#nif resource

[chaikat]

It’s been such a long time since I last posted something on tumblr that I kinda don’t know how to do it anymore ahahaha

Anyway, I posted a compilation of Nirvana in Fire tumblr recs on my journal and thought I should crosspost it here! The compilation is mainly because it can be quite hard to find old posts on tumblr and the NiF fandom has produced so much wonderful stuff in the past.

So I think this would be useful for newcomers to the series, and for people who have been around for a while, perhaps it’s time for a nostalgia trip? :D I know I had a blast reliving the old posts.

If there’s anything you think should be included in the post but isn’t, let me know!

[nifproject]

Nirvana in Fire names

[nifproject]

So tumblr is great for pictures and stuff. But it sucks for group chatting. So this here is a Nirvana in Fire chatroom. Come hang out old school mirc style without the hard stuff! 

[chaikat]

For @the-wintry-mizzenmast, I’ll try to answer your Meng Zhi questions!

@llonkrebboj, I’ll note the chapters where I can. The version I’m referring to is the second web version (that site is slightly dodgy though, fyi).

First, a caveat: My chinese is ummm not great lol, I relied on a browser dictionary to read the novel. I hope I didn’t make any major mistakes but if anyone spots anything wrong, do let me know!

And also! This site has been posting translations of the novel regularly. They’re up to chapter 16 now!

Okay, here goes.

1. How did he end up so close with xiao-Shu the year he was in the Chiyan Army?

Meng Zhi watched Lin Shu grow up (iirc should be somewhere between chapters 97-104, after Great Grandma passes away and MZ visits MCS to comfort him. MZ says something about back when he was an imperial guard, he saw how Great Grandma loved Xiao Shu the most out of all the kids).

Meng Zhi also taught him horse-riding and archery (should be somewhere in chapters 154-155, during the convo between MZ and MCS after MZ finds out about the poison).

(I went to look up that line and it’s “好。大统领你是我骑射发蒙的师父，你地话我怎么敢不听？” hahaha right MCS you goddamn liar, when have you ever listened to anyone)

2. How is he so goddamn strong? I think the Chinese Wikipedia page (I’m the worst at reading Chinese my ancestors must be so ashamed) is trying to tell me his martial arts is learned from the Turkic people?  WHAT? Who is his Master and how did he make it to number 2 on the Langya ranking without having traveled Jianghu/Pugilist world, or did he?

BECAUSE HE IS JUST THAT GODDAMN STRONG <3 Haha okay, I believe the novel doesn’t explain how he became so strong or whether he has travelled jianghu before. He seems to have joined the military quite young so... maybe not? Or maybe he did as a kid?

Re: his fighting style though, I think the novel mentions that it’s Shaolin style. And that his fighting style is very steady and straightforward. Like a brick wall. A brick wall that can throw punches. This would be from somewhere in chapter 43, after Meng Zhi recommends a house to MCS, MCS gets ambushed by Tuoba Hao on the way back and Meng Zhi ends up fighting Tuoba Hao.

3. How noble is his family, because it does seem at first that Mei Changsu is unwilling to involve him because of the reputation of his family or is he just looking out for Meng’s wife and kids? (Does he have a wife and kids?)

I’m just gonna copy from my notes (EDIT: forgot to mention, this is from chapter 70, after Meng Zhi was flogged for the eunuch murder case):

Some background info on Meng Zhi’s family: his wife was selected for him by his parents when both of them were still kids. She came from a poor background but is a good and capable person. When Meng Zhi left home to join the army, she was the one who took care of both their parents. She suffered a miscarriage once and was unable to bear children ever since then. Despite this, Meng Zhi never took a concubine and adopted a nephew instead.

When Meng Zhi is flogged because of the eunuch murder case, his household panics and it is his wife who remains calm and takes charge.

I’m guessing that MCS’s reluctance to involve Meng Zhi at first is because he didn’t want Meng Zhi to risk his position as 大统领? MCS would know how hard Meng Zhi worked to reached this position plus, Meng Zhi is one of the few loyal and honest people in the imperial court (or more like, in the military) so MCS would want to keep him there.

[EDIT 2017/03/04] In one of their earlier meetings, MCS says that Meng Zhi’s family reputation has been prestigious for generations which implies that Meng Zhi isn’t exactly from a commoner background. I’m guessing he might be minor nobility? Like maybe from a family with some sort of rank from the provinces.

Hope this helps!

[chaikat]

What to do when you need some happy NiF/LYB things...

I know, we all love the pain this show brings.

But maybe sometimes, you reach that emotional nadir where you just can’t feel anymore. Or maybe you need a bit of balm for your heart so that it can withstand even more emotional filleting.

Or maybe not lol but anyway, this is a compilation of funny NiF-related things for when you need a break from all that dehydration. Most of it consists of the cast goofing off (because this list is also an excuse to compile links for that and also because they are adorable) and some fanworks.

UPDATE 02/05/2017: Replaced some broken links.

UN-AIRED ENDING

+ starts at 4:25 - Probably the best balm after the soul-crushing ending.

