#Just like… Wang YiBo and End Times

[anotherdescentintomadness]

Wang YiBo X the Cyberpunk Post-Apocalypse: An Aesthetic

GQ SS 2020

[yibocheeks]

Translated excerpts from the War of Faith livestream interview of the cast

Each of the cast members are asked to bring something which represents their character. Yibo brings an abacus pin, to represent one of Wei Ruolai's talents.

Wang Yang brings the fountain pen that he used on set, because his character has to sign a lot of important documents with this pen, and, "More importantly, during the scene when the disciple bows to his mentor, this is a very very important gift."

MC: There was a trending search before that said, "In War of Faith, the male and female leads do not really have any development of (romantic) feelings, they are all focused on their careers." Did you see this? Li Qin: I think that there can be many different types of feelings. And also, when the director had introduced the character to me, he wanted to showcase what a woman's thoughts and dilemmas might be in that era, that this would be more meaningful and more interesting. So...it is up to the audience's imagination. MC: So how would you describe the relationship between Wei Ruolai and Shen Jinzhen? Li Qin: They are comrades in revolution, and she is also the one who guides him on his path of changing ideologies.

The cast plays a game (near the end of the interview), where they point out who they believe fits the prompt.

Which actor is the most active -> Yibo MC: Yibo, why do you think everyone says you're the most active? Yibo: Then you'll have to ask everyone (MC prompts Li Qin) Li Qin: Because if you watch the bts you'll know. Like when he slides down the stair railings, it's rather unexpected.

Who do netizens call the Red Wolf (character from the cartoon Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf) -> Li Qin Li Qin: I don't know why everyone gave me this nickname (MC prompts Wang Yang) Wang Yang: Because she has a red dress, and sometimes she has a serious expression like a big wolf MC: Because she can be very serious when she's facing her enemies

Who laughs the most easily -> Li Qin Li Qin: The trio from the Central Bank are together on this, they're ganging up together (MC prompts Yibo) Yibo: She has a lot of scenes where she ends up laughing in the middle MC: She's very cheerful? Yibo: Yes...she doesn't realize herself Li Qin: My brother (Wang Yang) laughs a lot in the middle of filming, don't you see this in the bts? Wang Yang: I very rarely do, this happened once with Gao Lu. The rest, really, you laugh very easily on set. And when she laughs, she easily makes the rest of us laugh. Her behaviour is very cute. MC: That means, Qin Qin, you bring a lot of joy to the set Li Qin: They've already started, if not for Yang-ge today, they probably wouldn't gang up like this

Who is the most different from their character -> Li Qin and Wang Yang (2 votes each, then Wang Xueqi adds his vote for Li Qin) (MC asks Yibo why he picked Li Qin) Yibo: Because like we just said she usually...*looks down thinking* MC: Her joyful times? Yibo: Yes, but her role needs to be very serious, so there is quite a difference (MC asks Song Shuai why he picked Wang Yang) Song Shuai: Maybe because Shen Tunan is very serious and solemn. Usually Wang Yang is like a big youth in his spare time, so he leads us along Wang Yang: Because they are all young, and I have to bring up the mood on set. Because Yibo is quite shy, so I do this so that everyone can work together in a cheerful environment Lan Xiya: When Wang Yang-laoshi is on set, he's very amicable Wang Yang: Call me Yang-ge, don't call me Wang Yang-laoshi Lan Xiya: Wang Yang-ge...sounds so awkward (laughs) Wang Yang-ge, he's very amicable and leads us with his energy Wang Yang: Do you not agree (to Li Qin) Li Qin: I completely agree, I think they are very fair/unbiased

Who's the best at taking action -> Yibo and Wang Xueqi (2 votes each) (MC asks Li Qin why she picked Yibo) Li Qin: Because as you just watched, like when he plays games, he's very good, he's a quick learner and has a quick reaction time

Whose character would you want to be if you could choose anyone? MC: Secretary Huang chose Ruolai immediately without hesitation Wang Yang points at Song Shuai and MC asks: You want to be your own secretary? Wang Yang: I want to be like him so I can compete with Ruolai MC: So you think if it was you then things might not turn out the same Wang Yang: Definitely, at least I wouldn't waste my time being jealous MC asks Yibo who he would pick and Yibo says: I think Ruolai is pretty good

[accio-victuuri]

it’s not a secret that i’m a ttxs bros fan and i love that show! it was my end of week treat and i knew that no matter how stressful the weekdays were, i have ttxs and wyb to watch and be my sunday reward. wyb had 3 performances for 2023 nye and we knew about the 2 and i was excited for it but that night, my fave would be his duet with dls of the song that never ends. aside from the dls/wyb/wh moment, i think that personally, it was the kind of performance i needed that time. nye stages are expected to be flashy but sometimes what we really need is a heartwarming song to remind us of the past year and the people that we love. it was really special <3

so i’m sharing this clip of dls/wh talking about that stage:

DLS: I remember that Wang Han said something casually before, so I wrote it in the song, but he said that there are some things that cannot be said or forgotten, and cannot be even thought about, because as soon as you touch it, you will feel it, and then the feeling will disappear. going back, I have written this song for more than two years. I originally wanted to make this song my own, and I thank Hunan for allowing us to be on this stage. Later, Wang Yibo and I sang this song live. I used to sing it and it felt so good. I sang and performed, and that night, maybe I felt that Wang Yibo didn’t know that we were going to sing this song because of Wang Han, and we both had the mentality that this song is coming, are you sure we should start singing it, because when we sang it, the feeling was... We will come back a lot. When we were together, we kept talking about whether we should watch Wang Han, because you know, we were afraid that we wouldn't be able to sing when we saw Wang Han, and we would start crying. Then later we found out that Wang Han was watching from below.

How can I say that I feel that sometimes there is a relationship or a piece of work that will always end. When it becomes a song, a paragraph, a poem, a painting, it will always be in our hearts. In this melody, Wang Han and I are slightly different in age. But I feel that my friendship with Wang Han is like a song that can never be finished.

