#duan ling

[astrolabenoir]

ever dream this father figure tiger?

[gaydara]

Tried to draw Duan Ling

[preciousqiqi]

sometimes, in a daze, I find myself thinking about how li jianhong and duan ling were only reunited for a short time. they barely had any time together. just a moment, really. and it hurts... how fleeting it all was. I keep wishing their story didn't end so soon. that maybe, just maybe, they had a little more time. li jianhong loved his wife, and he loved and cherished his son. I can't stop mourning how short their time together was.

[save-the-earthworms]

Joyful Reunion made it to my top 5 favorite danmei 🥹 I can barely put into words how satisfied I am with how everything played out.

Duan Ling may have had chemistry with a lot of the male characters, but he and Wu Du are amazing together. They're literally the best thing that could happen to each other. And their romance blossomed so naturally it was wonderful to see. Plus, an assassin ML is all I needed 😍

Great side characters (Zheng Yan my beloved), great plot and great angst. It deserves all the attention. Highly recommended for when it comes out in June!

Now, time to listen to the audio drama to fill the void.

[ratkingdotsai2]

I slept three hours last night and I'm about to make it everyone's problem so I present

joyful reunion characters send you a valentine's day card

cw: spoilers for ending and extras, multishipping, terrible jokes, knives

duan ling: it's a very pretty card, the paper has flower petals and rare plants embedded into it. in it, he reveals that he's the crown prince of your kingdom, and begs you to never treat him differently, even after he ascends to the throne

wu du: he personalized the card with pictures and drawings of things you like, and it smells very good (almost too good if we're being honest... and you start feeling a little drowsy after opening it). he put some trinkets he thought you'd like inside the envelope as well. however, the post scriptum asks you to remind him what your name is

lang junxia: there is a card, but he hid it so well that you won't find it until six months after you two break up. inside there are all the words he didn't tell you while you were together. you find yourself wishing you'd never broken up with him, and go stargazing on your own

zheng yan: there's no card. he's already in your house, naked covered only by a bouquet of flowers, and a five course meal with accompanying wine menu is ready on the table

A LOT more under the cut dkdkfkf but this post is already too long

chang liujun: the card is plain and the handwriting on it is terrible, but it's fully handwritten, and you can tell how much effort he put into it. it asks if he can bring his son protegé on your date

borjigin batu: there's no card. he kidnaps you and takes you to his house, where he gifts you a dagger and begs you to become his anda

helian bo: he bought an over the top card from a chain, but his handwritten note inside is very thoughtful. however, it says that he has been promised in marriage to your distant cousin, and you can't be together

cai yan: the card is very cute, covered in little doodles he drew while overthinking what he should write in it. several versions of the same message are crossed out, and you think the crossed out versions are better than the final message. it begs you to never leave him

yelu zhongzhen: it's a beautiful, handcrafted, and clearly expensive card. the words inside are concise, but will remain with you for a lifetime. you understand that you will never see each other again, unable to forget the little time you had together

li jianghong: it's an anonymous piece of paper with a cryptic poem instructing you where to meet him at midnight on valentine's day. the last words are 'burn after reading'

li yanqiu: it's handwritten on expensive paper with the imperial stamp on it. it summons you to the palace with utmost urgency. are you getting executed or married? who knows, probably not even him

lang junxia: there's no card. he attempts an assassination on you on valentine's day three years in a row. it fails each time

li yanqiu: there's no card. he sends zheng yan to kidnap summon you

zheng yan: the card is plain but tasteful. inside it he promises you the marquis of huaiyin's loyalty to the li family

wu du: the card is blank, but as soon as you touch it, the poison enters your bloodstream and you drop dead. as you draw your last breath, you remember that one time when you were a little too friendly with duan ling

cai wen: it's a store bought card, but exactly to your taste. he asks if you mind if he brings his little brother on your date

li jianghong: it's another anonymous scrap of paper. it asks if you can find his son and raise him for five years

lang junxia (again. sorry): there's no card. he makes you a shrine instead. yes, the whole building, including a hand painted mural. it's unfinished though

duan ling: you happen to both be at an event together, and he asks you to speak in private. you think he's going to give you a card, but he slaps you and calls you an ungrateful, unfilial, unworthy corrupt official instead

yao zheng: you haven't spoken with her in years after a disagreement. in the card, she apologises for that, and then talks herself into another argument with you

duan xiaowan: you two never really dated. she left you a sheet of paper informing you that she's pregnant and that she'll raise the child on her own, good luck finding them. thankfully you happen to know a guy

mu kuangda: the card asks if you want to be his co-conspirator and overthrow the government with him (old man yaoi rights)

fei hongde: it's not a card, it's a ten page essay on how to manage the city you govern

li xiao: the card is expensive and beautiful. inside, it says that she holds the vast majority of the military power in huaiyin and to tread very carefully if you want to keep your head on your shoulders (for a character with no more than three lines of dialogue I love her very much)

bian lingbai: the card is very friendly and flattering. he invites you to see his secret stash of gold. you're certain there's no nefarious intent behind this (sorry if this is inaccurate, it's been a while since I read this arc sjdkfkf)

xie you: it's not a card, it's a letter with the shadow guard's stamp on it. all it does is ask if you know the location of the other half of the jade arc

lang junxia (sorry I have to exhaust all the lang junxia ships): the card promises that no matter what happens, you'll go through it together. you really want to believe that he won't abandon you like everyone else did, but deep down, you know he will. you accept anyway (I'll be so fr i can't remember if this is novel canon, audio drama canon, or a fic I read. if it is a fic and you're the one who wrote it, fuck you thank you for getting me into langcai)

duan ling: there's no card. he barges into your house screaming that someone is trying to kill him and you're completely lovestruck. you ask him to marry you right there and then (zhongling my precious underappreciated ship)

borjigin batu: the card is anonymous. you open it and there's no message, only a picture of a dog made of lettuce leaves

chang pin: the card just asks you for help to find some guy you've never heard of. you think it's very suspicious so you accept just to keep an eye on him. he mysteriously disappears a few days later

han bin: the card informs you that he burnt your birth certificate

zheng yan: the card relentlessly makes fun of you. it informs you that, if only you were a decade younger, he'd happily go at it with you for three days and three nights straight (listen that part is too funny not to use it skdkfl we have langzheng rights in this household)

I'm pretty sure I exhausted all characters in foxghosts' reference index that have actual dialogue lmao (plus duan xiaowan bc she's a queen and she simply must be included anyway)

[finpuff]

Seventh of the seventh.

I can't draw humans, so here's some visual metaphor instead.

Drawn in felt tip pen, finished digitally in Sketchbook.

Special thanks to foxghost here on Tumblr for the translation - you can read it here.

[bellaroles]

Doodle Duan Ling from Joyful reunion. These day I’m too lazy. All I can do is rough doodle and I give up 😅

[save-the-earthworms]

Once again I have no self-control and started Joyful Reunion.

I'm intrigued so far and I like that it's taking its time to establish Duan Ling's background and relationships.

What I was not expecting is how I'm so many chapters in and the ML has barely appeared. I wouldn't even know he is the ML if I hadn't looked it up beforehand.

But I can feel that's because he has his own thing going on and I'm curious about how their relationship is gonna develop.