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#just his ultimate commitment to righteousness and kindness

katierosefun · 1 year

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An afterthought that occurred to me after yesterday's ask: Joo Won is not only similar to his father (and I mean not only outward coldness/aloofness but also that apparently neither of them values or respects people, only viewing them as either tools or hindrances/enemies), but in a sense he is even worse precisely because of his self-righteousness. (Sorry if that sounds too harsh; sometimes I feel though that BE fans tend to be too kind and generous in their interpretation of Joo Won)

mm, i'm all for criticizing joo won (you're entitled to your own opinion, anon!), although i think i'd push back against saying that joo won's worse than han ki hwan. the difference between han ki hwan and han joo won is that han joo won ultimately chooses to be better, and sure, he had some self-righteousness to him, but i think han ki hwan has that same exact self-righteousness.

he looks down on the likes of lee chang jin for being a gangster, and yet he uses chang jin. he looks down on do hae won too, but he still includes her in his schemes. he sees himself as someone who can't commit any mistakes, like how he describes everything as a "little mistake", whereas joo won would never say the same about anything that he does. (when lee geum hwa's body is found, it's clear he's shaken, and it's even clearer when he absolutely breaks down in front of dong sik in episode 5.)

and ofc, don't apologize for saying that you think you're being too harsh. again, you're entitled to your own opinion, and i guess i feel a little glad (???) that you feel comfortable enough to express your thoughts to me, although i admit that there might be some days when i might be less receptive than others and therefore be blunter than other days. (hazards of loving joo won, i'm afraid. as well as just in general being a reformed english major who buries themselves too deep into character analysis and different variations of media literacy.)

i think at the end of the day, every fan should be allowed to feel however they'd like about a character, and to each person their own when it comes to interpretation. something i adore about fandom is that everyone views a character under a slightly different lens, usually do to their own life experiences, and i think that if there's something you don't particularly vibe with, then that's fine. to each their own!

#answered #anon #beyond evil #admittedly i love joo won so i will criticize him but also. i love him

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anhed-nia · 2 years

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BLOGTOBER 10/18/2022: BLOODLINE (2018)

Spoilers be here.

Sometimes I have to include a movie in my Blogtober program just to be like, "Have you guys seen this shit?!" BLOODLINE is a real oddball, and even if it isn't going to be my favorite discovery of the season, it's the kind of thing I love to stumble upon: A thriller starring a known Hollywood quantity that offers a perplexing blend of ponderous philosophizing and lowdown sleaze.

Seann William Scott, whose name I have been misspelling, plays Evan Cole, a caring social worker who counsels at-risk high school students in the suburbs. At home, his gorgeous Italian wife Lauren (Mariela Garriga) has just given him a little boy, whom he also councils out loud at night. Evan is so devoted to the young because of his own abusive childhood, but social service and fatherhood are not the only outlets for his lingering angst: He is also a serial murderer who takes out his rage on the school district's bad dads.

By now you may feel like you have a handle on the tone of this thing, but it's actually very slippery. Having read the plot summary, I wondered if I were watching the wrong movie when it begins with a graphic shower scene at the end of which a hot, naked nurse is brutally slashed to death by an unseen killer. But no, soon enough we're introduced to Evan's world as expected, where the children of pedophiles, selfish drug addicts, and violent bigots are are surreptitiously freed from their torments by their righteously indignant guidance counselor. The film's CHILD'S PLAY-like color palate enforces a sense of stunted youth, as Evan is most confident in the company or service of children. Meanwhile at home, he struggles with the tension between his wife and his mother Marie (the inimitable Dale Dickie), who battle for supremacy over both Evan and the baby.

The extreme violence with which Evan dispatches a series of cartoon bad guys seems to stand in ironic juxtaposition to the his infantilized status at home, but actually, all this material is a part of the same continuum. The ultimate question of BLOODLINE is not about whether Evan can grow up and manage his subverted frustrations in a more mature way before he gets in too much trouble; it's about whether Lauren is going to be able to get with the program, as she slowly begins to realize what's going on. As it turns out, Evan and Marie are both serial killers, her career having started with Evan's bad dad. Therefore, innocent Lauren is the aberrant one, and her aversion to violence translates to disloyalty to the family—even disloyalty to her husband's whole ethos, which requires him to abandon her and their baby at night to "help" other families. Lauren doesn't have the benefit of Evan and Marie's solidarity, as she is said to have no family at all, having survived her youth by doing things no one dares to mention. Suddenly, it starts to feel like it's really Evan's beautiful young wife who has lost the plot, lacking the philosophical fortitude and sense of commitment enjoyed by her husband and mother-in-law. From there, the movie proceeds accordingly.

I'm not totally sure what BLOODLINE wants from me. It seems to make the mistake of hanging its entire existence on an ironic twist to which all other narrative elements are subservient. The ostensible hero needs no character arc as long as the point of the movie is just to make sure everyone else is on his side. All the gesturing about familial integrity seems kind of silly when it's interspersed with spurting gore effects (and a particularly hilarious and audacious "live birth" scene), and it becomes less and less convincing as the family takes the lives of less and less guilty victims. It's as if TEXAS CHAINSAW has been transplanted to the 'burbs, and the audience is meant to hope with all our hearts that they get to preserve their way of life. With all that said, I have the impression that BLOODLINE would work better as a comedy instead of being so relentless grim—something I practically never prefer! But in the meantime, I enjoy the feeling of being baffled, and of being led to this bizarre conclusion.

#blogtober #blogtober 2022 #bloodline #2018 #henry jacobson #william honley #Avra Fox-Lerne #seann william scott #dale dickie #Mariela Garriga #horror #slasher #thriller #serial killer #serial murder #vigilante

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ilyforallahswt · 4 months

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Al Ahad is the identity of Allah

There is nothing like Allah.

Ikhlas (sincerity) is the soul of worship.

Counted among the most important chapters of the Quran, Surah Al Ikhlas is also referred to as the Surah of Sincerity, Purity and Surah Tawheed. Surah Ikhlas consists of four verses known as the Ayat, the 112th chapter of the Qur'an, which emphasizes the purity and indivisible unity of the true God.

Al-Ikhlas means "purity" or "sincerity". Ikhlas is a very important thing. Abandoning it is a cause of great danger. Because Allah does not accept any deed other than being devoted to Him alone. Right intention, which is sincerity, is the foundation of everything we do in Islam. Every act of worship, donation or any good deed will be judged by the intention behind it. Allah knows the true and secret underlying motives of all our actions and these motives will be revealed on the Day of Resurrection. Islam is a religion of peace and blessings, it advises us to preach sincerity. Sincerity (Ikhlas) is being sincere in doing, saying and acting for the pleasure of Allah Almighty. Sincerity is also a fundamental aspect of our Islamic education.

Ikhlas - devotion in Arabic - is traditionally the name of the 112th surah of the Quran. Its verses declare the indivisible unity of Allah (Tawhid), thereby establishing the axis on which Islamic religious thought moves.

Surah Ikhlas is a brief declaration of Tawheed, the Absolute Oneness of Allah, consisting of four verses. Al-Ikhlas means "purity" or "purification".

English translation of Surah Ikhlas

Say, the truth is Allah is One. Allah does not need anyone. He gave birth to no one, nor gave birth to anyone. He was never equaled.

Ikhlas (sincerity) is the soul of worship.

Al-Ikhlas means "purity" or "sincerity". #Ikhlas is a matter of great importance. Leaving it is a cause of great danger. Because Allah Ta'ala does not accept any deed other than being dedicated to Him alone. Right intention, which is sincerity, is the foundation of everything else we do in Islam. Every act of worship, charity, or any good deed will be judged by the intention behind it. Allah knows the true and secret inner-motives of all deeds that we do, and these motives will be made known on the Day of Resurrection. Islam is the religion of peace & blessings, it advised us to promote sincerity. Sincerity (Ikhlas) is the state of being wholehearted to do, say, and commit deeds for the sake of Allah Almighty. Ikhlas is also the fundamental aspect of our Islamic teachings

Allah's Identity, Names and Attributes

Our Lord is Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. Allah is unique, almighty, the only God. Allah is the only true Lord. There is no 'True God'/ 'True Deity' except Allah. Allah is One, Unique in His Actions, Lordship, Authority, and Righteousness. Allah SWT is Exalted above the throne in the sky (above all creation). Know Allah by His most beautiful names 'Asmaul Husna' and perfect attributes. Allah's name is more than 99. The Qur'an is the word of Allah. The ultimate guidance for mankind. The virtues of the 99 names of Allah are immense. Just by uttering the word "Allah" one feels a kind of calmness in the mind. According to the Holy Quran and Hadith, Allah has 99 attributes. Allah Ta'ala has ordered us to pray to Him through these names. One of the pillars of faith is believing in the 99 names and attributes of Allah.

