#character: gao xuan

[heymeowmao]

19th Floor (2024) ♠ Episode 1

[nemainofthewater]

Welcome to the 'Best Character with [X] surname' polls!

This is where I take several characters from different Chinese media (mostly cnovels and cdrama) and run a poll on which one is the 'best'. What does best mean? It's up to you! Whether you love them, are intrigued by their characters, love to hate them, or they're your '2 second blorbos whose personality you made up wholesale', these are all reasons for you to vote for your favs!

NB: the surnames are not exactly the same in all the cases, as often they will be a different character. I am, however, grouping them all together otherwise things got more complicated.

If you can't find a surname, it's because I couldn't find enough candidates (at least 3 from 3 distinct medias) to compete. Feel free to submit candidates!

I will be posting several polls at a time, so do come back and check this masterpost to remember which polls are ongoing, who the winners are, and who's coming up next!

Finished polls: Xing/Rong/Nan/Ren/Pan/Qu/Fu/Sui/Tan/You/Sima/Xuan/Chang/Xun/Shangguan/Jian/Qian/Shu/Xi/Yuwen/Cai/Sha/Yin/Ceng/Helian/Zeng/Lou/Mi/Ji/Ping/Tong/Tuoba/Ge/Murong/Hei/Niu/Tao/Si/Pang/Zi/Gongsun/Mao/Qing/Lian

Chi/Shan/Tian/Dao/Chao/Xin/Ran/Sang/Cang/Miao/Yao/Zang/Chong/Nangong/Kong/Hai/Deng/Kang/Jun/Chun/Gui/Peng/Gong/Dai/Bao/Bian/Leng/Xian/Kan/Hou/Shao/Kou/Zuo/Lai/Tie/Huan/Min/Xiong/Cen/Dou/Misc

There's only a certain number of hyperlinks that can be added per post, so the rest of the completed polls can now be found here

All the details of the individual polls under the readmore

An - posted 15/03/24 WINNER An Zhe

Bai - posted 28/02/24 WINNER Bai Fengxi

Baili - posted 22/03/24 WINNER Baili Qingmiao

Bao - posted 1/05/24 WINNER Bao Rongxing

Bi - posted 26/03/24 WINNER Bi Changfeng

Bian - posted 1/05/14 WINNER Bian Cheng

Cai - posted 7/04/24 WINNER Cai Quan

Cang - posted 23/04/24 WINNER Cang Jiumin

Cao - posted 8/02/24. WINNER - Cao Weining

Cen - posted 7/05/24 WINNEER Cen Xiao

Ceng - posted 8/04/24 WINNER Ceng Aiyu

Chang - posted 3/04/24 WINNER Chang Geng

Chao - posted 21/04/24 WINNER Chao Zi

Chen - posted 9/02/24 WINNER Chen Qingxu

Cheng - posted 10/03/24 WINNER Cheng Shaoshang

Chi - posted 19/04/24 WINNERS Chi Zhanggui and Chi Xiaochi

Chong - posted 25/04/24 WINNER Chong Ming

Chu - posted 12/03/24 WINNER Chu Wanning

Chun - posted 28/04/24 WINNER Chun Shen

Cui - posted 11/03/24 WINNER Madam Cui

Dai - posted 30/04/24 WINNER Dai Mubai

Dao - posted 20/04/24 WINNER Dao Mingsi

Deng - posted 27/04/24 WINNER Deng Kuan

Di - posted 16/02/24 WINNER Di Feisheng

Ding - posted 7/03/24 WINNER Ding Rong

Dong - posted 21/03/24 WINNER Dong Yi

Dongfang - posted 25/03/24 WINNER Dongfang Qingcang

Dou - posted 7/05/24 WINNER Dou Cheng

Du - posted 26/03/24 WINNER Du Cheng

Duan - posted 23/03/24 WINNER Duan Baiyue

Fan - posted 27/02/24 WINNER Fan Xian

Fang - posted 24/02/24 WINNER Fang Duobing

Fei - posted 20/03/24 WINNER Fei Du

Feng - posted 28/02/24 WINNER 'Other'

Fu - posted 31/03/24 WINNER Fu Yao

Gao - posted 13/02/24 WINNER Gao Xiaolian

Ge - posted 13/04/24 WINNER Ge Chen

Gong - posted 30/04/24 WINNER Gong Yu

Gongsun - posted 17/04/24 WINNER Gongsun Heng

Gu - posted 7/03/24 WINNER Gu Xiang

Guan - posted 17/03/24 WINNER Guan Hemeng

Gui - posted 29/04/24 WINNERS Gui Wen, Gui Yang, Gui Bai and 'Other'

Guo - posted 9/02/24 WINNER Guo Changcheng

Hai - posted 26/04/24 WINNER Hai Lanshi

Han - posted 17/03/24 WINNER Han Ying

Hao - posted 16/03/24 WINNER Hao Du

He - posted 22/03/24 WINNER He Xuan

Hei - posted 14/04/24 WINNER Hei Xiazi

Helian - posted 9/04/24 wINNER Helian Yi

Hong - posted 8/03/24 WINNER Hong Qigong

Hou - posted 3/05/24 WINNER Hou Bin

Hu - posted 6/03/24 WINNER Hu Tianying

Hua - posted 21/02/24 WINNER Hua Cheng

Huan - posted 6/05/24 WINNER Huan Xiaoyan

Huang - posted 20/03/24 WINNER Huang Shaotian

Huo - posted 25/02/24 WINNER Huo Xiuxiu

Ji - posted 11/04/24 WINNER Ji Xue

Jia - posted 18/03/24 WINNER Jia Kui

Jian - posted 4/04/24 WINNER Jian Buzhi

Jiang - posted 12/02/24 WINNER Jiang Cheng

Jiao - posted 27/03/24 WINNER Jiao Liqiao

Jin - posted 29/02/24 WINNER Jin Ling

Jing - posted 14/03/24 WINNER Jing Beiyuan

Jun - posted 28/04/24 WINNER 'Other"

Kan - posted 3/05/24 WINNER Kan Jian

Kang - posted 27/04/24 WINNER 'Other'

Kong - posted 26/04/24 WINNERS Kong Xiu and Alexis Kong

Kou - posted 4/05/24 WINNER Kou Baimen

Lai - posted 5/05/24 WINNER Lai Zhongshu

Lan - posted 23/02/24 WINNER Lan Wangji

Lei - posted 12/03/24 WINNER Lei Wujie

Leng - posted 2/05/24 WINNER Leng Yue

Li - posted 18/02/24 WINNER Li Lianhua

Lian - posted 18/04/24 WINNERS Lian Yufan and Lian Qiao

Liang - posted 13/03/24 WINNER 'Other'

