#tv show: love between fairy and devil

[lavandaea]

smooth talker, powerful supernatural beings who are fluent in sarcasm and graduated from insufferable school being in love absolutely fucking whipped will always be my kind of thing.

I'm actually feral for that concept. Fight me if you dare.

Plus points if their partner it's as strong minded and colorful vocabularied/ eloquent as them.

Plus plus points if it's a love-hate relationship, full of bickering and unwanted feelings, DENIAL.

PLUS PLUS PLUS if they are a sad broken black cat (or smug orange, I won't complain) like who has lost all faith in humanity and could not care less about anything than themselves but actually the only thing they want more is some love and hugs and kisses. This being with or without their knowledge.

And then, their partner comes into their lives like saying "let me remind you how wonderful existing it's"

"Because I love you!"

"wait, WHY AM I JEALOUS?"

"what in the name of FUCK IS THIS APPARENTLY NAMED FEELING"

"Me?" points at themselves "with them?" looks at them doing the most weirdest thing. "Nah, there's no way".

"Who did this to you?" AAAAAAAAAAAA

The unbeatable "you are useful to me for this reason"/ I'm keeping you alive for this reason". At first it's true, BUT time goes on...and feelings are developed, they start using it as an excuse to protect them, to keep them close. To hide the undeniable truth.

UNTIL. THEY. DON'T. It's the moment they just want to be with them and could actually care less about what anyone says about it. They love this person and they want to make them happy.

It will always, always, always melt my heart the moment when A and B are looking at something really pretty, really nice and A says or asks "It's beautiful"/"Isn't it beautiful?"

And B that at first may have been looking at it says:

"Yes"

And then turns to A with that look of "I've loved you since the day I met you" to continue with

"It's beautiful"

I'll tell you, it never gets old for me.

PAST LIVES

SLOW. BURN.

SHARING HOUSE

SHARING BED

PARTNERS IN CRIME

TENDING WOUNDS

HAVING👏 EACH OTHER'S 👏 BACKS

THE ABSOLUTE LOOSERISM. I already kinda said it, but this is important shit.

GOING FEEERAL FOR THEIR LOVED ONE BEING HURT/ IN DANGER/ LOOKING FOR THEM (if I'm feral for this whole trope, I'm feral, for this one in particular) bonus points if glowing eyes, then you got me, entirely.

Being a soft squishy ball full of love but only with them. Fuck everyone else.

The two kinds of looks:

"Oh shit, I'm in love with you" look.

"I love being in love with you" look.

Please do and recommend more of these kinds of shows/films/comics, I will never have enough of them.

Oh, the hopeless romantic in me.

[mind-of-a-mundane]

💔💔💔

Dongfang Qincang confronts his father about his pain and suffering.

[xiaohuayaos]

Cutest girl in the world award goes to....

[haveyouseenthisseries-poll]

[recurring-polynya]

So, I have just finished watching Love Between Fairy and Devil, and I thought I would write up my thoughts on it.

TL;DR version: It slapped and you should watch it.

Slightly longer version: I remember watching the first episode and there were a lot of computer effects and people waving their arms around doing Naruto jutsus and I thought "this is kinda silly but I'm gonna stick with it for a few more eps" and by the end, I was so into everything about this show.

Things that are great about it:

The leads are both incredible actors and it would be worth watching the show just for the facial expressions they make at each other

The love story has such a good balance of "love is an incredibly powerful things" and "love is a thing you build, it is a thing you choose"

Orchid, as a protagonist, was full of love and pacifism, and the show did not make her compromise that

The romance was Big and Epic and full of grand gestures, but it was also cute and supportive and it felt like they actually liked each other and would have had a healthy and supportive relationship if certain evil gods would give them, like, 5 minutes to just exist, you know?

Wonderful fun, meaty supporting cast

The plot had several distinct arcs that kept the show interesting and fresh throughout its length. The Lucheng arc was my favorite.

