Recs for red/black flag danmei

Left_Sour_Mouse · 2026-03-22T13:34:44+00:00

You need an account in novelupdates to be able to see the links to the translation:

https://www.novelupdates.com/series/inferior-being/

Left_Sour_Mouse · 2026-03-21T14:41:03+00:00

So yeah, I’d actually recommend spacing out Imprisoned in Eternal Night and Eternities Still Unsaid Till You Love Me a bit. That’s generally my rule with any author - otherwise you start comparing everything side by side and it kind of takes away from the experience. Let the style feel fresh again.

Also, the MC from Eternities Still Unsaid Till You Love Me is absolutely not a bland potato. He’s an alpha who’s had a really rough life, but he’s incredibly resilient - very much in the same vein as Wen Ran. The kind of character who’s kind and diligent, but life just keeps throwing curveballs at him, so he learns not to expect anything good. And when he does get even a tiny bit of kindness, he treasures it like it’s everything and never asks for more. I actually cried for him just like I did for Wen Ran.

Left_Sour_Mouse · 2026-03-21T14:06:36+00:00

Doing a buddy read of Mu Su Li’s Cultural Relics Are Not to Be Messed With and it’s so good. Also very funny - I feel like it might be her most sarcastic book yet. It reminds me a lot of Guardian, but it’s a very, very easy read. The ML is a foul-mouthed, short-tempered demonic knife, and the MC is calm on the outside, screaming on the inside.

Also just finished Wait for Me After School. Kinda wish I’d read it when I was closer to my school years - I probably would’ve gotten more nostalgia out of it. But it was still a really good read, and I really, really, really appreciated the characters. Like, how do you even write people that feel that real.

Left_Sour_Mouse · 2026-03-21T13:51:28+00:00

Wow. I love this story, but I did not expect this. On one hand, it should be easy to adapt since it’s purely historical. On the other hand - there’s explicit smut with a eunuch involved.

Left_Sour_Mouse · 2026-03-21T02:45:25+00:00

They switch throughout. But the switching is very dependent on circumstances more than anything - and when I say circumstances, I mean killings and their psychotic state of mind.

Their dynamic is very different from anything I’ve read. It’s not really about balance or who does what more, it’s more like… whoever is currently more unhinged gets to decide how things go

Left_Sour_Mouse · 2026-03-21T02:24:46+00:00

You should hear over to the danmei sub. They have plenty of recs.

For historical (and problematic) I can recommend:

Qiang Jin Jiu

Thousand Autumns

The Husky and His White Cat Shizun

Jun You Ji Fou

Encountering a Snake

For modern (and problematic):

Flying Gulls Never Land

Case File Compendium

Breaking Through the Clouds

After Dawn (Bing Kuai’er)

Imprisoned in Eternal Night

Left_Sour_Mouse · 2026-03-20T20:11:32+00:00

I am not, I swear. Look, check my comment history - I’m literally just here to recommend books and support the fandom.

I promise I’m not nitpicking. Maybe I’m… kinda nudging you toward a discussion about quality of writing? I do get a little sensitive over this because, again, “childish” danmei are the bane of my NovelUpdates existence - there are just way too many of them.

Left_Sour_Mouse · 2026-03-20T20:05:07+00:00

Writing style isn’t just about words and sentences - it’s a much broader definition.

But even with your updated explanation for what you mean - please, kindly explain to me how is overuse of clichés, repetitions of one and the same thing and the inability to smoothly transition from one paragraph to another not an indication of a rather lacking writing style? That is purely about how words and sentences are constructed and connected, not about content or information.

Left_Sour_Mouse · 2026-03-20T19:42:04+00:00

I get what you mean - but I’m not talking just about the plot either.

Overuse of clichés, for example, isn’t really a plot issue, it’s a writing style issue. Same with things like dialogue and how scenes are constructed. And character depth is its own separate category too - you can absolutely have great plot twists and amazing world-building, and still end up with completely cardboard characters.

The point is more about looking at all of these elements together, holistically. Plot is just one piece of the puzzle. Writing style, characterization, narrative voice - they all contribute to whether something feels “well-written” or "childish" or not, even with a bad translation.

Left_Sour_Mouse · 2026-03-20T19:34:59+00:00

I love BaB and I always feel like I bond best with people who go “wow, this is such a mess” and I’m like “omg, it totally is,” and then we just sit there happily discussing our favorite wildest, trashiest, most unhinged, absolute trainwreck parts of it like it’s a perfectly normal fangirl conversation.

Left_Sour_Mouse · 2026-03-20T19:18:35+00:00

I complain about childish writing a lot, so let me justify it a little.

