Haru

[veliseraptor]

so I ended up looking at the google episode summaries for The Untamed and I have to say they are pretty fucking fantastic. highlights include:

the spectacularly understated:

the inaccurate:

the weirdly “this sounds like a euphemism” ones:

the technically accurate but weirdly specific:

and the just plain baffling:

[mariemarion]

Shizun y Mo Ran 2.0 💖

[huacheng-zhu]

ok so 2ha. vague spoilers ahead (important spoilers are warned but watch out)

that’s a solid 4.5/5 for me. this novel RUINED me and I loved it for it. it made me feel like very few novels (and even stories in general) did. today I’m STILL shaken over a part of it that I read two days ago, despite the happy ending. I have A Lot of thoughts (shout-out to @whateverwuxian​ who can testify that I couldn’t shut up about it, love you buddy!!) so I just went ahead and [gestures below]

starting with the negative so we can enjoy all the positive later. feel free to discuss but I’m extra sensitive and these are only my personal feelings so they probably won’t change anyway, so be nice please!

what I didn’t like:

too many r*pe scenes. I get that the non-con “”“makes sense”“” narratively but like. they didn’t have to be explicit. at the very least not all of them. sorry but too much is too much. there are more non-con sex scenes/flashbacks than consensual sex scenes! stop! we get it! enough now!

their first time putting it in. it felt so unfair and I was very upset over it. it could’ve worked without going There? why. was that necessary. and it’s heartbreaking for both of them, because mo ran didn’t want to do it either. he wanted them to take all their time. he wanted to go step by step. all he wanted was to make sure cwn would be happy and comfortable and never hurt again in bed. for their first time that way he wanted it to be special. but it was just. taken away from them, and for what? for nothing there’s absolutely no reason for it. I get there’s the metaphorical foreshadowing of the upcoming reveal aspect (spoilers) both of them not consenting, mo ran being horrified -> the reveal that mo ran was cursed and so would’ve never wanted to treat cwn like this in the past either if he’d had control (end spoilers) but still?? and it’s never brought up again? I know they don’t get the time until the very end but hhhh. yeah I have Feelings over this

some plot twists hit good emotionally but had no point? thinking of the one about xue meng here.

not a fan of a 26yo falling in love with a 16yo. if cwn had initiated Anything I would’ve thrown the novel out the window. but thankfully it didn’t happen, I got invested, and nothing happened until mo ran was 22, so I mostly got over it, but I’m still somewhat uncomfortable with it for very personal reasons.

there’s horny, and then there’s mo ran. it’s not a bad thing, it’s just not the kind of stuff I like reading about and book 1 and 2 are A Lot on that side so in book 2 after a while ME, THE BIGGEST ASEXUAL WHO COULDN’T CARE LESS ABOUT SEX SCENES, WAS LIKE, “oh my god have mercy please just fuck already I beg of you” and indeed they chilled a bit after that. like they were still horny but. less intensely and less all the fucking time. thank god

kinda wish their reunion at the end was longer and more emotional but that’s just because I love that shit

kinda wish we got to see shi mei again before he went off doing his blind wandering doctor stuff. a talk with ranwan would’ve been very interesting.

xue meng didn’t get a hug

that one thing at the end you know the one. I think it wasn’t necessary and doesn’t make that much sense for the character. maybe I’d be more into it if it’d been given time to be explored seriously and wasn’t played off as a joke. it kinda ruined the mood of their last scene for me. (spoilers spoilers spoilers this is the end of this section if you don’t want to get spoiled) in that scene I wanted chu wanning to ride off into the sunset with mo ran, not txj. like, txj is the alternate world’s “if there had been no transmigration” version of mo ran 2.0. mo ran 2.0, who’s already done all the redemption and deconstruction of his dubious habits. who he was as txj is long behind him. at this point they are pretty much two different people. txj disappearing into dust after everything that happens at the end was beautiful symbolism. it meant something. to me there was no point keeping txj around after all that other than for “haha split personalities fighting over cwn’s attention uwu”

(still spoilers) the demonic blood reveal was a bit…. deus ex machina? plus I personally would’ve preferred mo ran staying a regular person (end spoilers)

alright what I liked now:

the themes, both regarding the characters and the various plot elements. this novel really challenges your morals and what you think is right or wrong, what’s redeemable, what’s punishable, and how much one relies on first impressions, amongst other things.

