#my journey to you meta

[randomingoftherandomness]

There is a thing I don't get, why Yuanzhi was so against the idea of Ziyu becoming the sword wielder?

Just because he wanted his brother to be it? Or because of the rumors about Ziyu's mother? I mean, Shangjue was always logical on the reasons why he didn't want Ziyu to be the leader while Yuanzhi seemed to just do what he was told to do.

I read an answer on Reddit where Yuanzhi was described as Shangjue's dog, with no opinions of his own, petty and oblivious. Many people regarded him as the true villain of the show because he caused pain and played tricks for no real reasons. Do you think he is like that? Only smart for poisons?

Me to the Redditor who said that:

Knuckle and buckle, kids, you're on the Gab Meta Train.

1. Gong Ziyu started out hella unqualified and everyone knows it

Don't come at me and tell me Gong Ziyu was the most worthy candidate to be the Sword Wielder because based on the first character setup, he definitely was not it. He was known to frequent the pleasure house, he stumbles home drunk in broad daylight, he has no involvement in the family's affairs, and he is most definitely more known as a dandy than anyone who is being groomed to take over the helm of the family.

Honestly, off the bat, in real life, would you want someone with a proven track record to lead you and protect you and your interests, or would you want some dude who is better known for hanging out at a brothel than he is actually handling paperwork or has a track record of maturity?

Yuanzhi, who is younger than Ziyu, but already is contributing to the day-to-day running and the development of tech and research for the family.

Which means...?

He has skin in the game about who he wants to lead him in the family. And that's a very valid stance to take. It's more than "oh Gege told me to do this, so I will" because that's such a sad 1 dimension take, and again, to that Redditor:

Of course, we as the audience know that Ziyu will shape up. He will step up and he will answer the call, so to speak. But Gong Yuanzhi and Gong Shangjue did not. And if you really think about it, they're pretty much 'employees' of the Gong company. They just didn't agree with what top management decided and vocally voiced that opinion.

If you reeeeeallly want to think about it, they were just unionising :)

(gonna put this under a read more coz it got long)

2. Gong Shangjue has instilled a mentality of "Family First"

Relating to the first point.

Shangjue is obviously Yuanzhi's North Star. He is who Yuanzhi is shaping himself to be, and for all we know of his character, of course he would. He's basically the perfect man to aspire to be in a society like theirs.

So, when Shangjue says, "Family is the Most Important", don't you think Yuanzhi is gonna listen? Gong Shangjue is Gong Yuanzhi's most important person. He's family in a way that the rest aren't. Even if he doesn't outright say "I want that position", Yuanzhi would have done anything to help support him and get him there.

And going on the point where Shangjue and Yuanzhi were on Ziyu's case coz of the rumours that his mom was possibly pregnant when she married into the Gong family; I know other users on the MJTY tag have quite possibly discussed this matter (shoutout to @kingsandbastardz @swiftletinthecloud @romchat for their lovely metas and analysis posts ❤️ I consume them with much gratitude and glee), but let me crudely try to wrangle what has been beautifully said into my my own words;

For a family that prides themselves with being very strict about their familial rules, the fact that there is some measure and level of doubt persisting about Ziyu's parentage should have and must disqualify him from the position itself. Ziyu's dad could have easily kiboshed the rumours but he didn't, why?

More than that, the implication given to Shangjue over tea was that the position of Zhiren was always meant to go to him. Rewatch that scene where he last saw his uncle. Tell me differently.

The whole paternity issue is just one facet of a very Ziyu shaped problem. Having a murky paternity will raise issues of succession. Why do you think the nobilities of Europe back then had a court of people, usually people of importance, to be present when a marriage was consummated and a child was born? This is to make sure that there was no doubt that the marriage was legitimate and the line of succession and paternity remains unbroken.

(there were always exceptions to the rule, of course, but you get my drift, right?)

Of course, we got the resolutions to all of these issues; Ziyu was always the bio son of the Zhiren, he probably didn't kibosh the rumours because he never wanted to have his son carry that burden of leading the family when he could tell that his son had always wanted to leave the Valley, and Shangjue never coveted the position in the first place, he just wanted the right person to lead.

3. Yuanzhi has no opinions

Yuanzhi's just a dog to Shangjue? Well, if he's a dog, I wanna be one too Woof Woof.

Yuanzhi has his own motivations and drive. They just so happened to be Gege-shaped. I don't see how that warrants being called someone's dog.

He doesn't have his own opinions? Bro quite literally almost died to prove a point that the porridge was poisoned and Shangguan Qian cannot be trusted. HOW IS THAT NOT HAVING AN OPINION?

WERE WE EVEN WATCHING THE SAME SHOW???

Honestly, it's Reddit so I shouldn't be this surprised about the hot takes that happen on there, but damn if some people lack two brain cells to rub together to critically consume the media in front of them.

4. Yuanzhi is a reactionary character

Think about it; how many times throughout the narrative did he cause problems for no apparent reason?

If anything, don't you think that Ziyu & co. are the ones who deliberately do things to antagonise him and Shangjue? It's almost midnight as I am typing this and the old noggin is starting to lag, but let's focus on the blood GPS incident.

Yuanzhi saw that the people in the Yu residence were being a bit suspicious so he goes to snoop (cause + reason = reaction). Jin Fan is best boy, but Yuanzhi did not instigate that fight, he did (with good reason i know i know). (offense + defense = reaction). Ziyu & co. tried to stuff him into the closet (*snerk*) and what does he do? Bites down until he bleeds because he knows Gege will find him if he sniffs him out. And he did. A successful reaction.

In my opinion, he's like gunpowder -- left alone, they'll be fine. When given a spark, will react.

And again with feeling... To the Redditor who spouted such utter shite;

Class dismissed

#if it sounds like i have taken offence and would like to challenge to a duel of honour at dawn; it is and i do #I'm filled with fight me energy #gong yuanzhi #GRRR HOW DARE THEY #their brains must be smooth #the lights must be on but no one is home #because you can't be that stupid can you? #oh wait. yeah. yeahhh you can #my journey to you meta #my journey to you #gab rambles

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

First and Last appearances of Poorly-Drawn-MDZS Season 1!

#poorly drawn mdzs #mdzs #not tagging them all here cause these are just comic excerpts #left out a quite a few characters cause they either didn't show up enough OR their first/last is a poor representation #the 'omg its Hanguang Jun' call back was intentional B*) #Surprised that no one pointed it out but now *I* can! Bursting into the scene fabulously is how LWJ starts and ends season 1! #Jin Ling has the least dramatic glow up (honestly I have been finding him harder and harder to draw) but he *does* have a moral glow up #I think *this* comparison is the one I feel best emphasizes my journey on this blog. #thank you to everyone who started following and cheering me on. Especially those who've been here since the very start #That said - no matter when you found this blog; It means a lot to me B*) #that's it for the reflective meta posting: season 2 starts back in July. I've gonna take this week to catch up on asks!