Lin - posted 14/02/24 WINNER Lin Chen

Ling - posted 6/03/24 WINNER Ling Wen

Liu - posted 16/02/24 WINNER Liu Qingge

Long - posted 23/03/24 WINNER Long Zhi

Lou - posted 10/04/24 WINNER Lou Yao

Lu - posted 5/03/24 WINNER Lu Guang

Luo - posted 24/02/24 WINNER Luo Binghe

Ma - posted 13/03/24 WINNER Ma Xiuying

Mao - posted 17/04/24 WINNER Mao Panfeng

Mei - posted 14/02/24 WINNER Mei Changsu

Meng - posted 29/02/24 WINNER Meng Zhi

Mi - posted 10/04/24 WINER Mi Chong

Miao - posted 23/04/24 WINNER Miao Renfeng

Min - posted 6/05/24 WINNER Min Yunzhong

Ming - posted 26/02/24 WINNER Ming Yi

Misc - posted 7/05/24 WINNER Gongyi Xiao

Mo - posted 18/02/24 WINNER Mo Xuanyu

Mu - posted 22/02/24 WINNER Mu Nihuang

Murong - posted 13/04/24 WINNER Other

Nan - posted 29/03/24 WINNER Nan Feng

Nangong - posted 25/04/24 WINNER Nangong Si

Nie - posted 15/03/24 WINNER Nie Huaisang

Ning - posted 19/03/24 WINNER Ning Yingying

Niu - posted 14/04/24 WINNER Niu Chunmiao

Ouyang - posted 5/03/24 WINNER Ouyang Zizhen

Pan - posted 30/03/24 WINNER Pan Zi

Pang - posted 16/04/24 WINNER Pang Yizhi

Pei - posted 20/02/24 WINNER Pei Ming

Peng - posted 29/04/24 wINNER Peng Sanbian

Ping - posted 11/04/24 WINNER Ping An

Qi - posted 22/02/24 WINNER 'Other'

Qian - posted 5/04/24 WINNER Qian Jin

Qiao - posted 10/02/24 WINNER Qiao Wanmian

Qin - posted 16/03/24 WINNER Qin Banruo

Qing - posted 18/04/24 WINNER Qing Ge

Qiu - posted 25/03/24 WINNER Qiu Congxue

Qu - posted 30/03/24 WINNER Qu Lingfeng

Ran - posted 22/04/24 WINNERS Ran Lin and Ran Yun

Ren - posted 29/03/24 WINNER Ren Ruyi

Rong - posted 28/03/24 WINNER Rong Changqing

Ruan - posted 21/03/24 WINNER Ruan Nanzhu

Sang - posted 22/04/24 WINNER Sang Zan

Sha - posted 7/04/24 WINNER Sha Hualing

Shan - posted 19/04/24 WINNER Shan Gudao

Shang - posted 3/03/24 WINNER Shang Qinghua

Shangguan - posted 4/04/24 WINNER Shangguan Qin

Shao - posted 4/05/24 WINNER Shao Lin

Shen - posted 23/02/24 WINNER Shen Wei

Sheng - posted 4/03/24 WINNER Sheng Minglan

Sima - posted 2/04/24 WINNER Sima Yi

Shi - posted 8/03/24 WINNER Shi Qingxuan

Shu - posted 5/04/24 WINNER Shu Yanyan

Si - posted 15/04/24 WINNER Si Yilin

Song - posted 19/02/24 WINNER Song Lan

Su - posted 13/02/24 WINNER Su Zhe

Sun - posted 15/02/24 WINNER Sun Wukong

Sui - posted 31/03/24 WINNER Sui Zhou

Tan - posted 1/04/24 WINNER 'Other'

Tang - posted 12/02/24 WINNER Tang Fan

Tao - posted 15/04/24 WINNER Tao Ran

Tian - posted 20/04/24 WINNER Tian Qi

Tie - posted 5/05/24 WINNERS Tie Yinyi and Tie Miansheng

Tong - posted 12/04/24 WINNER Tong Lu

Tuoba - posted 12/04/24 WINNER Tuoba Yan

Wan - posted 24/03/24 WINNER Consort Wan

Wang - posted 26/02/24 WINNER Wang Pangzi

Wei - posted 8/02/24 WINNER Wei Wuxian

Wen - posted 2/03/24 WINNER Wen Kexing

Wu - posted 15/02/24 WINNER Wu Xie

Xi - posted 6/04/24 WINNER Xi Ping

Xia - posted 11/03/24 WINNER Xia Dong

Xian - posted 2/05/24 WINNERS Xian Ge and Xian Qing

Xiang - posted 19/03/24 WINNER Xiang Liu and Xiang Nanfang

Xiao - posted 20/02/24 WINNER Xiao Jingyan

Xie - posted 21/02/24 WINNER Xie Lian

Xin - posted 21/04/24 WINNER Xin Ziyuan

Xing - posted 28/03/24 WINNER Xing Zhi

Xiong - posted 7/05/24 WINNERS Xiong yipei and Xiong Chumo

Xu - posted 25/02/24 WINNER Xu Da

Xun - posted 3/04/24 WINNER Xun Feizhan

Xuan - posted 2/04/24 WINNER Xuan Shen'an | The Empress

Xue -posted 11/02/24 WINNER Xue Yang

Yan - posted 19/02/24 WINNER Yan Wushi

Yang - posted 3/03/24 WINNER Yang Wuxie

Yao - posted 24/04/24 WINNER Yao Zhen

Ye - posted 10/02/24 WINNER Ye Baiyi

Yi - posted 9/03/24 WINNER Yi Bichen

Yin - posted 8/04/24 WINNER Yin Yu

Ying - posted 17/02/24 WINNER Ying Hecong

You - posted 1/04/24 WINNER You Huo

Yu - posted 11/02/23 WINNER Yu Ziyuan

Yun - posted 1/03/24 WINNER Yun Biqiu

Yuan - posted 27/02/24 WINNER Yuan Boya

Yue - posted 4/03/24 WINNER Yue Qingyuan

Yuwen - posted 6/04/24 WINNER Yuwen Xuan

Zang - posted 24/02/24 WINNER Zang Ming

Zeng - posted 9/04/24 WINNER Zeng Xiangdong

Zhan - posted 10/03/24 WINNER Zhan Yunfei

Zhang - posted 17/02/24 WINNER Zhang Qiling

Zhao - posted 1/03/24 WINNER Zhao Yunlan

Zhen - posted 24/03/24 WINNER Zhen Ping

Zhi - posted 14/03/24 WINNER Zhi Xiu

Zhong - posted 27/03/24 WINNER Zhong Li

Zhou - posted 2/02/24 WINNER Zhou Zishu

Zhu - posted 9/03/24 Winner Zhu Hong

Zhuge - posted 18/03/24 WINNER Zhuge Liang

Zi - posted 16/04/24 WINNER 'Other'

Zuo - posted 5/05/24 WINNER Zuo Ran

[ryin-silverfish]

Chapter 18: What a Swine!

-A few pages into the chapter, and I found the first hook to go on a giant tangent: according to Gao Cai, Gao Village is located in the Kingdom of Qoco. I have no idea why Yu translated it as such, since the original Chinese name——Wusi Zang(乌斯藏, a transliteration of dbus gtsang) sounds nothing like that, but in short, it's the Ming dynasty name for Tibet.

-However, a quick glance at this map would show you that the real Xuanzang didn't cross Tibet during his journey; rather, he went the long way around the Himalayas, travelling on the Central Asian Silk Road. In the Ming dynasty, if you wanna go to India, you could actually take the route through the Himalayas and Nepal, but it wasn't there in the Tang dynasty (because there were a couple of hostile kingdoms in the way; Tuyuhun, Tubo, etc.)

-Sidenote, I absolutely love how JTTW '86 adapted this chapter, with SWK getting his flirt on and the legendary "Pigsy Carrying His Bride" sequence that had made its way into many subsequence adaptations.

-JTTW Research had written pretty comprehensively about Pigsy's origins, from the Daoist deity Marshal Canopy to his ties with Marici, an import deity with a boar mount who's also associated with the Dipper Constellation. As such, I only had one tidbit to add about possible inspirations for his character in folklore that predated the above.

