itzshichi

[itzshichi]

200727 BTS_twt’s Tweet

방탄 아미 파이팅

Bangtan ARMY fighting*

(T/N* Let’s do well, let’s be strong)

Trans cr: Amy @ bts-twts © Please credit when taking out

[itzshichi]

I'll watch this on vacation ‼️

A Summary: The Spirealm | 致命游戏 (Kaleidoscope of Death 死亡万花筒 Live Action) & Why You Should (Eventually) Watch It

Talk about the most short-lived drama release ever, not even totalling two hours if I recall. Creating this summary as I've seen a handful of confused friends, so here it goes!

It's going to be a long review because I sped through all 78 episodes and only properly watched the first two doors, but I got you. You'll get both the brief book rundown and the drama parts!

If you just wanna see the bromance (LOVE) parts please skip to section 4!!!!

1. Overview

Title: The Spirealm (kinda awful I'm sorry it's a mouthful) or 致命游戏 which means fatal game

Adapted From: Danmei (BL) Kaleidoscope of Death by Xi Zixu

Novel Prints: There are GORGEOUS Thai, Vietnamese, Simplified and Traditional Chinese versions printed, AND Singapore publisher Rosmei has signed the license for the ENGLISH version, probably going on sale this year (preview is here). You can still access fan translations by Taida on I think wordpress and someone else on Tumblr sorry bad memory (they did half and half each) if you'd like to read it for context. It is one of my FAVE danmeis EVER and I am a die-hard OG book fan, check out my full danmei review here.

Total Episodes: 78 (20 minutes each with the exception of last episode which 10 minutes, with several BTS not that I think we will get to see all of them yet)

Where to Watch (LOL): Erm considering that iQIYI China AND International took the episodes down, there is no legal way to watch this, BUT thanks to some cnetz with super fast and great wifi, we managed to get ripped HD versions without subs. iQIYI is very hard on copyright though, they've taken down several subbed and unsubbed versions already on YouTube, but you should type the titles of show into Twitter and the top tags will tell you where to access the raws and very little subbed episodes, that may also be taken down at any point. I have the Chinese raws but as it's hosted on a cloud, I had to pay to access it.

Main Characters: Lin Qiushi & Ruan Nanzhu/Ruan Baijie (in the novel) and Ling Jiushi & Ruan Nanzhu/Ruan Baijie (in the drama)

Produced By: iQIYI so for SURE they won't film it fully BL even if the original is, but I've seen enough bromance cuts

Main Actors: Xia Zhiguang (Ruan Nanzhu/Ruan Baijie) + Huang Junjie (Ling Jiushi)

2. Summary

Book (drama follows closely if not removing the supernatural premises): Lin Qiushi, a designer, opens the door to his home one day from inside and sees 12 iron doors outside. Confused, he opens one of them and arrives at a snow covered village in the mid of winter, and meets Ruan Baijie, who's a pretty, unusually tall and whiny/timid woman. They realise that they're in a horrifying door game, and they'll have to find a door and a key to get out, while battling a long-haired, human-eating deity. They, along with a few others, have to survive day after day until they get out, and on the first night, two people have died in gory ways. Ruan Baijie and Lin Qiushi partner each other, and despite seemingly timid and crying all the time, she saves Lin Qiushi a few times mysteriously, and Lin Qiushi finds himself trusting in Ruan Baijie.

They get through the door together and when they leave successfully, Lin Qiushi realizes that the people who died in the door will die in real life by some freak accident too - car accidents, forced suicides, a robbery gone wrong, a lift trapped in the air and going ablaze, and more. That night, Lin Qiushi wakes up to see a super handsome and tall Ruan Nanzhu at his bedside and this man feels familiar to him, but he can't put a finger on it. All he can think of when Ruan Nanzhu says his name is Ruan Baijie (ahem he would later find out who it is of course). Ruan Nanzhu takes him to his mansion in the suburbs where he meets a group of other people just like them, who're forced to go through the doors for survival. Ruan Nanzhu then invites him to join Obsidian, his organization.

Through various doors, Lin Qiushi grows and supports a super intelligent and powerful Ruan Nanzhu, falls in love with him, gets through many many scary doors with him and some of their other team members, makes friends, loses them to the cruelty of the doors as they ponder over what the door means, and what being alive/dying means.

And at the end of it, at the end of of it all, when they're all good and living their life, Lin Qiushi also finds out what Ruan Nanzhu's secret is, and the lengths to which Ruan Nanzhu went to, just to be with him.

