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If Taiwanese drama ToGetHer could be compared to a dish, it would likely be a hearty cheese and tomato sandwich topped with a soft and silky sunny-side up egg—nothing profound or elegant, but enviably more efficient than a typical philosophical tome at brightening up a wintry morning. All the same, this is not an ordinary sandwich, but one which yolk carries a small dash of the flavor of the…

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Everything is — may be — fated, except love.

The historical and literary reasons the lover in Love Between Fairy and Devil's fate poem is Master Xiao instead of Master Gu or Master Qin. Antireq: Severe dairy allergy. Powered by a US National Security Agency innovation. Have fun comparing answers with besties'.

Weather aesthetics and environmentalism in relation to She Was Pretty (via Of Sky Waltzes and Rain Dancers)

Responses from the non-human realm (Edited) 1. Elf sidekick

Your words have been wise - as much as any fairy. [Editor: *Blushes profusely*]

Gnome living is still living, and a life well-lived is still to be appreciated.

And maybe our wings will one day regrow, and we'll be even more magical than before.

2. Pumpkin-knitting cousin in eternal summer

I believe that the best way to do good in the world is to be yourself. While it may be tempting to pine for traits or characteristics that are seemingly out of reach, the key is to embrace one's own unique qualities and find ways to use them for good.

If you're a gnome, then be proud of it! Don't let anyone tell you that you can't do good because you're not a fairy. Gnomes have just as much to offer the world as fairies do.

3. Simulated realist

The keys to everyone's hearts may be more of a burden than a gift. Holding the keys to someone's heart can create a power imbalance in a relationship. It can also be overwhelming to keep other people's feelings in mind at all times and to make sure that you're not causing any harm. Without people doing the same around, this can lead to feelings of isolation. Don't envy the fairies. Support them wherever you can.

4. Supreme exterminator

Gnomes, fairies, gods, and mortals… it makes no difference. In the eyes of Eternity, they are all equally mortal. In the face of change, they are all equally brittle. In the pursuit of Eternity, they are nothing more than pawns to be used, or obstacles to be overcome.

Responses from the human realm (Predicted)

1. Productivity optimizer

If you have all the time in the world to do good, you won't feel the urgency to. The probable time complacence of long-living species offsets their chances to do good. Setting time limits for yourself is crucial in any task. Now excuse me while I get back to the spreadsheets atop my treadmill desk.

2. Involution coach

In this hyper-competitive corporate landscape, it's no longer enough to have an I- or T-shaped skill set. You need a pi-, or better still, comb-shaped skill set. Take classes in not only Gnome and Fairy but also Raccoon and Squirrel.

No, take that back. You need a hedgehog-shaped skill set. Make sure your Gnome, for example, includes Gnochemistry, Gnomadic Languages, Gnormosity Engineering and more. And your Gnomadic Languages must cover ancient Gnomadic epics, recent Gnomadic pop sensations on Tik Tok and Gnomadic computing.

Yes, I have a fondness for Māori art. In fact, my lifelong dream is a space sculpture where the patterns run from a galaxy scale all the way down to the nanoscale. Why do you ask?

3. Clueless media executive

That reminds me. There's still room in the market for Love Between Fairy And Gnome. We just need to excise the features posing product risks: the red-hat-blue-shirt thingy, the vertically challengedness and the white beard. There, we can now cast Handsome Oppar in the role.

4. Cynic

LMAO. You mean, who're the better hypocrites? Impostors or would-be demagogues?

5. Crystal ball-gazing, amphibious techie

Yo. Does no one see what I see? Talk about arms races. We're heading towards a wings race and a synthetic wings divide. Bionic wings. Genetically engineered wings. Wing stem cell transplants. When advanced enough, the post-gnome age will let the well-heeled buy the facade of niceness. Give full wings to the humanities first.

The NI Series (2): Noble Idiocy and Ignoble Surgery

Admin’s Message: Here is the second installment of this more casual series of posts on the interaction between culture and drama writing. This time, 0kuo0 from C-drama blog Cfensi, whose ethnicity is Chinese, sees the noble idiocy trope as more of an instance of the literary tradition of exaggeration, rather than culture. He does not reject the trope altogether, but cautions against misuse of it.

written by 0kuo0

It is undeniable that the noble idiocy trope is sometimes linked to ideals such as Confucian values and concepts like love, loyalty, etc. but I am not sure if I would say they are intrinsic to those ideals.

