Runaway Dragon and Missing Phoenix part 6 (End)

On the final showdown between the Li Princes… and the Epilogue. Click here for the entire Runaway Dragon series. 

Artwork found at Rob Radboud's website

Chun Sik Sik blinked. She must have misheard.

"Excuse me?"

"They suggested me to kill my brothers."

"And..." she dreaded the answer, "I assume this is not a joke...?"

Li Sai Man looked so sad when he shook his head. Then, a helpless question, "What should I do...? I don't know what to do..."

"Sai Man..." she stopped, carefully considering her words. "They are your brothers..."

"I know..." he sighed, pinching his nose bridge.

Runaway Dragon and Missing Phoenix part 5 (prelude to deleted scene)

Belated Merry Christmas, guys! Sorry that I couldn’t post this last weekend, but Christmas has been busy for me… This instalment is the prelude to the deleted scene of Runaway Dragon and Missing Phoenix part 5. Contains a link to the real deleted scene…

Source 

He didn't mean to wake her up, but she stirred in her sleep as his fingers caressed her pure face.

"Sai Man..." she whispered his name even before she opened her eyes. Then, as she realised he was indeed in front of her, she grabbed his hand and pressed it to her face. "It's you! Tien, it's you..."

"It's me... it's me, Sik Sik..."

"I heard your proposal was accepted. Congratulations..." When he smiled to acknowledge her, she added, "It must feel so good now..."

Runaway Dragon and Missing Phoenix part 5

On rescuing Chun Sik Sik, which almost took a village…of sort. I've made a label for this fan fiction series here. This is not the last instalment, but I hope the next chapter will be.

Seems perfect for a protective Li Sai Man and the pregnant Sik Sik (source)

Li Sai Man never thought of killing his brothers. That is, until one of them appeared unannounced in his estate the morning after Chun Sik Sik was kidnapped, and said brother didn't even bother to hide the indications that he was involved in the kidnapping.

Well, of course Li Yuen Gat didn't admit his involvement, but the way he asked where Li Sai Man's wife was (with the pretext to pay his respect to his pregnant sister-in-law) was very suspicious. Despite him boiling inside, Sai Man decided to follow the game and told Yuen Gat that Sik Sik was under the weather, hence she couldn't come out and greet him. The Third Prince smirked, fanned himself, and said,

"Oh, how unfortunate. I hope she's getting better soon. We wouldn't want you to miss the Court meeting tomorrow afternoon because your wife is... indisposed."

Runaway Dragon and Missing Phoenix part 4

On Chun Sik Sik returning to Cheung’on and the escalating conflicts of the Li princes. Special thanks to Hannah for providing me excellent ideas that I now use in the early and latter parts of this chapter. A ‘deleted’ scene link is already here, scroll down below! Part 1 is here, Part 2 is here, Part 3 is here.

-xxx-

Late Autumn, 625

Art by Ibuki Satsuki

Chun Sik Sik had only experienced two autumns in Fusu, but those two autumns had prepared her for the third autumn. She felt that she could tell whether the upcoming winter would be harsh or not based on the autumnal weather patterns. If this year's autumn continued like this, Fusu and its surrounding regions would experience another harsh winter.

Which begged another question: would Tang refugees come again to Fusu this autumn or winter? Li Sai Man's letters, faithfully written and dispatched regularly to her, described his endless fight in the Court to fix the system, but it might be years before the corrupt system was fixed. The last letter he had was almost three weeks ago, concerning a partial investigation team to address the village pilfering during last year's autumn. The lack of letter afterwards would have her worried, had a Fusu spy not informed her in front of King Yau that Li Sai Man had been busy with some court business, but he was safe and sound. Eventually, Sik Sik decided to trust Sai Man to Heaven. She couldn't afford to sleep in fear every night, that wouldn't do her good.

With these thoughts in mind, one late autumn night, after closing the veranda door that connected her private garden to her chamber in the Fusu Palace, Sik Sik changed into a white long inner garment and retired to bed. She was about to drift to sleep when she heard a rustling noise outside the veranda. She opened her eyes and stayed still but alert. The veranda was not accessible from the outside, hence anyone outside would need to jump from the roof into the garden first. At this late hour, anyone in that group would be classified as intruders. Had Sai Man's brothers tracked her whereabouts??

