#lei shen is the exception not the rule

[alteredphoenix]

Honest opinion? I’m genuinely shocked at how many people would rather be a “small-time adventurer collecting bear asses in a low fantasy setting” than a “badass champion/chosen one in a high fantasy setting” in a world that up until DF has undergone catastrophes on an annual basis.

Like, I can sort of see the appeal in wanting lower stakes - but this is WoW. I don’t expect it to be like FF14 where it actually goes out of its way to slow you down and give you a moment to just chill for very long (and as I haven’t actually played it in like seven years I’m going to assume it’s because it’s set on a planet that isn’t a sleeping godling).

[warcraft-lore-archives]

A List of Known Zandalari Monarchs

Dazar, the First King (Reign: approx. 16,000 years BDP)

Dazar was the founder of Zandalar, the first to unite the disparate troll tribes, and, most importantly, the first true king of the trolls [Item: Embellished Tusk Band, Dungeon Journal: Kings’ Rest, Dazar].

According to legend, Dazar led the trolls out of the muck and up to the highest peaks of the Zandalar mountain range [Dungeon Journal: Kings’ Rest, Dazar]. Believing the region’s tallest plateaus to be the most sacred because they were home to the trolls’ honored loa, the Zandalar tribe - led by Dazar - settled the land and built a grand city of gold that would later come to be known as Zuldazar [World of Warcraft Chronicle Volume I, pg. 71]. It is implied that those events coincided with the troll exodus from their former capital in Nazmir and that Dazar was the one who guided the trolls south to escape G’huun’s malignant influence [Object: Ancient Nazmani Tablet, Object: Cracked Tablet, Object: Dazar Placard]. Additionally, seeing as Dazar united the trolls, an event that happened for the first time when the various tribes were forced to set aside their differences to overcome the monstrous C’Thrax Kith’ix, it is likely he was king at the time of the Aqir and Troll War as well [World of Warcraft Chronicle Volume I, pg. 72].

In addition to his other legendary deeds, Dazar was also the first to tame raptors, the fierce and noble creatures that have acted as companions to all of trollkind for many millennia [Dungeon Journal: Kings’ Rest, Dazar, Mount: Swift Purple Raptor].

Dazar’alor, the city Dazar built, and Atal’Dazar, the royal tombs in which he was buried, were both presumably named in honor of the first king [Page: Dazar].

King Timalji and Queen Wasi (Reign: Unknown)

Little is known about these rulers or the nature of their reign, although it is said that no one loved power quite as much as they did [Object: King Timalji Placard].

King Rokka and Queen Torla (Presumed, Reign: Unknown)

King Rokka and his sister, Queen Torla, were once involved in a great war against each other [NPC: Toki Dialogue].

The only mention of these rulers is by a single tortollan, Toki, who professes he is not sure if a conflict actually happened between them, so it is possible no such event ever occurred. Additionally, given how little information there is on both Rokka and Torla, it may be that they are not even troll monarchs at all, especially considering Toki’s many personal experiences with the mogu and innumerable other races.

Queen Patlaa (Reign: Unknown)

Patlaa was a known friend of animals [Object: Queen Patlaa Placard].

King A’akul (Reign: Unknown)

Little is known about King A’akul, although he was one of the Zandalari’s more ruthless and bloodthirsty monarchs [Object: King A’akul Placard, Item: Crown of A’akul’s Dark Reign].

King Rahu’ai (Reign: Unknown)

Little is known about this monarch. His crown can still be found in the Zandalari treasury [Item: Electrified Crown of Rahu’ai].

The Council of Tribes (Reign: Unknown)

For a time, a council of tribal leaders came together to rule over Zandalar when it was apparent no single emperor or king could. After a period of civil war and conflict over the throne, the heads of three prominent families agreed to rule together, though their political union was an uneasy one [Dungeon Journal: Kings’ Rest, Council of Tribes].

