The Queer Lit Crit Corner

i mean- korean gay ppl exist and they also have eyes.

so yeah it's the same from what i've heard and seen of korean gay shawol twitter

the gay fanbase is very much like 'our modern gay icon kim kibum'. he's like, basically out amongst the korean lgbt+ community tbh. like, as out as an idol can be. glass closet like you said.

oh yeah, that was a tiiiime

the drama that was keyseop

they were OUT THERE

like, i even remember shawols getting annoyed that he was posting about key so often, but he didn't care at all and used to basically just post even more to piss them off 😂

he was definitely the most obvious of key's rumoured bf's.

the amount of selfies they posted together jeeeez, it was relentless

they would always post their date pics. on each of their individual social media accounts

hs even met the friends & fam

this went on for like a year? until we didn't see them together for a while, and hyeonseop abruptly unfollowed key on insta, yikes.

then no more keyseop :(

Introduction

I must stress that the parallels I draw between Over the Garden Wall and Dante’s Inferno are rather broad as they study the overall themes of the latter in comparison to the occurrences in the former. In my defense, the work that chartered what many consider to be the definitive version of Hell, while undoubtedly a monumental and well-constructed masterpiece of literature, contains several understandable prejudices of the author that are not reflected in the cartoon proper. The primordial spirit of the circles however, the fundamental vices that make the Divine Comedy resonate even centuries later, are incorporated into the narrative as are the broad strokes of Dante’s strange journey through the afterlife.

The Travelers

Wirt

Wirt, like Dante, is a poet and shares several traits with the Italian soldier and occasional politician. One of the most obvious of these besides his enjoyment of prose is his infatuation with a girl he finds to be truly exceptional, Sara. Like Dante, he seems content to appreciate her from afar and like Dante’s Beatrice, Sara inspires Wirt to create art in his poetry and clarinet mixtape. However, this distance he places between him and her is shown to be a source of great unhappiness, and while he does go on a fantastic adventure in the vein of “courtly love” (a concept Dante lionized) that inexplicably gives him an opportunity to tell her his feelings, it’s made clear that just talking with her would’ve saved him a lot of trouble.

Pride is another quality that Wirt and Dante share. Despite his lack of self-esteem, Wirt tries to, with mixed success, lord over the one person he is confident and cruel enough to impose upon: Greg, who he believes to be an immature imbecile. I must call to your attention that a surefire way to be sent to the Inferno is to be in denial of your own wrongdoings. Wirt is the principle reason that he and Greg wound up in the Unknown, but his insistence that he is guiltless and that Greg is at fault is strongly implied to be the major obstacle preventing them from leaving it.

Then there are the realms themselves. Though one of the most popular visions of the Judeo-Christian underworld, Dante’s Inferno was a very personal invention and reflected a multitude of the author’s own interests and beliefs. Similarly, it’s heavily implied in the ninth chapter that the Unknown was constructed out of Wirt’s (and some of Greg’s) experiences and hobbies. Both poets likewise find themselves frequently bemused in their quests, despite the strange lands they are stranded in containing a multitude of things they are familiar with.

On a bittersweet note, Wirt has one immense difference that sets him apart from Dante: Wirt actually succeeded in returning home while Dante spent his later years exiled from his beloved Florence, lamenting his separation from his birthplace.

Beatrice

While the creative talents behind the program have confirmed that Beatrice was named after Dante’s muse and guide in Paradiso, the Beatrice of Over the Garden Wall spends most of the story being the antithesis of her namesake; discouraging what she considers to be frivolous flights of fancy and spending half of the miniseries leading the brothers to ruination rather than salvation. After undergoing a personal journey of her own, her behavior becomes more in line with Dante’s lost love, saving Wirt and even accompanying him during the last part of his eerie pilgrimage.

