#chen duling is in this again

[shijiujun]

Gorgeous CGI in Monster Hunting!!!

— Love Game in Eastern Fantasy 永夜星河 (2024) | EP. 01

[mutantfactor]

Fangs of Fortune 𓆩𓆪 End Credit Shenanigans

[xinyuehui]

Thank you. ⸺

大梦归离 · Fangs of Fortune · 2024

[a-sea-with-no-shores]

[dangermousie]

The Glory (2025) - final verdict

For those who don't want to read the whole thing, short version: has its issues but overall would recommend.

Now, you may go "but Mousie, you ranted so much recently, really? What changed?" Two things - (1) I adjusted genre expectations and (2) after the nadir of eps 20-25, I found 26-end quite solid and much more to my liking (they moved on from random side characters and back to core relationships; it also helped enormously that FL again started caring for someone(s) who are alive - concubine, stepkid, husband etc.) The drama never returned to true obsession levels of first half for me but it finished well.

Anyway, moving on...

Visually, this drama remained GORGEOUS throughout. I can forgive a lot to a drama this beautifully shot; the look is even more impressive when you know it didn't have a large budget.

The acting was also solid - Chen Duling slowly but steadily went from "oh her ugh" to "oh her yay" for me with every drama and this is no exception. I don't think I'd want to be friends with Hanyan and I don't necessarily like her as a person, but she was wonderfully acted (in addition to being solidly written about which more below.) It was very much her show and the rest, ML included, were basically supporting characters and she carried it off.

The plot was...not great. This writer wanted to get from point A to point B without caring much about the route (Royal Consort's basically offscreen-plotted downfall that took five minutes total is a particular lowlight but the dad's apparently incredible powers - how is he not the prime minister with those skills - were also not great.) But not every drama can be Joy of Life or The Advisors Alliance and compared to something like e.g., Si Jin or Brocade other recent grrlpower dramas, the plot of this one was quite good.

The villain was a weakness because it's boring to have a true sociopath with no complexity or weakness or anything. I suspect the writer just saw him as a stand-in for the patriarchy all these women needed to defeat (the heavy-handed message of this drama was very) but still - a little complexity would help. I do think the men overall were an afterthought in this - the women were all well thought through and whether you liked them or not, logical results of their relationships and circumstances, the men (even the ML) not so much. They were all the equivalent of busty girls in a shounen anime. I do think this is a failure of writing - you can have one-gender focused stories that still make the other appear real people (Joy of Life female characters and Legend of Zhen Huan male characters all feel like real people) but it's honestly not a cardinal sin here since the focus WERE the women and they were written well so I didn't feel the lack most of the time (if only supportings are written meh, it's forgivable.) But the female characters were all intriguing and the story took many of them places I did not expect (the concubine and her daughter? OMG about both of them.)

I ended up buying the ship because they do fit together (and would one really inflict either of these violent schemers on a "normal" person?) but if you want a romance-centric drama, this is obviously not for you. Interestingly, while I ended up liking them and shipping them, I was not rabid the way I thought I'd be and the lack of focus is not really the reason - I was RABID about Kill My Sins protags as a couple and they never even said I Love You let alone kiss or anything. But that's probably because in addition to just preferring LSS x Shawn as actors (they are both huge faves of mine), that drama was a true dual protagonist story - they both were mains in their own lives and narratives which occasionally intersected and were allowed great and equal complexity and life outside the narrative which made me more invested. FYX was hot and psycho and angsty which I love in a fictional man, but he never felt truly fleshed out outside the narrative and interactions/meaning to Hanyan.

I loved loved loved how uncompromisingly bleak this world was and how the characters all stepped in the muck and stayed there (for once, people with trauma did not miraculously come across as saintly and chirpy) and how there were second chances for characters who'd normally not get them (the concubine and her daughter) and how both FL and ML (and concubine etc) did things that I morally disapproved of or that (more shockingly) censors should disapprove of yet it made sense in character and, totally unexpectedly, they were not punished with death by the narrative because people are complex and outcomes are complex and and and.