The world-building was ridiculous and I loved it. There were, what, 5 different versions of Arbiter Hall by the end and I did not care. I would remodel my house to look like Arbiter Hall, if possible. Every place was called something like the "Spirit Shattering Abyss" or the "Soul Transformation Cauldron." I loved the way they would slam you with worldbuilding out of nowhere, like "We are going to inject you with the Bone-Devouring Spikes" and everyone was like "Not the Bone-Devouring Spikes!!" and I was hooting and hollering, I simply love this shit.

Every single thing Dongfang Qingcang wore

45 minute episodes! The perfect length for an episode!

Additional thoughts with spoilers below the cut

I feel like Shangque was built in a lab for me to love him. Surprising no one: I did

💕💖 Jieli and her crimes 💖💕

Changheng wins the #2 prize for "character my affections have done a 180 for", coming in second only to Steve Harrington in Season 2 of Stranger Things. It was 100% due to his himbo stint as Xiao Run, but I continued to like him afterwards. Much like Steve, getting dumped turned out to do incredible things for his character.

Danyin was such a wild character, and I am obsessed with her. She was a bitch and then she went ride-or-die for Orchid, and she broke the law a few time, briefly had a dick, got hit by a car, died a few more times, and turned out cool at the end. I love her.

I liked the way every time DFQC or Orchid had a Nostalgia Montage, they showed the Cloud Whale

The first arc was so precious in retrospect and I loved every time they flashed back to it

Remember the time during the Lucheng arc after DFQC and Xiao Run skipped school to play soccer and DFQC looked straight into the camera and said "Ball is life"? That was magical.

Remember the time DFQC and Changheng went to go see the Arbiter and her Swole Magical Dragon Husband in whatever secret dimension they were banished to, and the Arbiter turned to her husband and was like "Fuck him up" and he did??? Couple goals.

Shangque should have turned into a dragon more often

Lady Chidi was a really cool character and I felt like she really got shafted. I did like that DFQC poured one out for her after she died, I really respected that.

Too much Rong Hao. I felt like the show was trying to get me to sympathize with him and I simply refused.

Xunfeng!!! He was such a bitch and I loved him so much!!!

The show sort of sprawled and gave the characters a lot of room to stretch and breath and I loved that. There was a scene where Orchid and Shangque stood around and had a conversation about how much they both loved DFQC and Jieli even though they are both mildly awful, and I loved this for all of us.

I also loved the scenes where Xunfeng would tell Orchid "my brother has duties toward Cangyan Sea that are bigger than you and I think you should die for him" and she was like "I agree actually and maybe I will". Their energy was insane.

The tribulation mechanic (characters could go live a lifetime as a human where they lost all their immortal memories for the time and could get plus-ups from this, but it put their immortal soul at risk) was really interesting, both narratively and as worldbuilding and I will be thinking about this for a while

Danyin's dad was such a shitty boomer dad, I loved to hate him!! I think maybe he died, because we didn't see him after the timeskip. Mr. P and I discussed this and at first, we hoped he was dead, but then we decided we hoped he *wasn't* dead so that he has to put up with Jieli bringing her himbo husband and all of her horrible adopted street urchins to his house every Thanksgiving.

Speaking of which, I hope that Danyin starts challenging Shangque to swordfights at family gatherings. Just, you know, one sword bro to another, all in good fun.

I was really worried the show was going to try to pair up Changheng and Danyin at the end. A few episodes from the end, I said that my dream ending would be for Changheng's awful brother to die, Changheng becomes the new lord of Shuiyuntian and Danyin becomes his advisor. That would leave it ambiguous, so that anyone who *did* ship them could assume it happened eventually, after they built a real relationship based on mutual respect. As it turned out, I think I loved the actual ending, where Changheng takes a gap year to backpack around the Human World and Danyin is like "I'm gonna take your job actually" and he's like "Hey, good luck! btw you're cool and I'm sorry I didn't reciprocate your crush" and she's like "Don't mention it, also, we're gender neutral besties now because I say so" and he's like "Based." Anyway, I'm mildly peeved that Changheng's awful brother basically didn't face any consequences, but other than that, I love this for everyone.