Greg

Wirt’s Virgil. While more spontaneous and prone to distraction, Greg is something of a poet himself, composing several uplifting songs over the course of the chapters in contrast to his brother’s defeatist lamentations. These improvised tunes being beloved by others and Wirt’s eloquent moanings being ignored (by Greg) or mocked (by Wirt himself) allude to how Virgil and Dante’s poems were regarded during the Divine Comedy respectively. Greg may not have a working knowledge of the Unknown, but his courage and curiosity place him in a better position to engage and resolve the trials the pair face, making him an unorthodox guide to his older and craven sibling. As it was with Virgil, Greg is incapacitated during the final leg of the journey, and Wirt must solve the mystery of the Unknown without him.

The Entrance: Abandon all hope, ye who enter here 

Dante’s quest begins in a forest. In Wirt and Greg’s case, that’s true in more ways than one. As our Narrator kindly reminds us, the Unknown can be entered by those “who travel through the wood”.  This applies to the part of the Unknown they find themselves in initially and the near death experience they shared after almost drowning in a wooded area.

Echoing Dante’s opening plight, Wirt and Greg are pursued by a savage monster. Though Greg’s quick thinking saves their lives, mirroring Virgil’s rescue of Dante from the three beasts chasing him, the altercation destroys the safe haven of the mill, forcing the two of them to travel deeper into the Unknown. Before they go, the Woodsman warns them that the surrounding woods are the home of the Beast, “the death of hope”. However, defying the famous epithet that marks the entrance to the Inferno, he later clarifies that losing hope is about the last thing you want to do in the Unknown as it puts you squarely in the Beast’s clutches.

The First Level: Limbo

Pottsfield is not Limbo itself as the Unknown fits that description better, but it embodies the dilemma that is usually presented to characters that realize they are in Limbo: stay here and be at peace or struggle further in the hopes that you will return home. The passive Wirt is momentarily seduced to choose the first option by how simple and quiet “life” there is and him changing his mind is done more out of being disturbed by the town’s macabre disposition than any real strength of will on his part. Fittingly, as is the fate of those that move past this relatively idyllic portion of hades for deeper zones, this arguably puts him in even greater danger.

Note: The town gets its namesake from a “Potter’s Field”, a type of gravesite for unknown corpses. Conversely, the denizens of Pottsfield all seem to have names, perhaps having regained the identities “lost” during their burial.

The Second Level: Lust

Miss Langtree’s fixation over Jimmy Brown’s supposed infidelity renders her unable to teach. This subsequently renders the sacrifices of her father to keep the school open moot, who in turn accuses Jimmy Brown of “gallivanting”. The two of them are not necessarily bad people, but much like Wirt, they’re too busy moaning about their troubles to fix them. This is made more evident by how Jimmy wasn’t up to any sort of debauchery and was merely working hard to consummate his love for Miss Langtree in the proper fashion. Therefore lust in practice is not the debilitating force here, but the obsession over it.

The Third Level: Gluttony

The patrons and staff of the tavern are people of purpose. Each has their role, their profession, and thus an identity to call their own. All are welcome, even thieves and killers. There is however, one major exception: The Beast. Despite having a “job” of his own and a great singing voice, he is feared and reviled all the same. The innkeeper implies that this is due in part to how the beast lies to get what he wants, in contrast to an “honest” scoundrel like the Highwayman.  

There is also the fact that, unbeknownst to those who fear him, the Beast doesn’t actually “work with his hands” and instead tricks people into acting as his proxies. The metamorphosis into an Edelwood tree, might not even be his own doing. It could just be something that happens to those that fall to despair in the Unknown, a quirk of the land that he exploits so he can keep his lantern fed and even that might be a cruel indulgence. He is not a tradesman, foul or not, he is a parasite. To summarize, the Beast and his lantern are entities of excess as they do not truly earn what they so gratuitously consume.

Note: Something else worth mentioning is how Greg keeps bringing food to his and Wirt’s table to satiate his hunger, but no one, not even his Frog, is ever shown eating any of it.