[yea-baiyi]

i keep thinking about the odyssey i am THINKING about wei wuxian as odysseus. you were dead. its been years since you’ve seen your family. the child you left behind is almost a man. you wear a face they don’t recognise, you sneak in through the back door. the dog gives your identity away. the world knows it’s you when you draw your weapon. the person you love recognises you by the original symbol of your love—a secret that no one else in the world knows about, still, because they kept it safe for all these years. you get the chance to go back and despite everything, you found home waiting for you; he kept your place and raised your son and he was still there waiting for you when you got back. tell me o muse, about a complicated man i am extremely not okay

#cql #mdzs #wangxian #wwx #lwj #meta stuff #greek mythology #i am not fine i am not sane in the slightest #no idea if i’ve posted something similar to this before #i definitely started my odyssey journey thinking about them but then i got sidetracked with. the actual odyssey #i have been on an absolute greek tragedy bender though so there’s. plenty more to come. but also. HHHHH #the dog thing is so silly but i couldn’t help keeping it in because that is SO funny #this is soooo self indulgent i am sorry for subjecting u all to this #thank u to helendamnation my beloved for listening to all my rambling this weekend about this #jesus. home waited. the odyssey is about many things but it is about a man coming home. #and despite everything. he gets to come home. and he gets it because his home waited for him. #despite him being dead. despite the gods. despite the suitors and the pressure and the doubt. #in most stories home moves on without you but this time. this one time. home waited. #homeric hyperfixation haze

[captainofthetidesbreath]

[blows a kiss out to sea] for the Mighty Nein pirates arc

#I'm!! I have so many thoughts about why this arc is SO GOOD #But the short version is like #It is an arc about Fjord and identity and power and self and agency as he faces the truth of his patron and faces a rival warlock #But it is ALSO about Fjord grappling with those things bc he is ALSO processing grief and sadness and a search for direction and purpose #and grappling with disappointing disillusionment in how the world and people in your life (including maybe yourself) isn't what you thought #and about coming to resolve he has the agency and strength to not allow these things to deter him from purpose and place in the world. #And—this is why this is a PHENOMENAL arc—so is the rest of the Nein. Individually and as a group. #All of them are grappling with feelings of grief and sadness and disappointment and directionless and helplessness #just the grand malaise and relentless shapelessness of what living often is #They also as individuals and as a group together also find that resolve and strength to carry on and find self and purpose and direction #They all begin to process the very same things in their own lives and in their shared experience as The Nein. Simultaneously and together. #It's an arc about Fjord and self and agency in the face of disappointment and grief and disillusionment. #It's an arc about the Nein—individually and as a whole—and self and agency in the face of disappointment and grief and disillusionment. #It's SUCH a strong arc bc ALL of them are taking the same internal journey—structured around Fjord's very externalized version of it. #And it's got incredible vibes (pirate warlocks of a leviathan!) and some GREAT set pieces. And every NPC in the arc is iconic as is Twiggy. #Anyway. In my feelings about this arc. I said this is the short version and yet. #Critical Role things #CR meta

[to-proudly-go]

Star Wars is making me delusional for happy endings more than ever and unfortunately I still don't have regrets. The absolute ache my heart goes through every time I stop and think about it in its entirety is phenomenal because how dare these characters from a galaxy far, far away give me pain

Sure we've got the Force and lightsabers and shiny armor and beautiful planets and I'm tickled pink by it all but no one warned me about the tragedy that threw me off the fucking rails with the speed of light

Because can you imagine cutting off the limbs of someone closer to you than a brother and a lover, the other half of your soul, and turning your back as he burns because you can't bring your lightsaber down and end his misery, you can't kill him, you spent years protecting him, fighting for him, keeping him close and not-close so he can find his happiness that the Code you are both bound to cannot give him as you willingly turn a blind eye, only to turn around and find that he has drifted too far and already completely out of your reach, and all you want to do is go back to the time when it's just the two of you, growing and learning together, watching each other's backs against blaster fire, when it was you and him against the world, not you and him against each other. You spend the next 19 years watching over the two stars that are the only parts left of the man you loved from different ends of the galaxy and learning to love them as themselves even as you see him and her in them and it makes you ache, makes you wish for simpler times as you stare down the red blade into red lenses hiding yellow eyes and you are tired, so tired with longing and pain and guilt for the monster you unknowingly helped create

And on the other hand can you imagine finding the child you thought you had lost along with the love of your life, the very people you burned the world for and you thought burned with it? The decades of anguish and anger all culminating to this moment, and instead of the joyous reunion you have always imagined in your weakest moments, it’s her familiar, beloved eyes doused in the color of the desert skies glaring at you with hate and fear as he hides his arm you ruined with your own Force-damned hands. You have loved this child from when he was just a dream whispered underneath the stars, feeling the warmth of twin suns burning in you as you imagine the weight of him (them, you are a father of two) in your arms, incandescent with the promise that you will protect the family you made, all the while forgetting the family you already had. Then you are on your back, electricity still crackling underneath your skin and robbing you of strength as you look at him with your own eyes for the first and last time, and there is forgiveness you didn't know you were looking for, and when you wake up again on the other side of the veil you hope you can find forgiveness there too

#from dinluke to Dad Vader to obikin my journey has gone #when canon proves too much of a heartache #we turn to fanfics and fanart to heal #thank you fan creators #also i'm relatively new to the fandom so hi #star wars #meta #dad vader #obikin #obi-wan kenobi #obi wan kenobi #anakin skywalker #darth vader #obi wan and anakin #luke skywalker #padme naberrie #leia organa #my stuff

[romchat]

Visual Analysis of the Slow Burn: My Journey to You, Story of Kunning Palace

How do you film a slow-burn romance?

One of the challenges of filming slow-burn romances is that creators have to figure out how to slowly build tension and intimacy between two characters without testing the audience's patience. We have to feel a couple’s chemistry and growing feelings for one another even if it takes a long time for them to get together. 

And here's where cinematography and visual parallelism can be a helpful tool. Visual parallelism is when we link two or more characters, events, storylines, etc. through a shared image. When we see repeated imagery, our brains connect those moments and give them more meaning than if we had looked at them in isolation. Because of this, visual parallelism can help complicate our understanding of characters and the world around them without having to spell out those nuances in the script.