I also loved that Fu Yunxi was married before and banged his first wife and seems to have liked her. Thank you!!!! (Seeing some peeps on mdl/twitter trying to bend themselves into pretzels to preserve a period adult man's virginity for FL was...well.) I loved that he was a random war orphan, no secret noble identity. I loved that lesbian pirate got to live and hopefully will come back to FL someday. I loved that the happiness at the end was "for now" but sufficient.

Anyway, this is going on and on and on so I am gonna stop on saying I adored that this was a dark story that has been so sadly absent from recent sunshine cdramas and that it had real danger and stakes. It became a surprise hit and I really do think it shows there is hunger for these types of stories; hopefully producers will take note. And I love that the protags were allowed to do all that and yet get a happy ending. That is so so so rare and so so so appreciated.

[alipeeps]

Oh man, I am once again consoling/comforting myself with behind the scenes videos and this is a good one... and it raises a point that somehow slipped my conscious mind while watching the show..

Chen Duling says it in the video: "After her master died, Zhao Yuanzhou sent Wen Xiao to the Demon Hunting Bureau, where she met Zhuo Yichen."

And I think I never really processed before that that was the sequence of events. Of how she went from being in the Wilderness with Zhu Yan to being at the Demon Hunting Bureau.

It was Zhao Yuanzhou who sent her there, to give her a home and a family to grow up with, to be with the grieving boy who was also now without a family, thanks to his own actions.

The family she has, the close bond she has with Zhuo Yichen, the support and confidence she has, these were given to her (to them) by Zhao Yuanzhou. He sent her away because he knew he couldn't provide that for her.

This is pretty much exactly what Zhuo Yichen was talking about in his metaphor about the roses with Bai Jiu.. that there is a kind of love that is picking a rose and wearing it for all the see and admire... and another kind of love that is watering the rose bush so it can bloom and grow well, even if that means you don't get to keep it with you.

[barananduen-blog]

Favorite Looks from GQ Creative Gala 2024

🌺Gulnezer Bextiyar (Guli Nazha)🌺

This was truly a gala in fashion creativity. Click the cut to see more amazing outfits and photos!

Yang ZiShan

Liu Yu (INTO1)

Tong Yao

Gulnezer Bextiyar again

Chen DuLing

Zhang XinYu

Liu Yu again

Li YiTong

Zhong ChuXi

🌿 Want to see more #fashion posts? Click the hashtag! 🌿 I do one of these for c-ent red carpet events as long as I find several outfits that impress me.

[xiaoshengnu]

The Double (墨雨云间) final review

overview: episode no. -  40 episodes, genre - costume

originally the well beloved and highly accomplished wife of the year's top scholar, shen yurong, xue fangfei finds herself tipped into the darkest pits of terror and betrayal when her husband murders her in the depths of the night. barely clinging to life, she is saved by jiang li, the disgraced daughter of the high and mighty jiang family who had been exiled from the capital for years. but when jiang li suddenly dies at the hands of her abusers, xue fangfei vows for revenge for her and her saviour. taking on jiang li's identity, she returns to the capital to take back all that was owed to them both. yet she does not expect that a certain duke su, xiao heng, would be watching her every move.

l⃣e⃣ t⃣’ s⃣    b⃣e⃣g⃣i⃣n⃣

GUYS. UGH. THIS DRAMMAAAAA. the plot? stunning. the romance? beautiful. the scheming? so. good. the logic and scheming within this drama was well written and well thought out. and don't even get me started on the CHARACTERS. the main characters were fleshed out and exciting, with fully dimensional psyches and motivations which were carried through beautifully by the acting. I can't wait to start yapping honestly- buckle in guys, it's going to be a fun one.

o⃣u⃣t⃣     o⃣ f⃣     t⃣ e⃣ n⃣

𝖆𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖓𝖌 - 8/10

𝖕𝖑𝖔𝖙 - 7/10

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖗𝖆𝖈𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖘 - 9/10

𝖕𝖗𝖔𝖉𝖚𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓 - 7/10

𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕖 - 7.75/𝟙𝟘

o⃣u⃣t⃣    o⃣ f⃣    f⃣ i⃣v⃣ e⃣

𝖍𝖎𝖉𝖉𝖊𝖓 𝖌𝖊𝖒 𝖛𝖆𝖑𝖚𝖊 - 💎💎💎💎

[ at this point, everyone within cdramaland has heard of this drama. it's not much of a hidden gem anymore. however I do think this drama is special in that we haven't had a revenge arc period drama quite like this in agessss and I think the double really will be a trailblazer for this genre in the next year to come, especially with chen duling's the glory (贵女) coming out soon ] 

𝖗𝖊𝖜𝖆𝖙𝖈𝖍 𝖛𝖆𝖑𝖚𝖊 - ✨✨ ✨ 

[ very slayful. but it's not exactly a comfort series for me, and also not really so detailed enough as empresses in the palace to watch again so kind of eh ig. ]

‘keep reading’ for detailed review

𝖕𝖑𝖔𝖙 - 7/10

overall, the plot was well explained and well plotted, and the schemes were very logical and flawlessly executed and the way that information was revealed was simply delicious. the character developments were also very well paced and fitted well with the plot's progression. though I must admit I was little put off by how quickly and conveniently jiang li was just killed off in the first episode- like a little montage over a couple of episodes where xue fangfei and jiang li got to know each other over few days wouldn't have costed the drama many minutes.

like love o2o, some places were only well executed and well explained mainly because the script had written it to be that way. some questions that could have easily toppled the whole situation which could have easily been asked were also very conveniently not raised.

in a similar vein, jiang li's set up was also conveniently perfect for xue fangfei's progression in the plot, like her family's station in the country and her alignment with xiao heng's plans. it's a little too perfect. some challenge to this perfect alignment would have added further layers to the story which would have been very interesting. however I can see why the scriptwriters didn't choose to do that, further layers would have been more complex and with how much the drama already going on, it's a lot to handle for 40 episodes.

nevertheless, it was very good and very enjoyable. it got to the point and is the perfect definition of a 爽剧 and executed it exactly. also! the ending was simply amazing. I loved the message that life is what you make of it and while some situations are genuinely terrible, it's what you choose to make of it.

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖗𝖆𝖈𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖘 - 9/10

THE CHARACTERS. the CHARACTERS IN THIS SHOW. they stole the show and simply RAN. they were cooking, serving, eating - the whole schebang. they were all super well written, multi-faceted and I loved the message of taking agency and responsibility for your actions instead of bending to reality. this is a show worthy of it's hype.

I absolutely LOVED the main villains in this drama. they were so well written, so despicable but so understandable. shen yurong really stole the show; his psyche was so well written and his arc at the end was absolutely fantastic to watch. I loved the grand princess too, even though half the time I was too busy shivering in my boots to admire her, she served some serious cunt. her ending at the end was also such a fucking punch to the gut.

also guys. can we PLEASE talk about xiao heng? like. i rarely say this shit, but he can step on me and I would not mind.

𝖆𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖓𝖌 - 8/10

overall, the acting was pretty good! the casting for all the characters were very on point, wu jinyan just has that knack for acting characters with that kind of fire and she killed it for sure here. her chemistry with wang xingyue was also through the roof- like.

however I think at times the direction took away from the acting a little, like the crazy camera zooms and the melodramatic moments, but my biggest pet peeve is the direction of some more light-hearted sillier moments in the drama. like it was a little over the top. and also it didn't really fit in with the rest of the drama's vibe- which grated me a little bit.

𝖕𝖗𝖔𝖉𝖚𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓 - 7/10

kind of falling in line with the above, the production definitely leaned towards a more melodramatic kind of vibe with the big zooms and the close ups and the crazy schemes, which wasn't exactly my cup of tea? the music was also soooo loud. the colouring and lighting of the actual footage were pretty decent tho. but I did like the costumes and the styling. they were very beautiful and the cohesive from character to character. I also really liked the use of colour and the traditional patterns in the costumes which were maybe a little more true to history in comparison to the soft pastels and tulle of typical idol costume dramas. my favourite costume of the show was probably xue fangfei's green huaixiang set- that was so pretty- her makeup also looked so good.

