#and qiushi was like !!!!!!!!

[shijiujun]

When your boyfriend is trying damn hard to flirt with you but you're like we literally just met two days ago and you're already sweet-talking me and gave me a ring—

The Spirealm 致命游戏 (2024) | Danmei Kaleidoscope of Death Live Action

[zishuge]

The Spirealm 致命游戏 (2024) | Ep. 4

[luxhesperus]

oh.

oh.

i just realized that the live action's ending is an inverse of the novel's.

where in the novel, when qiushi goes back to reality, the dead stayed dead but he did not lose nanzhu.

with the LA, everyone is alive but jiushi lost lanzhu.

[moonlightfilly]

i've been totally consumed reading Kaleidoscope of Death it's too much fun i love gay horror

[web-novel-polls]

Writing propaganda is so difficult for me bc, like, how do I even begin to show it better than lines like “You are the breath-taking view of mountains and lakes in the remaining years of my life, the rising clouds tinged in sunset colours. Now and forever, I will keep on loving you a little more” (4 o’clock flower) or “He loved him so much, missed him so much, he missed him in the barracks, he missed him in battle. In the depths of his shattered memories, he loved him, thought of him, missed him.” (Yuwu) or “If it’s with you, if I can be together with you… I am fearless.” (Where is Our Agreement to Be Arch-Rivals?) or “Only after having met you did I discover that its such a simple thing to be happy” (TGCF) or “In this life, you will be the only one in my heart. In the next life, and the life after that, I will forever remember you, so long as my soul hasn’t scattered.” (Qi Ye) or “To place my life in your hands, even if my end is death, it is something I’ll never regret” (Peerless) or “You are just like my reverse scale. You live, I live. You are my life. Therefore, no matter how difficult things are in the future, or how arduous life becomes, I want you to live” (Nan Chan) or “As long as this ending can be changed, I am willing to die for him a thousand times” (Mist) or “I fantasize about seeing my reflection in your eyes on day, just one look, I’ll be willing to do anything that is asked of me, even pulverizing my body and shattering my bones no matter how many times…” (LHJC) or “Whatever he wants, I’ll give it to him. If he wants my life, I’ll stake my life for him… there’s no betrayal to be had.” (Liu Yao) or “I will always be with you. Life or death, I will bring you home” (2ha) or “This love has always been doomed. Yet, knowing that it’s perpetual doom, that it’s infinite destruction, the moths still throw themselves into the fire until they meet their very deaths” (Cold Sands) or “I hope that you will hate me all your life” (Golden Stage) or “Won’t you turn back and look at me? If you turn back and look at me just one time, even if you were to ask me to climb up to the roof and jump off, I’ll do it.” (GuoMen) or “Whereas Ruan Nanzhu sat at his side, gazing at Lin Qiushi with admiration in his eyes, his whole look a litany of I love you I love you I love you” (Kaleidoscope of Death), or…

[naughtynanzhu]

I think nanzhu should've hired me as his horny and romantic translator. I stand behind him and when qiushi does some stupid shit like pulling out his card to swipe for a favor or ignoring nanzhu making some innuendo about eggs, I can be like "HE WANTS YOUR COCK IN HIS MOUTH YOU STUPID TWINK." we could've cut out like 40 chapters of the book.

[nanqius]

rnz：那如果是你，你会选择真是却恐怖的世界，还是虚拟而又安全的世界？ then if it were you, would you choose a real, but terrifying world, or a false world that had safety?

lqs：你们在哪个世界，我就在哪个世界 whichever world you all are in, that's exactly the one i would choose

two minutes into this episode and it's making me want to gnaw on glass. there's just. so much going on here. ruan nanzhu asking a deep philosophical question and lin qiushi breezing past it. "i'd choose the doors even despite the horrors because you would be there" (yes it's the plural but like. he is clearly including, or even mainly talking about, ruan nanzhu, and this is both a matter of censorship and the fact that you wouldn't fucking say something that directly aloud). the smile. the smile!!!!!! the smile!!!!!!