the romance. like I don’t need to say anything there. just, the slow burn, the longing, the yearning, the romance [clutches heart]

the plot twists/reveals. I’m so glad I was barely spoiled (I was spoiled two Big things but very vaguely so I was still surprised) because pretty much all of them had me shouting “WHAT” and/or gaping and/or various “what the fuck!!!”/”holy SHIT”/“NO” reactions

the way a lot of those reveals just completely change your view on things/characters?? that’s my jam

wontons. that was the first time I cried and my first very physical reaction to an event in this novel. I literally felt like time froze. I heard my heart beating. it was painful but AMAZING.

might be nothing in the grand scheme of things but honestly, all the food! I love that mo ran is an excellent cook and can make all those delicious dishes for cwn. as someone who loves to cook for their loves ones I think it’s so lovely that he gets to do that

the character growth. for everyone, but mo ran in particular? like I just. I started off not liking mo ran very much, straight up despising him at times, and in the end I was fucking sobbing over him and cried myself to sleep only to wake up in the middle of the night to cry some more so there’s that

chu wanning? there were aspects of him that I related to heavily, and that felt both like the Mortifying Ordeal of Being Known and very special because it doesn’t happen to me that often

the whole deaging arc. that was deaging done right and it had a purpose in the narrative and their relationship growth, I was “!!!!”

I LOVE how they took their time with EVERYTHING once they got together? that it spanned over several weeks? that it started with the confession, then just holding hands, then kissing, then making out, then sex, and even the sex was step by step! it said A LOT about mo ran’s character growth and it respected SO MUCH the fact that cwn is a 32yo (unrelated but I like to argue that yeah he’s been alive for 32 years but when (spoilers) you’ve been asleep and not aging physically nor growing mentally for five years in a way that makes you a 27yo. so when he calls his body “mature and old” and compares himself to shi mei I’m just. buddy your body is just three years older than shi mei’s there’s barely any difference in maturity right there. I know it’s your lack of self-worth speaking, and believe me I get it, but don’t be so hard on yourself. (end of spoilers) anyway, this is an unimportant and unrelevant thought that I had during the mirror scene) who has no experience in any of these things whatsoever. he’s not pushed into sex like he’s going to be comfortable right off the bat and like it isn’t such a big change in a life that’s been ascetic so far. mo ran is aware of that! and when they have their first time mo ran, who’s been maybe even more horny than cwn all this time - seriously horny is that guy’s middle name, who initiated the sex, what does he say!!! “don’t worry about me, tonight, I just want to make you feel good”??? mo ran?? your character development??? I appreciated that so much.

the pain. I’m still bleeding on the floor despite the happy ending but yeah. I like angst and I was not disappointed. it didn’t feel that gratuitious to me, more like, brutally honest? I don’t cry that easily but by the end I think I’d cried, what, close to ten times??

quite a few excellent quotes [lies down] “I realized - I had grown into the you in my heart”?? “hell is too cold”??? I highlighted more but those two are the ones that always come to my mind first

most of the time the flashbacks were perfectly inserted for maximum emotional damage and I respect that skill

xue zhengyong. like he’s not my favourite, my favourites are xue meng, nangong si and ye wangxi but? I just adored him so he gets a special mention

the side characters? like, I legit loved Everyone? when I cry over side characters you know it’s serious

THE CONFESSION SCENE. LIKE. HOLY SHIT MY HEART. it comes reaaally close to the vocal one (because hua cheng confesses so many times without words) at the end of tgcf for me. it was beautiful. I was so emotional. the fact that cwn can’t say it no matter how much he feels it. like it’s always been plain and clear just how much he loves mo ran. but he can’t say the words yet and I just. the fact that mo ran gets it? that he doesn’t need the words, just that squeeze of fingers, just what cwn is, at that moment, able to give him, and it doesn’t mean less to him than words would? it hit home real hard

unless I think of something else, that’s about it! I can’t recommend 2ha enough, that said, I beg of you, heed the warnings. they are NOT overstated. and even if there were no warnings, take care anyways. the angst is serious, it haunts you. angst always makes me feel like my chest is being squeezed and that’s precisely the feeling I’m looking for when I choose to read angst. I have good tolerance to it, so despite not doing entirely well lately, I thought I was tough and went for it, but I’m a CLOWN. the way it’s written ruins you. this morning despite reading the hardest part of the angst on saturday evening, I still had some physical chest pain. so I recommend it with all my heart, but take care of yourselves. 2ha doesn’t fuck around.