.

𝖇𝖔𝖓𝖚𝖘!!

favourite characters

xiao heng (yeah yeah im a simp)

shen yurong ( he's SO FANTASTICALLY WRITTEN, who's with me)

.

���𝖍𝖊 𝖈𝖗𝖊𝖜 (source mydramalist)

lead actors : wu jinyan, wang xingyue, li meng

directors : lu haojiji, bai yunmo, ma shige

screenwriters : ren yanan

[lilianhuas]

Zeng ShunXi bids farewell (again) to Mysterious Lotus Casebook with fellow actors: Cheng Yi, Xiao Shunyao, Wang HeRun, Chen Duling, & Estelle Chen from the concert backstage.

[dreamingsushi]

Till the End of the Moon - Overall Review

Hey there! It’s me once again and for the last time on the drama Till the End of the Moon. What ride it was right? Now that it’s over, I don’t feel any emptiness, it was in its ways satisfying, so for those of you wondering wether it’s worth the hype and your time, hopefully this review is going to help you decide. However, these are my personal opinions, some people might disagree with it, so please still use your own judgement.

Plot

The story is about an immortal girl who travels back to the past to prevent the becoming of a demon god who would wreck havoc on the world and cause the death of her loved ones. Even though it’s nothing super original as it follows the trope enemies to lovers, there are a lot of very good elements in the writing of the scenario. First of all, everything that is introduced (places, artifacts, objects, people...) serves a purpose and appears multiple times in the story. This was something I really liked. Sometimes a drama will introduce a magical item, for example, they will use it like for 2-3 episodes or even less and then it never comes back. Here, each object that has been brought on had more than one purpose. They explained the origins behind them. It was a very strong point to this story.

Furthermore, it was mostly consistent with the characters. Their decisions were obviously questionable, way too often, especially as the viewer knowing everything there’s to be known to judge if it’s a bad or a good decision. Sometimes, it was extremely frustrating, but if I have to be honest, there are only two things I am still very unsatisfied with. One being Susu getting drunk a night she’s supposed to hunt a demon, which really didn’t make sense to me since she’s not the type to overlook her duty. The other one being Ye Qingyu and resenting Tantai Jin, because it was an useless addition in my opinion since they didn’t really mention anything about it until the end, and it could have been overlooked. It wasn’t necessary.

Overall, the plot gets a bit 8/10 for me. It was very well written, there no big plot holes and everything was mostly very consistent. It loses a little bit of points because it wasn’t necessarily orignal and sometimes the characters were a little too frustrating.

Acting

At first, I really couldn’t stand Luo Yunxi’s acting. His character starts off as emotionless and something was bugging me about it. It felt kind of way too forced. However, as the character started to learn how to love, what’s happiness and sadness, I saw a big improvement. During the last episodes, while he’s being thorn between what he feels and what he must act like, he got me through a huge range of emotions. He did a very good job overall.

I liked in general Bai Lu’s acting, even thought it felt simpler. But maybe that’s what I liked. She didn’t show as much growth though compared to Luo Yunxi’s character and there were moment when I felt the script kind of went in a weird way when it came to her actions and reasonings. But overall, I enjoyed the different nuances between her three characters. She managed to make me cry, but also to warm up my heart. She did a good job.

I can’t completely just ignore the other great actors just because they weren’t main leads. I want to point out Chen Duling’s performance throughout the drama. She was amazing. Her character was very complex ad when it was time to hate her, I did. When i was time to forgive her, I did. She really impressed me. Su Zhenni’s performance was also great, even though she didn’t get as much spotlight. She was flawless. On the other hand, Deng Wei’s acting didn’t leave a big impression on me. It was better when he was acting as Xiao Lin, but there was something that felt a little weak, I don’t really know how to explain it. Eddy Geng did an okay job, I think his acting just lacks a little maturity for now.

