Aphrene D Palorise

I can only speak for myself and what interests me isn't a matter of biological gender, but the essence of the characters and the integrity of the plot, whether it be about friendship or romance. If I don't find a character captivating it won't be because they're a male or female, it'd be due to their personality and how the actors or actresses portrayed them. And it's the same with a love story because I wouldn't be invested in it just because the romance was between two male or two female; I'd only be interested in watching the love story if I enjoyed the characters' chemistry and the development of their relationship...regardless of their genders.

Here's a random male's perspective on his interests in danmei donghua if you're interested.
https://twitter.com/cuchallain/status/1295392013056122880?lang=en

What makes you feel that people obsess over BL dramas? I see multiple comments from other dramas pages where viewers expressed wanting to see kisses between the ML and FL, but I don't see anyone questioning about the 'obsessions' over BG dramas.

Thanks! I do intend to keep this up, but it depends entirely my schedule and if I feel up for it. Since I'm in quarantine right now, I do have the time, but I don't always have the energy so my updates will be sporadic. Still hope you continue to enjoy future posts from me.

I haven't a clue if what I'm writing is even remotely close to what's in store, but I'm glad you're enjoying my comments. Thanks!

I'm trying to think of a diplomatic way of saying this without offending you, but since I'm not able to formulate a tactful approach, I'm just going to rip the band aid off.

Unless you are Xioyi Fu who attended Syracuse University in the past, you PLAGIARIZED this person's article about the film Hero that could be found on this following link: https://newhouseinsider.syr.edu/2017/11/a-look-at-the-color-narrative-in-hero/

Most notable is the section where you discussed "The Color Narrative of Hero'' because that title is nearly verbatim. But what is completely verbatim is when you wrote these passages below:

"Thus, the black world is perceived like a hard stone, generally."

"Being different from other color scenes using extreme lighting such as lanterns in red scenes, bluish lighting, and reflection from metal and candles in black scenes, in the green world there is a lot of sunshine shining on characters’ faces."

"In the green world, there are beautiful memories about love and the new cognition about the world, and the King of Qin will still be alive for more hopes and happiness from the general public."

"....the collision and jealousy among Broken Sword, Flying Snow, and Moon. Nameless utilizes the power of jealousy to destroy the three swordsmen separately.''

"At the same time, a lot of shots are used to describe the calligraphy with smoothly moving camera, which also can show the different inner world."

"Blue in the movie means freedom, peaceful love, and the two swordsmen’s broad hearts. They are facing their death, but they are feeling peaceful. They are facing love, but know no jealousy. They are willing to give up their lives for another lover."

The quotes mentioned above are a complete rip off from that article WORD. FOR. WORD. And you did not cite, nor credit that writer anywhere in your article. Any sentences that you did not copy word for word, and punctuation for punctuation, you merely paraphrased or modified them by adding or deleting a diction.

This would have been an interesting read if you hadn't stolen another person's work and tried to pass it off as your own.

If you are the same author who wrote that article on the Syracuse University site, then I retract my comments and offer my sincere apologies. But if you are not the same person who published that article back in 2017, then please have the decency to remove this writing that isn't yours to claim, or give credit where credit is due and cite the original writer.

Thanks. I've got some old school vibe from this pair because Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji reminds me of Qu Yang and Liu Zhengfeng since both of them also wielded a wind and string instrument; and they remained close despite being from opposing forces. Qu Yang and Liu Zhengfeng met in secret for many years to compose a masterpiece together, but sadly, their ending wasn't a happy one.

I'm browsing the net carefully to avoid spoilers, and so far, the positive reactions for this drama far outweigh the negative ones so I'm pretty certain that even if I don't love this drama, I'll at least enjoy it very much.

I haven't watched Chinese dramas in over a decade and a half, so it's nice to know I won't be wasting my time by choosing this series. You know it's a good piece of work when viewers are able to discover new things about it during rewatches, and this excites me into seeing what happens next.

