__jenjenn:
Thank you guys for welcoming me!!! I'm so excited. Also I'm new to MDL platform so it might take me a while to get used to how to work around this format. It doesn't let me responding with a quote in it >< I don't know why.
Also I wrote a very long essay but it didn't let me post so I guess I'll break it down into multiple shorter response.
Oh, new to MDL also, then double welcome!
For some reason, the quote button has a word limit. But you can quote longer sections or just part of a post by highlighting, then a 'quote' button should appear on the top left of the highlighted section, and you can click on it. If the 'quote' button doesn't appear, right click on the highlighted part and it will appear. And you can quote multiple times in a post.
My impression was that Chi Yun was older or around the same age.HeadInTheClouds:
I can put up with mediocre acting if the script keeps me interested, but good acting just can't save a bad script for me. Maybe, in a 2-hour movie, I can stick around for the acting. But, a 30+ hour series? Nope.
I guess I have a high tolerance to pain. lol
I guess they are of the same generation. When they live thousands of years, the age gap has to be much much larger to make a difference.
Yeah, unfortunately we get both in A Life Time of Love. I'm filling in quite a bit, but it's a testament to Tong Hua's stories that I have a connection to the characters and what happens to them. I will say that Yun Sang and Jing Shi's relationship was a welcome surprise, though the script failed them, IMO. I sort of got the feeling that Kun Bo might have had unspoken feelings for Yun Sang.
Heh. A long as XL is alive, happy and free, I don't care what they change. Put him on Pluto. Make him gay. Heck, make him gay, then put him on Pluto. I don't care :-). If they insisted on the romance with XY, that's fine. I just want to request that she take responsibility for her healing. The poor man has already spent hundreds of years taking care of people; give him some rest :-).
XL alive, happy and free?! Can it happen for anyone in a Tong Hua book?
Thank you, ladies. I got Shingles and haven't been well mentally, either. Difficult to say which one came first. The Shingles is gone, and I'm working on the other one. If you haven't got vaccinated for Shingles, it would be a good idea to do so.
Oh no! That's terrible. The mother of my friend got Shingles and that was enough to send me running for the vaccination. She was so miserable. Hopefully getting over it will help with the mental issues. I've been wresting with some depression sloth, in a tiny part, due to some back issues. I do tend to feel better, even if I'm still a sloth, when my back isn't given me grief. Good luck.
This is my take on your questions. Others have a different opinion, and will probably chime in.
A few questions that I have:
• I know that he can control the love bug but is it really possible that he is able to suppress it so she cannot sense how his heart feels? The love bug topic is probably one of the biggest ones I feel so lost in this drama.
Yes. There's been a lot of discussion and disagreement about the The Love Bug. :) The Love Bug normally works in one direction as far as feelings. XY doesn't feel what XL feels. But he feels what she feels. There was some talk about XL's control of the bugs and what he could do with them. There is one time for sure that we know he did something to make XY feel pain via the Lover Bug, when he threatened her after the wedding robbery to not reveal he was FFB. HOW he did that, we aren't for sure and have discussed variety methods.
• When XL received the crystal ball and XY was waiting for him by the shore, I can't help but noticed that both of them was wearing red (with the same shades!!! - she didn't wear the shape of red on her wedding with FL). Could that be symbolized as "it could have been"?
I see it more as what is. There's stuff that's implied in the book, the hidden lines, but you can't really do that in a visual medium like a drama. You have to be more obvious. In the book, there's several 'hidden lines,' that XY and XL love each and have a romantic relationship. Some folks argue that there is a hidden line where they are married in the book. I interpret them both wearing red gowns in that drama scene as them marrying, even if they can't be together. The 37 years of healing, spent in a clam shell, is another sign of that, given XL tells her that is what how the merfolk see it.
• As for FFB, he is supposed to be XL's different personalities/alter ego. But at the end of the day, it's still XL and he admitted that he just dyed his hair black. And I'm hella confused as to why he has to act so differently the moment his hair turns silver again? And how come he got poisoned and there is no love bug detected on FFB?
XL is a shape shifter. So, he could shape shift so that he could be poisoned. I don't think XY can detect the Love Bug. When was she trying? She knows that FFB and her heart beat is the same, just like XL and her.
FFB and XL are the same person. I think in the book, XY makes the observation that XL is the armor he pulls on over FFB, when needed. He even explains in the drama, that he is FFB, not someone pretending to be FFB. He usually acts different when his hair color changes, cause he in a different situation. FFB is not responsible for anything. XL is repsonsible for the Chenrong army. It's sort of like how your home and friends personality is different from your work personality. But as it goes along, you can see the two personalities merging, at least when he interacts with XY and she knows who he is. You can see each of the personalities peeking out throughout the drama, like when XY ticks off FFB. And one of the last times they sat on the beach together, cooking fish, he had black hair, but spoke like XL also.
