#have also successfully dragged the QPP into this mess with me; regret nothing

[lindwurmkai]

Let me tell you about our latest hyperfixation tho, since half of you are probably wondering wtf it is by now and why it has 15 different names,,

Well, first of all it's a mess. A glorious mess. Originally we just wanted to watch Reunion: The Sound of Providence (also known as The Lost Tomb Reboot) because we like the actor Zhu Yilong. We were vaguely aware of it being a sequel but had probably read reviews that proclaimed it newcomer-friendly (which is true).

No one warned us it was going to be like quicksand tho. Funnily enough there is literal quicksand in it but I'm saying once you've entered the rabbithole, good luck getting back out! Whoops

So basically there's this Chinese adventure webnovel series called Daomu Biji (or Dao Mu Bi Ji; DMBJ - Graverobber's Chronicles in English). It's extensive, with many sequels and prequels and extras. What we've been watching is ... a loosely connected collection of dramas based on various parts of this series, made by ever-changing teams in not even remotely chronological order. Since the original novels already had some continuity issues and each new adaptation may add random shit that wasn't in the novels at all, which the next one will then not follow up on because it's made by different people, the result is absolute chaos.

You just have to roll with it.

It's like, you're going to be very confused and will probably yell at the screen in frustration several times but you will also love it. I cannot explain this!!!

There are entire dramas that end on unresolved cliffhangers, the actors change constantly so it's hard to keep track of supporting characters, one of the directors truly tested our patience with his idea of pacing, multiple female characters are treated badly/fridged, there are too many fat jokes, and yet I am still here 💁🏻‍♂️

Regarding names: some dramas are known by two different titles because one's the "official" English title and the other a direct translation from Chinese or something. We tag everything dmbj plus whichever title we like best/makes the better acronym.

But what is it actually about?

Friendship. 😌

And tombs. So many ancient tombs. We've got mysteries both ancient and modern, conspiracies, giant snakes, deadly bugs, monsters, zombies (which are sometimes totally not zombies for censorship reasons), people with abnormally long lifespans, a ridiculous old white man villain, doppelgangers, an amnesia plot, the occasional weirdly compelling historical flashback...

Some of the female characters are good. An unlikely number of people are motivated by missing uncles and aunts. Who's stealing everyone's uncles and aunts? (Oh wait, that's actually sort of– ... never mind.)

But mostly, this is a tale of epic bromance. *wipes tear from corner of eye* Seriously though, I'll note that the dramas engage in a lot of, shall we say, fanservice. They knew people were shipping certain characters and dialled that up to 11. I have zero complaints. More Zhang Qiling screentime = A+ idea anyway. Thank you. I owe you my life,,

But regardless of whether you ship the 3 main characters (in any combination, top tier being all 3 together of course), watching their friendship evolve is just really moving, okay! And Reunion/Reboot gives us a whole damn found family of misfits :')

Wu Xie, the protagonist, is either an adorable fluffball bursting with compassion and curiosity or a seasoned adventurer with questionable morals depending on when you meet him, and it works. He's also a giant nerd.

At the start of his story, he keeps running into Professional Graverobber Wang Pangzi, soon to become his best friend and platonic life partner (or maybe...? 👀), as well as Mysterious Stranger Zhang Qiling, love of my life (and probably also Wu Xie's). My theory is that they grew attached to him because what is this adorable fluffball doing in a tomb, must protect. And then they were brothers~ 😭

In conclusion, I live here now and Zhu Yilong doesn't even know what he hath wrought.