Speaking of the ending, why does every Asian drama end with someone dying, a somewhat inconvenient period of time passes, and then they come back with no real explanation? This is so specific and I think I have seen at least five dramas that end this way. I do not love it. I mean, the end wasn't terrible, but I definitely lost the thread of what was going on in the last episode. I was really hoping that DFQC and Orchid had switched bodies one more time at the end to screw Taisui, and I stand by that would have been a better ending.

Anyway, absolutely fantastic show. Loved it, would recommend, will probably watch it again at some point.

[safirefire]

Spot the difference

[vulpinesaint]

i am such a wiki boy. every five minutes writing fanfic i am referencing something on a wiki. your one stop shop for information that would be slightly more difficult to find otherwise :)

[katbery]

on episode 22 thinking it was 24ep total wondering why the pace was not ramping to realize its 36ep long

[apencilandpen]

MAC Movie Reviews: 2023 in Review TV Edition

I don't keep track of the TV I watch, but maybe I should! So this one is gonna be a lot less organized :D

Biggest thing is that I've been rewatching Gotham since May of 2023. There's a lot to say about why I love this show so much, but there's also just...so much that happens and its so intense and I can't do it all at once, especially in season 4 when Prof. Pyg shows up. So it's taking me a while :D

On to new shows!

The Untamed - I started it December 2022 and finished it October 2023, so almost a whole year! Which makes sense because there are FIFTY GD EPISODES!!!! But, holy shit as a costume design enthusiast it's a dream. A masterclass in subtext, a horde of beloved and beloathed and love to hate characters, and cool swooshing sword fighting! Highly, highly recommend.

Bloodhounds - Fell in love with the leads within 15 minutes of starting the first episode. They have amazing (non-romantic) chemistry and you just instantly fall for them. Great supporting characters and WONDERFUL action sequences. I love that Gunwoo and Woojin are boxers; its a fresh take on martial arts that I hadn't really seen before. Definitely gets a little much towards the end violence-wise, but such a good show as a whole.

Batman: the Animated Series and Batman: Beyond - I'm pretty sure I watched these in 2023. I love the art style of these, especially Batman: Beyond. The stories are fun and easy, but still engaging and entertaining. I love Terry in B:B so much too :D

The Fall of the House of Usher - Mike Flanagan I love you but oh my god that was so intense. Really, really good, but so gruesome and intense for like no reason

Heartstopper - so so so good. Wholesome and fun without being saccharine or extremely unbelievable. I can't wait to see how the show progresses

New World - I personally think America should import the variety show format. I want to see celebrities play games for basically nothing :D This show is so fun and I've rewatched episodes here and there all year. Highly recommend if you want something easy and fun

I Told Sunset About You/I Promised You the Moon - tear my heart out and put it back together again in the best way possible. Sincere with its story and its characters, both plot and players are believable and engaging. It's a romance, but it's a coming-of-age for them as individuals as well as together. I've got a whole post drafted about it by itself that I should post :D

[moonsorchid]

Why Love Between Fairy and Devil is more than a drama for me

I think one of the reasons I am so obsessed with LBFAD is that it is incredibly healing for me. I have some mental health issues, mainly traumas from a past relationship and from my professional life, which have made me numb. For years I can barely feel joy or sadness or any other emotion, apart from fear and anger, cursed to be perpetually in a fight or flight mode.

Seeing DFQC being devoid of emotions is so relatable. Well not in the villainous sense it is depicted in the show, but if my feelings were a tree, it would be cold and in decay.

Just like Xiao Lanhua revived his emotional root, this show has revived my feelings as well. I fell in love, I laughed, I cried, I empathized with their pain and sacrifice.

Also, I love fantasy and escapism, I love watching movies, tv shows and reading books. I am a fan of LOTR, Star Wars, Harry Potter, MCU, but the past few years I could barely watch or read anything. I lost focus and nothing could help me escape reality or use my imagination and creativity. This is the only show which has managed to have such a healing effect on me and I can't move on. I don't know if it is due to the production, the story, the characters, the worldbuilding, the acting, (Dylan's amazing performance *cough cough* ). I am guessing it's a combination of all the above.