There was a great pic of the four sides of the character ... I'll have to see if I can find it.
• The scene where he played the instrument and sang her "Peach blossom blood", was that his intention as the last attempt hoping she would understand his love for her and perhaps hold him back?
This scene is not in the book, though it sung for XL by another character -- so it is his song, IMO. It also appears in the prequel a few times, at least in the drama of it, where it is Chi Chen's song. So one level, it is drawing the parallel again between XL and Chi Chen, and that XY and XL are recreating her parents's tragic romance. I don't think it about wanting her to change his mind, so much as it is about the longing and love he has for her, even if it painful and may mean his death. It is kind of contradictory, because he loves her and doesn't want her to grieve for him after his death, he wants her to owe nothing to him and to be as if they never met, and yet, as FFB says, he wants to be remembered, and have a place in her heart.
In the prequel drama, they play it when XY's parents first sleep together. And they play a couple of times after that, so it has some significance. I meant to talk about it more, but now I'll have to dig out those episodes.
• The very very final scene, when he lost the battle and he put XY's tear pearl into his eyes. At first I thought it was because he cannot cry but he did on ss2 ep 21. What does that mean for him?
Again, all the stuff with her tears turned into a pearl wasn't in the novel. However, I think it is a token / proof of their love, that he could never accept in person. She cried over his loss, then -- the only person to do so. And yet, he worked hard to make sure she wouldn't do so when he actually died. It also refers to that time she told him that no one would cry over his death, I think when he told her FFB was dead, and yet here in the end, are her tears for him.
• Is there any backstory as to why he cannot simply leave his military beside he owed his life to Hong Jiang? I bet if he decides to turn away from the war, his soldiers would follow as they respect him that much. There would be simply no war after and they can live happily forever after.
There was a long discussion about this on the comment board when it aired. It wasn't a case of there being no war because they stopped fighting, or more precisely resisting, and then being happy. At any time, those soldiers could have left. Chenrong was an occupied country. The people who joined the resistance army did so, because they couldn't bend the knee to Granddaddy Emperor and the invaders. Maybe their lands were confiscated, maybe their family was killed, maybe their wives and children were raped -- but something happened that made them join and stay with the resistance army against the occupiers. And some of that can never be forgiven. And they knew, as long as they fought, the occupiers would have to think twice about mistreating the Chenrong who lived under them -- even Little Zhu Rhong recognized this, at the end.
The drama seems to imply that the troops, or at least enough of them, still see him as an outsider / have issues with him. They talk trash about him being a demon. I don't think that's in the book so much. And IF XL could influence the troops as you said, that would be a betrayal of Hong Jiang, who had vowed to never stop fighting.
Amongst the fighting military, there really exists the 'band of brothers,' and 'leave no man behind' ethos. My father and my brother were both in the military. Whatever their personal views or even family ties, neither of them would think of shirking a deployment and letting their men go off to a warzone without them. My brother actually had a valid medical reason not to deploy, but he went anyway to be with platoon. This was also expressed in the prequel, where CX's father could have escaped the battle that was clearly lost, and lived with his wife and child, but refused to leave the army he had brought to fight, and died with them.
In the drama, they also made it clear that loyalty and honor wasn't expected of demons. When Hong Jiang gives his men the option of leaving the army before the final battle, one of his men says, they couldn't possibly leave if a demon was going to stay. And that plays into XL's character arc in the story. He starts out as an abandoned, hated child demon with no humanity. And at the end, he has experienced a wealth of human emotions from a mother and adopted father's love, to a military brotherhood, to romantic love, and earned the respect of many, including his enemies, for being a loyal, honorable being of integrity. The exchange with General Ru Shou at the the last battle says it all. IF Ru Shou, a reknown noble of Haolin wouldn't have abandoned his lord and men, then don't expect General Xiang Liu to take such a lowly action.