[wanning-of-the-night-sky]

Reading 2HA is like

Beginning of the novel: Great! I hate the protagonist, I'll definitely enjoy when he get his comeuppance

Hundreds of pages later: Wait Meatbun! I take it back! I take it back! Not like thaaaaat!

[incorrect-web-novels]

Quotes from 2ha that speak to me

“There was a man from Linyi whose heart died at twenty.”

“There is only one person in this world who can open Ever-Yearning. This person is extremely important in your life; you must love this person dearly, and this person must also love you in return, and be wholly devoted to you.” - Ji Baihua to Mo Weiyu

“To yearn unwittingly breaks the willow branch.” - Ji Baihua to Mo Weiyu

“Because like people, an ox has gotta eat. For the sake of eating, a lot of work has to be done. If one day you can’t work anymore, then no one cares if you’re alive or dead.“ - Mo Weiyu, Chapter 65    

"If even cats and dogs know to repay kindness, how could we humans not?!” - the prostitute from the Domain of Fiends, Chapter 68

“Condolences and whatnot are just words. If you’re sad, then just cry.” - Xue Zhengyong, Chapter 98

"A misunderstanding of one year is a misunderstanding.

            A misunderstanding of ten years is an injustice.

            A misunderstanding of a lifetime, from life to death, is fate.

            Their fate was blighted.”

               - Chapter 98 about Mo Weiyu and Chu Wanning

“If you don’t know to save others, how will you save yourself?” - Chu Wanning, Chapter 103

“Doubt is the privilege of those who have a way out.” - Rong Jiu, Chapter 112

“Chu WanNing was obsessed with stubbornness, but unfortunately, it did not belong to him.“ - Chapter 144

"The two of them had misunderstood each other so deeply in their past life that they were separated by a huge abyss. Therefore, in their lifetime, they had used their blood to water the abyss into a sea of blood and swam towards each other. However, because of a barrier, they could not see each other’s surging emotions, and could only allow their love to flood by itself.” - Ch.150 about Mo Weiyu and Chu Wanning

“At this moment, Chu WanNing was still immersed in yesterday’s quagmire, throbbing with love, ashamed for love, sensitive for love.” - Ch.152 

“What was he going to do in the future? He also did not know that. He felt like he was a moth and NanGong Si the flame. He always wanted to follow the light, even if it would only cause him to break apart.” - Ch.154 about Ye Wangxi

“If we do not take the windfall, we shall destroy the heavens and the earth.” - Xu Shuanglin, Ch.158

[alyruko]

2.0 / 0.5

[penguindayout]

“我想给师尊撑一辈子伞。”

Raining season where I'm at and this line keeps coming to mind.

I want to hold an umbrella for Sizhun forever - Chapter 129

This line, with the whole setting and atmosphere, is as good as any confession can get.

Especially knowing how ChuWanning has always been alone, the simple act of holding an umbrella over ChuWanning goes a hell of a long way in----confusing the heck outta our poor CWN Hahaha!!

Which leads to one of the most entertaining scene (Chapter 130). I kid you not! The book could have end here and I would have been sooo okay with it.

[ruanbaijie]

Me & Not Me 【是我非我】 龟仙人龟娘 [½]

夜雨凉晚风入梦 吹落几度海棠

The rain at night is cold and the wind enters my dreams, blowing a few haitang blossoms to the ground

白衣寒九歌离断 人间又参商

The white clothes are cold and Jiuge is no longer whole, our time together in this life is short and fleeting and once we leave one another we will be thousands of miles apart

[https://www.bilibili.com/s/video/BV15v411i7Yn] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRHRRipjiuM]

[princeharukoji]

2HA AFTER THOUGHTS

spoiler maybe? Idk

I actually want to see fluffy Ranwan and the extras mostly about Xue Meng I kinda... I like him, but the last chapter which was like 3 chapter long was from his pov and stuff, and now im not in the mood... So i guess i will read them a bit slowly.

