I've posted my review of the 2024 #cdrama "Blossom" on the SF-Fandom Forums.

https://forums.sf-fandom.com/thread-38686.html

#blossom #mengziyi #liyunrui #cdramas #wuxia #fantasy #historical

Me *admiring the ochre tones* and beautiful lighting of the scene*: It's like a Renaissance painting!

*Bad dude of the week** is brought in.*

Me: ...a very _angry_ Renaissance painting.

(*Stupid blue filter!)

(**episode)

#PursuitOfJade #SetDesign #Wuxia #CDrama

The drama is set in the fictional empire of "great Jin/Chin", so I guess I was correct about the Qing-ish dynasty. But those extremely long pointy "back flaps" are a real historical detail. They were part of the mandated uniform of officials for a while, as a measure to keep people from Doing Intrigues. Ie; if you try to whisper to your neighbour in court you get his back flap in your eye. Probably a Ming dynasty thing, but don't quote me on that.

#PursuitOfJade #Costuming #wuxia #CDrama

I mean... it's part of the plot, but his duvet looks sooo warm and comfortable. It's also pretty DIY-able; plain coloured cloth (or with very discrete common patterning), common fabric, and straight seams. I have no idea when I'll get a chance to cosplay a bed cover, but there's a first time for everything.

#PursuitOfJade #FurnitureFandom #cosplay #Wuxia #CDrama

When I reached middle age I noticed something that previously had flown over my head; middle aged women are set in evil roles, and their agression is directed toward younger women. If they're in main roles things may be different, but for side characters (in crime fiction for example) the statistics is nearly 100%. That's why mrs Yao is a big relief, so far she's been smack on Changyu's side. She's also one of several, which is even better.

#PursuitOfJade #tropes #wuxia #CDrama

Holy heck! The light in this sequence is Ah-May-Zing! Of course my phone put a stupid bluefilter on it, but you can see a faint glimmer still. We're also getting a supercharged example on how to put depth in a picture; the bars in the foreground are extremely dark, the main motif - the character - is mid way beyween dark and light, and the background is almost disolved in light. The straight line forward is extremely pronounced.

#PursuitOfJade #light #Wuxia #CDrama

I've already said the male lead is allowed to look ugly (at times). This goes for the female lead too, even if it's not as pronounced. Given it's an idol drama production is balancing on a fine line - this genre normally focuses on expressing emotions in a decorative way, and they can't step too far from conventions. That they dare do it is one of the things that raises the show far above the usual.

#PursuitOfJade #acting #Wuxia #CDrama

This actor is getting slagged on Chinese social media for being too pretty to be a general. And while I'm on team 'more grissly generals' I find that slightly unfair. The character's beauty is written into the script, and is a plot point during the first episodes, so he's mostly just doing his job. But it _is_ a fun debate to engage in, so I couldn't resist the bait; see toot below.

#PursuitOfJade #CharacterDesign #wuxia #CDrama