stebeee:I’m trying to do a nice series compilation of danmeis to read in time for New Year&rsq

stebeee:I’m trying to do a nice series compilation of danmeis to read in time for New Year’s maybe! Anyway also just a note that all the images I use are either from the official manhua, donghua, audio dramas OR official artwork as provided by official China bookstores when they do prints (and have obtained permission from artists on Lofter to use their artwork for merch/prints etc.)My Top 2020 Danmei Rec ListAnother Rec List- Part of Min’s ‘Why You Should Read’ Series -Summary: Yu She (the one in black) and Zhong Wan (the one in green) were close friends for a short period of time when they were younger, but unfortunately their identities and positions placed them on opposite sides of the fight for the throne (for their parents’ generations). Yu She’s family supported the Second Prince and Zhong Wan was taken in by the Sixth Prince’s family when he was younger, but in the end it was the Second Prince who ended up getting to the throne, while the Sixth Prince was accused of treason and died somewhere far away at war after being captured. Zhong Wan’s only wish was to keep the Sixth Prince’s children - Xuan Rui and a pair of twins, Xuan Yu and Xuan Congxin - safe, and so he moves them to another province and asks the Emperor (the former Second Prince) to demote Xuan Rui’s status to prove that they are no threat to the Emperor, if only to stay alive for another day.However, their days of hardship have only just begun in their new home, and Zhong Wan decides to namedrop Yu She, whose family is so powerful now, to make sure that other people will not bully his charges. He claims that Yu She loves him and that he was wooing Zhong Wan back in the days they knew each other so that officials and others would treat the children under his care better. A few years pass and Yu She doesn’t expose Zhong Wan. Zhong Wan thinks they can go on like this forever, until the Emperor asks Xuan Rui and the twins to head back to the palace for a visit.Zhong Wan meets Yu She again, but the boy he knew, who was gentle, a stickler for rules and a proper, well-mannered person who always got embarrassed and irritated when Zhong Wan flirted with or teased him, has changed almost completely. Cue palace conspiracies again, brothers fighting for the throne, scheming consorts etc. XDRead:Novel (Online) | Novel (Print) - August 2020 | Novel Translations | Manhua | Audio DramaCharacters:1.  钟宛 Zhong Wan - Also called Zhong Gui Yuan (归远) and his childhood nickname is 宝宝 (bao bao = baby), something he’s very embarrassed about. He’s a righteous but outgoing, sometimes flirtatious young man who lost his parents when he was very young, and then was taken in by the Sixth Prince and his wife, who married each other for political reasons and weren’t close until Zhong Wan turned up and got them to interact more with each other, helping them to fall in love, and that’s how he got three more siblings - Xuan Rui, Xuan Congxin and Xuan Yu. The prince and his wife doted on him a lot, but he was very aware always that he was not their son, and after the Sixth Prince was accused and died, he took it on himself to keep the other three children alive by any means possible.He spent a month or so in jail after the Sixth Prince was accused of treason as interrogators attempted to torture him into speaking out against the Sixth Prince, but managed to keep silent. Yu She rescued him by paying an exorbitant bail for him (he wouldn’t know about this until later), and he stayed with Yu She for almost half a year until he ‘ran away’ to take care of his three siblings, so to speak.He starts to fabricate stories about how Yu She likes him, and was wooing him, but they weren’t exactly fake entirely because he extrapolated from actual events (when he tried to tease/flirt with Yu She so he would let him go) that were actually pretty like flirtatious in nature (the both of them are entirely oblivious). His priority will always be the safety of the children, but when he returns to the Imperial City and realizes that Yu She has changed, he begins to plot to stay at his side, worried about him (and also to rediscover his feelings for Yu She).Also has a weak body as he was poisoned when he was 15-16 by someone close to him, faints and gets sick frequently in the novel hahaha (I have a type).2. 郁赦 Yu She - His courtesy name is Zi You (子宥), which Zhong Wang calls him by. He is the only son of Marquis Yu, and was study mates with Zhong Wan when they were younger. After his parents contributed to the downfall of the Sixth Prince (as they supported the Second Prince) and Zhong Wan ends up imprisoned, Yu She pays A LOT OF MONEY to get him out after Zhong Wan is basically put up for sale to anyone who wants him, to keep him safe from those who want to harm/humiliate him (because Zhong Wan is so handsome/beautiful as well). He was originally unable to handle Zhong Wan, who keeps teasing him and accusing him of liking him etc., and let Zhong Wan go when he plotted to leave him, understanding that he had a duty to keep the Sixth Prince’s children safe. In the years that Zhong Wan is away, he discovers a secret that causes him to engage in self-destructive behaviour (talking back to the Emperor, ingesting deadly poison etc.), and realizes that his parents are not who he thought they were. He becomes unpredictable, either doing dangerous things, or refusing to do normal things (instead of studying or reading for example, he spends most of his days reading published fanfiction about him and Zhong Wan).When he first heard of the rumours about him and Zhong Wan, he descends into this spiral of doubt, wondering if what Zhong Wan fabricated was true and if it was his memory that was wrong. He falls sick thinking so hard about the time he spent with Zhong Wan before LMAO, before deciding that he does like Zhong Wan, but until Zhong Wan returned to the city, he never once thought of acting on it.3. Xuan Rui, Xuan Congxin & Xuan YuXuan Rui is the Sixth Prince’s oldest son and was old enough to be aware of what was going on when his parents died. He’s very timid, paranoid and easily swayed by others, while his younger siblings, six-year old twins Xuan Congxin (left below) and Xuan Yu (right below) were brought up entirely by Zhong Wan, and Congxin in particular is much more mature/steady in personality than her two older brothers, and also knows to always stand on Zhong Wan’s side.4. Lin Si - Zhong Wan’s childhood friend who was also brought up by the Sixth Prince and his wife. He’s mute, and a bodyguard of sorts, helping Zhong Wan to gather information from the city while he’s away. After Zhong Wan left with the Sixth Prince’s children, Lin Si stays with the current 4th Prince, and also falls in love with him. It’s unrequited until he kisses the prince and then disappears, leaving the prince to look everywhere for him XD It’s hinted that they do end up together.Other Things I Like in the Novel:Zhong Wan’s childhood nickname is 宝宝 lmaooooo and Yu She threatens to torture Lin Si (like about to torture him), and Lin Si was like ‘what does he want to know that he would torture me for it’, then finds out that Yu She is about to hurt him to find out what Zhong Wan’s nickname and he’s like wtf??!!!Yu She has this steward who was bullied by Zhong Wan a lot while he was staying there with them over that half a year, and is also the biggest Yu She/Zhong Wan shipper even though Zhong Wan was really the troublemaker thenWhen they find out who the person who poisoned Zhong Wan was, Congxin is the first person to step up for Zhong Wan, and turns against the person who poisoned himYu She keeps forcing Zhong Wan to read out their fanfiction novels aloud, much to Zhong Wan’s mortification, but after Zhong Wan realizes he likes Yu She for real, he starts being really forward with his want for him, and it is Yu She who gets embarrassedYu She is so embarrassed that he schedules days where Zhong Wan can/cannot touch him, and sets limits to the number of times he can kiss him etc. LMAOOOOO in the beginning of their relationship I frickin died -- source link

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