After the intro there's a time skip of 16 yrs jumping to the present, and the setting opened to an old man narrating the tale of Wuxian to a crowd in a local inn.  When Jingyi asked the storyteller to clarify whether Wuxian perished from his fall, the storyteller looked to the man behind the curtain for guidance before he proceeded to neither confirm nor deny Wuxian's death.   Whoever this mystery man was, he must have played a major role in Wuxian's return, but the question is what was his motivation for doing that?  Talking about Wuxian's return, as soon as the storyteller mentioned this possibility, we see darkness enveloping the entire place like this: https://twitter.com/Aphrene1/status/1482559551631151104   I found it interesting that darkness was preceding from left to right, which is opposite of the natural flow of light because with the sun setting in the west, the shadow of darkness would be traveling from right to left.  Light can often represent life, and in this instance where it's moving in the reverse direction, it means a life will emerge out of the natural order of cycle; signifying Wei Wuxian's unconventional return.  I also noticed the window contains 13 columns created from the wooden panels, and while 13 is often considered an unlucky number in the west, the same cannot be said about it in the east.  The number 1 and 3 in Mandarin are homonyms of words that mean 'definite' and 'life, living or birth,' respectively.  And if one were to say that there are actually a total of 26 columns because there is a horizontal wood dissecting the window in the middle, then the number 2 and 6 also happen to be lucky numbers in China; but most importantly their sum is 8 and the number 8 is the luckiest of all because it sounds like 'prosperity and fortune.'  So in this instance, I interpreted this shot of the window to mean hat Wei Wuxian would 'definitely live again' and this time his life would be 'fortunate.' 

A 'blink and you miss it' shot that caught my attention was this one:   https://twitter.com/Aphrene1/status/1482560963190702083    Though it wasn't very clear, when compared to all other objects in the frame, the cookies are one that were most focused.  They actually looked like mooncakes to me.   If they were mooncakes, why did the director choose to emphasize them right after the frame of Sizhui?   In Chinese culture, mooncakes symbolize family reunion; so, will Sizhui be reunited with his family soon?  He belongs to the Gusu Lan sect, so if he isn't a member of the Lan family and happened to be a disciple taken in by the Lan clan; who is he really and where is his birth family?   Interestingly, mooncakes are also a popular offering to the Goddess Chang'e, whose sole companion on the moon is a white rabbit called the Jade Rabbit.   Not that I think it has any significance but seeing the mooncakes and Lan youngsters in white robes somehow reminded me of the white rabbit.

After conversing with this guy, https://twitter.com/Aphrene1/status/1482758178479685642   Wuxian determined it's been 16 yrs since his passing, but I thought it was interesting that he chose to style his hair exactly as he did in his previous life.  And by the end of episode 1, we see him choosing to dress himself as he did before as well.  This makes me wonder if perhaps time passes differently for him being on the other side, maybe at a much slower pace since he immediately reverted back to what felt most familiar.  I do wonder why Wuxian was able to maintain his personal outward appearance when Mo Xuanyu sacrificed his body to summon Wuxian's soul back.  Wouldn't that mean although Wuxian's soul is occupying within, this new body should still be that of Mo Xuanyu?   But I suppose for the sake of production, I can understand the need to utilize the same actor for 'both' roles; it just doesn't make much sense to me in the context of the storyline.  Does this mean Wuxian retained all of his previous skills and ability from his previous life, or will he be subjected to his current body's limitations?  If that is true, then his current body's cultivation potential is already higher than anyone else that's been introduced in this episode so far because no one seemed to notice it when Wuxian dealt the underhanded punches to his bullying 'cousin.'   Wuxian demonstrated his ability in his new body during these instances:   https://twitter.com/Aphrene1/status/1482758835941089286  that he's capable of sound manipulation without having to depend on his flute, which I'm assuming is his preferred combat weapon.  It just occurred to me that Wuxian hasn't been shown using a sword; so does he not have a sword, or don't know how to use a sword, or is he just better in battles using his flute?  Either way, it's evident to me that he's a class above the young cultivators even though his new body seemed to have spent less time cultivating.  Wuxian remarked on what a coincidence it was that Gusu Lan members arrived at the Mo Manor the same time Mo Xuanyu brought him back; but I don't believe it to be so, especially not when that mysterious man paid a total stranger to implant ideas in people's head that Wuxian was bound to return.  Gotta add really quick that I'm glad Mo Xuanyu's cousin didn't last very long because the actor's portrayal made me cringe; besides his character appeared to be nothing more than a cannon fodder.   So, some crazy, strong evil spirit possessed those people and the sword, and its signatures left remnants of what appeared to be related to the Yin Tiger Seal?  And that item is a direct correlation to Wuxian's persona as the Yiling Patriarch.  In the intro, the Yin Tiger Seal was a solidified object of its own, but now it's somehow reduced into an intangible presence or resentment energy?   I mean, it's true that we were never shown what happened to that seal in the beginning; just as we don't know whether Wuxian's flute parished with him.  The storyteller said Jiang Cheng was unable to recover Wuxian's body, and he didn't mention if anyone found his flute either.