Drama: Ling Jiushi is a VR game designer who gets pulled into a game, and he meets Ruan Baijie (in his male form) right off the bat (SO NOT CROSSDRESSING I AM SAD). All the parts are actually the same as the novel, albeit with the game setting and Ling Jiushi and Ruan Nanzhu's identity adjustments to suit the game premise. Most of the other doors and their lines are the same, just that the ending is a bit more confusing than it could be. There's a big bad as well and they actually show the opposing organizations when in the novel, these other organizations aside from Obsidian didn't even actually have a face or goal to them.

3. Characters

^ Them in the book (based on manhua that never got to go live LOL) (RNZ/RBJ left, LQS right)

^ Them in the show (LJS left, RNZ right)

Ruan Nanzhu/Ruan Baijie: MY HANDSOME CROSSDRESSING INTELLIGENT ALOOF BUT WHINY (WHEN IT COMES TO LIN QIUSHI) SASSY BOSS!!!! He's super mysterious and super thick-skinned too, and all he wants is Lin Qiushi's attention the moment he meets him. He's intrigued by Lin Qiushi's calm and his brains and the way he handles things, and has a lot of trust for him right from the get-go. This is also shown in the drama itself. As the leader of Obsidian, he cares a lot for his team members and his friends even if he doesn't show it most of the time, and the last thing he wants to do is lose Lin Qiushi, and he would do ANYTHING for Lin Qiushi, ANYTHING!!! Just look at him whining:

Ling Jiushi (Lin Qiushi): In the novel he's super calm, has quite a lot of brains, a little bit of a blur in the beginning but he's super smart as well. Worries a lot for Ruan Nanzhu and is also a loyal friend to some of his only friends, and feels a lot when he loses them. Falls gradually in love with Ruan Nanzhu in the novel, like they just belong together. In this drama, Ling Jiushi holds that same trust for Ruan Nanzhu, but in demeanour he seems a bit more like a klutz and and not as cool as he was in the novel, but I guess it's acceptable. Literally like the only thing he loves more than RNZ (maybe) is his cat Chestnut LOL and RNZ is NOT really happy about that but Chestnut LOVES RNZ

Yixie and Qianli: CUTEST TWINS ;-; WHO TREAT RNZ and LQS as their big brothers LOOK AT THEM BOWING AND RNZ/LJS like parents LMAO

A handful of other characters who will keep turning up and get your hearts ;-;

4. ALL FAVE BROMANCE MOMENTS + TROPES

THEY TOUCH EACH OTHER A LOT LIKE HOLDING HANDS AND TOUCHING FACES, PIGGY BACKING?!?! DID I MENTION FACE TOUCHING

WHUMP WHUMP WHUMP WHUMP THEY HELP EACH OTHER WHEN HURT OR GET HURT FOR EACH OTHER

AND WHEN THEY WAKE UP IN BED THE OTHER IS AT THEIR BEDSIDE

AND DID I MENTION HE FEEDS HIM IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE

AND THAT THEY DATED UNDER THE FIREWORKS LIKE THE NOVEL DOES NOT EVEN HAVE THIS SHIT

AND THE KABEDONS

AND FINALLY RUAN NANZHU RIZZ OMG

5. Settings

They REALLY OUTDID THEMSELVES. THIS JUST FROM DOORS 1-6:

THEY LOOK EXACTLY LIKE THE NOVEL DESCRIBED!!!!

6. Overall Thoughts

PROS: This was NOT a cheap production, I'm telling you, they followed the cases very well and there're a lot of super recognisable lines, if not ALL of them, even if they changed the cases a little. I think they did it because in the novel originally, the author DOES leave a lot of details hanging like someone dies and you know he had a background and there are some shady things happening but the author NEVER actually goes into detail. So the drama did their best to cover these loopholes, even if it felt a little awkward at times. Money went into settings and attires and every damn thing, this looks EXPENSIVE. And if you've ever imagined each door and the bosses inside in your head, you might have felt chills go down your spine because damn did they really colour the book's settings for me (despite its differences). DID I MENTION that Xia Zhiguang really got the damn memo and he was a passable Ruan Nanzhu/Ruan Baijie who knew how to turn on his BL eyes. PLUS they really did some of the character deaths really well - they're technically some of the biggest parts of this story so ;-; (not two main of course)

CONS (maybe): They did away with the supernatural/horror premise and replaced it with a GAME premise, which means that there's a scientific element to it and the try to explain away stuff with the game, including the ending. I don't 100% get the ending, but the feel/vibe is about the same. Might not be for hardcore reader fans tho! They skipped out on a couple of doors, some of which were my faves, but it's fine, it's long enough LOL. They give away/explain some of the clues and surprises super early which means you don't get that added boom at the back as well. Despite that, I have to say they tried to round up the loopholes from the book as much as they could and give it an explanation while tying elements/conspiracies across doors (probably also to save cast fees LOL). And as always it's not a solid ending, it's an open confusing one, and even more confusing than the book itself because THERE IS NO CERTAIN HAPPILY EVER AFTER WITH HUBBY for it (there is in the book tho, they live together happily every after). Secondl,y, I'd say HJJ's acting is a bit stiff and OOC compared to the novel, but Xia Zhiguang really made up for it.