The council consisted of Princess Aka’ali the Conqueror, Kula the Butcher, and Zanazal the Wise. All three were ruthless, fierce combatants who enforced their rule through strength. Aka’ali, for example, was merciless and known to challenge those brave enough to court her – a challenge, it is important to note, she never lost [Object: Aka’ali the Conqueror Placard]. Similarly, Kula was so cruel she earned the epithet ‘the Butcher,’ although she was also clever and had an exceptional skill for strategy [Object: Kula the Butcher Placard]. Little is known about the third council member, Zanazal the Wise, although he never considered his two co-rulers as his equals [Object: Zanazal the Wise Placard].

Though the Council of Tribes brought peace to Zandalar for a brief time, the era of their rule ultimately ended when a devastating blood plague broke out that killed thousands of trolls [Item: Urn of Passage].

King Tezlekhan the Virulent (Reign: Unknown)

King Tezlekhan, Rastakhan’s great-grandfather, once tried to exile the tortollans from Zandalar. The tortollans, however, were able to convince Tezlekhan to let them stay after obtaining some unsavory political dirt on the monarch [NPC: Tortollan Seeker Dialogue].

King Rastakhan (Reign: approx., 200 BDP – 33 ADP)

Horrified to learn that the members of the Gurubashi tribe had been enslaved and were being used to summon the barbaric Loa of Blood, Hakkar, back into the world, King Rastakhan sent several of his personal emissaries to oversee and deal with the budding threat. The small group of Zandalari traveled to Stranglethorn Vale where, through their connection to the Darkspear tribe, they employed the help of Horde adventurers to defeat Hakkar [World of Warcraft Chronicle Volume III, pg. 123, NPC: Exzhal Dialogue].

Shortly after the Cataclysm, Rastakhan – under the Dark Prophet Zul’s advisement – began negotiations to unite the disparate troll tribes for the first time since the Empire of Zul had dissolved thousands of years prior [Object: The Dark Prophet Zul, NPC: Vol’jin Dialogue, World of Warcraft Chronicle Volume I, pg. 74]. Zul, acting as Rastakhan’s liaison, initially united the Gurubashi and Amani tribes, although the Darkspear, led by Vol’jin, refused to join because of their allegiance to the Horde [Trailer: Patch 4.1: Rise of the Zandalari, Vol’jin: Shadows of the Horde, Chapter 23, World of Warcraft Chronicle Volume III, pg. 209]. It was only when the notorious Thunder King Lei Shen returned a few years later that Zul was able to fully, albeit briefly, unite all of the major troll tribes. He even succeeded in rallying the Frostmane tribe, a group of Drakkari indigenous to Dun Morogh, although the ice trolls were cut down by members of the Alliance, ultimately preventing them from joining with the Zandalari [Scenario: Blood in the Snow].

To cement the tribes’ union, each of their leaders came together in a Council of Elders that consisted of representatives from the Drakkari, Amani, Farakki, Gurubashi, and, most importantly, the Zandalari [Dungeon Journal: Throne of Thunder, Council of Elders]. Unfortunately, the Council of Elders and, consequently, the united troll empire, fell apart upon Lei Shen’s defeat.

Toward the end of Rastakhan’s reign, his daughter, Princess Talanji, finally put an end to the blood troll incursion once and for all [Quest: The True Leader of Zandalar].

Rastakhan had been king of Zandalar for over two hundred years before his demise at the hands of the Alliance during a conflict known as the Battle of Dazar’alor [Object: For Council and King].

Queen Talanji (Reign: approx. 33 ADP – Present)

In the short time since her reign began, Queen Talanji has started to include non-troll races in Zandalari politics for the first time ever in the history of the Zandalari empire. Not only did the Zandalari trolls officially join the Horde under her rule, she also appointed a tortollan to her personal advisory council, the Zanchuli Council [Quest: Allegiance of the Zandalari, NPC: Lashk Dialogue].

Talanji’s decision to have the Zandalari join the Horde has formally united four troll tribes: the Darkspear, the Revantusk, the Shatterspear, and the Zandalari [NPC: Elder Torntusk Dialogue, Page: Shatterspear Tribe].

[terraforged]

@shadowsblades​ asked: give me random dragon form headcanons. (how) does wrathion like to sleep in that form? how does he feel about flying with and without people riding him? how does he fight in that form? does a dragon wear pants on all their legs or only the lower two? etc.