In slow-burn romances, visual parallelism can be used to:

Connect characters who, on the surface, appear incompatible or unattracted to one another;

Signal major moments of change in a show's romantic storyline;

Compare and contrast a new relationship with a character’s past relationships;

And much more!

I think two dramas that use this technique in interesting ways are My Journey to You and Story of Kunning Palace.

My Journey to You

Before we jump into that scene, let’s talk about some of the visual techniques My Journey to You (MJTY) uses to establish the enemies-to-lovers relationship of its secondary couple, Gong Shangjue and Shangguan Qian. 

Something I immediately noticed about MJTY is that the show loves using certain camera angles and blocking patterns (or how actors are positioned in relation to one another) to define characters’ personalities and their relationships. This repeated imagery is an example of visual parallelism, and in the case of Shangjue and Qian, the show then uses breaks in that parallelism to communicate the subtle changes in their relationship over time. Through this technique, we see their growing feelings for each other even if we don’t hear the characters express those feelings with words. 

For example, at the beginning of the show, Shangjue is usually shot from a low angle while Qian is usually shot from a high angle, and the repetition of that camera language reflects the characters' constant game of cat and mouse.

In cinematography, low-angle and high-angle shots are often paired to visually enhance the power imbalance between characters. Low-angle shots make the subject look more powerful and threatening while high-angle shots make the subject look weaker and more vulnerable.

Qian, who is an assassin, has infiltrated Shangjue’s clan, and he is immediately suspicious of her identity and allegiances. He is cold and intimidating towards her, and she does everything in her power not to get caught. But because she is particularly good at reading and manipulating him, Shangjue soon finds himself intrigued by her. He might be filmed looming over her like he has more power in the situation, but her weakness is an act. We know this because we can see how Qian isn’t filmed with such high angles when interacting with characters who know her true identity and nature like Yun Weishan or Gong Yuanzhi. She is pretending to be subservient and delicate to seduce Shangjue specifically.

Side Note: One of my FAVORITE moments in MJTY is Shangjue and Qian’s “do you still think I’m gentle?” scene in Episode 12. Not only is the writing and acting electric, but the camera’s subtle shift in angles pinpoints the moment Shangjue begins to feel sexually attracted to Qian. When she gently blows on his fingers, the camera quickly pans to an eye-level shot and we see Shangjue clench his jaw. After that, the camera uses less extreme angles to film his conversation with her—his moment of desire and her strategic thinking equalized their power imbalance.

Which brings us to the famous bath scene in Episode 17. 

Whenever they share a scene, Shangjue is usually positioned at a higher level and facing forward in a thronal position while Qian is at his side, looking up at him obsequiously. The lack of visual alignment in their actor blocking represents how the characters can’t be completely vulnerable or honest with each other while the dominant/submissive pose plays up the sexual tension of their interactions.

So we know that the bath scene represents a critical turning point in their relationship because of the break in parallelism: 

Not only are they sitting at the same level while facing each other, the camera is set at a much more neutral over-the-shoulder and eye-level angle. Over-the-shoulder and eye-level shots are often used to bring intimacy to a scene and that camera language reinforces the actors’ relaxed physical acting and flirtatious dialogue. The two characters are sharing a moment of honest pleasure and have temporarily let their guards down, which is why Qian decides to take the opportunity to share her true intentions for wanting to marry into his family. It’s probably the most truthful and revealing conversation she has had with Shangjue up until this point and creates complications for each others' plans.

One of the lingering questions many MJTY viewers have about Shangjue and Qian’s relationship is whether or not Qian developed real feelings for him in the end. While the script could have done a better job of developing her character’s arc at the textual level, I think the show’s thoughtful use of visual parallelism gives us the answer. 

Not only does their final scene together subvert the camera language and actor blocking we talked about, but it also parallels an earlier scene where we can be reasonably sure of Qian’s honesty: the torture scene. And it’s the juxtaposition of what is shown versus what is said that gives us what I’d consider a satisfyingly bittersweet conclusion to their love story.

Story of Kunning Palace

Unlike MJTY, which uses visual parallelism to show changes in the secondary couple’s relationship, Story of Kunning Palace (SOKP) uses this technique to represent the undeniable compatibility of its main couple, Jiang Xuening and Xie Wei. 

Given the popularity of the show's second and third male leads, many viewers have expressed confusion as to if and when Xie Wei truly emerges as the rightful male lead. Even as a slow-burn romance, SOKP is slow slow. 

And yet when we take a step back and look at the show’s visual storytelling, particularly its use of symbolism and parallelism, we not only see why these two characters complement each other but how they find healing in their (admittedly messy and toxic) love. At its core, SOKP is a story about two traumatized and self-loathing people finding "the one" who still sees them as worthy despite all their flaws. Ning-er and Xie Wei are like two jagged pieces of a broken mirror reflecting one another’s sins and virtues, and the show constantly reminds us of that deep connection with how it juxtaposes the two characters on screen. (Just look at that split screen above--they literally complete each other.) 

We see this connection from the moment Ning-er and Xie Wei are introduced in Episode 1:

The composition and camera movement directly mirror each other. 

When we see parallelism in the portrayal of two characters, we should stop and think about the similarities and differences between them. Both Ning-er and Xie Wei share the trauma of having grown up alienated from their birth families, and the pain of what they experienced drives their ruthless desire for revenge and power. During the show’s first timeline, Ning-er violates her innate sense of goodness while Xie Wei hides his true self.

Side Note: SOKP also reminds us of this connection with its consistent use of a fire motif. Throughout the show, we often see Ning-er and Xie Wei surrounded by candles, furnaces, fires, etc., and this symbolism comes to a head in Episode 34 when Xie Wei desperately argues that they belong together because they've both been forged by the fire of their upbringing.

And yet at the same time, as noted by several characters, they are both incredibly loyal people, sacrificing themselves to change the fate of the people they care for.

Both Ning-er and Xie Wei overlook these redeeming qualities about themselves, but they “see” them in the other, which the show demonstrates through the visual parallelism of their gazes.

In Episode 14, Ning-er asks Xie Wei: 

Jiang Xuening: Between my past self and present self, who do you think is better? Xie Wei: Be it the past or the present, it is all you. You're the one and only Miss Ning'er. Besides, the present exists because of the past. Just face it as is. But if we have to make it clear, I think if the present Ning'er knows what she wants, she will be well. And she'll be even better in the future.

In a previous analysis of Episode 14, I've noted how "Ning-er's character arc isn't just about becoming a better person but also about recognizing that she has always had goodness in her and that goodness makes her life worth just as much as someone like Zhang Zhe....Despite being brash and cunning, Ning-er is also tenacious, brave, and even kind (all of which Xie Wei recognized when they first met years ago). She is an 'unrefined jade', someone who can choose a more righteous path than the one she started on. And he sees her. He truly sees her."