[guzhufuren]

really funny to me how Ruan Nanzhu always wears cunty outfits that really look good in every door's setting, like his white hanfu in winter door, long black coat and high collar shirt in this old mansion.. and then there is Lin Qiushi accompanying him through magical worlds in plaid shirts or soft sportswear looking like just some guy. serving modern programmer realness🧍‍♂️

[sleepsonclouds]

Clouds tropespots: The Spirealm, E06

Episode 6 (Birthday party, 2nd door)

People are… actually reading these? I'm pleasantly surprised! This is the last complete episode in the 3rd door. The egg drama continues, romantically.

Sleight of hand: Lin Qiushi unknowingly breaks his egg, which is a death condition. Nanzhu sneakily switches their eggs, hoping he'll be the target instead. So very… touching.

Propriety in the face of death: Tan Zaozao is scared and wants to share the room. Qiushi offers to sleep on the floor, but Nanzhu immediately, absolutely forbids this. Zaozao should sleep on the floor - because it's still improper for men and women to sleep in the same room! It's not at all because he wants to sleep with Qiushi.

There is only one bed (variant): It is also fine to share the bed if you're both on top of the covers and wearing clothes. Even if you're sort of gravitating towards each other. Distance between elbows: 2 cm.

Holding hands: Totally proper in the face of danger! It evolves in a beautiful sequence from a shoulder grab to mutual wrist-grabbing to what I think is off-screen hand-holding. If you don't obsessively pause the video, it looks like hand-holding, that's for sure. There's also comforting shoulder-touching to complement this. Nanzhu just can't let go.

Lying to protect partner (egg edition): Qiushi realises someone's triggered the death condition. But his egg is fine… "Whose egg is broken?!" Nanzhu, the lying liar, claims it's his.

Worrying about reckless partner: So that's why Nanzhu didn't sleep (Qiushi noticed): he thought he'd be murdered. Qiushi, understandably, would have liked to know. Nanzhu: "It was meaningless to tell you that." Oh dear. Worrying intensifies.

Someone cares about me???: Nanzhu (enjoying this): "You care that much about my life?" Luckily, frustration triggers Qiushi's logical thinking.

Shoulder-touching (lingering): Qiushi has started doing it, too. Carry on.

Plot item of innuendo, cont.: Qiushi: "Protecting our eggs is the most important thing." Didn't you tell Nanzhu off for saying about the same..?

Lying to protect partner - caught!: Qiushi realises someone's trying to kill him. And he pays A Lot of attention to eggs - this isn't his egg, his had a tiny black spot!

Worrying about partner: Nanzhu actually admits to being nervous when his attempt to switch eggs and targets fails. This is Nanzhu we're talking about.

Romantic egg exchange (I can't even): Qiushi wants to switch eggs back (though it doesn't even matter). But we get a beautiful scene where they exhange eggs in a very romantic fashion, crossing wrists and all! The camera makes sure to capture that.

Breaking eggs for your beloved: AND THEN Nanzhu, the perfect, beloved drama sprite that he is, drops his egg on purpose. "It slipped." Yes, I'm sure that's what he said. Now they're… egg-mates. Egg equals. About to be murder-killed anyway! (Nanzhu's puppy dog eyes may kill me first.)

No one has ever cared for me like this: Qiushi STILL can't fathom why Nanzhu would care about him, but he is starting to think this is a pretty extreme hiring tactic. Nanzhu: "I think you're talented, and I want to be your friend. Not everyone gets to be my friend." (Says the man who doesn't do friends.) Qiushi is wising up: "So you entered the door just to help me?" (Nanzhu totally did.)

There is a light in you: Nanzhu believes in Qiushi. "I see a light in you that others don't have." Shameless. Meta-level. Flirting. And eye-contact that just lasts forever.

Clasping hands: How is this gesture so romantic? Is it because Nanzhu's hand nearly covers Qiushi's? Is it the staring? Is it the duration? Forgetting to let go? The soft piano music? Yes.

