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Snowflake Challenge #2
Challenge #2
In your own space, write a promo, manifesto or primer for your fave character, ship or fandom. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.
Okay, those of you who have known me in previous fandoms will know that generally when I get into something new I drag people down with me. DMBJ is a rare exception because, honestly, it's sprawling and largely incoherent and full of plot holes that have mostly been filled by fic writers. Not exactly a ringing endorsement, right?
Well, since this challenge calls for a primer I am going to give a very, very brief overview of what it's all about.
Summary
So, from the top. Daomu Biji (translated as Graverobber's Notes and shortened to DMBJ in the fandom) is a series of Chinese books which has since been adapted into a series of dramas and movies. It's hugely popular in China and has a smaller but enthusiastic fanbase in English speaking countries.
What's it about
Very briefly it's about a young man named Wu Xie who finds his grandfather's journal and through that finds out he's part of group of well-known tomb raiding families. It's starts with him going on an adventure with one of his uncles to find out about some of the mysteries about his grandfather's past. 10+ novels later it's evolved from an action adventure series into a sprawling family drama full of conspiracies and mysteries layered upon mysteries.
The books
The first six books were translated and published in English but, honestly, they are not good translations. They've toned it down a lot to make it popular to their alleged fanbase of teenage boys. Shockingly, much like Supernatural, the core fanbase is mostly women.
If you do feel like delving in (personally I'd suggest starting with one of the dramas) the fan translations of the whole series are a far better and more accurate version of the books. They can all be found, free to read and download, here
Be warned: Much like a fic author who abandons their WIP some of these novels are not finished. Everything up to the end of vol 8 is complete, the extras are all complete. If you are going to venture beyond that and want to know which ones don't have ending give me a shout.
The dramas/movies
Another warning: Due to issues with the rights and other complicated things that even I don't fully understand the dramas aren't linear adaptations. I know, again, not a selling point. Some of them stand alone fine, others require previous knowledge or simply don't have an ending. Partially leaving them open for a sequel that never happened and partially because the books don't have endings either.
There is a vague chronology to them in terms of which part of the novel timeline they take part in but there are gaps between them and they mostly have different casts and crews (although there is some crossover).
The Lost Tomb - A good place to start. It's the first chronologically and introduces a lot of the main characters. For some reason the main story finishes about 15 mins into episode 8 and then there's a flashforward which does not have an ending. Maybe stop at episode 8 if this is your intro to the franchise. Unfortunately this one is hard to get hold of now because the lead actor got into some bother recently (using prostitutes) and pretty much all his stuff got pulled. I can probably hook you up if you want to start here. Send me a DM if that's the case.
Time Raiders - This is a standalone movie that isn't adapted from any of the books so it's a good introduction to the characters even if it bears little resemblance to the rest of canon. It's quite divisive amongst the fandom. Some people love it, some people hate it. Personally I'm not keen on it but I watched it after I'd watched all the other dramas so your mileage may vary
The Lost Tomb 2 - I would not recommend starting here as it is more or less a direct sequel to Lost Tomb 1 (only with an entirely different cast). Like Lost Tomb 1 it does not have a proper ending.
The Lost Tomb: Heavenly Palace Beyond the Clouds - Takes place immediately after Lost Tomb 2 (again with a different cast). Does have a proper ending as far as I remember, but again knowledge of the previous canon is probably needed
Ultimate Note - While it takes place in the middle of the chronology this is another one you could start with and was made with new fans in mind. There's an intro that explains what's going on and it's one of the most polished of the adaptations. It doesn't have a proper ending as they were leaving it open for a sequel but if you don't mind cliffhangers this is one of the more popular adaptations
Tomb of the Sea - Most of this is told from the perspective of a new character, so no prior knowledge is needed. You learn about the other characters and their backstory as he does. The cast is really good. The actor playing Wu Xie is very well respected in the Chinese indie movie circuit and has been in several award winning movies and dramas. Everyone was really surprised when he signed up to be in this. This is one of the few dramas that mostly wraps everything up in a neat ending.
Reunion: The Sound of the Providence - Also known as The Lost Tomb Reboot. It's not actually a reboot it's more like the characters coming out of retirement for one last adventure. Another one that was made with new fans in mind and this was the one I started with because I'd seen the lead actor in another drama. This one also has a proper ending.
