#ling jiushi

[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.

#the spirealm #致命游戏 #zhi ming you xi #kaleidoscope of death #kod #kod la #danmei #dangai #bl drama #asianlgbtqdramas #死亡万花筒 #lin qiushi #ling jiushi #ruan nanzhu #xia zhiguang #huang junjie

[zishuge]

+ bonus:

The Spirealm 致命游戏 (2024) | Ep. 33

#the spirealm #致命游戏 #kaleidoscope of death #cdrama #cdramasource #ruan nanzhu #ling jiushi #xia zhiguang #huang junjie #kodedit #userhanyi #*gifs:mine #when i tell you this scene literally took my breath away #like my breath actually caught in my throat when he looked up at lingling like that #how #how does xia zhiguang do that with his face #it's like for a second he can't comprehend that there is someone here making dumplings for him #like he's never experienced this level of care before in his life #and the depth of his own feelings is surprising even himself #and alskjfdalskfdjlakjd #GOD #he is so in love #he looks at lingling like he's a man dying in a desert and lingling is the only water in a hundred miles #editing my own damn post to add: i realized what the look on his face is #it's love it's adoration sure but above all it's wonder

[kolachess]

Ruan Nanzhu being shamelessly possessive over Ling Jiushi (The Spirealm / Kaleidoscope of Death)

Just throwing together some fun moments (nothing too spoiler-y) from the episodes I've watched thus far! Jealous and pouty RNZ is the best lol. He's got a wealth of tools at his disposal that's he's unashamed to employ to monopolize LJS.

Ep. 10 - RNZ invoking Confucianism to prevent his boi from sleeping away from him 🤣

Ep. 16 - RNZ performing 'sa jiao' or acting 'moe' to reclaim his boi's attention

Ep. 22 - RNZ invoking 'professionalism' to block any attempts to get close to his boi

-

Please pardon my low quality gifs and crappy sub overlay lol. I don't blog gifs that often... just wanted to share some fun moments in advance since I know the subs are going to take a bit to come out!

#the spirealm #ruan nanzhu #ling jiushi #死亡万花筒 #kaleidoscope of death #致命游戏 #dangai #danmei #spoilers

[luxhesperus]

hahahahaha this is so sweet! i'm going to lie down in the middle of a road :)

bonus (of my other fave cp declaring to be each other's reality):

#WHEN WILL IT BE MY TURN??? #the spirealm #ling jiushi #ruan lanzhu #kaleidoscope of death #kod #死亡万花筒 #global university entrance examination #qqgk #全球高考 #you huo #qin jiu

[llyfrbryf]

The Spirealm 致命游戏 OST

高佳依 《像晨星》

#the spirealm #致命游戏 #the spirealm ost #ruan nanzhu #ling jiushi #this song is killing me! #these lyrics!! #i'm crying. AGAIN!

[shentunans]

Huang JunJie Weibo update 3/17

#dmbj cast #huang junjie #the spirealm #ling jiushi #ling qiushi

[shamelessdazefox]

I was watching the spirealm ep 38 and I nearly lost it.. So I 'fixed' it.

#the spirealm #ruan nanzhu #ruan lanzhu #lin qiushi #ling jiushi #lanjiu #nanqiu #rnz couldn't get more obvious #get a room #kisses

[optimistwithdepressivetendencies]

fun fact about ep 34 of the spirealm no one asked for: on one of the walls of the psychiatric hospital there was written “don’t die” in italian

#the spirealm #kaleidoscope of death #now i need to know who decided to write that #and why it was in italian #ruan lanzhu #ling jiushi

[itsallaboutbl]

I WILL CRY STOP

#they were talking about partnership in the doors and shit but for me this was a confession and asking him to be his boyfriend kinda of talk #idc what anyone says hahah #lanjiu #lanzhu x jiushi #ling jiushi #ruan lanzhu #esme comments

[the-civilized-jedi]