That said, there are many of us who wished as XY did, that XL would have saved one life for himself. :)
I didn't read the whole novel, only some parts (very minimal) that involves Xiao Yao and Xiang Liu plus the epilogue - man my heart ached after reading this...I don't know if I'm brave enough to read the whole novel and put myself through the emotional roller coaster again. I also heard that the novel was from Xiao Yao's POV so there is no inner thought or voice from Xiang Liu as well, would you say it's worth it to give the novel a try? That's why quite a few people appreciate the drama as we can actually see how Xiang Liu expresses his feelings to Xiao Yao - well through eye expressions and actions only (kudos to TJC's acting I'm not gonna lie...I'm a fan of his after watching this show)
I think you should definitely read the novel. Even though I'm grateful for everything that the drama brought to life, ultimately a lot of things were changed from the novel (likely due to censorship). If you look at the last 100 pages of this thread, many of us have expressed our frustrations. In short, the drama removed a major part of CX's arc toward the end, diminished the relationship between XY and XL, and (I think) made Jing look worse.
The novel will have many more beautiful and exciting moments (especially between XY & XL that were either cut/altered/removed by the drama). And, I thought the ending was much more powerful in the book. That said, you might have to endure all the heartache again.
Luckily, @AH here has written a wonderful canon-compliant fic that helped me find closure. Maybe you'll enjoy it too: Returning the Heart of the Ocean, Reuniting with You :)
In a world where Hong Jiang was already dead before the final battle, I don't see a resistance army being entrenched in the vicinity of Qingshui Town.liddi:
Agreed.
By the same token, since Xuan Yuan would have gone to battle with Gao Xin after Shen Nong was vanquished, I am less inclined to believe that Xiao Yao would have run away from Jade Mountain to find her father, because she would be well aware why he was unable to fetch her yet.
Maybe my memory is failing me, but I thought XY ran away from Jade Mountain for multiple reasons, and in the end when she ran away she wasn't going to find Shao Hao?
I thought her years on Jade Mountain were like torture / a prison sentence - boring and lonely. In addition to wondering why Shao Hao and CX never came for her, she also wasn't willing to endure those conditions longer. And she couldn't fully accept her mother's death and wanted to see the battleground where her mother supposedly died.
When she initially began her attempt to run away, she hid in a carriage and overheard gossip from the servants that Shao Hao wasn't her real father. So instead of going to Gao Xing, she tried to run away to the battleground where her mother died. Then she ran into various kinds of trouble before and after she learned to use the face-forming flower to change her face, ran into the mountains and lived there alone for decades, and then was captured by the nine-tailed fox.
If the circumstances were different and Shao Hao had to deal with a war between Xuan Yuan and Gao Xing instead of the Five Princes Rebellion and XY found out about it, I feel like XY would've left Jade Mountain sooner than she did in LYF, rather than later?
Living on Jade Mountain would still be torture for her. Her mother's "death" would still be difficult to accept. She might even still overhear gossip about Shao Hao not being her real father. And on top of all that, she would find out that her grandfather (and his kingdom) was attacking her father and her kingdom? I feel like full-power little XY probably would have run away to try and do something about that. Maybe she'd try to go to Gao Xing to help her father defend the kingdom. Maybe she'd even try to go to Xuan Yuan to confront her grandfather herself.
AH :
Maybe he really wouldn't feel any need to seek revenge for Gong Gong. But I could see him possibly accepting a job to assassinate CX and seeing it as a means of taking revenge against many of the people who contributed to Gong Gong's death (mainly the Yellow Emperor) and taking out the person with the potential to gain the most from Gong Gong's death (if it looked like CX would become the Yellow Emperor's heir and would rule over the former Sheng Nong Kingdom as part of Xuan Yuan).
Ah, but in this universe, it was Yan Zhuan who killed Hong Jiang. So strictly speaking, if he really were planning to seek revenge, it would be against Little Yan Zhuan and his children, rather than the Yellow Emperor.
My train of logic is a bit different. In the scenario I was thinking of, XY/FFB was not going out and looking for the "right" person to seek revenge against for Gong Gong's sake. He simply happened to be offered a job to assassinate CX. CX was arguably one of the people who benefitted most from Gong Gong's death, especially if he would go on to inherit both Xuan Yuan and the conquered territory of Sheng Nong from the Yellow Emperor. CX is also connected to several people who contributed to Gong Gong's death (certainly the Yellow Emperor and also to some degree I assume CX's father and Ah Heng) even though those people were not the one's who directly killed Gong Gong. I assume that in ALToL, Gong Gong probably considered the Yellow Emperor to be his greatest enemy to the very end, even after Zhu Rhong killed him? So even if it would not be a perfect revenge against everyone responsible for Gong Gong's death (including Zhu Rhong), the fact that it would still be a form of revenge for Gong Gong and the fact that it was being offered directly to him... I could see XL/FFB possibly accepting that job. But then I like to think that (as in LYF) he wouldn't complete the job. Ideally because of WXL/XY's interference.
