Liver's Blog

Speak for Those Who Cannot

by liverbiver9 (@liverbiver9)

T, WIP, 13k, Wangxian

Summary: Wèi Wúxiàn never arrived at Jīnlín Tái, leaving Jīn Zixūn and his army waiting at Qióngqí path until Jīn Zixuān showed up and dragged them all back. Some days after the explosion, word finally reached the Great Clans of the mysterious explosion. Jīn Guāngshàn immediately sent cultivators to investigate. Upon arriving in Yílíng, the Jīn cultivators found an impenetrable ward around Luànzàng Hill, making it impossible for anyone to step past the foot of the mountain. Posted on a tree just in front of the shimmering ward was an edict that forever changed the jiāng​hú. OR A very self-indulgent Yílíng Wèi Sect/Canon Divergence AU spanning two timelines over the course of 14 years. Updates every other Friday. Kay's comments: As you can tell, I'm currently feasting on the feast that is @liverbiver9's fics and his WIP currently has me in a chokehold; I am so invested! It's a Yiling Wei story where Wei Wuxian struggles with chronic pain following everything that has happened to him, leading to them sealing themselves away before Jin Ling's 100-day-celebration and I really love how this story diverges, how the world changes as they think Wei Wuxian is dead and I'm loving all the Wen remnants getting names and personalities as well and I can't wait to see how Lan Zhan is doing! Except: “We’ll spend the rest of the year preparing as much as possible. Come the new year, our sect will announce that our founding patriarch and first zhǎngmén, Wèi Wúxiàn, died in his sleep from injuries sustained while destroying the Yīn Hǔ Fú. The sect will enter a period of seclusion to mourn their founder, and the wards will be enacted. While we are protected from the rest of the world, you will finally rest properly. Once I deem you stable enough, then you can work on fixing the wards to allow us to cross through.” Wèi Wúxiàn stared at Wēn Qíng with wide, shocked eyes. Before he could formulate a single word, Wēn Qíng continued, still mashing herbs in her mortar. “We will tell the citizens of Yílíng our plans and barter with them—seeds, grain, cloth, a few animals, and their discretion in return for closing off the mountain and containing all the yuàn qì inside our borders.” Finally, Wēn Qíng turned around and forced the medicine she had just finished down Wèi Wúxiàn’s throat. Once he was done grimacing, she stepped back and waited.

pov alternating, canon divergence - ambush at qiongqi path, no ambush at qiongqi path, wei wuxian creates a sect | yiling wei sect, sect leader wen qing, disabled character, chronic pain, mutual pining, angst, trans wei wuxian, genderqueer wei wuxian, angst with a happy ending, found family, demonic cultivation, cultivation sect politics, chronic illness, lan sizhui is a wen, character study, burial mounds settlement days, wen remnants live, wei wuxian lives

~*~

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Original rec by Kay. Story finished posting on May 15, 2026.

T, 70k, Wangxian

Kay's comments: Feeling bittersweet that this story finished posting beccause I loved getting the regular updates, but I'm also so happy to see how lovely it ended. The Wangxian here happened in the last couple of chapters and it's so worth the wait. I loved getting to know all the inhabitants of the former Burial Mounds and how the Sihui Mountain Sect grew to be. Gonna re-read now that it's finished.

~*~

Михаил Шайдоров Mikhail Shaidorov (KAZ)

Source

Video of Tama

^Nitama majestic, and below with Yontama

Yontama.

The shrine of Tama Daimyōjin (Great gracious deity Tama), next to the Kishi station where she worked.

And they are announcing the winner of the “up and coming god” award, and of course, Yato thinks it’s him.

But no-

Nitama and Yontama are still alive and still working. Gotama is Nitama’s second assistant.

Also, there’s not enough pictures of Sun-Tama-Tama in this thread, so have this one:

And I am not excluding myself here! So much of my initial assumptions and interpretations of mdzs has changed after reading other danmei authors, especifically the less western-internet-popular ones.

My point is this: when reading a book from a culture that is not your own and in an unfamiliar genre, it will be impossible to grasp all the intricacies and subtleties nestled within the narrative and characterization until you’ve become more familiar with the culture and genre itself.

Don’t limit yourself to mxtx. There are more and more danmei being translated into English by publishing houses and even more are fan translated.

If you’re looking for a place to start, I have some recommendations!

