cnovels | Discussion Friday

geraineon posting in

I was just recently on a three day long train trip, which got me thinking:

1) if you were to go on a three day long train trip, are there any cnovel characters you would like to be your travel buddies? And who do you think will be a terrible travel buddy, and why?

2) if you have read any novels involving train travel that you enjoyed, what role did that train/train travel play in the novel?

Any other train related comments, all good too!

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

lessonsinescapology

LOL! Given how problematic most of the characters are, I would fear for my life if they were my travel companions🤣

PS: hint of what kind of novels I read.

From:

geraineon

XD maybe in this train travel headcanon world, you are friends with them and won't be murder targets.

It's okay if they kill other people on the train! But hm, that would delay the train substantially because everyone will be a suspect...

From:

geraineon

Re: novels with train travel

Spoilers for Mist

I am reminded of the train in Mist, that exists in an alternate timeline bubble and the original timeline and that was pretty interesting because of the two timelines stacking!

In terms of travel companions, ugh it's hard. I love so many murderous people.

... I would like to travel with the "cat" from Evil as Humans. They are adorbs. okay, maybe cnovel pets will be good!

Edited Date: 2025-05-09 06:35 pm (UTC)

From:

anne

La Bête humaine lolsob

Travel companions...that's a tough one! Shen Qiao and Yan Wushi would be entertaining, I think.

From:

geraineon

Entertaining indeed!

I hope nothing happens during the train ride though xD

Nobody challenging anyone to fights!

From:

larryhammer

Does Night on the Galactic Railroad count?

From:

aurumcalendula

iirc the Reading the Remnants folks seemed like they would be decent travel companions. On the other hand. Zhou Zishu & Wen Kexing and Fu Wanqing & Yu Shengyan would be entertaining to watch but terrible as travel companions (and I assume would probably cause a certain amount of destruction and/or mayhem on said train).

From:

halfcactus

1) Would travel with - Modu edition: any character that would parent/look after me (Tao Ran, with Lang Qiao as the fun aunt/jiejie). Xiao Haiyang seems like he'd be reliable at creating the itinerary and per cdrama evidence his phone is always fully charged. :P

People NOT to be travel (for leisure!) buddies with: Luo Wenzhou and Fei Du as a tandem. Like obviously everything will be fine and they do take care of people and know how to get out of trouble, but they are historically too chaotic (and often too distracted by work) when they try to go on vacation LOL. Plus they wouldn't be able to get their hands/off each other, I'm sure.

2) I liked the train arc in My Five Elements Like You by Xi Zixu! Kind of a mystery-horror "there's a doppelganger inside the train" thing. Same with the Little Mushroom train scene, except with more horror and trauma - I do remember a friend commenting as we were reading the book that she had a hard time believing that trains could be so functional and on time in the apocalypse. XD

Also in They All Say I Met a Ghost by Cyan Wings, the ML was always traveling by train and it was funny though I can't remember the details now. I just realized most of my examples are horror-adjacent...

Edited Date: 2025-05-10 05:50 am (UTC)

From:

lessonsinescapology

I never thought of trains as a horror setting😄

From:

lessonsinescapology

I'm afraid of being collateral damage XD especially among characters who are in a power struggle in their plot.

From:

liliacs

I don't know who I'd want to travel with if I was thinking of actually nice companions, but I can think of many who might be entertainingly terrible! The first to come to my mind are Feng Xiao and Cui Buqu.

I can't remember any train related arcs off the top of my head. I like trains as a setting and they can be good for mystery/horror, but I guess none actually stood out to me in the novels I've read!

From:

mekare

I‘d travel with Nihuang&Xia Dong, or Jingrui and Yujin.

From:

ehyde

Tai Sui has trains, but I can't think of anyone from Tai Sui I'd want to spend three days on a train with. Certainly not Xi Ping!

I think Wen Ning would be a good travel companion, that's more my speed.

From:

shipperslist

Wen Ning would be a good travel companion
Oh, he would!

From:

shipperslist

Good travel buddies: I'm gonna echo ehyde and say Wen Ning would be pretty nice. And Lan Wangji if he could just travel and not sigh forlornly at every turn because Wei Ying wasn't there. Luo Qingyang could also be nice! And Xie Lian (but alone). Jin Guangyao (but no murder, please).

Terrible travel buddies: Shen Qingqiu would probably fret all the time that he's OoC and it would be too stressful. Wen Chao, Jin Quanghsan (do I need to say why?).

On the fence: Wei Wuxian, Hua Cheng, Luo Binghe, Xue Yang: on the other hand they would be entertaining but on the other hand it could go Very Terribly.

From:

duckprintspress

I feel like all my favorite characters would be insufferable, mostly because the ones in ships would all bring their SOs and I have no interest in third-wheeling any of them.

I really liked Murder on the Orient Express, for train novels...

eta someone said Wen Ning's name on Mastodon (maybe related to this??? I'm too blotto to read carefully) and I've changed my vote to Wen Ning. (eta 2: yes it was in relation to this, and yes it was ehyde.)

