EXCUSE ME WHAT?!?

Warning: Language

I'm on episode >!35!<

And EXCUSE ME WHAT?!?

I'm only 12 minutes in so let me give you a recap of where I am.

Cao Wei Ning just >!got fucking murdered by his shifu, who I knew was bad news but I mean.WHAT?!!<

Gu Xiang is >!on the verge of death and honestly it makes sense because if she lives on without her beloved that would be even more sad but if anyone deserves the killing blow. It is her.!<

Liu Qian Qiao (Beauty Ghost) just >!killed her shitty lover, which I can't care less about. BUT THEN GOT STABBED HERSELF AS WELL.!<

And ladies and gentlemen, that, is where I clicked off the episode.

Incoming spoiler for a different drama

The last time I felt like this was episode >!18!< of >!The Story of Pearl Girl!<. And I never actually >!watched episode 19, or the rest of the drama BECAUSE OF THAT ONE EPISODE.!<

I still haven't opened up Youku again. I can't stop with >!two episodes left.!<

But... Come on, man!

Mandatory MDL link because I can't be bothered with properly formatting this post.

Word of Honor (2021) 山河令

Update

I finished the drama, and thoughts:

>!Episode 35 was the worst of it. I was fearful of more deaths but I was so desensitized already that hearing of the other ghosts' deaths didn't impact me much. Probably would have been worse if I saw Tragicomic Ghost's death because I really liked her.!<

Furthermore,

>!I saw the special episode, or alternative ending or whatever you want to call it. There are some dramas like!< (separate spoiler tag in case someone hasn't seen the drama I'm about to mention but click at your own risk) >! Mysterious Lotus Casebook!< where the ending >!can really be interpreted as either happy or sad, like, it's widely debated - this drama has a filmed ending (only available on Viki it seems also, a lovely Redditor posted it here) where they are actually both alive.!<

So, in the end,

>!I would have been content with just the ending on Youku (and Netflix apparently) and not as heartbroken because much like the other drama I mentioned, it would make sense either way regarding their life and death.!< But >!keep in mind that Ye Bai Yi literally says (I'm quoting directly) "Shutup! No one dies. I'm still alive. No one could die before me" I realise he gave all his energy and stuff to Wen Ke Xing but I highly doubt he gave his power to Ke Xing and just peaced out and fell flat dead on the floor. He probably withered slowly and died in peace. In my opinion. Also, three people, one gives his power to the other one so that the other one can give the power to the other other one. If one has to die, it would be Ye Bai Yi!<

Anyway, if you haven't seen Word of Honor don't rage quit after episode >!35!< it's still worth the watch and your (mood spoiler) >!heart doesn't stay in the state that the episode leaves you in!<

So, this turned into a post about the whole ending, huh?

Different streaming platforms have different ways of approaching translations.

Some try to find English phrases or metaphors that have a similar meaning, albeit not at all what the direct translation will say.

Others, like Viki will include the original phrase with a quick explanation in brackets.

Mango... Uhm... Yeah let's leave that for its own "what-in-the-badly-AI-translated-heck-is-this?" corner.

I'm currently watching The Story of Minglan on YouTube. The drama was created by and originally streamed on Hunan TV, meaning it isn't directly affiliated with a service like Youku, iQIYI or WeTV (Tencent).

It was pulled from Viki a few years ago but my US friends apparently have it over there. For me it's available on YouTube (legally) and I've known some others who have had to sail the high seas because it's not on YouTube or any streaming service they have access to in their country. This is to say, translations for this drama vary far and wide.

Anyway, the YouTube version is uploaded by 中剧独播 (a channel of NoahMob Co., Limited.) and their translations aren't bad, but Minglan was uploaded a while ago so they have improved a lot.

Aaaaannnnyyyway

This discussion started off as " do you have a favourite Chinese phrase that hits extra hard when directly translated" but it became a piece about Minglan's distribution rights. (Sorry)

I'll include my favourite Mango TV translation in the comments!

Girls, Women, and the Act of Growing Up

Buckle up because it's late at night here, and I'm passionate, ready to type with both hands and have absolutely no idea how to articulate my thoughts without offending people.

(I'm not a big fan of offending people.)