-The earliest tale about a lusty pig demon could be found in the Tang dynasty Xuan Guai Lu(玄怪录). Guo Yuanzhen, a historical general during the reign of Gaozong and Wu Zetian, came across a mansion in his youth during travel. The whole place was lavishly decorated, as if preparing for a wedding banquet, but eeriely empty save for one crying woman.

-Turned out, she was the unwitting soon-to-be bride of a god called "General Wu"(乌将军), who demanded a beauty as his wife every year from the locals, and because they would pay a hefty sum to "buy" said bride, her own father sold her out to be this year's sacrifice. Furious, Guo disguised himself as a guest, pretended to offer General Wu some venison, then cut off his hand with the meat knife.

-Wounded, the General fled, and his severed limb turned into a pig's hoof once the sun came out. Soon, the bride's family and village elders came to the manor, ready to collect her body for the funeral, and were so freaked out by what Guo did that they were ready to sacrifice him to General Wu too, since the "god" was known to summon storm and hails whenever he didn't get his bride.

-Guo scolded them for being so damn guillible because no real gods would demand human sacrifices or, y'know, have pig hooves as hands, before gathering the young men of the villages and following the trail of blood to the pig demon's abode, where they proceeded to smoke it out and kill it with an assortment of arrows and farming tools.

-The woman, after calling out her terrible parents, pledged herself to Guo and became one of his wives, and all was well.

-Honestly, Pigsy's evolution from his folklore origins to JTTW Zaju to JTTW novel seemed to be one in which he became increasingly sympathetic; from basically being a more lusty version of Guanyin's goldfish, to an opportunistic kidnapper who took advantage of a pair of star-crossed lovers' family feud, to an ex-deity turned reformed demon who kinda got screwed over by his in-laws.

-Final note: Pigsy bragged that even if they could get the "Monster-Routing Patriarch" to come down from the Nine Heaven and exorcise him, he could still claim to be an old buddy of the guy. Which…wasn't wrong, considering that "Monster-Routing Patriarch" was the title of Emperor Zhenwu, Lord of the North, who was worshipped alongside Marshal Canopy as one of the Four Saints of the North Pole.

@journeythroughjourneytothewest

[minsarasarahair]

Yes, this is what I want to see in Wuxia. Cool fighting scenes lol

Joking aside, they improved Su Muyu's scene! This is what my favorite character deserve! You can tell that even without visual effects, the movement of Sikong Changfeng's actor is still quite decent. I find it funny that Baili Dongjun has so many skills but that's not enough to save people he treasure. *sighs* We're definitely going to watch them suffer and how they became jaded...

I also hope people don't make it a competition and spite each other's characters. Its bromance and yeah, friends will fight against each other à la Naruto and Sasuke. It happened all the time in Wuxia. The purpose of the fight is to watch what actually happened and see where they are coming from.

The Untamed - Wei Wuxian vs Jiang Cheng (LWJ is not included bc he's ML not bro) Handsome Siblings - Hua Wuque vs Jiang Xiaoyu (Siblings raised in different environment) Word of Honor - Rong Xuan vs Gao Chong (5 Lakes Alliance) The Blood of Youth - Xiao Se vs Wuxin (Controlled) Dashing Youth - Baili Dongjun vs Ye Dingzhi Tales of Dark River - Su Muyu vs Su Changhe

[movielosophy]

Luoyang - cooperation

[thekingsavatar-fan]

“Zheng Xuan’s Spitfire character was called Bullet Rain, equipped with the Silver rifle, Drift. He was one of Blue Rain’s core players and was pretty famous in the scene.

Zheng Xuan was a player who debuted in the fourth season, becoming a pro player alongside Yu Wenzhou and Huang Shaotian.

That was a bright, star-filled season, bringing about the circle of top players now known as the Golden Generation. Zheng Xuan debuted in the same season as the Golden Generation, and from then on, his signature phrase became “how stressful.”

Zheng Xuan was very talented, but back then, there was already a Spitfire player that shone like the sun, so newbies had a hard time taking the spotlight.

<.....>

Zheng Xuan grew up beside the Golden Generation. Perhaps, in another generation, he would draw much attention, but next to the Golden Generation, he was but a drop in the ocean. Just in his own team, there were two eye-catching teammates that outshone him, not just in Glory, but also in their personal characteristics. One couldn’t shut up, and the other had crippled hands.

Zheng Xuan was rather speechless. Considering how normal he was, he could only lament over how geniuses always had their quirks.

How stressful!”

The King’s Avatar. Chapter 1408: Background

[dangermousie]

These posters for Love and Sword are glorious!

Plus, Vengo Gao and Xuan Lu in a wuxia romance? Yes PLEASE!

(I must note though I am amused at the attempt of Vengo’s character to disguise himself with the cloth on his face - I mean sure nobody will recognize the man who towers over literally everyone else 😂😂😂)

[rainbowsky]

Review: Luoyang

I enjoyed this one enormously. A few people told me they thought the story was too complicated and confusing and that they lost interest in it, but my experience wasn't anything like that. I found the story exciting and engaging, and I was very invested in the characters and what was happening to them. It was fun to watch the mystery unfold and to see what became of everyone.

Although I found one or two things disappointing (which I will discuss in more detail in the spoiler section), overall I loved this series. The actors really brought this story to life, and DD gave an excellent performance. Highly recommended.

[ Spoilers under the cut. ]

The Characters

In a 39 episode series there are bound to be dozens of characters. I won't go into detail on all of them, but I'll talk about some of my favorites.

Baili Hongyi

I loved this character so much, perhaps in part because he came across as autisitic-coded and had a lot of traits I can relate to. As I said in a previous post, there are many autism traits that he seemed to present:

Hates being touched

Much more interested in ideas and tasks than in people

Can get overwhelmed when faced with too much sensory or social stimulation

Focused on his specific interests (food, puzzles, engineering, systems), which he is a comprehensive expert on, and ignores everything/one else, including eating and sleeping

Fixated on justice, right/wrong

Creative and intelligent

Constantly underestimated

Blunt/honest in his speech; doesn’t understand or participate in social niceties

Fiercely independent; wants to do things according to his vision of what's appropriate, regardless of what other people think

Complete lack of interest in money, status, or social expectations

Doesn't use his face expressively in the way others do (this pays off as one ages, I can recommend! 😅)

I strongly identified with this character. His tendency to be somewhat solitary and very task-focused, to the point of completely tuning other people out. His immersion in the mystery and fixation on the goal. His lack of interest in status or money or social expectations. His tendency to accidentally offend people via his honesty and/or unconventional approaches to things. His quiet affection and steadfast care for those he loved.

His whole 'ancient gourmet' thing was so up my alley, too. Anyone who has been following me for a while knows I love watching DD eat, and it was especially funny watching everyone hold their breath waiting for his verdict. There was also something very humorous about watching ancient DD be surrounded by fans. ��

This character is so similar to DD in many ways, it was a role that suited him well. He gave an excellent performance. I was so proud of our Bobo. His voicing of the character, his physical performance - the whole package. It was so satisfying to watch.

As we already know from CQL, DD is the master of subtlety. He really brought this character to life, but in a very calm, understated way that was so refreshing to see. The deeply emotional moments were performed with so much restraint - he stayed true to the character throughout every range of emotion and experience.

There were a couple of disappointments with the character that had nothing to do with DD, but I'll get to those later.