1. Golden Terrace by Cang Wu Bin Bai.

Literally one of my favorite books I’ve ever read in my life, and I’m an English major. It is only 2 books and both are already published, so you won’t have to wait. The most tender, loving relationship I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading about. The translation is phenomenal, and it feels very similar to Jane Austen in its diction, plot, and characterization. I literally cannot explain with words how much I love this book.

2. To Rule in a Turbulent World by Gu Xue Rou

This series is just being translated and published, so it may take a while for the other books (I think 3-4?) will be out, but don’t let that scare you away! Without too much spoilers, the vibes of this first book reminds me of Harvest Moon games. Also a very sweet and tender main couple. Plus, this book is written by a male author!! Pretty rare in danmei, at least to my knowledge.

3. Thousand Autumns by Qian Qiu

Pretty dense with lots of philosophy, poetry references, and a more traditional wuxia world. This series is finished with 5 books in total. I had a hard time reading the first book, mostly because I didn’t connect that much with the mc at first, but I loved the world building and all the information I learned. I did eventually start connecting with the mc and ended the series fully besotted! Not a quick or easy read, but a worthwhile one.

4. Ballad of Sword and Wine by Tang Jiu Qing

To Rule In a Turbulent World

Yes, I’m recc’ing this danmei again because books 2 and 3 are out and OH BOYYYYY does it ramp up in stakes!!! Oh, it’s so good. It’s sooo good. I finished book 2 for my book club and then had to IMMEDIATELY buy the ebook for book 3 because I couldn’t stand the cliffhanger. Impeccable. I’m loving this series. If you haven’t read it yet, you are missing out! First book is all cozy farming sim, and the second book starts out like that but turns into intense politics. No spoilers here, but it gets INTENSE. What I love most is that while the world gets intense, the main couple stay constant—if anything, they get more stable and cuter as the world is disrupted around them, which I love so much. Highly, highly recommend this series! I've linked directly to the publishers, but they are based in Toronto, CA area and shipping to US is 1. expensive, and 2. slow, so keep that in mind when ordering from them! They also release ebook versions as well.

The Disabled Tyrant’s Beloved Pet Fish

Mindless fluff. With all the shit going on in the world, it was so nice to turn off my brain and read this tooth-rotting, fluffy series. I loved the underlying heartline of disability that runs through the first book especially (a little salty about the end, but I’m not mad about it). All 4 books are out, so you don’t have to wait. The MC is so dumb and so adorable, I love him desperately. Second book takes a little longer to get through, but I sped through books three and four. Very sweet, very low stakes, extremely charming, quite funny at times, this book is a great “the world is ending and I need escapism” read!

Peerless

I’ve only read books 1 and 2 of this series, but I’m excited to read more. It’s set in the same universe as Thousand Autumns but several years after that series’ events. I love the main couple—very Tom&Jerry vibes. Their dynamic is very fun and refreshing. This series seems like the author’s passion project imo—like they sort of wrote Thousand Autumns in order to write this series. Much more lighthearted than TA. I love the rival detectives plot, it’s super fun!

Mr. Melancholy Wants to Live a Peaceful Life

This is a fan translation by E. Danglars, who translated my preferred version of Golden Terrace. This danmei is sci-fi, which is not my usual scene, but I inhaled this in like 4 days. The main thing I love about it is that the main characters are already married by the start of the book; all of it is about their relationship developing, with some identity porn. It is great!! Lots of comedy to break up the heavy world building. As a content warning, the original author is obsessed with healthy eating and makes a several references to weight loss (which I’m not a fan of), but it is minor. Definitely give this danmei a chance!

Silent Hearts

This is only 2 books and pretty short. Modern high school setting, which aren’t usually my favorites, but it centers around a high school that integrates able-bodied students with disabled students. The main character isn’t disabled himself, but basically the entire supporting cast of characters are all disabled, which I loved. The way they approach disability is very social justice based, and I felt it came from a place of compassion and mutual respect rather than demeaning. A note from the author at the beginning of the book says, "I want to give all the children, whether extraordinary or not, whether typical or not, a beautiful future and a gentle happily every after," and it is definitely the heart line for these two books. Very sweet, a little melancholic, and overall a quick read.

Golden Terrace

This isn't so much a recommendation as an update. Unfortunately, the publishing house that released the first English translation of this novel is no longer, so there are little to no copies left to purchase. Seven Seas has picked it up since then, but it will be a completely different translation so I don't know how much will change. There is a free scanned PDF of the first translation on the Web Archive, which I've linked above (as well as the Seven Seas translation link).

I’m not entirely sure what’s going on, but more and more people coming to me saying they can’t find info about [noun], when googling it yields its Wikipedia entry on the first page.

