#chinese fantasy tv series | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

asksythe · 11 months

Note

Ah? What do you mean mpreg is built into the setting of MDZS?

I mean exactly what I said. It's part of the setting. Mpreg is part of MDZS setting.

Or rather, mpreg is part of any and all xianxia or Chinese fantasy settings. Mpreg is not impossible... or even truly rare... in xianxia setting. There are at least three different regular ways for men to get pregnant in this kind of setting, even for low xianxia like MDZS.

Xianxia is Chinese fantasy. Cultivators cultivate until immortality. The upper level of cultivation, an immortal becomes a facet of reality and bends the world to their will. Some can even create an entirely new world wholesale. What's getting pregnant compared to that?

Sure, the setting of MDZS is low xianxia. But we know at the very least a lot of MDZS cultivators are at the Jindan stage. Do you know which stage comes right after the Jindan stage?

元婴 Yuanying. The common English translation for this stage is Nascent Soul. But its real meaning is nascent / origin child/baby/infant.

How does yuanying come about? Well, a cultivator at the end of Jindan stage will go through tribulation. If they pass through tribulation successfully, the jindan (golden core) in their belly will collapse and out comes a baby. This baby then takes over the task of the jindan, circulating the cultivator's chi and feeding off of it. The baby will grow alongside the cultivator's progress, eventually maturing and potentially becoming a separate person should the parent allows it.

(Game interface from a Chinese cultivation game)

This stage is very well documented in actual real-world ancient texts by Wu Liupai, dating back to the 16th century. It's not a modern concept made up for entertainment. It's part of actual real-world Daoist practices and beliefs.

...And xianxia is the brought up to eleventh fantasy version of real-world Daoism. Think about it.

So in truth, every single high-level Jindan stage cultivator in MDZS is just one stage and one successful tribulation away from getting preggo whether they want to or not. (Yes. Every single one of them. Not just Wei Ying or Lan Wangji, but also Jiang Cheng, Lan Qiren, Lan Xichen, Xiu Xingchen, Song Lan, Nie Mingjue... if he didn't die, etc... Not Jin Guangyao, though. He's too weak to get pregnant. Jin Zixuan, maybe)

You don't even have to be a cultivator or in a xianxia setting to get pregnant (whether you are male or female or whatever). Artificially induced pregnancy has been a thing in Chinese folklore since the Summer and Autumn period (BCE). Several different classics mention a fruit called 孕果 yunguo (Lit. Pregnant Fruit). This fruit bestows the ability to get pregnant to anyone who eats it, regardless of gender. Sexual activity with a man is still required, though. Can't make something out of nothing.

And the most famous and widely known in Chinese folklore: water from the River of Mother and Child 子母河. Anyone who drinks this water becomes pregnant, regardless of gender (or even species, actually). You know the most famous person who drank it? The monk Tan Sanzang... and his disciple Zhu Bajie (a male pig), and Sha Wujing (a male fish). It's been made into several TV series and movies. In one of those movie adaptations, Tang Sanzang even carried the pregnancy to term as he wasn't willing to terminate a life and saw this as an opportunity to experience the female side of life.

In the same story, Journey to the West, a rock was pregnant with Son Wukong and gave birth to him.

You have to remember this. Ancient Chinese didn't really think of pregnancy as a biological process requiring sperm and eggs like we do today. They thought of it as a concentration and condensation of qi (breath of the world) until the 'mother body' was saturated with fetal qi and gave birth.

Real-world folklore texts are chockful of such instances where things got pregnant with the breath of the world and gave birth. And that's just regular folklore, not the brought-up-to-eleven version that is xianxia.

#Ask Sythe #MDZS #mo dao zu shi #mpreg

569 notes · View notes

rhysdarbinizedarby · 7 months

Text

How ‘Our Flag Means Death’ Became the Funniest Show on TV

Creator and showrunner David Jenkins breaks down the new season of TV’s most adorable star-crossed pirates.

Our Flag Means Death debuted in March 2022 to respectable viewership numbers that grew. And grew. And grew some more. With each week of its 10-episode run, viewership increased, eventually tripling its original audience. The little gay pirate workplace and romantic comedy-cum-historical fantasy that could is back for a second season on Max, and fans will be glad to know that piracy power couple Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby) and Ed Teach, aka Blackbeard (Academy Award winner Taika Waititi) won’t be parted for long.

The first season of Our Flag Means Death introduced viewers to fictional versions of the real historical figures Stede Bonnet (aka The Gentleman Pirate) and Blackbeard, as well as their respective crews. The two captains instantly forged an unlikely connection. Stede, who decided to exorcize his midlife crisis by abandoning his family and taking to the seas, despite being at best a piracy novice, hero-worships Blackbeard and is thrilled to make his acquaintance. The fearsome Blackbeard, who among friends goes by his real first name, Ed, is taken with Stede’s commitment to enjoying the finer and frillier things in life, marveling at his new friend’s on-ship library and massive, beautiful wardrobe.

While the two captains are an odd couple, each of their crews regards the other as an entirely different species. Aboard the Revenge, Stede reads bedtime stories to his crew and encourages them to use their words when conflicts emerge, while on Blackbeard’s ship, Ed’s first mate Izzy Hands (a deliciously scowling, jealous Con O’Neill) rants that his captain is now a shell of the terrifying legend he used to be. Over time, Blackbeard’s crew begin to appreciate the healthier work-life culture on the Revenge, where there’s room for romantic and collegial dyads to form and pair off.

Of course, the path of true love never runs smooth even for a couple as invested in each other as Stede and Ed. At the end of the first season, the crews are split between ships and land, and Ed believes Stede has permanently abandoned their relationship for his original family, causing a heartbroken Ed to revert to his fearsome Kraken persona. As the second season opens, Stede is frantically trying to get back to Ed and explain that he’s all in on their relationship. Ed’s behavior has been swinging erratically from depressed to murderous, even toward Izzy, and when the two captains and crews meet again, there’s an extra twist: Stede and company have been co-opted by the far more capable and successful Chinese Pirate Queen, Zheng Yi Sao (Ruibo Qian).

On the eve of the second season’s three-episode premiere, creator and showrunner David Jenkins reflected on the series’ approach to workplace dynamics, male friendships and romance, and the character arcs he’s most excited for fans to see.

The first three episodes of the season premiere feature a bunch of breakups and reshuffling of romantic and work relationships—not just Stede and Ed. Were you chasing anything in particular, narratively, by splitting up so many dyads?

Definitely. To watch the effects of Stede and Blackbeard’s relationship reverberate through everybody's lives is so interesting. Their separation doesn’t just happen to the two of them, it’s happening to all of them, because they’re a family. Just as the breakup reverberated throughout both crews, getting back together is going to do the same thing.