Gao Bingzhu

I absolutely loved this character. He was so relatable and so well-written and performed. I have to say, there were a couple of moments where I was completely blown away by Huang Xuan's acting. The graveside scene where he was grieving his friends, for example, ripped my heart out.

Through the course of the series I felt like I got to know and feel a deep connection with this character. He had an interesting, believable trajectory in terms of character development, and he felt consistent throughout the series. There was never a time where I felt confused about where they were going with him, or where I felt that he was drifting out of character (with one tiny exception I'll talk about later).

I've seen some reviews where people said they didn't feel there was any chemistry between Siyue and Bingzhu, and I can't help but wonder if we were watching a different series. I know a lot of people seek overt romantic sparks flying in order to feel sexual/romantic tension between characters, but I prefer deeper emotional moments such as the many these two shared - including that graveside scene - in order to feel a believable chemistry.

Wu Siyue

She was such a badass character, and I found her inner conflict between career and family duty convincing and compelling. I was very invested in her winning the battles she was fighting both internally and with the people around her.

I liked that she was a solid equal with Gao Bingzhu, and I liked the way their relationship unfolded; with a tone of depth, shared experience and mutual respect. I don't enjoy romances that feel superficial or power imbalanced.

There were a couple of moments in her character arc that annoyed me - times where she felt 'cutesy' and/or tragic in a very out-of-character way - and I felt in those moments that it was a foreshadowing that the writers were going to murder her. Unfortunately I was correct in my assumption. More on that later.

Yao Niang

I was captivated by this character, even if I could see her betrayal coming from a mile away. She just had so much intensity, complexity and contrast. I love characters that have a mixture of bad and good qualities, and her story was so compelling. She also had such a strong presence. Zhang Li really knocked it out of the park with this role. She brought this character to life and made every aspect of her personality engaging and believable.

The scene between her and Gao Bingzhu, where her identity was revealed, was one of my favorites of the entire series. Both actors gave incredible performances and really drew me into the emotional experience of the characters. Brilliant.

Bai Lang

I am always a sucker for a good sidekick, and Bai Lang didn't disappoint. He quickly became one of my favorite characters. He was always up for anything, and his endless adaptability and ability to be at the right place, at the right time, often saved the day. He was a good foil for Gao Bingzhu, and their relationship was so heartwarming and brotherly.

I get easily attached to these types of resourceful 'grey morality' characters. They end up carrying a HUGE part of the story and rarely get the appreciation they deserve. Jiang Long handled this task exceptionally well, giving us a good mixture of devotion, mischief and goofy humor.

Prince Chuan

I practically fell in love with this character. He was so beautiful, debaucherous, noble and long-suffering.

I was so relieved when he didn't die from getting stabbed by Peipei. When he returned to the Intelligence Services and made his little speech about no longer hiding his identity, my heart swelled for him.

Liu Duan Duan was so magnetic and pretty in this role, and really looked the part of the privileged princeling navigating court intrigue and weighty responsibilities.

Gong Yan

This character represents the 5% of bisexuality I possess. Maybe because she looks like the love child of Xue Yang and Xie Yun. I felt so drawn to her smirking, conflicted Xue Yang style of villainy, and she had so much screen presence, wow. Zhao Qian has charisma to spare.

The Empress

Even though this character was somewhat ambiguous and enigmatic throughout the series, I really enjoyed her. I think it was mostly because of the brilliant performance given by Yong Mei. She oozed so much nobility and power and gave us such an imposing presence.

Her world-weary frustration and almost boredom-level detachment were palpable. She was so convincingly powerful and yet totally helpless and dependent upon everyone around her. I could relate to her sort of smouldering irritation with having to rely on others whose competence she could never be certain of.

In the moments where she appeared before the people of Luoyang, she had such a convincing regal air, it was easy to get swept up in her star power.

An Bai Tan

This character was even more enigmatic than the Empress. There were several times throughout the series when I felt suspicious of her, but never enough to be convinced of her betrayal. She walked that thin tight rope of suspense throughout the series, and I found it very enjoyable. Zhang Zhi Lin gave such an understated, intense performance. Really loved this character. I have an appreciation for characters who stay in the background a bit, but who are indispensable to those they serve.

Yang Huan

Another background character who brought a strong, understated role. As secretary to the Empress, she gave off such an aura of competence, humility and respect. I found myself drawn to her in every scene she appeared in. Liu Menke gave a powerful, subtle performance that was surprisingly memorable considering the role she played.

Liu Ran

I started out hating her, but she really grew on me. She went from desperate, whiny, clingy girl to supportive, steadfast partner somewhere along the way, and it was a welcome change. Even when she was grating on my nerves, I felt Song Yi gave a good performance. She had that perpetually troubled look on her face that was so endearing, and I just wanted to give her a hug.

Wu Youjue

I began to suspect him as the main villain within the first few episodes. There were quite a few tells:

His sickliness. In dramas sickness is often presented as a sign of hidden moral weakness (something that's always bothered me, actually).

His placement within the court. He had so much access, and so little prestige. This is often a means of introducing bitterness and resentment into a character, or else a signal that they want to stay in the shadows.

As hinted at in the previous point, he kept too low of a profile for someone in his position and with his level of access. He seemed to have something to hide.

He was very controlling and overprotective, and the only emotions he ever showed were anger and dismay. He came across to me as villain-coded from the start. There was never any real warmth from him. We were supposed to trust him because everyone else did, but that only made me more suspicious.

He was the central repository for a lot of information, and 'coincidentally' the moves the team was making and the information they were discovering were constantly getting leaked. He seemed the most likely source of those leaks.

Having said all that, it was still fun to watch the story unfold.

Zhang Duo gave us a consistently good performance. There were a few moments where the coughing fits sounded a bit forced, but other than that, he really brought this character to life.

Although from a writing perspective I think they should have made him a bit more sympathetic. It would have made his trajectory more believable and his secret a more dramatic discovery for me. I was also a bit irritated that he seemed to be yet another queer-coded villain (his devotion to Baili Kuanren came across as very bromancey), but I doubt it was intentional.

The Story

I enjoyed the mystery and intrigue of this story, and I loved the romance between Wu Siyue and Gao Bingzhu. In terms of pure enjoyment, I found the first half of the series more entertaining than the last half. That's never a 'good thing' - a story should get more exciting and more suspenseful over time - but it was nowhere near enough of an issue to make me lose interest. I remained invested in the story throughout the series.

I think the primary problem I had wasn't even with the main plot, it was with the side plots and some of the character development issues. I'll talk about that more in a bit, but this series was a good reminder for me as a writer, about the importance of ensuring that every element of a story has its own strength as a stand-alone.

I feel like a lot of the side stories were just superficial narrative devices used to move the main story forward, rather than the rich, engaging side plots they could have been. This had a somewhat disastrous effect on the overall impact of the story as a whole.

If they changed nothing else, but they strengthened those side stories, it could have made all the difference to the series.

The mystery itself, the places the story took us to, etc. were exciting and overall pretty satisfying. It was everything around it that didn't hold up as well, and that brought the story down a bit for me. That and some of the character development issues I will discuss later.

The Soundtrack

Overall I enjoyed the music in this series. There were a few times when its use felt overbearing, but for the most part it wasn't too bad. There were a couple of songs I particularly enjoyed.