Am I the prettiest: Nanzhu, upon realising he was the only one who slept: "So do you think my sleeping posture looks good, or does Xu Xiaocheng's look better?" Qiushi tells him they're both pretty. This is acceptable… for now.

Partners in arson: Excellent teamwork again - Nanzhu gets to do the dramatic cannibal cake reveal, while Qiushi and Zaozao light the kitchen on fire. Nanzhu also gets to throw the door god in there. Sadly, arson isn't the answer.

The conclusion to this arc and more dramatics follow in -> Episode 07

[silviakundera]

omfg they're ridiculous. apparently the answer of why so much crossdressing in Kaleidoscope of Death is simply that a) disguising your identity is good strategy, b) for the drama asdfghjk

“Qiuqiu,” Ruan Nanzhu’s voice was cold. “Is someone making things difficult for you?”

Lin Qiushi looked at Ruan Nanzhu.

Right when their eyes met, Lin Qiushi suddenly understood. Lin Qiushi’s mythical inner drama queen took over his body. Sniffling back tears, he threw himself into Ruan Nanzhu’s arms, with an air of “oh look how wretchedly I was bullied.”

//

Ruan Nanzhu made a satisfied expression and led Lin Qiushi out by his hand.

At this moment, Lin Qiushi finally figured out the evil truth behind why Ruan Nanzhu had him play the role of a mute girl. If not for the fact that he had to stay in character, Lin Qiushi would at least be able to retort and poke a hole in Ruan Nanzhu’s sudden desire to perform. But as a person who cannot speak, by the time Lin Qiushi typed a quip back on his phone, Ruan Nanzhu was done with his performance.

Lin Qiushi finished his cup of milk and sighed internally. How evil is the human heart…

//

Wang Tianxin, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I was wrong… big brother, I was wrong!”

He desperately pleaded, eyes imploring.

Lin Qiushi, “Who’s your fucking brother, Wang Tianxin, you bastard, remember this: if you dare harass me again, or tell anyone what happened between us right now, I’ll end you.” He bent down so that his mouth was by Wang Tianxin’s ear coldly said, “It’s not like it’s against the law to kill someone in here.”

Wang Tianxin trembled. He furiously nodded as if to say he understood.

Lin Qiushi let out a breath. He took his foot off of Wang Tianxin and smoothed out his clothes. In a short span of time, he transformed back to that small and pitiful mute girl.

Glaring one last time at Wang Tianxin, he turned around and left.

Wang Tianxin watched as he left, his gaze restlessly uncertain.

When Lin Qiushi arrived back at the dining hall, Ruan Nanzhu had already returned. Seeing him approach, Ruan Nanzhu asked, “Where did you go?”

Lin Qiushi typed on his phone: [That Wang Tianxin tried something so I gave him a beating.]

Ruan Nanzhu read what he had typed and smiled, “Wow, amazing.”

...[S]omeone in the group could not bear to see this any longer and carefully walked towards Ruan Nanzhu to inform him that Lin Qiushi was taken away just now.

Ruan Nanzhu, the bastard that he was, fell into dramatics again, and slammed the table in anger after that person had finished speaking. “He dares to touch my person?!” He then stormed off and soon came the sounds of Wang Tianxin’s wails and miserable pleas for mercy.

Lin Qiushi took a sip of water, pretending that he didn’t hear anything. Scums like Wang Tianxin deserved a proper beating to put him in his place.

//

Lin Qiushi wanted to ask Ruan Nanzhu what Dong Tianwen had meant, but his plans were compromised when Ruan Nanzhu pinched his jaw and whispered a warning, “Don’t go around seducing everyone. You are mine.”

Lin Qiushi: …Big boss, does putting on a drama truly give you such happiness?

Ruan Nanzhu, “Have you heard me or not?”

What could Lin Qiushi say? He could only nod his head, though with an expression that said ‘Whatever should I do with you’.

This fellow, Ruan Nanzhu, was giving him a gaze as if he was laughing even though he finished his lines with a very strict and professional attitude.

[shijiujun]

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.

