Liddi's Musings

Immersing in the artbook brings memories flooding back... seeing details with fresh eyes... revisiting familiar places and scenes in my mind...

And details of the emblems... interesting that the Guifang clan's emblem is the eye of a snake...

From the official drama artbook, the various maps pertaining to the Great Wilderness of Lost You Forever...

The map of the Great Wilderness, and its drama representation:

Map of Xi Yan territory:

Military strategy map... a part of which is visible in the drama...

Xiao Yao traced her fingers over the mirror and asked with tears glistening in her eyes, “Xiang Liu, am I really so worthless in your eyes? So much so that you would not even leave me a single memory!”

-- Lost You Forever Vol 3 Ch18

“Since we are not fated to be together in this lifetime, it is better not to be indebted to one another, not to miss each other, as if… we never met, never knew each other.” -- Xiang Liu

-- Lost You Forever S02E22

Remembering, still missing this iconic character through the concept art from the official artbook... even now.

Just a few mins ago, the forum that had been a part of my life for close to 12 years finally took its final bow. And now, all that is left are the memories... Goodbye Soompi.

My final post:

Xiang Liu strolled with Xiao Liu, treading the waves against the wind.

There was not even a sliver of light, the sky was dark, the ocean pitch black with nothing ahead of them and nothing behind, a vast world where the winds blew and the waves swelled. Xiao Liu felt so insignificant as if he would be swallowed up by a wave at any moment, and he subconsciously tightened his grip on Xiang Liu’s hand.

Xiang Liu suddenly stopped. Xiao Liu did not know why he did, but he did not ask. Instead he involuntarily leaned closer to Xiang Liu, accompanying him as they stared towards the east.

Not long after that, a bright full moon slowly rose from the surface of the ocean, clear, bright moonlight shining down. Stunned by the breathtaking sight, the hard shell around Xiao Liu’s heart softened.

Amidst the sound of the waves, Xiang Liu’s voice could be heard. “As long as such sights still exist in the world, life is very precious.”

Xiao Liu murmured, “No matter how rare a scenery is, one will get tired of it if seen too often. It is only meaningful if someone is with me to see it. Sceneries are dead, only people can give it meaning.”

No one could tell if Xiang Liu heard Xiao Liu’s words, but he did not respond in any way.

-- Lost You Forever Vol 1 Ch4

~~~~~~~~~

Outside the palace walls, a bright round moon hung in the sky, cold and desolate.

Xiao Yao thought of the moon in Qingshui Town. When Xiang Liu died, was the moon in the sky also shining silently down on him like this? Did he remember the moon that they once looked at together?

-- Lost You Forever Vol 3 Ch18

Poster from Vol 2 长相思．诉衷情 of the 2013 1st edition novel

The same scene from the manhua...

Season 1 of the drama...

... and the 盛世芳华 x 长相思 mobile game collaboration

There is a pervading sense of nostalgia and sadness as I walk the threads in Soompi for what would be the last time, places that held many memories, knowing that in 7 days' time, the platform that was once like a second home; that witnessed the birth of so many precious friendships during that time; that saw so many firsts for me personally... would finally be gone. It is a surreal, poignant feeling... even when I could not participate as often as I wished, a part of me always took for granted that it would always be there. And now, I finally have to say goodbye after all...

My very first post on Soompi almost 12 years ago on the Master's Sun thread. It also heralded the first kdrama I properly watched (during live broadcast, no less), my first foray into the perilous world of shipping, my first time supporting the publication of an eBook about our ship "That Far Gone", written by the amazing @mywebfoot.

The gorgeous colours and banner of my very first ship, which we earned from winning Soompi's Shipper's Paradise Contest.

My first comprehensive translation work — a labour of love spanning 11 months, analysing the differences between Saimdang:Light's Diary drama and its C-translated novel, covering the prologue, 30 chapters, epilogue and author's notes — also saw its inception here on its drama thread.

Finally, while technically not my final post on Soompi, I said my official farewell to the place that holds so many precious memories as I slowly, reluctantly count down to the beginning of the end...

Congratulations Chen Yu-Peng 老师 for winning first prize in the 7th 4Seasons Musician Competition, Chamber Music Composition category of the Vienna Classical Music Competition! Thank you so much for gifting us with so many brilliant, unforgettable works, and looking forward to many many more in the future.

Xiao Yao said in a low voice, “Jing……disappeared.” She suddenly remembered and anxiously asked, “The East Sea is like your home. You….you….have you seen Jing?”

Xiang Liu asked mockingly, “Do you think I have nothing to do but keep watch over the ocean all day, just waiting to save people?”

-- Lost You Forever Vol 3 Ch10

~~~~~~~~~

“Before I passed out, I was also worried that I would be eaten by sea beasts or water demons. Thankfully Chang found me in time.” -- Tushan Jing

* * *

“The one we serve is the Nine-Headed Demon King, not you, a filthy, crippled six-headed insignificant demon.” -- Sea Beast

-- Lost You Forever S02E22

The moment I read these words, it felt like I was home once more, and the memories of all that I felt, reading this dearly loved novel over 30 years ago came flooding back. Crump Folk Going Home was the only work I have ever read of Constance Holme, a legacy passed down from my grandfather but it carved such a place in my heart that a part of me always felt incomplete when I lost the book several years later. For years, I tried to find a replacement copy but failed, so I cannot begin to describe what it meant when I finally held a copy in my hand once more and the prose I remembered so vividly and missed so dearly transported me back to the world of the Lyndesays with Crump the cornerstone of it all. There is a plaintiveness in the fabric of the tale, reticence, recklessness and restraint coalescing into a breathtaking narrative with characters that are remote yet strangely relatable - subtle yet devastatingly laid bare. It is a tale of loss and restoration, purpose and belonging, of being able to go home, and I love it now perhaps even more than when I first loved it as an impressionable young girl, with the lens that come with age and experience.