The Fourth Level: Greed

Quincy Endicott is dead. The tombstone in the Eternal Garden cemetery all but proves that. Thus his and Marguerrite Grey’s fear of one another is simultaneously justified and absurd. Fair enough, but the core theme of this episode doesn’t lie in a Sixth Sense-esque twist, but in the insatiable sinkhole of greed. Quincy is rather frank (while stepping on franks) that his entire life was/has been dedicated to the accumulation of money. He is also quick to tell us that these riches have gone into making his home bigger and in turn, more hollow. Consequently, the tea tycoon is made to feel small and alone in his own house, unable to derive joy from making money as he confesses to despising the beverage he peddles: Indeed, he all but states that he’s done reprehensible things to amass his fortune. He has no one to talk to apart from his peacocks as his estate is devoid of any staff; only opulent furniture keeps him company indoors. The mansion itself is apparently turning on him as well, coming into the possession of new rooms and wings that he can’t recall commissioning that make him feel more lost and confused than ever. There is a glimmer of beauty and hope in this increasingly alien environment when he chances upon a portrait of a beautiful woman, and then things get even worse for him until his “nephews” bail him out. 

The punishment of this circle for those who lived their lives with avarice in their hearts is an eternal jousting match where they are put on one of two sides and “joust” with one another using massive weights. This is expressed in how despite living in the same building, Quincy and Marguerrite have spent an undefined amount of time barely missing one another; locked in a frustrated and chaste dance with no end in sight. For as far as the two of them are concerned, to confront one another directly only has two awful outcomes: the ghost is real, making their love unfeasible or there is no ghost, which would mean that the two of them have gone mad. A line shared by the star-crossed aristocrats when they recognize one another’s names proves that this is all an immense allusion to their situation before they died. They had never met, nor knew what the other looked like. What they did know was that the opposite party was their “business competitor”, a reprehensible entity that dared to get in the way of them gaining a monopoly on tea, a scoundrel that hampered the accumulation of personal wealth. How could they have known that the cure for their loneliness lay in the arms of their respective rivals? And so it was that these two nobles would spend their hereafters haunted by the specter of the love and happiness they deprived themselves of during their mortal existences; architects of a gilded mausoleum. Thankfully, Wirt and Greg help overturn this bedlam and a happy conclusion is reached for Endicott and Grey, who manage to put aside the past animosity that kept them apart while they still had pulses.

Fred is also a creature of greed, a literal horse thief who despite his lack of hands has apparently stolen a great many things before meeting our protagonists. Once he is confronted by the possibility that his kleptomania might get him killed, he swears that he will cease his wrongful purloining and get an honest job. True to his word, he elects to stay behind with Quincy and Grey as “an official tea horse.” In a moment that is up for debate and interpretation, the epilogue has a scene where Marguerrite is staring at a portrait of Quincy and Fred. If this was painted before she and Quincy properly met, mirroring how Quincy fell in love with her image in the painting, then Fred might very well have been Endicott’s steed when they were both alive, adding a sense of irony to the horse unwittingly trying to steal from his former master.

The Fifth Level: Anger and Sorrow

While this circle is primarily associated with Anger, the sullen are punished here as well. They are cursed to eternally drown in the waters of the River Styx, where there is no hope of salvation or joy with the frogs sinking into the mud acting as a visual representation of this. Though the brothers begin the episode with much optimism and mirth, the discovery that their entire quest was a farce causes Wirt’s spirits to sink, dragged down by the betrayal of someone he considered to be his friend. Wirt, as we are soon to find out, doesn’t have many friends. Worse, he is without a guide, and he and Greg are rendered more lost than ever before with no clear goal to work towards.

Anger is expressed in the simple, but understated act of Wirt stealing Adelaide’s scissors, despite having no real use for them himself past cutting the strings, in order to punish Beatrice for deceiving him and Greg.

Note: I would be remiss not to mention the various references to the afterlife in the voyage itself that others have noted in the past. The ferry is Charon’s boat of course, and the two cents acting as the two coins that the morbid boatman usually accepts as his fare. The frogs hibernating in the mud could also be called them taking a “dirt nap”, a colloquialism for being dead and buried.

