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AHAHAHAHAHA the doctor's handwriting meme is worldwide reality! XDDDD

And, finished. It's a 10/10 for me, the story is so enthralling that i just couldn't stop watching, and the main leads are A BLAST.

I had to pause here and there to make a mental recap of all the families/sects/disciples but I suppose that's a given (I'm completely new of wuxia/xianxia and I usually don't watch dramas from mainland china either) with so many characters, anyway they were all depicted magnifically and all their stories intertwined in a beautiful world-building. I would have loved to know more about the Jin reign too, but I suppose that's another story.

Wen KeXing especially was such a magnetic character, and the actor managed to portray him both carefree and crisp as well as scary and demonic... not to mention the painful scenes in which I rewinded quite a few times because I wanted to focus on the acting instead of the subtitles. Loved Zhou ZiShu too, his elegance, depth and resilience (although I would have smashed him quite a few times) - I really hope the actor gets the recognition he deserves, I heard he got quite some rough years lately.

Nice choreographies and costumes too, maybe the only thing that didn't really strike me was the music, which was very beautiful but not memorable.

This drama was the proof that most of the times, you don't need NC scenes or explicit words or actions to underline the love between two people: the way in which WKX and ZZS helped, loved, cared, supported and also fought with/for each other was so heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time, it was a continuous dance between highs and lows that needed no words to be understood.
I'm afraid I'll watch tons and tons of FMV because these two soulmates will live rentfree in my heart from now on.

I started bingewatching this yesterday night and I'm on episode 12 already... I love the costumes and ALL the characters, which is unusual because there is usually always one or two that are a pain... I'm especially giggling at all the interactions, they're so natural and cute! And the duo Xiang/Cao makes me laugh so much, they are soooooo nice and fun and sweet, I really hope they're endgame! XD

No words needed for the two MLs... as of now, I'm so impressed, it feels like they're really a couple!

Thank you! "Ballad of Sword and Wine" seems like a great title for a story! Thank you for that suggestion, too!

Thank you! <3
Given the suggestions of both of you, I just ordered the complete 7seas edition online XD

Thank you! <3

As for the "censored" part I actually don't care at all for NC scenes since the strenght of the relationship and its growth is pretty evident even without any intimate scenes/kisses/whatever... but if a story is written in a way, it's nice to read it complete and without cuts. :)

Thank you! <3

I will probably take my time to find the novel translated in english (yes i've seen the links in the discussion part, but i was wondering if there are more translations and which one is actually the one that is best written), and in the meantime watch the animated version. that's censured too tho', right?

yes, it's actually a pity because i found the dynamics and the growth of this couple to be really interesting and enthralling, not only for bl fans!

Ok, I absolutely didn't expect this to actually be THIS good: the story is really layered and the characters are so well built! Although I would have loved to see the real dynamics between all of them (I suppose almost half these boys are somehow a couple in the original story), the tension between some of them was better than many ships out there.

Plus, the acting from Xiao Zhan was so magnetic: the way in which he portrayed WWX was a pleasure to watch! Kudos to him, this was a pretty difficult character to portray and I think, for as much as the drama perse is very well directed and built, his acting is the best thing of it all, he really hit all the right keys.

So yes, now, although with 6 years of delay, I'm jumping onboard this fandom and I'll go fetch all the other renditions of this story!
Suggestion: should I jump to the animation first, or the novel?

Anyway: 9.5/10 for me, and the OST is running nonstop in my music player!

Same: I've been watching dramas from 20+ years (yes, I'm old XD) but I've never really been into wuxia/xianxia AND chinese dramas, so when this came out I said: "i'll watch it sooner or later" but never did. I'm not a romantic person, but I love some nice tension/romance between the lead (although I'm ok if it's not the main focus when the story is enthralling).
Here there is absolutely NO romance (aside from a f/m couple but it's veeeeeeeery marginal), BUT the story and the mistery AND the tension between all the characters is definitely great!

50 episodes is a lot but I devoured them in a week!

Do we know how many Qs will this have approximately? Aside from NetJJ, I'm in need of a dose of Tonnam, pretty please T_T

Awwwwwww MekDech! <3
Another beautifully executed episode... but next week will be rough! T_T

Thanks! There's so much info online about this series, and all of its adaptations, that sometimes it gets confusing. XD

I agree on the name-part: I'm not new to chinese dramas (i used to watch taiwan and chinese series since back in the 90's) and I even studied one year of mandarin back in my teens, BUT i usually don't watch xianxia/wuxia series, so the most problematic part is the clans/tribes/titles/courtesy names that get a bit confusing if you're new to the "atmosphere".

Anyway, thanks: I think I'll finish this series and then jump to Fangs of Fortune, after which I'll probably start reading MDZS novel too because the characters are actually pretty interesting and I'd love to see how their dynamics are intended in their original form.

I had this in my watchlist since AGES and started it three times but always dropped it around episode 3.... now, I decided to give it another go and I don't know what changed but I started this yesterday and I'm on episode 16 already, it's definitely sooooo enthralling!
I think I'll start the novel too. XD

(You can definitely tell the actors apart, they have different clothes and also facial features are pretty easily recognizable).

I'm on episode 16 and this comment helps a lot, you should make a discussion for the people who are watching this without prior experience with wuxia/xianxia or who have never read the novel.

(Loved this finale: it closed many threads and thoughts and had the right amount of everything - from sweetness to spice to drama to fun. All the characters were shown and given proper endings. If I can issue a smaaaaaaaaall complaint, I would have loved to see the wedding... PeterPan and Pond in wedding tuxedos, what a vision!!)

Sidenote: compliments to the stylist choosing Peter's clothes, he was PERFECT from ep1 to ep10... elegant, simple but stylish.

Hope to see PP/P again in another drama, they really shine together!

Everything in this series is top, but Weinai is the toppest! <3

If you find Hikaru beautiful in female attire, you should check Jun Shison acting as Ogawa Miki in Joshi-teki Seikatsu (https://kisskh.at/26209-life-as-a-girl)... although he acts as a transgender there, not as a crossdresser - coming in 2018 that was such a powerful story, amazingly acted too.

What a great acting performance from both Sea and Jimmy in all their scenes! I love this drama already, and all the characters! First's character looks sus... so much sus that might be a false hint!
And how beautiful is Thap's sister? *_*

I especially love the fact that JimmySea are among the few "ships" that are not typecasted, they are always given roles that are not "fixed" and that means they have the chance to act and portray many different shades of humanity, which makes them grow as actors and artists.

Sidenote: the ending credits are showing SO MANY SWEET moments, I can't wait for all the next episodes!

Eeeeeeh yes, unfortunately.... it's just a pity because some of these idols can actually act, so we'd watch with double the pleasure if the show is great!