Fan Fiction Thread for Lost You Forever

 AH :

I didn't mean to convey that my nostalgia came from seeing myself in the characters, but rather that, separate from any nostalgia factor, seeing bits of my childhood self in the main character was something that factored into my enjoyment of the books. 

Ahh thank you for clarifying. 

 AH :

That's interesting. By detached do you mean you tend to view the story more objectively, rather than from the perspective of the main character?

In a way, yes, but not exactly. My perspective is often from a 3rd person's point of view, even if the book is written in first person, so there is a sense of detachment in that I do not project myself as part of the story. Nonetheless, when a book actually moves me, and I get immersed in the flow of the tale and the emotions that leap off the pages from the characters, it haunts me for a long time to come. 

Another aspect that is important to my enjoyment is how the descriptions speak to me. I love, deeply admire beautifully crafted prose as a work of art in itself, so when that part of the book touches me, it holds a special place in my heart, even if the story in itself may not be as impactful. Not sure if I am making any sense here... 

 AH :

LOVE these details. Thanks so much for sharing liddi!

You're welcome! I had great fun in discovering the links between the names. I have added some more details, including for the last 3 name changes.

 AH :

n most cases, I don't think there's anything wrong with people coming up with headcanons that aren't canon compliant. That's part of the fun of headcanons, and I have plenty of them myself. I would only take issue with it if someone made out like their non-canon-compliant headcanon was actually canon

YES. By all means, have fun and go wild with your imaginations, but don't lay sweeping claims that your theories are canon, when they are clearly not. 

 AH :

I'm reminded of Jason Rothenberg, one of the writers for the 100 TV series (a book series with the same premise but a different trajectory was written by a different author in parallel). He made some writing decisions that I hated, and made several statements about the show that were just... to put it mildly it did not feel like they elevated or added to the story.

Oh no. Dare I even ask? You know, some long-time book fans accuse Tong Hua of being a "stepmother" with LYF the drama - S1 even, and more so with all the purported changes in the S2 leaked script - destroying what was canon in the novel. I don't even want to go there... but she has been (wisely, perhaps) keeping mum about theories regarding LYF these days, so I continue to hope....

 AH :

That's hilarious! Fabio strikes again - appearing even when he shouldn't!

And now that's making me think of how odd it must have been for people to see him in an unexpected place like a theme park, before the goose incident. 

I know right? What were the publishers smoking that day?

He actually seems to be a very nice, down-to-earth guy in person based on interviews. But that goose incident was definitely unfortunate. I don't know whether it impacted his selling power as a result. Not even sure whether romance novels these days still boasts spicy covers with him on it. He once bemoaned the fact that after publishers realised having him on the cover sells, he rocked up to the photoshoot, only to find that they no longer had a beautiful woman modelling with him LOL. 

 liddi:

I know right? Tong Hua is brilliant!

Yes!  It really speaks to how much thought she put into the book and explains why we are still talking about her work.  O_O

 liddi:

Thank you so much for sharing about the two versions of the adaptations. 14 chapters into the book and we are beginning to learn of the past through Ye Wenjie's recollections to Wang Miao, so I presume this is what you mean? In which case, it does sound like the Cdrama is following the narrative path of the novel pretty closely. The novel also interspaces between Wang Miao's predicament, and flashbacks into Ye Wenjie's past, and her narration to Wang Miao, so we do get switches between timelines.

Yes.  It's Ye Wen Jie's daughter's death which starts everything with her, Wang Miao, and Shi Qiang, and things build from there.  It actually works better, IMO, in a story where things are revealed bit by bit.  The Netflix version botched the connection, with a sudden reveal out of nowhere.

 liddi:

Yes, Benedict Wong certainly resembles Shi Qiang far more than Yu Hewei, but I love the dynamics between Yu Hewei's Shi Qiang and Zhang Luyi's Wang Miao, which is very reminiscent of the book.

