Fics like The Flowers That We'd Grown Together Died of Thirst

In recent years, there is a revisionist wave that is so determined to nit-pick Legend of Ruyi and paint Ruyi as a passive, ineffective gongdou character who is stupid not to fight even for her own survival. But this criticism, either deliberately or otherwise, misses both the point of Legend of Ruyi as a drama and of Ruyi as a character. It might look like a gongdou drama, but I’ve been arguing for years that Ruyi is ultimately a drama about a marriage that fails. And in that marriage, Ruyi’s main purpose isn’t just to survive; it’s to preserve her sense of self, to ultimately be able to live, or not live, her life on her own terms.

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  1. The Start by RuanChunXian (如懿传 | Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace (TV), 还珠格格 | Huán Zhū Gé Gé | Princess Returning Pearl (TV 1998-2003))
  2. Our Glorious Bittersweet Days by LittleFireShadow27 (如懿传 | Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace (TV))
  3. Pines and Cedars Up On Mountain South by RuanChunXian (如懿传 | Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace (TV), 还珠格格 | Huán Zhū Gé Gé | Princess Returning Pearl (TV 1998-2003))
  4. The Space Between the Finish and the Start by RuanChunXian (如懿传 | Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace (TV))
  5. The Reckoning of a Reborn Consort by LittleFireShadow27 (如懿传 | Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace (TV))
  6. green plum blossom promise by RuanChunXian (如懿传 | Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace (TV))
  7. Sequin Smile and Sensual Politics by RuanChunXian (如懿传 | Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace (TV))
  8. Conventions for Chinese Names and Titles for Fanfic Writing Purposes by RuanChunXian (Multi-Fandom, 知否知否应是绿肥红瘦 | The Story of Minglan (TV), more)
  9. Vantage by narsus (如懿传 | Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace (TV))
  10. Marriage by narsus (如懿传 | Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace (TV))
  11. Seniority by narsus (如懿传 | Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace (TV), 后宫甄嬛传 | The Legend of Zhen Huan | Empresses in the Palace (TV))
  12. Alliance by narsus (如懿传 | Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace (TV))
  13. The Fanfiction Writer's Guide to the Qing Dynasty by RuanChunXian (如懿传 | Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace (TV), 后宫甄嬛传 | The Legend of Zhen Huan | Empresses in the Palace (TV), more)
  14. Fated by Books_With_Promise (如懿传 | Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace (TV))
  15. If I had a second chance by Aljojo2001 (如懿传 | Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace (TV))
  16. Would you marry me? by Anotherworldash (如懿传 | Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace (TV))
  17. Traces by narsus (如懿传 | Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace (TV))
  18. Love Amidst Intrigue: The Romance of Yehe-Nara Meiying by Seraphis88 (如懿传 | Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace (TV))
  19. The Future Awaits Day After Day by Books_With_Promise (如懿传 | Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace (TV))
  20. Final identity of lady of many names by AmphetamineEyes (后宫甄嬛传 | The Legend of Zhen Huan | Empresses in the Palace (TV), 如懿传 | Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace (TV))