#character: zhang ping | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

welcometothejianghu · 1 year ago

Text

Welcome to another round of W2 Tells You What You Should See, where W2 (me) tries to sell you (you) on something you should be watching. Today's choice: 君子盟/A League of Nobleman

A League of Nobleman is the unfortunately translated English title of a 2023 historical drama about an idealistic country boy/genius detective/noodle seller, and a wealthy minister on a mission to exonerate his late father from charges of treason, even if he himself has to commit some treason in the process.

I watched this one not too long after it came out, and I was expecting there would be a lot of buzz as soon as fandom got hold of it. There wasn't, but I can understand why. The show is a lovely, ethereal drama that has some genuinely moving moments, stunning visuals, and charming character interactions.

It is, however, kiiiiiiiind of a hot mess.

What follows is an incredibly qualified rec. Unlike most of the previous shows I've recommended, this show is not something you could just throw at your Average American Television Enjoyer. Censorship got its claws into this one, and what's left is ... okay, imagine fliming all of Hannibal just like you want it, and then right before it airs, NBC comes in and says, okay, now we're just going to take out all the parts that are gay and violent and gory! You know what you'd have left? You'd have a League of Nobleman, is what.

(If you want a little more explanation of what's awkward about it, here's a take based on the first ten episodes. Note that not everything that bothers AvenueX bothers me, but they're fair critiques.)

Therefore, I'd have a tough time recommending this to someone who hasn't already built up a tolerance for the experience of seeing a scene end nearly mid-sentence, or hearing described something that happened just offscreen (while seeing no one's lips move). You need to be prepared to look through the jank to see the show we could have had beneath the show that actually arrived.

Even so, I have five reasons I think you should at least give it a shot!

1. That precious baby boy

Look at him. Look at his precious face. Don't you just want to stuff him down the front of your shirt and take him home with you?

That is Zhang Ping. He is the hero and he is a good boy.

He is a darling dumpling who grows up reading novels about how members of the judiciary nobly solve crimes and punish the unjust, so he decides that he wants to move to the big city and become a member of the judiciary to nobly solve crimes and punish the unjust! ...Until he gets there and realizes, no, baby, that was fiction. But gosh darn it, he's going to try anyway.

I have seen people say they read Zhang Ping as autistic. While I'm not sure that's specifically what the show itself was going for, that's kind of the effect -- which, I think, is why I've also seen a lot of people say they don't like Song Weilong's performance. I don't think he's wooden or unemotional; I think he just made a choice to play the character as not always real good about understanding why the people around him are having the emotions they're having. Similarly, I think what makes him read as anachronistic is mostly how he doesn't engage well with the rules of social convention that are such important parts of this historical setting.

Like, you see that picture above, with him and Lan Jue whispering at one another? Zhang Ping is doing this because he is absolutely convinced that this is appropriate subterfuge behavior. Lan Jue is matching him because he thinks Zhang Ping is adorable.

Just the goodest boy. A baby. Please care him.

2. the aesthetic

The show is beautiful. It looks and sounds amazing. For some reason I can't find a clip of just the opening credits, but here's a (strangely bloody) trailer that gives a sense of its general vibe:

As you can see a couple times in there, the show makes great use of tilt-shift photography -- you know, the thing where you change the focal length until everything starts to look fake? It creates a weird, dreamlike effect where parts of the frame are out of focus for no reason, or actual locations start to look like model-train miniatures. Many of the shots are framed like this, giving the entire thing a very pretty, very uncanny look.

And speaking of the dreamlike: If there's one thing I've come to expect from C-dramas, it's bad CGI. That is not the case here! The CG is used so sparingly that it's unobtrusive and actually quite nice. Much more of the weight of the show's look relies on practical effects that are supported and amplified by CG, which is the optimal combo. When it does go all in on CG, it's in the service of dreamscapes that are supposed to look unreal anyway.

The show does admittedly have a mild problem of using a cool effect and then largely forgetting that effect exists. For example, the first episode has a really neat "freeze time and walk through a crime scene" bit! And then we barely ever see that ability again. But the show's doing so many other lovely things that you don't really feel the absence until you stop to think about it all later. So don't stop to think about things! That's my motto! (It really isn't.)

The directors also just have a lovely eye for things -- which is extra-surprising considering that both of them are first-time directors. That can be fun, though, when you get people who haven't gotten stuck in their ways get, so they're still being new and weird with it. ...Of course, I bet that's also some of why so much of the show quite obviously got cut to ribbons, if you're also working with directors who also haven't figured out how to get away with things just yet.

Overall, the production values are very high. This show clearly had a fairly solid amount of funding behind it, but it also used its resources smartly. Most costumes are elegant but not extravagant. Detailed sets are small and beautiful locations are contained. While I have great respect for productions that try to create epics on a shoestring budget, there's something to be said for a project that sets its sights on the achievable, then puts its effort into doing what it can, well.