If someone told me a year ago that I would be addicted to a cdrama, and I would be watching multiple cdramas after that, I wouldn't believe it. I didn't even know they existed. And now a year later, a show about a fairy and a supposed devil (if only devils were such puppies like him), has rekindled parts of me I thought were gone forever. And the best thing is that I can finally watch and read (maybe even write) stories again. I thought I had lost my ability to escape in them for good.

[ziseviolet]

In wuxia I see that they have half their hair up and the other half down. Is there a certain period where this hairstyle directs from?

Hi, thanks for the question, and sorry for taking ages to reply!

The half-up, half-down hairstyle that you often see on both male & female characters in Chinese guzhuang (period costume) dramas is not based on historical hairstyles. Rather, it is a fairly recent styling convention, most likely originating from late 20th century wuxia TV shows from Hong Kong (x). Over time the hairstyle has become normalized and commonplace in Chinese costume dramas, especially in the wuxia and xianxia genres (because these genres are not necessarily aiming for historical accuracy in the first place).

Below, from left to right: Wang Hedi in Love Between Fairy and Devil, Deng Wei in Miss the Dragon, Xiao Zhan in The Untamed, Gong Jun in Word of Honor: 

As @niteshade925 explains in this post, for male characters, the main idea of the hairstyle is to make the character look attractive, and also in some shows/context, to hint at the character’s personality, as in maybe they do not adhere to traditional customs and are free-spirited/spontaneous. For female characters, it is usually just a regular hairstyle without deeper meaning :P

For more information on this half-up half-down hairstyle, and historical hairstyles in general, please see the following posts:

The historical accuracy of half-up half-down hairstyles

The historical accuracy of ponytails

Historical hairstyles for men

Hope this helps!

[corpsentry]

i have derailed myself. down terrible for shaoshang xinghancanlan lltg and speedrunning both parts as fast as possible with my mother. we um. binged 30 episodes in the last five days………….. me when the hetero period drama is treated not like a trashy ya novel where everyone has big eyes small face (listening to 银河漫漫盼归期 on the bus to jb like a weirdo) it is hard to put into words the sheer kind of resignation i have approached the xianxia/wuxia/general chinese period drama genre with for the past few years as after cql and woh we watched love between fairy and devil and til the end of the moon and who rules the world and dawg that shit made me Cry…. after much thought i have come to the realization that i have a personal vendetta against stories that only progress because there are 1) evil characters and 2) stupid characters i.e. there is blinding frustrating cheek gnawing cruelty askance but that shit just keeps looping because the protagonists are sooooo nice — that is to say, STUPID AS BALLS— and don’t assert themselves. xinghancanlan (and the drama we finished just before, xihuazhi (blossoms into adversity (dogshit english localized titles, i sob)) is so incredibly fucking refreshing on a basic storytelling level because it doesn’t linger. no misery porn (see: love between fairy and devil, til the end of the moon), no dragging out the jealous cousin who keeps torturing the protag and co, instead the plot! just! keeps! moving! it’s got places to go! and it motherfucking goes to them. god i want to eat til the end of the moon’s flashbacks alive anyway (separate story, very long) xinghancanlan also does so many levels of character storytelling and it does it like HELL the amount of care given to each parent child relationship in particular lord i haven’t seen a parent child relationship written with such nuance and care in a long time, if ever, as the one between shaoshang and her mom there is no villain!!! everything is terrible!!!! art imitates reality. and then you get her and her dad, ling buyi and the whole situation going on over there, the emperor, even wang ling’s family— these are not archetypes. they’re people. and that’s so nice. that the homies over there produced a show that lingers not on the agonizing nail ripping sobfests but on how hard it is to be a person

and then there is the fact of the production itself. not to fist my own ass or pat this one’s but this show approaches scene writing and transitions the way i approach my own writing and i have never seen that in any tv series let alone a chinese period drama where girl meets guy and it goes so FUCKIN HARD. i give example. character A and B gossip about character C for a brief period. “C is such a whiny bitch,” B says (this is a close-up shot). cut immediately to a close-up shot of C whining to D, and then one of D replying. just like that we have transitioned between place, time, and characters with this kind of fun witty filmography and writing that makes it feel like this scene is a continuation of the last due to the same style of face to face interrogation. but we are in an entirely different place