So across the show's multiple timelines, the camera will linger on Xie Wei's tender gaze toward Ning-er. In this case, the parallelism of such a distinctive shot communicates something that Ning-er doesn't realize: Xie Wei sees and loves sides of her that she is unable to accept about herself.

She eventually starts seeing him too. 

During the first timeline, Ning-er sees Xie Wei as a threat and warily engages him only out of desperation. But despite her fear, Ning-er also recognizes his true qualities enough that by the second timeline, she implicitly trusts him to help her carry out her own goals. She unlearns her assumptions about him and pushes him to find meaning in life beyond his self-destructive need for revenge.

So it's fitting then that during their private wedding, Ning-er and Xie Wei are shown gazing at each other, fully aware of and accepting of their true natures:

Jiang Xuening: “I’ve seen your light and your darkness, your vulnerability, and your madness. I know everything about you that is known or unknown to others. I might even say that I know you better than you do.”

They've fully entrusted themselves with one another.

#my journey to you #云之羽 #story of kunning palace #宁安如梦 #cdrama #meta #cinematography #zhang ling he #bai lu #cheng lei #lu yuxiao

[starcrossed591]

CDrama Year in Review 2023

I'm still very much a CDrama beginner--I just started watching them in the summer of 2022--but since this is the first year I got into them in earnest, I figured I might as well do a year in review a la @dangermousie (whose lists I have found incredibly helpful in deciding which CDramas I really, really need to go back and watch as part of my CDrama education--so thank you!). So, without further adieu, here is my ranking of 2023 CDramas, in order of least enjoyed to most enjoyed*.

(See also: KDrama Year in Review 2023)

*Disclaimer: *not* a measure of objective quality

10. Royal Rumours: This drama was not great? Meng Zi Yi and Jeremy Tsui were fun, but the story started out messy and got messier. For some reason I still finished it, I think because I had a lingering cold and it was all my brain could handle at the time *shrug*

9. Gone with the Rain: I actually really enjoyed this one! The pacing was inconsistent, but Zhang Nan was fun as the irreverent Mo Xi, and we love a grizzled general. Special shout to the teacher who was not actually evil, just a sad lesbian whose gf disappeared on her

8. Love You Seven Times: Intriguing concept, not a strong enough FL to carry it through. The reincarnation stuff really worked for me at first, especially in their first mortal tribulation (as people, not CGI animals), but I got tired of it pretty quickly. I admit, the gifs of Ding Yu Xi as a sexy cat demon *did* pull me back in, but not enough for me to actually finish the thing, alas

7. Destined/Chang Feng Du: Started out really strong, and then stalled out on me. I think I only got up to about episode 22 or so, after their epic desert crossing and new start in a new state--they lost all narrative momentum for me there. I stopped watching and then just...didn't start again. I do, however, remain a big Bai Jing Ting fan, and will be keeping on eye out for whatever he does next

6. Hidden Love: (Contemporary) Age gap romances are hit or miss for me, but Zhao Lu Si absolutely stole/carried the show for me in this one. Although more fun imo when the main couple are in the the will-they-won't-they phase than in the family melodrama after they get together, still the only contemporary CDrama to get me to give it a go this year--and I'm glad I did

5. My Journey to You: Featuring my favorite murder girlies Esther Yu as Yun Wei Shan and Lu Yu Xiao as Shanguan Qian! Gorgeous costumes and sets, sweeping cinematography, and plot that kept me on the edge of my seat. Full disclosure, I have not actually watched the last two episodes because I got busy and then saw weird chatter about them, so I have no comment on the allegedly weird ending

4. Till the End of the Moon: Look, I know the ending wasn't ideal, but for the majority of its run, this drama owned my entire soul. It also introduced me to Bai Lu as Li Su Su, who inspired my first actual tumblr post (that wasn't a reblog) because I was so obsessed with her. And everyone knows that Tantai Jin is the CDrama ML of the year. 10/10, no regrets at letting it take over my life (and the OST my Spotify) from April to May of this year

3. The Story of Kunning Palace: More Bai Lu is always a good thing, and she's extra fun here as the transmigrated former evil empress and totally-over-your-nonsense Xiang Xue Ning here. The reverse haremness of it all totally shows why Bai Lu is the chemistry queen, especially with the princess (Liu Xie Ning) and cranky, morally grey, would-fail-gym-class strategist Xie Wie (Zhang Ling He). So glad this drama made it out of the CDrama vault and didn't languish indefinitely in censorship hell

2. A Journey to Love: Finished this one two days ago as of this writing and am still not normal about it. Ren Ruyi (Liu Shi Shi) and Ning Yuan Zhou (Liu Yu Ning) lead an exceptionally strong ensemble cast in this wuxia that explores the complicated relationships between love, duty, loyalty, loneliness, and companionship. Ruyi and Yuan Zhou are far and away one of my fave OTPs of the year, but just as compelling are the relationships between friends/brothers/fellow assassins Yu Shisan, Yuan Lu (ugh my heart), Qian Zhou, and Sun Lang. This drama definitely has one of the strongest ensemble casts of the year. And the character growth of Yang Ying from little princess abandoned in the cold palace to who she becomes by the end will stick with me for a long time. Plus another 10/10 OST!

1. Lost You Forever S1: I'm not normally a reverse harem girl, but the longing, loss, and hard resolve portrayed to perfection by Yang Zi as Xiao Yao really did it for me here. This whole drama struck an emotional chord for me, and where TTEOTM consumed my soul, LYF took over my heart. Xiao Yao's relationships with her power hungry, overprotective cousin Cang Xuan; hot snake demon Xiang Liu/playboy archery shufu Feng Feng Bei; and perfectly devoted Tushan Jing are all equally compelling to me, and while I may know who she ends up with in the end, who I *think* she should be with changes based on who's on screen at any given time. And A'Nian, my favorite bratty princess who really just needs some strong parenting, holds a special place in my heart. I know we may never get S2, and even if we do, censorship means it probably won't be what the drama makers are capable of, but I'm so glad for this little piece of absolute perfection. And, again, a top notch OST!

Fave Drama: Lost You Forever, by just a hair over A Journey to Love. See above.

Least Fave Drama: Royal Rumours--truly why did I finish this, what was past me thinking

Biggest Disappointment: 2023 is also the year I read Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir, my very first CNovel! But then I didn't even bother checking out its adaptation, Romance of a Twin Flower, because it got rid of everything that made the novel such an addicting read, including a brilliant, strategic, ice cold FL and an ML who actually kind of sucked at the beginning, only to grow on you very, very slowly over time. I'm grateful that the chatter around the drama is what brought the novel to my attention, but other than that, hard pass.