Allah's indivisible unicity is Tawhid

Tawhid: At the centre of all Islamic belief is the belief in one God-Allah. There is no other God but Allah and there is no one comparable to Him. We will never understand Allah as His nature supersedes our limited minds. We are created by Allah but He is not Himself created. Allah is the Unique,Omnipotent and Only Deity and Creator of the universe. Our Lord is Allah SWT. There is no 'True God' / 'True Deity' except Allah. Allah is Exalted Above His ‘Arsh (Mighty Throne’). Know Allah by His Most Beautiful Names & Lofty Attributes (Asma Was Sifat). Holy Qur'an is Allah's Word. Qur'an is final revelation & guidance for mankind.

Tawheed - The first call of the Messengers

Tawheed is to knowing, believing, declaring, obeying the oneness and uniqueness of Allah. The Oneness of Allah i.e. Tawheed consists of three parts. (i) Tawheed ar-Rububiyyah (Maintaining the Oneness of Allah's Lordship). (ii) Tawheed al-Asma-Was-Sifat (Maintaining the Oneness of Allah's Names and Attributes). (iii) Tawheed al-Ibadah (maintaining unity of worship). Allah is the only 'true Lord'. In all matters related to Allah, Allah is One, Sole, Final, Perfect and without partners. He has no peer or equivalent. Allah is to be known by His most beautiful Names and Perfect Attributes. From the first man and the first Prophet Adam (a.s.) to the last Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, the basic call of all prophets and messengers was 'La ilaha illAllah' (there is no 'true God' but Allah). Namely: 'La Ilaha IllAllah Adamu Shafiullah'', 'La Ilaha IllAllah Nuhun Naziullah'', 'La Ilaha IllAllah Ibrahim Khalilullah', 'La Ilaha IllAllah Muhammadur Rasulullah'. Rejecting Taghut is the root of Tawheed.

The Call To Tawheed Was The Call of The Prophet

Ikhlas sincerity is the soul of worship.

Sincerity is the Soul of Worship.

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myreligionislam · 4 months

Text

Al Ahad is the identity of Allah

There is nothing like Allah.

Ikhlas (sincerity) is the soul of worship.

Surah Ikhlas is a brief declaration of Tawheed, the Absolute Oneness of Allah, consisting of four verses. Al-Ikhlas means "purity" or "purification".

English translation of Surah Ikhlas

Say, the truth is Allah is One. Allah does not need anyone. He gave birth to no one, nor gave birth to anyone. He was never equaled.

Ikhlas (sincerity) is the soul of worship.

Allah's Identity, Names and Attributes

Allah's indivisible unicity is Tawhid

Tawheed - The first call of the Messengers

The Call To Tawheed Was The Call of The Prophet

Ikhlas sincerity is the soul of worship.

Sincerity is the Soul of Worship.

0 notes

allahisourrabb · 4 months

Text

Al Ahad is the identity of Allah

There is nothing like Allah.

Ikhlas (sincerity) is the soul of worship.

Surah Ikhlas is a brief declaration of Tawheed, the Absolute Oneness of Allah, consisting of four verses. Al-Ikhlas means "purity" or "purification".

English translation of Surah Ikhlas

Say, the truth is Allah is One. Allah does not need anyone. He gave birth to no one, nor gave birth to anyone. He was never equaled.

Ikhlas (sincerity) is the soul of worship.

Allah's Identity, Names and Attributes

Allah's indivisible unicity is Tawhid

Tawheed - The first call of the Messengers

The Call To Tawheed Was The Call of The Prophet

Ikhlas sincerity is the soul of worship.

Sincerity is the Soul of Worship.

0 notes

mylordisallah · 4 months

Text

Al Ahad is the identity of Allah

There is nothing like Allah.

Ikhlas (sincerity) is the soul of worship.

Surah Ikhlas is a brief declaration of Tawheed, the Absolute Oneness of Allah, consisting of four verses. Al-Ikhlas means "purity" or "purification".

English translation of Surah Ikhlas

Say, the truth is Allah is One. Allah does not need anyone. He gave birth to no one, nor gave birth to anyone. He was never equaled.

Ikhlas (sincerity) is the soul of worship.

Allah's Identity, Names and Attributes

Allah's indivisible unicity is Tawhid

Tawheed - The first call of the Messengers

The Call To Tawheed Was The Call of The Prophet

AlAhad is the identity of Allah

There is nothing like Allah

Ikhlas sincerity is the soul of worship.

Sincerity is the Soul of Worship.

0 notes

yhwhrulz · 7 months

Text

Today's Dailly Encounter Thursday, September 14, 2023

The Source of Our Hope

" I will exalt you, my God and King, and praise your name forever and ever. 2 I will praise you every day; yes, I will praise you forever. 3 Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.

4 Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts; let them proclaim your power. 5 I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor and your wonderful miracles. 6 Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue; I will proclaim your greatness. 7 Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness; they will sing with joy about your righteousness.

8 The Lord is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. 9 The Lord is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all his creation. 10 All of your works will thank you, Lord, and your faithful followers will praise you. 11 They will speak of the glory of your kingdom; they will give examples of your power. 12 They will tell about your mighty deeds and about the majesty and glory of your reign. 13 For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. You rule throughout all generations. The Lord always keeps his promises; he is gracious in all he does.b]">

14 The Lord helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads. 15 The eyes of all look to you in hope; you give them their food as they need it. 16 When you open your hand, you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing. 17 The Lord is righteous in everything he does; he is filled with kindness. 18 The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth. 19 He grants the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cries for help and rescues them. 20 The Lord protects all those who love him, but he destroys the wicked.

21 I will praise the Lord, and may everyone on earth bless his holy name forever and ever."1

There are days where I look around and feel a bit discouraged by what I see. It is evident that we live in a broken world and are suffering the consequences of sin. A friend of ACTS sent me a prayer request the other day for a family whose one-month old baby boy just passed away. He had health complications at birth, received surgery, but ultimately the Lord decided to take him home. At times like this, it is easy to start questioning the Lord's plan. It is then that he reminds us through His Word of His goodness, compassion, mercy, and faithfulness. King David depicts the nature of God so beautifully in this Psalm. We may not understand the "why" behind many things, but we can be confident that the Lord is righteous in all he does, and he is filled with kindness. He is a protector to all who love Him. It is the Lord who is the source of our hope and we can trust Him always.

Suggested prayer: Dear God, help me trust your faithfulness and goodness even when things hurt. You are the source of my hope. In a world of darkness, pain, and loss, allow me to shine bright for you, and in so doing, help others experience the peace found only in you. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. In Jesus' name, amen.

Psalm 145 (NLT ). Today's Encounter was written by: Crystal B.

NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon Click on: http://www.actsweb.org/invitation.php. Or if you would like to re-commit your life to Jesus Christ, please click on http://www.actsweb.org/decision.php to note this.

Daily Encounter is published at no charge by ACTS International, a non-profit organization, and made possible through the donations of interested friends. Donations can be sent at: http://www.actscom.com

ACTS International P.O. Box 73545 San Clemente, California 92673-0119 U.S.A.

Phone: 949-940-9050 http://www.actsweb.org

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mariespeaksg-dsgrace · 2 years

Photo

Marie Speaks G-D's Grace Welcome the following is a brief review of this Bible Study.

1. This BLOG post will have the resources and sources links for the Season 5 Bible Studies .

2. All Books used and Readings from during Live Bible Study can be found on Our

Website: Marie Speaks GOD’s Grace. Live in the Season 5 portion of the website.

3. After Live Bible Studies have completed: I will upload to Rumble, and post link in this BLOG.

How we conduct Bible Studies here:

We believe in One and Only One G-D. HaShem; The G-D of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Exodus chapter 20: 2-14.

God spoke all these words, saying:

I the LORD am your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage:

You shall have no other gods besides Me.

You shall not make for yourself a sculptured image, or any likeness of what is in the heavens above, or on the earth below, or in the waters under the earth.

You shall not bow down to them or serve them. For I the LORD your God am an impassioned God, visiting the guilt of the parents upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth generations of those who reject Me,

but showing kindness to the thousandth generation of those who love Me and keep My commandments.

We believe G-D has called each of us to search matters out.

(It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, And the glory of a king to plumb a matter.

Like the heavens in their height, like the earth in its depth, Is the mind of kings—unfathomable.. Proverbs 25:2 -3)

This is one reason why here at Marie Speaks G-D’s Grace Bible Study, we review several historical references and resources, of which we provide links and or screen shots for others to study at their leisure.

We have been directed by G-D Wonderful and Almighty, to go Book by Book, Verse by Verse; sharing HIS Torah and Tanakh.

We believe as directed by G-D Our Heavenly Father, learning and growing in Torah and Tanakh leads to understanding and wisdom; this shall only be achieved in reading, studying, and sharing HIS Word for ourselves; not relying on man.

Learning, growing, and studying with OUR L-D is to be done with others that are like minded, but more so during our personal time.

The BLOGs are written to assist those just beginning to study the BIBLE as a starting point. The Live or recorded Bible Studies are to cover and release opportunities and guidance, but ultimately is ones own personal responsibility to rule, govern, and be purposeful in their relationship with G-D.

Proverbs 22: 4 thru 6

The effect of humility is fear of the LORD, Wealth, honor, and life.

Thorns and snares are in the path of the crooked; He who values his life will keep far from them.

Train a lad in the way he ought to go; He will not swerve from it even in old age.

Ezekiel 18: 20 thru 22

The person who sins, he alone shall die. A child shall not share the burden of a parent’s guilt, nor shall a parent share the burden of a child’s guilt; the righteousness of the righteous shall be accounted to him alone, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be accounted to him alone.

Moreover, if the wicked one repents of all the sins that he committed and keeps all My laws and does what is just and right, he shall live; he shall not die.

None of the transgressions he committed shall be remembered against him; because of the righteousness he has practiced, he shall live.

Is it my desire that a wicked person shall die?—says the L-d G-D. It is rather that he shall turn back from his ways and live.

May HaShem, Blessed be He continue to Bless us all and may we all be forever written in the Book of Life. O'Amein and O'Amein

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communistkenobi-archive · 3 years

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Mr Kenobi if I may ask a very basic question. why do you love obiwan? I know everyone loves obiwan but I would like to hear your bigbrain thoughts on the bitchy english man (or the link to a post if you've already talked about it in detail??)

I really like Obi-Wan because his most pivotal appearances in canon happen right before the dying of a world order - first of the Empire in the OT and then of the Republic in the PT/tCW. He is positioned as someone whose views are rapidly becoming outdated, but not necessarily in a reactionary way. He is overly idealistic, beholden to a view of the world that no longer (and perhaps never did) exist. He also “dies” in each of these appearances - in the OT he quite literally dies, and in the PT he sheds his name and becomes Ben. And crucially in tCW, the last we see of him is as a hologram that fades away from Ahsoka’s view, in a way that I think is intentionally evocative of a ghost.

I think Obi-Wan is someone who represents one of the core themes Lucas keeps coming back to in his work on Star Wars, which is the myth of a perfect meritocratic liberal democracy. He is a man who is lauded as one of (if not the) finest Jedi in the Order because of his expertise, ability and intelligence; he is the man who trained and educated the Chosen One; he is the level head which all turn to in times of crisis. Obi-Wan is the embodiment of those liberal values - that of an expert whose impressive resume was won through hard work and toil, who is procedural in the way he operates and who believes in the righteousness of institutions.

And he is, also, representative of the fatal flaw of all those things. The accolades he won for being the first Jedi to kill a Sith was done so by killing Maul in an incredibly dishonourable way; he is adept at lying and bending rules to get what he wants, because he knows the institutions he serves function on that exact kind of technical rule-bending; the man he trained became the key instrument of the Republic’s destruction; and his expertise and knowledge have an audience of zero, because his punishment was to live alone in the desert with only himself.

Obi-Wan is helpful in that he can instruct and teach, but his students crucially do not inherit his worldview because it is unequipped to diagnose the problems of the world; for Anakin, he turned to fascism, and for Luke, he turned to the rebellion/revolution (absolutely not equating the two - Anakin is wrong and Luke is right, but they both find Obi-Wan’s understanding of reality insufficient and shirk his ideological prescriptions, which seems to terminally piss him off).

I criticise the PT for a lot of things, but I think the only way they work is with Obi-Wan, not just as a literal character in the movies but as the embodiment of its core thesis statement. He is an institution unto himself, whose greatest enemy in life was Maul, a man specifically committed to an aggressive, individualistic nihilism and the destruction of meaning altogether. Obi-Wan’s role in the mythology of Star Wars is to be nobly incorrect - that is why he’s so tragic. He loses everyone and everything, but it is because he is ultimately wrong about the world and how he views it. He doesn’t anticipate Anakin’s fall in time (and therefore the Republic’s), and even if he did, the ideological tools at his disposal are insufficient to stop it. He serves institutions whose flaws necessarily make them vulnerable to the exact downfall they eventually succumbed to, and the only way he knows how to do good in the world is to further serve those institutions (also not saying that this fall was deserved because of this failing, or that Obi-Wan could have stopped the Republic and the Order falling regardless of his views, but rather that he is representative of their failings vis a vis combating existential threats to the established way of things).

So I love Obi-Wan precisely because he is wrong. He’s wrong in a way that is deeply sympathetic and idealistic and familiar, but he is still, ultimately, wrong.

#sw.txt #sw meta #tcw meta #long post #I love him so much bro... sniffles #also agdkskahagsjdk loving the trend of anons calling mr kenobi it’s very funny #kenobiposting

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ouyangzizhensdad · 4 years

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On the importance of MianMian: musings on the differences between the novel and CQL (PART 2/2)

If you haven’t already, please read through part one first, otherwise this will probably not be very cohesive or comprehensible. There is also some bonus meta because I keep having thoughts about MianMian.

In part one, I contrasted MianMian’s first appearance in the novel and the web series in order to show how MianMian’s characterisation and position within her society were established quite differently in both works. In this post, I will explore the domino effect of those adaptation choices, as well as consider how the two subsequent appearances of MianMian in the novel got translated into a visual format in CQL. Through this exercise, my goal is not only to illuminate the depth and significance of this minor character in the novel, but also to argue that the way her scenes were adapted in CQL ultimately reduced the impact of the character and excised many of the nuances put into her portrayal despite increasing her presence in the work.

(although kudos to CQL for casting Ann Wang because I do not get tired of looking at her face: look at that smile 😳)

The Servant’s Daughter Valued Jin Cultivator Standing up to a Room of Powerful Cultivators

In the novel, we meet MianMian for a second time after the Sunshot campaign has ended. Cultivators from the main sects and allied sects (including some who used to be loyal to the Wens!) are discussing at Jinlintai Wei Wuxian’s actions after he protected the Wens and set up residence on Mass Grave Hill. By that time, it appears her position in her sect, and even her sect’s position, has grown. We can speculate as to why (my personal take is that MianMian proved herself during the war and that her sect is one of the sect who pledged loyalty to the Jin and gained influence as a result). What is important is that she goes from someone who is so inconsequential she might have not even have been a disciple yet when we met her to someone who stands next to a sect leader (who we can safely assume in this context to be her sect leader). A lot is hinted about her character and what she experienced since we last saw her through that small and innocuous detail.

Suddenly, a careful voice interjected, “It’s not killing indiscriminately, is it?”

Lan Wangji seemed to have entered a realm of zen that blocked all of his senses. Hearing this, however, he moved, looking over. The one who spoke was a young woman with a fair face, standing beside one of the sect leaders.

I will not repeat here the entirety of her speech, which highlights the hypocrisy and the bad faith of the sects, and particularly the Jin sect’s unwillingness to shoulder any blame for their deplorable treatment of the Wens. Instead, I find important to highlight how the other cultivators present react to MianMian based on her positionality.

First, MianMian’s opinions are undercut by the people present due to the fact that she is a woman. Her motivations for speaking out are reduced to the irrational ramblings of a maiden in love.

“You can stop arguing,” someone sneered suddenly. “We don’t want to hear the comments of someone who has other motives.”

The woman’s face flushed.

“Explain things,” she said, raising her voice. “What do you mean, that I have other motives?”

“There’s no need for me to say anything. You know deep down and we know too. You fell for him back in the cave of the Xuanwu just because he flirted with you? You’re still arguing for him, calling white black no matter how irrational it is. Ha, women will always be women.”

The incident of Wei Wuxian saving a damsel in distress in the cave of the Xuanwu was indeed once a topic of conversation. Thus, many people realized immediately that this young woman was ‘MianMian’.

At once, somebody murmured, “So that’s why. Explains how she’s so desperate as to speak up for Wei Wuxian…”

“Irrational?” she fumed. “Calling white black? I’m just being considerate as it stands. What does it have to do with the fact that I’m a woman? You can’t be rational with me so you’re attacking me with other things?”

Then, when members of her own sect disparage her for speaking up, they suggest that her place in the discussion, in this palace of gilded power and privilege, is ultimately illegitimate or at the very least incredibly easy to render illegitimate.

“Stop wasting your time on her. That this kind of person actually belongs to our sect, that she was even able to find her way into the Golden Pavilion; I feel ashamed standing alongside her.

Many of those who spoke against her were from the same sect.

In this situation, not even her fellow sect members are willing to come to her defense or to give her the benefit of the doubt; she is to be shamed and separated from them, lest her actions reflect badly on their own standing.

MianMian’s choice to leave her sect behind is meaningful because she is not privileged. She does not have anyone powerful in her corner to back her up. She does not have many options; people act like she should be glad to even have made it this far, and we can infer that she only achieved her current position due to her skills and hard work. It is also meaningful because she is making that choice while knowing that she’s giving up on the privileges of the social position that she has worked to achieve. The fact that she is giving up on something big is highlighted by the reactions of many cultivators after her departure, who think she will come crawling back to find once more the security and privilege of the position she left behind.

Saying nothing, MianMian turned around and left. A while later, someone laughed. “If you’re taking it off, then don’t put it on again, if you’re so capable!”

“Who does she think she is… leaving as she pleases? Who cares? What is she trying to prove?”

Soon, some began to agree, “Women will always be women. They quit just after you say a few harsh words. She’ll definitely come back on her own, a couple of days later.”

“There’s no doubt. After all, she finally managed to turn from the daughter of a servant to a disciple, haha…”

Beyond what it means for her characterisation and the themes explored in the novel, this moment is significant because there are clear parallels between how she is treated in that moment and how WWX is talked about for protecting the Wen remnants and, later, for ‘deserting’ the Jiang sect. In fact, just before MianMian speaks out, sect leaders call WWX a “servant” and the “son of a servant” when underlying the ‘nerve’ of his ‘arrogance’ toward the sects with his actions.

One of the sect leaders added, “To be honest, I’ve wanted to say this since a long time ago. Although Wei Wuxian did a few things during the Sunshot Campaign, there are many guest cultivators who did more than him. I’ve never seen anyone as full of themselves as him. Excuse my bluntness, but he’s the son of a servant. How could the son of a servant be so arrogant?”

These passages are also reminiscent of the way WWX is discussed by cultivators celebrating his death in the prologue:

“That’s right, good riddance! If the YunmengJiang sect had not adopted him, educated him—this Wei Ying would have been a mediocre scoundrel all his life, nothing but riffraff…… what else could he be! The former head of the Jiang clan treated him as his own son, but what a son! [...]”

“I can’t believe Jiang Cheng really let this arrogant manservant live for so long. If it were me, when this Wei first defected, I wouldn’t have just stabbed him; I’d have cleaned house straight away. Then he wouldn’t have had the opportunity to commit all those deranged acts later. When it comes to these sorts of people, how can you even take sentiments like ‘same clan’, ‘same sect’, or ‘childhood loyalty’ into consideration?”

Due to the circumstances of their birth, even people who manage to achieve a higher position in society hold a tenuous grasp on the power and respect they have gained: their legitimacy is fraught. And even if they play the game right, the lines of legitimate belonging are always ready to be renegotiated by those in power. Despite the “few things” he did during the Sunshot Campaign that aligned with the interest of the sects, and despite being raised among the gentry in the Jiang sect and being perceived as a gongzi, WWX remains in the imaginary of the cultivators who see themselves as the legitimate holders of power as someone who needs to “remember his place”, someone who should be grateful and loyal as he has been “allowed” to raise in influence and be treated well in society despite being the son of a servant. And so when he stands against the interests of the sects, he’s not just betraying them: he betraying the social order which gives them legitimacy. This is directly tied to MianMian’s treatment in this scene. In the novel, MianMian is not only shamed and dismissed because she speaks out against the sects: it is also, if not primarily, because she did not, in the process, “remember her place”.

The scene as it is presented in the novel thus goes out of its way to set up a clear parallel between WWX and MianMian, not only in regards to their righteousness, but also in regards to how they are perceived and treated for being the children of servants. It also takes pain to underline the unfair treatment of women in that society. Moreover, if we’re only considering MianMian’s characterisation, it says a lot to see her have reached this level of importance in her sect despite her circumstances and then for her to let it all go.

In CQL? You’ve probably guessed it; all of these nuances are evacuated from the text. On top of the fact that MianMian continues to be established as a valued member of the Jin sect, the scene is cut short and a lot of the censure sent her way is excised. There are no mentions of her ‘having made her way’ into the room of powerful people who are allowed have an opinion on the state of the world. No mentions of her low social background and no mocking that she will crawl back to her sect after realising she can’t make it into the world without their influence and support. No dismissal of her based on the fact that she is a woman, or suggestions that she is standing up for the YLLZ only because she is enamoured with him. The scene is turned into a pale shadow of its original.

Instead of these elements, we do get a gasp from JZX (which becomes a dangling plot thread because he does not stand up for her nor does he reach out for her even though she’s supposed to be his good friend, nor do we see him being conflicted about being unable to beyond his gasp) and MianMian telling JGS that she is leaving his sect, which I’ll admit is pretty baller. But it does not even come close to having the significance and thematic implications of the scene as presented in the novel. CQL!MianMian stands up against the organized smear campaign against WWX and the sects’ unwillingness to accept their faults, and is only disregarded for having spoken against them: not because of who she was while she was raising doubts about their evaluation of the right and wrong. And that is significant, because it undercuts the discussions the novel explores through so many other characters about the impacts of being considered inferior by others.

The Travelling Rogue Cultivator who Stayed Home

Finally, in the novel, we meet MianMian once more when her daughter, Xiao MianMian, stumbles upon something she should not have seen while accompanying her parents on a night-hunt. The reason their paths cross is that, just like Wangxian, MianMian feels compelled to pursue night-hunts other cultivators disregard for their lack of glory in order to help the common people. This is her life mission as a travelling rogue cultivator: differently put, she goes where the chaos is. This set-up serves to highlight that MianMian and Wangxian are like-minded and share the same definition of what it means to be ‘Righteous’.

He asked, “Did you come here to night-hunt as well?”

Luo Qingyang nodded, “Yes. I heard spirits are haunting a nameless graveyard on this mountain, disturbing the lives of the people here, so I came to see if there’s any way I could help. Have you two cleaned it up already?”

The night-hunt also serves to reintroduce the theme of deception and rumours, and the ways in which MianMian is a character who is not swayed by public opinions but knows how easily others may be.

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji exchanged a glance. “This was a lie too. No lives were lost. We looked it up. Only a few villagers who robbed the graves were bedridden for a while after being scared by the ghosts, and another broke his own leg when running away. Apart from these, there were no casualties. All those lives were made up for dramatic purposes.”

“So this was what happened?” interjected Luo Qingyang’s husband. “That’s absolutely shameless!”

“Oh, these people…” sighed Luo Qingyang. She seemed as if she remembered something, shaking her head, “They’re the same everywhere.”

This is because in the novel MianMian is tied to many themes, and always in a positive manner. Like WWX, she represents the good that is stifled by an unjust social order. She also represents the people who choose to defy and deviate from this social order to pursue a righteous life rather than trying to find vindication and power within that very social order (ie JGY or XY). Like the juniors, MianMian is a character that represents hope for the cultivation world, the potential for small but significant change. Like WWX and LWJ, she represents integrity in the face of the corrupting influences of power and politics, as well as the desire to protect the common people. Like Cangse Sanren, she represents the courage to make her own path in the world, and to marry for love with no considerations for social status or conventions, and the decision to becoming a travelling rogue cultivator.

On top of all these great things this scene accomplish, it is also just incredibly cute. After their talk, their parting is described like such: “Soon, the group had gone down the mountain, and Wei Wuxian could only say goodbye to them with some regret, continuing on another path alongside Lan Wangji.” Honestly, my ‘WWX and LWJ become Xiao MianMian’s shushus’ agenda is alive and well and I will not accept anything else.

In CQL, however, the reunion happens by pure coincidence. The scene is in actuality a mash-up between the reunion we have in the novel and another scene that takes place earlier, in which fugitives WWX and LWJ enter the home of strangers as they are looking for some water (and end up frolicking in hay).

Simply by changing the circumstances and the setting of the reunion, something is lost of the thematic connection between WWX/Wangxian and MianMian, even though viewers still get told that MianMian is someone who night-hunts. Without entering into the specific debate of whether show don’t tell is the only acceptable storytelling strategy, I think it’s fair to say that it is more effective to run into MianMian as she is night hunting based on the same rumours of hauntings as Wangxian instead of seeing her get home, pull a sword willy-nilly after hearing something suspicious in her backyard and finally getting told that she was out night hunting.

Moreover, having to recreate most of the beats of MianMian’s last appearance into this new context seems to have been quite confusing to the CQL production team, and seems to have breed, as a result, a lack of internal coherence to the scene (cut between the end of ep 43 and the beginning of ep 44), regardless of any of its other pitfalls as an adaptation.

In the CQL version, when we meet the family on their way back to their home, Xiao MianMian had been running around and her father chastises her by telling her something along the lines of “Don’t run around, what if you had gotten caught by the YLLZ?”, thereby suggesting that MianMian’s husband believes what is said about WWX. To this, Xiao MianMian replies But Mom Says he’s a Good Guy Though. Obviously, the intent of the writers was to show that MianMian had never bought into the rumours about WWX. However, this exchange makes seemingly no sense if one thinks about it for longer than a second. It suggests that MianMian had never talked about this topic with her husband or that he had never heard her talk about the YLLZ with their daughter. Considering how dangerous the YLLZ is said to be, and that they were night-hunting while he was a fugitive, I don’t see how that would have not come up even if for some unlikely reason she had until then only talked about the YLLZ with her daughter. Of course, one could suggest that MianMian’s husband says this to tease their daughter, fully aware that the YLLZ’s reputation of swallowing children is a tall tale, but the tone is not quite right? And it does not jive with the fact that MianMian is not on board with defaming people: I don’t think she’d be okay with her husband knowingly using the myth of the YLLZ to scare their kid into obedience because it’s convenient to do so? A miss.

To make matters worse, when WWX later asks MianMian is she’s back from night-hunting, Xiao MianMian says that they are back from searching for the YLLZ. First, there is a clear lack of coherence with the previous exchange between Xiao MianMian and her father. And again, it’s hard to get to the meaning of that exchange: is it implying that MianMian was looking for WWX to offer him her help? She certainly doesn’t once she does meet him, so that appears unlikely or at least it’s a plothole/dangling plot thread. But why be looking for him, if she knows he’s not the monster the rumours make him out to be? Clearly, the writers wanted to tell the viewers that MianMian is a rogue cultivator, and figured that having her back from a night-hunt would be enough: but why this line by Xiao MianMian about searching for the YLLZ? Is it just the fancy of a kid, who makes up her own stories while her parents pursue other cases (especially since MianMian says she was looking for puppets)? But then Xiao MianMian does say that ‘we’ were searching for him...

I can’t figure it out. I find it even weirder that, when WWX asks Xiao MianMian whether she is scared of the scary YLLZ (although she’s literally just said moments before that she was not scared of him in her exchange with her father that WWX certainly heard), Xiao MianMian starts replying that she is not scared and MianMian cuts her, apologizing to WWX that he daughter is too young and naive. What is she apologizing for? How is her daughter naive for not being scared of the YLLZ? Or is she apologizing for her daughter suggesting they were searching for the YLLZ? If so, why cut her now and not when she suggested that they were searching for him?

What’s happening in this scene?!

Also, even an attempt to keep lines as close to what they were in the novel ends up backfiring with the new context. In the novel, out night-hunting, MianMian asks “ 什么人” when she sees WWX come out from the direction of a graveyard (she has not seen LWJ yet). Knowing that she might suspect him of being a corpse or a spirit considering that it is night and that he is leaving a graveyard said to be haunted, WWX responds “不管是什么人，总归是人，不是别的东西 “ (No matter who I am, I’m a person after all, and not something else). In CQL, when MianMian hears a sound in her backyard, she asks “ 什么人” and, after LWJ comes out and is recognized by MianMian, WWX still responds (??) with a similar yet slightly different sentence: “ 不管是谁，反正是个人，不是东西 “ (No matter who I am, anyway I am a person, not a thing). This exchange in the context of the scene in CQL baffles me because: why would there be then an expectation that they would not be a person in this situation? Why would he say that after MianMian has seen and recognized LWJ, thus knowing full well that it is a person and not a spirit or a corpse? As well, why change “ 别的东西 “ (something else/different thing) for “ 东西 “ (thing) since MianMian’s question does not imply by itself that she thinks they are not people since she asks "什么人” (literally: what person?), making WWX’s statement that he is “not a thing” completely come out of nowhere? And it’s so much more perplexing than his original statement that he is not “something else” from a human.

I’m spending time on these two lines because I find them to be a sort of microcosm of some of the questionable adaptation choices made in CQL: at times the web series chooses to keep things from the novel even after changing the context in which these elements unfold without understanding how these no longer work within their new context. Yet, at the same time, it feels comfortable making what appear on the surface to be minute changes without thinking through the implications of them, and thus changing the point of these elements through these minute modifications.

Aside from these elements which prevent this moment in CQL to give us a scene that is internally coherent, let’s further interrogate some of the adaptational changes made between the novel and the web series, and their impact on the themes and characterisation.

One change that conflicts with the characterisation and the thematic discussion regards WWX inquiring about MianMian’s husband. Unlike in the novel, where WWX engages him in a little bit of chitchat and then feels forced by conventions to ask to which sect he belongs, CQL makes it seem as if it is an information WWX wants to ask because it’s literally the first thing he says to him, not even after a salutation or a “well met” (I will be magnanimous and believe that that choice to do so was for the sake of brevity and not because the preceding dialogue had not been written in the novel and the CQL writers couldn’t be bothered to come up with something). This, however, makes it look like WWX puts a lot of importance in knowing someone’s allegiance to a sect, which is the exact opposite of how he feels about it.

She pulled the man up, “This is my husband.”

Noticing that they held no malicious intent, the man softened visibly. After some chatter, Wei Wuxian asked out of convenience, “Which sect do you belong to and which kind of cultivation do you practice?”

The man answered frankly, “None of them.”

Luo Qingyang gazed at her husband, smiling, “My husband isn’t of the cultivating world. He used to be a merchant. But, he’s willing to go night-hunting with me…”

It was both rare and admirable that an ordinary person, and a man at that, would be willing to give up his originally stable life and dare travel the world with his wife, unafraid of danger and wander. Wei Wuxian could not help feeling respect for him.

Of course, without WWX’s thought process provided to us in the narration, the implications of MianMian’s husband being originally a merchant are a little bit lost in CQL, even if CQL!MianMian provides that piece of information. Of course, CQL could have chosen to include WWX’s musings, since it does include in this very scene some voice-over thoughts earlier. It is a shame though, that it does not, since MianMian and her husband are clear parallels for WWX’s parents in that regard: his father also left a stable life to travel the world with his wife.

Although, to be fair, CQL!MianMian is no longer a rogue cultivator who travels the world, so it is not like her husband made the decision to travel the world with her. Indeed, by frankensteining the two scenes from the novel, MianMian is by default no longer a rogue cultivator who travels the world: she is a rogue cultivator, sure, in that she does not belong to a sect, but she is a rogue cultivator with a home she clearly needs to inhabit during the day, what with the fact that they raise animals (we see little chicks in the background and there are piles of hay), and who night-hunts close enough to her home to be able to come back home in the morning. Moreover, without the context of meeting MianMian at the same glory-less night-hunt as Wangxian, it is harder to express the idea that MianMian is someone who chooses, like them, to do so for the common good and not for any prestige or rewards. MianMian is no longer another cultivator who goes ‘where the chaos is’ and, in terms of positive female representation, it is truly a shame. After all, the novel frames this as a positive and admirable trait which we see in our two main (male) protagonists: to have a woman follow, independently, the same path as them is meaningful.

Finally, instead of the scene closing with a regretful parting that hints at the sense of kinship between MianMian’s family and Wangxian, we get a truly (imo) patronizing ending. In CQL, their conversation is disrupted by threatening sounds. LWJ then instructs MianMian to stay in her home and protect Xiao MianMian while LWJ and WWX take care of things. So feminism..... such empowerment... To be honest, if CQL meant to change things and put MianMian in scenes where she wasn’t originally, why not have her go with Wangxian? Why not have her be there for the Mass Grave Hill Siege? Why not have her leave her daughter with her husband and let her be a badass? Instead, they conveniently check her out of the action after putting her directly in the middle of it. Instead of having MianMian be away from the sects and doing her own rogue cultivator thing as the events of the novels unfolded in WWX’s second life, explaining her absence, CQL reintroduces her just before an important moment but chooses to send her away once more, to stay home and protect her daughter, probably because they did not want to take the time and energy to figure out how and where she would fit into these scenes in which she had not be written in the novel. This is the kind of adaptational choice that makes me question why people consider CQL a more progressive work of fiction with regards to its treatment of female characters.

Final Musings: sometimes, less is more

Does an increase to the number of appearances of a character shape their impact on the audience? Or, conversely, does it dilute their meaning within and their impact on the text? There is not a simple answer to that question. Certainly, repetition is in itself a literary device, and many readers need salient and blunt reminders to get a message across, the likes of: the important characters are the ones you see the most often. Likewise, having a character feature more often in a work can provide the necessary breathing space to explore more and in more depth their psychology, motivations, past, actions, etc. However, the simple act of increasing the presence of a character does not inherently increase their impact on a work of fiction nor does it increase the nuances and depths of that character.

It is possible to adhere to a cynical or optimistic perspective regarding CQL’s decision to feature MDZS’ female characters more prominently. It is not hard to divine why the decision could have been made solely for the financial incentive of “pandering” to a female audience who dares to want to see themselves on screen. Conversely, one can imagine a production team animated by good intentions, who simply want to give more limelight to these female characters. Whether purely motivated by a profit-based logic or solely well-intentioned, or at a vector of both motives, it is clear that the CQL production did not increase the screen presence of MDZS’s female characters out of a desire to tell a stronger, more effective version of the original story they were working with. And that is why the urge to quantify good representation will always end up failing us in my opinion.