[zishuge]

The Spirealm 致命游戏 (2024) | Ep. 2

[luxhesperus]

finally finished kaleidoscope of death and i have to say that i did not see that twist coming...

because it was absurd, to say the least? don't get me wrong, i absolutely loved the plot and characters! it's just, the twist wasn't... fitting?

[ok spoiler below]

like, if it had been qiushi who was the door god it would have made more sense considering that the whole time, the reader is kept being reminded that qiushi wasn't quite reacting like humans would... almost like it was hinting that qiushi wasn't human

hell, some of the characters even pointed out that even nanzhu, the ever cold and steady leader of obsidian, had reacted to the doors more human than qiushi (you know, the depression, the time he had to spent recovering from each door)

double hell, even qiushi himself found it quite odd how he needed less time to recover from the doors in comparison to nanzhu and the others

so the twist being that nanzhu was the door god is just so... it feels like i've been blindsided? only because no part of the narrative ever suggested, even ever so slightly, that nanzhu was anything but human, ya know? so that twist felt kinda weird

it brings up so many questions too... like where did the doors come from? when did it start? before nanzhu, a door god, found interest in qiushi, what was in the twelfth door originally?

even so, i loved the story and its characters! i actually have a lot more to say, especially about the 11th door (maybe i'll dive into that later when i've actually gotten some sleep lol)

[scorbleeo]

Drama Gossip: The Spirealm (致命游戏)

Source: Google Images

It started off peculiarly; first, his domestic cat refused to let him cuddle it. Lin Qiushi soon found that a sense of disharmony and incongruity began to pervade everything around him. Then, one odd day, he pushed open a door, and he discovered that the hallway he was familiar with turned into a boundless corridor. At both ends of this corridor were twelve, identical iron gates. Thus, the story began.

Source: MyDramaList (2024)

Action, Adventure, Augmented Reality? Sign Me Up!

I do not consume everything that has the 'entering a virtual game with real life consequences' plot-line but when I do, I more or less will enjoy them. The Spirealm is exactly that plot-line and after just finishing 19th Floor (another Chinese drama with similar concept), I was expecting more and hoping for lesser disappointment.

This drama did not disappoint at all. Lets first talk about the roles and the cast. Brilliant job on the casting, everybody pulled off their role so wonderfully, it felt like they were made for their roles. As for the characters these actors portrayed, wow. I haven't been obsessed with a fictional Chinese character in such a long time but Ruan Lan Zhu is so easy to be obsessed with. The writing was brilliant because I very quickly grew attached to the main people and when shit hit the fan, yeah, I felt everything as if I was a part of them.

Spoilers going on from here so if you haven't watched the show, go and watch it now, please?

As I was saying, I was so attached to some of the characters, I really, wow... Say Li Dong Yuan first. I actually already was spoiled with his death, I even knew which door was going to cause his death yet when it happened, I physically gasped. Then his farewell scene came about and goodness gracious, Xiao Zhuang's reaction was absolutely heart-wrenching. It really did not help that right before getting stabbed, the door Dong Yuan went through for Ling Ling was one of the most entertaining and comedic doors.

After that Zao Zao's death? She was already trying her best in the real world, she tried her best in the spirealm. She gave one of the best speeches ever. Yet that chandelier... I never hated chandeliers as much as I do now.

That's the thing about The Spirealm. This show has plenty of heartbreaking scenes but at the same time, it has a bunch of hilarious scenes too. You really can go from laughing one second and then depressed the next. Exactly like when Cheng Yi Xie sacrificed himself for his brother? One second I was laughing at Lan Zhu begging for Ling Ling's forgiveness and suddenly I was pissed but before I could even get real mad, I was hit with a broken heart. This may sound like a complain but the roller coaster of emotions made this drama ten times more interesting than other dramas.

Moving on to the game or doors or levels (however you want to call them). I really, really enjoy shows with this concept but many a times, the stakes just aren't high enough. Not The Spirealm though. I mean, look at Dong Yuan, Zao Zao and Yi Xie. They are part of the main leads and that world did not go easy on them. As much as I hate that they died, I really appreciated the high stakes in this drama. It made watching the show so much more worth it.