That makes sense.

The goal was just being true to the character beats and finding ways to make them ring true. Oluwande (Samson Kayo) and Jim (Vico Ortiz, they/them) are friends who got romantic. It rang true to me that they’d watch each others’ lives move forward, and then come back together to find that they still care about each other, and each of them is also happy for the other person. I've seen that happen in real life a bunch of times, but I don't see that dramatized a lot. I think there should be a lot of different flavors of relationships in this show. And there's so many different pairings that you get a lot of chances to be like, “Oh, how are these two different from Stede and Ed?”

How does that relate to your interest in exploring tenderness and vulnerability in male characters? In previous interviews, you’ve referred to Our Flag Means Death as examining the burlesque of masculinity. What does it bring to your work to be exploring it over the course of many hours of storytelling?

That’s an area where Taika’s and my interests overlap a lot. There’s something so understated about his sensibility—I think some of it derives from his New Zealand accent, actually—that suits asking questions about masculinity. And it's fun to look at pirate stories, to play against that genre’s whitewashed, heteronormative conventions. Growing up as a guy, you get a lot of pressure to be just one type of a guy, the guy who refuses to feel things. Men are in terrible trouble in that way. We’re getting better about talking about feelings, but there’s so much more to cover—body dysmorphia, vulnerability, not just talking about feelings, but understanding them and having this whole range of emotions—those are always the things I want to watch.

Do you have favorites among on-screen stories that make room for a broader emotional palette?

Heat and Midnight Run are two really lovely Robert De Niro movies where characters have these very big emotional lives. It’s a similar thing with Robert Redford and Paul Newman in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. I like extending that. We can push it further, because there's so many different ways to be a man! Not everything has to be a shoot ’em up action thing where people don’t have feelings. A lot of men feel like they need permission to just be their weird selves, to be funny, to dress differently. Try some different things! Maybe wear a color! Put some product in your hair! Don't worry about it, it's gonna be fine. You're gonna be fine.

Our Flag Means Death is not a casual show. It’s very funny and playful! But there is not one single frame of the show that plays it cool. As an artist, what’s the significance of qualities like sincerity and earnestness?

I hate coolness, it’s so ungenerous. And I like that you said that it’s not casual. I’m not a casual guy. This is a deeply uncool show. There’s something so special about seeing comedic actors like Rhys or Taika, who are so used to coming into a scene, being incredibly funny and destroying, and then leaving, having to use their earnestness, and not using their weapon of immediately diffusing it by going for a laugh. When I see that, it makes my heart leap. There’s something particularly special about seeing a comedic actor do it.

It’s really fun to watch comedic actors dispel the notion that dramatic acting is 180 degrees away from comedic acting.

Characters that call for that type of performance are a lot of what I love about Robert Altman, Christopher Guest, and Harold Ashby movies. They’re comedies, but those characters really grow and they experience pain, and the pain they feel is real. And then the funny shit that they do is even funnier because of it. Those are the things that bring me the most joy.

Tell me about Zheng Yi Sao, the Pirate Queen. She’s such a good foil for Ed and Stede—her ambition, competence, and leadership style are all so distinct from theirs.

Zheng Yi Sao is the most competent pirate captain on our show, and was the most successful pirate captain in history. She lived about 100 years apart from these fellas, and she was so successful that China had to cut her in and do a treaty with her so she would move on to some other field. She wound up making another fortune in gambling!

One thing that jumped out at me in these first three episodes of the season is how much therapy-literate dialogue is used—where did that come from?

I just think it's funny. The thing about a workplace is that they all see everything that’s going on with others, because they're all on top of each other all the time. I don't want to go l too far with it, but it’s fun that some of these characters can see that one of their friends is in a weird relationship with his boss, and then say “hey, you might want to look at that.”

Where do you think that comes from for the characters themselves?

There’s a level of care on that ship that Stede almost infected them with in the first season, and now those ideas are more alive because of how Stede built the Revenge’s culture. You can see that that spirit is still kind of alive when Jim tells the story of the wooden boy to Bang to calm him down. That’s a little bit of Stede’s kindness being alive in the world still, and of Jim needing and being able to call on it now that everything’s so dark. For them to go from an “every person for themselves” ethos to thinking “there was a time when life meant something on this ship, it doesn’t have to be this way” is interesting growth for the character, and is true to Vico as a person. There's a real kindness to how they carry themselves—they’re one of those people that just makes everybody feel safe. It’s nice to see some of those character traits bleed through to Jim.

Without getting too spoilery, what’s coming up over the rest of this season that you can’t wait for viewers to see?

I’m really excited for Izzy’s journey. Con O’Neill did such beautiful work, and getting to see where that character goes and how he grows, I think is one of the most exciting things of the season. To see where Ed and Stede’s relationship goes is gratifying—to see how they navigate each other and find, hopefully, a more mature way of being together.

Jim's relationships with Archie (Madeleine Sami) and Olu develop, too, and more broadly, the crew coming together as a new kind of family, now that Mom and Dad are getting back together. I also like that Lucius (Nathan Foad) is back, and has an angry young man thing going on that he has to process. For Lucius to go through something really harrowing and have to grow up with it is so interesting, because he had all the answers in the first season.

We can’t not talk about the mermaid sequence at the end of the second episode. How did that come about?

We really have to pick our shots on the show, so that was very storyboarded out. I knew I wanted Kate Bush’s “This Woman’s Work” for the scene, so that was incorporated in it. Unfortunately, Rhys had had a really bad near-drowning experience shooting in a tank before, but I didn’t know that until we were working on the stunts! But when Rhys saw the gorgeous tail, and it looked so cool and beautiful, he decided to go for it. He knew the scene was going to look awesome. So he navigated that costume, which is basically a big flipper that he needed to move his entire core to make it work, and Taika’s there with all this glue to keep his wig on underwater all day. When it’s humming and all the departments are working, everyone feels safe. It gives everyone a feeling of “let’s do it—let’s jump in!”

Speaking of jumping in, what degree of pressure did you all feel coming into the second season, knowing how high the expectations were from the show’s incredibly passionate fan base?

I don’t feel pressure from the fans, I just feel unconditional love and acceptance, and I think that the writers room feels that too. We all want it to be good, and we want the storylines to be cool. But it’s less pressure, and more just the level of freedom that it gave us, knowing somebody’s watching. It makes doing all the hard work a joy, because you know it’s going to be appreciated. Some people will have critiques, and that’s fine.

I just know that this—the fan reaction to this show—will be the honor of my career. The fan community is so kind and nice and talented—it's just a good vibe, and it’s been safe and affirming for everyone.

We’re all basking in the glow of the adoration of the show from our fanbase. It’s infectious—when we all get together, it saturates every element of the show, and it's a very special thing for all of us.

