Review by spinebenderreviews - I Ship My Adversary x Me

spinebenderreviews 's review for:

I Ship My Adversary x Me by PEPA

4.0

funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I Ship My Adversary x Me follows Wei Yanzi, a C-list actor with "the face of an idol and the acting skills of a brick", and his adversary, B-list actor Gu Yiliang whose acting skills and looks are both amazing. The two actors belong to the same company and debuted at the same time, leading to their fans developing a fierce rivalry. Wei Yanzi comes across a section of fandom that - rather than indulging in fighting and character assassination - imagines him and his adversary as lovers. Among the Niangzi Army, there are only encouraging words, cute headcanons, and some stories too NSFW to contemplate. He gets drawn into creating fanservice moments for these shippers in order to keep the good vibes going, and in the process, accidentally starts shipping himself with his adversary.

I had such a fun time reading this. The plot is pretty straightforward and employs a dual POV sparingly but to great effect. The miscommunications and misunderstandings make for a great comedy of errors. Wei Yanzi is a himbo to the highest degree and I love him for it. Meanwhile, Gu Yiliang has a cooler head on his shoulders but still jumps to conclusions due to his affection for Wei Yanzi.

I loved the story's portrayal of online fan communities and all the good and bad behaviour associated with them. Having been in fandom myself for a long time, the fan behaviour felt very recognisable and realistic. The author has obviously spent some time in online fandom. The story itself read like a fic, in all the best ways, such as how it both uses and pokes fun at tropes that often crop up in fic.

A trope subversion that I enjoyed was that

the first time they have sex is bad. Gu Yiliang, who seeming has everything going for him, is bad in bed! I thought that was a cute detail and not what you usually see in stories like this one. He's not had sex with a man before, so obviously can't be expected to do things perfectly the first time, but he doesn't really improve much either, at least with oral. But Wei Yanzi likes him so much that he doesn't mind letting him (painfully) keeping practising. They match each other's freak.

In summary, while there's not a whole lot of substance in this story, I view that as a selling point rather than a mark against it. It's a fun romcom with plenty of fandom and pop culture references.

Content Warnings