U speak to my heart on a deep level with this question. Obviously the most important part is the last part, and obviously dragon’s wear pants on all their legs they’re not fucking heathens like Valeera who wears no pants at all :^/

He actually prefers sleeping in his dragon form over his mortal one, primarily because it’s just... safer? Less things are going to be able to do anything to a relatively big armoured lizard than they are a soft and squishy mortal. If he’s sleeping in his mortal form it’s because he has to for some reason or he feels safe, but by on large his preference is going to be his dragon form. Especially given he travels so much, that form allowing him to sleep comfortably anywhere for obvious reasons.

He doesn’t like being ridden. He doesn’t like being climbed. He doesn’t like being leant on. He’s not a mount and he just... wouldn’t appreciate being treated like one, especially given mortals sorta have a history of using dragons as mounts in pretty unpleasant ways. He will not let people on his back unless they are literally going to die if he doesn’t, and even then it’s not really, you know, guaranteed. He’s fine with Anduin riding him obviously, but Anduin is the exception to this rule as he is many others. What Wrathion accepts from him isn’t usually something he’d accept from anyone else, and this is an example of that.

Flying is something he enjoys in general, though his preference is actually to keep his feet on the ground since. You know. Earth dragon. It is generally a pretty liberating thing for him though and again he does really enjoy it.

The way he fights in his dragon form now is different from how he will when he’s older, so I’ll start with how he does now. As we saw in the cinematic he’s really quite nimble for a dragon being that he’s still a drake and so relatively small. He tends to be very hit and run, ducking and diving, shifting between his mortal and dragon forms seamlessly to make him exceptionally hard to hit. It’s worth remember he’s a rogue as well as a dragon, so can cloak himself in invisibility and create multiple illusions of himself. He’ll do all of these things even as a dragon to instill a sense of chaos if he’s fighting in earnest. Wrathion is, for all his previous dumbassery, very, very intelligent and the way he fights reflects it. He obviously also has fire and lava breath attacks, along with earth manipulation, and as previously mentioned he has the powers of Lei Shen so there’s that too though he doesn’t tend to prefer any of this beyond fire.

When he gets older and larger he loses quite a lot of his nimbleness due to his sheer size. At this point he’s capable of just bodying most things with size alone, fighting similarly to Nergigante from MHW I guess? He still makes use of his rogue capabilities, still shifts between dragon and mortal, though now also makes more use of his elemental powers than he did when younger. Wrathion is literally a force of nature when he wants to be. He just... prefers not to be.

When eating in his dragon form he prefers things raw.  At most he’ll burn off fur and feathers, but he makes no effort to ‘cook’ whatever it is he’s about to eat. He’ll eat organs, meat, bone-- he really... doesn’t care? (though I do HC dragons eat bone by choice anyway so that’s not just Wrathion being weird and gross). The only things he won’t touch are the intestines and the stomach. His lifestyle isn’t a luxurious one for all he dresses the part, he’s a vagabond with no home, and whilst he has money the travelling he does and the way he lives his life hiding means he’s just not as fussy as you might initially expect. He won’t turn his nose up at a most things.

I’ve said it before but I don’t give him the stupid tail club Blizz gave him. It looks silly. Ruins my aesthetic.

He really likes to take lava baths! If he’s near anything volcanic and he has access to an open source of lava he’ll lounge around in it as a dragon for a while until he’s pressed to leave to attend something. This is one of the very, very few things he does simply because he enjoys it and for no other reason than because of that.

His blood is hot. Like. His body temp in his mortal form runs significantly warmer than any mortal, but as a dragon if you get his blood on you it’s uncomfortably hot. It’s not going to burn you or anything, more it just feels like having your hands under water that’s a tad too hot to be pleasant.

[thekoreanlass]

I’m not really a big fan of C-dramas or Meteor Garden, but who will forget this phenomenal drama that started from a Japanese manga until it became a TV series that probably has the most remakes? Taiwanese, Korean, Indonesian, and now a Chinese remake!

The Meteor Garden fever has surely converted people of all ages into fans, not just of the drama but the fictional popular quartet F4! Who would forget Dao Ming Si, Hua Ze Lei, Mei Zuo, and Xi Men? The original boys brought us wonderful songs that most 90-ish kids would still remember and sing along to, which would definitely lead us back to memories of the Taiwanese version’s immense popularity.