WH: Thank you. In fact, the time gap is not particularly long because it was December 31st and today is only March. Da Zhangwei means a lot to me.Every time, I look forward to him coming, and then I'm so afraid of him coming. I really want to see him but i’m afraid cause i don't know what to say. The two words he says the most are, "Just be happy. Just be happy. You'll be happy." So what I especially want to say is that if he wants me to see him happy, I will see him happy. If one day he wants me to see him unhappy, I just need to use my eyes to see him and my ears to listen to him. Wang Yibo is cold and he is warm. They are my cold and warm life.

THEY ARE SO PRECIOUS 🥹🥹🥹🥹

[rainbowsky]

Hi rbs, stupid question maybe but do you know why Yibo never stays during events like this one?

(I mean he just walks the red carpet very fast and then we almost don't see him for the night, he doesn't sit with other celebrities)

Hi Anon! ☺️

It's not a stupid question at all.

Of course no one knows for sure, we can only theorize. However, there are a few excellent reasons that immediately pop into my head for why DD doesn't linger and hobnob with others at these events.

He wants to avoid being a disruption

Let's face it, wherever DD goes the cameras and fans follow, and his mere presence can be a huge disruption to any proceeding. DD always tries to stay in the shadows so as not to steal other people's fire. Not just because he's humble and respectful - which he definitely is - but also to avoid anti attacks about him 'taking up too much space'.

A perfect example of this happened last night at the event. Eric Wang - his costar from Hidden Blade - was onstage speaking, and DD's face appeared on the screen briefly and the fans screamed really loudly, interrupting his speech. He was startled and looked around in confusion trying to figure out what had set everyone screaming.

This is the sort of thing both GG and DD no doubt want to avoid. They wouldn't want to be the reason other people's moments in the spotlight get derailed. Eric Wang is a friend and colleague, onstage in his own special moment. DD wouldn't want this.

And this isn't just an issue with the event itself, but also all the discussion and buzz that their appearance generates online.

Yes, of course it's important for them to be talked about a lot and viewed as popular and in demand, but that can often tip over into being seen to take up too much space - too many 'public resources' - which can lead to public criticism and viewer fatigue. It can also heavily contribute to the 'traffic star' 'teen idol' reputation, which I believe they're both trying to shake (for various reasons it's better if they can be viewed as serious actors).

He and his team want to minimize risk

This goes along with my first point - he and his team will want to do everything they can to minimize the risk associated with unscripted moments in the spotlight. Of all the reasons, I think this is actually the number one reason they lay low at events.

Whenever a star is out in front of people in a live public setting, there is tremendous opportunity for them to become the subject of embarrassing, hateful or even career-jeopardizing anti attacks, gossip and hotsearches. Especially at an event where other stars are present. Every move they make, every choice about where to look or how to stand, every facial expression, becomes an opportunity for misinterpretation or incitement of fan wars.

This is likely also why GG and DD are never in the same room when accepting awards at these things. When one is onstage accepting an award, the other is backstage. This ensures that there can be no camera cut to the other one, which would be massively disruptive (as with point 1) and potentially inflame fan wars.

And it's not just onstage moments that are a problem; all time spent in the room can be a minefield. For example, any time one star is seated next to another star every micro-expression, every slight move or action is analyzed and conclusions drawn about how the two feel about each other. This can lead to harmful rumors ranging from dating rumors to rumors they hate each other - all of which can lead to negative gossip and fan wars.

If a star is really friendly with another star and one of them ends up embroiled in scandal, that can lead to the other one being dragged into the same scandal just by association. DD especially is constantly the target of hate attacks. It wouldn't do for him to be seen getting too cozy with the next star on the chopping block. Antis would have a field day making it seem like DD was part of the scandal somehow.

Both GG and DD are at the level where frankly they don't need this kind of exposure anymore. They don't need the risk, and they don't need the 'rewards'. They simply don't need to be seen quite as much as some of the newer up-and-coming stars do. There comes a point where the risk/reward ratio shifts to where it's safer for their careers to not be so constantly in the spotlight.

He is at work

I know these kinds of events can be a lot of fun for fans and feel like a big exciting party, but ultimately for the star, they are at work. It's work. Because of the issues I pointed out above - along with so many others, no doubt - being put in the spotlight like that has to be incredibly high pressure and high stress.

These are tightly managed events, and a lot goes on behind the scenes to ensure that things in front of the camera go smoothly. They have to be at certain locations at certain times (for example, they have to be at the end of the red carpet when it's their turn to walk, they have to be in their seat when their award is announced), and they have to be looking their best and on their best behavior.

They have to look beautiful but not too flashy. They have to look relaxed even if they don't feel relaxed. Their facial expressions and behavior have to be appropriate. They're appearing, after all, in front of millions and millions of people - appearances which are being recorded, photographed and livestreamed from every angle.

Behind the scenes there are people managing their makeup and wardrobe, there are often interviews and photos with media, there are often brand-related bits that need to be captured on film.

It might seem glamorous to get all dressed up and go to a party and get an award, but for the top stars it's a high stakes public appearance where every moment is closely managed and timed up to the minute - even second.

Things are simultaneously fast-paced and incredibly dull. Top stars like GG and DD are usually the last to appear on the red carpet or onstage, so there would be a lot of waiting around in unfamiliar spaces surrounded with work colleagues and management.

With events like this the stars are often starving as well, as they don't have time to eat or don't want to risk ruining their outfit or having digestive issues while in the spotlight.

I'm sure being a surgeon or a detective also seems exciting to those outside the profession, but really it's always work, and these are some of the most high-pressure, high-stress, high-stakes jobs.

A public appearance like this is ultimately a promotional activity, not a party, celebration or social occasion.

He's a very busy guy

This is another huge reason GG and DD often sweep into an event and leave the first instant they're able to. Because they have incredibly packed schedules and many conflicting demands on their time. They simply don't have time to dicker around at an event for any longer than necessary.

They've left events like this to go straight to a filming set to get back in costume and back to work. It's just how things go when you're that high profile and in high demand.

