#mlc rewatch

[omgpurplefattie]

Rewatching Mysterious Lotus Casebook, eps 16 - 19 for fic writing purposes, and I have never seen anybody not getting the point of his own life as badly as Xiao Zijin.

He ruins everything himself. He lives in a world of his own paranoia and reacts to completely imaginary threats.

He cannot hear what other people say at all.

[qpjianghu]

[xiaobaosnoona]

fang xiabaos first sword, and li lianhuas last

mlc things I think about while lying on the floor 1/?

@asiandramanet creator bingo - paralells

[nutcasewithaknife]

"Even your name is fake. When did I ever know you?" is the most devastating thing Fang Duobing could've said here because 'Li Lianhua' is not a mere disguise. It's a new life, one that Li Lianhua built for himself from less than nothing, one he is proud of in his own way. Li Lianhua, who kept the world at arm's length for a decade but let himself be bullied into caring for and accepting Fang Duobing as his only companion. By this point, Fang Duobing is not just Shan Gudao's son. He is the only one allowed to know Li Lianhua better than anyone else, even if he was clueless about the past.

The hurt in Li Linahua's face here, even though he let's it show only for a moment... He always lies to keep people away. Do you think that just this once, just a little part of why he lied about not being Li Xiangyi was to not lose Xiaobao for as long as he could?

[a--ttano]

Difang beloved

[gunsatthaphan]

#I think I've seen this movie before. #and I didn't like the ending.

[qilingxiong]

in a drama that pays SO much attention to and is deliberate about giving each character a very distinct silhouette, it has been driving me absolutely fucking insane for several weeks now that some of jiao liqiao's outfits are cut like li xiangyi and li lianhua's robes.

you can see the visual similarities between jiao liqiao's most-worn outfit and li xiangyi in the general form of the robes, but particularly in the drape of the sleeves and where they fall open at the shoulders (sorry, i don't know the technical term). it's harder to see here but both outfits also have bracers that match the robes in a very integrated way and colour-wise, with the same fitting to the sleeves.

here, if not for the colours and material of jiao liqiao's outer layer, this would be something li lianhua would wear. the fit of these robes are the same. the pleats at the lapels even match. jiao liqiao is visually paralleled with li xiangyi and li lianhua, mirroring the man she's forever seen as competition for di feisheng. it's as though in truly every way, she's trying to replace him. maybe if she tries hard enough, di feisheng will finally look at her for once.

i mean hell, think about how even more interesting this scene gets— jiao liqiao's "i'm the victor in this game of love" moment— once you realize she's taunting li lianhua about having a place beside di feisheng while emulating the image of li xiangyi, the man di feisheng cannot leave behind. ("maybe you could still have had him now if you'd stayed like this. if you hadn't become what you are now. it's too bad i stepped in all those years ago, and so you're in this state, isn't it? i've won, li xiangyi.") mysterious lotus casebook already did a stellar job in everything else in establishing jiao liqiao and li lianhua as rivals for di feisheng, but this visual aspect just elevates some of these character interactions throughout the show.

[chickenstrangers]

MAMA GOGO (2022)

EARTH PIRAPAT as KAMPAN (a.k.a. KING OF HOTNESS)

[unfortunatelycake]

So I've watched a ton of dramas since Mysterious Lotus Casebook and still couldn't stop thinking about it so I ended up rewatching it, and again I've watched a bunch of other dramas since the rewatch, and they've been decent dramas, but I still can't stop thinking about Mysterious Lotus Casebook.

I mean OK I follow blogs about it and read fic so it's on my dash constantly, but I follow DMBJ blogs too without such a dying urge to rewatch everything (though I have rewatched some) and just. Halp. MLC has me by the throat.

[kingsandbastardz]

reading this post by @kseniyagreen and this observation from @a-memory-a-distant-echo made a few cloudy images in my head finally solidify.

In an older post, there was an observation made by @difeisheng that both Di Feisheng and Li Lianhua were consistently positioned in shots throughout the entire story with DFS to the left and LLH to the right.

So I'd like to start here with the final two character shots of the last episode and the special episode:

Standing on actually different or metaphorically 'different' beaches, they still take their paired stances in the narrative to the very end.

But is that it? Is that all there is?

There's actually some transitional things happening here. Like in the entire narrative, both DFS and LLH mirror each other.

Look at these moments here side by side.

On the left, the camera drifts past Di Feisheng and picks up speed to go rushing across the ocean's water. Where is it heading?

On the right, the camera drifts past Li Lianhua and continues its slow and steady pace, reaches the open water and then... steadily slides back - gradually picking up a small bit of speed.

The ocean is that thing that connects dfs and llh.

The speed that the camera travels in dfs' scene is beifang baiyang - the overwhelming strength rushing forward with purpose. This is dfs internally, spiritually, reaching out and following llh.

LLH's camera meanwhile takes on the slow and steady characteristic of Yangzhouman. It gently travels to the ocean and then... goes backwards while increasing pace. As if a ghost were reaching out and then... perhaps making contact and pulling back?

I know both end scenes are shot on the same beach and they just moved further off to the side - but I do like the idea of them essentially finding each other again in the same spiritual space after having traveled mirrored to each other, in tandem, for so many years. One thing is very clear to me here. Di Feisheng's spirit is with LLH and even though he is late in his realization of what he wants - he'll continue to follow LLH's footsteps.