Yes. It is the element of her trauma and his loyalty that brings so much poignancy to their relationship, and makes us ache immeasurably for what could have been, even after so long.
That intensity that is just impossible to forget. </3
If she never suffered so much, and they were not standing on opposing sides, theirs would be a simpler, happier tale of two people who love each other and overcome the usual obstacles to finally be together in the end - roaming the world. He would not have needed to make it his life's goal to give her a companion she could rely on for life; the ability to protect herself; and a place to call home. With her impressive spiritual powers and her position as the princess of Xuan Yuan and Gao Xin, she already had the latter two. And there was nothing to stop him from being the person she wanted to spend the entirety of her own life with.
Still, in this universe, I would have loved to see a younger Xiao Yao meet Xiang Liu for the first time during her years on Jade Mountain, though to be honest, I do not know what reason he would have to go there, unless it is to visit Sir Bi, whom he might have met before in the past. She might have decided to tackle Mao Qiu who would not have had much patience for this fearless child who dared to try and catch it. That would have given their subsequent reunion in the Central Plains a greater level of significance... her curiosity triggered, having seen him white haired and white robed in the past. I can imagine her seeking him out, trying to figure out the truth behind his apparent alter ego, even asking Cang Xuan to find out everything about Fangfeng Bei. And their relationship would build from there - visiting his home under the ocean while he regularly transfers air to her, exploring remote islands, sharing the glorious sight of the moon as they walked on the water together.
If XY was my IRL friend, I'd want all of that for her. A healthier, more normal, and more peaceful existence and relationship with XL.
But for my fictional entertainment (where I look for intensity and extremes) I'm afraid I'd likely find that version rather boring.
Lol. Looks like we shared a similar opinion on this series.
Lol. Admittedly I didn't watch very much of ALToL. But that's how I felt about the parts I did watch.
-- Once Promised Vol 1 Ch6
-- LYF Vol 1 Ch9
I'm amazed we're still getting new translations from you after all this time, liddi. What a treat!
Life has been busy, and I've been ill, so I haven't been around as much.
The Shingles is gone, and I'm working on the other one.
Oof, that sounds rough. Glad to hear you are on the mend now! <3
I think you should definitely read the novel. Even though I'm grateful for everything that the drama brought to life, ultimately a lot of things were changed from the novel (likely due to censorship). If you look at the last 100 pages of this thread, many of us have expressed our frustrations. In short, the drama removed a major part of CX's arc toward the end, diminished the relationship between XY and XL, and (I think) made Jing look worse.Rain_83223:
The novel will have many more beautiful and exciting moments (especially between XY & XL that were either cut/altered/removed by the drama). And, I thought the ending was much more powerful in the book. That said, you might have to endure all the heartache again.
Seconded, 100%!
Luckily, @AH here has written a wonderful canon-compliant fic that helped me find closure. Maybe you'll enjoy it too: Returning the Heart of the Ocean, Reuniting with You :)
Thank you for saying that Rain_83223! That's made my day. Very glad it helped!
• The scene after the wedding broke off, when he used his power to ask her who she wants to marry and who she wants to spend the rest of her life with and then she fainted. But right before she completely fainted, she did ask "Why?" and he responded "Because...", is there any interpretations as to why she asked that question? I feel like I'm missing something here.
Another scene there have been a variety of opinions on and a lot of details from the book. But to your question specifically ...
From the book, Chapter 32:
Xiang Liu stared at Xiao Yao and didn't know exactly what she was asking about. Was it why he forced her to become a runaway bride? Or was it why he used his powers to probe the true feelings inside her heart?
I think it was the later, since it is directly related to what he was just doing. Plus, in the drama, he starts to answer, "Because ...." Plus, previous to this, in the drama, there was the added scenes both in the casino and at the Donkey Meat Seller's restaurant, where XL is interested in finding out what is in XY's heart, or perhaps getting her to admit it, as I'm of the mind that because of the Lovers Bug, he knows what is in her heart. I'm also probably the only one who believes that XL might have saved a life for them or found a way for them to be together had XY admitted she wanted to spend her life with XL. I also believe this scene was the last chance for him to make that change.
@Kokuto, thank you for the tip about quoting. I tried and it absolutely did not let me respond with quotes in it. It said "your account is under review". I wrote quite some responses already but couldn't post it with the quotes in it - even if I tried to just insert 1 quote and 1 line answer :(((.
I'm having a class soon so I will try to figure this out later and post my response again so they are coherent with your text!
Hmmm. I didn't realize they limited quoting for new accounts. That's odd.
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