It's too public

GG and DD have private lives, even just in WeChat groups, etc. where they can socialize with friends and colleagues out of the public eye. I doubt they get excited about being under the scrutiny of so many people at events like this.

This is just the norm

I feel the need to add that DD's behavior isn't unusual at all. I think sometimes fans get the impression that GG and DD make themselves unusually scarce, but it's just not true. All the top stars tend to vacate their seats the moment they have a chance.

Just look at this footage from last night when DD was accepting his award. Look at all the empty seats behind him as he's walking to the stage - all along the entire length of the stagefront where the top stars are always placed. Soon DD's seat will also be empty.

Anyway, like I said, no one knows for sure. It's not something he or his team is ever likely to speak about publicly. But just looking at the situation some features do stand out.

[very-grownup]

So a couple years ago, I fell into watching Chinese dramas and because my posts about the most recent one garnered some curiosity, here are the dramas what I have watched.

Hikaru no Go

DID YOU KNOW. DID YOU KNOW. THAT IN 2020 THERE WAS A CHINESE DRAMA ADAPTATION OF HIKARU NO GO AND IT IS AMAZING AND MADE ME CRY ALL OVER AGAIN? It is faithful in spirit while making understandable alterations both for the setting and to avoid managing child actors for the entirety of the series (there are about six episodes with Hikaru/Shi Guang as an elementary school student before a time jump to high school).

If you are unfamiliar with Hikaru no Go I recommend becoming familiar with Hikaru no Go, my first and still one of the best sports manga. It's what Takeshi Obata was the artist on before Death Note and my hot take is that Obata post-Hikaru no Go is mid at best.

Hikaru no Go is a sports series about the most normal boy finding an antique go board that houses the soul of an ancient go master who died too young and with go regrets, so he bullies/guilts the boy into helping him play go so he can see or play a divine go move. In the process he acquires a rival/stalker in the form of the genius son of a go master. It's amazing and the drama absolutely does it justice.

The heart of the series is the relationship between Hikaru/Shi Huang and Fujiwara no Sai/Chu Ying.

It's just a fucking good series.

The Untamed

According to one description on imdb, this is about two friends solving a series of murders. This is technically true, although it neglects to mention a few details.

Sixteen years after doing a whole lot of demonic blood magic shit and dying because of it, hated by society, Wei Wuxian (Xiao Zhan) is brought back from the dead by more super demonic blood magic and is recognized by his noble and esteemed peer/friend Lan Wangji (Wang Yibo) and trying to deal with why Wei Wuxian has been brought back from the dead leads to their investigating a series of murders that result in their becoming entangled in wider political schemes stretching back twenty years.

It's got weird pacing, prolonged flashbacks to explain a lot of the relationship dynamics, and basically an entirely self-contained sub-story that brings the main plot to a grinding halt. There are creatures and CGI effects of interesting quality. There are amazing wigs. There are piles of corpses. There's physical torture and emotional torture and some doomed love stuff and sword fights and musical instrument fights and a donkey and chicken theft and brotherhood and what you're willing to sacrifice for your goals and what goals you're willing to sacrifice for and it is based on a novel that ends in the protagonists raw dogging on the side of the road.

That part's not in the show.

Douluo Continent

Ignorant country boy Tang San (Xiao Zhan) finds himself involved in the world of martial arts and magic after discovering a hidden talent and ends up in the group of fellow martial artists who are all weird or unorthodox or hiding crucial bits of their backstory like girl who is actually a rabbit and immediately decides Tang San is her best friend/husband (Wu Xianyi), guy who needs to become powerful enough to kill his older brother (Gao Taiyu), girl who rejected an engagement to the would-be brother killer and wants to fight him (Liu Mei Tong), guy who wants to ditch martial arts to become a great actor (Liu Run Nan), and girl who is too rich to be here (Ding Xiaoying). They learn together, they grow together, they fight monsters and embark on a tournament arc, and there's an overarching mystery about Tang San and his weak but simultaneously super powerful spirit summoning.

Even though the best technique is clearly the one where the boy in question can summon a sausage that you eat and heals you.

It's very much of a specific genre that can be pretty samey, but Douluo Continent has a charming cast that makes up for its predictable plot beats.

It does end on a cliffhanger that is possibly resolved in the sequel series where ... all the main characters were recast with, I'm guessing, slightly less pricey actors. Such is the way of things.

Word of Honour

Do you like knowing what's going on? Then get the fuck out of here, Word of Honour is not for you. Real ones want to be immediately submerged into chaos and confusion and secret identities. You want Mr Bones' Wild Ride in plot form. Why has former superassassin Zhou Zishu (Zhang Zhe Han) abandoned the sect of assassins he created to live in wandering drunk anonymity as he slowly dies? Why is Wen Kexing (Gong Jun) stalking him aside from poorly censored horny desires? Is Wen Kexing actually a ghost? Can any of the impressionable youths attaching themselves to Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing be stopped from their very poor choices in role models? What is up with this legendary hidden armoury and why do Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing seem unable to escape the conspiracy around it? HOW HARD IS IT TO GET WOLONG'S FAMOUS NUTS?

Not recommended for people who constantly want to know what's happening or why X is doing Y, but great if you want to watch with someone and then after an episode, walk your dogs and try to figure out what's going on and what's going to happen (you will be wrong).

Advance Bravely

What if the most ridiculously unrealistic and unhinged slashfic by a teenage girl who doesn't fully understand anything was adapted into a drama series where censorship means everything must be painted with a special "no homo" brush? You get Advance Bravely which is the most incoherently homoerotic thing I've ever watched. No one thinks you should watch Advance Bravely and you watch Advance Bravely and you agree but sometimes you just have to watch a beautiful trainwreck where the protagonist explains his lack of a girlfriend with erectile dysfunction and the series climax involves his being, essentially, trapped in a well.

Love Between Fairy and Devil

DO YOU WANT TO GO FULL SHOUJO MANGA FANTASY?