Source: The Daily Beast

#rhys darby #ofmd #our flag means death #taika waititi #david jenkins #ofmd s2 spoilers

299 notes · View notes

winxwiki · 1 month

Text

It's not talked enough how Winx owes some elements to Dragon Ball, from the chinese Great Dragon (in a world dominated by western styled dragons) taking from the omnipotent Shenron, Bloom going Super Saiyan multiple times with a gold aura all around her, the mix of magic and futuristic elements in its worldbuilding and cities, with a distinct green tint.

Iginio Straffi has mentioned Dragon Ball multiple times in his interviews as "the anime for boys in the late 90s, taking over stuff for girls". For context, Sailor Moon ended its airing in 1997 in Italy and networks scrambled to find its replacement until 2001 with Ojamajo Doremi and Corrector Yui, in the awakening of Pokemon, Digimon and of course... Dragon Ball.

The original Dragon Ball actually came in Italy in 1989 on private TV network Junior TV, but it wasn't until the 1999 Mediaset redub that it received mainstream success and a VHS release while the TV broadcasting was still ongoing, all the way to GT in 2001, the year the Magica Bloom's scrapped pilot was done, and from there on the anime was reran daily at lunch and dinner timeslots, the ones with the highest viewercounts. We know from concept art that Magica Bloom had a much more classic fantasy style approach with its castles and backgrounds and there's speculation that Bloom wasn't even the fairy of the Dragon Flame, but of the Wind! It's undeniable that between 1999 and 2001, with the retooling after the scrapped pilot, Dragon Ball influenced Winx' final results.

Did you know the original Dragon Ball also had merch aimed at girls? The series always had a varied audience, just like Winx was always meant to be for everyone

Rest in peace Akira Toriyama and thank you for all the memories. Your influence on the world and everything I love cannot be quantified

#winx club #text

69 notes · View notes

sketching-shark · 6 months

Note

I was curious to know, is there a specific adaptation of JTTW that you particularly enjoy? Whether its good or accurate isnt important but more like in your personal taste

AUGH going to be honest @seasonalsummers in that I don't feel like I can pick just one...there's so many excellent retellings! But I will take this opportunity to present some of my favorites.

So first up we have the 1986 Journey to the West tv series. It is in many ways very goofy and gaudy, but there's just as many reasons why it's considered one of the best retellings out there, from its genuine heart to the adherence to the og classic. And needless to say its Sun Wukong really set a standard for cheeky scheming monkey behavior. You can start watching it here:

youtube

Next up is 2016s The Monkey King 2. While this film is one of those retellings that gives the White Bone Demon a lot more prominence than she has in the og classic--and definitely has its own silly stupid moments--it also stands as one of the very few retellings that directly addresses the paradox of Tang Sanzang's mission: that he's trying to get the sutras to help mortals achieve a state of peace all while abhorring violence, and yet its only because of the violence of his disciples, especially Sun Wukong, that he's able to right a number of wrongs or simply go from day to day uneaten. You can watch it here:

youtube

And now it's time to give kudos to 2015's Monkey King: Hero Is Back. While this film is FAR from a faithful retelling and (usual refrain) has its own silliness, pretty simple plot, and gross-out humor, it also has so much heart and stands as a wonderful embodiment of the dad Wukong characterization. One also has to give it credit for its main child character, Jiang Liuer, being a genuinely charming kid who's wonder at the world and desire to do good drives the story forward in a sincerely lovely way. You can watch it here:

youtube

More recently--and in a work that is at best only loosely following the plot of Xiyouji--is 2022's Lighting Up the Stars. This film follows the story of a Li Nezha coded little orphan girl Wu Xiaowen and a Sun Wukong coded funeral director Mo Sanmei as they go from a very tense relationship to a genuinely loving father-daughter relationship. While there are moments of this film that feel kind of overwrought, it's an honestly wonderful exploration of what goes into dealing with death and the importance of love in all its many forms during life. I also have a soft spot for Mo Sanmei, who from what I've seen is the very peak of explicitly shitty cringefail loser who then genuinely works hard to become a better person Sun Wukong out there. It can be watched here:

youtube

Turning away from film and animation for a moment, I simply have to give proper kudos to Chaiko Tsai's comic The Monkey King. Between the gorgeous art, fun character designs, a good sense of how to translate many of the stories of Xiyouji into comic format, and a resolution to the Sun Wukong vs. Niu Mowang fight that I actually prefer above that in Journey to the West itself, this is definitely a comic worth going through! You can purchase it here for about $30.00

And last but certainly not least, one simply has to give due credit to 1964's Uproar in Heaven. It's an absolute gem of stylized Chinese animation, a work with the very rare allowance on the Monkey King getting to go full grandpa for tons upon tons of monkeys at Mt. Huaguoshan, and it's very faithful to the first half of the og classic with the difference that here Sun Wukong does his havoc in heaven and gets away with it. All around its a really fun work to watch and does have a lot of importance from both an animation and a historical perspective. You can watch it here:

youtube

So those are my favorite adaptations of Journey to the West! It's but a fraction of the adaptations out there, but I hope other people found these as fun as I do.

#journey to the west #jttw #xiyouji #sun wukong #monkey king #jttw retelling #jttw adaptation #chaiko tsai monkey king #1964 uproar in heaven #uproar in heaven #monkey king hero is back #lighting up the stars #journey to the west 1986 #aaaaaa #to this day one of my favorite things about jttw #is all the incredible adaptations and retellings its inspired #ask answered

75 notes · View notes

inanelemon · 7 months

Text

I'm currently reading Journey to the West, I stopped halfway through the second volume. The book is great, I love Sun Wukong. I don’t know what will happen during the 3rd and 4th volumes… But Sun Wukong for two books, literally:

In short, this is a Chinese fantasy novel that is already 5 centuries old, telling the story of how a Chinese monk goes to India to seek the sacred teachings of the Buddha and along the way receives students who help him overcome all the difficulties on his journey. As far as I know, the novel is based on the real story of a monk who walked to India for 17 years, but the author found it boring and combined the real story with mythology and legends. Each chapter tells its own story and situations, as if watching a TV series. But it's very interesting. Taking into account that the main character is not a monk, but a stone monkey Sun Wu-Kun. I highly recommend reading it.