Favorite Male Character: Lots of good ones this year, but I'm gonna go with Cang Xuan (Zhang Wan Yi) from Lost You Forever. The conflict he faces between getting enough power to protect the people he loves the most and that power making him incompatible with those loved ones is so compelling, and his yearning for Xiao Yao even when she's right in front of him is wrenching. Full disclosure, I also just really love the sound of his voice

Favorite Female Character: This could easily have gone to Li Susu (TTEOTM), Xiao Yao (LYF), or Ren Ruyi (AJTL), but I'm gonna go with Bai Lu's Xiang Xue Ning in The Story of Kunning Palace. Something I really loved about this character was just how jaded Xue Ning really was, even in her second go round at life. Yeah, she wants to make amends for the harm done in her previous rise to power, but that has hardly turned her into a good--or even pleasant--person. Instead, she's incredibly skeptical and still plays most things ice cold, especially with her family. As a bonus, we got plenty of Bai Lu's fantastic side eye as she basically had to do high school all over again when she gets called into the palace despite her very best efforts not to be.

Favorite Ship: Ren Ruyi and Yuan Zhao from A Journey to Love have got to be it. They balance each other out so well, and over the course of the drama, learn to communicate effectively with each other whenever they have a problem. They also recognize that not all problems can be solved by ~love~, which makes their relationship even more compelling when they decide to prioritize each other in a way that respects what the other wants from life.

Favorite Secondary Ship: Little princess Yang Ying and Yuan Lu absolutely broke stole my heart in A Journey to Love. Doomed love even more than the main OTP, these two's youthful romance was such much fun to watch, especially as they egged their respective mentors on in their own romance. Yang Ying's recognition that her first love did not have to be her only love is also something I always love to see, even as it broke my heart that (spoiler) she and Yuan Lu never really had a chance at an HEA. Their relationship really exemplified a key theme of this drama: that you should love the people you love while they're still with you because tomorrow is never promised.

Non-2023 Dramas that I Watched: Two non-2023 dramas I watched that deserve a special shout out are Love and Redemption and The Sword and the Brocade. Love and Redemption prepared me to really appreciate the big swings that Till the End of the Moon took, and The Sword and the Brocade went a little way to filling the Story of Ming Lan shaped hole in my heart. The Sword and the Brocade also had absolutely searing critique of the concubine system, even as it featured one of the most genuinely good-hearted FLs I've seen. Would recommend both!

Most Looking Forward To: Yes, I'm a sucker and the censors (not to mention the characters) will probably break my heart, but I'm still crossing my fingers that Lost You Forever S2 will live up to the promise of part one. See above: still a CDrama beginner, have not yet had all the optimism knocked out of me. Sue me.

#CDrama #year in review #Lost You Forever #A Journey to Love #The Story of Kunning Palace #My Journey to You #Hidden Love #Chang Feng Du #Destined CDrama #Till the End of the Moon #Love You Seven Times #Gone with the Rain #Ren Ruyi #Yang Ying #Yuan Lu #Bai Lu #Meta #CDrama Review

[distort-opia]

Hello! So I recently got into batman, and I’ve been slowly climbing my way up my reading list while also browsing through tumblr in search for metas about him, which is how I found your blog, and I really enjoy your metas!

I have a question though that won’t leave my mind, yet I also don’t want to stop my current reading list to jump into another series (JL), so I hope you don’t mind me asking this question to you instead 🙏

Basically, I’ve been wondering whether Bruce has opinions about Clark in relation to his self—Bruce’s self? So far from what I’ve read, Dick is (excuse me if the wording isnt exactly accurate, but just as a sums up) “the one that brings the light to Bruce’s darkness & the ideal self—the best of him”, whereas Joker is “the mirror to his self—the him that ‘what could have been’, the him who took different route”, and I wonder if there is a similar thinking/opinion about this self thing from him @ Clark too (like some sort of parallels)? I’m sorry if it sounds confusing 😅 Thank you!

Welcome to the fandom! Thank you for the kind words, glad you've enjoyed what meta I've put out. Hope you're having a fun time with Batman comics.

Oh Bruce definitely has opinions on Clark and Superman in general, in relation to himself. Though I have to make the note that in no way was Superman intended or built as a narrative foil for Batman's character, a "mirror self". Dick and Joker are characters who populated Batman's world from early on and were always meant to say something about the protagonist. Superman is a protagonist onto himself; he was created before Batman, and his popularity was actually a big factor contributing to Batman's creation. But that doesn't mean these two characters haven't grown together and influenced each other in a myriad of ways.

On a surface level, you've got the... grumpy one/sunshine one dichotomy. Superman is brightly colored and more emotional and fights in the light to bring people hope. Batman is enshrouded in darkness and stoically represses his emotions and fights in the night for justice and vengeance. One in the light, one in the shadows, one alien, one human, the "boy scout" and the "bad boy"... Even though they work together and are both on the side of good, these contrasts between Bruce and Clark are easily noticed by both others and themselves, and have led to conflicts on more than one occasion. But the way this translates in Bruce's head, to approach it from the angle you mentioned, is probably best summed up by the following pages... which I'm putting under a cut since this gets a bit long. Spoilers too I guess, for the Rebirth Batman run (if you haven't gotten to it yet).

Batman (2016) #36

"He's a better man than I am. [...] Who am I, compared to him?" And this is no way a new sentiment for Bruce:

Batman: Hush

Bruce doesn't see himself as a good person. He's capable of risking people's lives, of blackmail, lying, torture and manipulation, of unbelievable brutality and violence in the service of what he believes is his Mission. But he sees Clark as an inherently good person; as an ideal that he himself is not capable of ever reaching, of ever being. If I were to summarize only the projection aspect when it comes to Batman and Superman's dynamic, I'd say it's this one-- Superman is the hero Batman wishes he could be, but not one he'd ever try to become, because he believes himself fundamentally incapable of it. If as you said Dick is someone Bruce relates to and sees parts of himself in, but better (in trying to help Dick he retrospectively tries to help his child self), Clark isn't that. Superman is less of a mirror Bruce actively acts on, and more of a... negative. Clark is technically an alien, and yet in many ways he's more "human" than Bruce, having grown up with a loving family that Bruce wishes he had. Where Bruce tries to rise above the humanity he sometimes sees as weakness, both in emotional and physical terms, Clark is someone who's already "above" humanity, and yet yearns to be part of it. Moreso, Bruce envies Clark's sheer god-like power, but he knows that he doesn't have Clark's good character; that if he had this kind of unstoppable power, his need for complete control would drive him mad. Which actually happened one time, in Superman/Batman (2003) #53-56.