Innocent fairy Orchid (Yu Shuxin) just wants to strengthen her immortal spirit and pass the exam that would let her serve in the palace of the fairy capital so she can catch glimpses of the War God Chang Heng (Zhang Ling He) who she is hopelessly in love with. Instead, an attempt to help her crush causes her to bumble her way into the high security spiritual prison that has held Dongfang Qingcang, the Moon Supreme (Dylan Wang), for 30,000 years.

DO YOU LIKE BIG NUMBERS BECAUSE YOU WILL GET TO SEE SOME BIG NUMBERS IN TERMS OF TIME SPAN AND AGES.

Because of some plot magic, Orchid and the Moon Supreme swap bodies and loophole out of prison, much to her distress. Their fates are tied together and Orchid becomes more familiar with the wider world and the politics between the realms and how much the fairy realm's supreme ruler fucking suuuuuuuuuuuucks while Moon Supreme finds himself having feelings again after they were tortured out of him in a mystical coffin prison as a child.

Moon Supreme's closest friend is a dragon. Orchid's closest friend is an opportunistic snakeoil saleswoman. There's a pissy younger brother and a bitchy but honourable love rival. There are secret origins and reincarnation and hidden identities and the way it alternates broad comedy and melodrama and sweet romance may give you whiplash.

I just love a bodyswap, you guys.

Sailor Moon vibes but Mamoru is actually interesting and becomes likeable.

Guardian

Okay so the best thing about Guardian is not only that it's a censored adaptation of a novel with a same-sex romance, but that /the entire premise/ is altered for television purposes.

The novel is steeped in Chinese folk religion and the Underworld is real and mythical creatures secretly walk among us.

In the show?

ALIENS, BABY.

Ghosts? THOSE AREN'T REAL BECAUSE HUMANS DON'T HAVE SOULS, THEY'RE JUST ENERGY BEINGS.

It's so ridiculous it's endearing.

Anyway, it's about bros solving mysteries with a Monster of the Week vibe until it becomes about possibly the end of the world and alien domination and evil twins.

Mysterious Lotus Casebook

IT'S TIME TO SOLVE CRIMES. IN ANCIENT CHINA.

Quack doctor Li Lianhua (Cheng Yi) is just trying to live a quiet life with his dog and his horse-drawn house. Fang Duobing (Joseph Zeng) just wants to gain admittance into the martial art cop organization that's carrying on the legacy of his dead teacher, Li Xiangyi, who was maybe never actually his teacher and also wasn't killed ten years previously by Di Fei Sheng (Xiao Shunyao), the head of an evil martial arts sect who is also not dead. Not nearly as many people as people think are dead! Identities are cleverly hidden behind pseudonyms and various levels of mask!

Crimes are solved and Li Lianhua is very tired about the whole thing. It's an unwilling buddy cop sort of thing until it becomes about youthful hubris and the sins of the past and also one woman's determination to conquer the world and give it to the man she loves, even if he doesn't want the world and also doesn't love her. We love a woman who takes what she wants and if necessary cuts a man's tendons and imprisons him in a torture pool so his blood can't clot until he agrees to be her wife, don't we, folks?

Folks?

Story of Kunning Palace

The scheming empress Jiang Xue Ning (Bai Lu) dies and wakes up, eighteen-years-old, at the point in her life where she's on the verge of making the start of the decisions that lead her to the Very Bad End. She is going to make different decisions this time and prevent the things she regrets and avoid becoming the empress at all costs.

What you need to know about Story of Kunning Palace is that Bai Lu could have chemistry with a rock and she inadvertently collects a bisexual harem. Her end game love interest is Xie Wei (Zhang Ling He), the man who killed her, an advisor to the emperor, music teacher, double or triple agent, and sufferer of vampire snow madness and a fear of cats, whether adorably fluffy or badly CGI'd. But she's in love with noble civil servant Zhang Zhe (Wang Xing Yue), a pure and hardworking man who she seduced into betraying his principles, leading to his imprisonment and probable death. However, her childhood friend Yan Lin (Zhou Jun Wei) is in love with her and previously she rejected him VERY HARSHLY after his family fell into disfavour due to political machinations and Jiang Xue Ning had cemented the likelihood of her marriage to the next emperor. Also there's Princess Le Yang (Liu Xie Ning), who Jiang Xue Ning made an enemy of after the Princess fell in love with her when Jiang Xue Ning was crossdressing and did not take the reveal of her true gender well. Xue Shu (Elisa Ye) is an unfavoured daughter of a scheming lord who was the only truly loyal person Jiang Xue Ning knew as empress. ALL OF THESE PEOPLE FALL IN LOVE WITH JIANG XUE NING and you look at Bai Lu and go 'yes, that makes sense'.

It's mostly about the politics and scheming and Jiang Xue Ning trying to find a way to have a stable, satisfying life without betraying everyone she knows and standing on a pile of corpses, but the love shape Jiang Xue Ning isn't fully aware she's in is comparable in complexity to the plots between ministers and lords and dowager empresses and cousins and rebels.

The choices the characters make are maybe not always the best choices, but DAMN are they a good time.

Story of Kunning Palace is also one of the only times I have begged a character in a show to take a particular action and then she DID IT and fuck it was satisfying.

The Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty

IT'S TIME TO SOLVE CRIMES. IN ANCIENT CHINA. AGAIN. BUT WITHOUT MARTIAL ARTS.

Tang Fan (Darren Chen) is a low-ranking government official and detective genius who loves food and hates routine work, but loves a fucked up crime. Since he spends most of his money on delicious food, he writes trashy porn under a variety of pseudonyms to pay his rent. Sui Zhou (Fu Meng Bo) is an imperial guard and ex-soldier with PTSD who has no time for nonsense but loves the passionate pursuit of justice and food. He's also From Money and has a very empty house that Tang Fan whines his way into after they solve a case together. Everyone is manipulated by dangerously powerful eunuch Wang Zhi (Liu Yao Yuan) who is the enemy of basically everyone, except for Tang Fan, who has the political and social awareness of a rock.

An amiably pathetic man solves a variety of mysteries, from murder to complex imperial assassination plots and also this really complicated one involving diluting the purity of silver currency, and also the executive producer is Jackie Chan.