The Sixth Level: Heresy

Witches and evil spirits are the obvious embodiments of the circle’s theme of heresy, but this episode also has the power of doctrine as a central theme. After all, what is a heretical action without a coda to rebel against? The bell’s hold over Lorna and the Evil Spirit represents the power of instruction. Rules and laws have the capacity to oppress and protect, to enslave or liberate. Auntie Whispers feared Lorna leaving her once she was cured and used the bell to forcefully keep her niece at her side by restraining the spirit, but not exorcising it. Greg had the gumption to use the bell against Lorna, but was too callow to understand how to use it properly. Ultimately it is Wirt, the one usually wracked with indecision and uncertainty that realizes what must be done and does what Whispers was too selfish (and Greg too ignorant) to do.

The Beast is shown to use a doctrine of his own to manipulate the Woodsman. Simple rules: keep the lantern lit and your daughter “lives”. When the Woodsman wonders if there is “a better way”, the Beast is adamant that his word is law and his methods absolute. He is lying of course, but by himself, how can the Woodsman hope to see past the only options presented to him?

The Seventh Level: Violence

A small scale war is waged between the People of Cloud City and the frightfully destructive North Wind. The elemental eventually comes into direct conflict with Greg and the climax of the episode is a battle on two fronts as the blustering bruiser attempts to trounce Greg in his sleep and freeze him outside of it. The boy triumphs with his usual mixture of audaciousness and creativity; of course you can beat a raging storm by stuffing it into a bottle!

Prominent features of this level of the Inferno include a treacherous river located in the outer ring (as represented by the one Wirt and Greg travel on during the chapter’s start, and the one Wirt falls into at its end) and a terrible storm in the inner ring (The North Wind). The middle is what’s most  interesting to people that are familiar with both the Divine Comedy and Over the Garden Wall as it is filled with grotesque trees made from the bodies of those that committed suicide, individuals that gave up on living and surrendered to self-destruction. Wirt is rescued from this terrible (and self-inflicted) transformation by Greg’s sacrifice, but the connection remains rather poignant as it helps build on the idea that the Unknown is a place between life and death.

The Eighth Level: Fraud

Halloween is a day of the dead and a day of disguise. It is a night of imposters and make-believe. What better time to play out the themes of fraud than this? Paradoxically, it is also where a great many truths are revealed alongside a showcase of the many lies that Wirt has invented to exonerate himself from his own cowardice. Among the things we learn is that Wirt and Greg are two American children from the late 20th century, the Garden Wall that the show’s title alludes to was that of a cemetery (named “Eternal Garden”), and that Jason Funderberker isn’t the stud Wirt whines about him being.

Perhaps the greatest display of this episode’s themes lies in Greg and Wirt’s apparel. Greg explains that he wears a tea kettle on his head because he’s pretending to be an elephant. It’s a simple and abstract costume, but one with purpose. Then there’s Wirt’s more elaborate ensemble. When asked what he’s dressed as, Wirt can’t answer the question. He has no idea. The montage of him assembling its components might’ve given him a burst of confidence, but it is ousted as having been utterly nonsensical. That is not to say that Wirt is not masquerading as something. It’s just that he’s disguised as someone who’s wearing a costume: a charlatan’s charlatan.

Counterfeiters and hypocrites rate high (or low, depending on how you look at it) on this plane, and Wirt’s a little bit of both. He wants someone to lead the way and be brave for him, but resents Greg’s aid. His carelessness is what loses him the tape in the first place, which he blames Greg for. Wirt also mistakes his brother’s initiative for recklessness and kneecaps whatever progress Greg’s actions might’ve netted him. Finally, he creates an obtuse narrative that frames Greg and his stepfather as saboteurs due to their insistence that he join marching band. Had he listened, the act might’ve brought him closer to Sara, who he considers lost to him now due to the imagined sabotage. Through reflection, Wirt realizes this and against his usual cowardice, heads out into a brutal blizzard in hopes of saving the brother he disowned and practically drowned. 