Just as Li Xiangyi dies, so too does the person that is "Di Feisheng". After all, as with Dao, there's no importance in a name if you know what and who you are.

These are the final two images of Di Feisheng as uploaded to Xiao Shunyao's and one of his studio staff's weibos. I also vaguely recall a final message as narrated by XSY, mentioning that he will continue to study martial arts and maybe travel. The world is vast and wide.

I think this beach is an appropriate resting place for Dao. As his blade is laid to rest, so too is the Demon Leader of Jinyuan Alliance.

*

It's unfortunate that we don't get to see more of Di Feisheng and Fang Duobing's relationship development. But we do at least get small hints seeded throughout. I like how right off the bat, they're thrown into tight proximity together - it's broadly hinted that Di Feisheng not only shares the guest bed with FDB, but he also ends up borrowing/stealing clothes from him.

Then we have LLH and FDB likely going shopping and putting together whole outfits for A'Fei - one of the outfits is the same cut as the Caillen Manor set.

And by the end, Fdb appears beside DFS in the same spot that LLH would have stood - wearing clothing that's the same cut as DFS' and black belt + bracer set that looks like they could have been pilfered from DFS' things.

This gives me some small closure in the sense that no matter what else you interpret happening in the physical world, I feel that Fang Duobing has taken Li Lianhua's final letter seriously. He's grasped onto Di Feisheng - and regardless of how you see their future relationship, it's not one where DFS will just drift away and disappear unnoticed. Not easily.

Li Lianhua isn't all that DFS has, even if he may not realize that yet.

I can rest my sense of security on the shoulders of Fang Duobing's stubborness.

*

Here's a collection of links for the bits and pieces that have been floating around in my head regarding how Di Feisheng and Li Lianhua are bound together in both life and death.

history of shared spiritual space with LLH living in a coffin made of the remaining pieces of his last memories of DFS. While DFS has literally entombed himself in a cave of stone.

dfs' spiritual influence on llh

llh bound to dfs' deaths

song lyrics written by Yan Yidan and Teng Ping regarding DFS' devastation at losing LLH

Dfs and llh narratively bound together - this is a bit dated now as I don't have as negative a view about DFS' end. But at its core, I think it still holds up.

And some links for Fang Duobing + Di Feisheng meta

@bbcphile's observation about dfs and fdb's ep41 sad beach outfit

early in the series, dfs had to borrow fdb's clothes at Caillen Manor

llh's last actions paving a way for dfs and fdb

[lindwurmkai]

he xiaofeng's ability to zero in on and exclusively fall for the queer/trans/crossdressing people around her is simply incredible. i'm not sure what exactly that says about zhan yunfei if they do end up together but it absolutely says something

[qpjianghu]

If episode 30 of mysterious lotus casebook is like multiple stabs to the heart, episode 31 is like. A gentle wiping of the blood from your face, a tender caress of the knife as it's lovingly guided deeper and deeper into your soul until it pierces your very being. Because Fang Duobing finds Shan Gudao's box of knicknacks, and he and Li Lianhua share a smile -- Fang Duobing's beaming, Li Lianhua's soft, reminiscing. And they find the knife that Li Xiangyi meticulously crafted for his shixiong, but it's broken -- and Li Lianhua unthinkingly points out that he wasn't very good at making weapons, so it's his fault that the knife broke after a few uses. But Fang Duobing, sweet, smart Fang Duobing, says that's not right -- the knife was purposefully snapped. It's not Li Lianhua's fault.

And it just got me thinking about how Li Lianhua is so quick to blame himself for everything. The knife breaking was his fault -- but really it was Shan Gudao who broke it. Li Lianhua's shifu's death was his fault -- but really it was Shan Gudao, again. Shan Gudao, who Li Lianhua adored, respected, loved, and crafted his entire life around (we also learn that Li Xiangyi / Lianhua's love for candy came from Shan Gudao).

Then we see Li Xiangyi's name maliciously struck out at the bottom of Shan Gudao's box, and the moment of realization for Li Lianhua is just... I need to lie down for 7-10 business years or maybe forever

[travalerray]

Rewatching Mysterious Lotus Casebook EP 1/40

not in the way either of you think

"less than five people know about this" I forgot this detail but man. There's something about Li Xiangyi using Wenjing so selectively. About the decisive killing intent of the sword Shan Gudao gifted to him. Deeply fascinated by the fact that this is the "secret" Shan Gudao told Fang Duobing about Li Xiangyi. The decision Li Lianhua takes to throw it away and embed it in a random cliff, breaking that cycle of violence.

And then finally at the cliff he shatters Shaoshi, ending "Li Xiangyi".

(I am fond of how he uses Wenjing though, considering it seems to be usually kept curled in his sleeves (?). Correct me on this, my eyesight is trash.)

I am gonna call this "heartbreak". Di Feisheng won't know this until episode 40, but yk.

appreciate that Li Lianhua puts the drugs in the tea exactly after "and revive the Sigu Sect". Esp with the face he makes.....

You Want To Share Something With The Class, Li Lianhua (Do not tempt fate: Li Lianhua edition)

should I laugh or cry. This first episode is plain traumatizing post series.

that applies for quite a lot of dead people, I must mention.

[nutcasewithaknife]

i forgot how hilarious they were in the girl's mansion arc

[mx-myth]

Recently the dungeon meshi craze hit my friend group and they were all really surprised when I said I was reading the manga instead of watching the anime so now I'm curious:

[gunsatthaphan]

“I can walk alone now.”