Chapters: 2/? Fandom: 致命游戏 | The Spirealm (TV), 死亡万花筒 - 西子绪 | Kaleidoscope of Death - Xī Zǐxù Rating: Explicit Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Lin Qiushi/Ruan Nanzhu, Ling Jiushi/Ruan Lanzhu Additional Tags: Top Ruan Nanzhu, Bottom Lin Qiushi, A slice of service top!Ruan Nanzhu/pillow prince!Lin Qiushi, Dom/sub Undertones, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe – Chinese Xianxia, Xianxia romantic tropes, mixed TV and novel canon, Allusions to The Spirealm and Kaleidoscope of Death, POV Alternating, Fated Lovers, Reincarnation, Anemoia Flashbacks, Slow Burn, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Mutual Pining, Idiots in Love, Longing, Forehead Kisses, Temptation, Seduction, Suggestive Situations, erotic imagery, Sensual love scenes, Unhealthy Obsession, Jealousy, Shameless Ruan Nanzhu, Shameless Lin Qiushi, Hand Jobs, Blow Jobs, Rough Sex, Passionate Sex, Coming Untouched, Partially Clothed Sex, Hanfu kink, Beautiful Men in Chinese Hanfu, Inherent eroticism of semi-transparent robes, Scent Kink, Honorifics Kink, gege kink, thigh fetish, Foot Fetish, Dirty Talk, Praise Kink, Begging, Biting, violence kink, Unhinged Ruan Nanzhu, Horny Lin Qiushi, Consensual dub-con/non-con Play, mild non-con kink, Monsterfucking kink, (no tentacles tho), Breeding Kink (mentioned), Crying, A Touch of Dacryphilia, Rimming, Restraints, Cat-coded Ruan Nanzhu, Cat lover Lin Qiushi, Lin Qiushi’s slutty little waist, Ruan Nanzhu in drag (briefly), BAMF! Ruan Nanzhu, Drama Queen! Ruan Nanzhu, Lin Qiushi is no better, dramatic boys being dramatic, Battle Couple, Murder Husbands, And there was only one bed? In my censored Chinese bl?, Vampire kink (of sorts), Virginity Kink Summary:

🏮Even three hundred years after his reincarnation, an immortal cultivator Lin Qiushi keeps hearing echoes of the past. Those distant voices speak of doors behind which his lost love is locked away forever, filling Lin Qiushi’s heart with nostalgia for the time and place he’s never known and longing for the person he’s never met...🏮 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Spirealm meets Chinese Xianxia 🪭but it’s full-on Danmei and No Fucking Censorship. So, basically, 🍆dicks🍆 and ✨overused romantic tropes✨all around!

#the spirealm #ruan nanzhu #lin qiushi #nanqiu #ling jiushi #ruan lanzhu #kaleidoscope of death #xia zhiguang #huang junjie #ruan nanzhu x lin qiushi #ruan nanzhu/lin qiushi

[exeunt-fool]

I live for Ruan Lan Zhu and his double standard

#the spirealm #ruan lanzhu #ling jiushi

[shijiujun]

FACE-TOUCHING!!!!

The Spirealm 致命游戏 (2024) | Kaleidoscope of Death 死亡万花筒 Live Action

#the spirealm #致命游戏 #zhi ming you xi #kaleidoscope of death #kod #kod la #死亡万花筒 #ling jiushi #lin qiushi #ruan nanzhu #asianlgbtqdramas #xia zhiguang #huang junjie

[zishuge]

The Spirealm 致命游戏 (2024) | Ep. 2

#the spirealm #致命游戏 #kaleidoscope of death #ruan nanzhu #ling jiushi #lin qiushi #xia zhiguang #huang junjie #cdrama #cdramasource #kodedit #userhanyi #*gifs:mine #the heart eyes started early and never stopped #this is episode TWO #really love that rnz was so thrown for a second that he actually turned to stare at the pot #anyway i'm always going to remember how i was just about to nope out of this show because of the scary part right before this #(i am not equipped for horror) #but then this happened and i was like ugh okay fine they're super cute i have to keep going #i guess “幹嘛去啊” is actually more like “why are you leaving” not “where are you going” #oops #also “why are you leaving” is so much clingier why is he like this i love him

[heymeowmao]

致命游戏 | The Spirealm ° Ling Jiushi & Li Dongyuan

#致命游戏 #The Spirealm #cdrama #Liu Xiaobei #Huang Junjie #character: ling jiushi #character: li dongyuan #ohhh nooooo e53 ;w; #meowmao gifs

[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.

#I FEEL LIKE IM GOING CRAZY #SOMEONE FUCKING SEDATE ME #I BEG #PLEASE #the spirealm #ling jiushi #ruan lanzhu #kaleidoscope of death #kod #死亡万花筒 #lin qiushi #ruan nanzhu

[llyfrbryf]

你骗了我这么久，我应该听得懂，对吧？

You lied to me for so long, I should be able to understand, right?______

Will I ever get over this scene and the absolutely, unbelievably extraordinary acting by Xia Zhiguang?! There's great acting, there's exceptional acting, and then there's Xia Zhiguang as Ruan Nanzhu.

If you're fluent in Mandarin and plan to watch The Spirealm / 致命游戏 be careful: HUGE SPOILERS TO EPISODE 72 / THE BIGGEST SPOILER OF THE WHOLE SHOW.

If you aren't fluent in Mandarin Chinese and haven't even heard of this show: please watch it! It's superb! Just look at these two guys acting their hearts out!

The edit of the scene taken from here (love the colouring, btw!)

#the spirealm #致命游戏 #ruan nanzhu #xia zhiguang #xia zhiguang as ruan nanzhu #huang junjie #huang junjie as ling jiushi #ling jiushi #these boys I swear!