They say, "a picture is worth a thousand words" and looking at these two here:   https://twitter.com/Aphrene1/status/1482763931882070019   I couldn't agree more; I'd offer way more than a penny for their thoughts at that moment when they're thinking of each other.  When Wuxian played a melody on a leaf while reminiscing about Wangji, I recalled Sizhui saying the melody sounded like it could have originated from Gusu because it sounded familiar.  Is that why Wuxian played this particular melody because it has possible ties to Gusu and since Wangji is from Gusu, this melody reminded Wuxian of Wangji?  Or did thinking about Wangji made Wuxian feel inclined to play this melody?  If so, why is that?  Did he compose this melody himself during his entanglements with Wangji?  If he didn't compose it, then how did he come to know it?  The intro stated that Wuxian belonged to another sect, Yunmeng, so when would he have the time in his previous life to learn a musical piece that possibly belonged to Gusu?   I think Wuxian and Wangji had to have been very close or harbored some kinda affection for each other because their 'lost in thoughts' look while thinking of the other person was very telling.  Tbh, they look like two idiots in love to me; especially Wuxian lol.  One moment, he was panicking about the possibility of confronting Wangji, but the moment he saw him, he was hiding and smiling like a high school student spying on their crush lol.  I have a feeling that everyone else around these two were aware of their feelings for each other before they themselves could even admit it; because I could imagine how awkward they'd be talking about their feelings to one another.

As the episode draws to a close, we see this guy again:   https://twitter.com/Aphrene1/status/1482764134659899399   who I cannot decide if he's one of the good guys or bad guys.  Why did he want the Gusu cultivators to know about Wuxian's story before going to the Mo Manor?  And Wuxian's return at the Mo Manor was too coincidental for me not to believe this mystery man had nothing to do with it.  I mean if he deliberately has a part in the deaths at Mo Manor, for what reason did he do it?  Could it be because he knew and cared for Mo Xuanyu?  But if he truly cared for him, why didn't he save Mo Xuanyu from his current mistreatments?  He certainly looked like a person with some influence and resources, so removing Mo Xuanyu from his abusive relatives shouldn't pose that much of a problem to him.   Therefore, in a way, if this mystery man did know Mo Xuanyu, then I feel he was almost just as guilty as his abusive relatives because he didn't do anything to prevent them from harming Mo Xuanyu.  Could he be the remaining scar on Wuxian's arm?  But I feel like the last grudge Mo Xuanyu has would be against someone from the Jin clan because a servant mentioned Mo Xuanyu became psychotic after he was kicked out of that sect.   If he hadn't been kicked out of Jin clan, then he wouldn't have to return to the Mo Manor where he was abused to point of commiting suicide.   The more I think about Mo Xuanyu, the more depressing I find this character; but I doubt we'll learn anything more about him because I feel like he was just another cannon fodder whose sole purpose was to bring Wuxian back into the limelight so the story can commence.

So now I'm off to watch episode 2 again, but this time with subs from Viki instead of YT.

I've only watched two episodes so far, so please don't share any major spoilers if you choose to comment or reply. I've decided to go with Viki subs and take a closer look at both episodes again before moving forward; so below are my thoughts on episode 1 only, and this post picks up after my comments about the intro from my previous post.

It's good to know I wasn't the only one feeling this way; I thought I was watching a different show or something because I was kinda waiting for the confusing elements lol. I've only completed the first two episodes, and I'm rewatching them to deconstruct the scenes. Because I imagine that with this type of nonlinear set up, there has to be a handful of hidden easter eggs in these first two episodes. So at the pace I'm going now, it'll probably take months for me to finish all 50 episodes lol. But thanks for well wishes :)

I definitely prefer to watch this dubbed in my native language because I don't understand Mandarin and the VAs in the past for my language were monumentally better than today's production; but since it is what it is, I'll probably be switching between the viewing platforms until I find the subs to my liking. I prefer to watch dubbing in my language because as you have mentioned, the English subs are meagre at times. For instance, many years ago, dubbing in my language would have translated Wangji’s title into something poetic that would sound noble and chivalrous, a name that evoked a sense of reverence; but today’s dubbing left it untranslated by simply referring to him as ‘Han Guangjun’ which I found disappointing. As for the English subs, one of them refers to him as ‘light bearing lord’ and even that sounded somewhat flat to me. I recalled dubbing in the past distinctly differentiated personal relations based on forms of addresses; like when a character refers to themselves as ‘I’ or others as ‘you,’ the terms would be differ depending on who they were speaking to (i.e. a stranger, a friend, or their significant other) and that enhanced the viewing experience for me.