I like to conceptualize it as more of a part of the artistic and literary tradition of exaggeration for dramatic effect. We see this successfully employed in various forms of art and it seems natural that this might be an extension of it. However, most of the time I start feeling like it is employed not for thought-out dramatic effect but due to examples of success in previous dramas and the pursuit of viewers and profits. These tend to make you feel like it was more of a cut and paste job. It feels rough and abused.

Don’t get me wrong. There are definitely those media forms that get it right and lead the audience to accept the triumph of symbolism of logic and a normal thought process and the fact that these types of media tend to ignite a rabid following is probably only encouraging their overuse. It is kind of like more recent but as of late, seems to be dying trend of having unreasonably conservative parents that run counter to the couple or main characters randomly dying near the end of sudden circumstances to make it “touching.” There are the successful examples and those that are just trying to ride the tail-coats of the trend.

You cannot say that such an interpretation is completely illogical because people are not perfect and we should not expect characters to be either. These “tropes” do tend to have a thought process behind them but the question for me is if it fits into the new story it was put in. Was the transplant something that would work or something going to cause an immediate rejection? Does it make the most logical sense in the new story and given the new dynamics? Sometimes no because the character personalities or story background is probably different and that would make this otherwise touching act seem really dumb like having some great sacrifice happen after having the characters know each other for years versus just a few weeks.

I guess my point is that it is usually something that is cherished when it is done right and has some reasonable backing or progression to lead us to it but there are those stories that simply insert dramatic elements without properly analyzing and building up the progression of the story to that point and that is when it tends to get tiresome and overused.

New ask game:

Reblog if you want your followers to tell you what your trademark ™️ is. Like, what’s that thing that really identifies you.

Many people in the Asian drama-watching community know of 2011 Chinese production Scarlet Heart (available on Dramafever) as a girl-meets-many-boys time-travel romance, but the rich cultural tapestry within perhaps deserves more credit. Over 35 episodes, viewers are treated to an eye-opening array of Qing costumes, headdresses and jewelry as well as fascinating references to various Chinese teas and snacks. The talented but doomed eighth prince, for instance, is described as favoring “Rizhu Snow Buds” or “Day Cast Snow Buds” (a word-by-word translation; Rizhu is actually a geographical location)—a type of green tea which name is thought to conjure up an image of beautiful snow melting away with the rise of the Sun, leaving only sadness in its place.

Certainly, too, the drama includes a great wealth of literary references, of which a Tibetan poem and a passage by Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi have been discussed on this site before. As a sample of the plethora of Chinese prose and poetry also woven into the script, below are the poems in scenes corresponding to some of those aired in the Korean adaptation so far:

1. The eighth prince sends the heroine, Ma’ertai Ruoxi, Song poet Qin Guan's “To the Tune of Magpie Bridge Immortal,” an extraordinarily spectacular and romantic poem that provides much comfort to couples in long-distance relationships. Its lines would solve the supposed mystery of the above headline. (Original text | Translation)

2. He next sends her “Fallen Low,” a succinct and highly rhythmic work which historically has different interpretations bound by the common theme of human-inflicted suffering. (Original text | Translation – one of the interpretations)

3. When Emperor Kangxi orders Ruoxi to explain why she calls him a good ruler, she quotes the lines "But alas! Qin Shihuang and Han Wudi [...] Look to this age alone”€ from Mao Zedong’€™s “€œSnow.”€ They may sound sycophantic to modern ears but mark the start of their friendship. If we put aside political differences and regard its mentions of archery and literary prowess as mere symbols of less advanced stages of human civilization, the poem is additionally a reminder that the best need not be in the past — €”the sources of our problems may also be the sources of our solutions. This is a dose of optimism the world at large can benefit from as it grapples with political, economic and environmental upheavals. (Original text | Translation)

It is unfortunate that time constraints prevent The Chair from listing the numerous other classical texts referenced and far more so that few Western-language drama review sites seem to take a profound interest in East Asian literature. The analysis of the portrayal of regional literature in East Asian dramas is a niche area in cultural critique is badly in need of new blood and, pun intended, a few more scarlet hearts.

Spot

Sea Of Dream's poster: Spot the sea.

Three-Body II: Dark Forest's poster: Spot the darkness.

Hokusai's dragon legend art: Spot the dragon.