First of all, let me be clear: we are all entitled to our opinions and I'm not trying to invalidate anyone. Also, this post is not in response to anything you may have seen online, it is something that has been on my heart for a long time.

Now, with that being said, let's go

Girls

Girls can be mean - and my primary school experience attests to that.

Bullying comes in many shapes and sizes, and for girls, one of those shapes is the "we're 'friends' but I'm always going to subtly put you down in order to make myself feel better". This shape of bullying is exasperated when the group of bullies are all popular girls who only have time for you when it's not lunch time (because why would they sit with you when they have cooler friends).

Girls can be short-sighted - and my highschool experience attests to that.

The resentment I built up towards "popular girls" while in primary school followed me to highschool. I decided (subconsciously) to be different.

Screw One Direction they are so girly and overrated. I'll listen to Sleeping with Sirens and Asking Alexandria.

Screw pink, that's such a "pick me" thing to wear. I'll wear black and dye my hair.

I spent so much time growing up looking at girls in the spotlight and judging them for it. Literally, judging their light.

Girls can be empowering and supportive - it's only once I was forced to hang out with two of these "popular girls" in matric (grade 12) that I realised how judgemental I had been towards people who were just living their best lives. (we were in an important play with a cast of maybe like 8 people).

The bubbly girls whom I always looked down on were actually... nice. And more than that, they were actually real.

Their bubbly-ness was not a ploy to get boys' attention, but rather a part of who they were.

They were friendly, inviting, outgoing and just a pleasure to hang out with.

Women and the Act of Growing Up

It's been ten years since I graduated highschool and one of those two girls... Yeah, she's now my dog's favourite vet at the animal clinic down the road.

It took a while, but growing up from primary school, to highschool, to university, and eventually being forced into "adulthood", I realised something.

Women come in all shapes, sizes, and yes, also voice-pitches.

I used to be so quick to judge the girls in my school. Until I realised that being a woman can mean whatever you want it to mean, and judging other women for how they decide to express themselves is exactly the same as those girls in primary school who had to push one person down in order to lift themselves up. (This is a personal revelation I had a while ago, not a comment on anyone in this sub or beyond.)

Being bubbly, clumsy, and even "in need of help a lot" does not make a woman weak.

And sidenote, doing something because you want male attention also doesn't have to be a bad thing. Characters and human beings can live for themselves and flirt in a high-pitched voice if they want to.

Anyway, I'm reminded of a quote from Emma Watson "Feminism isn't a stick with which to beat other women with."

And that's why I will always defend the "Xiao Lanhua"s and "Su Zaizai"s of the world.

* Xiao Lanhua: Orchid from Love Between Fairy and Devil

* Su Zaizai: the cutie patootie FL from When I Fly Towards You.

Big Disclaimer:

Please know that I'm not calling people out or judging what people like and dislike.

I'm just sharing my point of view when it comes to these characters and how I relate it to real life.

Image: Xiao Lan Hua from Love Between Fairy and Devil (Cang Lan Jue).

A Dream Within A Dream 书卷一梦

Aqua's Version

I have no other way to introduce this set of GIFs. Because one of my absolute besties u/ateosira has taken A Dream within a Dream and turned it into a magnum opus.

For those of you unaware, this woman GIF goddess has made ADWAD GIFs totaling more than

2100!

Yes, you read that right.

Fun Fact

Out of the 33 GIFs I made, only 19 were not doubles from her legendary creations.

And that's only because I knew (almost all of) the moments she immortalised in GIF format.

Without any further waffling: here are my meager 19 non-doubled creations.

The title was also definitely not a way for me to tell people I prefer Aqua over Turtle.

^(But hypothetically, if it was, the 'Turtle-ers' are welcome to keep using Turtle, lol)

I've started creating flashcards for the drama.

Honestly, I found it difficult to keep up with the characters, especially at the start. And watching with u/ateosira (who is catching up to me as I'm on episode 20 and she's at episode 2), I realised "blue robed guy" might not be the best way to keep track of characters When they don't always adhere to the same colour palette.

The flashcards are taking a while, it took me 40 minutes to do two characters since I'm an overachiever who insists on getting the Hanzi right. But actually because MDL is flabberghastingly inaccurate. I'm relying on Baidu, character charts that I need to take screenshots of just to translate, and incorrect translations from Google Translate.