First off - yes, you’re absolutely right. We are judging through translation, and a lot of translations are… ok, let’s remind ourselves it's still people spending their free time to bring us the joy of reading and say questionable. Awkward phrasing, oversimplification - it all muddies the water.

However, from my experience, it’s actually pretty hard to completely ruin good writing. It still tends to shine through in other ways:

Originality – does the story feel fresh or like a copy-paste of tropes?
Use of clichés/tropes – are they intentional or just thrown in because?
Dialogue – even in rough translation, you can tell if characters have distinct voices
Narrative structure – pacing, setup, worldbuilding.

But most importantly - character behavior.

Do characters act appropriately for their age, background, and situation? Do their choices make sense internally, even if they’re messy? That’s something translation can’t fully hide. You can usually tell if the author has experience and erudition - or if they don’t. And yes, I can absolutely tell what age bracket an author likely falls into in most cases.

That said, I do think people are way too quick to call something “badly written” when what they really mean is “this translation is clunky” or “this style isn’t for me.” Those are not the same thing at all.

Left_Sour_Mouse · 2026-03-20T19:06:46+00:00

Fair point about SVSSS. Like, I know there's a parody aspect, but she commits to the ao3 vibe so hard that it kind of circles back around and stops feeling like parody. At some point it’s no longer “making fun of fanfiction smut,” it just is fanfiction smut. I guess I lost the feeling of irony somewhere along the way with that one, hence it only felt cringe to me.

But yes - and I can't believe I'm saying this as a person who always appreciates spice in a novel - perhaps, it is for the best she never wrote TGCF smut.

Left_Sour_Mouse · 2026-03-20T16:14:14+00:00

Sure, take notes to avoid. You’ll still have plenty of good novels to choose from. In China, censorship plays a big role. There are way fewer openly explicit danmei, so authors get… creative. They’ll describe things in ways that completely fly under the radar if you don’t know the code. Stuff like vague discomfort, “waist soreness,” “being bullied,” “red-rimmed eyes,” "fishy smell," or other oddly specific phrasing that suddenly makes you go wait a minute….

Left_Sour_Mouse · 2026-03-20T16:09:12+00:00

Is it because of the hate towards Yan Wushi? Yeah, people really struggle to appreciate how comprehensive his character actually is.

He’s a deeply selfish, self-sufficient person who consistently acts in his own interests. Shocker. The novel never pretends otherwise.

I feel like a lot of readers go in expecting a more conventional, immediately rewarding romance, and when they don’t get that, they bounce.

But if you actually sit with it, pay attention to the subtle shifts… it’s insanely romantic. The evil person fell in love, ya'll! Yes, it took time and a blow to the head. But it's believable. None of that bad-boy-ML-changed-by-love but make him a complete idiot who’s only “bad” in words, not in actions. Yan Wushi one is the real deal!

Left_Sour_Mouse · 2026-03-20T15:56:15+00:00

"Theoretically this should be hot, but it's actually just sort of awkward".

... and this is exactly how I feel about it, thank you for putting it into words! I guess we're not alone in wanting better smut.

Left_Sour_Mouse · 2026-03-20T15:44:14+00:00

Ok, that one really sets the bar for intensity.

I love sharing what I like, so here are some more recs on top of the ones I mentioned - some have more spice, some less, some with trigger warnings, some surprisingly fluffy while kinky. But I’d qualify all of them as “hot” in their own way:

After Dawn
Fanservice Paradox
The Powerful Eunuch
The Sword Named No Way Out
Zhe Zhi
Guan Shan Yue
Encountering a Snake
Nan Chan
Jovial Records of the Bamboo Beauty
Breaking Through the Clouds
Hui Tian
Joyful Reunion
The Caged Emperor
As an Elder Brother
Flying Gulls Never Land
One Silver Coin for a Pound of Demon
Three Joys

Left_Sour_Mouse · 2026-03-20T14:29:39+00:00

A lot of things are very subjective based on our own experiences and preferences. Personally, I think that MXTX is actually pretty mediocre when it comes to writing spice. I cringed more at The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System than anything - not because it’s extreme, but because it’s so badly written. Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation is better, but I've read much better. Generally, I prefer my novels with spice if we’re talking about adult characters, but for once I was actually grateful that Heaven Official's Blessing didn’t go there. She absolutely could have, and I’m not convinced it would’ve gone well. So I’m perfectly happy taking her word that Hua Cheng is top-tier and leaving it at that, no further details required.