At that time, I remember myself still being a kid, who willingly followed her older sister’s every whim and recorded every single episode on a tape recorder for her. Those were the dark times that I totally got sick of being in front of the television and the drama, but gladly Vic Zhou was there to grace me with his presence. I so loved Hua Ze Lei as a kid. He was my ultimate crush, that was probably why I started crushing on Yoon Jihoo as soon as the Korean remake took over a few years later.

More than that blast from the past feeling though, the hottest topic this 2018 is the comeback the drama is making through the Chinese remake, starring this generation’s most beautiful faces, Shen Yue (Dong Shan Cai), Dylan Wang (Dao Ming Si), Darren Chen (Hua Ze Lei), Connor Leong (Feng Mei Zuo) and Caesar Wu (Xi Men Yan).

Shen Yue feels very familiar to me after her ‘A Love So Beautiful’ drama aired in my country and boosted in popularity. The boys, however, are all new faces to me but I must say the moment I saw them I really felt good to see that they are taking over the F4 role. Maybe because they all just look so handsome and charming that their face value already makes the cut.

Anyway, I’ve been rambling about the randomest things, but that’s just because I feel excited to talk about the 2018 version after just watching it. I’m up to episode 6 of the drama, so I shall share my first impression about what happened from the beginning to that point.

Here goes nothing!

Catchy Start

What caught my attention when I started episode 1 is how it opened the story with Shan Cai asking ‘Have you ever wondered what will happen to you in the future?’ and concluding how her 18 year old self never thought something like that will happen to her while a scene of her throwing a strong flying kick to Dao Ming Si’s face plays in slow motion.

I think that, that flying kick on the face totally brings a huge head start to the drama, causing for curiosity to uproot as they left what happened a mystery and began the generic introduction of characters. Shan Cai being the ordinary girl who will luckily land the role of heroine in one hell of a rollercoaster ride. And there was also–lo and behold–the notorious F4, who seems even more perfectly described in this version (a really much improved background than their earlier versions!) that it is too good to be true. To fictitious, to say.

Nonetheless, the start of the drama really managed to grab my attention, so I’m giving them a perfect score for that.

Same but Different

So, we get the same thing but maybe with a Chinese twist to it? I’m not sure whether it’s because they want it to be different from its past versions, but this one definitely has a very unique taste to it.

They changed a lot of things like:

Shan Cai’s family background – The original Meteor Garden and even Boys Over Flowers portrayed her as someone coming from a poor family that barely made a living. Here, Shan Cai at least came from an average family with a mom that cooks and gets money from delivering takeouts and has a father that works as a bank manager (I think they said that was his job).

In the previous versions too, her parents look really pathetic to me. I mean, the father and mother were both selling off their daughter to Dao Ming Si / Gu Jun Pyo. But at least, the mother in the Chinese version is not that loud and annoying and although she still dotes on Dao Ming Si so much that she can sell Shan Cai out to him, at least, her father is there to become the buffer that stops her antics.

An even more perfect F4 – If that’s even possible! So, I know it’s kind of cliche now that the poor girl falls in love with the rich guy. It’s a common trope among dramas, but of course we don’t get tired of the rich and handsome guys of F4! As in never get tired of them!

And to make it much better–or worse? but that’s up to you–the drama made these four flower boys even more desirable bachelors. You’ll easily know about how different and better they are right from the first episode when a random Junior walks up to Shan Cai, Qing He and Li Zhen and tells them about the popular F4.

Dao Ming Si may be the forever pineapple haired guy (his hairstyle gets even better too!), but he’s now finally equipped with the knowledge of being able to speak three or four languages and a talent for business. The old Dao Ming Si can’t even get a quote right, which was really funny back then. He was handsome and rich, but not so smart. But now he can just be everything, well except for the short temper and his anger management problems plus obsession for Shan Cai.