Thanks @Navchaa for being my Mandarin and Hanzi fact-checker.

Anyway, it's gonna take a while to be complete but I wanted to share since this drama really has me (and a certain Giraffe) taking a while to recognise and get to know characters. And i figured it might help others in the future too.

After three years (since I started watching Cdramas), I'm finally getting around to The Story of Minglan 知否知否应是绿肥红瘦.

Yes, I know, I've already been berated for only getting to this now (you guys know who you are). But I'm glad I'm getting to it, since there is no such thing as getting to a drama "too late".

I've been told episode 30 is where the drama really picks up, but honestly, I've already been loving every second.

Episode 3, the episode where >!Minglan's mother dies!<, had me glued to my screen. No level of Attention Deficit Disorder could have me looking away!

So far, you haven't actually seen Minglan much - but every time you do, it's important. There is no part of this script that is irrelevant or filler.

I'm really enjoying it!

Shen Fu Xuan and Xiao Shui

I just finished Genius Girlfriend 天才，女友 and... while the story was good. This story creeped up on me. It has me feeling so many things so much emotion.

Xiao Shui's >!death felt foreshadowed to me in her goodbye scene with Shen Fu Xuan!<.

That still didn't prepare me.

This drama has 28 episodes, but I'm walking away from this world, this story, these characters, with such a >!heavy heart. !<

Because of this storyline.

They could have just taken all these scenes and made an >!artistic yet heartbreaking mini drama. !<

I don't have much more to say, I just wanted to share. I just didn't want to >!feel this feeling alone. !<

That whole storyline was done so well, it was so real, and it was >!so heartbreaking. !<

When I think back to Genius Girlfriend, I think I will always think of Shen Fu Xuan standing in that hallway before I think of any of the other parts of this drama.

Well done Xiao Shui, well done.

Eyo! Just an edit! I'm just here to say that The Ingenious One is in fact, not magical :)

I was wondering what felt off to me this year. I haven't gotten excited enough to watch a drama as it is airing since Veil of Shadows back in April.

Let's compare, shall we?

Note: I've included some Wuxia if they felt "magicky" enough for me.

Slides for comparison:

• Image 1 - 2025
• Image 2 - 2026 so far
• Image 3 - 2026 rumoured releases

2025

• The Blossoming Love 千朵桃花一世开 (January)
• Moonlight Mystique 白月梵星 (January)
• Love of the Divine Tree 仙台有树 (February)
• A Moment but Forever 念无双 (March)
• Love in Pavilion 淮水竹亭 (April)
• Love Never Fails 落花时节又逢君 (April)
• The Demon Hunter's Romance 无忧渡 (April)
• Feud 临江仙 (June)
• The Immortal Ascension 凡人修仙传 (July)
• When Destiny Brings the Demon 献鱼 (August)
• Moonlit Reunion 子夜归 (August)
• The Journey of Legend 赴山海 (September)
• Love in the Clouds 入青云 (October)
• Blood River 暗河传 (October)
• Whispers of Fate 水龙吟 (October)
• Sword and Beloved 天地剑心 (October)
• Flying up without Disturb 勿扰飞升 (November)
• The Unclouded Soul 逍遥 (December)

Since we are just passing from August into September, you can technically just look at the 2025 list and stop at Moonlit Reunion; however, you'll notice with the upcoming 2026 examples, I tried to include rumoured 2026 releases and the two years still don't come close in comparison.

2026

Released:

• Eternal Love of the Fox 九尾藏不住 (January)
• Generation to Generation 江湖夜雨十年灯 (February)
• Love beyond the Grave 白日提灯 (March)
• Veil of Shadows 月鳞绮纪 (April)
• Fate Chooses You 佳偶天成 (April)
• The Eternal Fragrance 千香 (June)
• Pull Strings 师兄太稳健 (August)

Sidenote: Why on earth does the MDL link address for The Eternal Fragrance say Love and Redemption 2?

