I personally liked Lost You Forever- all except the ending for Xiang Liu but I just could not understand why >!Xiao Yao chose Tushan Jing.!<

Deng Wei is flipping stunning but honestly, the show only actually gave him character in the very beginning as Ye Shiqi >!(up until he abandoned her)!< and then completely underutilised the character. You never really get to see much chemistry between him and Yang Zi, and frankly I just saw so much more plot, chemistry and character development in Xiang Liu and Xiao Yao’s relationship, that it felt like their story where in the end, >!she married the third wheel.!< The book explained her choices and developed Tushan Jing as a character but in the drama, this guy felt like a prop… with a unidimensional character who had one role and that was to be Xiao Yao’s unwavering support?

Just can’t reconcile with this plot development.

I just finished Overdo. Cried.
That’s all.

That’s a lie, it’s not all, I need to vent omg.

I’m not spoiling anything here but WHY DID THEY DO THAT?

It was so so so lovely, sweet, heartbreaking, literally miserable and so romantic. All in all, I personally really enjoyed it, it delivered on what it was supposed to deliver on- which is copious amounts of very gripping drama with some very very beautiful people, interesting character writing and great music.

I absolutely love a strong FL (bonus if she wields weapons) and I’m a massive sucker for pining and I mean literally pining MLs. Ren ‘V for Vendetta’ Susu was so “touch him and you die”, ” “who did this to you” coded, I was watching my favourite trope unfold from the very edge of my seat. I like that she’s so purpose-driven and ever a vigilante, her character drove the show. Murong Qingyi is such a sweet enabler with his “I know you must have had your reasons,” “I can be your blade” vibes- 10/10 what I want out of MLs.

I liked that even if you hate some characters here and there, it’s hard to hate them towards the end.

When I read the original work, I was so confused about how they’d play it out in the drama and I must say, I’m so happy with how it turned out. Some characters like the Zhang’s come off rather unidimensional, but a very dramatic, very fun plot, lots of nice tropes overall.

Shoutout to Ye Zhihong who embodied “head first fearless” and was one of my most beloved characters on this show. She could’ve done better than the guy she picked tbh but I paused on each of her scenes. Hai Tangqing was a genuine legend- defiant, principled, loyal and intelligent, what a well-written character and what a great actress. Fang Youshen and Li Rongzhang also absolutely impressed me, didn’t expect to like them as much as I did.

>!Word of advice for happy ever after lovers- please end the show at Ep 33’s beginning!<

Not as happy with the AI in the intro/ some transitions, and I recognise that some camera angles were whack. Despite those, a good show, well acted.

I thought I’ll put this off till it finishes airing and then start it (or not watch bcs AI intros, transitions) but the sets and scenes looked so good that I caved to my curiosity.

It is so addictive!!!

There’s always something happening, I love that the characters are so interesting. I love their dynamic, I flipping love Ren Susu (and not just because Wang Churan is one of my favourite actresses), and as always, Zhang Linghe is proper eye candy and I personally like it more than the book because the characters are less toxic and the drama is easier to follow. It’s not the kind of drama you overanalyse, it’s a drama with so much drama that it’s unputdownable. I started and said “ah I’ll watch two episodes today and hopefully get to the rest later.” Lies. Between yesternight and today afternoon, I am on episode 19, impatiently waiting for 20.

20 more hours to the next one, what do I do with this gnawing curiosity now?

I’m looking for currently airing/ recently released dramas preferably historical/ xianxia/ wuxia or very rarely modern dramas like Only for Love, First Frost, Love Between Lines and Speed and Love.

Looking for romance with a good plot! I like good world-building, strong female leads, intricate relationships between characters and good character-development arcs for all/most of the people in the story (not just MCs).

Some dramas I absolutely loved were the Story of Kunning Palace, The Long Ballad, The Legend of Anle, Love Like the Galaxy, the Double, Till the End of the Moon, Who Rules the World, Moonlight Mystique, Generation to Generation and the Legend of the Female General.

Anyone seen anything awesome lately?
Also happy to get book recs for the same genres!