Hua Ze Lei used to be just quiet and snobbish like a cold prince in the older versions, but this drama made it so that they could explain his introverted behavior as related from the slight autism he had when he was a kid and is supposedly cured by the great Teng Tang Jing. Can you even cure autism? I made my own research and gladly they said a minority portion of those people with autism get cured depending on the severity of their autism and the therapies they go through over the years, but its still debatable. However, giving this drama the benefit of the doubt, this is fiction. I’m not gotta criticize it for not knowing any better. For sure, they know what they are doing.

Mei Zuo and Xi Men – so they’re like the third in command in all the versions if you ask me. I’m pretty sure, in terms of appearance, they are of equal importance. Two obnoxious, overprotective friends with a tendency to womanize. I see women hanging around them everywhere, but that’s their role. It’s the casanovas that are more interesting to watch. However, like I said they are the ‘much improved’ versions: wherein Mei Zuo has an impeccable memory that they can never lose in the card game ‘Bridge’ and Xi Men has a liking for tea, due to his family background.

I’m not sure if this is going to sound nicer and may help them look smarter, but I think this version of F4 is the milder, much civilized guys. I mean, they don’t bully someone so randomly out of the blue and make their lives a living hell. Instead, as it was explained, they are so good at the card game ‘Bridge’ (that they even have a club for that!) that many people want to challenge them and to stop anyone from just randomly challenging them, they set an odd rule that you need to first receive the ‘Joker’ card as an invitation for a Bridge match.

That doesn’t sound like much what would bad boys do, right? It would have been nicer if they stuck to the original, but I guess this isn’t so bad either. At least, if they challenge somebody it would make much more sense. Plus, they look really cool playing that game.

Hello ‘Joker’! – So, bye bye to that red card that Dao Ming Si used to send his victims and say ‘hello’ to the less threatening ‘Joker’ card in your locker. Prepare to lose in the game of Bridge with F4 and eat some slippers as the consequence!

At least, it’s befitting for them to use the card, though, right?

College and Milk Tea – I get it every version of Shan Cai is different that’s why she’s a freshman in the Nutrition course here and she works part time at a milk tea shop called ‘Talented’ with Xiao Yu.

 Fights and Reconciliations – Well, I remember Li Zhen–Shan Cai’s newfound friend–also liking Dao Ming Si in the past and because she’s jealous of Shan Cai she intentionally sets her up so that she looks like she slept with someone she met at a club.

The same friend betrays her in this version, but her reason is sort of different and somehow ‘coincidental’ and Shan Cai ends up forgiving her because she’s just that kind of person and Dao Ming Si can never have a say about it or kick her out of university since he doesn’t own it. But at least, all is well. And to be honest, I like how things ended up well between these two friends in this version, since the problem arose from something trivial and it’s just unreasonable for someone to drop out because they were being bullied for some petty reason, right?

Meteor Garden 2018 gets you hooked by these positive changes and makes the drama a bit lighter than its older versions that are leaning more on its dramatic quotient.

However, on another note, I must admit that Shan Cai didn’t experience as much hardship as the old Shan Cai did. Dao Ming Si bullies her in the most childish sense, plotting childish jokes that you can’t call disturbing. I guess, because he’s been sheltered for long enough and didn’t grow up dating girls left and right, that he is having a hard time expressing himself to her and with his very impatient personality makes him extremely possessive of her.

The lack of emotional turmoil boxes the potential of each of them to do even better in portraying their role, however.

So, in a nutshell, Meteor Garden looks totally brand new with the many additions, but still has more room to improve with the acting. Not saying, they aren’t good, but there got to be something more with that actor or actress. So, I’m looking forward to improvement until it’s 48th episode!

Fast Pacing

Is it just me or this drama is moving too quickly that I’m getting worried what more will they show in the next 44 to 48 episodes?

Not that I am complaining about the quick pacing, it’s just that maybe I am not used to it. The Taiwanese version really had a slow, agonizing pace that I would not really stick to it until the end if I had to do a marathon, while this one was just like leafing through pages in a book while only skimming it very briefly, which I think is good but pretty worrisome. Not unless they have more to show that won’t be dragging and not just a filler, then I guess the pacing should be fine.

Total Flower Boys

I can definitely say that this version totally left me drooling at the boys. All of them are really good looking you can’t say they’re a waste. They do have their different charms that set them apart from each other, but in total all of them are likable eye-candies!