3. A ship for everyone!

There are so many potential ways to pair up them boys. The show's main pair dynamic is between country mouse Zhang Ping and city mouse Lan Jue, but it surely does not stop there. In fact, I've made a helpful chart that shows you all the potential flavors of gay you can enjoy at this particular danmei buffet:

(And yes, if you've seen the show, you know there's at least one more line that I could've drawn here, but I don't want to spoil anything.)

Now, whether you do read any of these dynamics as sexual/romantic is up to you. The point is that you could. For example, I personally am not that into Lan Jue/Xu Dong, but if you lose your shit when a competent sword guy owes a life debt to the defenseless noble he works for? You could have a lot of fun with what the show gives you.

Obviously, because this is a censored c-drama, there are no canon gay romances. However, a couple of them are more textual than others, especially the ones that center Lan Jue, because everyone clearly wants a piece of that fancy flat ass.

One of AvenueX's comments from the video I linked earlier is that the main couple has less sparkle together than each of them has individually with the man that's supposed to be his bestie. While that changes as the show goes on, these two side pairs never cease to be enjoyable. Whether you read them as sexual or not is up to you! Romantically or platonically, they're still a delight to watch bounce off of one another.

And Lan Jue/Gu Qingzhang (that one terrible ex from the chart) is, uh, basically textual? It's miles into "there is no straight explanation for this" territory. Again, avoiding spoilers here, but trust me. You get to see their secluded love nest and everything. Shit's real gay.

Then, of course, there's the main pair:

This is clearly the one that got hit real hard by cuts to the material. It's a damn shame, because this is clearly meant to be the core of the whole narrative. Despite that, the two of them have a fascinating dynamic that changes over the series from outright suspicion to cautious care to absolute trust. It's a great combo of someone who is too honest for his own good and someone so used to court politics that he lies as easily as breathing.

Ironically, the source material is Not Gay, to the point where the author has basically disowned this series as being so different from her original work as to be unrecognizable. You sort of have to wonder about the creative thought processes that led to taking a gen work and deciding to BL it up for the live-action adatation. I'm not complaining, mind you, but it is a little bit of an unforced error.

So whatever flavor of gay it is you're into, the odds are very good that this drama will have at least enough of it to keep you interested!

4. A very charming cast

I got to gush about Song Weilong's Zhang Ping earlier, but honestly I think everybody's pretty enjoyable, from the main cast to the recurring side characters to the one-off extras who show up for a single episode. Everybody's playing it weird and theatrical, so I get it if that's not your cup of tea. However, I feel all the performances are well-suited to the slightly surreal style of the production.

Here's just a couple of the real gems:

Jing Boran's Lan Jue has the perfect regal bearing of a fussy gentleman, but with a very endearing softness underneath. He spends half his time with eyes brimming with unshed tears, and the other half making heart-eyes at his boyfriends. You understand why everybody in the empire wants to ride him like they stole him, and that's even before he lets his hair down and starts dressing in slutty sheer robes. (I'm not entirely sure either he or the show knew how to play the character in the first few episodes, but he gets way better once he stops being so sinister and mysterious and gets to be cute and/or unhinged.)

There is one female character who shows up in more than one arc, and she is the Empress Dowager, and she is such a wonderful awful bitch. What a monster. Shi Yueling eats up every scene she's in by being the perfect mix of reprehensible and fascinating.

I was already primed to like Wang Duo because I liked watching him be a pretty snake boy in Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity. Well, now he gets to be a pretty metaphorical snake boy here. I'm not spoiling anything by telling you he's bad news. He shows up damn near the end of the show and you know immediately he's bad news. But you don't know what kind of bad news he is, and that's fun to find out.

And speaking of actors I already liked from other places! Guo Cheng has mastered the art of acting with his mouth full. His Chen Chou is a sweet, earnest anchor in a world of tricksy boys.

There is something about Hong Yao's handsome face that makes Wang Yan perpetually look a little red-eyed, like he's trying hard to pretend that he wasn't just crying in his office. It's the perfect soft touch to his incredibly wonderful chad of a character. I'm usually not into the cocky jocks, but I will make such an exception for him.

I love you, fortune-telling gremlin grandpa.

5. Raw materials

Look, I assume if you've made it this far in the rec and you're still hanging on, you're interested for one of two reasons. The more normie reason is that you're into c-dramas in general (and probably period dramas in particular), and gay stuff is a selling point, so you see the appeal of turning on a drama where cute boys have emotions at other cute boys. That is a perfectly good reason to watch this drama, and if this is you, I hope you have fun!

The other reason is that you like making fan stuff, and you need some new blorbos to blorb in new and exciting combinations. Friend, I have that stuff for you right here.