That being said, as is noticeable even in the pages above, this can result in Bruce putting Clark up on a pedestal, and idealizing him a bit too much, to the point of forgetting that Clark is a person too, with flaws and weaknesses. And not just that... the more ruthless and calculated side of Bruce never truly stops seeing Clark's power, both as something he can wield and something that can be turned against him (hence the hoarding of kryptonite and the contingency plans, in case Superman went bad). Perhaps Bruce's attitude more generally is illustrated best in this very recent moment:

Batman (2016) #128

Superman as Earth's greatest hero, and its greatest weapon. And Bruce is willing to risk his life to preserve that, because by comparison, he isn't these things. (And because Clark is his friend.)

#there's so much to their dynamic tbh. didn't delve too much into the more Superbat side of things but #this plays a part. they ARE best friends no matter what they say. but it was a complex journey to get there and it's still complicated #anyway. with the disclaimer that these are my personal thoughts of course #perhaps you'll have different interpretations as you make your way through canon #but I hope this was a fun read Anon! #asks #batman #bruce wayne #bruce wayne meta #superman #clark kent #my meta

[intermundia]

thinking again about how the idea of anakin kind of haunts the OT, how he's a story to his son and a ghost to obi-wan, both present and absent whenever darth vader's on screen. he seems like a myth inside a myth, a figure belonging to a lost golden age, a hero story of old. i think it's kinda why the prequels feel so profoundly mythic to me, they're like one step beyond the hero's journey, filling out an implied pantheon in the OT stories. the fall of the republic feels kind of like a titanomachy, battles of an older generation of gods.

it's like anakin is a heroic precursor, whose brief, golden life in the light was coextensive with our brief glimpse in the films of that civilized world that was lost with his fall. that lost identity is just one step higher and beyond into the realm of legend, the realm of the jedi, when the world was good and noble, with honor and justice. darth vader may roam among the OT heroes but anakin lingers in the story as a story until the very end, when he returns to destroy the last of the titanic elder generation, making way for the new age of heroes.

#anakin skywalker #he IS the saga #his light is the republic his darkness is the empire he is the avatar of the fate of the galaxy as a whole #and it's very sexy lol #luke is the hero on a journey #anakin and vader are the world against which he builds himself #i guess we all fight out fathers and are shaped by who they are at the same time #i really love the prequels did you know #i am in my feelings abt it again sorry #sw #sw meta

[cuchufletapl]

It does fuck me up a little that in episode 147 of Hunter x Hunter not only do they change the ending back to Reason (a song about Gon and Killua's friendship from Gon's perspective), but they also edit the song differently than how they did for the GI arc, so that as we see Gon and Killua sadly turn away from each other and walk away, it starts slow and ever so sorrowful with these fucking lines

I’m right here, by your side, I’m the closest I can be

And I’m fine, I’m content with this arrangement for now

Please tell me gently the rest of your dreams

That you started telling me one day long ago.

Like what the fuck. What the hell dude. Why would the anime directors do this to me, specifically.

#hxh #hunter x hunter #killugon #gon freecss #killua zoldyck #also although it doesn't make it to either ending the bridge of the full song makes me go a little feral ngl #in general but particularly in the wake of caa. which I can't help but link to this because THEY BROUGHT BACK THIS ENDING FOR A REASON #'all alone on our own back and forth to and fro you look to the moon and say / that you want some kind of salvation too #even if this winding journey’s made us into something strong / we’ve got stubborn scrapes and bruises that start aching before long #my voice sticks in my throat but I hope you’ll still know that I really understand / look up the sky's turning blue' #DUDE #my commentary - sort of meta?

[randomingoftherandomness]

How do you think Yuanzhi felt after the incident on the lantern night?

This is like, opening a fun can of worms for me.

Now, the angst whore in me says that Yuanzhi definitely does not blame Gege for his instinctive reaction. The man has been trained to be a well-oiled fighting machine and there is a very good reason he inspires awe and fear in the jianghu, and why Wufeng puts him as one of their main targets.

Does it make him feel betrayed? Aggrieved? No, in my opinion, I don't think it does. I believe on some level, Yuanzhi knows that Shangjue would never, ever hurt him like that. They trust each other implicitly and I think they're amongst the few characters on the show who have that level of belief in each other. Wufeng's brief and even evil bro says that the only weakness Gege has is his Didi. Why else would SGQ need to expound that level of effort to try to worm her way in between them and then at the end, just accept that she just has to sledgehammer a space for herself.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

In my honest opinion, Yuanzhi knows Shangjue would never intentionally hurt him. Not like that. Even if he's a brat with low self-esteem when it comes to his Gege, he knows that much at least. Yuanzhi knows Shangjue puts family above all else, and if all *will smith gesturing* the times Shangjue has stepped up to the plate for him that we know of doesn't back how Shangjue would definitely rather eat glass than hurt Yuanzhi, I don't know what else will.

It doesn't mean he does not get jumpy sometimes.

Yuanzhi probably gets a bit skittish for a couple of days and keeps looking at Shangjue's hands the entire time he's bedridden and Shangjue is with him. He probably tries to suppress it too, knowing that Gege is beating himself up for it, but he'll work through it. Even if he won't be able to even look at rice porridge for a year to get there.

Coz Shangjue can tell. And he knows it's because of him. But he knows that Yuanzhi did what he did because he didn't have time to warn him. And on some level, he knows Yuanzhi doesn't blame him for hurting him. But it still eats at him from the inside out and he wants nothing but to take it back.

And that just eats at Shangjue, right?

He would rather chop off an arm than be the one to hurt his Didi, but here he is.

#my journey to you #my journey to you meta #gong yuanzhi #gong shangjue #gab rambles #i have many thoughts and I deeply enjoy these asks #so please keeep them coming!

[swiftletinthecloud]

Gong Zi Shang…I have like a new appreciation for her character after the most recent episode. Like most of the audience, I saw her character as a comedic relief in this otherwise pretty dark drama. Even her introduction scene was set up in this comedic way unlike all the other characters’ very serious or calm intro. Sometimes I felt like she was just Too Much, like she’s in a different genre drama than everyone else. And then we get a scene like the one in the latest episode 9, and it’s wait, she has just as much depth as the other characters. Gong Zi Shang is the victim of the same lack of expectations and being looked down on by her family that Gong Zi Yu experienced, but unlike him, she doesn’t necessarily get the easy sympathy of the audience.

