he was injected with gangchi

(Episode 19) This looks similar to the grey-blue pillow, but I've dubbed it blue-grey because it's more blue and it's darker. Which means this is not FDB's bedding, but who is it for?

(Episode 20, images A and B) Ah here we go. It's Di Feisheng's. In the second image, you can see that he is a messy blanket folder.

(Episode 27) Post A-Fei getting taken away, and post-fdb breakup, LLH passes out and wakes up several days later. Su Xiaoyong has found him and has apparently been nursing him. I assume she helped herself to his prettiest pillowcase while she made herself at home. At first I thoguht she gave him his own white pillowcase, but on closer inspection, it looks grey. So I can't tell if it's a lighting/color-filter situation or if Su Xiaoyong actually grabbed fdb's pillow when dragging LLH to bed.

(Episode 28) The upstairs room - This is while they're traveling to the city and Su Xiaoyong is still with him. As she's a young unmarried woman, I assume for propriety's sake, he moved himself temporarily to the upstairs bedroom while he's still feeling ok, so you see his white pillow, fdb's grey-blue, and dfs' blue-grey. Yes, they look like the same shade under different lighting - but they're actually under the same strength shadow. So one is a full shade darker than the other.

(thanks @difeisheng I completely missed this one)

(Episode 40) No spare bedding on the side counter. FDB was sleeping in the chair against the table. LLH has been alone.

Conclusion:

LLH color codes his pillows for people who stay over

So in the previous episode 19 DFS had told LLH that he would come find him later. Apparently, that was enough for LLH to get out some extra bedding. Just in case. And then DFS shows up with amnesia immediately in the next episode.

Clearing out his loose bits and bobs wasn't just about people or situations, but included packing away all the extra bedding

FDB and DFS (With and without amnesia) totally shared the upstairs bed without murdering each other at night. Somehow. despite the bed being tight enough they would probably end up cuddling at some point. And then never spoke about it during the day. LMAO.

everybody is sooo obsessed with him (myself included help me)

he is cute when he's angry.

checking for interest in this as a resource, but if i were to make a blog dedicated to saving and organizing the wealth of meta and analysis posts that this wonderful fandom has created since mlc began airing, would people here find that useful?

WIP Wednesday (MLC amnesia fic edition)

Happy Wednesday! I'm taking one more week off sharing excerpts of my long fic to share bits from the amnesia/discovering mind control bug fic! (It's finally all drafted and will hopefully be posted on AO3 soon!) Enjoy! (You can find the previous excerpt here.)

“A-Fei,” Li Lianhua murmured, his voice shaky as though it had been drawn from a-Fei’s own lungs. His pupils dilated as his gaze slid to his waistband, then trailed a burning path from a-Fei’s navel to his throat, before fixing on his lips. “This isn’t–” He swallowed, his finger twitching against the band of a-Fei’s pants. “You don’t remember all the reasons we shouldn’t.”

That was all the answer he needed. “I don’t care,” a-Fei said, lurching forward to cup Li Lianhua’s face with his hand. “Neither should you.”

For an instant, Li Lianhua leaned into the touch, his eyes falling closed, and his head tipping back with a shuddering exhale.

Then he pulled away, lowering a-Fei’s hand with him. “I can’t. I can’t, a-Fei.”

This didn’t make any sense. He obviously wanted to. What was stopping him?

Oh. Of course. “Is there someone else? Fang Duobing?”

Li Lianhua’s eyes bulged. “What?”

It didn’t take long to come to a decision. “I don’t mind sharing,” he said with a nod.

Li Lianhua flushed. “Why would you–it’s not–he’s my–” he spluttered helplessly, before abandoning any attempt at an excuse and hitting him on the arm instead. “Don’t be ridiculous. And anyway, I’ve seen your so-called sharing at dinner. No thanks.”

A-Fei crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re not a chicken leg. And that wasn’t sharing. I know the difference.” He couldn’t exactly remember sharing things in the past, but he couldn’t remember most things at the moment, so that didn’t have to mean anything. And regardless, it was just another skill to master. He could do it.

Li Lianhua was worth it.

Watching Mysterious Lotus Casebook common thoughts:

“Gay!”

“Ugh another mystery? Should I fast forward?”

“Omg that mystery was awesome I’m glad I didn’t fast forward!”

“Someone on tumblr… please gif every facial expression Cheng Yi is rolling out for this show…”

“Someone on tumblr made a gif set of my scene!”

“Gay!”

“Where is the dog?”

“I want a dumbass best friend to travel the world with who I can tease and play with…”

“Dude stop giving your qi or chi or whatever away! You’re gonna die!”

“Omg his eyelashes! Hmmm villain hottie.”

“This crazy bitch rules. Her agenda is dick and mayhem. She’s getting one at least.”

“Everyone has big houses in this show. And lotus ponds. And teenie tiny tea cups.”

“Poly gay!”

“Dude stop using your martial arts you’re gonna die!”

“The women in this show are great. But my Cheng Yi is my prettiest princess…”

“Villain guy (I mean is he even?) is soooooo… I mean… his hair! His grumpy face. Look at how he just stands there all menacing and hot…”

“The dog!”

“How does he keep his white robes clean? What was the laundry process back then anyway?”

“Gay!!!!”

“This show is made for tumblr peeps. Like… how can there be so much? Soooo much?!”

“Cheng Yi! Don’t cry… nooooo (let me drink your tears you beautiful creature it’s preposterous how pretty you are when you cry)”

“I think we are nearing the point where not telling your adorable dumbass your identity is borderline cruel… come on…”

“GAY.”

zeng shunxi and dahuang (hulijing’s actor in mysterious lotus casebook) are collaborating for a third time. here are some replies to fans from dahuang’s manager:

q: to dahuang’s talent agent, watch over him! zeng shunxi might not be able to hold back and may end up taking dahuang home 😂 xiaoxi must be super happy

a: gosh, how did you guess! 🐶 just returned from spending two days at his house

q: what was xiaobao’s reaction seeing hulijing? 😉😉

a: of course he’s happy 😁 the two of them hugged each other

q: 😆 working with xiaobao again!

a: that’s right. from the day li lianhua entrusted 🐶 to fang xiaobao, they walk together

"It's better to sleep at home, don't you think Xiaobao?" part 2

There's something about how Di Feisheng survives, spends a decade with the knowledge of Li Xiangyi's death, struggles to see the shape of a future without him, while Li Xiangyi does exactly the same for Shan Gudao. How Di Feisheng without Li Xiangyi would most likely have gone back to a joyless life of relentlessly pursuing power to survive, and how Li Xiangyi without Shan Gudao builds himself a new, peaceful existence that nevertheless leaves him as alone as before, that has only death after the relentless pursuit of correcting his incorrigible wrongs as best as he can. How Di Feisheng finds Li Xiangyi, alive but intent on dying, barely recognisable. How Li Xiangyi finds Shan Gudao alive, twisted beyond recognition, and is forced to face that he never really knew the man. How Di Feisheng slowly and surely comes to care for Li Lianhua, Li Xiangyi, whoever he is, while Li Xiangyi can only allow himself to feel grief and rage at Shan Gudao. In the end, Li Xiangyi must kill the one whose death he has spent a decade mourning, and Di Feisheng is left waiting for a match that will never come. When you build a life around one person, what else is left once they are gone? Do you leave the rest behind, or do you keep looking?

Subtle is the knife of what you gave, and lofty are the heights of what we've braved - PHILDEL, "Gracestone"

Zeng ShunXi posts new snaps as he visits a shelter 4/25

Bonus: not entirely serious thumbs up: young and old fox

The many moods of Li Lianhua Pt. 20, episode 30 (there will be several posts about this one)

masterpost

WIP Wednesday MLC edition

I've never remembered to do this in time before! I'm working on a fic where Di Feisheng decides to kidnap Li Lianhua to save his life in episode 13, instead of threaten Fang Duobing. Li Lianhua's cooperation remains about as you'd expect for a good while, but now they're finally communicating:

Li Xiangyi broke the silence first. "I thought you needed the Yang leaf for yourself, to break through the eighth level of bitterwind poplar," Li Xiangyi said steadily. "It was only a guess that it might work," Di Feisheng said dismissively. "I'll try it if anyone ever finds a second flower." Li Xiangyi stared at him, his pupils very large. He breathed shallowly, and seemed to find no words. "You said you don't need me to live a long life," Li Xiangyi eventually managed, sounding distinctly hurt. Di Feisheng didn't know what to say. Without Li Xiangyi, Di Feisheng being alive didn't mean anything. Maybe the truth was that neither of them were destined to live long lives. Either way, he wasn't going to explain himself to Li Xiangyi. Li Xiangyi peered back down at the paper, running a finger over some of the characters. "It's not certain to work," he said eventually. "The Yin leaf will work on anyone, sure. But the Yang leaf might not cure me. I've had Bicha poison for so many years and my inner power is too spent." Di Feisheng frowned. The flaws in this logic were painfully obvious. "And what if you spent this time building up your inner power instead of resisting it? We should be dual cultivating together, and when you get the wangchuan flower, I will feed you as much of my power as you can take. Bitterwind poplar seeks survival in dangerous situations. I think with it, your odds would not be so low." Li Xiangyi bent his head so that Di Feisheng could not see his face. He didn't say anything. His chest rose and fell very rapidly. But when he looked up again, he seemed calm and unaffected. "I see," he said. "It wasn't that I don't know you. It's just that we've been misunderstanding each other these days." Di Feisheng sighed, and bent down to take his boots off. He sat down on the bed next to Li Xiangyi. "We can talk about dual cultivating tomorrow," Di Feisheng said wearily. "It's late. Can we put the candles out and sleep?" "You want to sleep here?" Li Xiangyi said, giving him an inscrutable look. "Is your fortress missing a bed suitable for the alliance leader?" Jiao Liqiao had cornered Di Feisheng in what was theoretically his bedroom yesterday, wanting to help him change and bathe. He could not bear to sleep there tonight. He didn't say anything, but waved a hand, putting out the candles, and then lowered himself down onto the bed. Li Xiangyi made a sound that might have been laughter. "At least this bed is larger than the one we shared in Lotus Tower," he said, settling down beside Di Feisheng. It was much larger, although Di Feisheng was not sure that was a good thing. It had been nice, to be that close to Li Xiangyi, brushing against each other's limbs, waking up almost entwined. He fell asleep dreaming of Li Xiangyi's skin.

[ID: gifs from the 28th episode of the series "Mysterious Lotus Casebook." He Xiao Hui is saying, "I admire willful and free-spirited wanderers like Mr. Li. He doesn't participate in any sect conflicts, unlike Fang Xiaobao's past subject of admiration, Li Xiangyi." Li Lianhua looks uncomfortable. Fang Duobing looks outraged and uncomfortable. She continues, "I think the so-called hero is a man who hunts for fame. I don't know what's so good about him." Li Lianhua nods understandingly. Fang Duobing looks upset and says, "Mom." /end ID]

li xiangyi/li lianhua and jiao liqiao both spent ten years obsessively doing everything for the sake of someone they loved. someone they missed, someone who saved their life a long time ago and they never forgot it. but that all turned to dust when they learned that whatever they'd thought the other person had felt for them was actually a lie, and they had no route left but to face that reality in whatever way they could grasp