And yes, I failed to make a meme with a stretched face…

#Journey to the West #Sun Wukong

85 notes · View notes

wangxianficfinder · 11 months

Text

Reality TV

~*~

🧡 After the Final Rose by azurewaxwing (E, 55k, wangxian, modern, reality show au, secret relationship, fluff & angst, happy ending, bachelor LWJ, cameraman WWX, smut, The Bachelor)

🧡 I Don't Want to Debut! by countingcr0ws (G, 56k, WangXian, Modern AU, Reality show, Idols, Actor LWJ, Forced Contestant WWX, Tencent's 2021 Idol Producer, [Podfic] I Don't Want to Debut! by PandaReads (DrPanda99))

❤️ Knight Hunt! Phoenix Mountain by travelingneuritis (E, 51k, wangxian, modern, dating show, Modern Cultivation, but in the silliest way possible, Reality TV, the juniors are interns, Smut, Illustrations, low-stakes pining)

Wangxian Strictly AU Series by Selenay (E, 135k, WangXian, Modern: No Powers, Dance, Strictly Come Dancing Fusion, Ballroom Dancing, Dancer!WWX, Violinist LWJ, Pining While Dancing, Oblivious WWX, Gratuitous Costume Descriptions, Gratuitous dancing descriptions, Slow Burn, Ballroom dancing, Established Relationship, Romantic Fluff, [Podfic] Falling to the Rhythm by semperfiona_podfic (semperfiona))

❤️ Welcome to the Great Gusu Bake Off! by BlackWiresOnHerHead (G, 60k, wangxian, modern, college/university au, the great british bake off au, humor, [Podfic] on your marks, get set, bake! by meilanmeilan (avawtsn))

🧡 don't threaten me with a good time by livinginaworldofnoise (G, 60k, WangXian, Modern AU, Great British bake off AU, Script format, Fluff and Crack, Reality TV, Social media, [Podfic] Cold read of don't threaten me with a good time by kisahawklin)

The Great Chinese Cook-Off by aubreyli, cafecliche, etymologyplayground, mme_anxious (G, 20k, WIP, WangXian, Modern AU, The Great British Bake Off Fusion, sort of; it's more of a cooking show, because most Chinese people use their ovens for pot/pan storage, Collaboration, Screenplay/Script Format, Humor, Baking, Cooking, Stress)

Hide Away by sassybluee (E, 19k, WangXian, Modern AU, Modern: No Powers, Compulsory Heterosexuality, Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia, straight boy WWX, straight boy LWJ, everyone's convinced they're straight tbh, LWJ FUCKS, WWX fucks, referenced but not shown for both of those, Reality TV, Love Island, Slow Burn, Getting Together, Drunk kiss, Shower Sex, Ambiguous/Open Ending, POV Alternating)

Call me out by your name by Asparmagus (E, 60k, WIP, WangXian, Modern AU, Reality Show, Paradise Hotel, First Meetings, Getting Together, Mutual Pining, First Kiss, Blow Jobs, Semi-Public Sex, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Pool Sex, Oblivious WWX, Rough Kissing, Biting, Bisexual disaster WWX, Unnegotiated Kink, Handcuffs)

🧡 shoot your shot -- hot or knot by defractum (nyargles) (E, 51k, WangXian, Modern AU, A/B/O Dynamics, Reality Show, Hunger Games Setting, Canon-Typical Violence, Extremely Dubious Consent, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Humor, Additional Warnings In Author's Notes, shoot your shot -- hot or knot [PODFIC] by Opalsong)

Talent Hunt Crew Finds Angry Guy Shouting On College Campus, Recruits Him For Vocal Projection Abilities by oh_fudgecakes (T, 206k, XiCheng, WangXian, Modern AU, Reality TV, Slow Burn, Romance, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, BAMF JYL)

Killers on Board by Vodkassassin (G, 9k, JC & WWX, WangXian, Among Us (Video Game) Setting, Science Fiction, Space, Reality TV, futuristic AU, space-faring voyage, Fake Character Death, hand-wavy science)

Love at Second Sight by flowerofgusu (E, 49k, WangXian, Modern AU, Reality TV, Musicians Wangxian, Comphet WWX, Coming Out, Demisexual WWX, Rated E for the Small Amounts of Smut, Eventual Smut, Romantic Comedy, Falling In Love, Misunderstandings, Rivals to Friends to Lovers, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Arranged Marriage)

Keeping Up with the Cultivators by thetrickisnotminding (Not Rated, 1k, Cultivation Sect Politics, Reality TV, Modern with Magic)

and from our own/live to ourselves by betweentheheavesofstorm (M, 105k, wangxian, modern, fantasy, reality tv, angst w/ happy ending, survival, blood & gore, self-harm, animal death, slow burn)

start getting real by azurewaxwing (T, 21k, WangXian, Modern with Magic, Reality TV, POV Outsider, Golden Core Reveal, (sort of), Appropriate Use of Gūsū Lán Silencing Spell, Getting Together, End Racism in the OTW | [Podfic] start getting real by kalakirya)

Untamed Sects by ChaoticRamblings (E, 50k, WIP, WangXian, NingSang, XiCheng, Fluff and Humor, Slow Burn, Relationship(s), Drinking, Recreational Drug Use, Flirting, Reality TV, Kissing, Texting, Drunkenness, Drunken Kissing, Explicit Language, Nosebleed, Blow Jobs, Anal Sex, Anal Fingering, Rimming, Mild Blood, Biting, Light Dom/sub, Light Masochism, Light Sadism, Angst and Fluff and Smut, It's just pot, Minor fighting, Angst with a Happy Ending)

Second Wind: An Idol Survival Show by moeblobmegane (T, 25k, WIP, WangXian, Modern AU, Idols, Social Media, Chatting & Messaging, Fluff, Reality Show, Twitter, Tumblr, Embedded Images, POV Outsider)

Battle Chefs by sami (T, 25k, WangXian, Modern AU, Reality Show, cooking contests, Format - Recaps, Humour, [Podfic] Cold read of Battle Chefs by kisahawklin)

The Gusu Lan Rift Healing Show by SecretName3000 (G, 3k, WangXian, Crack, Comedy)

Queer Eye for the Bisexual Guy by Hopeworldiangirl777 (T, 8k, WangXian, Modern AU, Makeover, WWX is a Mess, Fluff, I think?, Mild Swearing)

we’re dancing around the kitchen by livinginaworldofnoise (G, 22k, WIP, WangXian, HuaLian, Reality Show, Modern AU, Worst Cooks in America AU, Cooking, Bad Cooking, war crimes committed in the form of cooking, Crack, Fluff, content warning for absolute unhinged chaos, XL Can't Cook, Simp HC)

How to Accidentally Court a Prince by Alliandra (T, 13k, WIP, WangXian, Modern with Magic, Reality Show, Royalty, arranged marriage contest, Modern Cultivation, meet fight, swordfighting as flirting, queer normative, No Homophobia, POV Alternating, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn)

End Racism on the OTW || Yesterday Once More by Sweetlittlevampire (T, 22k, WangXian, LSZ & WWX, Modern AU, Reality Show, Long Lost Family AU, Adoption, Family Reunions, Reunions, Lost Love, Getting Back Together, Family Feels, Found Family, Angst with a Happy Ending, Mild Angst, Happy Ending)

love on the small screen Series by DizziDreams (T, 11k, WangXian, ChengSang, Modern AU, Love is Blind AU, Reality Show, Millionaire Matchmaker AU)

Gusu's Drag Race by DizziDreams (T, 55k, WangXian, Drag Queens, Drag Race AU, Modern AU, Nonbinary Character, Gender Changes, Reality Show, whistleblower, There Was Only One Bed, Alcohol Abuse, ambiguous setting, American political system)

Mo Xuanyu's Drag Race by TriviasFolly (Not Rated, 7k, WangXian, Drag Race AU, Modern AU, Drag Queens, LWJ and WWX are couple goals, A-Yuan is adorable, WWX is hopelessly in love with his husband, mental health discussion, wwx has self-esteem issues)

一见结婚 (mafs) Series by adeleblaircassiedanser, deepbutdazzlingdarkness (E, 41k, XuanLi, WangXian, past XianQing, past XueXian, Arranged Marriage, Modern AU, Reality Show, First Meetings, Awkwardness, First Kiss, Strangers to Lovers, Communication Failure, Unreliable Narrator, X2, Relationship Negotiation, married at first sight au, Sharing a Bed, Honeymoon, Alcohol, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Marijuana, Mildly Dubious Consent, Arguing, Party, IKEA, Casual Sex, Childhood Trauma, Substance Abuse, Mutual Pining)

Gusu House by oikkawa (E, 1k, WIP, WangXian, XiCheng, Reality Show)

Searching for a Heart by vesna (mrsronweasley) (E, 21k, WangXian, Modern AU, married at first sight au, this is basically modern arranged marriage, Getting Together, Reality TV AU)

Graduation season by glyphsinateacup (G, 2k, WangXian, Modern AU, Fluff, Getting Together, queer eye AU)

Blind Date by lionfish13 (G, 6k, XueXiao, Modern AU, Blind Date, Matchmaking, Light-Hearted, Silly, Fun, Choose Your Own Adventure)

Don't Say No by Lunarwriter75 (E, 59k, SongXue, XuanLi, MianQing, A-QingZhenYi, XueQing, SongXiaoXue, Modern AU, Single's Inferno AU, Reality Show, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Light Angst, Making Out, Vaginal Fingering, Misunderstandings, Hand Jobs, Coming In Pants, Getting Together, Blow Jobs, POV XY, XY is Bad at Feelings, SL Has a Big Dick, Past SongXiao, or is it in the past?, Gay Sex, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex)

Love in the Jianghu by LiangFUNzun (M, 12k, WIP, 3Zun, LXC / Others, The Bachelor Fusion, Modern AU, baxia is a cat, drunk!LXC, Crack Treated Seriously, Background Relationships,background wangxian)

An Idiot's Guide to Reality TV / 笑傲醬壺 by Irrelevancy (T, 17k, WIP, SongXiao, Modern AU, Reality Show, bachelor!au, Ensemble Cast, Humor, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, bachelor!XXC, first AD!SL, director!NHS, everyone else is cast and crew)

Previously, on LEGO Masters by trippednfell (M, 55k, WangXian, Reality TV Show Contestants/Judges, Modern AU, Mutual Pining, Forced to compete together, strangers to reality show contestants to lovers, there's only one bed, Platonic Cuddling, Autistic LWJ, WWX Has ADHD, Grief/Mourning, Additional Warnings In Author's Note, POV Alternating, Lego Masters AU, Not Madame Yu friendly, Dysfunctional Jiang family dynamics)

#wangxianficfinder #long post #wangficfinder compilation post #reality tv compilation #mdzs #the untamed #wangxian

123 notes · View notes

manic-intent · 29 days

Note

Hi there! About five years ago, you provided reading recommendations for me in the “weird western” genre. It took me on a journey that exposed me to many incredible, diverse authors and reignited my love of reading. Would you be willing to share some more book recommendations? Doesn’t have to be weird western - I like your taste and am always happy to expand my horizons.

Thank you so much for your time and I hope you’re doing well!

Hello!

I haven't been reading that many English novels lately... I fell into the hole of reading Chinese danmei novels and with all its popcorn bloody drama it's been hard to turn back. If you're willing to try danmei, I rec:

Qiang Jin Jiu (officially licensed, or you can look up the English fan translation). Probably my fave danmei of all time and my fave book of the year from a couple of years back. Incredible read. Alt history novel.

Scum Villain's Self Saving System (same as above)

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (same as above). Has been adapted into an animation and a tv show that is on Netflix (The Untamed).

Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know (x)

The Demon Venerable's Wistful Desire (x)

Peerless (x)

Books by priest (Guardian, Mo Du, etc). For priest if you're unfamiliar with her work I rec starting with the tv adaptation of Tian Ya Ke (Word of Honour) that is on Netflix

For English/English Translated novels, I've always loved:

Jin Yong (The Legend of the Condor Heroes is deservedly one of the most-read books in the world. I grew up with this, as did many people across the Chinese diaspora. On the official translation it's billed as the "Chinese Lord of the Rings", but it's nothing like Lord of the Rings--it's wuxia. Hell, it's probably more read than Lord of the Rings by sheer reader volume. tbh the official English translation annoys me because of the random name translations, so I rec the fan translation here)

NK Jemisin (Fifth Season series etc, incredible books, fantasy)

Liu Cixin (Three Body Problem etc: now adapted into several tv shows, including one on Netflix. I haven't watched any of them yet but you can try those first if you don't want to commit to the books)

Claire G Coleman (Terra Nullius, The Old Lie)

Saad Z Hossain (The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday etc)

Nnedi Okorafor (Akata Witch etc)

Yoon Ha Lee (Ninefox Gambit etc)

Nahoko Uehashi (Moribito, Beast Player etc)

SA Chakraborty (City of Brass etc)

Stephen Graham Jones (The Only Good Indians etc)

... and more :) Hope that helps as a starting point!

35 notes · View notes

wordsifelt · 7 months

Note

Hi....If you don't mind, can I ask, what are your top 10 (or top 7) favorite media (can be books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series)? Why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before......Thanks....

Hi! That was a hard question to answer lol, but after several hours of deliberation I have arrived at the following 10, in no particular order:

Mo Dao Zu Shi and Heaven Official's Blessing by MXTX: (danmei) So yes i cheated a little, these are two novels by the same author, but what I like about them are the same, the author writes relationships extremely well, and she writes very well rounded characters. The plot is very nuanced and makes you think.

