Xiang Liu and You (Yes, You)

 HeadInTheClouds:

Some people are hella talented. I'd be lucky to draw a straight line. And I think I know the inspiration for that painting...

Oh my.  They boosted the red a bit there.  But yes!  That's the inspiration for sure.  Another great scene, especially how thy intercut it with XY and the others party.  sob.

I always admire watercolor, cause it's more unforgiving than oil or acrylics, IMO.  Plus, I love the way it looks.

 Kokuto:

Oh my.  They boosted the red a bit there.  But yes!  That's the inspiration for sure.  Another great scene, especially how thy intercut it with XY and the others party.  sob.

I always admire watercolor, cause it's more unforgiving than oil or acrylics, IMO.  Plus, I love the way it looks.

That's one of my favourite Xiang Liu’s scenes. Besides his amazing look there, that juxtaposition between his life and Xiao Yao’s is poignant. The distance between them.....It's made me mad at Xiao Yao, as unfair as it is since Xiang Liu chose his path. But just thinking about all the sacrifices that he made for her while she hides in her cowardliness (I know, I know. Trauma).

Do you paint? I know nothing about painting, but I love the dreaminess of watercolour. 

 Kokuto:

Yeah.  Like I would get any de cluttering done with that staring at me.  lol

EXACTLY the same thing.  Oh, there's something inside this case?  But ... then I couldn't STARE at the outside of the case.

Oh no.  WTF?

Holy cow!!!  Dylan!!!  LMAO!

My dear, you are supposed to declutter before these sit on your counter top. Whether anything gets done after that, is a story for another day :p

Ah... Dylan... there was a XY piece but for some reason they chose to put that the dress on Dylan instead. 

 pomelotree:

They do! They are monetizing every bit of him. I saw a JCT shirt that they replicated too, and a couple other jackets. That hanger... looks tad strange because of the torso. I will shamlessly say I don't mind having it in my wardrobe though. Sigh, im so desperate.

I'm chuckling at your admission of desperation. You know what they say about the first step to dealing with the problem is admitting that you have a problem? Point for self-awareness. Besides. I don't think you're the only one here who's "desperate", so you're in good company;-).

I was seriously contemplating paying $$ for the Xiang Liu doll 2 weeks ago. I'm too old for doll, for goodness sake!! :-)

 pomelotree:

Hahaha thanks for the encouragement. Thing is, I still have no idea how to deal with TJC addiction, or if I want to :p I definitely need to heal from XL though! At the moment the best I can do, is to tell myself that the XY-TSJ world was not good enough for XL, and that he wanted that ending for himself although I am not sure I truly believe the latter =/ 

No one is too old for any dolls! Esp not a XL doll. Even better if its life-sized =p

Did you read the analysis that I posted on the other thread? I found that after I read this novel from the context of XY's healing journey from her childhood trauma,  it eased  the sadness of XL's ending since it served a particular purpose.

As for dealing with the addiction to XL/TJC, I recommend something called flooding. This is where you overdose on all things XL/JTC with the aim of becoming desensitised. And you'll have a fantastic time while doing this, of course. 

And don't encourage me about the doll. I still haven't totally given up on the idea of buying it. I don't even want to think about the idea of a life-sized doll. I need self-respect,  you know :-)

 Kokuto:

IKR?  I think I've seen it at least ten times now.  Obsessed much.

I did the same so many replay hahahahaha 

 pomelotree:

Your analysis made a ton of sense and viewing LYF from a "XY's healing journey & what each ML represented in that journey" did lessen the heartache of XL's ending to a certain extent because it 'dehumanized' (I mean this is a good way, just cannot find a better word) the characters and that perhaps, the moral of this story is something other than focusing on the life and death of the characters themselves.

Yes, it's pulling back and examining the broader theme of the work rather than focusing on the story as it is. I think knowing the author's view can be crucial to finding the theme that he/she's trying to convey. It just didn't make sense for someone with Tong Hua's view on life and love to think that Xiao Yao's focus on finding someone who will never leave her, or dying with your loved one is something to aspire to. 

I didn't focus a lot on Cang Xuan in my analysis (it was so long already), but I might have to go back to flesh out his part.

I'll do a separate post on Xiang Liu as well.

 pomelotree:

BUT there are times I slip up and think about XL as a character, as if he's real when I know he isn't, and my heart still aches for him :( I don't know what magic TH possesses =p

It's not an either/or thing. You can look at it from a thematic perspective, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy it as it is. That's the beauty of literature, it can be enjoyed on numerous levels. Besides, Tong Hua created such a beautiful/intriguing character in Xiang Liu and his romance with Xiao Yao that it's difficult not to be moved by him. It's a credit to Tong Hua. I still railed against XY on a regular basis, and I will never let Jing forget that he didn't get a wedding night :-).

 pomelotree:

I've been at this stage for months. Helllllp lol. My browser is all him / work. Nothing else.

Do you really want help, though??? Are you not having fun??? Now, why would you want to give up all this good time :-)

 pomelotree:

I mean, here we (you included, right? right!) are ogling at him being soaked, imagining a bathrobe clad TJC on our countertop, and counting moles on his body.

I admit to nothing!!!!!