While it can be productive to consider trends, it does not give us a better media landscape or better individual works of fiction; it does not necessarily give us more impactful or better written female characters. This type of analysis urges us to see female characters as female first, without truly attempting to understand their purpose and treatment within the story. While MDZS has fewer female characters, these characters showcase different personalities and occupy different positions within the social world of the novel; they have arcs and thematic resonance and they cannot be simply replaced by a “sexy lamp” without disrupting the plot completely. They are also often given a surprising amount of depth, if readers are willing to pay attention to all that is found in the text and in the subtext.

For such a long novel, MDZS is able to remonstrate a certain amount of restraint wrt its storytelling. The timespan it wants to cover is expansive, its cast of characters not insignificant, and the story it aims to tell is ambitious. It is easy to imagine a meandering version of MDZS where many more characters are present, including many more female characters, or where the existing female characters get an extended presence within the narrative. But would those female characters have been more impactful? Would the story told have been a better one? The way the CQL production team chose to adapt MianMian hints that this is not a done conclusion.

(+ bonus MianMian meta)

#mdzs meta #mdzs #mianmian #luo qingyang #cql vs mdzs #mo dao zu shi #modaozushi #IT'S FINALLY DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!#this is my manifesto

259 notes · View notes

ilyforallahswt · 5 months

Text

Al Ahad is the identity of Allah

There is nothing like Allah.

Ikhlas (sincerity) is the soul of worship.

Surah Ikhlas is a brief declaration of Tawheed, the Absolute Oneness of Allah, consisting of four verses. Al-Ikhlas means "purity" or "purification".

English translation of Surah Ikhlas

Say, the truth is Allah is One. Allah does not need anyone. He gave birth to no one, nor gave birth to anyone. He was never equaled.

Ikhlas (sincerity) is the soul of worship.

Allah's Identity, Names and Attributes

Allah's indivisible unicity is Tawhid

Tawheed - The first call of the Messengers

The Call To Tawheed Was The Call of The Prophet

Allah's indivisible unicity is Tawhid

Allah's Identity, Names and Attributes

Tawheed - The first call of the Messengers

0 notes

myreligionislam · 5 months

Text

Al Ahad is the identity of Allah

There is nothing like Allah.

Ikhlas (sincerity) is the soul of worship.

Surah Ikhlas is a brief declaration of Tawheed, the Absolute Oneness of Allah, consisting of four verses. Al-Ikhlas means "purity" or "purification".

English translation of Surah Ikhlas

Say, the truth is Allah is One. Allah does not need anyone. He gave birth to no one, nor gave birth to anyone. He was never equaled.

Ikhlas (sincerity) is the soul of worship.

Allah's Identity, Names and Attributes

Allah's indivisible unicity is Tawhid

Tawheed - The first call of the Messengers

The Call To Tawheed Was The Call of The Prophet

Allah's indivisible unicity is Tawhid

Allah's Identity, Names and Attributes

Tawheed - The first call of the Messengers

0 notes

allahisourrabb · 5 months

Text

Al Ahad is the identity of Allah

There is nothing like Allah.

Ikhlas (sincerity) is the soul of worship.

Surah Ikhlas is a brief declaration of Tawheed, the Absolute Oneness of Allah, consisting of four verses. Al-Ikhlas means "purity" or "purification".

English translation of Surah Ikhlas

Say, the truth is Allah is One. Allah does not need anyone. He gave birth to no one, nor gave birth to anyone. He was never equaled.

Ikhlas (sincerity) is the soul of worship.

Allah's Identity, Names and Attributes

Allah's indivisible unicity is Tawhid

Tawheed - The first call of the Messengers

The Call To Tawheed Was The Call of The Prophet

Allah's indivisible unicity is Tawhid

Allah's Identity, Names and Attributes

Tawheed - The first call of the Messengers

0 notes

mylordisallah · 5 months

Text

Al Ahad is the identity of Allah

There is nothing like Allah.

Ikhlas (sincerity) is the soul of worship.

Surah Ikhlas is a brief declaration of Tawheed, the Absolute Oneness of Allah, consisting of four verses. Al-Ikhlas means "purity" or "purification".

English translation of Surah Ikhlas

Say, the truth is Allah is One. Allah does not need anyone. He gave birth to no one, nor gave birth to anyone. He was never equaled.

Ikhlas (sincerity) is the soul of worship.

Allah's Identity, Names and Attributes

Allah's indivisible unicity is Tawhid

Tawheed - The first call of the Messengers

The Call To Tawheed Was The Call of The Prophet

Allah's indivisible unicity is Tawhid

Allah's Identity, Names and Attributes

Tawheed - The first call of the Messengers

0 notes

it-begins-with-rain · 3 years

Text

Chinese Language TV Recommendations

For my Korean TV Recommendations, click here.

*Contains both Mainland-Chinese and Taiwanese programs.

** Updated 05/23/21 with “Miss The Dragon” & “Word of Honor”

A Love So Beautiful

Can the pure love of 17-year-olds endure through all the challenges of college and adulthood?

Chen Xiao Xi and Jiang Chen are high school friends and neighbors who grew up together. Xiao Xi is happy-go-lucky and doesn’t like to study much but she has a talent for drawing. Jiang Chen is popular for his good looks and high grades, but is cold and indifferent to other people.

Their friends include swimmer Wu Bo Song, who will do anything for XiaoXi, the dorky and over-confident gamer Lu Yang, and Lin Jing Xiao, the most beautiful girl in school (who Lu Yang is hopelessly in love with).

How will the realities of life shape the friendships and love lives of these young adults?

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Ashes of Love // Heavy Sweetness, Ash-Like Frost

Jin Mi is the secret lovechild of the Flower Deity and the Water Immortal, conceived before the Flower Deity suffers a fatal wound.

The deity gives birth to a baby girl (Jin Mi) on her deathbed, and foresees the infant will face a terrible trial by her 10,000th year. To save her from her fate, the Flower Deity gives Jin Mi a pill that makes it impossible for her to ever feel romantic love. Upon her death, she forbids anyone in the Flower Kingdom from revealing the fact that she had a child.

Several thousand years later, Jin Mi is a bumbling little fairy trapped in The Water Mirror- a gilded prison where low-level fairies can live in peace. Jin Mi believes she is a small Grape Fairy, and lives a happy (if not dull) life within the Mirror with her friends.

When a charred bird falls from the heavens into the Water Mirror, Jin Mi decides to eat save the poor little ‘crow’– who in reality is Xu Feng, the mighty phoenix son of the Heavenly Emperor. Her decision to not eat save the Fire God will put them at the heart of plots and schemes, romances and adventures spanning the Flower Kingdom, Heavenly Realm, Demon Kingdom, and the Realm of Mortals.

**Trigger Warning: Contains reference to off-camera sexual assault.**

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Dance of the Phoenix

Feng Wu, a former genius girl in the Junwu Continent, was attacked by her old enemy Zuo Qingluan. In the attack, she lost not only her memories and abilities, but her “phoenix blood” which made her powerful.

In order to save Feng Wu her secret tutor, Master Mu Jiuzhou (a hero thought long dead whose soul is bound inside a ring Feng Wu wears around her neck), exhausted his vitality and fell into a deep coma.

The forces Master Mu Jiuzhou were trying to keep at bay are roiling again, readying for war unless Feng Wu can recover her memories, her power, and survive long enough to release him from the ring.

But if Feng Wu at full power couldn’t stop the evil Zhuo Qingluan’s attack and save herself, what chance does “normal person” Feng Wu have?

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Douluo Continent

Tang San is a hardworking and kind young man who was raised by his single father to be a blacksmith to a small village. His demanding father taught him secret techniques and cultivated unknown abilities while refusing to ever allow him to enter the world of the Soul Masters- heroes who use their inner power to defeat monstrous Soul Beasts and collect their power.

One day, Tang San is attacked in the woods by a fearsome Soul Spider and uses his special techniques to survive, drawing the eye of a nearby Soul Master. The man tests Tang San and discovers that while his Soul Spirit takes the utterly useless form of a common weed (as opposed to say a lion or a wolf), he harbors extreme untapped power and potential.

What only Tang San and his father know is that Tang San is a rare Twin-Soul, in possession of not one Soul Spirit- the Blue Grass- but a second extraordinarily rare weapon spirit capable of being wielded either against foes or in protection of innocents.

Unable to deny Tang San the ability to learn to control his power, his father allows him to leave the protection of the village and embark on a journey to develop his powers and perhaps learn the truth of his parentage.

On his journey Tang San will be joined by the mysterious and naïve Xiao Wu- a seemingly unstoppable and optimistic girl with a rabbit as her Soul Spirit and the ability to absorb the life force of Soul Beasts. They are led by a disgraced Soul Master in Training, Yu Xiao Gang, who was disregarded as a janitor all while studying Soul Masters and developing his own radical theories as to the nature of their power.