Although I have only seen two episodes so far, I have to disagree with your assessment that their relationship will only be 'strongly hinted at' because my gaydar was immediately alerted when I saw Wuxian daydreaming about Wangji. And their meeting in episode 2 further cemented this hunch for me; the force was strong with that depiction lol. When you mentioned censorship, I’m assuming you meant showing two men in a romantic relationship? Because personally I didn’t see any censorship with regards to their relationship since it was obvious enough to me that there was something going on between them; maybe they were not quite lovers, but they certainly regarded one another as more than friends. Because I believe there are many forms of expressing romantic love, even with hetero romances, I don’t need to see a couple getting physical, i.e. hugging and kissing, for their love to be validated, nor do I need to witness a grand gesture of love confession to acknowledge them being involved in a relationship. With any couple, I prefer to see the growth and development of their emotional affections for each other. I intend to look at this adaptation as its own entity without comparing it to its IP or other adaptations; and if it is well produced as you said, then I think I shouldn’t feel the need to turn to other mediums to compensate for anything that may have been censored.

You mentioned this drama will take on a darker tone and become more epic around episodes 12-15 and onwards, and again in this instance, I feel disinclined to agree. IDK about epic, but it seems our definition of ‘dark’ differs because I thought this show was pretty bleak from the very beginning. Especially since the drama opened with Wuxian yearning for death as a means to be released from the agony of living. He was depressed and hopeless to the point where he believed the only solution to rid whatever pain he was enduring was to simply end his life. I find that dark and heavy stuff because whatever struggles this man was dealing had induced severe depression and made him suicidal. Although episode 2 ended things on a lighter note, and I’m sure the next several episodes will be somewhat lighthearted and filled with expositions because we'll be formally introduced to other characters and get to know all of them, in the back of my mind, I’ll remain cognizant of how all of that will eventually lead to Wuxian standing at the edge of a cliff.

You shared that there'll be 'a lot of heartbreak' but that's something I could infer myself based on the introduction. The scene opened by taking viewers beyond the fog. Fog creates obscurity, and in some literature, it symbolizes societal oppression and misery; other times it can represent impending doom or death. Not surprisingly, as soon as the fog parted, we found ourselves in the midst of a chaotic battle with Wuxian looking dismayed in complete disbelief and defeat. I felt that the fog alluded to the confused and crazed fighters in the battle below, and it also represented Wuxian's death, which was clearly stated in the introduction. But the moment he fell off the cliff was against the backdrop of the sun rising. Sunrise represents the birth of a new beginning, a revived spirit; the light emerging through the darkness could be perceived as a resurrection, a renewed hope for future growth. So I interpreted the sunrise as a hint of Wuxian's return to the world; that, and the fact that it's an age-old trope in Chinese dramas that no one truly ever dies when they fall off a cliff lol. I noticed the short intro quickly vilified Wuxian, so this lets me know the major conflict in this work will be character vs society, which means at some point, we should see how Wuxian struggles to conform within his environment, and eventually suffering some form of tragedy as a result. I also noticed Cheng was trembling with his sword in his hand, much like Wuxian was trembling while holding his flute; these mirrored actions could signify that they were experiencing a shared pain or loss. We saw Cheng charging his weapon at Wuxian, but we weren't shown what truly happened, so the actual details of that encounter were known only to those three individuals. The depiction of this climatic exchange, or lack thereof, added another layer of mystery and intrigue for me. Cheng departed the cliff while the sun was still rising, but Wangji remained immoble until the sun started to set. Sunset typically represents the end of something or death, and in this case, based on the distraught look Wangji was sporting, I'd say his life as he knows it will never be the same or he'd probably feel dead inside until the moment Wuxian returns. I could be way off the mark here, but these are my interpretations and predictions from watching the initial 5 mins of this series. Please don't take this the wrong way because while I do appreciate your reply, unlike some of the new viewers here who seek guidance or instructions on how to watch or interpret this drama, I don't need someone to break it down for me; and I'd rather discover this show on my own than to be spoon fed info about it in advance. You're welcome to share your thoughts and experiences with this drama, but I'd rather not know vague details about something escalating in future episodes and whatnot. My apologies if my previous post came across as though I was seeking answers, but those questions were mostly rhetorical because I was lost in my thoughts and was musing aloud. The only questions I was hoping to receive answers for were where else to watch this, and if it was scary.

Thanks for the well wishes toward my viewing experience with this drama. :)

First of all, I couldn't stop laughing throughout my initial viewing of the first two episodes lol. Only because the dubbing in my native language was humorously horrible to the point that I couldn't even comprehend or make any sense of what the characters were saying. So, I decided to watch it on Netflix, however I think the subtitles there left much to be desired; so if there is a viewing platform with subtitles that are more faithful to the original audio, please let me know.