The Ninth Level: Treachery

As with any circle, this one closes where it began. It is a chapter of resolution, but also of return. The final act of the production is set in the woods surrounding the Old Grist Mill, the primary location of the first chapter’s happenings now repaired. It is winter, and even those who only have a broad knowledge of Dante’s Inferno know that while the upper levels of that dismal pit may be rife with fire and brimstone, the very bottom is deathly cold.

The Beast is decked out in satanic narrative and visual trappings from across the centuries: the horns, the name, the association with darkness and witchcraft, the predilection for making deals with the desperate and the gullible, and a monstrous reputation that’s justified by the evil he masterminds and commits. He fools his victims into committing worthless and futile acts that serve no higher purpose outside of his personal benefit. Above all else, he is treacherous, a trait that is made distinct from fraud by how it is a betrayal of a more intimate sort. In insincere defiance of his fearsome reputation, he tries to pass himself off as helpful and altruistic; telling the Woodsman, Greg, and Wirt that he’ll help them out if they perform some simple, but essentially idiotic tasks for an indefinite (read: forever) amount of time. Fittingly, it’s Wirt, whose character arc has him learning to stop being a pushover and take responsibility for himself, who sees through the passive-aggressive charade and puts the villain into a corner.

We are given a brief flash of the Beast’s actual appearance, a horrific mass of flesh made up of dozens of anguished faces. His many mouths were a conscious design choice by the creative team to incite feelings of trypophobia (a fear of holes) in viewers with that brief glance, but they’re also symbolic of the circular nature of the Beast. A shadow cannot exist without light; his existence depends on keeping the lantern lit, but he can’t carry it around himself because doing so would reveal to all those he approached that the infamous Beast is nothing more than an abomination built from weakness, a wretch. The Devil of Dante’s Inferno was a fiend with multiple mouths that was comparatively imprisoned by his own wickedness. Over the Garden Wall is rife with characters that are trapped or feel they are trapped (Wirt, Greg, Jimmy Brown, the Langtrees, Quincy, Lorna, etc.), so it’s only fitting that the show’s antagonist is in an inescapable predicament of his own.

Guardian Body Language Highlights - 1000+ gifs over 40 Episodes

There are a lot of things I love about Guardian, and Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan, but at the top of the list has to be their incredible chemistry and their body language with each other. From the way they look at each other and flirt, to the way their bodies are simply attuned to each other’s movements.

Extra: Themed Compilations:

i've been watching lots of fanmade youtube videos and stuff tho

Okayyy thanks and sorry for the crappy english, is not my first language

LINKS/GUIDE FOR BABY ARMYs

There is this AMAZING site. bangtanfor.life that is an unofficial fan-made digital archive of BTS’ journey from their pre-debut up to present in the form of a timeline (from 2010 to now with what happened on each day) HERE and even more. Like a timeline for the albums too HERE

Where to follow BTS HERE (I advise you to follow BTS at least on Twitter as new things get shared all the time as for important updates and what is generally happening, I share them on this blog)

List of BTS’ videography HERE (You can find most of it on ok.ru as we hide things there or send me a non-anon ask if you need links to anything in particular)

SOME RECENT REALITY SHOWS TO KNOW BTS BETTER: Bon Voyage 1 to 4 (2016 to 2019) HERE - In The Soop (2020) HERE (I advice you to also watch Bangtan Bombs & Episodes as they are free on Youtube. Another good things is to watch BTS memories of each year. BTS 2019 Memories is like 10 hours long (HERE or download it HERE) You will totally catch up easily and fall even more for BTS as they all have interesting, funny and great personalities)

Festa 2014 to 2020 HERE (Each year BTS celebrate their debut date with ARMYs but it doesn’t last just ONE day. Celebrations start weeks prior and the boys drop loads of free content as gifts for us)

Paid content (* BTS Vlive CH+ (2017-2019) * 2020 RUN BTS! [Behind Cut] * BV 3 Behind * In The SOOP) HERE (cr)