Tang San, Xiao Wu, Yu Xiao Gang, and the other friends they meet along the way will become a famous team of heroes known as the “Seven Devils of Shrek Academy”, and be drawn into an imperial struggle for power that threatens to consume their entire continent.

Tang San appears to the world as the master of the Silver Grass Spirit, but once that same world realizes the might of the Weapon Spirit he keeps hidden, he will have to fight with everything he has in order to protect what he holds dear.

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Fairyland Lovers

Bai Qi is a “spiritual doctor” who travels the world to rid spirits of their obsessions and stop them from becoming monsters. Eons ago he himself was at the threshold of becoming an Evil Spirit, and was saved by a Divine Warrior who helped him find a way to move past his darkness before tragically losing her life.

Isolated from the world and alone with a sprig of his lost love’s peach tree, Bai Qi meets the sunny but hapless actress Lin Xia. Not only does the tree come to life in her presence- and not only can she use the tools left behind by his lost lover- she also has the same face.

Curious, Bai Qi enters into a co-habitation agreement with Lin Xia and she helps him cleanse souls before they can turn into Evil Spirits. As their lives intersect, a memory that Bai Qi sealed away for over ten thousand years begins to surface.

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Guardian

Super-Detective Zhao Yunlan meets university professor (and powerful supernatural being) Shen Wei and the two men are instantly drawn together by a past one cannot forget and a future the other cannot guess. As they grow closer, they find themselves at the heart of a high-stakes supernatural battle between unknown enemies.

Will the heroic duo’s unique talents- and special bond- be enough to help them outwit the forces of darkness?

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Handsome Siblings (2020 Netflix Edition)

Hua Wuque is a pillar of righteousness and virtue, the only male disciple of the powerful Yihua Palace cultivation clan. An orphan, he was taken in by the clan leader and her sister and raised with only one goal in life: to find and kill Jiang Xiaoyu, a mighty villain and enemy of Yihua Palace.

So who is Jiang Xiaoyu? Also known as Xiaoyu’er, Jiang Xiaoyu is an orphan himself- the same age as Hua Wuque in fact- raised by the five most feared and hated villains in the world within the confines of the Wicked Canyon. Into Jiang Xiaoyu the villains poured their knowledge, tricks, and ruthlessness, seeking to create the ultimate villain. There is only one problem: As he was raised in the Wicked Canyon and surrounded by nothing but villains, Jiang Xiaoyu mostly uses his abilities to… harm villains and protect the weak.

When Jiang Xiaoyu comes of age and leaves the Wicked Canyon (or rather, becomes too much of a trickster for the villains to handle anymore), Hua Wuque is unleashed to venture from Yihua Palace and hunt down his enemy.

But how could someone kept confined in the Wicked Canyon for the first 18 years of his life be a threat to Yihua Palace? And why must Hua Wuque be the one to kill him (under direction that Jiang Xiaoyu cannot die naturally, be killed by someone else, or kill himself)?

There is a piece of the story Jiang Xiaoyu and Hua Wuque do not know: they are orphans of the same tragedy, in which the divine hero Jiang Feng spurned the love of both leaders of Yihua Palace for a beautiful servant named Hua Yuenu. Hua Yuenu was forced to commit suicide and Jiang Feng killed himself rather than submit to the Ladies of Yihua–

Leaving behind newborn (non-identical) twin sons.

Yihua Palace’s plot is a simple (if OTT) act of vengeance against Jiang Feng’s memory:: Force one brother to murder the other, then reveal to Hua Wuque the sin he has committed and let it drive the boy insane.

Will the truth come out before Wuque finds and kills Xiaoyu, or will the evil Ladies of Yihua Palace finally have the vengeance they have waited for for over 18 years? As Wuque and Xiaoyu’s paths cross more and more they strike up an unlikely friendship, even knowing there is no escaping their dark fate.

**Trigger Warning: Later episodes include off-camera sexual assault and on-camera depictions of near-rape.**

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Hi My Sweetheart

Xue Hai is a kindhearted (and extremely wealthy) but naïve man who has been sheltered by his big sisters his entire life. He decides to go to college in China- where no one knows him- under the name Da Lang and with the image of a poor scholarship student. There Xue Hai meets the dominant, friendless, and rebellious Bao Zhu. Naturally the two fall in love, but after 4 years together, just as he’s going to reveal his identity and propose, Bao Zhu viciously dumps him.

Fast forward three more years. Xue Hai has transformed himself into a handsome but ruthless playboy who treats women as nothing more than toys to be used and cast aside. When he chances across Bao Zhu once more, he decides to launch a campaign to destroy her heart as thoroughly and mercilessly as she did his.

Except Xue Hai is missing one important piece of their love story: Bao Zhu only left him to protect him from her domineering mother, and she has been searching for her beloved Da Lang ever since.

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The King’s Avatar

In the online multiplayer game Glory, Ye Xiu is well known as the undisputed master of professional sports- though no one outside of the professional teams actually knows what he looks like as he hides his face from media and fans. A player since he was a child- and raised largely in professional player training camps- Ye Xiu has no understanding of the outside world.

Halfway through the season, the money-hungry company behind his team, Excellency Era, forces him out and replaces him with an undisciplined hot-shot. Penniless and with nowhere to go, Ye Xiu crosses the street and enters the Happy Internet Cafe. The owner is a diehard fan of the mysterious Ye Xiu, and hires Ye Qiu as an IT manager not for his experience, but for his shared love of the game.

When Glory launches their tenth server, Ye Qiu throws himself into the game once more. Equipped with ten years of gaming experience, memories of an unfinished pledge to a dead friend, and an incomplete self-made weapon, Ye Qiu will rise from the ashes, forge a new team, and take back his crown.

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The Lost Tomb**

50 years ago, a group of Changsha grave robbers known as the “Mystic Nine” dug out manuscripts of the location of treasures from the Warring States period, but soon after almost the entire group was hunted down and slaughtered.

In the present, the young grandchild of the sole survivor, Wu Xie, discovers a secret within his grandfather’s notes as well as half of a silk manuscript that may reveal the location of the lost tomb. But there is one problem- the other half of the manuscript is held by a shady organization of tomb raiders eager to break in and steal whatever cultural relics are inside the tomb.

Wu Xie has a “National Treasure” moment and decides that in order to stop the objects in the tomb from vanishing into the black market he will break in first and recover whatever is inside (’I’m going to steal the Declaration of Independence…’).

Wu Xie is helped on his journey by his beloved “Third Uncle” Wu Sanxing, his uncle’s right hand man Panzi, and the mysterious Xiao Ge - a tomb raider who seems to know of traps before they are sprung and whose hand has been mutilated in a way not seen among tomb robbing families in over a century.

They expected to find a lost tomb, perhaps chase away some thieves, and learn about an exciting piece of lost history. What they did not expect was for the tomb to strike back, the dead to rise, and the past to fight and keep what secrets it holds.

Who exactly are this alternate group of tomb robbers? What are they searching for? What exactly is protecting the tomb? Whose side is Xiao Ge truly on? And- most crucially- can Wu Xie survive long enough to find the answers?

** This recommendation is part of a broader series of shows and movies, all adapted from “The Gravedigger’s Notebook” and its sequels::

The Lost Tomb (2015)

The Lost Tomb 2: Explore With the Note (2016)

Time Raiders (2016 movie)

The Mystic Nine (2016)

Tomb of the Sea (2018)

Reunion: The Sound of the Providence (which gets its own recommendation below; 2019-2020)

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Love O2O

** O = letter, not number

Wei-Wei has both beauty and brains. A computer goddess, she aspires to be an online game developer. In her spare time, she plays her favorite online game ‘A Chinese Ghost Story’- where she has made a name for herself as the top female player on the entire server.

After her online husband dumps her, she gets a message from legendary player Yixiao Naihe- asking to become her online husband (marriages in-game offer certain benefits and quest lines single players cannot achieve).

Little does Wei-Wei know that Yixiao Naihe is also her college senior and the most desired man on campus, Xiao Nai.

Will their online chemistry lead to a real-life romance? Yes. Of course it will. It’s in the title.

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Miss The Dragon

As a humble maid, Liu Ying never expected her life to be anything other than ordinary. Content with the world and her place in it, she spent her days tending to injured creatures and assisting her mistress Xia Hou Xue. But when Liu Ying finds an injured little snake and nurses it back to health, she has no idea how her life is about to change.

That little snake turns out to be a thousand year old Draong King named Yu Chi Long Yan. He falls in love with Liu Ying, and decides to repay her kindness by naming her as his queen.