It's missing the romance subplot that I understand is in the source novel and also apparently there's an overarching plot involving a cult?! which we don't get here, but there's lots of bombs which are almost as good as a cult, maybe? (They're not.)

Divine Destiny

This is the one we're currently watching and the ride that this show is. How many plots can be crammed into one show? How many ridiculous but true things can I say about this show?

Ji Ruochen (Ma Tianyu) is an orphan who dreams of martial arts adventures. Raised by a couple who run a Crime Inn, one day a customer robbery goes very wrong when the customer turns out to be the latest incarnation of Yin Feng, the Banished God (Marius Wang). Ji Ruochen accidentally kills the Banished God and his foster parents promptly take the body into the desert and dump it down a cliff, but not before taking a necklace made from a piece of Gu Qing, the Blue Stone Goddess (Xuan Lu), which is supposed to let her recognize the Banished God in their final incarnation. Accidentally stealing the Banished God's identity, Ji Ruochen finds himself a hotly desired commodity by the cultivation sects who are all eager to have the Banished God as a disciple for prophecy reasons. He goes with Zhang Yinyin (Angelababy), a feisty, argumentative girl who has had to work extra hard because her spirit was contaminated by a demonic root planted by the evil nine-tailed fox who is poorly imprisoned in a cave anyone can access.

MEANWHILE some dudes with amazing moustaches and a penchant for laughing in delight at their own evil have found the body of the Banished God and done some questionable mystical shit to put him in a new body and nurture a grudge against Ji Ruochen for stealing his identity.

THEN Gu Qing meets Ji Ruochen and like everyone else assumes he's the Banished God and she falls in love with him (Gu Qing having been a literal rock spirit who cultivated to immortality under the guidance of the Banished God, who followed her into the mortal realm and a cycle of 100 incarnations after Gu Qing accidentally Did A Crime) but then falls in love with HIM.

ALSO Zhang Yinyin is always at risk of succumbing to the temptation of using the demonic fox power that is within her even though that will literally turn her into a demon but maybe it's worth it if a woman who is actually a goddess who is actually a rock is making eyes at the junior you brought into the sect and are in love with and you want to be more powerful than her?

ALSO what's the mysterious power that let Ji Ruochen kill the Banished God in the first place?

IS the woman seeking revenge for the death of the Banished God's mortal incarnation his sister or his cousin or his "cousin"?

WHY is the only love language of immortals stalking?

There's a homunculus and a baby snake demon who is the most precious angel in the world and so many evil dudes delighted in how evil they are and TWO GOOD AND ALIVE PARENTS and a pair of comical monks who have a special attack with a name they have to shout out every time they use it.

Oh and the imprisoned fox demon may have an ex who just hangs out on a rock in something called the Endless Ocean wearing a mask and playing go against the homunculus he made.

And there's an ancient master who lives in an ice mountain and eats memories of love.

Also some people might be secret demons.

There's some weddings.

There's a tiny woman with an ice sword who brutally murders so many dudes.

Do you like CGI birds?

Do you like giant mechanical CGI birds that are for riding purposes?

There's a desert hermit who has a son who is a giant tortoise.

So many things are going on and terrible decisions are constantly being made and it's over a week before I can watch another episode and it's driving me mad. WHAT WILL BE THE FALLOUT OF THE MOST RECENT BAD DECISIONS?

[askew-d]

Can I ask, who are your top favorite romantic couples (can be canon or non canon) of all time from any media? Why you love them? Thx :D

here i go with another grand list that i was very happy to write! i’m in love with these asks, really. i’ll mention all of them, but at first i was in doubt if i could include one that isn’t ‘canon’, but rather rpf. either way, i added bonus couples for good reasoning! let’s go.

1. wangxian (lan wangji x wei wuxian), from mo dao zu shi — they are THE moment, they are THE couple, they are THE goals. who ever could have imagined someone would come up and write a troublemaker who falls into demonic arts and gets reincarnated to fight together with a sucker-for-rules expressionless man and make it work? they fit into any au as well, this fandom rocks. my lovely cultivators!

2. kagehina (kageyama tobio x hinata shouyou), from haikyuu!! — i dont even play volleyball. i dont even like sports! why do i love this anime and this duo specifically so much? they are so passionate about their hobbies, the rivalry and frenemy relationship? the POTENTIAL. the STORY they have. the "someone better will come and find you" promise. sheer beauty. they are silly and fresh and cute and i dont think i'll ever get tired of it.

3. yizhan (wang yibo x xiao zhan), from the untamed cast rpf — i know all the problematics about writing real person fiction. i KNOW, okay?? but people, let me like them and support them in peace?? 😔 i have so much love for these men, and its overall hella fun following their life unfold, even if they are not working together anymore. nonetheless, they are my dose of serotonin when i need it.

4. daiharu (kambe daisuke x katou haru), from fugou keiji: balance unlimited — i will not scream for a seson 2 here. i will scream for more FICS of them here! there ain't enough! its not even about the 'sugar daddy' appeal, its more about the 'partners in (solving) crime' appeal. oh and also the 'i hate you you arrogant prick but i WILL do anything for you' part. everything and every detail of this show.... seriously though: gold.

5. hilson (gregory house x james wilson), from house m.d — oh, my sweet stupid and repressed doctors, i would do unspeakable things for you. wilson has been through every hard moment of house's life. you can name them, he's been there. through every ridiculous situation of his too. it is overwhelming, honestly. the ending couldn't have been more reasonable and fitting for them, in my opinion.

6. hannigram (hannibal lecter x will graham), from hannibal — this gif alone of them with scratches and smiling conspiratorily to each other sums up their entire dynamic. they're toxic and no one's doing it like them. like, yeah, no shit, who would even dare, right? murder husbands can do anything and eat the rude as much as they want, i will be sipping on my drink and watching intently. (man truly looked at this detective he framed for murder and said he would remember their moment together forever??? just dont throw him in jail then???)

7. shiguang (lu guang x cheng xiaoshi), from link click — these pretty boys traveling through time invented the concept of yearning, and i will not explain more to not give season 2 spoilers. i fell in love with them as soon as i saw the first shot of the anime. it doesnt help that they have the same dynamic as wangxian, too. cheng xiaoshi, my beloved, you would never do anything to harm anyone (not purposefully) and i (as well as lu guang) worship you 🙏

8. renga (hasegawa langa x kyan reki), from sk8: the infinity — let's be true tho, can they never do a sports anime without pulling up homosexuals?? not that im complaining at all. please continue, in fact. every couple in this story is valid (adam does not exist), and i love this spirited, young concept of redescovering the beauty of a hobbie. lovely, all of them, but most specially my langa and his admiration for reki. their dynamic has no complications, its just so sweet.

9. moshang (mobei jun x shang qinghua), from the scum villain self-saving system — i will not share a pic of moshang official art because i find shang qinghua appearence too much childlike and annoying, meanwhile i find him much more interesting in the book and fanarts. in any case, i love this couple more than the main couple simply because our airplane-bro can make everything so hilarious. there are fics of them out there which are peak entertainment (check this one!). mobei's tsundere attitude and shang qinghua's shamelessness are a great combo.

10. hualing (hua cheng x xie lian), from heaven official’s blessing — the longing is unbearable. hua cheng loves this man so much, for real. waiting 800 fucking years?? being his most devoted believer? can you believe the audacity?? my man, though he has low self-steem, does anything to protect his god. he doesnt care about any realm. he only cares for xie lian, his dear god. they are the cutest couple.

bonus: aziracrow, johnlock, tododeku, victuuri, blackbonnet, mafuyama, redblue (from this is how you lose the time war).

these are my favorite ships ever! they are what i scream about alternatively, and when i say so, i'm not joking. one week i'm freaking out over new link click content and in the other one i'm reviewing house m.d episodes. my life's a circle with my favorite ships in it and i ain't regretting anything.

thank you for asking, by the way! big hugs! 🤍

[liberty-or-death]

Wangxian Poems "Envious of the green hills that have the serenity of one that’s deep in thought, or the white crane that has forgotten the ways of the world and has a tranquil heart. " (Eight Sounds of Ganzhou.  Picking Unripened Plums to Accompany My Wine 八声甘州·摘青梅荐酒 by Tang Hui 汤恢)

There are a few poems that possibly inspired Wangxian. All these poems are widely discussed among the chinese fans so I thought I’d share it everyone. Anyway they’re all really lovely 😍😍😍

The “Eight Sounds of Ganzhou. Picking Unripened Plums to Accompany My Wine. 八声甘州·摘青梅荐酒” is a Ci written by Tang Hui 汤恢, poet in the Southern Song Dynasty. The “Eight Songs of Ganzhou” is a specific ci pattern.

摘青梅荐酒，甚残寒，犹怯苎萝衣。

Picking unripened plums to accompany my wine. It was bitterly cold, and filled with worries over my ramie made clothes.

T/N: Ramie was weaved by people who lived in the mountains into clothes.

正柳腴花瘦，绿云冉冉，红雪霏霏。

The willows trees are lush, the flowers are withering; like green clouds flowing slowly, and red snow falling like rain.

隔屋秦筝依约，谁品春词？

The house next door has a date with the qin zheng, just who is singing the songs of springs?

T/N: 春词 - This either means the song of springs or words of love between a couple. The Qin Zheng is a musical instrument

回首繁华梦，流水斜晖。

Look back, the former thriving prosperity was like a dream, like the river that flows way and the setting sun.

寄隐孤山山下，但一瓢饮水，深掩苔扉。

I reside at the bottom of the Mount Lu. But I live frugally as I drink from the ladle and cover the door filled with moss.

T/N: Mount Gu is an island on the West Lake of Hangzhou. Gu 孤 also means Lonely so you could also interpret this as the “lonely mountain”. It’s a popular spots for poets in the Tang and Song Dynasty. Bai Juyi and Su Shi have also written poems about it.

羡青山有思，白鹤忘机。

I’m envious (Xian) of the green hills that have the serenity of one that’s deep in thought, or the white crane that has forgotten the ways of the world and has a tranquil heart. (Wangji)

Wangxian’s names are mentioned here. If you do a quick search with of line, you’ll find numerous chinese wangxian fanworks.

怅年华、不禁搔首，又天涯、弹泪送春归。

The passage of time is worrying, and I can’t help but scratch my head anxiously. My tears send Spring off towards the end of the world again.

销魂远，千山啼鴂，十里荼麋。

At this moment, the Koel sorrowful cries echoes in the mountains. The raspberry flower is blooming everywhere.

T/N: Legend has it that when the Emperor Wang Di entered seclusion and passed on, he died and his soul became a Koel.  Hence, when Spring goes and when the Koel cries out sadly, the people of Shu would say “I look forward to the emperor’s soul”, as though the Koel is sending Spring off. 

My Analysis

This poem summarises Tang Hui’s feelings. He was staying in seclusion in the West Lake Mountains, but yet he wants to return to live with others, and he yearns for his love of the Northern Song Dynasty. The first part of the poem is about what the poet is doing, and the second part’s about his envy and love for his Dynasty.

Firstly, I was struck by how said sad and how forlorn wangxian’s namesake’s line is. If we break down it down, essentially it describes someone that loves the silence of the musing mountains, and how the crane remains unbothered by the world. It’s such an apt line given that the cultivational world wangxian lived in really hurt them.

The reference of the “plum” and the “white crane” is said to be a reference to Lin Bu 林逋, the Confucian poet who planted plums and raised cranes, and didn’t marry for the rest of his life. His actions gave birth to the idiom “梅妻鹤子 to marry the plum, and raise the cranes for his son”, which means to lead a life of seclusion and attain a tranquil state of mind. (wangxian living in seclusion and living happily ever after? HAHA)

Another thing that struck me was, was this the reason why CQL put a white crane in the wangxian moment? It clearly wasn’t a key point because there’s a clip of Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo debating about the existence of the crane, of which Xiao Zhan forgot about it, and Wang Yibo insisted it was there. The crane was never in the book, and I always thought it was a mere decorative feature but now I don’t think so 🧐. Perhaps the directors were paying tribute to this poem? And is this the reason why lwj is often painted in white?

