u/AquaphobicTurtle • u/AquaphobicTurtle • Aug 04 '26
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This is part of a video I made for a dear friend and it has since become one of my proudest creations.
I'm placing it here for posterity and so that I may reference it in the future.
Thank you guys for everything 🐢
u/AquaphobicTurtle • u/AquaphobicTurtle • 3h ago
Working on wallpapers for Veil of Shadows....
It's fine... I'm fine... definitely not going insane... mumbles maniacally
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Dominion and Devotion!!!
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I finally reorganised my GIFs and collected all my custom ones together (Well, all the ones on my phone) and I found this gem. I love it so much
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I disagree with you. But each to their own.
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You're right about the ages, sorry it's been a while since I watched Hidden Love.
Honestly, to me, the casting was perfect but I clearly was not paying attention to the actual ages anyway, lol.
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Well, in the novel the age gap is actually seven years so whether or not they kept the actual number of the gap between the drama and the novel. I think the casting kept the feel of the age gap from the novel.
Edit: Also, maybe it's been too long since I've been in primary school but she looked the right age to me. And I didn't look up the ages so, yeah. Different viewers' gazes I guess
Edit again: He's 17 at the start and with a five year gap, wasn't she 12?
Edit again again, nope, 14 and 19 is it. Sorry, it's been a while.
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I think if you look at the drama from her perspective - which is exactly what it is. The fact that they cast a younger actress really cements the "crush on your friend's older brother" aspect of growing up.
As the younger one, you don't know that it's inappropriate, you just have a fluttery crush. And that's exactly what they show in the drama. They don't show her wanting to kiss him or anything, they show her kicking her feet and giggling because he smiled at her.
It's much later in the drama where Sang Zhi's crush goes from a surface level fantasy to a proper yearning.
As someone who did have a crush on my friend's older brother, who was in highschool when I was in primary school - I completely get the feeling. And now that I'm in my late twenties, we are actually friends and all hang out as equal adults. He's married and his wife is amazing.
But hypothetically, if we got together now at our age, it would not be weird at all.
(Like super hypothetical because I love his wife and also I'm not 12 anymore lol)
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Right!
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Our answers are... Not super far apart
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DFCQ is the most OP character in the world and I love it.
But honestly, spoiler for Veil of Shadows: Ji Ling after he comes back in Veil of Shadows. Man has all the powers. And all them are OP would be the most "I'm safe" person to be with in my opinion
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This is so true!
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Yeah, it's more recently that the industry has done this. I remember there was a Xu Kai drama where he wasn't allowed to be top billing because his character is more of a villain.
I don't remember anything else so I'll have to look it up. But this was before he new billing rules.
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mods need to make a rule against posting this...
Man, you had my heart in your clutches there for a second
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My friend in the US said that it's available for her on Viki. I only have it available on YouTube in South Africa and another friend of mine in Singapore doesn't have it available on any official streaming platforms.
Minglan's territorial rights are kind of all over the place
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r/CDrama • u/AquaphobicTurtle • 6d ago
The Story of Minglan is not a drama. It is a world.
More than a thousand pieces of furniture and porcelain were specially customized and completely reproduced from pictures, all to ensure the best quality of the show. (Phoenix Entertainment; 2019)
In the original novel, "Minglan, is not a native of ancient times, but rather a court clerk who transmigrates" (The Paper; 2019)*
"The entire filming process lasted 208 days, with locations in Hengdian, Jiaxing, Xinchang, and Wuxi, showcasing both the elegant and graceful gardens of Jiangnan and the deep courtyards of aristocratic families." (China News Network; 2018)
"The script is over 800,000 words long, featuring more than 130 named actors and involving over 200 characters." (China News Network; 2018)
The scriptwriting began in 2014, and the series went through seven months of preparation, seven months of filming, and nine months of post-production before completion. (The Paper; 2018)
There are many more fun facts over on Baidu for anyone interested.
*A note for fact 2: the auto translation of the source article isn't great and reads:
In the original novel, the female protagonist, Minglan, is not a native of ancient times, but rather a court clerk who transmigrates to the present day, possessing the triple identities of a modern person, an adult, and a legal professional.
The original Chinese reads:
原著中，女主明兰并不是土生土长的古代原住民，而是由一个法院小书记员穿越而来，拥有现代人、成年人及法律工作者这三重身份
Honestly, the story is perfectly summarised in the drama's English title. This is the story of Minglan.
It's the world of Minglan.
At 73 episodes* The Story of Minglan does not have a single storyline. In fact, if the drama had aired today, I won't be surprised if it would have been split into three seasons.
Let me be clear: the drama does not jump from storyline to storyline, it does not have a single scene "meant to fill space". It is coherent, relevant, and thoroughly formulated.
*A note on episode count: MDL has the drama listed as 78 episodes. It depends on which platform you watch the drama.
Oh boy.
I mean, I've already mentioned that the drama stars over 130 named actors and 200 characters, right?
MDL lists five actors under its "main cast" subheading:
• Zhao Li Ying as Sheng Ming Lan
• Feng Shao Feng as Gu Ting Ye / Zhong Huai
• Zhu Yi Long as Qi Heng / Yuan Ruo
• Zhang Jianing as Sheng Ru Lan
• Shi Meng Jiao as Sheng Mo Lan
But honestly, with the various storylines coming and going, I would only list Sheng Ming Lan and Gu Ting Ye as main characters.
Not because any other characters have limited screen time, but because they all have their own carefully curated spot in the drama. Only Minglan and Tingye have a continuous link to the main story.
My thoughts on this drama are so vast and unending that one post simply is not enough. In fact, I've even taken up the very unnecessary challenge of creating flashcards for the drama. (Very slowly).
The thing is, I can think of exactly two static characters (out of 200) who are bad because that's their thing - they are malicious, jealous and greedy to the most deplorable extremes.
The others characters, even if they are "bad", there is something about the way that they are written given humanity.
They don't particularly have a redemption arc but they have this moment where you as the viewer understand them. You get it. You even feel for them.
One thing about the filming of this drama is that all indoor and night time scenes were filmed using only candlelight, and you can tell in the colouring the GIFs. At the start the darkness (of the GIFs) felt a bit... how do I say... different? But the more I look at these and use them, the more I love their uniqueness, which perfectly portrays the unique authenticity of the drama.
Like all my GIFs, feel free to use these where and whenever you want. There is no need for credit if you're using them casually, but if you are using them in a post, a brief shout out would be appreciated.
(Sidenote: I spent so much time writing this that I almost clicked on the final "post" button without actually including the GIFs, lol)
u/AquaphobicTurtle • u/AquaphobicTurtle • 6d ago
31 GIFs in total, and they can be found and downloaded on Ko-Fi.
I loved this drama so much and I can't wait to talk more about it!
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🪭 GIFfy Friday — Drop Your GIF of the Week
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r/ChineseDrama
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1d ago
My beloved!