Longing of the Heart - Huang Shi Fu - I'm always a sucker for the sad love songs on soundtracks. Chinese dramas really excel at this genre, I have to say. This one is among my favorites so far. The fragility of the vocals is heartbreaking. The melody she sings is so packed full of grief and longing. She has such a beautiful, expressive voice.

The Wind Rises in Luoyang -Zhao Jingxu - I enjoy the smooth, sweet purity and clarity of the vocals. It reminded me of GG's voice (although of course I prefer GG). The song also has such an epic, dramatic atmosphere, it was well suited.

The Disappointments

Character and Story Development

There were a few things with this drama that I felt were missed opportunities. One of these disappointments was the trajectory of the overall story. It started out so exciting and so engaging and gradually seemed to run out of steam.

At the beginning of the story I felt so intrigued by the investigation, and by the way in which the three main characters approached this task. Gao Bingzhu's single-minded obsession, Baili Hongyi's focused inquisitiveness, Wu Siyue's charging forward on several fronts.

Over time as their paths converged, some of that excitement and intrigue died. As the tension between the three of them died, so too did some of the overall suspense and tension. It felt almost like the writers had difficulty communicating the distinctive qualities and motives of each character once they began working together.

This came through not just in the decline of energy and suspense, but it also came through in the gradual blurring of the characters.

Baili Hongyi started out as quite a sleuth, someone who seemed utterly absorbed in the mystery and trying to figure it out. This created a lot of interest and a lot of dramatic tension. But over time, the focus on his character shifted more onto his relationships, his constant danger and his role on the security team, and as a viewer I was left feeling less of a sense of who he was as a person, and less of that excitement of the mystery he brought with him in previous episodes.

And some of the interesting traits that were built up in the earlier episodes all but disappeared toward the end. The gourmet thing disappeared, the engineering genius was de-emphasized, the inquisitive mastermind thing took a back seat, the social friction all but vanished...

Some of that was positive character development. His subtle but steady connection with Lui Ran, for example, and his bonds of trust with Siyue and Bingzhu, but some of it felt like a loss of the essence of who he was and what made me invested in him as a character.

The same was true, but to a slightly lesser degree, with Gao Bingzhu and Wu Siyue. As their bond grew there were some romantic elements introduced in ways that felt awkward and unnatural for them as characters.

For example, the scene in the Unwelcome Well about a third of the way through Ep. 37 where they were acting flirty and romantic, it felt unnatural, and put there as a foreshadowing of Siyue's death. They were both being too cutesy, and it didn't feel in character for how they would live out a moment like that. I could tell they were setting up for a tragedy.

I had long suspected they were going to kill her off, but that scene only confirmed it for me.

Side Plots

There were a few side stories that had a lot of potential, but really fell flat for me. If they'd made a few minor modifications to these stories they could have been very fulfilling, and could have lent more depth to the series. As it stands, each of these elements ended up feeling a bit shallow - which only lent a bit of unnecessary shallowness to the overall series.

The whole Peipei side romance had so much potential, but it ended up just feeling deflated and disappointing. My main problem with it was that Lui Feng was a completely unsympathetic character from the very beginning, so it was difficult to get invested in his quest to reunite with his long lost love. He was awful.

She was also a pretty one-dimensional character. Her glamorous boat trip down the river was about the most exciting part of her story. We didn't get any truly character-building scenes with her, and yet we were meant to be invested in what happened to her. It didn't work for me.

This storyline had so much potential, and if they'd just made a few minor adjustments it could have lent a lot more excitement and depth to the story overall, but ultimately it all fell flat. Very disappointing.

I felt somewhat similarly about the Unwelcome Well. It started out as an exciting underworld full of struggling, hapless people and ended up just feeling like a plot device.

One of the biggest mistakes they made with the Unwelcome Well, is that they killed off almost every character that connected us to the Well. If they'd given us even one young resident who wanted a chance at life and a future for themself, we would have had an emotional investment in their finally being free at the end. Instead the liberation of the Well felt like a bit of an afterthought.

Huge missed opportunity.

The whole Li Beiqi situation was another example of this. We were supposed to feel invested in what happened to him, but we were never given any real meat in terms of his relationship with the Wu siblings until after he'd died. By then it was too late.

Such a shame, when all it would have taken to give us more emotional investment in his story would have been for them to give us a brief scene or two where we caught a glimpse of his experience or feelings.

I mentioned the issues with Wu Youjue earlier as well. He was a bit too one-dimensional as a character, and his side story with Baili Kaunren and the hatred he felt for the Empress wasn't robust enough for us to feel anything strong about him. If they'd just changed the way some of his scenes played out, they could have had a really powerful emotional struggle, but instead we got a bit of a cardboard character.

The 'long lost sister' saga was also disappointing. We were led, along with Gao Bingzhu, to wonder if it could be one of the clan members, but it was always just a one-sided curiosity on his part. We didn't get anything from the other side - nothing to kindle that suspense - and ultimately, no payoff.

Set Design

The set design in this series was a bit hit and miss. There were moments when it was simply breathtaking, and moments where I was left confused and a bit removed from the story.

For example, the overhead shots of the canal at night, with festival atmosphere, were stunning. However, the intelligence services area with all the message tubes and sliding gold boxes was overwrought, lacking any grounding in logic or reality, and ultimately felt very chaotic and meaningless. I just didn't get the sense of how any of it functioned within the technology of the time, and for that reason it didn't feel real.

If they'd simplified the whole thing and made it feel more rational, organized and realistic, it would have lent so much more dramatic weight to everything that happened there.

I felt the same way about what felt like an over-use of water features. For example, Baili Hongyi's space. It felt impractical. I ended up spending a lot of time pondering the mold on his papers and bedding, and wondering how many times a guest accidentally slipped on the floor or dragged their sleeve in the water while dining.

I think water features are beautiful, and I'm led to understand that there is a historical basis for water features in houses, but this felt like a bit too much. Especially given how practical Baili Hongyi was as a person. It felt a bit out of character for him to spend most of his time in such an impractical, visually cluttered space.

Outdoor spaces felt immersive, while some of the indoor ones felt distracting

Form over function has always been one of my pet peeves. Yes, there is undeniable beauty in it, but when the sets felt overwrought it ended up giving the production more of a stage/theater play atmosphere and less like something real, gritty and tangible - grounded in reality. Especially since these were locations where we spent so much time in the series.

By contrast, if you look at some of the scenes that happened outside of those locations - for example whenever they met at the street cafe for a bowl of lamb soup, or even the granary, or almost anywhere in the street - it just felt more 'real' and immersive.

I recognize I'm coming at this from the perspective of someone who is easily overwhelmed by visual clutter, chaos and complexity, so this might have been 'just me'. I'm sure there are a lot of people who were captivated by the impractical beauty of the sets. But to me, when something tries too hard to be visually stunning, it often also becomes visually distracting.

One of the important principles of set design is that they are meant to be in the background. Some of the sets were so 'up front' that they might as well have been given a few lines in the script.

Unintentional Comedy

The whole extra finger thing killed me. It was so comedic, especially the way the brother would always be holding it up like Dr Evil in Austin Powers films. I was LOLing every time the extra finger made an appearance. It was so cute, and hard to take seriously.

Separated at birth?

I couldn't help but think that all it would have taken was for his mother to do like Douzi's mother in Farewell My Concubine, and all of this unpleasantness could have been entirely avoided...

Outrage

As I already mentioned, I began to expect early on that the writers were going to murder Siyue, and I was so angry!

