FictionFan

This show makes me happy. It's like listening to my best friend tell me about his day: ridiculously melodramatic and unrealistic, and yet I believe every word because somehow it makes perfect sense and it's totally something that would happen to him!

It's like the actors are acting out what it feels like, not what's objectively happening, and that makes it feel real in a quirky way because they're portraying all the "OMG OMG OMG!!" and "HE TOTALLY PUT MY HAND TO HIS CHEEK AND MELTED!!" and "TWO GUYS TOTALLY LOCKED HORNS OVER ME!!!" They're acting in capslock, with all the exclamation points, the way you'd tell the story to a friend.

I'm not usually into comedy, but somehow it's hitting all the right notes and I'm loving it. Kinda feels like I've got another best friend and they're telling me about their life (as they see it, lol). It makes me smile. This show is exactly how my best friend sees his life, I swear.

Thanks so much! Got it!

Thanks! The chocolate scene refers to the promise they made each other, but I seem to have skipped the scene where they first make the promise. I've definitely seen that scene before, but now can't find it. Do you remember where that scene is?

Was there a scene recently cut? Or did I just miss it...? I'm re-watching on Viki and am now in the 10th door and Lanzhu just referenced their promise to take care of each other for the rest of their lives... but I haven't seen the promise scene yet this time around. Was it cut out? Or did I just sleep through it? Can someone tell me which episode it happens in so I can go back and watch it. I thought it was after Zaozao but before the 10th door, but I can't find the scene...

😭😭😭😭😭

Is it possible to buy legit DVD/Bluray of this, with eng subs?

I've heard this is one of the many Chinese BLs that's banned domestically, and it's got me super curious about what happens financially when that happens. Obviously they'd suffer huge loses, and it'd be devastating for everyone involved, but can anyone explain or point me towards some sources that have a few more specifics. I mean, who takes the financial hit? Does everyone still get paid? Obviously some BLs get released internationally, but not all, so are some allowed and some not? Is there a risk if they do? Are they allowed to make any money off the show if they release it internationally, or do they have to forgo any income? If it ends up on a streaming service internationally, do they get paid per view...?
Sorry, that's a lot of questions... but any info would be awesome!😉❤️

https://kisskh.at/33779-hen-jun-bu-si-jiang-lou-yue

"Killer And Healer".
I can't recommend it enough if you're looking for that same feeling. It's another C-drama masterpiece. Censored (but very obvious) bl romance. The same kind of "I'd die for you, even kill for you" type romance where they're always together and everyone knows they're a couple. It's very dark. Very tragic. Mission driven. Mystery. Action. Lots of death and tears. Emotion heavy. The acting, production, costumes are all brilliant. Really interesting and complex characters, with a lot of moral ambiguity. Highly recommended.

Oh, and I absolutely agree that the show is a masterpiece! 😍

I've only read the book once (so far), so others who know it better might have better answers, but here's my impression:

1 - Yes they kiss, hold hands, show affection, call themselves boyfriends, but the descriptions are kept quite tame and there are no explicit details.

2 - Whether Li Dongyuan ever "loves" Ruan Nanzhu in the book is debatable, but he chases him, and keeps chasing him even after finding out he's a guy. Li Dongyuan's character is very different in the book, and his relationship with Nanzhu (and Linlin) isn't like in the show, but he is "interested" in Nanzhu whether he's a girl or guy.

At least, that's my very biased take 😜 I enjoyed the book and recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the show.

That's a good point. I hadn't thought of it that way, but you're totally right. That's actually a pretty good ending, since it let's you draw your own conclusions about what happens next. I like it a lot.

So far, my favorite ending interpretation has been that Jiushi suceeds in recreating the spirealm, and the moment he becomes young again is the moment he dies in the real world and becomes immortal/virtual/spirit in the spirealm. So he and Ruan can live forever together in the spirealm. Maybe it's not what they intended, but I like it.
I might end up liking your idea even more though! I'll try it this time through 😉

Yeah, I think if you stop the show early, you'd have to switch to the novel for it to work. I think if you just stopped the show early, and didn't read the book, it'd be a pretty terrible ending, haha.