Rumoured for 2026:

• Shadow Punisher 魅影神捕 (featuring Luo Yun Xi and Alen Fang Yi Lun)
• The Ingenious One Season 2 云襄传之将进酒 (featuring Chen Xiao, Mao Xiao Tong, Liu Guan Lin, Cheng Xiao, Fan Shi Qi, Liu Xie Ning, and Lester Lin Ziye)
• Veil of Flames 引灯诀 (featuring Fiction Guo Jun Chen, Xia Meng, Wu Yu Heng, Wang Rui Chang, and Li Ge Yang)
• Beautiful Fairytale 烟雨神游记 (featuring Zhou Yi Ru, Lin Mu Ran, and Yang Zhi Gang)

I am probably missing a few rumoured releases for 2026, our resident u/admelioremvitam would probably be able to correct me (thanks for all you do for us).

In Conclusion

Please, Cdrama overlords, bless me with more magic - the real world sucks anyway.

Genius Girlfriend 天才，女友

I've been taking my time with this drama, well, I've actually purposely slowed down my CDrama consumption in general.

I just finished episode 18 and can safely say I've officially passed the Youth Arc for Genius Girlfriend.

I've really been enjoying it. Tian Xi Wei, Hu Yi Tian and literally the entire main cast (Li Jia Qi, Xia Hao Ran, Lai Wei Ming, Chen Jia Ying (Vivienne Tien), and Wu Jia Kai) have been doing a stellar job.

When I Fly Towards You 当我飞奔向你 (WIFTY)

While watching a drama I tend to share some thoughts on Discord and my second comment while watching episode 1 was "I'm getting WIFTY vibes 💕💕💕".

Genius Girlfriend starts off extremely strong. It has a very healing and lighthearted atmosphere at the start. Note: I'm not saying this goes away necessarily, I'm saying it's strongest at the start. I really got that "WIFTY Vibe" at the start.

That WIFTY Vibe: Definined

"I just woke up full of sweat and with a racing heart after a nightmare and I need to calm down before I let this affect my whole day, what do I do? WIFTY!!"

The Comparison

As far as the first half of Genius Girlfriend goes, it had me but at some point near the end of the youth arc I found myself fast-forwarding. Luckily, the "five years later" arc has started off quite strong.

I found myself wondering why, or rather where, the drama lost its WIFTY Vibe. Here is my hypothesis:

I think WIFTY had a better balance with small storylines. The small stories that make up the drama never felt too long or rushed. With Genius Girlfriend, I have a suspicion. WIFTY is four episodes shorter than Genius Girlfriend and I wonder how much of an impact that has.

Depending on the next arc, I might argue that the youth side of the drama may have been better if they cut two or four episodes. If the next arc drags, then my hypothesis might fall apart. Hopefully the next part stays strong but with the way dramas tend to go, chances are the second arc will also slowly fizzle.

Anyway, I like both dramas and this is a comparison but not a "versus" post.

If I had more energy I might end up with an endless essay pondering what made When I Fly Towards You so perfect to me.

I have 23 more GIFs and I'm just past halfway of the drama - let's see how many I end up with, lol.

Eyo!

I was wondering whether there is anyone who can help me with my hair for Comicon?

I am getting all the pretty hairy accessories myself so no need to worry about that, it's just that I would love for my hair to be as close to the original character as possible. To make attending more fun (I'm trying out proper cosplay for the first time).

I've included some images:

Image 1: The Character

This is the exact hairstyle I am hoping for. I'm not sure about hair colour, whether I am looking at temporary hair dye or not. Also, I'm completely aware that getting exactly this style is probably impossible.

Image 2: My Natural Hair

My natural hair is obviously much lighter than the character's hair. I'm not fussed about having the same hair colour as the character, if I can just get the style as close as possible I'll be super happy. In fact, I might prefer keeping my natural colour (not sure though).

Image 3: Idea #1

In order to keep my natural colour, I thought of just doing long (really long) temporary extensions - Temu has quite a few nice options I just need to carefully colour match. I know nothing about extensions, but I mean, hence the request for someone to help.

I saw a YouTube tutorial, which is where the screenshot is from, and had the idea that maybe the top part could be my natural hair and the long hair that hangs down could be extensions.

The tutorial is just an inspiration to get close to the original, it's obviously not exactly what I'm looking for.