This happened with the Wolf as well. I feel like it's a 'thing' to kill off strong female characters in order to help develop the emotional experience of male characters, and it offends me.

I get that some people enjoy a tragic love story, but to me it just feels like pointless, gratuitous pain. Who are these people whose lives are so cheerful that they want tragedy in their escapism?

The scene where she died was so annoying, too. The deadbeat brother-in-law with a crossbow? To quote a certain cultivator, "Ridiculous." And she dies protecting her villainous brother and they keep him alive so her sacrifice 'won't have been in vain'? And then we get treated to a scene of Gao Bingzhu on the bridge, alone?

To say I hated the ending would be an understatement. I am not built for this kind of tragic romance BS. 😅

Final Thoughts

I feel like I spent a lot of time tearing things apart, here, but ultimately I did enjoy this drama a lot. As is evidenced by the fact that I finished it pretty quickly. I normally take a long time to watch a drama, because I tend to nibble away at these sorts of things. Not so with this drama. I made time to watch it because I was drawn into the story and invested in the characters.

I just felt a bit let down by a few aspects of it.

I am very proud of DD. He showed himself to be a solid actor in this series, and I think no one who watched it could fail to see he has what it takes. It stands as powerful proof of his talent and ability. 🥺

[absolutebl]

Hi hi! I watched We Best Love 1 & 2 and thought I would share my thoughts.

Short thoughts

My personal rating would be a 6/10. I had to force myself to continue after part 1 ended in heartbreak, and then again after finishing episode 3 of part 2. The rating is mostly driven by the fact I didn’t enjoy the main plotline nor the main secondary plotline and therefore probably wouldn’t ever rewatch it.

Longer thoughts

Things I liked

* The acting was superb, especially YU, who had such incredible facial control and emotiveness throughout. The hugs between Zhou Shu Yi and Gao Shi De hit me harder than the kisses or other things; they just felt so weighty and emotional, and like they were genuinely taking so much comfort from each other.

* The way the Japanese dialogue was sprinkled in so naturally was extremely charming and made me smile a lot.

* The scene in part 1 where Zhou Shu Yi and Gao Shi De’s mom are ganging up on Gao Shi De at the dinner table is probably one of my favorite BL scenes ever. I cackled so hard through the whole thing. Shu Yi and Shi De’s mom’s dynamic in general I just found so fun.

* Set design and styling of the actors, especially in part 2. I want Zhou Shu Yi’s house so badly, and few BL actors have looked quite as good in suits as those two. (Although I wanted so much to put a pair of suspenders on Shu Yi’s pants so his white shirt wouldn’t pop out between his black vest and trousers when he sat down.)

* Shi Zhe Yu and Liu Bing Wei’s side storyline. They had immediate chemistry in part 1, and after a rocky start in ep 1 of part 2, I thought they were very cute together. I loved the “donkey and carrot” dynamic.

* “You can consider it my dowry” literally made me choke on my tea. Epic line, especially delivered so nonchalantly. That whole conversation between Zhou Shu Yi’s dad and Gao Shi De was great—“No worries; he can join my family instead” was such a great table-turn, and very fitting for a couple that took turns pursuing each other and always felt like equals. I also appreciated that they tried hard to make Zhou Shu Yi’s father a more three-dimensional and likable version of the ultrapowerful homophobic dad character than normal, and it was clear Yoza Eriku was having a lot of fun playing him.

Things I didn’t like:

* The entire main plotline. I simply personally don’t enjoy the “interfering powerful homophobic parents” and “forced/prolonged separation” tropes. The five year separation, the misunderstanding, and the dad’s involvement just turned me off dramatically. If the show hadn’t been so short (and so highly recommended) I don’t think I would have finished it. Also, you described the plot as “classic”; the down-side of that is there was nothing in the main plot that felt new. Is this the best iteration of these common plots? Maybe. But coming to it after almost 30 other BLs (and the show coming out in 2021 after it had all been down before), there just wasn’t much that felt fresh in the plot or characters.

* Pei Shou Yi and Yu Zhen Xuan’s entire storyline. When Pei Shou Yi was explaining to Yu Zhen Xuan about his affective disorder (which is not a correct use of that term I don’t think, but that’s beside the point), I was super intrigued. (That line, “For me, it was just 12 years,” hit so hard.) I still think it’s a really cool and fascinating idea for a BL character. But I didn’t feel that that core concept connected to any of his actions in a way that made him suddenly make sense and feel like a well-developed, 3D character, so it just felt like a waste. For example, I still couldn’t tell you why he left Yu Zhen Xuan at the end of the year, although I wasn’t paying a ton of attention by that point. Even still, if at the end of that speech Pei Shou Yi had been like, “Look, if it makes you happy to be here with me then go ahead; as you now know, it literally doesn’t make a difference to me so I guess knock yourself out,” I could have dug that as a satisfying ending for them. The extra episode of drama and sudden U-turn from Shou Yi felt unnecessary and unearned. And I just didn’t really find Yu Zhen Xuan to be particularly likable or sympathetic as a character.

* Even though part 2 picked up literally where part 1 ended, and it was clear both parts were shot together, the further I got into part 2 the harder it was to feel like I was watching the same characters as in part 1. In particular, connecting the somewhat playful, lovesick Shu Yi of part 1 to the ambitious Shu Yi whose dream in life is to be chairman of a business conglomerate was a bit of a challenge.

* The whole business setting wasn’t badly done (it was oddly charming) but it wasn’t super well done either. Yu Zhen Xuan as CTO of a tech company was pretty hard to swallow. There also just wasn’t a lot of actual plot in part 2. The corporate espionage storyline didn’t seem to have a point, and largely seemed to exist so something besides a flashback would happen, and to justify the use of a business setting.

* The sheer amount of heterosexuality in part 1.

* The sheer amount of questions never answered in part 2. (“Who did Zhou Shu Yi see in America?” is the biggest one that I’m not aware was answered.)

Miscellanea:

* I don’t know if this is a Taiwanese accent thing or something general for Mandarin that I just never picked up on, but I noticed a lot of “sh” sounds devolving into “s” sounds throughout the show and from multiple characters. In particular, both main characters’ names got the treatment (Shu Yi being pronounced as Su Yi and Shi De as Si De), and the words 說 and 什麼 getting pronounced as “suō” and “sénme” respectively.

Other BL thoughts:

* I finished Manner of Death; personal rating is 8/10. I loved the couples and the setting, and the ending was extremely cute and satisfying. The two stars it loses are (1) for the unbelievably grim material the plot is actually about; and (2) because at times the romance and the mystery seemed really poorly integrated and to detract from one another. Would rewatch but with a lot of skipping around to avoid the really grim bits.

* I started Until We Meet Again. Just from the first episode I really love it. I think I know what’s going on with Pharm’s dreams, and if I’m right it’s going to be so cool. I already love the desserts angle. Manaow is my favorite female side character since Yihwa stole the show in Together with Me; her and Pharm’s banter and laughter feel so natural that I kept wondering if they were improv-ing. Probably the best 1st episode I’ve seen from a Thai BL, so I have very high expectations from here.

Hope you’re having a great weekend!

I hope you're having a greta weekend too!

Excellent thoughts all.

The only thing I'll point out, just in case you didn't know, is Taiwanese Mandarin is different from the Mainland in a few ways. (Most notably its written standards, like they did in Hong Kong.) But when spoken Standard Guoyu (used in education, businesses, govt offices, the news etc... see Guoyu Cidian《國語辭典》) seems quite formal and, to me, a little stiff sounding. 