On the other hand I already was artbaited by the QJJ and Liu Yao fandom 😂😂 I wonder if I should start them... I actually still has to continue HOB bc i left it 2 yrs ago where the translation was.... But i cant move on from 2HA....WHAT TO DO shall I just reread Erha book 2..... 😂😂

[princeharukoji]

2HA REVIEW/ THOUGHTS

SPOILERS AHEAD

So where shall I start? I really liked this story. Book 1 and 2 was a slow burn. I didn't mind it. Because we need to see Moran's personality changes, the love blossoming between the 2 main lead. It was slow, but did a great work. Because actually in the beginning (not Taxian Jun, but the reborn Moran) I couldn't stand the MC...well okay maybe I couldn't stand TXJ actually 😂 but the thing is real. I really liked how every character i disliked slowly started to like, love, and then wanted to protecc 🥺 Ok Chu Wanning has my heart from the beginning to the end. But I disliked Moran, Xue Meng, Nangong Si, Nangong Xu, the ghost girl from the start, Jiang Xi, Mei Hanxue. And I love them all. I even wanted a heart breaking Xue Meng and Jiang Xin father and son moment aaaaaaa. But what I got in the end was a knife in my heart by seeing Xue Meng get to know about Jiang Xi's adooted son 😭 So actually every character I was uninterested I became interested.

I get to like Moran more and more, and wanted them to be together. When Chu Wanning died, i cried. Twice, bc first the present Shizun then the previous Shizun life were taken away. But when Moran learned the truth about wontons, when he went to catch CWN's soul to the underworld...when his affection started to bloom again. Oh God, i could see sparkling eyes, and red ears Shizun.

After 5 yrs Shizun wake up. Ok so tbh the thirst they got made me crazy. At least it keot going on like 40 chapters and i was like OMFG HORNY TEENAGERS 😂 I couldn't bear their pain and thirst hahaha it was a long way to get togetheger. But they live was blooming, it got deeper and deeper.

Tho we were half at the story and they get together... Tho CWN didn't know Moran's secrets yet. Definetely it can't be a happy end like this... I started to train my soul, from now on it will be hell. And yes, actually hell happened through the 3rd book.

Nangong Si and Ye Wangxi storyline broke my heart. I wanted them to be happy together so much they would deserve it. Xue Meng's parents were so strong, they amazed me especially the Madam with her sacrifice. There was a lot of time when I thought YES go and get them. When Nangong Xi told his story I wished he could get his revenge. When Sisheng peak fall I wished they would let the world end. The 3rd book was amazing. I didn't mind that i couldn't breath. It was full of actions, it was fast, it was running at full speed, and I liked it. I liked that I couldn't read at one moment because I was hungry reading and scan readed a lot of things to get to the important part so i had to stop but i couldn't.

Until the last 2 chapters. Because the last 2 chapters gave me a headache. Chapter 309 made me cry I cried so hard. The reborn Moran's death was through 3 chapters. I felt my heart was taken out. Seeing CWN care for him and when he died he didn't want to let it go... I cried like a child. The whole situation with the judgments, the humiliating... It was hard to read. CWN came to save him I.... I cried. The same reborn technique can't be used twice on a soul, and Shizu already made him reborn in the previous life. When he gave his spirit to the body and made the same thing like TXJ in previous life to keep his body alive, until they're living the other's body won't rot- i kinda sensed that it will be used. But after his spirit core were fused in TXJ, the emperor met Moran, give his reborn memories to the 10 yrs old dead body and his soul, I was afraid his soul will merge in that body. But Taxian Jun has one soul, and he changed too, saved everybody and saved Shizun. When he was dying I asked my phone "HOW WILL THIS BE HAPPY END ITS OVER HIS BODY WILL TURN TO ASHES".

And then he woke up at a demon palace. Plot armor. Not dead, not alive. In one chapter "the last card" ironically REALLY is a last card. We get to know that not just Shi Mei, but Mo Ran is actually ACTUALLY A SPECIAL BUTTERFLY-BONED BEAUTY like WHAAAAT 😂😂 you... You can't just throw something so special so randomly. It doesn't work like that. It's totally a PLOT ARMOR! I can think that Taxian Jun was made to look like a demon but... It is not enough clue in the story to make me feel that it is a well builded line.

And the other thing.. why I have mixed feelings is the split personality. Like Moran and Taxian Jun exist. Both of them in one person. Mo Ran is too good while Taxian Jun is too agressive and possessive. This is why i would love to see his personality fused, like a normal human. It was a bit meh. I don't really like it. I would like to see a bit more agressive and possessive Moran, who is grey. Not just 3 days good Moran and 1 day his Majesty. But I will see how will this threesome work in the extras...