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Prachett (Tv series): Truly is a gift to humanity, i love this series, I love how queer it is, how the love permeates everything, how very humane it is (also I'm a sucker for mythological fiction, Percy jackson was a favourite growing up)

Loveless by Alice Oseman (novel): This novel is brilliantly done, and perfectly explains being on the aroace spectrum. I read it recently and it's helped me so much with my own journey discovering my sexuality.

Not Me (Thai drama): Apart from having one of the sweetest romances I've ever seen in any media, this drama also focuses on a lot of political issues, revolution, anarchy etc. Also a great exploration into queer joy. I think it is the only drama i have 10/10 stars

Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo: well written characters, good motivation and plot, beautiful world building and most of all amazing representation, one of my all time fantasy favs.

The All For the Game trilogy by Nora Sakavic: I went into this series with actually zero expectations and it has consumed me for years until I can't find anything else even remotely close to the raw emotion this brings out in me. I don't think anything will ever surpass this. Definitely my comfort read.

Yuuri on Ice (Anime) : One of the first queer anime I ever watched. I love figure skating, the animation style was beautiful, and the love was there. It's a very comforting and fun anime to watch.

Given (Anime): Yet another amazing queer anime. Great exploration of grief and healing and love. Also amazing music.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak(novel) : It's such a bare look at the holocaust and at how it affected those persecuted and involved. Beautiful writing style. I can never read this without crying.

Heartstopper by Alice Oseman: Queer joy for everyone 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈 (need I say more?)

Some honorary mentions:

Gideon the Ninth: This book drove me insane

I Wish You All the Best (novel): beautiful exploration of non-binary gender

Word of Honor (Chinese drama): I love the main couple, they've got great chemistry

Sasaki and Miyano(anime): most wholesome fluff anime ever

Hope this answers ur question. And I hope you find some good recs in this!

32 notes · View notes

badass-queer-couples-battle · 6 months

Note

Do you mind if I ask your top 5 (or top 7) favorite BL and your top 3 (or top 5) favorite GL? And why do you love them? It can be from any media : books, manga, anime, manhwa, tv series or movies.....

Hard question again! I'm going to do 7 for GL and 7 for BL, again under the cut!

In no particular order:

GL:

Revolutionary Girl Utena - is including it on this list cheating since it's not primarily GL? I don't care, it's too good to not recommend. A teenage tomboy fencer gets 'engaged' to a mysterious girl by winning a duel, many more duels happen alongside symbolism, feminist messages and a really mature handling of topics like depression and abuse. REALLY dark though, but worth it! Deserves its place as one of the classic anime.

Bloom into you - incredible handling of internalised homophobia, first love, high school relationships both in the platonic and romantic sense and golden child syndrome. A heartwarming but occasionally heartwrenching story that felt very real. Bonus points for the author actually being a sapphic woman.

The Handmaiden - sapphic thriller from Korea set in the early 1900's! Dark but incredibly engaging, surprisingly happy and hopeful despite how much the girls have to suffer to get their happily ever after. The book it's based on, The Fingersmith, was also great!

GAP - Thailand's first GL series and got so popular there are now multiple other projects coming this & next year! The protagonist is a uni graduate hired in her idol's company only to discover the lady is both meaner and hotter than she thought. Lesbian crisis and full-on romcom shenanigans follow, though the series also comments on traditional family values in Thailand acting as an excuse for homophobia (the idol, Sam, is in an arranged engagement to a man as ordered by her grandma). Don't worry though, the show is mostly very fun and light & ends very very happily for the ladies.

Whisper Me a Love Song - look, as a former band kid I can't not mention the band lesbians manga. It's a highschool romance full of miscommunication and funny/cute shenanigans with occasional sadness to balance it all out. Very relaxing. It's getting an anime adaptation next year so looking forward to that!

Riddle Story of Devil - as an action series fan this was pretty incredible. A school full of assasins, everyone is sapphic and they're all badasses? High school me was obsessed and I still am. The manga is much better though, the anime is both way less gay and develops the characters much less due to the story being compressed into 12 episodes.

Legend of Yunqian - short fantasy drama from a small Chinese studio, it's about a regular young lady going back in time via a magic fan and falling for a magical warrior woman. Lovely and available on Youtube for free!

Honorary mentions: Flip Flappers (anime), Clear and muddy loss of love (novel), She likes to cook and she likes to eat (manga & TV series)

BL:

Heaven Official's Blessing - come on, it's incredible. Dark fantasy with immortal love that breaks even the most powerful curses, a complex and deeply human protagonist, a lot of emotional moments and incredible use of flashbacks to slowly reveal his backstory to the readers- what's not to love? Just a warning, when I say it's dark fantasy I'm not kidding. The series has funny and light moments but when shit gets real, it gets REAL.

No.6 - just like RGU isn't technically GL, this isn't technically BL but I am gonna talk about anyway, it's incredible. It's a dystopian sci-fi story about Shion, a teenager who discovers a government conspiracy and works to stop it alongside his new friend/love interest Nezumi. It treats the gay relationship super casually, there's no sexuality angst or anything, it was super refreshing! Read the novels though, the anime compressed the story a lot.

The Untamed/Mo Dao Zu Shi - love the intrigue, love the main romance, love the fantasy elements! My first Chinese series and one I hold dear for introducing me to the wuxia (Chinese fantasy) genre. Any version of the story is great but I'd recommend to start with the series and then read the books.

Kinnporsche - it's deeply insane and I love it for that. Everyone is gay, everyone commits crimes (they're in the mafia, so. Yeah) and it makes for a really entertaining show even if its darker elements aren't always super well handled.

Not me the series - Motorcycle gang of young anarchists against corruption! Very radical and critical of capitalism and the police system, engaging and fast paced. The director/showrunner is a trans activist/filmmaker so it's not like she doesn't know what she's talking about. It's very universal so I'd recommend it even to people who normally don't watch BL. One minus point for minor queerbaiting with 2 side characters, nothing major but it did bother me a bit + felt unnecessary in a series full of queer characters.

Cherry magic - queer office romance + mind reading! If that combination sounds interesting please do check it out, it was super cute. Bonus for very realistically human protags and an explicitly aroace side character.

Semantic error - opposites attract-type romance between an introverted, collected STEM prodigy and an extroverted art student partnered together for a project. The protagonist is autistic and written pretty well so I latched onto the show immediately, bonus points for side queer representation (bi character who's a super cool and pretty lady, love her).

Honorary mentions: Word of Honor (series), Yuri on ice (anime, only homoerotic sports anime to make the gay explicit, iconic), Nobleman Ryu's wedding (series, short but v heartwarming!)

#bqcb asks #mod speaks #mod's favourites tag #(tag for questions like these)

26 notes · View notes

barananduen · 6 months

Text

Fanart of Wuxin from the Chinese drama "The Blood of Youth" - Digital painting

Part of my "square cdrama chibis" series.