I used to be a solid Hua Ze Lei kind of girl, but after watching Dylan Wang portray Dao Ming Si, I can’t help but fawn over the boy. He just fits the prickly, childish and short-tempered rich boy role that’s not too rough but not kind looking either. At some points, he’s cute and surprisingly I don’t despise him for childishly annoying Shan Cai.

The Strong-willed Wild Flower that often bends

You can say that Shan Cai is that heroine who doesn’t easily back down from a challenge. She’s always been stubborn and antagonizing, especially towards Dao Ming Si. She’s been consistent in this love-hate relationship they have that sometimes it’s hard to believe how they ended up together.

But I must say I sometimes feel anxious about Shen Yue’s version of Shan Cai. She’s a good actress and its nice she can easily tear up when an emotional scene comes up, but why do I feel like this Shan Cai is being more fickle now than before? She’s fickle that I find it annoying she lets Dao Ming Si kiss her without a fight even when she likes Hua Ze Lei. I think she sounds more like a pushover or a very easy person, especially when she lets Hua Ze Lei kiss her after just seeing him kiss another girl without any second thoughts and while bringing her along with him at the beach.

A Real Douche

Excuse me for my opinion, but now that I’ve watched this version, I can’t help but think Hua Ze Lei is the real douche here and not Dao Ming Si, who did nothing but devotedly love Dong Shan Cai, I mean, Lei may appear like a cool guy because he’s quiet and introverted and he doesn’t look like he can play any tricks at girls, but the thing is he keeps stringing Shan Cai along–even kissing her cheek without any proper reason and even if he didn’t like her back then when he did it–even if he likes Jing. He even follows her to Paris and lives with her, but just because she doesn’t make time for him and he’s not man enough to be able to save their relationship, that he leaves and shakes up Dao Ming Si and Shan Cai’s blossoming love-hate relationship.

Well, I’m not saying he’s bad, but still for sure no one wants to be the second option when it comes to the person you like. No matter what, a girl needs to have some self-respect and can’t treat herself unjustly by having false hopes that one day this stupid guy will look at you. And Lei shouldn’t be that guy that gives her false hopes just because he knew she likes her and then only goes back to her after realizing Jing doesn’t need him. That’s just plain stupid. Like seriously. I’d rather pick the person who genuinely likes me more and not the person who will only give me the second place. You won’t be truly happy with someone who only puts you second in his life.

Romance

It’s still so complicated like before that it’s unbelievable. I can’t say that there will be such romance in reality, but nonetheless, I totally feel like the chemistry between Dylan Wang and Shen Yue is like second nature to them that you may find them rather unarguably cute together and suited for each other. Together, they make my heart really flutter like a teenager and grin like an idiot nonstop.

Over all

Surprisingly, I think I am being won over by this drama to another level after watching its first few episodes. Of course, I  had  my own doubts upon hearing another remake is on its way, but with some leap of faith that it wouldn’t just be some cheap drama remake, I think that it’s worth the wait and the time I invested on watching it.

I can’t say that it surpassed the other versions, because they all have their different charms. But I can probably say that Meteor Garden 2018 managed to surpass itself.  With its impeccable cast and the awesome production and directing, it surpassed expectations of most Meteor Garden fans.

Plus, add the fact that its very lighthearted in its element compared to the past versions and really much cuter that it must attract, too, the younger audience.

I will not dwell with the fact, though, that it’s pretty long for 40+ episodes times 40 minutes worth of TV viewing per episode and will just enjoy the flow of things while it can entertain me so I wouldn’t overthink about its length being a disadvantage at this time. Maybe they can use it to their advantage too, but who knows? Only time will tell.

Nonetheless, I will recommend this to anybody who just simply loves Meteor Garden at any day. You should try it if you’re up for another Meteor Garden fever and be charmed by the eternal F4!

I will rate this drama 4.7 out of 5 for surprising me and getting me hooked!

See you later for my On going and Final review for this drama in the future!

  First Impression: Meteor Garden (2018) I'm not really a big fan of C-dramas or Meteor Garden, but who will forget this phenomenal drama that started from a Japanese manga until it became a TV series that probably has the most remakes?