And then Xia Hou Xue is captured by a wolf demon. Liu Ying flips the script- begging Yu Chi Long Yan to repay her kindness instead by rescuing her mistress and then keeping her safe for three lifetimes. Trapped by his word, Yu Chi Long Yan agrees to do so, though he secretly remains by Liu Ying’s side.

Now in her fourth lifetime, Liu Ying is reincarnated as Gu Qing Yan. She slowly becomes aware of his existence in her life- and her past lives as well. After waiting three lifetimes to be reunited with his lost love, Yu Chi Long Yan will fight with everything he has to keep her safe and get the Happily Ever After they should have had three thousand years ago.

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My Roommate is a Detective

Shanghai in 1925 is caught between gang leaders and the European powers colonizing China.

A resourceful young police officer named Qiao Chu Sheng is on the trail of a brutal but devious killer. Realizing that the police force will need some extra help with this difficult case, he decides to form an elite crime-busting detective team. He reaches out Lu Yao, a Cambridge graduate a slick con-man.

Qiao Chu Sheng has learned that Lu Yao has remarkable powers of deduction and a brilliant mind – and believes he can help crack this difficult case. To round off the team, he enlists the help of Bai You Ning, a focused young female reporter for a daily newspaper. A free-thinking, independent young woman, she has a strong sense of justice – and pledges to help catch the killer.

The trio form a small detective squad that specializes in solving strange and unsettling murder mysteries.

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Oh My Emperor

Fei-Fei, a young doctor, is wounded in an accident and finds herself trapped in the ancient and mystical nation of Huang Dao. The people of Huang Dao are ruled by a king born of the stars- the physical embodiment of one of the twelve zodiac constellations. To keep discord from arising among the people, the Twelve Zodiac Masters govern together to keep the peace.

But a thirteenth sign has been forcibly subjugated, it’s Lord executed, and its people scattered to the wind. The lost sign- Ophiuchus- is rising once more- and Fei-Fei is its (unwilling) Master.

It only complicates matters slightly that Fei-Fei finds herself between the handsome and charming Master of Aquarius and his nephew- the cold Master of Capricorn (who is also the Emperor). Can Fei-Fei keep her identity secret long enough to solve the mystery of the Ophiuchus purge- or is Huang Dao doomed to destruction?

**This drama is a showpiece for members of the Chinese pop group X-Nine, do not judge it by the same standards as a traditional drama. Showpiece dramas tend to be a bit silly.

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Reunion: The Sound of the Providence**

Wu Xie, “Fatty” Wang Pangzi, and the quasi-immortal tomb raider Xiao Ge (AKA Zheng Qiling, Kylin, and “Poker Face”) have faced many dangerous tombs together over the past twelve years.

Now, it is time for them to go on their last great adventure as the so-called “Iron Triangle” before Wu Xie sets off on the journey all must eventually make: death. He always thought his end would come in a dangerous tomb, but instead it will be lung cancer that claims his life. With only 3-4 months left to live, Wu Xie hides the truth of his illness from his friends and family, revealing the truth only to Xiao Ge.

Once upon a time, Wu Xie was told that when a man meets his death he must do so with a clear conscience. But something has been weighing on Wu Xie- his Third Uncle’s disappearance at the end of their first adventure. Right on time, a message from his long lost uncle appears, setting Wu Xie on a desperate mission to find him before the cancer eating away at his body destroys him at last.

This will most likely be Wu Xie’s final journey, but he will do anything in his power to make sure his friends and family will be safe long after his time is up. In the final 3-4 months of Wu Xie’s life he will seek to unravel the mystery of the “Thunder City”- starting with the most dangerous tomb he’s ever explored, The South Sea King’s Tomb.

The sound of thunder hides a secret men have killed for, but is there really a way to hear the words of gods within it? Someone clearly thought so, but who? Is Uncle Sanxing still alive, or is someone in the shadows guiding Wu Xie to them?

Wu Xie’s enemies thought he was dangerous before, but now he is a dying man with a mission. There is no telling what lengths he will go to in order to achieve his goals. He might just manage to die in a tomb after all…

** This recommendation is just the latest installment in an entire series of stories adapted from “The Gravedigger’s Notebook” and related novels::

The Lost Tomb (2015)

The Lost Tomb 2: Explore With the Note (2016)

Time Raiders (2016 movie)

The Mystic Nine (2016)

Tomb of the Sea (2018)

Reunion: The Sound of the Providence (2019-2020)

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The Romance of Tiger and Rose

Chen Xiao Qian has dedicated her life to making her dream of becoming a well-respected screenwriter come true. Standing on the production set of sweeping dramas she penned through endless blood, sweat, and tears, Xiao Qian can hardly believe what she is seeing: her work, come to life!

Except it isn’t a set. And her work truly has come to life.

Her script is a simple one: the heirs of two rival cities who seek to destroy one another enter into a doomed romance that will lead to endless betrayals and a war that will kill the male lead, Han Shuo.

There is just one problem- Xiao Qian wakes in the body of Han Shuo’s first wife on the day he will murder her! The only way for Xiao Qian to return to this world is to survive the story, but in keeping herself alive longer the script begins to change, and Han Shuo begins to fall in love with the wrong person.

At first it is easy for Xiao Qian to keep herself alive- just go along with the script! But the story wants to return to the original plot, which means characters who should be friends become enemies, enemies become friends, and Xiao Qian might not live long enough to find her way home.

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The Untamed

On the cliffs of the Nightless City, upon defeating his enemies in a bloody slaughter, the cruel and vicious Yiling Patriarch- Wei Wuxian- threw himself to his death.

Sixteen years later, he is resurrected by a madman and given a second chance to right what went so terribly wrong long ago. Wei Wuxian reunites with the honorable, righteous, and stern Lan Wangji- his confidant, soulmate, and best friend.

How can someone as upstanding as Lan Wangji befriend the monstrous and hated Yiling Patriarch? What turned the happy and popular Wei Wuxian into the man who slaughtered thousands at Nightless by weaponizing the souls of the dead?

And what terrible secret was Wuxian resurrected to unearth?

The past is not always what it seems, and there is no clean line between right and wrong.

**Don’t worry if you’re lost when the show starts, that is by design. Near the end of episode 2 the show will enter a 30 episode long flashback sequence to answer all questions.

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Well Intended Love (Season 1: Drama Version)

Seasons 1 and 2 of “Well Intended Love” feature the same stars playing the same characters, but the storylines are alternate-universes of one another telling the story from a different genre. Each season is wholly independent of one another.

A third-rate actress with leukemia becomes entangled with the handsome but cold CEO Ling.

In order to receive a bone marrow transplant and contniue her career as an actress, Xia Lin enters into a secret marriage with Ling Yi Zhou. Despite the conspiracies and misunderstandings they encounter, the two begin to find true love.

But one question nags at Xia Lin’s mind:: Why did the cold, controlling, and distant Ling YiZhou need her to play the role of wife?

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Well Intended Love (Season 2: Rom-Com Version)

Rising TV superstar Xia Lin finds herself embroiled in scandal after a run-in with business mogul Ling Yizhou at a party. To clear up any misunderstandings the two prepare a joint press conference– where Xia Lin is stunned by Ling Yizhou’s statement that the two are- in fact- an engaged couple.

Ling Yizhou convinces Xia Lin to play fiancee for a period of one year, after which they can go their separate ways. To save face in front of her fans, Xia Lin agrees. She gradually begins to fall for the lovable and doting Ling Yizhou.

Someone works in the shadows to destroy everything Ling Yizhou holds dear- and the closer he gets to the heart of the conspiracy, the more he realizes Xia Lin may have a target on her back as well.

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Word of Honor // Faraway Wanderers

Zhou Zi Shu has served as the leader of Heaven’s Window for much of his life. A once righteous and honorable sect who acted as an elite Secret Service for the royal family, a corrupt prince has turned them into his personal assassin’s guild. With their oaths to Heaven’s Window as nooses around their throats, most of Zhou Zi Shu’s elders and friends have chosen death over continued service.

Wholly disillusioned, Zhou Zi Shu only wants to atone for the crimes he was forced to commit under his oaths to the prince. He endures the slow execution of Heaven’s Window- a process that sees seven nails inserted into the victim and ushers in a slow and painful death that takes three years to play out.

By gaming the system he helped create, Zhou Zi Shu manages to buy himself an extra year and a half of life to wander the world and wipe some of the blood from his slate.

In his wanderings, he is pulled into a conspiracy surrounding a young boy and meets a strange young man named Wen Ke Xing who sticks to him like glue. Zhou Zi Shu and Wen Ke Xing grow closer and closer throughout their journey to find a mysterious treasure that is rumored to give its owner unlimited power.

But just who is Wen Ke Xing? What is he really after? And most importantly of all- can Zhou Zi Shu really trust his new companion?

#tv recommendations #tv recommendation #recommendations #recommendation #cdrama recommendations #cdrama recommendation #mine #cdrama #c drama

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