Image 4: Idea #2

A few people recommended I use one of these half wigs (also from Temu) but they only have one version for black hair.

If I buy one I'd have to use temporary black hair dye I assume? Also, if I take this approach, I'd really appreciate it if someone could help me "play" with the wig to see if we can get it as close to the original character as possible.

Thanks!

Eyo!

I was wondering whether there is anyone in Pretoria who can help me with my hair for Comicon?

I am getting all the pretty hairy accessories myself so no need to worry about that, it's just that I would love for my hair to be as close to the original character as possible. To make attending more fun (I'm trying out proper cosplay for the first time).

I've included some images:

Image 1: The Character

This is the exact hairstyle I am hoping for. I'm not sure about hair colour, whether I am looking at temporary hair dye or not. Also, I'm completely aware that getting exactly this style is probably impossible.

Image 2: My Natural Hair

My natural hair is obviously much lighter than the character's hair. I'm not fussed about having the same hair colour as the character, if I can just get the style as close as possible I'll be super happy. In fact, I might prefer keeping my natural colour (not sure though).

Image 3: Idea #1

In order to keep my natural colour, I thought of just doing long (really long) temporary extensions - Temu has quite a few nice options I just need to carefully colour match. I know nothing about extensions, but I mean, hence the request for someone to help.

I saw a YouTube tutorial, which is where the screenshot is from, and had the idea that maybe the top part could be my natural hair and the long hair that hangs down could be extensions.

The tutorial is just an inspiration to get close to the original, it's obviously not exactly what I'm looking for.

Image 4: Idea #2

A few people recommended I use one of these half wigs (also from Temu) but they only have one version for black hair.

If I buy one I'd have to use temporary black hair dye I assume? Also, if I take this approach, I'd really appreciate it if someone could help me "play" with the wig to see if we can get it as close to the original character as possible.

Thanks!

I'm off to see which other subs I can try lol - maybe Facebook groups or something, I haven't been there in a while.

Magic

I absolutely love how film and television have evolved to make magic possible.

Fire-power, exploding petals, or just good old colourful lights - I love it.

Full Disclosure

This post was inspired by the character He Simu and her ridiculously powerful and beautiful magic in Love Beyond the Grave.

I wanted to share more beautiful scenes, but I realised that I tend to GIF reaction moments moreso than just aesthetically pleasing moments. So, sorry but this post is quite heavy on the Dilraba dramas - that's not necessarily a bad thing, there just isn't as much variety here as I would have preferred.

Dramas:

• Feud 临江仙 (2025)

• Dashing Youth 少年白马醉春风 (2024)

• Fangs of Fortune 大梦归离 (2024)

• Veil of Shadows 月鳞绮纪 (2026)

• Love Game in Eastern Fantasy 永夜星河 (2024)

• Love beyond the Grave 白日提灯 (2026)

• Love in Pavilion 淮水竹亭 (2025)

• Sword and Beloved 天地剑心 (2025)

• Moonlight Mystique 白月梵星 (2025)

• The Blue Whisper: Part 1 与君初相识 (2022)

Disclaimer: I have quite a few clips of some of these dramas that I'm yet to GIF (Veil of Shadows being one of them) so don't worry if you're like "what about this moment?!" -- I'll get to it.

Do you have magical moments that took your breath away?

Another Disclaimer: Some of these GIFs (especially Love in Pavilion and Sword and Beloved) might take a while to load since I used a fancy GIF option that ups the quality but unfortunately also the size of the GIF.

Edit: Moonlight Mystique is a vintage GIF because it's from before I added titles to GIFs

Love Beyond the Grave || 白日提灯 (2026)

Love Beyond the Grave stars Dilraba Dilmurat 迪丽热巴 as He Simu - the Sovereign of Spirits and certified badass - and Chen Feiyu 陈飞宇 as Duan Shunxi - the Spellbearer to the Sovereign and certified simp.

Disclaimer: "Simp" is not an insult in my vocabulary.

The Story

Simu doesn't have her five senses. Or rather let me correct myself - she can't feel her five senses.

She can see, but colours are black and white, she can hear but she can't identify melodies or dissonant sounds - you get the idea.