Here’s a few ships that I think would perfectly suit a Wuxia enemies to lovers between a sunshiny martial arts hero and a morally grey antihero/ villain character. I also just love me some “touch him/her and you die” plots…

If it were up to me, I’d cast:

1. Dylan wang for the unhinged villain and Lu Yuxiao for the “chosen one” hero— I think their dynamic would be so compelling.
2. Bai lu for the anti-hero (thinking Li Peiyi from Unveil: Jadewind if she was morally gray), and Zhang Linghe as the sunshiny hero
3. Li Yunrui and Meng Ziyi… but I want Meng Ziyi with her sharp bows, dark makeup, and smirks as the villain-esque character and Li Yunrui as the somber/ righteous hero
4. Zhang

Ruonan

1. as the righteous Jianghu hero who helps everyone in her path and Cheng Lei as a tempting tortured poets sorta antihero.

Would love more ideas on casting…. Someone make these pls!

Something I liked was Generation to Generation… the dynamics there in all the main and side-characters were top-tier! The “chosen-one” hero, who then gets ostracised and the constantly loyal anti-hero were definitely something to behold.

Cheng Lei and Lu Yuxiao in My Journey to You were also a similar vibe to what I just described … especially towards the end of it when >! LYX wants to leave, and CL puts his morality and his duty aside to just plead and then gives her a chance to leave !<

What dramas have y’all watched with plots like this?

Chen Xiangmei, also known as Anna Chenault, shows up in a lot of different places in US-China relations. Part of informal diplomacy in ending the Vietnam War, cross-strait normalisation between the KMT and the mainland, and even in facilitating Nixon to win the presidency and then in his visit to China. Reagan sent her as his goodwill ambassador/special envoy to China in 1980 and 81, and Deng Xiaoping personally met her in Beijing. At the welcome banquet, Deng offered her the first VIP position over the US Senator who was also visiting apparently quoting, “there are more than 100 senators in the United States, but only one Chen Xiangmei in the world.”

She was one of the 70 most influential people in the US in 1972, aided 8 US presidents, and was awarded for the anti-Japanese War by Xi Jinping himself.

For someone who has somehow been everywhere and met almost every important person on both sides of US-China relations for almost a whole century, Chen Xiangmei is fairly shrouded in mystique.

What did she do to facilitate all these diplomatic relations? Where can I find out more about her?
Does anyone have more sources on her and her life?

Here’s some sources that may be relevant:

1. https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/12/30/anna-chennault-obituary-vietnam-back-channel-nixon-1968-223299/
2. https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/anna-chennault-affair-south-vietnamese-side-wars-greatest-conspiracy-theory
3. https://www.fredericknewspost.com/public/anna-chennault-formidable-washington-hostess-and-secret-emissary-dies-at-94/article\_bbc98344-8ca4-5dd4-9ece-6df403a27337.html
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna\_Chennault
5. https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201804/04/WS5ac4e558a3105cdcf6516567.html

Here's some I will be dropping everything to watch, in no particular order:

1. Overdo (Zhang Linghe, Wang Churan)

2. Mo Li (Bai Lu, Cheng Lei)

3. Eternal Fragrance (Ju Jingyi, Song Weilong)

4. Chasing dreams (Zhang Jingyi, Chen Zheyuan)

5. Spring of the Blade (Xu Kai, Zhou Ye)

6. Love Has Fireworks (Tan Jianc, Wang Churan)

7. When I Meet the Moon (Lu Yuxiao, Lin Yi)

8. Love in Red Dust (Wang Xingyue, Xu Ruohan)

9. Key to the Phoenix Heart (Hou Minghao, Ai Mi)

10. The Melody of Love (Li Yi Tong, Chen Xinhai)

11. Hidden Shadow (Wang Churan, Li Hongyi)

12. The Road to Splendour (Ding Yuxi, Ancy Deng)

13. Live Long and Prosper (Dylan Wang, Li Qin)

14. Yun Chu's Vengeance (Esther Yu, Zhang Yunlong)

15. Ashes to Crown (Zhou Yiran, Chen Duling)

Can someone please recommend dramas like the Story of Kunning Palace? Have the hugest drama hangover, nobody except Pei Wenxuan from the Princess Royal and maybe Duke Su from the Double came close.