From a series of square cdrama chibis that I'm making for relaxation; not really focusing on technical aspects, just drawing freely for the fun of it. I've finished five so far, and will be posting them here.

For more, click this tag: #fanart - asian media

This is a really good TV show, by the way. If it sounds like you might enjoy ancient fantasy martial arts shows, I recommend it. You can find it from the official network, on YouTube. The cinematography is absolutely beautiful, too!💯

ARCHIVE LINK

Artwork originally posted on my DeviantArt on May 24, 2023: https://www.deviantart.com/barananduen/art/The-Blood-of-Youth-Wuxin-963902760

#The Blood of Youth #Liu Xueyi #cdrama #cdramasource #artists on tumblr #illustration #chinese drama #chibi art #Wuxin #Liu Xue Yi #cdrama fanart #cute #cute art #art #artwork #human artist #noai #fanart - asian media

22 notes · View notes

mademoiselle-red · 1 month

Text

What are your top 5 television shows of all time?

Thank you @rottenlaertes for tagging!

I think my favorite shows of all time are ones that I keep coming back to. They are my “comfort shows”, even if most of them don’t fit the convention of that genre!

1. Doctor Who

A long-running British science-fantasy adventure series. This is one I like to rewatch over and over. My favorite episode is, unsurprisingly, “Blink” and “Silence in the Library”, both written by Steven Moffat. He may not be great at planning out season-long plots, but he writes amazing one-shots.

Blink

Silence in the Library

2. Band of Brothers

An American WW2 drama. This is my number one feel good show. It’s about a company of paratroopers taking part in the Normandy invasions. The chemistry between the cast is fantastic, the pacing and writing is phenomenal, and they fight Nazis.

3. Ultimate Note

A Chinese adventure drama. A group of tomb robbers go on various adventures inside perilous ancient graves, navigating deadly traps and hostile environments. However, they aren’t really after money: they are chasing the footsteps of a group of grave robbers who came before them, to uncover the truth behind the tragedies that had befallen their families. The cast has insanely good chemistry, characters are incredibly well written, and the fight scenes are amazing. The plot is a little confusing at first but very engaging once you get into it. This is the best adaptation of the daomu biji novel series so far. I keep rewatching it for good vibes whenever I come out disappointed after watching a new daomu biji adaptation.

4. What did you eat yesterday?

A comedic Japanese slide-of-life drama. The show follows the domestic life of a middle-age gay couple living in Tokyo, with a focus on the food they buy and cook for themselves. Each episode spotlights a social issue that affects LGBT folks in Japan, along with delicious cooking montages. This is a warm feel-good comfort show that doesn’t shy away from the legal and social issues that gay couples in Japan have to navigate as they go about their normal daily lives.

5. Killing Eve (season 1)

A British action-comedy drama. An MI5 agent tries to track down a ruthless and unhinged international assassin. The agent and the assassin become increasingly, psycho-sexually obsessed with each other, to both their detriment. The first season of this tv series features some of the best dialogue I’ve ever seen. The characters are fascinating, the plot and pacing keeps you on the edge of your seat, and the aesthetics (and outfits) in this show are gorgeous.

Honorary Mention: This is going to hurt

A darkly comedic British medical drama. A junior OBGYN doctor tries to balance his increasingly stressful job with his rapidly imploding personal life. This is Ben Whishaw’s most charismatic performance yet.

Tagging @ralphlanyon , @tigerballoons , @yletylyf , @seventh-fantasy , @yitwosirui , @koaly-ty , @lasenbyphoenix

#doctor who #band of brothers #ultimate note #终极笔记 #killing eve

10 notes · View notes

jiangwanyinscatmom · 7 months

Note

Wangxian up against Sculder! Voting will open 3 pm PST? (More accurate timezone on official website) Wangxians fans stay alert (getting to go up against Spirk even to lose would be fun) what say you?

Hello there anon.

I would be content for any of the four that are left to win.

While not any of them other than Wangxian are my personal ship. Each one significantly changed what we know about media and the way fandom is able to interact with each other as well as creative spaces. I respect Kirk/Spock for being the most significant pop culture medium for women and other queer fans to be able to find a community and able to use that to continue it all for decades. That is a fandom spaces world, they were able to explore and create what others were unable to, it's very lovely the love that fans can create.

Mulder/Scully as well was able to make it an open point to be able to discuss significant romance at a time that it was derided as a arc within Sci/Fi and Fantasy on tv even by creators since it was a theme looked down on. It wasn't supposed to be a thing on the creators mind and allowed for significant fan to creator interactions and thought.

NaruSasu was very much a gateway series for children coming out of the 90's and having a playground handed to them due to the medium of shonen being what it is. As many issues as I may have with Naruto in itself it and its fandom's yearning to continue exploring its themes of outsiders and the unwanted and finding a place is something I am forever grateful for as it helped me make very dear friends who I have loved now for more than a decade.

Wangxian also in itself was a direct message to show that what is usually derided as "just yaoi and those don't have plot", is a genre that is meaningful and continues to leave a long lasting impression and was able to achieve international success due to it being a literary masterpiece in its own right. It's become one of the most well known chinese works for an international audience and shows that Chinese works are and always have been there to share important and moving messages.

I think what is long lasting and loved for more than just a few years is impactful, important and shows what is and is not just a craze that is forgotten or mocked. The love and care in them shows and why they still hold a special place in many peoples lives. It also helps that the creators extend consideration to what they want to achieve and have a message that is meaningful to share.

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #x-files #star trek #I may not ship all of them but I have respect for the spaces and significance they have #it's about respect #some of which fandom spaces need to learn and provide without downplaying what these works have done #naruto

28 notes · View notes

bookcub · 2 months

Text

Books I Read for My SFF Class Rated from Worst to Best

clearly this is the most objective list ever obviously (jk this is based on how much I got from reading the text to how useful it was in context)

also while this syllabus included movies and tv shows, I am focusing on the books cause this is a book blog

19. Islands at the End of the World by Austin Aslan- The worst of the worst. Contains racist ideology and a magic system that makes no sense. This is a book clearly written by a white outsider about Hawai'i. I am also far too old for dystopias. One upside is that there were no random romances and it was about familial love.

18. Survive the Dome by Kosoko Jackson- Despite agreeing with the ideology of this book, this was truly a horrible reading experience. Poorly written, annoying and bland characters, and very inconsistent.

17. Blazewrath Games by - You wouldn't guess that a book that's essentially The World Cup with Dragons could be boring, but you'd be wrong. Nothing significant in this text rip.

16. Peter Pan by J M Barrie- Unfortunately, this book makes sense being included in this context of children's SFF so I can’t say it shouldn't be included, but this book was agonizing to read. Beautiful writing. And yet, some of the most racist and sexist content I have ever read in my life!

15. Charlotte's Web by EB White- Pretty painless to read and interesting to discuss in the context of sff literature cause uh, not generally a book I would categorize as such. I didn’t think our discussions were particularly notable and I would have preferred another text.

14. The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline- *sighs* There are some incredibly important concepts in this text but woof. Again, I am too old for dystopias but unexpectedly I had a real problem with the way women were written in this.

13. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum- Again, this is helpful in context of a children's fantasy class and it was fun to read in context as a Wicked fan. If I didn't know it from related media, this would be super forgettable.

12. Bunnicula by Deborah Howe and James Howe- Fun, and a fantastic audio but there wasn't much to talk about here in our class but there's potential. Very funny.

11. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling- I am dreading the class on this but I am very excited for the critical readings and it was exciting to re examine the text as an adult with the knowledge I have now. I do think that we could have done a magic school section with books responding to HP instead. Again, interesting in the context of the genre.

10. The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen- One of my classmates had a lot of issues with the portrayal of Judaism in this text, so ideally this would be replaced with a text written by an author who did more research.

9. Feed by MT Anderson- I did NOT like this but incredibly relevant and scary to think this was written about 20 years ago. Good for the syllabus, not good for me!

8. The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien- I didn't mind listening to this and it was another sensible inclusion. Occasionally boring but I'm supportive.

7. Haroun and the Sea of Stories by - I liked the perspective this book provided and it was a pretty fun read. I think this would work best as a readaloud text. It was also beneficial to read a book written by an author who wasn't American or British for comparison to the other texts.

6. A Wrinkle in Time by - Another classic that makes a lot of sense in its inclusion in the syllabus. Sparked really good conversations about the definition of genre. I enjoyed resisting this text as well, incredibly nostalgic for me.

5. Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova- A lot of fun! I love portal fantasies and this had a classic adventure but didn't feel trite at all. I actually enjoyed the love triangle and will consider reading the books later in the series.

4. American Born Chinese by Gene Luan Yang- This was a difficult book to read but it was incredibly rewarding. I had to sit with it a lot to process and I think the author asks really interesting questions. I would recommend this to most people.

3. Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo- Shockingly, the adult novel ranks 3 on my list. .. hmmm . . this was largely both because I loved it and hated many of the other books. Absolutely stunning as a novel, engaging, and downright magical. I love books centering family and slowly finding how much I enjoy multigenerational novels. However, it is interesting considering this class is about children's lit. . . I would highly recommend this to readers who want a story that isn't afraid to challenge normal.

2. Kindred (graphic novel) by Octavia Butler- I love Kindred and if this was the novel and not the graphic, it would be #1. An amazing book that does not stray from intense topics and makes history very accessible. The only time travel book I love. I adored presenting on this book and still believe Kindred is one of the best books I have read. Such a good inclusion on this syllabus.

1. Nimona by ND Stevenson- NIMONA MY BELOVED what is there to say. This is perfect for this class. It is certainly marketed to young adults, and uses elements of scifi and fantasy masterfully. Challenges conventions of the genre, asks the age old question of who is a monster and who is human. . .beautiful found family. . .funny as hell. Perfect.

#lolll i forgot i made this #grad school #this is from last semester #book rec #kind of

7 notes · View notes

the-monkey-ruler · 4 months

Text

Journey to the West (2012) 西游记

Director: Zhang Jianya Screenwriter: Gao Dayong / Lang Xuefeng / Huang Yonghui / Liu Yi Starring: Wu Yue / Nie Yuan / Zang Jinsheng / Xu Jinjiang / Wang Jiusheng / Liu Tao Genre: Action / Fantasy / Adventure / Costume Country/Region of Production: Mainland China Language: Mandarin Chinese Date: 2012-01-30 (Mainland China) Number of episodes: 60 Single episode length: 45 minutes Also known as: New Journey to the West / 西遊記 / 新西游记 / Journey to the West 2011 IMDb: tt2240929 Type: Retelling

Summary:

The new version of "Journey to the West" won unanimous praise from the audience with its new special effects production and unique and profound plot interpretation. The show used Hollywood-style special effects to create effects that the old version of "Journey to the West" failed to achieve. The producer Ma Zhongjun once Revealed: "We invested more than 100 million, most of which went to the stunt team." In order to let the audience experience the "generous" effect of domestic TV series, producer Zhang Jizhong specially edited a condensed movie version for this screening event.

According to Zhang Jizhong, the chief producer of the new "Journey to the West", the reason why the new "Journey to the West" has entered the audience's attention with such a high profile is actually to spread the culture of "Journey to the West" again. The reason why he chose to re-shoot "Journey to the West" was because he wanted to use this version of "Journey to the West" to reflect and convey the unique and charming essence of Chinese Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism in the original "Journey to the West", and this selected editing. The movie version of "Journey to the West" is also another inheritance of Journey to the West culture.

The reason why the 2011 large-scale mythological and magical masterpiece "Journey to the West" is called the new "Journey to the West" is that compared with the old version of "Journey to the West" filmed by CCTV in 1986, the total investment of the new "Journey to the West" exceeds 100 million. The whole drama is faithful to the original work to a great extent while adding a lot of computer stunts. It is known as the Chinese version of "The Lord of the Rings".

The new version of "Journey to the West" is currently being broadcast on local TV stations in Beijing. The mystery of Sun Wukong, played by Wu Yue, has also been unveiled. His straightforward, cute, witty and humorous, competitive, and humane interpretation has been well received by the audience. The most exciting part of the new version of "Journey to the West" is that it focuses on showing the essence of the original work, that is, the growth of Sun Wukong, using a more humane way to show his innocence, invasion of evil spirits, inner wrestling, putting aside his inner demons, and finally returning to his true nature. The free process is also the biggest difference between it and previous versions. In the parts that have been aired, the familiar scenes such as the birth of the stone monkey, the apprenticeship, and the havoc in heaven have appeared one by one. The aggressive and ignorant impulses of the "rebellious period" have resonated with many viewers.

"This is an expression of Sun Wukong's human nature. The old version of Sun Wukong has been recognized by generations as a classic. I am not trying to surpass or break through it again, but I hope to perform different parts. I think this version of Sun Wukong is very good in performance. The biggest difference is the humanity." said Wu Yue, who plays Sun Wukong. In addition, Zhu Bajie played by Zang Jinsheng, Tang Seng played by Nie Yuan, and Sha Wujing played by Xu Jinjiang also have new performances.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_to_the_West_(2011_TV_series)

Link: https://kissasian.cz/info/journey-to-the-west-2011-

14 notes · View notes