One thing I really found annoying was all the shouting. I don’t put that on the acting skills of the actors, but rather more onto the director Every time they launched a big power, were in pain, they’d just scream... But like.. I guess I would shout from the pain too if I was struck multiple times by lightning, but most of the time it just didn’t work for me, it looked foolish and didn’t convey any emotions.

The general note for acting stands at 8/10 for me.

Visuals

So let’s just talk about what I disliked first to get it out of the way... The CGI. Oh god. When I first watched the first episode, I had a headache from everything flying around in my screen. Too much is like not enough, even worse. I thought it was going to be internet troll like, low budget. It turned out that the first episode was the worst of all and the on including the most of that crap. I think they had the budget for going all in, but it went overboard. At some other instances, they stroke back with the overwhelming special effects, but it was only for a short limited moment. It’s just a shame because the first episode is so bad that it doesn’t entice to keep watching without being very generous.

Now let’s move on to my favourite part... the costumes! Oh dear me... They were gorgeous. I was so fascinated by Li Susu’s headpieces all the time. She changed so many times, to the point that sometimes I couldn’t explain how could she change her outfit to something so luxurious in the middle of nowhere, but I don’t care. The structures on some of Tantai Jin’s capes too were very impressive. But generally speaking, all the costumes were great. Even the grass cape grew on me. That was a very strong point visually for me.

The filming places were beautiful too. The only moments I liked it less was when it was all constructed by the computer. In the space like universe. But the dark side. Anything related to the realm of the gods was beautiful. I loved the decors.

This drama could have rated higher in terms of visuals, but the CGI is really that bad, so I have no other choice but to give it a 7/10. The costumes really do bring up the ratings.

Soundtrack

I’m in love with the soundtrack. I keep humming it. At no point was it ill chosen, it always enhanced any scenes it was paired with. I don’t have much to say, just listen to the OST even if you opt out of watching the drama. It’s worth a solid 9/10 for me.

Should you watch it?

If you like a drama with no plot holes, go for it. Nothing is left behind. The acting is good overall. There are beautiful costumes. It was an interesting story. Even though it wasn’t the most original, it often left me wondering what was going to happen next. So I think it’s worth trying to overcome the big cringe of episode 1.

However, if you are not into romantic dramas, I would not recommend it to you as most of the story is focusing on the love between the two main characters. I wouldn’t say it’s what we should call a healthy relationship (as in many dramas...) so keep that into mind too when debating.

This overall gets a fat 8/10 for me. I enjoyed the ride and was happy with the ending, so going through the 40 episodes wasn’t a waste of time. Not on my rewatch list, but definitely on my no regrets, I recommend list.

List of full recaps

All / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 18 / 19 / 20 / 21 / 22 / 23 / 24 / 25 / 26 / 27 / 28 / 29 / 30 / 31 / 32 / 33 / 34 / 35 / 36 / 37 / 38 / 39 / 40

[bean-in-dice]

Journey to Love Thoughts

Ep 1

1. That's some pretty nice camera work. Knows exactly where to put emphasis on and stylistically so but not overdo it and rely overly on slo mo (ahem like in MJTY. This is NOT a hate on MJTY btw, don't come after me lol). The lighting and coloring isn't exactly complimentary to the level of camera work (I liked the cinematography in League of Nobleman) in my opinion but it's quite good comparer to most costumes dramas.

2. Ooh Dou Cheng from The Lost Tomb! Hii

3. Music is already very beautiful. Just first 10 mins and there's a track inspired by actual historical Chinese tunes?? Wow I hope they release the full version soon.

4. 1. Wow I really like the Spy girl group. This is exactly what I wanted MJTY Spies to be. It's such a pity to have a badass female assassin to go all "Oh no I don't really mean to be bad, I have this tragic backstory and I'm trapped here, romance will save me!" Like girl sure, you can be a good person but you still need to have a convincing performance if you want to function in your ranks and also your character needs to show the results of your cutthroat upbringing. The only thing worse than that is when fans excuse this as "but that's because censorship and there cannot be any openly ruthless main leads" and I'm like ????? No? That's just wimpy writing?

