♡ yysq ♡

• 不逛花鳥市場的rapper不是好lover
  • by 北冰洋薯條
  • in love with the author's light descriptions - straightforward and down-to-earth yet manages to convey the gentleness of both characters very well
• 夜間降落
  • by 看山
  • trigger warning: depression, self-harm
  • this is a short about the internal turmoil of zyq - so painful yet reflects the painstakingly beautiful relationship that yc and zyq possess
• 冷空氣（上/下）
  • by 我太睏了
  • this is a 2-part fic in which zyq and yc were then lovers and now, years later, co-workers. although the background and peripheral characters have no relation with r1se, the 2 protagonists' personalities, likes and dislikes etc. do resemble their real-life personae which makes for an enjoyable read. it's also very reminiscent of old times which makes for a warm, fuzzy aftertaste
• 歡別
  • by 我太睏了
  • another short by one of my favourite authors - again very straightforward, to the point yet emotional and sentimental at the same time. p.s. in case any of you dislike bad endings, this fic definitely IS NOT for the weak-hearted...
• 偷雪糕的熊
  • by 我太睏了
  • a lighter fic compared to "歡別" but the style of writing is enjoyable
• 相逢有時
  • by 我太睏了
  • i was attracted from the very first paragraph - the setting is quite fresh and relatable (?) given it's about covid, and i can definitely see zyq in real life behaving like zyq's character in the story...
• 重慶森林
  • by 河童
  • i've heard good things about this fic but perhaps it was exactly this kind of anticipation that made it slightly disappointing (although still good, hence the rec). it's heavily tied to reality, especially if you're a hongkonger like myself - the characters' circumstances hinge greatly on the city's burgeoning development and the entire fic is basically a testament to zyq and yc's decade-long enduring romance. now onto the reason why this fic wasn't really a favourite: i'm personally more into in-depth descriptions and conversations because i believe these are what makes a story come alive - i like seeing characters interact and imagining scenes from a story - yet 重慶森林 lacked in this respect and merely glossed over a lot of the emotions, pushing the story forward according to a hurried timeline.

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♡ xwz ♡

• 風眼樂園
  • by 藍鳥
  • trigger warning: depression, bullying
  • truth be told, i was confused half the time while i was reading this fic, and only managed to finally (begin to) understand toward the end... i don't do spoilers but this story gave me slight chills due to the cleverness of the author in manipulating this emotional 'inception' concept. i don't know if this technique is practiced in film production in reality, but either way, it's quite clever and very, very refreshing.
• 燕回焉
  • by 平度春江
  • first things first: this was the only r1se fic (so far) that has made me tear up. the emotional rollercoaster was super subtle - growing from 'aww' as baby yxj was introduced to... just tears. it's the beauty of yxj/zl's relationship and the theme that one can defy their circumstances and the possible duality of one's persona - everyone has a story untold and whatever they do out of desperation does not make them a bad person - in any case, it could make them want to be a better person.
• 病為愛
  • by 餘生可安
• 星星失眠
  • by 隨緣
  • trigger warning: attempted rape / sexual assault, depression
  • this fic captured some of my fav character dynamics: persona-wise, it's the story about budding new actor yxj and producer zl; character role-wise, we see the theme of salvation in which one character is entangled in an internal turmoil having been sexually assaulted while the other acts as his saviour. trust me when i say this fic isn't as generic as this because even with our seemingly most headstrong character, yxj, the author so skilfully portrayed his character development and change in attitude toward homosexuality and the concept of 'salvation' in itself. honestly possibly one of the most well-written fics i've read in a while - brutal in its honesty yet subtle and slow in its development.
  • p.s. if anyone's also super into the actor/producer or actor/director characterisation, go check out the chanbaek fic, 一夜失守!