#astdr

[cheschi]

i have so many thoughts about a song to drown rivers like sure i had some qualms about the plot and pacing but the last few chapters truly gagged me

spoilers below the cut but i need someone to talk about it PLS

xishi and fanli’s yearning while barely touching each other killed me like i didn’t go to the kanej school of romance for nothing. they had me in a chokehold when they were fighting when they were alone and really acknowledging all that they both had gone through??? the finally released anger???? omg give me 5 more chapters immediately.

the last few interactions of xishi and fuchai made me like him more and i enjoyed how complex her feelings were at the end of it all (for the most part i don’t think he was evil i think he was just lazy and accustomed to violence?? his kingdom was in shambles and he was drinking his sorrows away which was funny ngl)

xishi returning shaken from war depressed me but the way she was just looking for him was so painful; he was one of the only people who ever truly saw her and vice versa… like ann liang you might as well have just drowned ME

the last chapter ended me when fanli helped spread the legend of xishi to other kingdoms that actually broke me…

[cheschi]

just saw ann liang’s giveaway post and she described astdr as “for the girls who grew up too fast” and i agree the war made them all grow up too fast

but it also made me think of one of the biggest complaints i see online (and that i have too) which is that there weren’t enough moments between xishi and fanli falling in love and now i’m wondering if that was deliberate like was it scarcer than it should have been to show that they were both robbed of time to be together (in addition of being robbed a traditional happy ending)