At first glance, the main protagonist is outgoing, while the other guy is extremely reserved, which I found to be a common depiction of friendship, or dare I say, relationship in their case; because something did happen between these two, right??? It seems to me they were lovers at one point, or at the very least, there were some kind of romantic entanglements between them. This show's depiction of them so far left crumbs to there being more than meets the eye when it comes to their relationship. It didn't seem like unrequited affections because both of them appeared to be equally affected by the other. IDK, maybe I’m reaching too far, but I thought it was pretty gay for Wuxian to play some love song while becoming lost in reverie about Wangji. Also, Wangji was later seen being desperately hopeful for Wuxian's return, which for a guy who I don't think is outwardly expressive, he was emoting a hell of a lot right there. Not to mention that same music was featured when they met again in the following episode, making it appear more than a 'friendly' reunion lol.

Evidently in his previous life, Wuxian was a misunderstood figure whose notorious reputations preceded him. I’ve watched several dramas where a protagonist might’ve felt forced to shoulder some burdens alone, or kept secrets that alienated him from the rest of the world; so I’m guessing this is what happened here. The righteous factions openly reinforced claims of Wuxian’s evilness but at this point, I’ll take that with a grain of salt. Because from my experience of watching these kinds of plots involving good vs evil sects, it’s just as probable for someone in the ‘good’ sect to be the culprit pulling all the strings behind the scenes, stirring up drama and betraying others for their personal gain. And in most dramas, those good sects are revealed to be just as bad as the evil sects; or at the very least, some of them are not as righteous or kindhearted as they portrayed themselves to be.

During his reminisce at the stream and at the end of episode 2, Wuxian was shown to have a good rapport, if not rather close, relationship to Jiang Cheng; so it'll be interesting to see how or why their relationship deteriorated to the point where the latter desired to kill him in the opening. I enjoy watching the development of enemies becoming friends, but it seems we have the opposite happening here as they seem to be friends but later become enemies. I'm wondering if he really killed his senior sister or was there a grave misunderstanding or something. Though it's interesting to note that when a person from Gusu said Cheng killed Wuxian, Cheng looked like he wanted to dispute that claim, but he immediately bit his tongue. Now I'm very curious to know what Cheng wanted to say at that moment.

That man in black was possessed, or was being mind controlled by someone off screen, right? Either way, he appeared not to have full autonomy, and literally looked like a dead man walking. Is there a reason why the Jin kid didn't attack this general when everyone else was charging in to attack him? Was the person who took off running behind the bushes the same man behind the curtain who paid the old storyteller from the previous episode? Wuxian mentioned this seemed to be a trap set for him to lure that general out, and by doing so, ultimately revealing himself in the process. So it stands to reason that it would be likely for the person who set this trap for Wuxian to also be the same person who paid that old man to spread rumors about Wuxian for Wuxian to expose himself. Does the Jin kid know Wuxian's current persona, Mo, in some capacity? Because he appeared concerned when Wuxian got whipped by his uncle. I concluded that he couldn't have been worried for Wuxian since Wuxian 'died' when he was a baby; so he didn't know him, and any stories he ever heard relating to Wuxian was how he was responsible for his parents' death. Episode 2 ended by taking us back to the past, and it was bittersweet to see how well Wuxian and Cheng once got along with each other. It's like I'm watching a doomed friendship, just waiting to see that moment where everything becomes a debacle.

Overall, I'll continue watching this drama. I would like to see more hand-to-hand martial arts fighting but knowing that this is a xianxia, I know these characters would be more likely to battle by utilizing their powerful/spiritual weapons or abilities. I've seen some comments complaining about the CGI quality in this show, and all I can say is that I've seen worse. The quality here isn't bad to the point where it sucked the enjoyment out of this show for me. By the way, how scary is this drama? Because I don't do horrors, and honestly that scene with the bloody bare feet creeped the hell out of me.

Think I’m in the minority among new viewers here because after the first two episodes, I didn’t find the story overly confusing or difficult to follow. Of course I haven’t committed to memorizing all of the characters and their multiple names or titles, but the plot itself isn’t rocket science. Unless I misinterpreted something, we were immediately thrusted into one of the climaxes of the story as it opens with our protagonist being metaphorically and literally at a precipice. And though we experienced a quick time skip forward, we were thrown back into the past just as fast, where I’m assuming the story will carry on in a way to show viewers how Wuxian's life got to that point in the opening. I guess it’s not confusing to me because this isn’t the first time I’m watching a drama or movie where the story didn’t start at the very beginning of the tale, and more information about the characters or events would be revealed as the show progresses. So, I decided to catalog my viewing experience here, and my first impression so far is that the story is fairly interesting. But just as a precaution, I'm going to tag the rest of my comments under spoilers.