Personally, I did find it interesting though, that the c fandom would associate this poem with wangxian, because unlikely the other themes Wangxian has been associated with (Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji’s name respectively), this poem talks about someone who IS in seclusion, who wants to go back to society. Though yes, if you did focus on Wangxian's namesake's line (羡青山有思，白鹤忘机) in isolation, the poet is envious of those who can stay away from the ways of the world. Whereas in the other poems, and in the novel itself, it was clearly the other way around. That’s just my two cents though! Either way, it’s a really pretty poem. 😍

You can check out @fwoopersongs's alternative translation here!

[jadedbirch]

Hidden Blade Review

(spoiler free)

Okay okay so we've finally been blessed 🙌🙌🙌. The Yeekies on the big screen were fantastic and just as magnificent as I anticipated. This review will be composed of 2 parts: just Wang Yibo first, because I'm biased, and then the actual film.

The New York Times called my son "SIMMERING and MESMERIZING" and it ain't no lie. This was an incredibly difficult role for any actor to pull off, because first of all, it calls for a lot of silent acting, which we all already knows Yibo excels at. But here's a gross reminder:

Second, most of his dialogue had to be delivered in Japanese, a language that he did not know before filming. Not only does he sound very proficient (from what I can tell, at least, from my years of Shorinji Kempo), he's able to deliver his lines very naturally, holding his own in scenes with a native speaker.

Third, we all already know this boy is beautiful when he cries. Another gross reminder:

And the good news is, he's only gotten better at crying. He cries softly, quietly, loudly, and with chest wrecking sobs. The tears streak down his Yeekies and his Yose, and it is absolutely TRANSCENDENT. Listen, this kid is a star. ⭐

Fourth, his action sequences are absolutely glorious. He moves like a cheetah and stings like a bee. But we already knew that, right?

Anyways... Watching him kick ass is immensely satisfying.

And finally, he holds his own against a legend of cinema like Tony Leung, which may have made any other actor choke. But we all know that Yibo never chokes, he always rises to the challenge, AND HOW. No wonder Cheng Er, the director, seems so utterly smitten with him. Listen, he is all of us 🥹🥹🥰🥰.

Having extolled my son's incredible qualities, let me now say a few words about the movie itself. Hidden Blade is absolutely gorgeous. It reminds me of the way movies used to be made - character driven and chock full of haunting cinematic moments that stay with you long after you've left the theater. The story weaves through time, often threatening to cause a bit of a whiplash, but at the end of the day, it comes back to the main characters in a very satisfying way. Like any good spy thriller, it keeps you guessing and on the edge of your seat. The war violence is handled very delicately and is never pervasive while still conveying its intended horror. Cheng Er is clearly a master of his art, and it really shows.

Like any Chinese movie made today, you can expect a touch of Communist propaganda and a bit of revisionist history. But having said that, it could have been a lot more heavy handed, and I thought it found the right balance to please the censors and not take foreign audiences out of the experience.

Sadly, this scene appears to have not made the final cut, so it's not a spoiler to leave this review on my favorite note, of my son's glorious face:

[morkofday]

✨ ending notes ✨

this event has finally come to an end. i finished the whole of 24 prompts during these about 9-10 months, which was a lot more than i anticipated and took way longer than i had planned. but i couldn't feel prouder of myself. i did it! i made those all! wow.

now, i might take a momentary rest and not post as much. my internship and uni are eating a lot of my time and as much i wish to create still, i might have to leave it for a couple of months. (and if i return with a new edit next week then shh, nothing is certain in this life anyway.)

thank you to everyone who has been sweet towards these edits, has left amazing tags, has been supporting me, and continue just being around, making this site so much more wonderful for me. i love you all! hopefully, i get to do something like this again somewhere in the future :')

and one more huge thank you to all my prompters who gave me this opportunity to just go wild and received their gifts with utmost love and enthusiasm, no matter how long it took me to finish them:

@dimpledpran @spicyvampire @sharingfandoms @yibo-wang @onnasannomiya @i-got-the-feels @benkaaoi @oswlld @luna-lina @fitfmybeloved @nongnaos @seanwhites @raypakorn @pransobrave @icouldhyperfixatehim @leonpob @s1utspeare @toptaps @patspran @firstkhao @snimeat @aprilblossomgirl @disasterbabygirlnick ♥ you're the best!

have an amazing autumn everyone!

ps. all the prompt edits gathered under this post or under the tag #makeavish2023

[bookshop]

A correct amount of words about wang yibo

I keep trying to indoctrinate the good people of Post.news who have the misfortune to follow me into joining the Wang Yibo fandom. And that's hard to do given that this is a whole-ass sea of like white Gen X MSNBC liberals who probably only think about China as politics, but I am doing my LEVEL BEST, and the result is this absolutely enormous post about Yibo that most people reading this on Tumblr don't need to know, but which I am going to put here anyway, because I need to feel Seen.

I wish to talk about Yibo's beautiful New Year's Eve performance, but first some context.

actually no, first, a picture because isn't he lovely

Over the last four years, this has become a holiday tradition: Eagerly awaiting Wang Yibo's release of a huge song on December 30 — his only single of the year — that he then performs live on an annual New Year's Eve concert the next night. Every year, when he does this, it's a huge deal and the songs always become the bestselling single of the year on the last day of the year, which is the kind of massive flex that compels me to yell about it a lot.

So in 2019 he released "Wugan" (which he wrote) on 12/30, and it became the bestselling single of 2019. At the end of 2020 he released "Rules of My World," which he also wrote. That then became the second-bestselling single of 2020. (More on the single that beat him in a minute.)

The next year, he released his 2021 end-of-year single "Nian" completely for free, probably in response to the Qinglang restrictions I wrote about here, in which, among other things, China banned multiple mass sales.

