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lonelylonelyghost · 17 hours

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This mutually insane relationship between two "immortals"... Kinda obsessed with it tho

They remind me of this picture

Hils Watches In Blossom - Ep 24

Is that what they called it back then?

GASP! So shameless!

Weird is an understatement

My poor son had a nightmare. But he looks so pretty

I don't fully understand this whole ritual serial killing storyline but I did wonder if the woman they rescued was also in on it

Oh so she's the murderer and he was just covering it up

Apparently he played Wu Chen in The King's Avatar but I don't see it at all. I think it's the different hairstyle

Aww he loved her all along. I'm sorry but I'm a sucker for a deeply twisted and fucked up relationship. I watched Hannibal.

And at the opposite end of the spectrum these two are just adorable

Does everyone in this drama have a secret room in their house?

Ah, I think I see where this is going

#in blossom #cdrama

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lonelylonelyghost · 18 hours

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OK, but considering the size of Du Cheng's monstrosity of a car, how come that in the entirety of Under the Skin fandom there isn't at least one (1) joke about him compensating with it for the size of something else?

Like from Shen Yi, for the little gremlin that he is, or from some criminals that he caught and is driving to the station?

(And then proving their assumptions very, very wrong by a complete accident, because I'm shallow)

#under the skin #du cheng

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lonelylonelyghost · 19 hours

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Something that struck me extra on this LLTG rewatch - how subtle yet unmistakable the narrative is about the fact that being sheltered and spoiled as a woman is a recipe for disaster.

NN, ill-educated STEM feral child, gets how important marriage partner choice is more than all the rest of them, properly brought up in womanly virtues.

No, I don't mean she yearns for true love (she gets it, eventually, but that is not what she hopes or looks for) - but what she gets and a lot of the rest of the young women we see do not, is that you want a husband you can like and get along with, who can let you be yourself (and who is also acceptable socially because she's pragmatic.)

That is why her first choice, until it's OBE, is Yao - he's sweet and he's a friend and she knows she'd be the boss in that marriage. All the ladies in the capital swoon for Ling Buyi but she is never consciously swayed. She doesn't realize he likes her and she's not someone to build fantasies/pine for someone she can't have (in a way, knowing the man likes her is a necessary precondition for her to be even able to open her heart - she's spent too much of her childhood fruitlessly yearning for familial love to want to repeat that in her marriage.) Yao openly adores her so this allows her to consider him as a partner (that is why Scholar dude never had a chance btw, his courtship style is negging and NN is the last person that would work for.)

In fact, even after she knows Ling Buyi likes her, she is NOT excited to marry him because she doesn't want someone too high a status compared to her and someone as strong-willed as him because what she sees, and a lot of the rest of women looking for husbands in this story do not, that if there is a huge status disparity and a man is used to getting his own way, there is a risk of having yourself subsumed. A lot of the latter half is the two awkward, scarred by various trauma young people navigating boundaries of their relationship and what is OK for them and what is not (Ling Buyi IS used to barking orders, NN is overly defensive about even the slightest suggestions - they eventually meet in the middle and it's lovely but it's even more lovely that the drama shows it takes work and conversations and compromises.)

The thing that she gets, perhaps because she's a pragmatic survivor, is how the choice of a husband is the most important thing for a woman in that society. Her life fully depends on that, even more than of e.g., an Austen heroine, because in addition to those hurdles, this is a polygamous society (so how many other women brought in and how husband treats the legal wife versus concubines etc also is an issue) AND a society where if your husband goes down, you and your kids will be executed/enslaved along with him. We see how badly wrong marriages can go - Yao's eventual wife's first marriage is a great example, where she marries a man who abuses her and kills her family. Or even that one woman who marries a general who dotes on her and is a great husband, but commits treason and is executed (and she's only spared by the grace of the emperor.)

And the fact that all those women swoon for Ling Buyi and want to marry him SHOWS how the sheltered/spoiled thing has fucked them up. Remember princess whatever? She is dead set on marrying Ling Buyi and it's insane to me. Yes, he's good-looking and quasi-son of the emperor who dotes on him (since it's safe to do so, he's outside the dynastic fight) but that's great for about three minutes and boasting at parties. She is so sheltered from reality, she does not think what it would be like to be married to him. I don't mean his revenge quest since nobody knows. I mean if he was exactly who he appears with no other goals. Ling Buyi dislikes her and makes it known. He's rude to her (he's rude in general. Hell, he's rude to his parental family, openly! And emperor lets him get away with it), he clearly looks down on her and at a couple of points he genuinely threatens her and her family with murder. He's not charming or gentle or considerate. THIS IS NOT A MAN YOU WANT TO MARRY OMG!!! It has clearly not occurred to her to think past being carried into this house, envy of all her girlfriends - day in, day out with a rude, violent man who is the emperor's favorite (so you can't really seek help from your family if he doesn't treat you well), who dislikes you and who is entitled to take other wives.

Anyway, I love NN and her pragmatic mind and that she makes Ling Buyi EARN her consent and her loyalty and her love. (But then she is ride or die for him, isn't she?)