Archive of photos on different social media platforms, videos and so on HERE

BTS profiles HERE

HYYH, THE NOTES & THE BU INFO & LINKS HERE (BTS have a whole alternative universe and the story has been going on since 2015)

BTS SCHEDULE IN YOUR TIME ZONE. Find it HERE or find the main calendar HERE (The schedule might look scary but it just contains the official dates. Most of the time, MORE things happen each day and things drop all of a sudden. If there is no content for like 3 days, the fandom get scared, and we know something is coming for real)

‘BE’ BTS’ NEXT COMEBACK GOALS HERE (As a fandom we are VERY organized. So, we decide on the goals of each comeback beforehand and do our best together to reach them. We also do research, analyze and find ways to come together to make the impossible possible for our 7 boys)

Hi dear, welcome to the fandom and your English is great. I am running this blog in ENGLISH and massacring the language elegantly & confidently one typo at a time on a daily hahaha. Let’s enjoy our time together stanning BTS and make great memories ^^

i've been watching lots of fanmade youtube videos and stuff tho

Okayyy thanks and sorry for the crappy english, is not my first language

LINKS/GUIDE FOR BABY ARMYs

There is this AMAZING site. bangtanfor.life that is an unofficial fan-made digital archive of BTS’ journey from their pre-debut up to present in the form of a timeline (from 2010 to now with what happened on each day) HERE and even more. Like a timeline for the albums too HERE

Where to follow BTS HERE (I advise you to follow BTS at least on Twitter as new things get shared all the time as for important updates and what is generally happening, I share them on this blog)

List of BTS’ videography HERE (You can find most of it on ok.ru as we hide things there or send me a non-anon ask if you need links to anything in particular)

SOME RECENT REALITY SHOWS TO KNOW BTS BETTER: Bon Voyage 1 to 4 (2016 to 2019) HERE - In The Soop (2020) HERE (I advice you to also watch Bangtan Bombs & Episodes as they are free on Youtube. Another good things is to watch BTS memories of each year. BTS 2019 Memories is like 10 hours long (HERE or download it HERE) You will totally catch up easily and fall even more for BTS as they all have interesting, funny and great personalities)

Festa 2014 to 2020 HERE (Each year BTS celebrate their debut date with ARMYs but it doesn’t last just ONE day. Celebrations start weeks prior and the boys drop loads of free content as gifts for us)

Paid content (* BTS Vlive CH+ (2017-2019) * 2020 RUN BTS! [Behind Cut] * BV 3 Behind * In The SOOP) HERE (cr)

Archive of photos on different social media platforms, videos and so on HERE

BTS profiles HERE

HYYH, THE NOTES & THE BU INFO & LINKS HERE (BTS have a whole alternative universe and the story has been going on since 2015)

BTS SCHEDULE IN YOUR TIME ZONE. Find it HERE or find the main calendar HERE (The schedule might look scary but it just contains the official dates. Most of the time, MORE things happen each day and things drop all of a sudden. If there is no content for like 3 days, the fandom get scared, and we know something is coming for real)

‘BE’ BTS’ NEXT COMEBACK GOALS HERE (As a fandom we are VERY organized. So, we decide on the goals of each comeback beforehand and do our best together to reach them. We also do research, analyze and find ways to come together to make the impossible possible for our 7 boys)

Hi dear, welcome to the fandom and your English is great. I am running this blog in ENGLISH and massacring the language elegantly & confidently one typo at a time on a daily hahaha. Let’s enjoy our time together stanning BTS and make great memories ^^

Trapped Appreciation Week ➡ Day 6 |  Favourite Quote  Shao Fei just owning it.

TRASH GARBAGE but also MY FAVORITE TYPE OF TRASH GARBAGE so when Pru (our favorite cdrama disease vector) started watching it and liveblogging on twitter we all ended up following along because she said it was trash garbage and she was gonna write porn about it.

So I’m gonna give you several warnings first and then you can decide if you just want to block the tag or watch me spiral in agony or actually watch it or whatever.