But your ear (better a than mine) is, I think, picking up on Taiwan Guoyu - it’s a colloquial, localized form. Slightly influenced by Hokkien and a few other things. 

Languages do crazy things on islands. 

---

On a different note if you liked the first few eps of UWMA then you are going to really love the rest. At least I hope so. Clearly we don’t have an exact match in taste, but UWMA is wonderful on story. There is a bit of a blushing maiden trope with Pharm but that’s the only flag I really have for that show (apart from old school trigger warning, which you kinda know you’re in for form the get go). 

[heymeowmao]

风起洛阳 | Luoyang E31 ° Loyalty

Bonus: “If you die, I can at least bring your body back.”

[yibo-wang]

quick quick~ i am debating on watching either legend of fei or luoyang~ i need 5 different reasons on both to which i could start first~ 👀

hdjfj okay so they're both pretty good shows

luoyang:

luoyang is relatively shorter compared to lof, that's 39 vs 52 episodes

plot wise I was hooked to luoyang more, cause I really like detective/murder mysteries.

if you're looking for any romantic scenes then luoyang barely has any doesn't have a lot of those (*sort of spoilers* we get one kiss between the main leads and that too was like a cpr situation lol).

if you liked lan wangji's character in cql it's highly likely you'll love erlang (yibo's character) in here too.

one thing I really liked was huang xuan's acting, it was really incredible. he's a very good actor, and knows how to build the scene. the relationship between erlang and gao bingzhu was interesting particularly cause the way yibo knows how to create homoerotic tension

idk if this counts as a selling point but luoyang had a big budget, you can see with all the sets and places, almost everything was built from scratch and it was really cool.

legend of fei:

compared to luoyang, lof is pretty long. I had to finish it in pieces the first time.

xie yun (yibo) and zhou fei (zhao liying) were the selling point for the show for me. they have very good chemistry.

if erlang is lan wangji's son lmao then xie yun is wei wuxians. but jokes aside yibo playing xie yun is just >>>>>> he's so charismatic and lovely. really knows how to capture your attention in every scene.

legend of fei is for the women. no but the amount of girl bosses in this show is just 👏👏👏 this show is for bisexuals, it's for the girlbosses and their himbo (boy)friends.

lof has a lot of humor. it's relatively lighthearted too as compared to luoyang which is pretty serious throughout.

reasons to watch legend of fei (what op said 😌) *this tag does contain spoilers tho

I hope that's helpful and you enjoy whatever you decide on watching!

[nemainofthewater]

Huge congratulations to Luo Fumeng from Word of Honour!

This week has been especially bountiful for write in candidates, including some beautiful photos and gifs! If you're in the mood for staring at beautiful people with excellent white wigs, please check them out!

Write in candidates this week are:

-Ye Zun (Guardian) nominated by @shadaras, @tehfanglyfish, @jayswing101, @ashes-onthewind

@gavilansblog, @circumference-pie, @adelaiderowan, @flamingwell

@forerussake, @tinypinkmouse, @mondengel, @1ebilcat

-Ji Xue (Blood of Youth) nominated by @travalerray, @a-sea-with-no-shores, @lasenbyphoenix

-Ming Hou and Lei Yunhe (Blood of Youth) nominated by @lasenbyphoenix

-Mo Qishi/Mo Qixuan (Blood of Youth) nominated by @fire-burning-brighter, @jianghushenanigans

-Jin Xuan (Blood of Youth) nominated by @feng-huli

-Zhuo Qing (Dashing Youth) nominated by @feng-huli, @eunuch-enjoyer5

-Rong Le/Man Yao and Zongzheng Wuyao (Princess Silver) nominated by @libraryofjoy

-Wen Kexing (Word of Honour) nominated by @lacommunarde, @sunnyuto

-Chukong (Love You Seven Times) nominated by @harocat

-Hao Chen (Love and Redemption) nominated by @lasenbyphoenix

-Yao Lao (Fight Breaks Sphere/Battle Through the Heavens) nominated by @lasenbyphoenix

-Yin Chen (LORD Critical World) nominated by @lasenbyphoenix, @lucientelrunya

-Feng Langxi/Hei Fengxi (Who Rules the World) nominated by @lasenbyphoenix

-Tianqi (Ancient Love Poetry) nominated by @lasenbyphoenix

-Lian Nichang (The Bride with White Hair) nominated by @llonkrebboj

-Tian Yao (Back From the Brink) nominated by @lasenbyphoenix

-Xiao Nai('s online character) (Love O2O the movie) nominated by @lasenbyphoenix

-Gao Zhan (Nirvana in Fire) nominated by @feng-huli

-Zhaoyou and Sect Leader Qu (Till The End of the Moon) nominated by @deadsince1973

-Tang Lici | Luo Yunxi's character (Shui Long Yin) nominated by @hellofavillain

-Csabyssallight (Tumblr) nominated by @csabyssallight, @zarithial

Thank you so much to everyone for the votes, reblogs, and propaganda (so much delicious propaganda!)

This week there are THREE polls for Best Book Adaptation in the following categories:

-Danmei

-BG/Het

-Other

I hope to see you there!

They've been deathly ill. Maybe they've died and come back from the dead. Maybe they were born like this.

Whichever it is, these characters have had their wigs tossed into a vat of bleach and there's no going back now!

*this poll is for a full head of white hair, there will be a separate poll for a white streak later

Write-ins, propaganda, and images are welcome!

[verycharismaticdragon]

You know, scrolling through the tags now that I’ve finished the show, I noticed that many people coming to read TYK after watching SHL get the impression that the novel’s plot is less coherent or not as neat as the show. And I would like to suggest a different perspective for your consideration:

the novel’s and the show’s main plots are not the same.

I’m not talking about changes made to certain events here; what I mean is, SHL took the novel’s secondary (possibly tertiary actually) plotline and used it as its main plot.

Jianghu politics and Lapis Armor are simply not as important in the novel – they are used to further the themes and sometimes to move events forward, but more often than not, they take background to what the book is really about: found family. User bluemorningsoup on twitter once posited that the novel’s climax is actually the New Year’s celebration – and that is exactly it. It’s the peaceful, joyful chapter completely devoid of any connection to the jianghu/armor plot, where the characters reflect on their past and compare it to their present, and realize that they found a home in each other. This is it. This is what the novel is about. It is built on exploring the characters, their development, and relationships between them.

On the other hand, SHL takes the jianghu/armor plot to the forefront. The focus on politics, more scenes with former members of Rong Xuan’s circle, even the fact that the key is not destroyed and the Armory gets opened in the finale – all of this is reasonable for a story where the jianghu/armor plot is the main plotline. However, it makes sense for the novel to skim or skip those, because the novel just isn’t about that.

To illustrate, let’s take a look at one particular event: Gao Chong’s loss of reputation and death by betrayal. In the show, it happens in front of our eyes, it’s in the focus, it is spread over two episodes… in the novel, it happens offscreen, and takes a total of two paragraphs as narrated by Gao Xiaolian. Why does the novel skip it? Because Gao Chong himself can not further our understanding of any of our main characters, so giving his death focus would not add anything to the main plot. Gao Xiaolian, however, now an orphan who lost her family and home, becomes a narrative parallel to both Wen Kexing and Zhang Chengling. That’s why Gao Chong’s death is presented to us through her, her feelings, her pain – for us to draw the comparison. 