or, abruptly there is a scene of violence and brutality yet unseen in the show. it fades to black, and character H shudders awake at her desk. “i just had a terrible dream,” she says. but the scene after that is a continuation of the violence and brutality of earlier and we come to realize that this is very much a real moment in the story. the audience has been played by an inverse ‘it was just a dream’. it was not just a dream. even though it was shocking and gruesome. the story is moving to new places now

and more generally, the score reminds me so strongly of beijing opera with the way the music describes and foreshadows minute gestures; shifting eyes, a tic in the left hand, the slightest drop of one’s shoulders. there are new and interesting, relevant, thought provoking transitions in each scene. the framing of shots emphasizes specific character emotions and mental scapes. and shanjian is an emotionally repressed loser. it’s just so. so. (howling for 85 years). fucking dazzling to see a piece of art that has clearly been made with such care, my guys. and also is fun to watch. and is obviously having fun itself. i am reminded of the ways in which art can save people’s hearts as this saves mine. and shaoshang makes me want to cry, is such a hot mess and not at all one, gives so few shits and altogether too many, is just learning how to hold the love that others give her without trying to call it something else-/ she is so tender. i’m throw myself off a cliff right now. all day i have been wandering around jb muttering to myself about the beautiful and good things in the world. it can change your life to see someone smile even if it is fictional character cheng shaoshang from xinghancanlan. cannot stop thinking about this damn show. thank u for listening

[mind-of-a-mundane]

That episode explaining the root of pain and hatred Daqiang had for his father.

His father removing the root of his love tree.

I'm rewatching this but it still clenches my heart.

i felt so sorry for Daqiang in this scene. He's struggling so much bearing the pain of memories coming back feeling it all over again.

if it weren't for their responsibility to take care of the three realms, they wouldn't have to go this much length to severe their relationship intentionally.

Daqiang 🥺🥺💔💔💔

[thisgingerhasnosoul]

Out of curiosity, what are some movies/TV shows that you love?

An excuse to talk about my favorite movies and tv shows??? You, my friend, know the way to a girl’s heart.

Anyway, let me see. Leverage definitely is one of my favorites. ATLA and the first three seasons of The Dragon Prince are also up there. Derry Girls, Julie and the Phantoms (I’m so mad that it only got one season), Fawlty Towers—and of course, I can’t not mention my beloved C-dramas. Love Between Fairy and Devil (God I hate that name), You Are My Glory, The Rational Life, Falling Into Your Smile—I could watch them over and over and never get tired. Playing Where’s Waldo with the CCP propaganda infused in all their shows is always a lot of fun(?), too.

OH! And Galavant!!! How could I ever forget Galavant!

As for movies, Mean Girls, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Ever After, Music and Lyrics, Jurassic Park, The LOTR trilogy, Singin’ in the Rain, My Fellow Americans (and pretty much any movie with Jack Lemmon), Star Wars—but only the OT and Episode 3.

…I’m starting to realize how eclectic this list is 😂 Anyway, there are probably more but those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

[coulsons-fullmetal-cellist]

For the Love of Horror Masterlist

Dieter meets and falls in love with someone who absolutely loves horror films. The problem is, he's a big scaredy cat!

I'll write the stories as they get into my brain but list everything in chronological order.

The story that started it all:

For the Love of Horror ~ 1,616 words

Special flashback: Love at the Craft Table ~ 2, 104 words

Dieter and The Lobster ~ 2, 152 words

In between:

Kiss the Girl ~ 1,145 words

Ice Cream on the Beach ~ 1, 522 words

Talk Food to me ~ 737 words

Breakfast at Dieter's ~ 858 words

The Noses Have It ~~ 643 words

Only One Pillow ~ 1,017 words

The Jealousy of Dieter Bravo ~ 828 words

435 ~ 737 words

Dieter Bravo and the Sundance Queen ~ 3,064 words

The Last Temptation of Dieter ~ 1, 027 words

How to Heal a Broken Heart ~ 957 words

Dieter Darko ~ 807 words

The Audition ~ 1, 505 words

You've Got a Friend in Me ~ 1, 528 words

Laundry Days ~ 1, 039 words

Happy Birthday Mr Bravo ~ 840 words

Rumour Has It ~ 1, 373 words

A Weekend at Dieter's ~ 1,162 words

The Importance of Being Dieter ~ 3, 536 words

Dieter and the Pea ~ 678 words

What's in the box?~ 301 words

Where's the axe? ~ 604 words

Dieter in Horror-land ~ 1,273 words

A Rather Magical Super Sexy Secret ~ 711 words

A Year of Love and Horror ~ 1, 178 words

Dieter, Dieter, Pumpkin Eater ~ 1, 115 words

Neverwhere ~ 2, 007 words

Baking for the Devil in the Big White Tent ~ 787 words

The Final Girl Phone Call ~ 1, 996 words

Ghosts of the Past ~ 1, 459 words

Back to the Bubble ~ 3, 066 words

After:

He's Just Dieter ~ 1, 624 words

Dieter and the Goats ~ 813 words

Operation Sleepy Hollow ~ 1, 789 words

As the Petals Fall ~ 1,773 words

Tale As Old As Time ~ 759 words

Making An Effort ~ 1, 198 words

Looking Back ~ 967 words

The Lack of Kenergy ~ 610 words

A Dieter Thing Happened on the Way to the Colosseum ~ 1,347 words NEW!!!

Carrie Me Home ~ 523 words

Disgusting Degustation ~ 3,549 words

Don't be a Strip Tease ~ 923 words

Storm Whiskey ~ 387 words

Red Coat, Red Eye ~ 1,147 words

Storm in a Bowling Alley ~ 1, 882 words

Those Blue Eyes ~ 857 words

Halloween Couple Costumes ~ 783 words

A Dieter Movie ~ 209 words

Dieter the Animated dad ~ 555 words

Is That My Robe? ~ 850 words

The Littlest Zombie ~ 737 words

The Littlest Ghost ~ 667 words

Dieter Bravo: The Puppy Interview ~ 653 words

Dieter: Certified DILF ~ 833 words

Agent Skeleton vs. Princess Evil ~ 520 words

It's Alive! ~ 552 words

And the award goes to... ~ 482 words

Dinosaur Hide and Seek ~ 485 words

A Silly Accident ~ 401 words

Clara and the Bad Dinosaur ~ 1, 867 words

A Surefly Way ~ 716 words

Anywhere:

Ace of Spades ~ 197 words

Say It With Flowers ~ 1,191 words

Bedtime Stories ~ 1,426 words NEW!!!

Terrifying Trypophobia ~ 491 words

Roleplaying with Dieter ~ 241 words

More roleplaying ~ 328 words

Vampire Roleplay ~ 343 words

An Attempt at Cowboy Roleplay ~ 502 words

And Nothing More ~ 340 words

Out of Body ~ 268 words

Dieter's Favourite Fruit ~ 731 words

When a Stranger Calls Dieter ~ 757 words

Fangs for the Questions ~ 751 words

Dieter's Drunken Love Confession

Dieter in Fairy Bread Land ~ 568 words

Don't Go Bacon My Heart ~ 366 words

Wooden Puppet Boy ~ 326 words

Under Her Skin ~ 341 words

The Plight of Women's Shorts ~ 349 words

Dieter the Explorer ~ 319 words

Sexy Bespectacled ~ 508 words

Dancing with Dieter at Dusk ~ 680 words

Sexy Dance ~ 246 words

Waltz With Me ~ 726 words

How to Control Those Curls ~ 373 words

If you have any horror films/TV shows you'd like to see mentioned or you just want to recommend something, I'm happy to hear them!

[safirefire]

I’m still a few episodes from the end but I love Jieli and she’s never done anything wrong. Also the way she and Dongfang Qinchang are parallels of each other and her and Shangque are literally the black cat x golden retriever trope adds so much to the story