1. The writing and pacing is terrible. The special effects are uhhhhhhhhhhhh well I guess they sort of tried. The lead characters do all the work and they’re amazing. Apparently they completely lose the plot in the last third of the series because –

2. It’s based on a BL webnovel but it was made in Mainland China so I understand the ending is uhhhhhhhhh not so good. The webnovel author and the actors fully understand your agony however, and Zhao Yunlan’s actor read out bits of the novel for the fans and the author straight up wrote an epilogue fixing the TV ending. I have a faint idea both the webnovel and the epilogue are being translated but I haven’t gone to look for it and it’s definitely a Lot of Work (I’m not sure where to find it yet but I have a vague impression there’s one on Ao3. if you know of one for sure please let me know!)

3. in conclusion, to quote chinese sellers selling doujinshi, if this is what you’re looking for, it’s exactly what you’re looking for. if it’s not, maybe don’t try it.

So having said all that! Do you like eternal pining? Do you like identity porn? Do you like EXTREMELY COMPETENT PEOPLE with three piece suits / bad boy taste in leather jackets? Do you like special team shenanigans? Do you like wuxia?

HAVE I GOT A PIECE OF TRASH GARBAGE FOR YOU.

Guardian is set in Dragon City, I’m not sure what province of China but I’m genuinely hoping not the same one as Dr Qin was set in, hilarious as that crossover would be. In the world there are three types of sentient beings: humans, and two types of aliens who arrived 20,000 years ago and settled in. One became fused with plants and animals. One migrated underground and became a whole separate society that occasionally shows up and either tries to live peacefully or rampage. They’re technically called Dixingren, the underground people,but after about three seconds I gave up and started calling them drow and their land the Underdark.  About ten thousand years ago they tried to invade the upper world and four Holy Tools – a writing brush, a sundial, an awl, and it hasn’t actually appeared yet but it looks like a lamp? – were created from a meterorite to stop them. They lost and were forced back into the Underdark, and an agreement was made to keep them there.

So much for background. Present day, you have the Special Investigation Department, whose job is to keep the Dixingren from rampaging angrily, and their liason to the Underdark, Black Coat Envoy (nobody can agree how to translate this in the subs by the way but he is a Senior Official and you do not piss him off because he will kick your ass). The SID consists of seven or eight people who are mostly demi-human or Dixingren but a few humans.

Zhao Yunlan - the boss, human, I suspect in my heart he speaks very rough and manly. Zhu Hong says he acts outgoing and friendly but has a cold heart. The only one he really opens up to is Shen Wei, for reasons which become obvious in a hurry. Zhao Yunlan is very competent but he loves being spoiled by Shen Wei.

Zhu Hong - a member of the snake tribe and the department’s admin. I think she might be half human? She’s estranged from her tribe because she hasn’t fully come into her powers yet. Has a crush on Zhao Yunlan.

Lin Jing - resident science nerd, loves online shit and explosions, has a great wardrobe, is rightfully terrified of Hong-jie.

Da Qing - shapeshifting cat, hundreds if not thousands of years old. His nickname is Shitty Cat or Dead Cat. His hobbies are eating fish, being the voice of reason, and cuddling up on people. Since they chose a dude who looks like he’s doing this as a promotion for his boy band, this is extremely entertaining. I think people actually -ge or lao him because he’s old but I’m not sure because the accent everybody has is unfamiliar to me.  (by the way in some shots they actually use a cat for him but I’m not sure what breed it is. It looks a bit like a Scottish Fold but every time it’s the actual cat it just looks resigned to it’s fate.)

Guo Changcheng - the Newbie. a normal human taken in by the department because his uncle is somehow involved in their funding, as far as I can gather. Terrified at everything, tries his best, very kind. Honestly I have a feeling he’s already marked for death, but I’m a pessimist who has watched too many of these series. He calls everybody -jie and -ge. He mostly works with –

Chu Shuzhi - a Dixingren who is somehow connected to / owes a favor / respects? wants to fuck? the Black Coat Envoy (possibly he served under him?) and controls energy puppet strings. Usually he gets “lao” instead of “ge”, I think. He’s very big and gruff and mean and obviously he and Guo are the secondary ship for the series. They’re very cute.

