Media:: A historical/wuxia comedy-drama series, made in Hong Kong in 1984, and starring a very young Tony Leung and Andy Lau.
Approx length: 40 episodes, ~28 hours
Where to find it?: For an English-subbed version, message me or check the past letters in my journal. :) There are also box sets on eBay, and if you don't need English, TVB sometimes has it available on YouTube or their website.
Summary: In brief, the premise is that two boys meet one day on the grounds of the palace court at Beijing, circa 1650 or so, and become wrestling buddies. Both of them are hiding their real identities. One is actually the young emperor of China, while the other is a mischievous trickster kid who grew up in a brothel and is now being used as a spy... by rebels who want to overthrow the empire.
The series is an adaptation of Jin Yong's final novel, which is a wuxia anti-epic that subverts a lot of the traditional tropes of the genre. Much like the novel, the show is irreverent and comical and chaotic, but along the way it also explores some serious themes, building out from a sort of prince-and-the-pauper setup where a kid from the lowest level of society gets thrown straight into the highest possible social sphere.
Last year I wrote up a fandom promo for this series (on c_ent), so check there for more babbling, gifs, etc. :D
What I love about it: I love the continual back-and-forth pull of affection and conflict between the trickster kid (Wai Siu-Bou) and the Emperor, and how they both keep trying to sustain the fiction of an equal friendship despite the massive power imbalance between them. I love the moments of trust and distrust, loyalty and betrayal, the identity porn, and the (both physical and metaphorical) sparring. Their whole relationship arc is just beautifully fraught. If you can suspend your disbelief a bit and ignore the low-budget sets and bad wigs and sexism, it's a great show, and an absolute disaster OTP that has delightful subtext and deserves so much more of a fandom. <3
What I'll be requesting: I'll be requesting the two main characters (Wai Siu-Bou and the Emperor), and would seriously love to read just about anything about them, separately or together, ranging from lighthearted slice-of-life about their friendship to darkfic that leans heavily into themes of power imbalance and manipulation. You can see some specific prompts in my Fic in a Box letter.
Are there sections of canon that can be consumed by themselves to fulfil your requests, or that showcase particular characters and relationships?: Yes! I'd be happy with stories focused on just the earlier episodes, if you'd like to check out the series but won't have time to watch all of it for Yuletide.
You can also check the section of my Fic in a Box letter labelled "Episodes to Watch" for a list of scenes with both characters in them. (Wai Siu-Bou is onscreen pretty much all the time for the whole series, but the Emperor usually only shows up for a few minutes per episode.)
Content warnings: Sexism, forced relationships/marriages (the protagonist collects a harem), strongly-implied rape. Some fantasy violence and death (nothing graphic).
鹿鼎記 | The Duke of Mount Deer (Hong Kong 1984)
Title: 鹿鼎記 | The Duke of Mount Deer
Media:: A historical/wuxia comedy-drama series, made in Hong Kong in 1984, and starring a very young Tony Leung and Andy Lau.
Approx length: 40 episodes, ~28 hours
Where to find it?: For an English-subbed version, message me or check the past letters in my journal. :) There are also box sets on eBay, and if you don't need English, TVB sometimes has it available on YouTube or their website.
Summary: In brief, the premise is that two boys meet one day on the grounds of the palace court at Beijing, circa 1650 or so, and become wrestling buddies. Both of them are hiding their real identities. One is actually the young emperor of China, while the other is a mischievous trickster kid who grew up in a brothel and is now being used as a spy... by rebels who want to overthrow the empire.
The series is an adaptation of Jin Yong's final novel, which is a wuxia anti-epic that subverts a lot of the traditional tropes of the genre. Much like the novel, the show is irreverent and comical and chaotic, but along the way it also explores some serious themes, building out from a sort of prince-and-the-pauper setup where a kid from the lowest level of society gets thrown straight into the highest possible social sphere.
Last year I wrote up a fandom promo for this series (on
What I love about it: I love the continual back-and-forth pull of affection and conflict between the trickster kid (Wai Siu-Bou) and the Emperor, and how they both keep trying to sustain the fiction of an equal friendship despite the massive power imbalance between them. I love the moments of trust and distrust, loyalty and betrayal, the identity porn, and the (both physical and metaphorical) sparring. Their whole relationship arc is just beautifully fraught. If you can suspend your disbelief a bit and ignore the low-budget sets and bad wigs
and sexism, it's a great show, and an absolute disaster OTP that has delightful subtext and deserves so much more of a fandom. <3What I'll be requesting: I'll be requesting the two main characters (Wai Siu-Bou and the Emperor), and would seriously love to read just about anything about them, separately or together, ranging from lighthearted slice-of-life about their friendship to darkfic that leans heavily into themes of power imbalance and manipulation. You can see some specific prompts in my Fic in a Box letter.
Are there sections of canon that can be consumed by themselves to fulfil your requests, or that showcase particular characters and relationships?: Yes! I'd be happy with stories focused on just the earlier episodes, if you'd like to check out the series but won't have time to watch all of it for Yuletide.
You can also check the section of my Fic in a Box letter labelled "Episodes to Watch" for a list of scenes with both characters in them. (Wai Siu-Bou is onscreen pretty much all the time for the whole series, but the Emperor usually only shows up for a few minutes per episode.)
Content warnings: Sexism, forced relationships/marriages (the protagonist collects a harem), strongly-implied rape. Some fantasy violence and death (nothing graphic).