(EDIT: Apparently this is not an alternative ending but a deleted scene that was meant to take place at the start? ANYWAY, it’s a happy scene!)

DELETED SCENES / BLOOPERS

There are a lot of these on yt but I don’t think there is any one playlist or channel that compiles them all. Usually I just start watching one and then browse through the related video recs.

Here are some of my favourites.

+ MCS & Lin Chen, MCS & Meng Zhi - Highlights include the arm(?)-wrestling at 2:55, MCS showing them who's boss at 7:36 (here's a gifset with translation).

+ Foya - In the novel, Jingyan has a pet wolf named Foya. Presumably they couldn't get an actual wolf for the filming so they substituted it with a Tibetan mastiff. Which still didn't work because it was very uncooperative haha.

+ Deleted scenes - This is a compilation of some cut scenes and my favourite is the MCS & Fei Liu scene from 5:00. It’s just so heart-warming <3 (Also, at 1:02, I’m guessing that’s a glimpse of the Jiangzuo Alliance’s hq at Langzhou?)

BEHIND THE SCENES

I just love seeing photos of the cast having fun on set or photos where they're in costume but the setting is very definitely not ancient (I really love the photo of Jingyan and Xia Dong on the prison steps, and the one of the emperor with a fluffy pink handwarmer). Most of these are probably reposts from weibo.

+ Video - A small selection of BTS photos to give you an idea of what you can expect. This video has been deleted but the links below still have plenty of BTS stuff.

+ Facebook - This fb page posts a lot of BTS videos, photos and anecdotes. I still haven't finish going through them.

+ Twitter - This twitter posts a lot of BTS videos and photos.

+ Jin Dong (Lin Chen) and Hu Ge (MCS) goofing around. I’ve probably watched this a million times.

+ (NEWLY ADDED) Interview with Hu Ge re: his role - this isn’t exactly a happy thing, but I think it’s good to watch it after finishing the show (also you can go through the uploader’s videos to find the interview about him being a cat lady)

PHOTOSHOOTS

+ This is a very serious show, yeap

+ BTS videos of the above shoot: MCS, Meng Zhi & Fei Liu, MCS & Fei Liu (the video was deleted so I’ve replaced the link, I think this video is slightly different but it’s still MCS and FL), MCS & Jingyan

+ idek what this is?? - at the bottom of the post there are some pictures that looks like it’s a modern AU photoshoot. I vaguely remember reading somewhere that the photos were used for Christmas greetings? Also I’m pretty sure I’ve seen more pictures from the same shoot but I don’t have them on hand.

SCENE RE-ENACTMENTS

Pivotal scenes from the show re-enacted by different cast members! These are all crack. The keyword to search is 琅琊榜 反转小剧场 and here are some of my favourites.

+ "Are you married yet? You need to hurry." - feat. Hu Ge, Liu Tao and Wang Kai (aka MCS, Jingyan and Nihuang) (gifset with translation here).

+ MCS and Li Gang talk about the weather while Jingrui's world crumbles around him - feat. Gao Xin, Wang Ou, Liu Mintao and Liu Yijun (aka Crown Prince, Banruo, Consort Jing and Xie Yu).

+ “I know you’re my Lin Shu-gege!” - There are so many re-enactments of this scene but I am very fond of this one feat. Liu Tao and Hu Ge, but with swapped roles.

+ Technically not a re-enactment, but I love this version feat. Wang Kai (thanks @vanilleaflavor for the link!). The Hu Ge version is probably somewhere on this site too. Hu Ge’s version, starts from 0:20.

(There are a lot of re-enactments of the scene where Nihuang confronts MCS over his identity but my favourites, which are the ones featuring Hu Ge and Wang Kai - separately, with them playing both roles lol - seem to have been taken down on yt :/)

INTERVIEWS

+ LYB cast are guests on a variety show, translated and subbed by @incessantcomposition - They talk a lot about stuff that happened during the filming, it’s super fun to watch.

FANWORKS

+ Amazing and hilarious fancomics translated by @qi-lang: Mr. Su Goes to the Zoo, Langya Hall Diaries, Jingsu Petit Fours

+ I love these girl!LS comics by @psych0-olll3city, especially goober dad Lin Xie.

+ The Legend of Xia Xia by @smiting-finger. Truly a legend that will live on in our hearts /wipes tear. (LATE EDIT: do check out this Langya Shipping Wars post :D)

+ Seasons of Love, a MCS/JY arranged marriage AU visual novel by @brisedete. There is like a teeny bit of angst here but oh my god I think I cracked a rib laughing while playing this.

+ 譽王什麼的不幹了啦, a Prince Yu-centric fanvid - late addition, I forgot this earlier. You kinda need to know Chinese for this but it is hilarious. Prince Yu probably disagrees though.

+ (NEWLY ADDED) @zhiloupalace - translations of Korean fancomics, so much adorable and hilarity here!

So, this is it! This list is definitely not exhaustive, especially for the fanworks part but this is primarily what I can recall + things that aren't easily searchable. Let me know if there is anything else that should go on this list and I'll update it!