She’s the Elder Miss of the Gong family and the Shang lord, but no one really treats her seriously. As a girl, she’s not even in consideration to be Sword Wielder. And as she mentioned in the scene in the screenshot, she’s the current Shang lord, but she feels like she’s only a placeholder until her brother is older. Her new friend mentioned, and she’s very much aware of, that the Elder Miss Gong Zi Shang is known for only three things, eating, sleeping, and chasing after Jin Fan all day. Even the man she loves find her a nuanced some times.

And so Gong Zi Shang plays into that. She says she doesn’t care what other people think, but I think she very much cares. She plays into that lack of expectation from everyone, the character that everyone sees her as during the day, the lazy boy-crazy Elder Miss Gong, so it doesn’t hurt as much but at night when she’s alone, that’s when she’s hard at work as the Shang lord, working on her inventions, when no one sees her or expect anything from her, so she can shock the world when she succeeds.

Her actions are pretty much in the same veins as Zi Yu’s at the start of the drama, when he’s also leaning into that lack of expectations to be perceived as a rebellious, playboy drunkard, before he was forced to take on the responsibilities of the Sword Wielder and grow up both out of spite against Gong Shang Jue and his desire have the power to protect Yun Wei Shan. Zi Shang’s just a step a head of him, where she already found her motivation/spite to prove and show her worth.

I can also see why Zi Shang and Zi Yu are so close too, because they’re in very similar situations and can understand what the other is going through.

#cdrama #my journey to you #gong zi shang #gong zi yu #meta

[rosewaterraindrops]

Character Growth Analysis: Nandor vs. True Love

I’ve seen people talk about Nandor’s personal growth in S4E9 in terms of him almost admitting he was wrong and wanting to make things right with Guillermo, but I haven’t really seen anyone discuss this line he says when he’s letting Freddie-Marwa go:

Perhaps true love is about more than wishing for someone who likes all the things you like.

Of course the second part of the sentence is him reflecting on the disastrous wish he made, and we’ve gotten lots of analysis on that. But let’s unpack the first part about true love. 

At the beginning of the season, Nandor is searching for his “one true love,” a possession. He describes his ideal version of a “one true love” for us in great detail during the Bachelor sequence in E2  - they need to be merciful, horny, a good listener, etc. Then once he chooses Marwa, he often refers to her as his “one true love” - again, used as a possession. Nandor’s view of “true love” is essentially an objectified person that fits his criteria. Every other time he’s mentioned love at all, which is A LOT in the past two seasons, it’s been a thing he can obtain. 

In this quote, he’s not speaking about a person anymore. He’s no longer describing his ideal object of “true love”. He’s talking about the emotional concept of true love. He’s no longer saying “I’m searching for love” or “I want to find love.” He’s not saying “perhaps my true love is more than just someone who likes what I like.” In this line, true love is not a current or potential future possession - it’s his own emotion. He’s comparing the concept of true love to his past actions, thereby finally acknowledging that true love is something he can partake in. For once, it’s not just something that can come TO Nandor, but something that can come FROM him. 

This feels so meaningful to me! This is maybe the first time that Nandor has discussed true love in an unselfish way, as something he can exhibit. So, what’s he thinking here? If true love is more than just wishing for someone who likes what you like, then what is true love to him? In context, it seems like Nandor is hinting that part of true love is being selfless enough to support someone in their pursuit of their dreams, and to give up something you want for someone else’s sake…and though his execution of these ideas is fucking awful, I can’t say I disagree with the intention! 

S4 was supposed to be about Nandor “finding” love, and I think many of us contrasted that with him “searching” for love in S3, and assumed the culmination of that would be that he realizes his “one true love” is Guillermo. But based on this quote, I now feel like the real contrast needs to be between Nandor “finding” love for himself and Nandor showing love to others, and I think this may be the change in direction he needs to start on a path of growth and healing in season 5. Yes, he’s still going to be a murderous vampire, I never want that to change - but his outlook on love and loving relationships might shift to be closer to how Nadja and Laszlo love and support each other, and this is the foundation that would finally convince me that Nandor is ready for Nandermo to go canon.

#nandor the relentless #nandor my beloved #nandor x guillermo #nandermo #nandor's personal journey #true love #is this anything #or am i reading too much into this #it feels right #it feels like nandor needs to learn that #true love is not something you own #true love is something you give #and that people give to you of their own will #i want both of those for nandor #he's my sweet messy sad wonderful vampire #nandor you're getting closer #don't give up hope #wwdits #wwdits spoilers #wwdits meta #wwdits s4 #wwdits season 4 #character growth

[toast-of-eden]

Thanks to yet another orv-related existential crisis I’m thinking about what it means to love life unconditionally. Again.

How eventually everything gets sick and dies and no matter how much love surrounds you, you will too.

And even when faced with this infinity filled with nothing, even when you’re on your knees with the absolute wind knocked out of you, you can choose to have an unconditional love for the story being told.

I’m stuck on the choice. And unconditional love is a choice. You choose whether to hold reverence for the stories, and you can’t be happy unless you do. Sometimes all I want to do is change the story, but that’s not how things work. With the passage of time, I and everything around me will get sick and die regardless of how much I want them to stay as they are.

#orv has literally sparked my journey to loving life on its own terms #you can’t control the passage of time nor can you control how things will change #but you control your narrative #you choose to love the story #you choose unconditional love #orv meta #orv #post by toast

[not-poignant]

Why doesn't Sebastian remember the stuff he said to Alex when they were younger? Does he really not remember, or is Alex reading it wrong? Also thank you for the chapter!! I'm not going to tell you how many times I reread them all before the next one

Oooo yes I can answer this!

So, let's be real, a lot of teenagers say a lot of insulting shit to other people and frankly just say it and don't remember a lot of it. The brain-to-mouth filter of adolescents in general is not great (which is awesome for having all of that play out in online spaces). I don't know many adults who, when they think about the things they said as a teenager, don't experience some moments of 'oh I maybe shouldn't have said that' and that's just the crap they remember.

(Y'all know it gets long, right?)

This is also especially true if you're insulting someone that you feel justified insulting (like a school bully, someone you've mentally cancelled, someone you hate, someone who rubs you the wrong way, someone who has just said terrible stuff to you so you feel permitted to say terrible stuff to them). Like, in primary school and high school, it's not like your internal set of ethics is necessarily hugely well-defined, and even very well-behaved children can step into accidental or intentional bullying and verbal insults when they feel angry. It's not like we're known for mature emotional regulation of our own anger, especially if you go into places where emotional literacy isn't super high.

Also, with memory formation, it's just incredibly normal to forget a lot of this stuff. Normal and necessary to just growing as a person.