+1 Chu Xun'a story was really good, i thought it will be more into it, when they met in the underworld too, I really love how everything is connected!! And the thing that Chu Wanning is a divide wood spirit..... And áll the tree puns.... I cry 😂

I have to mention the antagonist too. Well from the start I didn't liked him. Shi Mei was fake. So fake I could see it. I had a feeling he will be the protagonist, and I spoiled it to later too. His story... Did not touch my heart so much. I thought I will like him, but I just like the present and alive Shi Mei! He chosen a different path. But previous shimei, Hua Binan....he was cruel. He didn't care about humans, just demons, and after knowing her mother story... It just didn't hit the right spots. He wasn't that much of a grey character i love.

This is it for now, maybe i will edit it, or write a part 2 when I feel it. I really love this story, I dont know what to do after it, tho i still have the extras fortunately. I can't wait the cdrama from it, Im so excited to see my 2 fav Shizun and disciple!!

PS pls feel free to talk to me, I don't really have ppl near me who read it, so im happy to chat about it with anybody 😭

[ruanbaijie]

Sending Wishes to the Faraway Mountains & Rivers 《遥寄山河》 [½]

夙愿未成，是非由己衡，劫火了此生

long-cherished wishes left unfulfilled, right or wrong is a matter of personal judgement, let the punitive fire put an end to my life

song, translation, and full credits available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9aoqOxlqv4

[ruanbaijie]

Me & Not Me 【是我非我】 龟仙人龟娘 [2/2]

天地变殉道何难 丹心照肝胆

The world changes, yet how difficult is sacrifice? Loyalty reflects courage and sincerity

恩怨清此生无憾 前尘分两端

With resentment cleared and this life without regret, past experiences are split into two ends

是我非我又如何 任他人评说

It doesn’t matter if it’s me or not me, let others say what they want to say

再回首 百年身 山河阔

When I look back again, my entire life has passed, with you always in my heart [1]

[https://www.bilibili.com/s/video/BV15v411i7Yn] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRHRRipjiuM]

[1] The literal meaning of this last line is “turning my head back again, hundred years of life, the mountains and rivers are broad”. The first six words, 再回首 百年身 are from the proverb “一失足成千古恨，再回首是百年身”, which cautions how a single mistake can cause one to suffer from a lifetime of regret. The last three words are probably from this other saying “山河远阔，人间烟火，无一是你，无一不是你”, which describes how in the tens of thousands of sceneries, sunsets, and sunrises one encounters in one’s life, even though their loved one is not by their side, one can still see their loved one’s shadow in every scenery because their loved one is in their heart

[stariwei]

[princeharukoji]

2HACHAPTER 311 SPOILERS AHEAD

Ok but really??? Moran has 2 personality now??? Im.... at a loss 😂 from the 310 chapter i dont know if i should cry or laugh

This book gave me so much feels, also mixed feels, so i will write about the whole story later in a very long review haha

[princeharukoji]

READING 2HA CHAPTER 310

SPOILER

ok are you kidding me?? I shed so many tears in the previous chapter but suddenly i don't know if i want to laugh or cry.... Special butterfly-boned beautes demon? Really? i really love this story and is one of my fav but after he 3rd died lol well yeah kinda you can't bring him back just if you really get him into a special form. But it makes me a bit wtf first 😂

[princeharukoji]

READING 2HA CHAPTER 304

SPOILER

The Mei twins teasing Xue Meng is my fav thing for sure 👀 i ship them

Yes Xue Meng don't lose your face in front of your young self 😂 focus 😂 and they call him Ziming 👀👀👀

[princeharukoji]

READING 2HA

SPOILER

On the other hand lets talk about

Good night Moran

AH I'm still crying over that chapter. 279 and 280 and Sisheng peaks fall.... It all made me cry. Those were really cruel chapters. And im so anxious because i want Moran back. I have now more and more clear clue what will happen and how will he be "reborn" again.

When CWN said that if someone was bought back to life with that technique they cant be reborn like that for a second time i was at a loss. Later found out Shi Mei wants to plant Mo Ran's core into TXJ and im like no. NOOOOOOOOO. Pls don't tell me his soul will somehow reborn in his previous life's for 10 yrs already dead body. As much as Taxian Jun is jelous of Mo-zongshi, me too, i want to get the reborn Mo Ran with soul and body back PLS MY HEART HURTS

Im sure Meatbun will solve this amazingly and i wouldn't mind but now it's just hurt like hell. IDK what will happen and when but i just can't stop suffering OTL