Last but not least are Wang Zheng and San Zan, who are actually “energy beings” (ghosts) created by the Holy Awl but that’s like an entire episode and a half so I won’t bother explaining it. They are the Token Straights. Wang Zheng is the secretary and San Zan is the ‘librarian’ (he can’t read or write and he’s got a speech disability for reasons). They’re very cute.

Their main contact with the Underdark is with

The Black Coat Envoy – he’s very mysterious. He wears a mask that I think I actually could buy at the art store in my neighborhood. He wears hooded gothy robes. He is also

Shen Wei – a mildmannered professor who looks a bit like Eriol Hiwagizawa and teaches bio-engineering at Dragon City University. He wears very formal clothes and my Chinese is … not existent …. but I suspect he speaks very formally and kind of old fashioned. (Whereas Black Coat Envoy speaks old fashioned but uhhhhhh okay like it’s very obvious that he says tu to them and they say vous to him, except for Zhao Yunlan who has never heard of ‘vous’ in his life unless you kick his ankle.)  He won’t or can’t use computers or cell phones and it’s my personal belief that the poor guy stepped out of the upper world for like three fucking seconds and the Cultural Revolution happened, so he still acts like he’s from just before then. He’s the idol of the school, and for obvious reasons Zhao Yunlan is like WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS GETTING MIXED UP WITH OUR WEIRD SHIT and Shen Wei is hastily shoving his glasses back on like Clark Kent and trying to look like normal human beings just kind of land awkwardly in the bushes and survive falling a 20 ft drop.

Shen Wei’s actual life goal is to be Zhao Yunlan’s sugar daddy / service dom, a calling that Zhao Yunlan is very happy to help him fulfill. Someone hands Shen Wei a water bottle and his automatic reaction is to open it and hand it to Zhao Yunlan, who drinks it without a word. They’re driving to a site and Yunlan’s like NAP NOW, shoves a pillow on Shen Wei’s shoulder, and Shen Wei’s only reaction is to move the pillow so Zhao Yunlan will be more comfortable / he won’t have his view of Zhao Yunlan blocked. Yeah. Zhao Yunlan gets sick because he can’t take care of himself, and Shen Wei stays up all night watching over him and folding his laundry. He’s not whipped, but he’s frantic to spend all the time that he can with Zhao Yunlan because

Zhao Yunlan is the reincarnation of a dude Shen Wei fell in love with during the war 10,000 years ago!

Meg, eating ice cream, watching raptly: This is the good shit, China. This is the reeeeealll gooooooood shiiiiiit.

He died (I feel like he was a human but don’t quote me, I’ve only seen flashbacks) and Shen Wei was left with memories, an amber pendant, and the promise to find him again. The first time Shen Wei sees him as himself and not as the Black Coat Envoy, he can’t let go of his hand after they shake hands. Zhao Yunlan says something about  Shen Wei’s name (I’d have to rewatch but it’s something about standing above people and being mighty) and there is an actual honest to god damn truth flashback to when ZHAO YUNLAN’S PAST SELF GAVE HIM THE NAME.

it’s gay.

Anyway the effects are bad, the plot goes increasingly off the rails because the censors were like “you realize it has to be technically not homosexuals finding each other and living happily ever after or we will make you regret it, right?” and they made weird changes to the plot, and the props department is like three unpaid interns and their pet monkey but if you like supernatural shit, EXTENDED PINING, and team family shit, its definitely something you should look into.

It’s unfortunately not on Viki but there IS a Youtube playlist here:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvpAVnYN4lb2Gfz6Feq3KA1r5trkUxMU-

which might actually be licensed?

help I’ve fallen down the Guardian rabbit-hole and probably won’t emerge for quite awhile. oh well.