Barbara Yung's letters part 3: The Foundation 1984

Barbara Yung as Chun Sik Sik, 'The Foundation 1984' (credit in the image)

My apologies for the two weeks’ absent. Been doing very busy and productive trips with my amazing team back home. Anyway, I’m working on Part 4 of ‘Runaway Dragon and Missing Phoenix’, which I hope will be online this weekend. Meanwhile, these are two letters of Barbara’s she wrote in September 1983 and in October 1983 containing, among others, the Foundation 1984 series.

From the letters, I learned at least that she was considering either buying a house or investing in a small business (letter Sept’83), that she really cared about her extended family (particularly her mum) and friends, that Kent Tong also cared for her family (sending gifts, Sept’83), and that she liked puppies (letter Oct’83). The last bit somewhat fits the (sad) fact that there’s a little dog statue on her grave in Cambridge… she was apparently a dog lover…

I also learned about some internal problems with TVB (was that one of the reasons why Michael decided to leave TVB and the whole industry after Barbara’s death?). Barbara and Kent seemed to be in a good relationship during the Foundation making; they went to Singapore together afterwards.

What can you learn about her from these two letters, my dear readers?

Runaway Dragon and Missing Phoenix part 3

Artwork by Ibuki Satsuki

On Li Sai Man’s return to Cheung’on... without Sik Sik. Containing a link to a new ‘deleted’ (mature) scene. Part 1 is here, Part 2 is here. There is an artwork in this chapter that is poetic yet might also be interpreted as sensuous for some readers. Hence I have kept the link on, but I don't display it right on the chapter. 

-xxx-

Li Sai Man felt his senses returning after his internal storm abating. He turned to see his beautiful wife lying next to him, smiling dreamily at him. He smiled back and kissed her. Heaven, she was so beautiful, gentle, kind and precious…he always felt very grateful every time they communed. He asked Sik Sik how she felt, but she didn’t reply. Instead, she rose and reclined next to him, her long ebony hair caressed his chest. She caressed his face with a saddened expression. Then, just as he registered her sadness, from the corner of his eyes he saw Sik Sik lifted her arm high; her hand holding something shiny. His brain registered everything too late, for the next thing he knew was that blood splashed on his face and body. He gasped, a wild thought occurred in a flash that his wife just killed him. Has she actually never forgiven him all these years?!

Yet, he was quick to realise that he felt no physical pain at all. Then, with a sudden emotional pain, he realised that Chun Sik Sik just stabbed herself.

“No!!!” Sai Man bolted up and held the swaying body of his wife. Blood oozed from the large wound on her chest, right where her heart was. He cupped Sik Sik’s face in panic, trying to revive her. Yet, the light in her eyes was fading away too quickly as she whispered, “Now you can return to Cheung’on… without regrets…”

Runaway Dragon and Missing Phoenix part 2

Part Two of the Runaway Dragon and Missing Phoenix series (the Foundation 1984). Would Li Sai Man consider the request to return to Cheung’on? Click here for Part 1.

Cheung Cheut Chan and Li Sai Man (from Ep 5 The Foundation)

Runaway Dragon and Missing Phoenix part 2

The Lady with the Red Sleeves tentatively entered the veranda facing the back garden of the younger Li couple. She had read about the garden from Sik Sik’s letters, carefully sent to Tang through the Fusu spy network. Sik Sik never mentioned anything dangerous; just those mundane things of a peaceful life, like her vegetable and herb garden and how Sai Man got the hang of ploughing in the field. But through her letters, Cheung Cheut Chan could get a glimpse of a serene life that her surrogate little sister had been sharing with Li Sai Man.

Now, even in the darkness of the night lit only by two small lanterns, and despite her distress, Cheut Chan could feel the serenity of the garden that could only be created by a soul such as Chun Sik Sik. Cheung Cheut Chan traced her dainty fingers on the wooden railing, absentmindedly observing some pots of herbs adorning the simple railings. Her nose caught the whiff of roses and jasmines, and she wondered whether Li Sai Man would attempt to pick those flowers to appease Sik Sik. Perhaps some other times, when he faced less dire situations than this one.

Runaway Dragon and Missing Phoenix part 1

Li Sai Man is a constant enigma; his unspeakable action towards Chun Sik Sik is a source of (heated) discussion among The Foundation 1984 viewers. This is my take on LSM, spinning off from Ep 11 of the Foundation 1984, inspired by the conversations in the comments section of the Maiden Phoenix Rising. Romanisation is mostly Yale Cantonese or at least a terrible attempt at it. The Foundation 1984 is the property of TVB Hong Kong, and it’s my love to Michael and Barbara that made me write this story. Rated S for “safe”. No, seriously, it’s safe ^_^

The hollow after the deed... Ep 11 TF 1984

"Sai Man, look! The rainbow is here!"

The cheerful girl turned her petite body towards her lover, her face glowing like the rainbow. Suddenly, she gasped when she felt a sharp metal object, its tip glowing in the morning sunlight, thrusted into her abdomen, piercing her light blue dress.

Then, upon entering her skin, the object stopped short from piercing it completely.

Although she suddenly felt a small but sharp pain, she also registered that the pain didn't go further. Confused, Chun Sik Sik looked up to see her lover, Li Sai Man, the second prince of the Tang Dynasty, looked back at her with mixed expressions. Cruelty was the first she registered, a cruel expression she never thought Sai Man had. Then she saw sadness and love. Immense love. Then regret.

Then her lover's expression changed. Determination was clearly etched on his handsome face. A part of Sik Sik screamed inside when he lifted the object, which was now clear to her that it was a knife, to another striking stance. He was going to kill her. The love of her life was going to kill her!

"Maiden Phoenix Rising" - The Foundation 1984 fanfiction

A seriously shivering scene from The Foundation 1984, ep 9

The “deleted scenes” after Sik Sik and Li Sai Man quarreled in Ep 9 and made up after he found out that Sik Sik used to be Kong Fung’s lover. From The Foundation 1984 (Michael Miu, Barbara Yung). Li Sai Man, Chun Sik Sik and the Foundation are the property of TVB Hong Kong, no copyright infringement intended. Dedicated to TinyGin, thanks for your suggestions! Rated R.

-xxx-

Sik Sik glared in disbelief at her lover.

"Look, if I still love Kong Fung, I don't have to hide it from you. I'd just leave you and go to Kong Fung instead!" Seeing how Li Sai Man still glared back also in disbelief, she vented our her frustration. "You have the rights to be angry at me for keeping you in the dark, but don't you ever doubt my feelings for you!" Since Sai Man still didn't respond, she stomped her foot and said, "I'll leave now if you hate me so much!"

With that, she turned to leave. Yet, her arm was held tightly by Sai Man. Forcefully yet slowly, the Second Prince turned her to face him. Then, he said quietly, very intensely and possessively,

"Close To You" - an MV for Michael Miu's 58th birthday

Our darling Michael is 58 years old today (18 June 2016). Can't believe he's already 58 years old but still so young in my heart... 

To celebrate his birthday, I've made an MV above. The song is "Close to You" from the Carpenters (fell in love with the song when I watched Vicky Zhao's "So Close" years ago). The opening photo is from the Legend of Condor Heroes 2017 where Michael plays as Huang Yaoshi (Wong Yeuk See) the East Heretic. I'm so happy that Michael is playing as Huang Rong/Wong Yung's father... for we know how amazing Barbara was when she played WY back in 1982/3. I think she's very happy to know that her dear friend Michael is playing as the father of her famous character, weird as it sounds...

I'm also uploading the MV to Vimeo and Dailymotion. Hope DM isn't asking me to delete it, cos DM has been rather difficult these days. I also plan to write a piece on Huang Yaoshi for Michael's birthday, but not sure if I can post it before the weekend is over.

Meanwhile, enjoy the MV, and once again, happy birthday, Michael! We love you!

"Love Is Not Easy" - a Michael Miu/Barbara Yung wuxia MV

"Love Is Not Easy" - a Michael Miu/Barbara Yung wuxia MV from Icha74 on Vimeo.


Featuring Jinny Ng's song with the same title from Line Walkers 2014, this MV combines love stories of Li Sai Man & Chun Sik Sik (The Foundation 1984), Chor Lau Heung & Song Siu Ching (The New Adventures of Chor Lau Heung 1984), and Szeto Man Mo & Lam Chor Yin (Fearless Duo 1984). This song is for my dear friend Sandy Le at the MB Network.

The artist of the first artwork is anon (I use it for my banner). Cynthia (MB Network) made the gorgeous artworks/wallpapers for The Foundation 1984 and Chor Lau Heung 1984. The Fearless Duo artwork was taken from Tomoyo262's Fearless Duo YouTube MV.  I modified the English translation from here; the Yale romanisation was from here; they are below the break.

The historical accuracy of the 1980s ancient costumes

The pre-Tang Dynasty women fashion from Hujiang.com

After watching Langya Bang, I realised that some Mainland productions are improving, namely in the beautiful cinematography and historical accuracy in costume design. Of course I can complain all day long about the dubbing and the excessive use of CGI and cables during fighting scenes, but let’s stay positive this time. Particularly in the costume design part, I recall that the last few Mainland wuxia series that I watched had been quite accurate, though some has been a hit and miss as well. Granted, I don’t watch a lot of Mainland wuxia series, but I certainly can comment on those that I watched. To me, Bu Bu Jing Xin and Li Hou Zhu definitely joined LangyaBang/Nirvana in Fire in their costume design accuracy (although there might be some discrepancies that my non-expert eyes missed). In the previous decade, it seems the Treasure Venture 2001 (Nicky Wu and Vicky Zhao) was also accurate in their design. I can’t say that about Xiao Shi Yi Lang 2002 (Nicky Wu, Athena Chu) though, for Nicky’s hair and his earlier costumes were definitely not done in a traditional sense.

Having said that, how accurate was the 1980s Hong Kong productions in costume design? Since I have only recently watched the Michael/Barbara series, I can only comment on that, but that’s a good place to start. I’ll divide it into the early Tang Dynasty (the Foundation 1984), the Song Dynasty (LOCH 1983), the Ming Dynasty (CLH 1984) and the Qing Dynasty (FD 1984). I will compare it with the costumes of Nicky Wu and Liu Tao, my other favourite actors (I love Liu Shi Shi too, but I don't watch many of her ancient dramas). I’m still confused with the fashion terminology of Hanfu (Han clothing), so I will just simply refer to the parts as “trousers”, “jacket”, “skirt” etc. Do forgive me for that. Check this video for the fashion up to the Tang Dynasty and this video for the Song, Ming and Qing fashion styles.

GIFs for Michael/Barbara Behind the Scenes

Michael catching the falling Babs, CLH 84 BTS

Even though one does not have Adobe Photoshop, I now know that making GIFs is actually quite easy using free tools like makeagif.com. Hence, I created some GIFs of Michael and Barbara from their Behind the Scenes of CLH 1984. I also made a GIF from the Foundation 1984 promo and re-inserted the GIFs from the LOCH 1983 BTS here. All videos were sourced from Rob Radboud's website.

Enjoy!

"The old lady waving her hand" - The Foundation 1984 fanfiction

After two decades of separation, Emperor Taizong of Tang finally met his lively sister again. This fan-fiction was requested by Tamuyen Truong (Tammy), and thus is dedicated to her. The Foundation 1984 and its characters are the copyright of TVB Hong Kong, no copyright infringement intended. Romanisation is a mixed of Cantonese Yale and Pinyin. 

"When you see an old lady waving her hand at you..."

The old lady waving her hand

"I don’t know where I’ll go. I only know that I want to go to a place

where no one has been to. Maybe tens of years from now, when you visit

the poor and the peasants, if you see an old lady waving her hand at you,

that lady might be me. May I have forgiven you by then.

~Lok Wan."

"I will die soon, Sik Sik," the elderly man whispered. "Will I see you up there? Will you turn me down for what I've done to you? Will they put me in hell for what I've done to you?" The old man swallowed. "I still wish I didn't have to do what I did... I'm such a wretched soul...If I have to experience a similar death with yours to pay my debt to you, I will do that in a heartbeat. Anything that will cleanse my bloody hands and wretched soul..."

The elderly man would still be kneeling in front of the simple, yet well-kept, tomb had an old officer not approached him gently. "Majesty, shall we resume our journey?" 

"Love is Beautiful" - an MV for Barbara Yung

A few minutes over midnight, but hey, better late than never! The third present for Barbara Yung and us her fans: an MV for Barbara's 57th birthday (7 May 1959-7 May 2016, if she was still with us). Song is "Love is Beautiful" by Tanya Chua, lyrics (pinyin and Chinese characters) are below the break. Will translate the song in due course.

Happy birthday, Barbara... thank you for your Wong Yung (Huang Rong), Song Siu Ching, Chun Sik Sik, Lam Chor Yin, and other characters you've brought to life because you were you. We miss you...

Barbara Yung's hair styles in her series

Today is Barbara Yung's 57th birthday. I almost missed it; I thought it would be tomorrow (8 May). Good thing I checked, otherwise I'd beat myself for missing it. 

I have three posts for Barbara and us her fans: her hairstyle (this post), an MV for her and a bit of LOCH 1983 Behind the Scenes with some Michael as Yeung Hong there. Let's see if I can post all before midnight, for it's less than 1.5 hours before midnight here in Australia. 

For the first post, I have some shots of her various hair styles, including the unused hair style from LOCH 1983. Which one do you like the best? 

Sketches of Chor Lau Heung and Song Siu Ching

I've contacted several Deviant Art artists if they can do a commissioned work for Chor Lau Heung and Song Siu Ching. Since none of them has returned my message, I sleuthed around the internet to find an online converter tool for photo to sketch. Found that picjoke.net was sufficient to create the following images. However, if you do know an artist I can commission to do a CLH/SSC painting, let me know. Would be much better if you are the artist and also love these characters! 

Oh, and I have one sketch of Li Sai Man and Chun Sik Sik from The Foundation 1984 too below. Prompt me for any other sketches!

"Days of Happy Laughters" - happy MV of The Foundation part 2

I promised I would post a happier MV of The Foundation 1984, and here it is. I found that Michelle Pau's "Days of Happy Laughters" as the most suitable song, hence I used the songs but embedded different scenes of TF here. Click this post to see the original scenes of Ep 4 with the song as the background.

"The Foundation 1984" is the property of TVB Hong Kong, no copyright infringement intended. Lyrics are below the break. I have posted the MV on both Dailymotion and Vimeo. Tamuyen has inspired yet another happy The Foundation MV; we just need to find the music. Oh, and the MV below has a bit of Lok Wan as well, so hope you like it, Tammy!

Meanwhile, enjoy!

"Days of Happy Laughters" - The Foundation MV from Icha74 on Vimeo.

"Heart Break" - The Foundation 1984 MV

There's a reason I have only produced one The Foundation 1984 MV (well, actually 1/3, cos the MV was combined with CLH and FD as well). The story is just downright too sad. However, as I've stated in another post, I can't shake off my love towards Li Sai Man and Chun Sik Sik, despite what he did to her later. I can only 'blame' Michael Miu and Barbara Yung for that. So at times, I'd just watch the MVs found over the internet, mostly from YouTube. However, I still want to see an MV that shows LSM's regret after what he did to Sik Sik. Since I found practically none (perhaps because I didn't browse enough), I decided to make one myself. Hence this MV, bearing Dave Wong's aptly titled "Heart Break" song. The MV shows Li Sai Man's regret over what he had done to Sik Sik; all for the throne. Hence the opening is the lonely coronation scene where the new Emperor was not happy despite being the new ruler of the Tang Dynasty. 

The Foundation 1984 is the property of TVB Hong Kong; no copyright infringement intended. Song lyric is below the break. I obtained the translation using an Indonesian translation I found at YouTube, combined with Google Translator (hence feel free to point out my mistakes). Pinyin is from the Chinese Lyrics. Uploaded to both Dailymotion and Vimeo. I have a happier MV of The Foundation down the pipeline, but for now, I hope you can still enjoy this (very) sad MV... (if "enjoy" is the right word for that).




"Heart Break" - The Foundation 1984 MV from Icha74 on Vimeo.

"A Love Before Time" - a Michael Miu/Barbara Yung wuxia MV

Happy New Year again, guys! Was hoping to catch some sleep today, but MB bugged me to produce a new MV. Hence, here's the three MB wuxia series of The Foundation, Chor Lau Heung and Fearless Duo. Music is from my favourite Coco Lee, A Love Before Time (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), composed by Tan Dun, music by Yoyo Ma. I was originally accustomed to the English version, but upon understanding the meaning of the Mandarin version, I love the latter more. I post here the two versions, Mandarin and English. Have uploaded them to Vimeo, and will do that with Dailymotion either soon or tomorrow. Gotta catch some New Year sleep...

The premise is similar to my Karmic Connection fanfiction, which apparently has drawn some good readerships. I have no LOCH footage, and I don't think I can do justice here, hence I only present The Foundation, Chor Lau Heung and Fearless Duo.  The Pinyin and English lyrics are below, in addition to being embedded in the MVs.

Mandarin version (updated from 02/1/16):

 
"A Love Before Time" Michael Miu/Barbara Yung wuxia MV (Mandarin ver) from Icha74 on Vimeo.