But there's an extra component with Sebastian and Alex, which is that Sebastian was saying a lot of stuff that everyone thought, to the point where I don't even think he considered that he was a lot worse than everyone else about it (which he was, he was horribly verbally abusive towards Alex, and imho, was the worse bully out of the two of them by a long-shot). It wouldn't occur to Sebastian as a kid to think that he was wrong, for example, in calling Alex stupid. Everyone thought it, including Alex.

And finally, a big part of this puzzle is - as we've seen in the story overall - Alex is quite stoic. He prefers not to let people notice he's felt hurt by their words, and in fact, is quite good at pretending that nothing is affecting him at all. He of course learned this from growing up in a domestically violent household where it was dangerous for him to show nearly any emotions at all, but as someone who could be mean to Sebastian, it also made Alex seem like he was never being affected by Sebastian's words. And in that scenario, Sebastian would have gotten angrier and angrier, and more and more determined to say something that finally hurt him, not realising that the very first thing he said hurt, and that he's just said another 15 things that also really hurt him.

So some of Sebastian's memories formed around 'Alex isn't affected by almost everything I say' - and you know, why would you remember that? Alex's memories are radically different, because everything Sebastian said cut him to pieces, but the way he behaved made it seem like they didn't. That's Alex's survival skill, and frankly, Sebastian still really struggles with it, and he's not in the habit of seeing past it. Even now, it sort of takes him a moment to realise - more and more - that this side of Alex who appears unaffected and starts giving these single-word answers is covering for someone who is extremely vulnerable and wounded beneath that.

When Alex says 'it's just words' to dismiss what Sebastian says, after Sebastian has seen him come over depressed, clean silently, and then go to leave, and realises that Alex is like profoundly affected by what Mayor Lewis said to him, he takes a moment to be like 'wait, if he's that affected by what Mayor Lewis said, and now he's telling me it's 'just words' then...it can't be 'just words' at all.'

A lot of this stuff is really hard for Sebastian to process because it goes against every kind of fundamental thing that he's thought about Alex all his life.

So yeah, Sebastian really doesn't remember, he doesn't think of himself as that much of a bully, and certainly not a bad one, and he's still sort of piecing all of this together. One of the reasons he's so reluctant to come to a 'realisation' about Alex is first and foremost - it means Sebastian has to see how ugly his own behaviours were, and that's something a lot of people don't want to see in themselves. So we have this contrasting narrative, as Alex the person who consistently is like 'I bullied you terribly and I deserve bad things' and Sebastian who consistently is like 'I was bullied terribly but I've grown as a person but I'm not going to forget how you treated me either.'

The reality is different. They both bullied each other. Sebastian was a lot more aggressive and insidious about it and also had friends who backed him up (leading to 3-against-1 scenarios all the time), because Alex seemed unaffected by anything Sebastian said. Alex doesn't deserve terrible things, Sebastian doesn't deserve terrible things, and they both have grown as people.

But Sebastian owes Alex some genuine apologies, and some real thought about the whole scenario, and Alex also needs to get better at talking about this stuff.

And y'know, that's why we're here, reading this fic. :D

#asks and answers #a stain that won't dissolve #thespectaclesofthor #sdv fic #sdv alex #sdv sebastian #sdv sebastian x alex #THANK YOU FOR ENABLING MY META ANON #i really think sebastian sort of starts down the road of realisation #he takes a few steps every time #but he's still early enough into this journey #that he can run back to his 'safe zones' when he needs to #because his realisation #will threaten his perception of himself and his identity as like #'teenage nerd who was unpopular and bullied' #versus #'teenager nerd who was *popular* and *also a bully*'

[romchat]

My Journey to You Ep. 23 visuals: Ravens only belong to winter

Say what you will about this show's writing for the lead characters (particularly Gong Ziyu and Shangguan Qian), but you can't deny MJTY's writing when it comes to its minor characters. I came to care for so many of them with just a few scenes, and I think a lot of that is due to the show's visual storytelling, which is used to reinforce its themes in an almost brutally efficient way.

Nowhere is this truer than with Hanya Si and the show's use of shadow and light to communicate his story.

The death and violent secrecy surrounding Wufeng have been etched so permanently on Hanya's soul that he can't escape its darkness. He no longer sees himself as a man, but as something less than:

"[Ravens] know there are hunters and traps in the dark forest, but they can never fly to the light. They've been eating dirty mice and rotten meat since they were born. Even their screams are fearful and ferocious. They can only live in the dark and beneath the sunset."

This is communicated over and over again with how the show physically positions Hanya either against or away from light for most of his scenes. Whether at the Wufeng headquarters or in the Gong residence, he is placed in the shadows--even as other characters stand in or move toward light.

Interestingly, he's really the only assassin we're officially introduced to who is shot like that. For example, check out the scene below where he, Hanya Qi, and two of the wangs meet. Even though the overall scene is dark, Hanya Si is the darkest as he's positioned furthest away from the overhead light. And in the final showdown at the Gong residence, the other assassins fight during the day (which Hanya Si has never been portrayed as doing until his final scene). Unlike the others who revel in killing their targets in broad daylight, Hanya has become so consumed by his sins that he doesn't believe he's worthy of existing anywhere but the darkness.

(Side Note: I found it telling that the last Wufeng attack that killed Gong Shangjue's mother and brother also happened during the day rather than at nighttime. There's a startling brazenness to Wufeng's violence.)

The exception to this pattern, of course, is when Hanya is shot with either Yun Weishan or Yun Que. Those moments with his protégés are the only times he embraces his own humanity and dares to step out of his self-imposed prison to provide care in whatever misplaced way he can. It's only in those scenes that his face becomes awash in direct light.

So when Hanya decides to help Weishan fight Ziyi, it's fitting that the show commemorates this character-defining moment by drenching the entire screen in sunlight.

I absolutely love this shot with the lens flare. The show rarely uses this camera effect in its outdoor cinematography so you can feel the foreignness Hanya must have felt walking into the early morning light to face his destiny. The blown-out sky is wondrous and almost overwhelming in its brightness.

And it also seals his fate because we know ravens can never fly to the light; they can only live in the dark.

The mirroring of Weishan and Hanya’s first sunset and last sunrise together nearly took me out. Director Edward Guo clearly likes reusing certain compositional elements to establish his characters, and with Hanya's scenes that repetition not only lends itself to a feeling of tragic inevitability but also freeing closure.

"I watched the sunset so many times with you. This time, I can finally watch the sunrise with you."

What a perfect way to send off this character.

#my journey to you #云之羽 #cdrama #meta #omid #hanya si #yun wei shan #esther yu #Love a lens flare