The Characters
With a fandom as large and sprawling as this one there are obviously a lot of characters that show up during various points of the chronology. But here's the main ones and a little bit about them. For the sake of my sanity I'm only including one picture per character but for the most part each of these people is played by a different actor in every adaptation
Wu Xie
The main protagonist and the person whose POV the novels are written from. Very intelligent (often inexplicably so). Comes from a famous tomb raiding family but studied Architecture at university in Germany. This is usually how he explains everything that he knows, which has become a source of humour for me. He's brave, reckless, often kind of an idiot despite being book smart. Went into his first tomb when he was in his early 20s and had no idea what he was doing. Gets a little more worldly as things progress.
Wang Pangzi
Wu Xie's best friend (or husband depending on how you choose to interpret it). Met Wu Xie when Wu Xie was in his first tomb. He's older and a bit more streetwise than Wu Xie is. Is materialistic and raids tombs for treasure, unlike Wu Xie who is more interested in learning and solving mysteries. He gives a lot of people nicknames, and his nickname for Wu Xie is Tianzhen (Naive). Is an expert at explosives and knows a lot about tombs. Is also very domesticated and loves to cook.
Zhang Qiling/Xiaoge
Looks like a twink but is actually over 100 years old. Has special blood that not only slows the aging process but can be used to repel insects and other creatures. He doesn't talk much. He also meets Wu Xie on Wu Xie's first trip into a tomb and, because Wu Xie was a sunshine puppy back in his early years, ends up spending most of the time protecting him. Wu Xie and Pangzi call him Xiaoge which means little brother, because he looks so much younger than them. He has a tattoo on his chest that only shows up when his body temperature rises. Over the years he keeps meeting up with Wu Xie and Pangzi until the three of them become an official team named The Iron Triangle. At one point he sacrifices ten years of his life so Wu Xie doesn't have to. Xiaoge and Wu Xie are the biggest ship in the fandom by a considerable margin. Wu Xie/Pangzi/Xiaoge are becoming a more popular OT3, especially since the novels end with the three of them moving in together and running a restaurant in the country.
Xie Yuchen/Xiao Hua
Part of the same group of tomb raiding families that Wu Xie comes from, but became head of his family at a young age. Is very wealthy and a shrewd businessman. If anyone needs money for tomb raiding shenanigans he's usually the one funding it. He was Wu Xie's friend as a child, but used to be dressed as a girl and Wu Xie once almost kissed him. Amazingly this is not the main ship for him despite that. As well as being a businessman he's also a skilled opera singer and has the nickname Xiao Hua (Little Flower) because he looks delicate and wears a lot of pink. He could absolutely kill anyone who insulted him though and is far more ruthless than Wu Xie is, mostly due to the backstabbing nature of the rest of his family who want his position.
Hei Xiazi
No one knows his real name. Everyone calls him Hei Xiazi or Hei Yanjing (Black Blindman or Black Glasses). Also not related to Xiaoge he has a similar condition where the aging process has been slowed. He's known Xiaoge for a long time from jobs they've worked together. Has an eye condition where he can only see clearly when it's dark, so is always wearing a pair of sunglasses. Always complaining that he's poor, but lucky for him he's, ahem, very close friends with Xiao Hua. Is often characterised as a raccoon because of the glasses and the fact that he's ill-mannered, says what he thinks and causes chaos wherever he goes. He's a gremlin in a black leather jacket and sunglasses.
Liu Sang
This is more of an honourable mention because Liu Sang only appears in The Lost Tomb Reboot but he's a fan favourite and shows up in a lot of fics so it would be remiss of me not to mention him. He has incredibly good hearing and can use whistles like sonar to map tombs. Has had to work his way up in the tomb raiding world and is very prickly and defensive as a result. Idolises Xiaoge and has a half-complete copy of Xiaoge's tattoo on his chest. Is very much the fandom bicycle who gets shipped with pretty much anyone including characters he has never met. He gets injured and hurt a LOT during Lost Tomb Reboot so he is like a magnet for hurt/comfort writers (hello).
As I said there are a lot of other characters, including some women, who pop up in some of the adaptations but the ones above are the main ones who get written about the most.
Fanworks
There's a decent amount of fic in English at this point. It's far from a big fandom in the English speaking parts of the world but it's grown a lot in the 2+ years I've been playing in this sandbox. At the time of writing there are just shy of 1500 fanworks in English on AO3
And, to give you some tasters, here's a few fanvids that will give you an idea of what all this is about. There's a few general ones and then a few shippy ones:
If you have any questions or want to know more just drop me a comment.