A League of Nobleman has problems -- but they are problems that may be appealing to people who enjoy fixing things. There are literal holes in the series where actual, planned, filmed scenes were deleted! If you're looking for source material that's just begging you to fill in the gaps, look no further.

Of course I'm partial to the number of queer DIY romance options there are (see point 3), but that's not the extent of it. The setting is fascinating: an unspecified premodern Chinese dynasty magical enough to have a Bureau of Incantations, where the emperor is (for once) a cool dude, secluded village people live in semi-communal families, and one of the main characters can play Inception with people's heads. I'll say it plainly: If you are into kinky dream sex, this is the drama for you.

I should note that one of the things that doesn't need fixing is the overall shape of the series. The individual little case incidents seem disconnected, but they all weave together at the end as part of a (let's be real, ridiculously complicated) plot, giving the whole thing a pretty satisfying wrap-up. The show does not just fall off a cliff like Moriarty; it resolves in a way that's more than a little convoluted, but still overall satisfying. Also, a lot of those ships from the chart above, when it's all over, are still together. Some days that's all you need from an ending.

Maybe I sound like a broken record at this point, but to give you a sense of how heavy the hand of censorship clearly was, understand several of these episodes don't even break the 35-minute mark, and only four are even over 40 minutes long, when ~45 minutes is about the episode standard for this genre. (For comparison, every Untamed episode at least 42 minutes long.) I think it's important to realize just how much actual connective tissue got removed, way more than just individual censored shots or single redubbed lines.

And speaking of redubbed lines, the last episode of this show contains possibly the funniest NO HOMO in BL history. You have to see it to believe it -- or, rather, to not believe it, because the first time I watched, I didn't even understand what the hell the show was implying. I'll say no more.

Where to watch it!

I hope I've convinced you to at least give it a try! It's not a perfect show by any means, but it's a show with many good elements, and if you can embrace what's there without getting too hung up on what's not, it's a pretty good time.

If you're up for it, you can find it on this YouTube playlist -- though be prepared that it often mutes the opening music. It's also available on Viki (with ads, but less muting).

Just look at those precious, pinchable cheeks. Adorable.

#a league of nobleman #a league of boyfriends #君子盟 #rec post #i made this

117 notes · View notes

lilianhuas · 1 year ago

Note

hi! i was wondering what is “PingXie” ? and what does it have to do with mlc?

PingXie 瓶邪 is a cp (couple pairing) ship name for two characters: Zhang Qiling & Wu Xie from the Daomu Biji/Lost Tomb book series & drama/film franchise. The Xie comes from Wu Xie. The Ping comes from Wu Xie’s nickname for Zhang Qiling “Men you píng” 闷油瓶 (very loosely translated means poker face - WuXie is fascinated by his unreadable facial expressions).

Two actors from Mysterious Lotus Casebook have both been in Daomu Biji/Lost Tomb dramas. Actor Zeng ShunXi played Wu Xie in dmbj drama: Ultimate Note.

And Cheng Yi once played Zhang Qiling in dmbj drama The Lost Tomb 2.

#text post #asks #my gifs #FangHua and PingXie are very similar in how they behave WuXie cares so much for Zhang Qiling who disappears all the time #just like how Li Lianhua is adored by Fang DuoBing and is also abandoned by him most of the time lmao #dmbj cast #mysterious lotus casebook #cheng yi #pingxie #zeng shunxi #the lost tomb 2 #ultimate note

78 notes · View notes

misspermitted · 1 year ago

Text

Really long ramble ahead: I really enjoy the quote that the main similarity between Xie Wei and Ning is that they’re loyal. Because on one hand, their main similarity is that they’re both ruthlessly manipulative and have serious trust issues and identity problems, but on the other hand, comic relief business guy is right. They’re both extremely loyal and motivated by their loyalty.

Ning is trying to save all of her friends no matter what because no matter the terrible things they did, like Yan Lin, in life 1, she is still loyal to them. She is motivated by her loyalty to Zhang Zhe and the promise she made to him. Xie Wei is motivated by a loyalty to his family, to avenge them, to betray everyone and Lord Pinging to do so, to the risk of death.

Not only this, but as demonstrated by their relationship, neither expects loyalty from others, ever. Xie Wei is loyal to her, his saviour, he does not kill her and tries to protect her out of loyalty to their connection and friendship (among other things), and Ning is completely unaware of this. She trusts he has the same goals as her, and is loyal towards the Yan family: she does not trust he would ever be loyal to her, they simply share a goal.