Edited Date: 2025-05-10 06:48 pm (UTC)

From:

douqi

There is an amazing train trip sequence in To Embers We Return, which I'm looking forward to people be able to read in *calculates on fingers* about three years' time.

There's also an incredible sequence involving a crowded, chaotic road trip by RV, which can be summarised thus: bicker bicker bicker KILL INTRUDER WITH EXTREME PREJUDICE bicker bicker bicker.

From:

neigette

Not a cnovel but the Hell Train arc was my favourite in Tower of God!

From:

llonkrebboj

1) The character I would love to travel on a train with is Mei Changsu in his jianghu leader persona. Since we're on a trip, he can be more relaxed and rest for a bit, and maybe tell us about the history and interesting stories of the places we pass by. He's great in a conversation, but probably also happy to read in silence.

I am very fond of Li Wei of Designated Cleaner, and Shen Jue of Passerby xD but they are a DANGER to be around 😆 As trouble magnets, being on a train with them may end up with us disastrously finding ourselves in a rules-governed train of an pocket dimension/Instance. Thank you, but no thank you!

2) I looooove reading about train-based pocket dimensions in semi apocalypse, unlimited flow novels because solving or working around the rules is always very entertaining. As mentioned, the most memorable for me are Turns Out The Passerby is The World Ending Boss, and Designated Cleaner of Unlimited Flow Instances, which both feature this trope :P

From:

halfcactus

HAHA I never thought of it as a trope but now that you mention it there are multiple KR horror/thriller movies that are set on a train! XD

From:

llonkrebboj

As we'd definitely be the NPCs in their worlds, fear of being collateral damage is so 100% valid 🤣 it's not worth the entertainment value!

From:

lessonsinescapology

What's that saying? "Discretion is the better part of valour"? XD

From:

lessonsinescapology

Agree on the "go very terribly part" XD

From:

geraineon

I just looked that up and that looks like an interesting show!

Gonna see if I can get my hands on it

From:

geraineon

I'd wanna be very far away from Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing. even if it's a surprisingly peaceful train ride, I get the feeling that it will be tiring to be near them too xD

From:

geraineon

I'd agree with the criteria "anyone who would parent me" but I know that my own control issues will make me fight against it 😆

I hope there are no murder cases if travelling with the Modu people!

They All Say I Met a Ghost, iirc was a bus. But the ML did travel by train briefly! (It's been a while since I read it though)

Mystery horror train is a great combination!

From:

geraineon

Train to Busan! (Wait that's a zombie movie... Is that horror? I've not actually watched it)

From:

geraineon

FX and CBQ are people I'd watch from very far away 😂

But definitely entertaining!

From:

geraineon

Oh Wen Ning will be a pretty chill travel buddy, yeah. I think I'd like to travel with LXC (JGY will organize everything!)

XY on the train? I'd get off the train xD

From:

larryhammer

It's a beautiful movie, adapted from an excellent story.

From:

shipperslist

Oh, Jingrui and Yujin would be really nice company!

From:

shipperslist

Mei Changsu would probably be really interesting company but I also suspect my nursing persona would snap on and then I couldn't be able to relax because I'd be fussing about him the whole trip.

From:

geraineon

Murders on trains, fun to read, not so fun to experience xD

Agree wen ning might be a good travel companion

From:

geraineon

Three years... Will be patient!

Are there anyone from To Embers We Return you'd think will make good travel companions?

From:

geraineon

What's the Hell Train arc like? Is it horror? (I don't know Tower of God)

From:

neigette

Mmm, from what I remember, there might've been a few horror-ish moments (but it wouldn't have been too bad cause I don't like horror). But it was mostly action/adventure and exploring different worlds/areas inside the train + at the stops.
and for anyone not familiar with it, ToG is a korean webtoon!

From:

douqi

I actually had a pretty long discussion about this with a couple of other people who have read the novel, and I think half the characters would annoy me and the other half would make me anxious by being TOO accommodating and uncomplaining.

My joke nomination is for For comments: Highlight for spoilers! *the sole non-cybernetically-enhanced human in the story who has also trained herself in the art of poison so that she can literally kill you with a touch. She would either respect your boundaries on the road trip, or she would not. In the latter case, it would be a very short trip*

From:

halfcactus

but I know that my own control issues will make me fight against it
this is a good point lol

Mystery horror train is a great combination!
it's like a locked room, except they're moving! XD

From:

halfcactus

Zombie horror, yeah! And I (horror-/thriller-/zombie-averse) did really enjoy that for the ensemble feelings but I can't seem to get other people to watch it haha!

From:

gekidasa

Not really answering your questions, but trains! So: for awhile I wanted to write a Before Sunrise sangcheng au….

From:

geraineon

My SG friend tried to take care of all my travel itinerary/needs/etc. the first time we organized to meet up, and it led to some friction because of my control issues + her control issues (both eldest daughters XDD)