Anyhow, despite thoroughly enjoying this drama, I have so many questions. First things first, did I miss the significance of the necklace Lan Zhu gave Ling Ling during the first door?

Also (this is not that important by the way), when the time comes, the players have no choice but through the door. We've watched Ling Ling enter his doors plenty a time. Now tell me how did Wu Qi survive?

I may be someone who loves an ambiguous ending but if the theory that everything was not real is in fact real, I hate it. Yet, everything being a part of Ling Ling's dream or "hallucination" does make sense, as much as I hate it. Remember where Ling Ling walked into upon completing the first door? He entered the door in the middle of the road and exited it into his house? The discrepancies started right from the beginning. Which (if I did not miss anything) might explain the lack of significance behind the necklace. It will also explain why Ling Ling's time between each door is never long yet Wu Qi's not worried about his next door when he witnessed Dong Yuan's death? Or that Chen Fei's advancement is so much slower than Ling Ling. Furthermore, I'm supposed to believe the crew learnt about a mysterious man who helped Xiong Qi reunite with Xiao Ke in the spirealm and they did not investigate more?

I really do hate the everything was not real theory but I also cannot deny it's the most reasonable one. There was another theory I chanced upon on Douyin a while back and have since forgotten most of the information. However, I like that theory a lot even though it was quite farfetched. Long story short, the user theorised that after Lan Zhu walked into the portal and cleaned the program, Ling Ling woke up and regained consciousness after being hit, right? That's not reality but the 12th door and the door god for this last door is Lan Zhu. That was all I remember but the user did provide explanations and timestamps for their theory and upon reading it, it did make sense too. Therefore, if I ever come across that video again, I will link it here.

In the meantime, let's wallow in the conclusion of The Spirealm. It was a quick and short ride but an extremely memorable one.

Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.5/5)

More productions from China here: 19th Floor (19层) | Under the Skin (猎罪图鉴)

[sunriseverse]

The ring is—an unassuming thing. Round, golden. Looped onto a dark cord. Ruan Baijie, whoever he is beneath that ridiculous name, holds it out to him so the metal dangles, the cord pulled taut. “Take it,” he says, voice low and intimate, and for a moment Lin Qiushi forgets there’s two people bare steps away, falls into a fantasy where it’s just the two of them in front of the faintly crackling fire. Something about Ruan Baijie is magnetic, is like a spark of warmth in a snowstorm. His fingers are long and tapered, the nails perfectly-manicured, and the lines around his mouth are gentle as he gazes at Lin Qiushi like his acceptance is a foregone conclusion. Is it? The concept, somehow, doesn’t terrify him. - Four times Lin Qiushi held the ring Ruan Nanzhu gave him, and one time he held something else.

- god knows i can never get rid of habits (e, nanqiu, 12.6k)

[thymo-leonta]

have some assorted lin qiushi egg moments from the novel (putting under a readmore but it's not spoilers)

ch 68:

He didn't know Hu Die, after all; even if he were a man, why should Hu Die look so disoriented? It didn't matter that much, did it? Whether he was male or female?

ch 69:

Lin Qiushi laughed, "I'm not a girl, why would I wear it." He wasn't interested in accessories and such. But Ruan Nanzhu just lifted an eyebrow. "Aren't you?"

ch 71:

This time, Ruan Nanzhu didn't put Lin Qiushi in drag. While he was glad, there was, Lin Qiushi discovered, a thin thread of disappointment deep in his heart.

ch 79:

"hey Qiushi, did you know you become this doting mother when you're playing with your cat?" Lin Qiushi paused. "Why not a doting father?" Cheng Qianli, "…" Oh sure, that was the point. Doting mother it was. Lin Qiushi could hardly be bothered with this sort of detail.

also full quote not included but the time lqs (in a skirt) kicked a dude with all his strength, flipped him off, and then when rnz shows up he puts on his best, most pitiful, big, sad eyes and throws himself into his arms and acts like he wasn't the one who threw hands first.

in conclusion: