Category: Reviews & Thoughts

Golden Terrace

“You are the mighty Beiyan Commander. Why stay here and put up with this persecution? Why don’t you rebel?!”

Fu Shen blinked the water droplets off his eyelashes. Suddenly, he laughed.

All his resentment and helplessness, his dejection, his fellow-feeling, his apathetic insight and bone-deep suffering, were collected in that laugh.

Yan Xiaohan gave a start. It was as if he had been scorched by that laugh. He abruptly let go.

During the escort of a diplomatic envoy, General Fu Shen is injured. Unable to walk on his broken legs, he returns to the capital only to be conferred a marriage with Imperial Investigator Yan Xiaohan, the court lackey who has no bottom line and Fu Shen’s nemesis.

Continue reading “Golden Terrace” →

The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System vol 4

This is part of my growing number of Mo Xiang Tong Xiu posts. If you want to find more, check out the author tag here.

Also, this is the last post of the year 2022, so as I have the opportunity, let me wish all my readers a wonderful 2023, and I hope you got through 2022 relatively fine! I’m very happy to have managed to finish this series before the end of the year, so I don’t have to begin the new year with it. Lol.

Thank you for staying with me through this year or thank you for finding me. Either way, I’m happy to know I have had people read my blog for yet another year. See you in 2023!

“Shizun, what were you dreaming of just now?” he asked persistently. “Are you injured?”

“I…” Shen Qingqiu had stayed within that dream for too long, and his soul had yet to make it all the way back. As he looked at Luo Binghe’s face, it seemed both real and yet not, and his vision wavered, at times blurred and at times clear. He didn’t know what to say.

Luo Binghe became even more frantic, and he raised his voice. “ Shizun! Say something!”

Suddenly, inspiration struck Shen Qingqiu. He blinked, then pulled Luo Binghe’s face down and kissed him.

This is a collection of short stories set both before and after the main story. In original stories and bonuses from the web serialisation, we get to meet the original flavour, Bing-ge and Zhuzhi-lang during his time with Tianlang-jun, among others. Continue reading “The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System vol 4” →

The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System vol 3

This is part of my growing number of Mo Xiang Tong Xiu posts. If you want to find more, check out the author tag here.

A few days earlier, Shen Qingqiu couldn’t have gotten away from Luo Binghe fast enough, retreating three steps for every one he took. Now he didn’t want to do that sort of thing anymore. Retreating would make him look too much like a respectable woman kidnapped by a ruffian—too much like affected bashfulness.

After following Luo Binghe to the Demon Realm, Shen Qingqiu asked Luo Binghe to leave him alone. To his surprise, Luo Binghe does this. At least for a few days. But when things seems about to take a turn for the worse, Shen Qingqiu’s misfortune really manages to save him from the situation… only to be thrown in a situation that might perhaps be worse?!

Continue reading “The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System vol 3” →

Batch #18: Mystery BL

It’s been a while since I posted a batch. Or anything at all. It’s not been a lot of posts this year, but here is another one nonetheless and it’s not SVSSS, although I will post reviews of volumes 3 and 4 sooner rather than later.

Believe it or not, mystery and crime are honestly my fav genres, aside from historical fiction, so it’s probably odd I don’t write about more mystery titles. But I’m here to share my thoughts on a few of different flavours today!

These are all available on BiliBili because it’s currently my go-to for webcomics. I guess I’m mostly into manhua right now in terms of comics. Lol.

Psychomania
When Ming Shu is out shipping clothes there’s suddenly a hostage situation at the library. He hurries over to find a woman willing to exchange for the hostage and it’s his chance to apprehend the criminal. The case is straightforward and not for his unit to handle. They, instead, handle a different murder after Ming Shu and his roommate and childhood friend Xiao Yu’an stumble upon a corpse.

This is based on a novel, and I think it maybe covers just one arc? I haven’t actually read the novel so it’s hard to say. Either way, it seems to be finished because the end was strangely rushed and it didn’t feel like it was the end of the story, just an arc. What I do know is that it’s based on the sequel to another novel, and we get to see flashbacks to what happened in that one, I believe.

It wasn’t the greatest, but I found the mystery very interesting nonetheless and the art was generally good. And who can really say no to gay policemen?

Continue reading “Batch #18: Mystery BL” →

The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System vol 2

This is part of my growing number of Mo Xiang Tong Xiu posts. If you want to find more, check out the author tag here.

Releasing three beautiful flowers had been a purely unthinking mistake. Shen Qingqiu had certainly never planned to fill in the gap left behind himself. He had that old feeling of having accidentally picked up the wrong script—it made him vaguely suspicious that that scam of a System was still around.

Three years passed with Shen Qingqiu living a perfectly peaceful life — when he wasn’t out travelling, he might have given his disciples some guidance, and now and then he needed his medicine as well. One day, though, he got a sudden quest and to his horror, it turned out this quest not only was demons feeding themselves, Luo Binghe has already returned from the Endless Abyss. Now he had to get away and quick! But things are never easy for Shen Qingqiu and even after changing his hardware, he didn’t get rid of that virus of a system haunting him.

Continue reading “The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System vol 2” →

The Missing Piece

Just want to say that this blog is surviving another year, as I just paid the annual costs a little while ago. My wallet hurts and the fact I also ordered more BL made it hurt even further. But worth it!

…I think?

I will also, probably, post reviews on any day of the week at any time starting today. My life has changed a lot over these past years, and I need to adjust my posting to that… even though it’s been difficult to admit, at the end of the day.

A faint smile appeared at the corners of Ji Mingxuan’s mouth. His voice was beyond gentle: “Shen Mo, did you call the wrong name?”

Shen Mo finally remembered what he was supposed to do. He approached Ji Mingxuan and held his hand. “Mingxuan.”

“Yes.” Ji Mingxuan leaned affectionately toward him, whispering, “Don’t forget our relations.”

“Lovers,” Shen Mo smoothly answered.

Fake lovers, he added in silence.

For the past three years Shen Mo has been in a fake relationship with Ji Mingxuan, to please Ji Mingxuan’s sister Ji An’an. But when she returns after three years abroad, so does her boyfriend — that is, Shen Mo’s ex-boyfriend — Zhou Yang. Shen Mo is reminded of his past, while confused by his contract lover Ji Mingxuan, and bothered by the ex he has since long let go of.

Continue reading “The Missing Piece” →

Batch #17: BL Webcomics

I know I’ve said the nest post was supposed to be The Living Waters, but I’ve been unwell and tired these past months, and haven’t had the energy to finish the review. It’s felt like a heavy weight on my shoulders, even, which doesn’t help when I need a nap every few hours to get by. So I wanted to do something easy, hence a batch post! The theme is BL webcomics that are adaptations of Chinese novels I’ve read. Or, you know, BL webcomics. AGAIN.

On a different note, I had a poll on Twitter about tags a while ago. I asked if I should add genre and/or age tags. Genre tags seemed to be a given, but age tags I was a bit hmm on. Since I’ve already had so many posts and I work on this site entirely on my own, I can’t do any major addition or changes like this in the tagging system after this, so I’ve decided to only add genre tags. Demographics and the like won’t be a tag. I apologise to anyone who anted them, but as usual, I’ll be writing its content is unsuitable for a younger audience.

Fake Slackers
The two school tyrants of the east and west building — whose exams score place first and second from the bottom, coincidentally meet for the first time in a street fight during summer break. When the second year begins, the students of class 2-3 are terrified out of their minds, because the violent tyrants are in the same class. Not only that… their seats end up being next to each other! They are surely going to fight! But appearances are not always as they seem…

I love the novel this has been adapted from. I’ve read Fake Slackers 3 or 4 times in a year, I think. So, you know, I really love this one. It’s currently on hiatus, which isn’t a problem for me because I’ve already read the story so much I know it pretty much by heart. But I could see how it would be frustrating to others, especially since it’s pretty much at the very beginning of the story. I think the art is really good and the way how the people in the app get chibi characters is so nice. The translation seems slightly iffy, though, with some variations in screen names and so on.

You can read Fake Slackers on BiliBili, and I’ll try to get a review of the novel up sooner or later.

Continue reading “Batch #17: BL Webcomics” →

The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System Vol 1

This is part of my growing number of Mo Xiang Tong Xiu posts. If you want to find more, check out the author tag here.

Also, I’m sorry for the lack of update, my health hasn’t been very good at all and I’ve been busy with working on stuff. But I’m happy to announce that, believe it or not, I tied third for an award as a queer author of youth (YA/NA) fiction.

“Dumbfuck author, dumbfuck novel!”

After cursing out the novel Proud Immortal Demon Way and its author with his last breath, Shen Yuan woke up in an unfamiliar place. Having promised himself not to ask anything stupid if he ever transmigrated, he’s quick to adapt… and realises to his horror he’s the villain with the most miserable end in the very novel he cursed out, and with an annoying system telling him to improve the novel to boot. Can he improve the story, fill plot holes and not kill himself in the process?

Continue reading “The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System Vol 1” →

Madou Soshi Season 1 Episode 6

Note: This is part of my growing number of posts of works and adaptations of works by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu. Because of the release of the novels Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System, Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation and Heaven Official’s Blessing, all reviews related to Mo Xiang Tong Xiu can be found under the author’s tag. Madou Soshi is the Japanese title, and this is about the Japanese audio drama with Japanese names.

SPOILER WARNING! If you have yet to read Mo Dao Zu Shi (novel or manhua), watch the animated adaptation or read my previous posts, this post may contain spoilers of past episodes. I suggest checking out the Madou Soshi tag for summaries of past episodes.

To think you wouldn’t tell me about such a good place to heal the wounds. Geez! AH! So cold!

I came here to cultivate, not to heal my—. Don’t play in the water!

But it’s cold! Brrrr! Way too cold!

Don’t swim!

I just want to get to where you are; it seems warmer over there.

Ran Gishin (CV: Toshiyuki Morikawa) brought Gi Musen (CV: Tatsuhisa Suzuki) and Kou Chou (CV: Hikaru Midorikawa) with them to exterminate water ghouls, though Ran Bouki (CV: Satoshi Hino) questions it. Are these people really capable of handling such a dangerous task?

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Drunks

This consists of two short stories. The titular story, Drunks, is about a man who is dragged out to drink. When he’s on his way home, he meets a woman who bites him. He wakes up the next, thinking it was a dream, but turns out he really came across a vampire.

The second is titled Tick Tock, and relationship between a woman who had been asleep in cryostasis for over a century and the descendent of her brother.

Continue reading “Drunks” →