Yes, they are great in the CDrama.  That doesn't even exist in the Netflix version ... another reason why it doesn't compare well.

 liddi:

The family betrayal was covered in the first chapter, so unless there is more that has yet to be revealed in the book, I presume this is what you mean? Thus far, we already learnt about the family betrayal, Bai Mulin and the significance of Silent Spring, that would lead to her decision with regards to Red Coast Base. I am waiting for it to be shown in the adaptation. Do you remember whether it was in the earlier episodes, or later?

There are other characters that appear later that are connected to her family.  And everything that leads to her fateful decision at Red Coast Base, and her interactions, spins out that betrayal.  I will admit, either through my ignorance, or the way it was portrayed, it took me a bit to realize that wasn't a volunteer logging camp.  Ironically, there are parallels between the Party and the Trisolarians. 

I think the family betrayal is revealed in Episode 6 of the CDrama.

 liddi:

The translated novel is apparently commissioned by the China Educational Publications Import and Export Corporation (CEPIEC). It is an excellent read and such a boon for which I am so thrilled because my level of Chinese literacy is such that I would never have been able to plough through the novel in Chinese without being stumped by the scientific terms.

This is one drama that requires full attention, which is challenging for me, especially when real life demands come knocking at the door. Fingers crossed I get to continue soon.

Is your translator Ken Liu?  The English version in the US is by him, and he's an award winning SF writer himself.  I'm not sure I could handle reading the book right now -- got two I'm listening to right now.  And sadly, my brain is on vacation quite a bit right now.  :(

 Kokuto:

Okay, I edited my first post with gathered links for the various chapters of ZYHLJ and plor20 fan fic in this topic, and added what recommendations people had made earlier.  It's on the first page of this topic, and here's a link.  If there's anything you want changed or added, or if I've made mistakes, please let me know.

https://mydramalist.com/discussions/lost-you-forever/124319-fan-fiction-thread-for-lost-you-forever?pid=3005063&page=1#p3005063

Could you also add the 2 that liddi referenced in this post here, if you haven't already? Thank you

https://mydramalist.com/discussions/lost-you-forever/110123-xl-and-xy-story-and-romance-warning-spoilers?pid=3008589&page=547#p3008589

 Kokuto:

Okay, I edited my first post with gathered links for the various chapters of ZYHLJ and plor20 fan fic in this topic, and added what recommendations people had made earlier.  It's on the first page of this topic, and here's a link.  If there's anything you want changed or added, or if I've made mistakes, please let me know.

https://mydramalist.com/discussions/lost-you-forever/124319-fan-fiction-thread-for-lost-you-forever?pid=3005063&page=1#p3005063

Awesome - thank you for compiling the links!

Can you please also add this one:

 相思结 by YOLO苏璎 - covers Xiao Yao's 16 year search for him after learning of his death, refusing to allow herself to believe that he was really gone. It has a happy ending, partially attributed to Hong Jiang himself too.   

 Kokuto:

There are other characters that appear later that are connected to her family.  

 Kokuto:

I think the family betrayal is revealed in Episode 6 of the CDrama.

Ah ok. I must catch up then... am still behind in my drama viewing. Need to prepare myself for those scenes when they finally unfold though, seeing how painful it was to read about them in the novel.

 Kokuto:

Is your translator Ken Liu?  The English version in the US is by him, and he's an award winning SF writer himself.

Yes, that is the version I am reading. Ken Liu translated Books 1 (The Three-Body Problem) and 3 (Death's End), while Book 2 The Dark Forest is translated by Joel Martinsen. Love Ken Liu's translation which is so fluid, without the problems poor translations have of forcibly taking the reader out of the story (which I have seen happen with official translation of well-loved wuxia novels). I hope that the change in translator will not feel jarring when I do get to Book 2.

 ZYHLJ:

If you are asking about the situation of a princess raising lover(s), it was normal in the era before the Song Dynasty. Since the rise of Zhu Xi's Neo-Confucianism in the Song Dynasty, people had paid more attention to ethics, so this situation had become rare. If you are asking about the situation of a princess never marrying for life. This is common in almost all periods.

Thank you for sharing ZYHLJ. It's interesting to learn about these things.