Read-in-Progress Wednesday

[geraineon]

This is your weekly read-in-progress post for you to talk about what you're currently reading and reactions and feelings (if any)!

For spoilers:

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Comments

[duckprintspress]

still plodding my way through the extras in Rose and Renaissance vol. 4. The last one was kinda fun? It was an Omegaverse AU where the ml and mc were both alphas. I haven't really seen that in danmei before?

[geraineon]

It's fun when you get fanfic au in the extras XD

Hm, I'm not sure if I've seen that before either.

[duckprintspress]

yes! the fanfic AU extra was WAY more interesting and entertaining than most of these other extras. The one I'm in now is yet ANOTHER "ml took a video and posted it to Weibo, here's a long description of the video and the way the fans react to it" and I'm genuinely considering skimming it.

[geraineon]

I suppose fanfic au extra is a little more work than short scenes extra?

I also appreciate it when the extra focuses on the side pair (if they exist)

[duckprintspress]

oh interesting, I usually don't like when they focus on a side pairing, though it definitely depends.

There IS a side pairing in this book (the mc's "nephew" who is the same age as him and the mc's bff are a m/m couple, and important characters), I wonder if any of the remaining extras will focus on them.

[geraineon]

I like it if the side pairing is also compelling~!

if the CP is boring, then yeah I rather just other stuff.

[llonkrebboj]

Ooooooo yeah. I've been seeing a lot more alpha x alpha, alpha x beta and such niche-r pairings in the past two years. Maybe they always existed? But there sure are more now!

[duckprintspress]

I've seen it in fanfic for ages but in published stuff? especially East Asian media? I hadn't really seen it, and it makes me very happy.

[douqi]

I'm about halfway through quick transmigration baihe novel In Love with a Substitute and really enjoying it. It helps that there are only four worlds (I've finished reading two), and there's an over-arching meta-plot.

[geraineon]

Four worlds is pretty short (I went through a number of QT novels in the past and I feel like all of them definitely had more than 5 worlds)!

[douqi]

I think the small number of worlds means that they all feel pretty well developed!

[geraineon]

True! Most QT novels have good first few worlds and break down after that.

[ehyde]

Still reading The Smiling, Proud Wanderer and wondering about the translation of the title. It's interesting to me that the english title implies a title character, while I think the original does not? Anyway it came to mind because I read an article where the title was instead translated as Laughing in the Wind and I'm not completely sure I have a preference for the title of the novel, but I do have to say I like it a lot better for the title of the song.

[anne]

Same, about the title.

I just started Vol 2. It's still fun, although I do sort of wonder why the emperor let a guy who's famous for being a rapist just wander around the countryside.

[geraineon]

Oh, speaking of it, have you heard the song?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pck9wlujo7U

[llonkrebboj]

I... I think that's because the title of the song is literally A Laugh on the Vast Sea and not Frolicking through Jianghu xD
Unless you mean the one by LZF and QY?

And it is an excellent song!!!! One of the classic favs 🥺 There's an amazing remix by GAI (https://youtu.be/3PazbAYoHK8?si=CZ0II16DnlkUR5Hc) and a super fun quartet cover feat. Liu Huan, Na Ying, Jay Chou and Eason Chan (https://youtu.be/Tn11sKlozrE?si=b_7v_dOTJErVMpMH).

[geraineon]

... frolicking through the jianghu XDD thanks, I died at the imagery.

[ehyde]

Yeah I meant the one by LZF and QY! Its title is the same as the novel's title, right? (or else the translator has totally misled me...)

And an update: "granny" is not, in fact, a granny. Who could've guessed? (pretty amused by Linghu Chong's continued obliviousness while everyone he runs into is like "wtf granny are you talking about?" though)

[geraineon]

... I have read... one chapter of Chu Liuxiang Book 2. Ahaha, my brain does not want to read.

[llonkrebboj]

Link please! I know Adam Cheng was iconic in the Chu Liuxiang role and want to give the book a 👀 before watching the drama.

Also, how are you finding the book! xD

[geraineon]

CLX does not deserve access to any women!

But he can be with all the men he meets, I suppose.

(seriously, the homoerotic tension through the roof with *every single non-woman person!*)

[geraineon]

I missed that you asked for a link orz

I'm reading a fan tl actually (it's not amazing, but the translator is quite transparent about what they don't know how to translate XD;)

https://foxswuxia.wordpress.com/chu-liuxiang/

[llonkrebboj]

Work stress has me running back into the arms of jjwxc xD

Stumbled into priest's new WIP novel 纯白恶魔 | pure white devil, which is a scifi novel set in a time when vampires and half-animal people rule earth, call themselves man and rear/breed 'berries' as pets and food & drink (yeahhhh, you guessed it... berries are humans that are no longer known as humans and haven't been for a long long time xD the word for berry in chinese is 浆果 / juicy fruit which is clever if you consider their uses!). The MC is a sickly berry intended for use as a stallion because of his excellent physical characteristics. He woke up one day with no memories in what's basically a berry version of a chicken coop, and thus begins the shenanigans. Crow is more than a little bit crazy and I love him SO MUCH. This is a novel that is well on it's way towards a place in my favourites list! There's magic powers and everything! I've caught up to the latest chapter (162) and am sitting with my nose pressed against the window with priest's relatively frequent leaves xD It honestly feels like she's only just getting started 😱

And running out of stuff to binge since catching up on all the other ongoing novels i'm following, I finally turned my eyes to my very fat fragile MC novels stash xD first thing that snagged me was 病美人的万物杂货铺 | the fragile beauty's mini-mart of everything 😍 and it is EVERYTHING I LOVE PUT IN A POT AND STIRRED. Probably inspired by concepts from media like Pawnshop No. 8 and Yūko's Shop from XxxHOLIC, it features a shop that trades in needs/wishes/desires and immaterial or material things of equal value. The mc is ofc sickly, and we have lots of little stories and arcs in the form of a person Going Through It in life and being scouted as a customer for the shop. I'm just so delighted at finding this very slice of life story about trading in wishes, living with your choices and ways people are assholes to each other (without it getting too dark) and others finding their way out to better lives. It's also a no CP story which makes it a win in my book!

[duckprintspress]

priest's brain is so insane I want to study her like a bug.

[llonkrebboj]

Her worldbuilding is ALWAYS 😚🤌

She used a lighter touch than usual in this one, but pure white devil is only for laying the foundations after all... (it's the first book in the wanderers series!!!!!)

Anyway update that we just hit the final chapter at 163 😭 AND other novels in the series may be from other character POVs... nooooooooo...

[geraineon]

oops, somehow I missed this.

ah, I remember now another friend told me about the novel. I know she's following it as it updates.

hahaha, so that's why you mentioned Pawnshop No. 8 the other day elsewhere!