-------

HOPE THIS HELPS YOU GUYS!!! But I guess if you need subs it's going to be a long LONGGGG ride, considering that iQIYI doesn't seem to be going to be able to put it up anytime soon CRIES.

[itzshichi]

I will dispel your father's curse. You haven't realized who you are yet.

SHISON JUN as Kai Asakura Fermat's Cuisine (2023)

[itzshichi]

Another sneak from SHIMO Magazine ✨

[itzshichi]

I get that some people are confused by the ending of ep 12, so let me explain (novel spoilers ahead) -

The show heavily revolves around the theme of reincarnation and love that overcomes the test of time. So, we have 3 versions of Yai. One in 1920s, Khun Yai. One in 1700s (Seehasingkorn era), Commander Yai and then we have one in the present time, Yai Kanthorn.

The one we see in the post credit scene (and have been seeing glimpses of in ep 1 underwater as well as in ep 12) is Commander Yai, who was a celebrated warrior of the royal army.

So, after Jom disappears from Khun Yai's timeline, he is transported back to 1700s where he meets Commander Yai. If (and please God, please) they come up with a season 2, it would follow their story. It was because of him and his pledge of everlasting love for Jom that Khun Yai felt that he had been waiting for Jom for a long time.

The one we see at the Palathip house is Yai Kanthorn. He is the son of the granddaughter of Khun Lek (Khun Yai's younger brother). He is the only version of Yai who has memories of his past lives.

When Jom comes back to his timeline, he meets Yai Kanthorn, who had asked specifically for Jom to renovate their old house in Chiang Mai, hoping for Jom to remember their love. When Yai sees Jom waiting for him at the house, he asks, "Did you wait for long?"

To which Jom replies, "Not as long as you've been waiting for me".

[itzshichi]

His lil pouty lips 🥹😍😍

231113 - jungkook on tiktok

[itzshichi]

I AM NOT BREATHING HELP

??????? OH MY GOSH

[itzshichi]

don't ask if I'm alive 😌

230913 - jungkook on weverse: photogenic

[itzshichi]

happy anniversary 🎉🎉

Kongpob + Arthit eating together over the years. 

SOTUS & SOTUS S.

[itzshichi]

agree 💯💯💯💯

Remember that this is not the proof that they love each other

That was a last-ditch attempt from Crowley to get Aziraphale to stay

This is the proof that they love each other

Their love wasn't just made real because they kissed

It always existed

[itzshichi]

aww sweet... THEN THEY BREAK MY HEART 🥹

Crowley's expressions of love in season 2

Bonus:

[itzshichi]

*dies from kilig*

Aziraphale's favorite color is yellow

[itzshichi]

where can I find my own crowley 🥹

I love the fact that when we first saw the sneak peek of this scene, we almost all jumped on the jealousy bandwagon.

I mean, one of the incorrect quotes I made that day became the most popular of all the ones I posted.

Of course, in retrospect, I see Crowley's expression as one of surprise, even amused surprise, as in, "Angel, you've been keeping things from me?" echoing Nina's phrase, "You're a dark horse, Mr. Fell."

First, he probably noticed right away that Aziraphale was uncomfortable, and second, unlike Nina, he knows him well enough to know that the situation is probably not what it seems.

What I also like about this scene is that Aziraphale takes the time to introduce Crowley. And to a stranger, the way he does it leaves no doubt that their relationship is special, both in what he says and in his whole demeanor (the tone of his voice, his immediately more relaxed expression, the way he looks at Crowley).

And I love Crowley's proud little smile when he addresses Nina. 

And I'm probably extrapolating, but the way I feel with Crowley's smile is, "See, the naked guy friend doesn't have a name, but I do. I'm the most important person in his life."

We know why Aziraphale didn't dwell on the naked man friend's identity, but Crowley didn't.

I like the fact that since Crowley has sensed that something is wrong and pieced together the few elements he has, he moves closer to Aziraphale as if to create a more intimate or safe space for Aziraphale to express himself.

And even more, there's the way he asks his questions, the tone of his voice, there's no accusation. It gives such a feeling of protectiveness.

Once again, I'm sleep-deprived, so I'll leave you with my nocturnal ramblings...

[itzshichi]

no, please stop 😭😭😭

crowley, come back to heaven... as an angel

[itzshichi]

show you what devotion is, deeper than the ocean is

[itzshichi]

seven people no matter what

[itzshichi]

finally 😍

NSMG finally released the full The Untamed concert three years later LOL