I'm currently reading the book. I started from the start and am up to chap 109, in the 10th door. I really love the show and actually like how it ends, so I'm curious to see what I think of the book ending =)

In my opinion, whether it's a happy ending or a sad ending is more about how you interpret the story, than where you stop watching. I don't remember there being any spot you can stop watching that will change the ending. But if you interpret the story one way, it means the ending is very happy, if you interpret it the other way, it's a very sad ending. Personally, I interpret it the happy way. I'm currently rewatching it though, so if I see a place you could stop watching for an unambiguous happy ending, I'll let you know ;-)

Thanks heaps! Huge help! Got it ;)

UPDATE: decided to give episode one a try... now I'm addicted. It was a trap! There's no stopping once you start. This is bad. I have things to do today but I really wanna spend all day on my couch watching WoH!! 😭

Omg that sounds amazing! You've got me so curious! It gives me so much hope to know I'm not the only one who struggled with The Untamed the first try, because I really wanted to experience the story everyone else is so hyped about, but I didn't the first try. This really helps! Thanks so much! Did you watch the 50ep version or the 20ep version? Do you have a recommendation between the two? And was it the story between the MLs you really love and still think about, or the story as a whole? Maybe I should try the book too hehe.

I take it that means you enjoy Word of Honor too? Which do you think I should try first, The Untamed or Word of Honor? How do you think Word of Honor compares?

Wow, sorry, I just bombarded you with questions, hehe. But it's exciting to think I might be able to enjoy these stories after all.

Question: Is Word of Honor one of those shows where you know from the first episode whether you're gonna like it or not? Or should I give it a little while? I haven't started it yet, and I'm a little nervous.

For context: I love shows that keep the focus on the MLs and their relationship, more than the world-building (though a good story is a bonus). I've loved almost every Chinese censored adaption I've watched. Stay With Me, Killer and Healer, and The Spirealm are in my Top 4 dramas of all time; the love stories are so brilliantly performed, the connection feels so real, the characters are ALWAYS TOGETHER (that's a big deal for me), and the love is always at the center of everything, even if it's never made explicit—maybe especially because it's never made explicit. But (unpopular opinion) I dropped The Untamed halfway because it felt like the main relationship was buried beneath all the world-building, and I got bored with that.

So anyway, I'm kinda on the fence about whether to start Word of Honor, since people are always saying it's like The Untamed, which is the only Chinese drama I didn't enjoy. Any thoughts? Should I give it a few episodes before deciding, or would I know right away whether it's for me?

P.S. if you think I should give The Untamed another chance, I'd be open to being convinced. I tried it a while ago, so maybe I just wasn't in the right place to enjoy it???

Personally, I think it was all real, not a dream. But if we do consider it a dream... Jiushi would’ve known so much because of his high intelligence, and ability to process/absorb high amounts of information and notice details (which we see again and again). But a lot of what Jiushi noticed about strangers was subconscious, and he never realized he noticed. Still, all that information was in his head and came up in his dreams, as his injured mind tried to process his life. Most of the characters we saw in the 'dream', were locals Jiushi saw frequently in his community, even if he didn’t interact with them, so he could’ve overheard their names and other details. Eg. the street vendor he walked past every day, and the twins who frequented the same gaming hub (we even saw a lot of the recurring characters in ep1). With the rest, he'd either just seen them immediately before the accident, or he could’ve noticed things about the onlookers while he was semi-conscious. But it was still a dream, and he was dreaming to process his life not recreate reality, so some facts were distorted (eg. turning a doctor into a vet, or an influencer into a movie actress). Again, I think it was all real, but if you do interpret it as a dream, this might be how it would work 😊

I know not everyone loves remakes, but I really enjoy them. They're a fun way to explore a familiar story and see it from a new perspective. I'm really curious to see this story presented in a Thai context, and I'm extremely excited to see how EarthMix play the characters. The way I see it, remakes don't replace the original, so I don't get nervous about them: they're in addition to the original. The original will always exist, but with a remake I get to spend more time with a story I already like, and see it in a different cultural context, with different actors highlighting different elements of their character's personality, different themes might get more attention... it's fun. The trailer for the Thai Ossan's Love looks really promising. I'm so excited to see EarthMix's interpretation of this classic. This will be fun!