Ning is loyal to Xie Wei in a more intrinsic sense; that being she could easily sell him out to Zhang Zhe, or set him up, or any of that, and be rid of the main cause of the rebellion and life 1, but she never even considers it. She clearly is not averse to setting people up and does it many times, but still she helps him instead. Her whole “im not interested in your secrets” speech exemplifies this, because by all rights, she should be interested, he is behind the rebels, he slaughtered countless people in life 1, she believes he is capable of killing people again, but she isn’t. She threatens to reveal his secrets but it’s entirely half hearted and Xie Wei knows it. Still, he does not realise this is loyalty: she is scared of him, it is fear (except she hasn’t been scared of him for a while now but still). Or it is trust in his loyalty and that they have the same motivations (which it also isn’t).

Neither expects loyalty from others I believe because their loyalty was hard won. Xie Wei is loyal exclusively to people from his childhood, before his walls were built. Ning is loyal to the people she betrayed, they won her loyalty and appreciation through her acts of disloyalty and cruelty. Ning is only loyal to people she saw before her walls went up, before everyone who ever loved her betrayed her, before she was consumed by guilt. So the budding loyalty between Ning and Xie Wei is unexpected and unacknowledged by either party.

But, given their conflicting goals, I have this feeling their mutual loyalty is gonna be an issue in the future. As is exemplified by ZZ and XW’s enemy/rivalry thing, XW’s actions are progressively going more and more against Nings goal of a good ending, and she is going to have to deal with that at some point.

TLDR: Ning and Xie Wei’s loyalty underpins their motivations and their budding loyalty to each other is big for both characters, who so far are mainly just loyal to people they met before their walls went up, but this mutual loyalty will become a plot issue as both of their motivations begin to diverge.

#story of kunning palace #sorry for the huge meta

51 notes · View notes

mirageofadesert · 1 year ago

Text

Luo Yunxi's next drama is coming!

This is what we know can assume so far! I got so excited, I had to write about it!

Well, first of all, a lot of this information hasn't been confirmed yet. Particularly around the cast, there are many contradictory rumors.

The drama is currently called Shui Long Yin (水龙吟). It will likely start filming mid-November 2023 in Hangdian. It's going to be a long shoot with 4-5 month. This means it's likely going to have a full 40 episodes.

The drama is an adaptation of Teng Ping's novel 千劫眉. This is the author from the recently aired Mysterious Lotus Casebook. Going from what I have picked up from the original novel, there are some similarities between both stories, mainly centering on the dynamics between multiple male characters, with no female love interests. There is also the possibility, that MLC scriptwriters added some parts of 千劫眉 to the other story, so both might be a bit (too) similar. So we will see what kind of further adaption will be made.

The drama will be directed by Chen Zhoufei, who has done mostly modern dramas, as well as the recently shot Shao Nian Bai Ma Zui Chun Feng Season 2, another Wuxia bormance drama.

We can assume, that the drama will be produced by Otter Studio again, who already worked with Luo Yunxi for Immortality and Till The End of The Moon. As for the broadcast platforms, rumor has it, that there is an ongoing biting war between Yukou and Mango. Currently, it seems like Mango TV is winning, and the show will be additional aired on Hunan TV - which will reach a broader audience! I'm not an expert on this, but not many Wuxia and Xianxia dramas get aired on TV, so this is a big deal!

The rumored cast of the drama changes from day to day. The two names attached to the show the longest (besides Luo Yunxi) are Xiao Shun Yao and Chen Yao. Both have been acting with Luo Yunxi before in either TTEOTM or in Chen Yao's case in the yet to air Immortality and Follow Your Heart. There is another cast member of Follow Your Heart appearing on the possible cast list for the first time: Cheng Lei!

While I haven't seen Chen Yao in a drama yet, I'm really excited about the possibility of Xiao Shun Yao, who I loved in Mysterious Lotus Bookcase, and Cheng Lei, who was one of my favorites in My Journey to You. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, since the cast will likely change! But then there is also this:

As for the rest of the cast, in today's melon, Bao Shangen, Lin Yun and Yu Chengen are (tentative) named. All of them are young and upcoming actors. So far, there doesn't seem to be a real female lead, just like in the novel. However, other melons name Liu Haocun or Zhang Xueying (Princess Silver) or Bao Shangen as potential candidates for the female lead. So we will have to wait for the official announcement. But it's fun to speculate!

Another rumor I saw is that my beloved Sun Zhenni (Pianran from TTEOTM) will make a guest appearance! I also wouldn't be surprised to see some of the usual suspects making another appearance next to Luo Yunxi!

Now, as someone that adore world-building, I'm particularly excited about the style of the show. It's said to be a mix of wuxia and xianxia tropes and aesthetics, and this is a main reason that so many platforms are interested in it. We get some indicators from the poster.

Let's look at the details of the official poster:

White hair, I repeat, white hair! The main character Tang Lici is described as ruthless and is famous for his long white hair! I'm so excited for this. Are we finally going to see Luo Yunxi in white hair for a drama?!

I also love the color scheme of white, peach and black of the poster. It looks like there is a black flute stuck in his belt. He is also holding a bowl of food, maybe a seashell? That looks too random, to be a coincidence. So he likely will use musical cultivation as a weapon.

I'm not sure how the dragon relates to his character. Maybe he is one, maybe he is called one? Either way, it would be Luo Yunxi's third time playing a dragon, after Wangye and Runyu. This one seems to be related to water again.

In his most recent interview, Luo Yunxi mentioned, that he is already preparing for the role, learning lines and diving into his character. I can't wait for more!

Sources: Twitter 1, Twitter 2, My Drama List

#luo yunxi #xiao shun yao #cheng lei #cdrama #chen yao

64 notes · View notes

movielosophy · 2 years ago

Photo

A League of Nobleman | duet

#i must say this is kinda different pair than any detective story I've watched #usually one is the brain and the other is the muscle #but they're both scholars and smart...also weak #lol #they should've bring mowen in every adventure #A League of Nobleman #cdrama #song wei long #character: zhang ping #jing boran #character: lan jue #song weilong #jing bo ran

149 notes · View notes

zuko-always-lies · 7 months ago

Text

ATLA Book 1 Character Stats

One thing I have been wondering for a while is how many lines of dialogue each character has in ATLA. I recently figured out an easy way to calculate it, so here are the stats for Book 1.

There are 3490 total lines of dialogue in the season. They are divided up as follows:

Aang 818 lines, 23.44% of total Katara 633 lines, 18.14% of total Sokka 610 lines, 17.48% of total Zuko 174 lines, 4.99% of total (Note: if you include "Young Zuko," this jumps to 182 lines and 5.21%) Iroh 129 lines, 3.70% of total Zhao 107 lines, 3.07 of total Jet 74 lines, 2.12% of total Yue 51 lines, 1.46% of total Bumi 45 lines, 1.29% of total Mechanist 35 lines, 1.00%

Character stats for more obscure characters below:

Jeong Jeong 30 lines, 0.86% Pakku 29 lines, 0.83% Teo 29 lines, 0.83% Bato 28 lines, 0.80% Wu 28 lines, 0.80% Zhang leader 28 lines, 0.80% Shyu 25 lines, 0.72% Suki 25 lines, 0.72% Gan Jin leader 23 lines, 0.66% Haru 23 lines, 0.66% June 18 lines, 0.52% Arnook 18 lines, 0.52% Gyatso 18 lines, 0.52% Meng 18 lines, 0.52% Canyon guide 17 lines, 0.49% Fisherman 16 lines, 0.46% Warden 16 lines, 0.46% Roku 15 lines, 0.43% Chey 14 lines, 0.40% Pirate captain 14 lines, 0.40% Herbalist 13 lines 0.37% Guard 12 lines, 0.34% Calm man 11 lines, 0.32% Kay-fon 11 lines, 0.32% Tyro 11 lines, 0.32% Earthbender captain 10 lines, 0.29% Gan Jin tribesman 10 lines, 0.29% Great Fire Sage 10 lines, 0.29% Jee 10 lines, 0.29% Kanna 10 lines, 0.29% Oh 10 lines, 0.29% Senlin Village leader 10 lines, 0.29% Fisherman's wife 9 lines, 0.257879656% Hahn 9 lines, 0.257879656% Haru's mother 9 lines, 0.257879656% Koh 9 lines, 0.257879656% Captain 8 lines, 0.229226361% Mother Superior 8 lines, 0.229226361% Oyaji 8 lines, 0.229226361% Yagoda 8 lines, 0.229226361% Young Zuko 8 lines, 0.229226361% Tashi 7, 0.200573066 Shinu 6, 0.171919771 Storyteller 6, 0.171919771 Air Nomad boy #1 5, 0.143266476 Cabbage merchant 5, 0.143266476 Gate guard 5, 0.143266476 Koko 5, 0.143266476 Lin Yee 5, 0.143266476 Malu 5, 0.143266476 Pipsqueak 5, 0.143266476 Qin 5. 0.143266476 Smellerbee 5, 0.143266476 Air Nomad boy #2 4, 0.114613181 Fire Nation Soldier 4, 0.114613181 Hakoda 4, 0.114613181 Man 4, 0.114613181 Messenger 4, 0.114613181 Ozai 4, 0.114613181 Soldier 4, 0.114613181 Baboon spirit 3, 0.085959885 Little girl 3, 0.085959885 Old man 3, 0.085959885 Omashu captain 3, 0.085959885 Pasang 3, 0.085959885 Southern Water Tribe boy 3, 0.085959885 Tax collector 3, 0.085959885 The Duke 3, 0.085959885 Village girl 3, 0.085959885 Woman 3, 0.085959885 Bujing 2, 0.05730659 Chamberlain 2, 0.05730659 Firebender 2, 0.05730659 Guard captain 2, 0.05730659 Merchant woman 2, 0.05730659 Old Fire Nation civilian 2, 0.05730659 Pirate 2, 0.05730659 Village boy 2, 0.05730659 Village Woman 2, 0.05730659 Aang and Sokka 1, 0.028653295 Aunt Wu 1, 0.028653295 Both 1, 0.028653295 Citizen 1, 0.028653295 Colonists 1, 0.028653295 Crew member 1, 0.028653295 Elder general 1, 0.028653295 Engineer 1, 0.028653295 Eye-patch soldier 1, 0.028653295 Fangirls 1, 0.028653295 Farmer 1, 0.028653295 Fire Nation kids 1, 0.028653295 Fire Sage 1, 0.028653295 Firebenders 1, 0.028653295 Gan Jin man 1, 0.028653295 Girl 1, 0.028653295 Gyatso and Katara 1, 0.028653295 Li 1, 0.028653295 Lieutenant Jee 1, 0.028653295 Man with Red Shoes 1, 0.028653295 Mask dealer 1, 0.028653295 Painter 1, 0.028653295 Ping 1, 0.028653295 Poi 1, 0.028653295 Poi and Ping 1, 0.028653295 Prisoner 1, 0.028653295 Puppet Fire Lord 1, 0.028653295 Scout #1 1, 0.028653295 Scout #2 1, 0.028653295 Scribe 1, 0.028653295 Shop keeper 1, 0.028653295 Shopkeeper 1, 0.028653295 Southern Water Tribe girl 1, 0.028653295 Spectators 1, 0.028653295 Strange Man 1, 0.028653295 Together 1, 0.028653295 Tribal man 1, 0.028653295 Village kids 1, 0.028653295

#ATLA #avatar the last airbender #book 1: water #ATLA stats #ATLA lines #ATLA stat #Avatar #Aang #Katara #Zuko #Sokka #Iroh #Zhao #Jet #Yue #Bumi #the mechanist

24 notes · View notes

ihaveforgortoomany · 3 months ago

Text

Why Ping Pong? (Chapter Four Spoilers) (speculation mainly)

Chapter four explores the political side of the Foundation, difficulties of passing bills, the prejudice of the Chicago branch ... so why a ping pong match in the middle of this?

We explore more about Madam Z in this chapter, her real name being Zhang Zhizhi, a theoretical physicist turned Committee Member of the Foundation.

But why Ping-Pong? (This is speculation)

Ping-Pong diplomacy refers to a period during the Cold War in the 1970s where tensions between the USA and China began to relax, marked by the exchange of table tennis players in the World Table Tennis Championships in Nagoya, Japan. Notable exchange was the meeting between players Glenn Cowan (US) and Zhuang Zedong (China) that lead to increased relations between the countries.

In the early years of the People's Republic sports became a method of diplomacy, as athletes were among the few PRC nationals to be allowed travel overseas.

Back to Reverse 1999, Madam Z as a character could be a reference to Zhuang Zedong and the nature of Ping-Pong as a diplomatic strategy to win over Katz to the Reformation Bill, but it should be noted she reaches out to Katz as a friend more than a political opponent:

"Friendship first. Competition second"

(Someone can check but Madam Z's va is the same in both eng and cn, i think its rlly cool)

#reverse 1999 #ramblings #madam z #spoilers for Chapter 4 #this game has many details lol

17 notes · View notes

discountalien-pancake · 7 months ago

Text

A League of Nobleman [sic] is compulsively watchable and also so unsettling, 9/10 ⭐️ would watch again

This kind of turned into an essay, so my non-spoilery thoughts are under the cut.

The Good:

Cinematography was unparalleled. Truly. I praised it before but I have to praise it again. The lighting choices were so good. The way they made the atmosphere early on feel so heavy and almost claustrophobic. Only a handful of scenes were too dark, but even then it didn’t totally detract from the storytelling. The way you couldn’t quite tell right away whether some scenes were dream sequences because of the lens work. The way characters were framed by doorways and windows and lighting and literal theatrical stages. I could go on all day.

And holy shit the acting. The performances are so good and the cinematography really allows every actor to shine. Chen Chou is played by the same actor who played Lan Jingyi in the Untamed and it’s like night and day. Don’t get me wrong, Jingyi was one of my favorite characters in The Untamed, but even though Chen Chou similarly is mostly comic relief in this, his performance feels more restrained, more believable, more rounded. Mental breakdowns in other cdramas often feel so artificial and over the top. In this show, even when the degree of madness starts to strain narrative believability and veer into melodrama, the way it’s portrayed is magnetic. And one of the characters spends 99% of their screentime just sitting and smiling sinisterly but it’s terrifying. Everyone in the show is terrified of them and when you see them and the way they carry themself and the way they speak, you completely understand.