Again, it also makes sense for the show to have this event be in focus, given its importance to the jianghu/armor plotline.

So here’s where I think disconnect occurs: when you go from adaptation to source material, you naturally expect them to have the same plot, at least in general terms. And the armor plot does exist in the novel, so that expectation is seemingly fulfilled – except then over half of the plotline happens offscreen, and is delivered to the main cast in disjointed fragments with many a blank space. So if you came from the show, it naturally leaves you confused – why is the main plot so broken up? Why do characters completely forget about it at times?

But take a moment to look at it from another angle: as a secondary plot that is useful for furthering the themes and for spurring characters into action at times, but isn’t used when it isn’t needed. And consider also: is there a single part of the novel where nothing happens from the perspective of character exploration, character development, or relationship building? Then doesn’t it make sense to view that as the main plot?

In the end, while I personally prefer the novel’s focus on characters, it wouldn’t be fair to criticize SHL for shifting it to armor/jianghu plotline, as that decision was most likely made to accommodate c-nsorship. But it did create something of a misunderstanding for fans coming to the novel after watching the show, and that’s what I was hoping to address with this post. 

––––––

- TYK/SHL comparisons masterpost - - tyk meta masterpost -

[imminentinertia]

10 Fandoms, 10 Characters, 10 tags

@boysbeloving tagged me, thank you, sweetie darling!

It will be long and there will be gifs so this goes under a read more.

KinnPorsche the series, Tankhun Theerapanyakul Yeah yeah hot men everywhere and also Erika but Tankhun is the most amazing character in this plot-bizarre production-drippy unhinged delight of a TV show. He dresses wonderfully, he's a beautifully creative bully, he has some of the best lines, he's all for killing Tawan, he adopts Chay on sight, he may seem like just an over the top camp spoiled brat but there's a sinister undertone there that I also like a lot. I honestly want KPTS to get a season 2 primarily to see what Tankhun does.

Hannibal, Francis Dolarhyde I'm not putting this here just because I happen to love Richard Armitage. Or maybe I am, a little. But the thing is, I also happen to love Dolarhyde in the book Red Dragon and I was a bit worried (but not really, because Hannibal was a very intelligent and creative show) about what they'd make out of him. It turned out they made him true to book Dolarhyde and downright mesmerising, and upped his intensity quite a bit. The scene with the original watercolour, oh my god.

The Fall, Alexandria The Fall is a wonderful film and an aesthetic joy, but behind the beauty and the heavy emotion it's actually a brilliant commentary on reception theory, which is something I'm very very interested in (there may be a uni degree involved here). I mean, Lee fucking hot Pace is in this and my fave character isn't his, but the little girl who interprets and visualises Lee's character's stories. They really nailed it with the casting of her, too.

Killing Eve, Oksana Astankova/Villanelle Best. Villain. Ever. She's deranged and her clothes are amazing and she's funny and murderous and competent. And she has Jodie Comer's expressive face. For two seasons this was great but not even Comer could save the rest, sadly.

BBC Robin Hood, sir Guy of Gisbourne Shush. He's hot and troubled and he's historically wildly un-correctly dressed Richard Armitage. (The show was actually pure fun for a while but it caught feelings eventually, and the third season has some pain to it, especially for and about Guy)

SKAM, Eva Kviig Mohn Je suis Eva. I relate so much to her that it can't be healthy. Never mind Isak and Even whose season caused SKAM to go viral, Eva's season is important to me on a very personal level.

We Best Love, Yu Zhen Xuan He corrects his behaviour around others so little and I adore that. Zhen Xuan has zero fucks to give (except about Pei Shou Yi), and I don't care how paperthin and odd the plot of the show is, how questionable the kiss scene is, how magnetic Gao Shi De is or how beautifully heartbroken and pissed off Zhou Shu Yi is (well I do care a lot about some of this, but), as long as Yu Zhen Xuan is around I'm happy.

Good Omens, Crowley Book-Crowley was a massive favourite from his first slithery appearance, and show-Crowley is David Tennant who's misplaced his hip joints. What's not to love.

Deadwood, Al Swearengen Historically uncorrect like cocksucking whoa? That's evidently fine with me as long as it's a Western and gritty and filthy and violent and sarcastic and with Ian McShane. He was splendid as Odin/Mr Wednesday in American Gods too.

The Honourable Woman, Nessa Stein We're not strictly in a fandom anymore, I think, as I wasn't an all out fangirl about this show, but oh my dear gods what Maggie Gyllenhaal does with Nessa Stein. Her performance is haunting and the character is complex and flawed and gorgeous.

Fuck, I should have slipped in Gillian Anderson in something/anything. Oh well.

I don't think I talk to ten people here these days, to be honest. If you have read this far you're so tagged because wading through this proves that you love me.

[wuxian-vs-wangji]

How would you rank the various Iron Triangle members from different adaptations?

I decided to just rank the major recurring characters too!

** Ranking “Explore With the Note” // “Heavenly Palace on the Clouds” later after it’s done airing.

Wu Xie:

Zhu Yilong (The Lost Tomb Reboot)

Li Yifeng (The Lost Tomb 1)

Qin Hao (Tomb of the Sea)

Zeng Shun Xi (Ultimate Note)

Hou Minghao (The Lost Tomb 2)

Xiao Ge // Zhang Qiling

Huang Junjie (Lost Tomb Reboot)

Xiao Yu Liang (Tomb of the Sea, Ultimate Note)

Yang Yang (The Lost Tomb)

Cheng Yi (The Lost Tomb 2)

Wang "Fatty" Pangzi

Chen Minghao (Lost Tomb Reboot, Tomb of the Sea)

Zhang Bo Yu (The Lost Tomb 2)

Cheng Fang Xu (Ultimate Note)

Liu Tian Zuo (The Lost Tomb)

Zhang Rishan

Zhang Mingen (Tomb of the Sea)

Zhang Ming’en (Mystic Nine)

Zhang Ming En (Ultimate Note)

Xie Yu Chen

Liu Xue Yi (The Lost Tomb 2)

Liu Yu Han (Ultimate Note)

Zhang “Lay” Yi Xing (Tomb of the Sea)

Zhang Xiao Chen (The Lost Tomb)

Hei Yanjing

Chen “Baron” Chu He (Lost Tomb Reboot)

Ji Chen (Tomb of the Sea)

Liu Yu Ning (Ultimate Note)

Wang Meng

Zhu Jie (Tomb of the Sea)

Zhu Jie (Ultimate Note)

Gao Qi Chang (Lost Tomb Reboot)

Wu San Xing // Xie Lian Huan

Yao Yi Chen (Lost Tomb 2; Young Wu Sanxing)

Yu Ming Xuan (Lost Tomb Reboot)

Ken Chang (The Lost Tomb)

Fan Ming (Ultimate Note)

Yu He Wei (Tomb of the Sea)

Yao Lu (Lost Tomb 2; Old Wu Sanxing)

Huo Xiu Xiu

Huang Yi (Lost Tomb 2)

Liu Ruo Yan (Ultimate Note)

Wu Yu Tong (Tomb of the Sea)

Ying Er (The Lost Tomb)

Wu Er Bai

Hu Jun (Lost Tomb Reboot)

Wang Jin Song (Ultimate Note)

Li Hu Cheng (Tomb of the Sea)

[movielosophy]

Luoyang - Let’s eat