Shunxi is but an ordinary mortal, who comes across the Sovereign as she's wandering the mortal world for a bit of a break from The Void - the home of spirits. Oh, also, he has a magical sword that identifies him as the person meant to share his senses with the lonely Sovereign.

Ruminations

My favourite character - and also much needed comedic relief - is only in the last five episodes.

Simu is powerful, and while we, as the audience, are given an amazing show of power to, well, show her power, she doesn't have a Dongfang Qingcang (Love Between Fairy and Devil) moment where she rescues her lover or just pitches up and solves any and all problems with the flick of her hand.

She technically can do this, but the drama doesn't really provide much of an "oh shit, she's here" moment.

The chemistry is peak at a certain episode at the start, then it just kindof fizzles. My favourite love story is actually that of my previously mentioned favourite character.

(Not naming names for spoilers' sake)

Happy or Sad Ending?

>!Happy!<

Y'all can fight me if you want but >!that was a happy ending.!<

In Conclusion

The drama's magic is beautiful. He Simu is powerful and Dilraba plays her beautifully.

But that's about it when it comes to "outstanding moments" for me.

The GIFs

As usual, feel free to use them when and wherever you like 💕

So, whenever someone asks on this sub, where to buy quality Hanfu, I always recommend a store called New Hanfu.

I have a membership, but I don't order very often.

The Shoes

This is the first time I ordered shoes from them and the quality is amazing! I'll put some closeup photos in the comments.

There are strings that you add to keep them attached nicely but I was too excited to show them off.

The Outfit

I ordered an Outlet Lucky Pack and was a bit surprised with the short skirt. Just because my previous Lucky Packs all had long Hanfu Skirts but the store has an amazing selection of summer Hanfu as well so I shouldn't be surprised.

I styled it with some of my other pieces from the store but the top is beautiful as well and I'll show that in the comments too!

The Music

My favourite song from the Cdrama Fangs of Fortune

Disclaimer

I promise I'm not repping the store, I just appreciate them and this post would make no sense if I didn't explain.

&#x200B;

I put this under "Review" because I didn't really want it to join my other GIF entries in the "Fluff" flair and "Drama Rant" just feels like I'm giving the drama too much power.

Dropped Dramas

Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of unfinished dramas.

The first one I didn't finish was Love Between Tiger and Rose 传闻中的陈芊芊, which is a great drama, it's just that the misunderstanding part was coming and I had just finished a few too many dramas with a "noble idiocy" storyline. I couldn't do the emotional turmoil.

To this day, I still plan (maybe "plan" is a strong word), I still believe I will get back to it someday.

Every drama I haven't finished has joined my "on hold" pile on My Drama List.

Not this one.

The Princess and the Werewolf 郎君不如意 (2023)

I absolutely loved Wu Xuan Yi as Wangquan Zui in Love in Pavilion 淮水竹亭 last year and with My Drama Missy 爱上另一个我 coming out soon (hopefully) I'm very excited to see her reunion with Zhai Xiao Wen.

So, I decided to give this drama a try since it's been on my "plan to watch" list since 2024.

If any of you have it on your list, either leave it there - dormant and untouched - or save yourself the pain and just take it out.

30 episodes of Disney Channel Original Movie is just too much. I'm on episode 18 and it breaks my heart to say that I've actually dropped a drama.

But I'm not doing that to myself.

Don't do it to yourself either.

Edit: Man I wish I could edit the title

ONE OF the best battles

The Blue Whisper 与君初相识 (2022)

I say "to this day" as if I actually watched The Blue Whisper back in 2022. Meanwhile, I only (finally) watched it a few months ago.

And I didn't even give it the credit it deserved.

I don't know what to tell you, the further away you get the more you realise how many epic moments the drama actually had.

This scene

It's not about the CGI.

It's about everything. (Especially the music but unfortunately I can't GIF sounds)

But more specifically, I think it's about the acting.

Without spoiling anything. In this scene, Dilraba's character Ji Yun He, has drawn a figurative line in the sand.

One step further, and you will regret it.

The character is so focused on "protect" that there is no question in her mind, heart, and soul, - no one will get past her today.

No. One.