I’ve said it before, but I’ll gladly say it again: You can trust Wikipedia for general information. The reason why it’s unreliable for academic citations is because it’s a living, changing document. It’s also written by anonymous authors, and author reputation is critical for research paper integrity.

But for learning the basics of what something is? Wikipedia is your friend. I love Wikipedia. I use it all the time for literally anything and everything, and it’s a huge reason why I know so much about things and stuff.

Speak for Those Who Cannot

by liverbiver9 (@liverbiver9)

T, WIP, 13k, Wangxian

Summary: Wèi Wúxiàn never arrived at Jīnlín Tái, leaving Jīn Zixūn and his army waiting at Qióngqí path until Jīn Zixuān showed up and dragged them all back. Some days after the explosion, word finally reached the Great Clans of the mysterious explosion. Jīn Guāngshàn immediately sent cultivators to investigate. Upon arriving in Yílíng, the Jīn cultivators found an impenetrable ward around Luànzàng Hill, making it impossible for anyone to step past the foot of the mountain. Posted on a tree just in front of the shimmering ward was an edict that forever changed the jiāng​hú. OR A very self-indulgent Yílíng Wèi Sect/Canon Divergence AU spanning two timelines over the course of 14 years. Updates every other Friday. Kay's comments: As you can tell, I'm currently feasting on the feast that is @liverbiver9's fics and his WIP currently has me in a chokehold; I am so invested! It's a Yiling Wei story where Wei Wuxian struggles with chronic pain following everything that has happened to him, leading to them sealing themselves away before Jin Ling's 100-day-celebration and I really love how this story diverges, how the world changes as they think Wei Wuxian is dead and I'm loving all the Wen remnants getting names and personalities as well and I can't wait to see how Lan Zhan is doing! Except: “We’ll spend the rest of the year preparing as much as possible. Come the new year, our sect will announce that our founding patriarch and first zhǎngmén, Wèi Wúxiàn, died in his sleep from injuries sustained while destroying the Yīn Hǔ Fú. The sect will enter a period of seclusion to mourn their founder, and the wards will be enacted. While we are protected from the rest of the world, you will finally rest properly. Once I deem you stable enough, then you can work on fixing the wards to allow us to cross through.” Wèi Wúxiàn stared at Wēn Qíng with wide, shocked eyes. Before he could formulate a single word, Wēn Qíng continued, still mashing herbs in her mortar. “We will tell the citizens of Yílíng our plans and barter with them—seeds, grain, cloth, a few animals, and their discretion in return for closing off the mountain and containing all the yuàn qì inside our borders.” Finally, Wēn Qíng turned around and forced the medicine she had just finished down Wèi Wúxiàn’s throat. Once he was done grimacing, she stepped back and waited.

pov alternating, canon divergence - ambush at qiongqi path, no ambush at qiongqi path, wei wuxian creates a sect | yiling wei sect, sect leader wen qing, disabled character, chronic pain, mutual pining, angst, trans wei wuxian, genderqueer wei wuxian, angst with a happy ending, found family, demonic cultivation, cultivation sect politics, chronic illness, lan sizhui is a wen, character study, burial mounds settlement days, wen remnants live, wei wuxian lives

~*~

I’ve been thinking about it all day because I agree but I feel like there’s more to it than that.

My friend started reading mdzs and I decided to make a guide to help her differentiate between all of Jin Ling's uncles. And also flex my designer muscles on these characters

“That’s right.”

“At the request of a princess.”

“Right again.”

“And you, who will be leading the expedition, are also a princess.”

“You’re very perceptive.”

“How big is your royal family, again?“

“We don’t have one.”

“But–“

“We overthrew our monarchy centuries ago, but we kept most of the titles around. The rank of ‘princess’ is held by the directors in charge of various civil service branches.“

“Huh. And the princess we’re rescuing today is in charge of…?”

“Public sanitation.”

“The Lord of Death’s Dominion kidnapped your public sanitation director?”

This is a movie about a kid who leaves her birth family.

Not a kid who find that they have a secret lineage or something that allows them to find their ‘true family’ - this is a movie about a kid whose true birth family is made up of bad people. So she gets out. And that is played as the right thing to do. She isn’t punished for it or made to feel bad about ‘abandoning her family’. There isn’t an underlying ‘but they’re your family and you have to love them’ or ‘they’re your family and they love you even if they don’t show it well or do hurtful things’ message of the kind that I see OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER in media. Matilda gets out and lives happily ever after because of it.