Xiang Liu and Xiao Yao’s Story and Romance

 liddi:

Just to share the gorgeous picture my daughter drew for me for 七夕 Qixi today, in celebration of our mutual love for Mao Qiu and of course, his master:

Oh, that's lovely!  I like how she subtly used a slightly darker shade of white for his chubby body than the pure white of his head.

 solarlunareclipse:

LYF Short Promo Videos

Before the start of the second season, the production team released these short music/dance videos featuring Xiao Yao with each of the three male leads. The videos may subtly hint at the future of each of the characters.

Obviously, I'm falling down on the job, for not examining these videos more closely when they aired. ;p

Now I want to go back and look at the ones for Season 1.  I was just looking at one of them, where XY basically yanks XL into the frame with here and then they stand posing and smiling, like a wedding picture.

 liddi:

Just to share the gorgeous picture my daughter drew for me for 七夕 Qixi today, in celebration of our mutual love for Mao Qiu and of course, his master:

So cute!  She's very talented ♥‿♥

Saw this comment of mine from mid-Dec 2023 after I translated Xiang Liu's death scene from the leaked script, and am gratified to know 7 months later that at least one wish of mine with regards to the script came true.  

 liddi:

I am not happy that the drama took away Xiang Liu's role in saving Jing and bringing him back for her, as well as giving her the chart of the ocean. However, in the grand scheme of everything that was taken away, the flashbacks and revised monologue does try to make up for it. The weakest is still the part about pushing her to Jing, because it would have been totally useless if Jing died in the ocean. I am hoping that there will be hints in the final version of the drama that Xiang Liu secretly kept Jing from being attacked by sea monsters when he was unconscious in the water, then from the maelstrom in the cave, and later, as he clawed his way back up to the surface. At least, that would make more sense rather than just pushing her away into Jing's arms (literally, metaphorically). But I am not holding my breath that this will ever transpire in the drama (though I will certainly try if a certain Nine-headed demon offers to pass air to me in the meantime). 

Have you ever read "Gone with the wind"? 

I think about it often. Especially about the ending of the story. It seems too similar to XY's story.

Scarlett realizes at the end that she was never truly in love with Ashley; she had created an idealized image of him in her mind. 

When Rhett leaves her, she finally understands that she loves him. But was too late.
They never fully expressed their feelings to each other, and both suffered because of it.

After a while, when Ashley's wife dies, he comes to Scarlett, and they could finally be together...

but she no longer wants him.

 Meow:

And I'm so disappointed that this scene isn't included in the drama?

I'm pretty sure it's not in the drama, because it is a fan creation.

 liddi:

I asked you this before but I don't believe I saw your answer - was the scene with Xiang Liu's death in her eyes a fan edit? Or was it in a trailer/leaked scene somewhere?

I highly doubt a reflection of his death could have worked within the drama context unless she was meant to have imagined losing him in death, or as she woke up from a nightmare about his death.

Yes, it's a fan edit.  That image of XL that is in her eye isn't in the drama either.  It's from Tan Jian Ci's studio posters, I believe.

I don't consider Scarlett a sequel. For me personally, this book feels like fan fiction, and not a very successful one at that. But even in the original, Ashley was a rare milksop who, despite loving his wife, still desired Scarlett, and give her hope about their feelings. With the death of Melanie, he spoke to Scarlett with a sense of loss and the desire to connect with someone.

Of course, this story is not a copypasta. XY choses TSJ. She always chooses him. But maybe in the end (in the novel), when she hears about XL's death, she, like Scarlett, finally understands her hidden love. But she can't correct her choice. She needs to be content with it.

Rhett, on the other hand, always knew about her desire to be with Ashley and ultimately gave her freedom for the sake of the man she loved, but no longer needed.

@blabla100

Yes I definitely do see that now if I had not before. Thank you for clearing that up. 

I guess in some ways I just wish that XY's character (maybe in another version of events) would begin to heal from her trauma by perhaps finding her purpose in life, instead of focusing so much on finding a lifelong companion.

Here is me daydreaming again: Maybe in another universe TongHua would have given XY just a little more courage and have her learn (maybe with XL's help) that she can still find meaning in her life/stand up by herself even despite losing a loved one. In turn, maybe XY could help XL realize that dying on the battlefield isn't the only way to honor his fallen soldiers. Continuing to live life well for them so that they did not perish in vain is another way too. While it's definitely idealistic, I don't think it's all that implausible. This would give the characters (XY and XL) a lot more growth without compromising their values/happiness, and readers can get a much happier ending that doesn't feel contrived. It also fits a large part of TongHua's general message.