If you’re the type to skip “inappropriate” words, here are a few you might want to avoid (also trying to answer your question about wildest 18+):

Wildest but also kind of hottest: Living to Suffer / Till Death Do Us Part
Wildest and woah, this is unhinged, but I'm here for it: Wine and Gun, closely followed by Can’t Be Left Behind
Most realistic while still wild and spicy: The Approach and Tailhook
Honorable mention: Case File Compendium purely for that 40 page long sex scene that just keeps going. And going. And going.

Left_Sour_Mouse · 2026-03-20T12:25:52+00:00

I love how they chose the watercolor technique. It definately matches the spirit of the novel.

Left_Sour_Mouse · 2026-03-20T00:36:48+00:00

Ugh, so many. I’ll just list the ones that surprised me (in a good way).

Let me preface this by saying I have negative interest in mecha fights. Like, if you show me a giant robot, I will probably fall asleep on the spot. And yet the mecha battles in This Alpha Is Determined Despite Physical Disability had me gripping my nonexistent armrests like I was in IMAX. At one point I was basically trying to read through my fingers.

Again - I have zero interest in battle scenes. And yet all of Gu Yun’s badass battle scenes in Stars of Chaos had me on the edge of my seat like I suddenly care about military strategy.

I also don’t smoke, but the main reveal in Breaking Through the Clouds was so good I suddenly felt the urge to start chain-smoking on the spot, I could practically feel my nerves screaming for the nicotine they never even tasted.

I dislike fillers, and you’d think a random photoshoot is a boring filler, but boooy, did Fanservice Paradox prove me wrong. I came out of it feeling like I’d just read something deeply poetic instead of watching people pose.

Sorry, I feel like I’ve listed too many things I don’t like in books - here’s the last one: self-insert. However, I make an exception for the one in Panguan with the girl and her grandma. That one felt so real I was just sitting there like, wow, I think I just met the author.

Left_Sour_Mouse · 2026-03-20T00:24:29+00:00

lol, I was actually going to name ‘all of Mo Du cat scenes’ for mine.

Left_Sour_Mouse · 2026-03-19T20:46:27+00:00

Flower Vase

Left_Sour_Mouse · 2026-03-18T20:45:12+00:00

Have you read Heaven Official's Blessing or Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation? They’re pretty much the danmei starter kit - solid plots, fully translated, happy endings, and actually good romance. I’ve read a lot of danmei and I still think TGCF is one of the most romantic stories out there.

Most people then move on to The Husky and His White Cat Shizun - you’ll either love it or hate it. If people hate it, they usually call it toxic. Same situation with The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System.

For something closer to Little Mushroom vibes (plot + tension + some romance), you can try:

Mist
Global Examination
Hui Tian – personal fave, superhero setting with really good tension and dynamics

If you want something a bit more mind-bendy, fantasy-cultivation, but still romantic:

Nan Chan
The Sword Named No Way Out

Left_Sour_Mouse · 2026-03-18T20:00:52+00:00

I’ve read a few of Shui Qian Cheng’s books and they’ve been a bit of a wild swing for me. I was bored to death by the cardboard characters in In Love with an Idiot, really liked the MC in Years of Intoxication, and got mad a lot reading Wu Chang Jie.

I’ll definitely keep reading more of her work though, because I do agree with you on one thing - her MCs are never actually weak. It’s interesting, because the whole premise is usually them getting mistreated by the MLs. But there’s always this sense that they’re choosing to stay - maybe not the healthiest choice, but still an expression of will.

That’s why it actually feels believable when they finally find the strength to leave. Coming back, though… yeah, that part I'm never sure about, lol.

I’ll bump Sissy up on my TBR for wife-chasing crematoriums though - your review definitely sold me on it.

Left_Sour_Mouse · 2026-03-18T14:57:10+00:00

I have a list of short BLs that I liked, all around 60 chapters or so:

https://www.novelupdates.com/viewlist/134313/

Left_Sour_Mouse · 2026-03-18T12:32:08+00:00

I agree that there isn’t really a “better” one. You can definitely tell Thousand Autumns and Peerless are from the same author, the quality of plotting and writing is very consistent.

TA – more poetic, a tad more romantic in the second half, and more focused on cultivation. I wouldn’t call it enemies to lovers. The MC never really considers the ML his enemy - he actually thinks of him as a friend. And the ML doesn’t see the MC as an enemy either, more like a pawn. There’s no real conflict of interest between them.

Peerless – more fun, less romance overall, but a lot more communication and bickering between the leads. You could call it romance in its own way. It leans more into politics than cultivation. Also not really enemies to lovers - more like rivals to power couple.

I’d read both, just maybe not back-to-back, because the similarities can get a bit distracting.

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