The writing combined with the acting and cinematography makes you willing to suspend your disbelief. That seems like such a low bar, and yet. This show manages to balance the unbelievable magic and sorcery and mysticism with grounded, logical explanations but in such a way that the fantastical still works within this world. Is it magic? Is it trickery? Is it science? It ties in perfectly with the recurring theme of fake vs real.

Another point regarding the writing is that the characters skills don’t exist just to make them more attractive or badass. A lot of period cdramas have a habit of giving the main character some kind of Quirky Hobby at the beginning that is all but forgotten as the story progresses. Talents don’t actually matter to the plot, they’re only there to make the character talented. This show doesn’t do that!

Zhang Ping is a street vendor who makes noodles. The plot doesn’t have anything to do with food—it’s a detective drama with supernatural elements and an overarching conspiracy mystery. The street-vending doesn’t matter almost at all to the plot. But it matters to the storytelling. Hardly an episode goes by without Zhang Ping putting homemade food in front of someone he cares about. Food is how he shows affection. Tired? Sick? Depressed? He will make you food about it. Sometimes it’s played for laughs but there’s more than one scene where it’s a real punch in the feels.

Lan Jue can perfectly copy anyone’s handwriting. Forgery is one of the first ethically questionable things we see him do in the show, and in another show it might just be left at that. But in this one it is completely entangled with his backstory and motivations. It’s so well-integrated that you might not realize it right away when you get to the scene that explains how he came to have that skill. And it once again ties into the theme of real vs fake.

Every single character, no matter how minor, is treated with so much love and care by the storytelling. A lot of dramas treat minor characters as just plot devices. That’s not the case here. Every character has their own realistic motives and narrative continuity even if they’re only in one or two episodes. The show doesn’t just forget characters until they’re plot relevant (*cough*TheUntamed*cough*) and it doesn’t just senselessly slaughter all the characters for the melodrama (*cough*WordOfHonor*cough*). Characters who have a role to play in the overarching plot have frequent appearances and Do Things. They’re not just accessories to the main characters. No one feels like a caricature! Not even the silly bonkers old mentor figure who only shows up for like four episodes!

In terms of production value, the costumes were beautiful. They were not particularly elaborate or heavily embellished, but they felt so believable. The movement. The color symbolism. The literal physical weight of the clothes echoing the weight of their consciences. The fact that the extras were dressed with just as much care. You don’t get Main Character Costuming Syndrome with this show, which so many period cdramas are guilty of. I just love that they let the beautiful fabric and craftsmanship do the work. The textures are subdued but beautiful and there’s nothing that breaks immersion.

None of the props have that plasticky or Fake look. Weapons actually look like they’ll cut something! Gemstones don’t look like gumdrops (*cough*WhoRulesTheWorld*cough*)! And the masks! There are a number of masks in the show that are just so cool. The designs are sleek and simple and so aesthetic, none of that fancy filigree domino mask from Amazon crap that does literally nothing to hide the wearer’s identity. These masks completely obscure the actors’ faces, because they really don’t want you to know who is behind them. You can guess and you might even get it right but you won’t know until the characters reveal the truth.

And then there’s the books. Oh my god they must have spent so much of the props budget on all of the manuscripts and scrolls and books. The BINDINGS on them. Literally exquisite. Much of the plot has to do with the imperial examination system, either directly or tangentially, so they’ve got their noses in books and manuscripts for a significant portion of the show. The delicacy of the writing paper and the way it flutters on the desk when a breeze passes? The heft of the official documents? The way old, decaying manuscripts look brittle? The way Zhang Ping’s most beloved novels clearly look worn but are in such good condition despite how often he has read them?

Messy, grounded, weighty fight scenes. This show is fantasy, but it’s no xianxia or wuxia—if you want wirework you aren’t going to get it. There’s no fancy spinning just for the sake of spinning. Half of the fights end in the characters grappling or getting bashed in the head with a stick or rock. The fights are fights. They’re not there to be eye-candy. Everyone has a realistic level of ability and way of fighting that matches their personalities. The two scholars don’t just randomly have martial arts. Nobody is able to fly over a wall. There are no cheat codes. The fact that the physical limitations are so consistent actually makes the supernatural elements feel more real to me, in the sense that no matter what bonkers shit is happening in-universe, there must be a logical explanation. A lot of fantasy just handwaves things with “it’s magic!” And this show could easily have done that and made it work but it chose not to.