"Best Battle"

I used this phrase on purpose. "Fight scene" or "fight sequence" would have broadened the scope of exactly what I am speaking about too much.

I'm talking about a battle. The "this is it" moment in a drama. The "show-them-what you're-made-of" moment.

Spoiler

Bonus points for >!actually having me stumped after that arrow went through her. I had no idea how that woman was going to survive. They made me doubt - and that's very VERY difficult when you know there is more than a third of the drama left and it's Xianxia. !<

And then... Absolutely epicness.

Love Beyond the Grave 白日提灯 (2026)

Love Beyond the Grave aired between March and April of this year (2026).

It's a drama I was looking forward to watching for a very very long time. But surprisingly, March 28th of this year came and I didn't feel the need, or even the desire to watch.

But more specifically, I didn't feel the need to watch it then. I knew I wanted to and will watch it later this year (hello later this year, it's me).

I'm enjoying the drama a lot, and I'm on episode 13.

The Story

Our protagonist, He Simu is the Sovereign of Spirits, but she doesn't have her five senses. Or rather, she can't experience them.

She can see, but she can't see colour or shades.

She can hear but she can't tell harmony from dissonance or loud from soft.

You get the idea.

Our other protagonist, Duan Xu is a normal human. But, he is also the only person who can help Simu experience life.

They make a deal, he can make a wish and she will grant it (within reason - no wishing for more wishes or winning a war) and for each wish, she will borrow one of his senses.

Why "Later this Year"

As much as I love drama discussions and sharing fun moments, the amount of hype that a drama builds up inevitably creates an expectation that more often than not, falls short.

One of the reasons I'm enjoying Love Beyond the Grave right now is because all the hype has died down. I'm not out here expecting a masterpiece. Trailers and marketing campaigns are meant to create hype - yay! But I enjoy when it's quiet, when there is less chatter in my ears (online chatter in my line of sight, I guess).

I included a little video because I love the drama's visuals and I wanted to a) make it because it's fun and inspired me, and b) show people that just because it didn't go down as another Love in the Clouds 入青云, Pursuit of Jade 逐玉, or Blossom 九重紫 doesn't mean it's not worth the watch.

Anyway, thanks for tuning in!

I'm not gonna proof read this, I'm sick and tired (literally) so if you see a little "edited" sign at the top of this post in a few hours - it's because I probably found and (hopefully) fixed the mistakes I know I inevitably would have made.

Edit: Music from Imagine Dragons: Shots, The Broiler Remix

Blossom 九重紫 (2024)

九 - Number: Nine

重 - Verb: repeat; duplicate || Adverb: again; once more || Measure Word: layer

紫 - Adjective: purple; violet; mauve

Released on the 6th of December 2024, Blossom is undoubtedly one the most beloved dramas of 2024 - coupled with The Double 墨雨云间, which released in June of the same year.

The drama has a Douban Rating of 7.8 with 299,587 reviews and an MDL score of 8.8 with 22,326 users having scored the drama.

The Story

I'm going to be so bold as to label this drama a "Rebirth Revenge Drama". (Oh and romance, plenty of romance)

Imagine this:

Right before dying in the arms of a beautiful snowy-haired stranger in a wartime snowy ashen landscape, you find your husband has been cheating on you and subsequently realise that your whole life has been filled with treachery and an undercurrent of deep seated hatred.

Now imagine this:

You wake up as a sweaty and out of breath pre-teen. Then you realise... it was all just a dream... or was it?

Important: these aren't spoilers it's all the first ten minutes of the first episode.

The Cast and Crew

The drama is directed by Zeng Qing Jie 曾庆杰, who was best known at the time for his short dramas like A Familiar Stranger 虚颜 (2022) but has since moved on to direct the blockbuster 2026 drama Pursuit of Jade 逐玉.

It stars Li Yun Rui 李昀锐 and Meng Zi Yi (Zoey Meng) 孟子义. Both of whom already had extensive acting careers before Blossom aired, however, Blossom is often credited as one of, if not the drama, that catapulted their careers to mainly "main role" status.

Ruminations

My thoughts on Blossom are very simple:

Good drama. Good, good drama.

The GIFs

As always, feel free to use the GIFs where and whenever you want. They were made to share 💕🐢