4. 2. The setup and characters are convincing. They aren't pretentiously mysterious but with 50% amount SLAY and 50% rational. The costumes, world building... all sound legit even if this is not a real historical drama. Way too many period dramas use "but it's imaginary!" excuse to write absolutely over the top and ridiculous universes (This was the problem I felt about Kunning Palace from as early on as first 15 mins, and from what I hear it got worse?)

5. Chen Duling hi again girl you are going to occupy a place in "Most Watched Actresses of The Year" category in my Mydramalist 2023 wrapped for sure😂

Also your neck looks hella weighed down by that updo, you are holding it so stiff.

And hiii cat boy from Reset!

6. The info dumping is not done in an in-your-face way, nor are information deliberately hidden. The story gives you hints and maximizes visual storytelling and spell things out *just* enough. That's very respectful to the audience's intelligence.

Liudao Hall- Detective Organization

-Three Virtue Paths (Calvaries)-

Heaven path: In charge of Royal security

Human path: Monitors the officials

Asura path: Works on prostitution (uhh I think what they mean is like not observing from the "outside" like the prev two but the detectives in disguise placed among the entertainers?) Very cool that they are not prudes and this path is among the Virtue paths😌

-Three Evil Paths (Scouts)-

Hungry Ghost Path: Trap masters

Animal Path: Spies (Uh what, Isn't that more or less the same as Virtue path?)

Hell Path: Assassins Intellect gathering from Prisons aka good stuff like torture

(I still have SO many questions but thanks for the exposition fairy)

7. The pacing is very good and even. There was never a boring moment, I haven't seen something NOT in 2x for so long.

[deng-yi-deng]

Some random screencaps from today's LoL regional finals celebrity exhibition match. He and Doinb (top pic) won their 2v2 against Chen Duling and another past champion, then won again in a tight 5v5 against Wang Junkai's team. (WJK is LoL spokesperson and a very good player too.)

Most fun fact I learned today: Xixi's screen name is i人狂把火锅炫 = Crazy introvert shows off his hotpot 😂

[k-odyssey]

2024 Tumblr Top 10

1. 177 notes - Dec 20 2024

2. 154 notes - Dec 27 2024

3. 138 notes - Dec 17 2024

4. 128 notes - Dec 24 2024

5. 128 notes - Dec 22 2024

6. 101 notes - Dec 22 2024

7. 98 notes - Feb 22 2024

8. 96 notes - Dec 17 2024

9. 95 notes - Dec 28 2024

10. 95 notes - Feb 18 2024

Created by TumblrTop10

It’s almost like I woke up in december and decided to gif again.

Just wanna say it’s been fun making these again, especially for Fangs of Fortune cuz 1. I’m genuinely in love with this drama and 2. people react to them which is fun and encouraging!

Also I still have no idea which sets will perform better than others. And popularity has nothing to do with how much work/time I put into them 😂😂😂 #2 on the list is a big surprise tbh. I underestimated the power of a Chen Duling x Cheng Xiao kiss.

[morweneledhwen]

Saw this yesterday and it made me flail.

I actually don't mind Ju Jingyi's involvement, I found her pretty alright in Sword and Fairy 4 and In Blossom. Also, as we know by now, GJM knows how to make these people act, so I'm confident she won't disappoint us.

I'm more excited by the fact that Xia Zhiguang has caught GJM's eye now as well, because if he has been in one of his dramas, then there's a good chance he will be so again in the future, hopefully in a bigger role. I just love him so much, he's such an incredible actor for his age. ❤

PS: DramaWiki says it's confirmed and also has a bit more information on this drama, like the character's names (looks like Zeng Shunxi and Chen Duling will play siblings here).

oh my g o d (don't know if it's confirmed yet)

lets see if gjm can pull off another fof (it is basically a fof reunion)

im SO curious to see if he can make ju jingyi emote