You don’t get those classic cdrama Hidden Villain shots from behind of the BBEG consulting with his cronies. You keep heading about the mastermind from the minor villains and victims, but the scope of knowledge is limited to what the characters themselves are able to learn or remember. Which means that when a character guesses something incorrectly, we’re on the same page and we’re not left banging our heads out of frustration that the answer is obviously something else.

Everything combined means the world and characters all feel so real. I hardly have to put in any effort to suspend my disbelief. So many shows do this smoke and mirrors routine of ‘we’re done with that now, don’t look too hard’ while this one feels like it’s almost daring me to look harder.

The Not Great:

I’ll be blunt, there is some pretty typical cdrama racism. It’s not a lot, but it’s there. The southern kingdom’s armies are depicted in a typical ‘savage’ aesthetic, though you really only see them in one episode and they’re fighting in a dense forest. There’s also the Hidden Ethnic Tribe With Mystic Powers, though this is not quite what it seems and I don’t hate it the way I do in some other shows/stories.

If a lack of female protagonists is a dealbreaker for you, you’re not going to like this. But if you gushed about The Untamed and complain about the lack of female characters in this I’m probably going to give you some bombastic side-eye. It’s a danmei and it’s going to be a long while before they fix the genre’s gender balance.

The editing. Specifically the censorship. A lot of the episodes are barely over 30 minutes long, including the ending credits. Most people speculate that it was in order to No Homo the two male leads, and this definitely did happen, but I think a bit of it was also political. Some of the messaging in the show is a little on the nose regarding corruption and a government’s responsibility towards its citizens. But yeah there’s like 10 minutes of material that got cut out of almost every episode. There’s literally like, 2 hours of missing footage. Which is Not Great! It doesn’t impact the plot, mostly, so you’ll still get a great story and sense-making progression. But it does really dampen the relationship development between the two leads. Even then, they did an amazing job with what screentime they were allowed. And there is a slightly bonkers re-dub in the last episode. I wouldn’t have necessarily realized it was a re-dubbed line if I hadn’t seen mention of it in another user’s post but it still sticks out as Very Weird in a show that until then was very coherently written. It’s very obvious in hindsight though, because they literally cut away in the middle of the character’s line delivery.

This show is based on a book that was not originally a danmei, and I don’t think it adheres to that book very closely (granted, I haven’t read it and won’t be reading it). But for some baffling reason they decided to keep two particular details the could have been cut without making any difference at all to the show itself. It almost feels like they’re just there to act as a No Homo. You’ll know them when you get to them, and trust me they won’t impact the show at all. You’ll just sort of. Be baffled.

The fucking English title.

The Neutral:

The genre of this is hard to pinpoint. I’ve definitely watched things like it before but if you asked me to name one I wouldn’t be able to tell you. It’s kind of horror, but also not. It’s definitely fantasy, but whether low or high is kind of impossible to say. I like that about it, but others might want something more clear-cut. I think that regardless of how it’s classified, the show did a great job of being what it is.

Culturally-specific references. The most important one in particular does get explained in-show, but if you’re not familiar with it, you won’t understand right away why everyone in the scene is so shocked. Name symbolism and poetry and calligraphy are among the other things that might go over your head, but generally speaking the show does a good job of explaining everything that is necessary for plot. Anything unexplained is just additional flavor.

In typical asian drama fashion, this show is a complete story in one season. It’s 29 episodes long and due to cutting is a bit abnormally short. I love the One Season, One Story format but for western audiences this might be a weird adjustment. It means the story has to have a clear ending in mind which keeps the pacing and plotting more coherent than in a lot of western shows that just limp their way to the finish line once funding runs out (*cough*SPN*cough*). Which isn’t to say that all one-season shows end well, but it i find it preferable to have an ending in sight. You’re less concerned about a show being canceled before the plot is resolved (*cough*Lockwood&Co*cough*).

It’s Very Polycule. There is no OTP. There is a slight rivalry and implied jealousy between Zhang Ping and one of Lan Jue’s other boyfriends, but he doesn’t have any such beef with Lan Jue’s other boyfriend and Lan Jue has no objection to Zhang Ping’s close friendships either. But even though I truly, wholeheartedly ship Zhang Ping and Lan Jue, I still enjoy the dynamics they have with other characters. I never felt annoyed at the supporting love interests for “getting in the way” because they…don’t. I can’t say much more without getting spoilery but there is only one vertex of the Love Shape who actually wants to interfere and get between the two leads. I found this to be very enjoyable but if you strongly desire a clear-cut OTP or enjoy dramatic jealousy/misunderstanding arcs, this probably isn’t for you. Yes, there is a midseason breakup, but it’s for other reasons.

Anyway I am now obsessed. I’m gonna wait a bit and rewatch to try and pick up on more of the moments that got cut subtle details.

#is there a coherent order to this review essay thing? no.#a league of nobleman

21 notes · View notes