#completely agree #I love how the MCs are very complex and unique characters #so much interesting stuff is hidden below the premise of a romance cdrama #cdrama #love like the galaxy

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lonelylonelyghost · 19 hours

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this picture from OSP perfectly summarizes my attitude every morning

#overly sarcastic productions #classic summarized: the Iliad

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lonelylonelyghost · 19 hours

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I love pretty guys with freaky eyes

that's it, that's the post

#in blossom #cdrama

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lonelylonelyghost · 20 hours

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HOU MINGHAO as ZHAO YUANZHOU

大梦归离 FANGS OF FORTUNE (first trailer)

#omg yes #please make him terrifying #Fangs of Fortune

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lonelylonelyghost · 20 hours

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Just a plug - if like me, you like to download from weibo and billibilli, this is my fave on-line downloader:

#oh this is nice #useful stuff

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lonelylonelyghost · 2 days

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The best part is he sincerely means it as a compliment ahahahahaha even though her interpretation is the more normal one:

He really is the most awkward human alive, which makes sense since he's intense, fucked up, with a weird upbringing/background and zero need of social graces.

Also, this shippy MV for them:

youtube

I think LLTG is so so so very much a cdrama as a Jane Austen novel with some Bronte thrown in aka the best combo.

Chen Shaoshang's matrimonial quest and family adjustments AND Ling Buyi's revenge narrative against his uncle, which gets deliciously sidetracked by love, somehow mesh into a super coherent story even if you'd think they are in two different genres.

#truly #it's unexpectedly was really really good #the revenge theme is executed perfectly there #love like the galaxy

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lonelylonelyghost · 2 days

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Love Like the Galaxy: trauma and vengeance done right

a.k.a forgiveness is overrated

So, we all know that Chinese dramas, especially historical ones, love to traumatize their characters in all kinds of ways: they are wrongfully accused, betrayed, killed, their family is killed, etc. You know, all the good stuff. And I'm all here for it, but.

The problem that I think many of these kinds of dramas run into is - they don't tend to portray how that kind of trauma can and will affect the characters. I'm sorry, but when you as a child witness your whole family's execution, there's no way that the only consequence of that will be the mild fear of blood, which then you can easily overcome once your love interest hugs you like one time, you know?

And I love my traumatized characters as much as the next guy, the more trauma - the better. But when it doesn't affect the character in any meaningful way, then what's the point? Where's the catharsis in that? Needless to say, seeing this kind of thing slightly upsets me.

And here is when Love like the Galaxy comes in.

We have two main characters:

Cheng Shao Shang, a girl that was abandoned practically since birth by her warrior parents and left in the care of her aunt and grandmother, which then treated her like crap. Her mother and father return from war eventually, but unfortunately things don't get much better. While left to fend for herself, Shao Shang has developed a vengeful and cunning personality. She's resourceful and creative, extremely petty and will fuck up anyone who dares to cross her, no matter who that is. These kinds of traits are not approved by people around her and especially her mother, who attempts to mold her into the more acceptable version of what is considered "a lady from high society";

Ling Bu Yi, an Emperor's beloved foster son and a general of like the coolest army ever. He's feared by everyone, and for good reasons - he's good in combat (this actor is amazing in action scenes), cold and absolutely brutal, be it in a battle field or in court. His purpose in life is to get to the bottom of the conspiracy that led to the massacre of the whole city and his clan when he was a child.

So, these two meet, and slowly develop a relationship (the guy falls for her at first sight by the way, while Shao Shang is terrified of him for like a good third of the drama, which was pretty fun to watch). And besides their love, one more thing that they have in common is - they don't forget and don't forgive.

And while they seem to influence and make each other better in some ways, this vengeful streak in both of them doesn't diminish in the slightest.

Cheng Shao Shang continues to resist her mother, the methods of which become more and more extreme, other people in court and seemingly the rest of society in their attempts to change her. She wants to preserve her sense of self no matter what. She retaliates every action against her tenfold, and would rather break than bend.

And Ling Bu Yi, while getting softer around Shao Shang and the people he trusts, in matters of dealing with the conspiracy seems as if possessed by something very dark that is eating him alive. He deals with most problems that arise without hesitation and with ruthlessness that seems almost sociopathic.

The climax (I'm trying very hard not to spoil anything, appreciate me)

And as we slowly uncover what really happened with the massacre, suddenly Ling Bu Yi's behaviour starts to make sense. What he had experienced was absolutely horrific. He had to hide his trauma behind a mask for years in order to get closer to his goal. All that fucked him up completely, made him who he is now, and it shows, and it matters to the story! Finally!

There is a choice that he has to make, a peaceful life with a person he loves the most, or revenge, no matter the consequences. The fire that has been burning within him makes that choice for him.

This all culminates at a certain birthday banquet. That whole scene, the fight, the reveal, the look on the dying man's face!!! No forgiveness. Absolutely delicious. MOAR BLOOD, MOAR!!!

Oh, but we're not done yet! Not only do we have the revenge, we have the aftermath!

The General made his choice, and Cheng Shao Shang, while still battling with her own demons, holds him to it. This scene, which I desperately want to call a Wedding one, even if it technically isn't, is also amazing.

And Cheng Shao Shang meanwhile, parallel to Ling Bu Yi's bloody bender, does something which involved much less murdering, but which completely blew my mind. She does not. Forgive. Her mother. She just doesn't. And holy shit.

No matter in what part of world you live and what kind of parents you have, filial piety is considered a given. Does not matter if they are just not great or outright horrible, you have to understand and forgive them, because tHEy arE FAmiLy (I'm projecting in case you haven't noticed). And in this Chinese historical drama, a girl who was abandoned and then abused by her mother, who is spiteful and always pays in kind, disregards all that. And she does not forgive people that wronged her, no matter who they are.

Anyways, watch this drama, it's great

#love like the galaxy #cdrama #zhao lusi #wu lei #idk if someone needs it #but whatever #i do what i want

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lonelylonelyghost · 2 days

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i love six o clock because the clock looks so stupid. "|" like get real

#true true

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lonelylonelyghost · 2 days

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