In your own space, write a promo, manifesto or primer for your fave character, ship or fandom. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.
Okay, those of you who have known me in previous fandoms will know that generally when I get into something new I drag people down with me. DMBJ is a rare exception because, honestly, it's sprawling and largely incoherent and full of plot holes that have mostly been filled by fic writers. Not exactly a ringing endorsement, right?
Well, since this challenge calls for a primer I am going to give a very, very brief overview of what it's all about.
Summary
So, from the top. Daomu Biji (translated as Graverobber's Notes and shortened to DMBJ in the fandom) is a series of Chinese books which has since been adapted into a series of dramas and movies. It's hugely popular in China and has a smaller but enthusiastic fanbase in English speaking countries.
What's it about
Very briefly it's about a young man named Wu Xie who finds his grandfather's journal and through that finds out he's part of group of well-known tomb raiding families. It's starts with him going on an adventure with one of his uncles to find out about some of the mysteries about his grandfather's past. 10+ novels later it's evolved from an action adventure series into a sprawling family drama full of conspiracies and mysteries layered upon mysteries.
The books
The first six books were translated and published in English but, honestly, they are not good translations. They've toned it down a lot to make it popular to their alleged fanbase of teenage boys. Shockingly, much like Supernatural, the core fanbase is mostly women.
If you do feel like delving in (personally I'd suggest starting with one of the dramas) the fan translations of the whole series are a far better and more accurate version of the books. They can all be found, free to read and download, here
Be warned: Much like a fic author who abandons their WIP some of these novels are not finished. Everything up to the end of vol 8 is complete, the extras are all complete. If you are going to venture beyond that and want to know which ones don't have ending give me a shout.
The dramas/movies
Another warning: Due to issues with the rights and other complicated things that even I don't fully understand the dramas aren't linear adaptations. I know, again, not a selling point. Some of them stand alone fine, others require previous knowledge or simply don't have an ending. Partially leaving them open for a sequel that never happened and partially because the books don't have endings either.
There is a vague chronology to them in terms of which part of the novel timeline they take part in but there are gaps between them and they mostly have different casts and crews (although there is some crossover).
The Lost Tomb - A good place to start. It's the first chronologically and introduces a lot of the main characters. For some reason the main story finishes about 15 mins into episode 8 and then there's a flashforward which does not have an ending. Maybe stop at episode 8 if this is your intro to the franchise. Unfortunately this one is hard to get hold of now because the lead actor got into some bother recently (using prostitutes) and pretty much all his stuff got pulled. I can probably hook you up if you want to start here. Send me a DM if that's the case.
Time Raiders - This is a standalone movie that isn't adapted from any of the books so it's a good introduction to the characters even if it bears little resemblance to the rest of canon. It's quite divisive amongst the fandom. Some people love it, some people hate it. Personally I'm not keen on it but I watched it after I'd watched all the other dramas so your mileage may vary
The Lost Tomb 2 - I would not recommend starting here as it is more or less a direct sequel to Lost Tomb 1 (only with an entirely different cast). Like Lost Tomb 1 it does not have a proper ending.
The Lost Tomb: Heavenly Palace Beyond the Clouds - Takes place immediately after Lost Tomb 2 (again with a different cast). Does have a proper ending as far as I remember, but again knowledge of the previous canon is probably needed
Ultimate Note - While it takes place in the middle of the chronology this is another one you could start with and was made with new fans in mind. There's an intro that explains what's going on and it's one of the most polished of the adaptations. It doesn't have a proper ending as they were leaving it open for a sequel but if you don't mind cliffhangers this is one of the more popular adaptations
Tomb of the Sea - Most of this is told from the perspective of a new character, so no prior knowledge is needed. You learn about the other characters and their backstory as he does. The cast is really good. The actor playing Wu Xie is very well respected in the Chinese indie movie circuit and has been in several award winning movies and dramas. Everyone was really surprised when he signed up to be in this. This is one of the few dramas that mostly wraps everything up in a neat ending.
Reunion: The Sound of the Providence - Also known as The Lost Tomb Reboot. It's not actually a reboot it's more like the characters coming out of retirement for one last adventure. Another one that was made with new fans in mind and this was the one I started with because I'd seen the lead actor in another drama. This one also has a proper ending.
The Characters
With a fandom as large and sprawling as this one there are obviously a lot of characters that show up during various points of the chronology. But here's the main ones and a little bit about them. For the sake of my sanity I'm only including one picture per character but for the most part each of these people is played by a different actor in every adaptation
Wu Xie
The main protagonist and the person whose POV the novels are written from. Very intelligent (often inexplicably so). Comes from a famous tomb raiding family but studied Architecture at university in Germany. This is usually how he explains everything that he knows, which has become a source of humour for me. He's brave, reckless, often kind of an idiot despite being book smart. Went into his first tomb when he was in his early 20s and had no idea what he was doing. Gets a little more worldly as things progress.
Wang Pangzi
Wu Xie's best friend (or husband depending on how you choose to interpret it). Met Wu Xie when Wu Xie was in his first tomb. He's older and a bit more streetwise than Wu Xie is. Is materialistic and raids tombs for treasure, unlike Wu Xie who is more interested in learning and solving mysteries. He gives a lot of people nicknames, and his nickname for Wu Xie is Tianzhen (Naive). Is an expert at explosives and knows a lot about tombs. Is also very domesticated and loves to cook.
Zhang Qiling/Xiaoge
Looks like a twink but is actually over 100 years old. Has special blood that not only slows the aging process but can be used to repel insects and other creatures. He doesn't talk much. He also meets Wu Xie on Wu Xie's first trip into a tomb and, because Wu Xie was a sunshine puppy back in his early years, ends up spending most of the time protecting him. Wu Xie and Pangzi call him Xiaoge which means little brother, because he looks so much younger than them. He has a tattoo on his chest that only shows up when his body temperature rises. Over the years he keeps meeting up with Wu Xie and Pangzi until the three of them become an official team named The Iron Triangle. At one point he sacrifices ten years of his life so Wu Xie doesn't have to. Xiaoge and Wu Xie are the biggest ship in the fandom by a considerable margin. Wu Xie/Pangzi/Xiaoge are becoming a more popular OT3, especially since the novels end with the three of them moving in together and running a restaurant in the country.
Xie Yuchen/Xiao Hua
Part of the same group of tomb raiding families that Wu Xie comes from, but became head of his family at a young age. Is very wealthy and a shrewd businessman. If anyone needs money for tomb raiding shenanigans he's usually the one funding it. He was Wu Xie's friend as a child, but used to be dressed as a girl and Wu Xie once almost kissed him. Amazingly this is not the main ship for him despite that. As well as being a businessman he's also a skilled opera singer and has the nickname Xiao Hua (Little Flower) because he looks delicate and wears a lot of pink. He could absolutely kill anyone who insulted him though and is far more ruthless than Wu Xie is, mostly due to the backstabbing nature of the rest of his family who want his position.
Hei Xiazi
No one knows his real name. Everyone calls him Hei Xiazi or Hei Yanjing (Black Blindman or Black Glasses). Also not related to Xiaoge he has a similar condition where the aging process has been slowed. He's known Xiaoge for a long time from jobs they've worked together. Has an eye condition where he can only see clearly when it's dark, so is always wearing a pair of sunglasses. Always complaining that he's poor, but lucky for him he's, ahem, very close friends with Xiao Hua. Is often characterised as a raccoon because of the glasses and the fact that he's ill-mannered, says what he thinks and causes chaos wherever he goes. He's a gremlin in a black leather jacket and sunglasses.
Liu Sang
This is more of an honourable mention because Liu Sang only appears in The Lost Tomb Reboot but he's a fan favourite and shows up in a lot of fics so it would be remiss of me not to mention him. He has incredibly good hearing and can use whistles like sonar to map tombs. Has had to work his way up in the tomb raiding world and is very prickly and defensive as a result. Idolises Xiaoge and has a half-complete copy of Xiaoge's tattoo on his chest. Is very much the fandom bicycle who gets shipped with pretty much anyone including characters he has never met. He gets injured and hurt a LOT during Lost Tomb Reboot so he is like a magnet for hurt/comfort writers (hello).
As I said there are a lot of other characters, including some women, who pop up in some of the adaptations but the ones above are the main ones who get written about the most.
Fanworks
There's a decent amount of fic in English at this point. It's far from a big fandom in the English speaking parts of the world but it's grown a lot in the 2+ years I've been playing in this sandbox. At the time of writing there are just shy of 1500 fanworks in English on AO3
And, to give you some tasters, here's a few fanvids that will give you an idea of what all this is about. There's a few general ones and then a few shippy ones:
If you have any questions or want to know more just drop me a comment.
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