#fourth perspective

Hello, hello, I’m Miya, a voracious danmei reader that gobbles novels every night like it’s her daily sustenance. I’ve been reading danmei since late 2018, and like most people in English danmei spaces, I was introduced to it through MXTX’s Mo Dao Zu Shi / Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation. Since then, I’ve read many other danmei, like all the other popular ones—Little Mushroom, The Husky and His White Cat Shizun, Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know, etc.

Anyways, I have read almost all of the novels the English fandoms are currently obsessed with. Because of this, I often can’t relate to the excitement you guys still have over them because those novels feel like ages ago to me. I’ve long moved on from them and found other novels I love more. (I also read the bulk of those popular novels during my depression era, and I don’t wanna bring up memories of that)

So yeah, I sometimes feel like an outsider in English danmei spaces because nobody wants to talk about the novels I wanna talk about because nobody even knows about them 😭😭😭

Thus, this blog was born.

Mainly, I will be liveblogging the danmei I’m reading. I used to post them on my main @miyamiwu, but I’ve recently transferred my liveblogs from there to here. Just a fair warning: my liveblogs won’t be spoiler-free. I also don’t use spoiler tags because, well, nobody even knows the novels I’m blogging about so nobody would care if it’s a “spoiler” 😭😭😭

Aside from this, I will also post:

reviews of some of the great novels I come across

recommendation lists (you can also ask me for recs!)

rough English translations of the scenes I’m reacting to (otherwise, I won’t make sense)

general thoughts on danmei genres and tropes

translation ramblings

Basically, anything and everything about danmei.

Some stuff about me:

I run Lizonka Novels and used to post MTLations

I am studying Mandarin, but I’m nowhere near fluent in it. (I’ve also been too busy with college that my studies have been put on-hold.)

I loooove talking about the intricacies of translation and even took a class on translation theory before. You will see this reflected in some of my posts.

My favorite genres/tropes: whodunit, unlimited flow, horror, broken mirror, and 甜宠 (lit. sweet love/pampering, fluffy novels basically).

Current favorite danmei: Fourth Perspective by Mo Chen Huan

I also follow the 188男团 series by Shui Qian Cheng. My favorites in the series are Years of Intoxication and Blazing Armor

Well, that’s pretty much it. If you’re interested in discovering new danmei to read or just learning more about danmei, feel free to follow me~

You can also check out what novels I’ve posted about on my Danmei Directory:

https://danmeiblr.tumblr.com/directory

Cool Dice = nerd (complementary), cool socks, please tell me about your special interest/hyperfixation

Hmmm where do I start

I am really into Chinese bl (danmei). Most danmei are like shounen with the homoerotic undertones, except the sexual tension actually gets paid off!!!

And I say “like shounen” because, unlike Japanese BL, there’s a lot more emphasis on plot when it comes to danmei. Of course, there are also danmei focusing on romance, but the best ones have complex plots you don’t really find in shounen ai/yaoi.

Naming a few mainstream danmei, to start:

Heaven Official’s Blessing = fallen god reascends for the third time and befriends a demon king. Together, they get to the bottom of a lot of scandals in the heavenly court

The Husky and His White Cat Shizun = evil emperor is reborn to the year he was still a teen and is yet to do any evil stuff and once again has to face his loathed master (shizun) and obey him.

Little Mushroom = sentient mushroom takes over dead human body and infiltrates the human base to retrieve his stolen spore

The Earth is Online = humanity is pulled into a death game

Sha Po Lang = ancient industrial Chinese setting (steampunk???) about a prince and his Yifu + war and stuff

And some non-mainstream ones, but are my absolute favorites:

Fourth Perspective = Sci-fi where characters have “logic chains” that grant them random abilities (that may or may not be useful), but with limits. Main character’s logic chain allows him to see other people’s “logic factors”

I Became a God in a Horror Game = Guy who’s obsessed with money gets pulled into a death game and comes out victorious every time (his driving force is money). Very mindblowing arcs and well-written characters

Mermaid Effect = guy picks up “fish” on the beach and keeps it as a pet, but then it turned out to be a biological weapon

Si Tian Guan = guy who died in political drama gets reborn to the year before it all started and vows to not repeat the mistakes of the past and also protect the person most important to him. This one made me cry a lot that I still couldn’t finish it...

They're completely different stories, but Fourth Perspective, being written later, is really more polished than TEIO, and I recommend you to read it if you liked TEIO.

The arcs are just mind-blowing. And the MC, Xiao Jinyu, feels more human than Tang Mo coz we actually get to see him vulnerable. [I love Tang Mo, but he was too perfect and composed.]

Like, why do you think Bai Ruoyao is such a popular character? Because among all the characters, only he actually broke down. They're in a fucking apocalypse, but everyone is still so sane and strong. Only Bai Ruoyao had a moment of weakness, and that makes him more human.

The only way to hone the Logic Chain is really to just... keep thinking. And witnessing Xiao Jinyu thinking his way through all the questions, discovering their answers one at a time, only to find more questions really makes you want to say along with the characters, "Keep thinking."

It's become a wish for good luck, and at some times, even like a warrior chant

Mo Chen Huan should really write more unlimited flow/horror/mystery/sci-fi. Their romance-centric novels are meh, but the former??? MASTERPIECES

Xiao Jinyu and Su Jiuzhou look generic MC and ML in my mind, except for maybe when they're using their logic chains (Xiao Jinyu with a colorful aura around his eyes pleeease)

But all the other characters seem so interesting design-wise. Water Punishment with her silver hair, hooded Dreamer with her bell, ten-year old precocious Blind Box, Sexy Samba and his tornados, and even the robot 004 with his emoji screen face