Yibo is known primarily as an (extremely good) hip-hop dancer, so since "Nian" was more of a power anthem everyone was anticipating something more upbeat for his end-of-year song this year. Instead, Yibo surprised us all with a gorgeous love song, "Like the Sunshine" (像阳光那样)", which immediately became not only the bestselling single of 2022, but the first single to top 2 million sales in China since the CCP banned mass sales 18 months ago.

And then he paired it with this incredible modern dance performance at Dragon TV's new year's eve event.

Please watch it; he cut his hand and his feet while dancing barefoot on stage but kept performing, and this gives you such a good glimpse of what a heartfelt and mesmerizing performer he is.

What you wouldn't know just from watching this is that Yibo has rarely if ever danced modern dance before onstage, only hip-hop and other dances blending modern dance elements, but never anything like this. And yet he looks completely at home and in his element. The climax and fully the last 60 seconds show so much control and power, combined with his ability to be completely immersed in the flow and feel and emotional dynamics of of a song — which you get both from his movements and his vocal expression. He's just. So good. All the time.

It will be three years at the end of this month since I first discovered Wang Yibo, and I still feel every day like I just discovered him for the first time, because I'm continually blown away, not only by how tremendously talented and gifted he is at whatever he picks up, but by how unapologetically passionate and pure-hearted he is about loving dance and loving acting and music and racing and competition and all his geeky quirky little hobbies, about loving people and loving life.

Everyone who works with Yibo just winds up raving about about how talented he is, whether it's his acting or dedication or dancing or singing or that time he just fucking did this what the fuck, and you can see so clearly from all of this, and especially this new NYE performance, that it's not just that he's incredibly talented and skilled enough to master a totally new skill in weeks, but that he goes full-throttle in every performance, makes himself completely raw and vulnerable. Yibo eschews method acting, is arguably not neurologically suited for method acting, but instead has this wonderful ability to slip in and out of character, become whoever he's asked to become in any given moment. And when he's dancing as himself on stage, he consistently shows us his heart and his pure emotion, whatever it is.

He is just, above all things, a consummate entertainer: He prioritizes the mood and the moment of the art he's creating, and he delivers that consistently, each and every time. Case in point: let's enjoy him performing "Pick Me" for Produce 101 in 2019, when he served as dance mentor to women competing for a spot in a girl group. Every time Yibo gets asked to dance "cute" dances — and probably the reason he keeps getting asked — is that he commits to the cuteness without any posturing or machismo and just, again, lets his performance serve the dance/song without letting his ego get in the way.

Or! Or! This next song! I love this performance because it's completely inexplicable at a glance but SO fun and just, happy. What's happening here is: He's a special guest on a variety show where the object is (wait for it) to SING SONGS WHILE SPINNING ON A LITTLE SPINNY THING.

And one of the judges of this show is Da Zhangwei, who's both a well-known like, comedy/variety songwriter and Yibo's good friend (they hosted a variety show together for years). So Yibo makes a surprise appearance to perform one of Da Zhangwei's own songs, "Pop Rocks Candy," while spinning around on a little spinny thing!!!! (China!!!!)

And this should be absolutely absurd, like, cringey beyond belief, over-the-top excess, right. But because Yibo is so committed to this performance, without a hint of embarrassment, it somehow just becomes this joyous, endlessly delightful gift of Wang Yibo performing one of his friend's songs and turning it into a celebration of fun and whimsy.

OR! here he is being dragged into a silly dance battle in 2018 while filming the rom-dram Gank Your Heart. Nothing at all going on, he's just hanging with the other cast and dancing for fun, except Yibo is just so excellent that the camera eventually gives up following the other cast members and just zooms in on him. Everyone always winds up zooming in on Wang Yibo.

To return to 2020: Yibo was second in song sales that year only because the top spot went to his best friend Xiao Zhan's song "Spotlight," which was/is the biggest selling single of all time, as in, in world history, as in this song outsold both the Beatles and "White Christmas". You will assume I must be exaggerating until you click that link and learn that this is actually a well-verified fact.

The reason you have never heard "Spotlight" is because the combined impact of the CCP's isolationist tendencies and the tendency of other countries to treat China like a sealed vacuum means it's easy to ignore/write off whatever's happening in China, even while entertainers like Yibo and Xiao Zhan are making major inroads and breaking through international culture divides.

But I think that might be changing sooner rather than later, and Yibo is a big part of the reason. In Q3 of 2022 his studio, Yuehua, was preparing to go public (they eventually withdrew) basically fully on the strength of Yibo's popularity: They released an investor report claiming he was responsible for 80% of their overall revenue in 2022. (I saw a later claim that in Q4 that # jumped up to 90% overall but I couldn't find a source. I believe it, though, because YIBOOOOO.)

Yibo has three films coming out in 2022. One of them I've already discussed in this Post post (lol), without mentioning the fact that in the scenario where Born to Fly is China's version of Top Gun, Wang Yibo is Tom Cruise as Maverick. (At age 24, by the way — just a year older than Cruise when he first played the role.)

The other two are equally eye-catching. One is One and Only, a street dance movie created and scripted entirely around and for Yibo, clearly inspired by what an absolute phenomenon he has been as a captain on Street Dance of China. This movie won the Weibo award for most anticipated movie of 2022 (back when we still thought it was coming out in 2022, sob). The director stated on the awards red carpet, "If there's no Yibo, then there's no movie." Brb sobbing into my tea.

The final film drops on 1/22 and it's called Hidden Blade (previously titled Anonymous) and he stars alongside Tony Leung, YES I SAID TONY LEUNG, and it's also one of the most anticipated films of the year. And, listen, I would go a long way just to watch Tony Leung, but the trailer, along with the latest just-released poster, each make it clear that Yibo is every bit the co-star:

Sooooo this movie will probably land on the international radar — hell, it already has — and if I know Yibo, he won't be easy to overlook.

Because that's the thing, always: Eventually, no matter the context, you always wind up zooming in on Wang Yibo.

[bi-turtle-enthusiast]

Hello.... Can I ask your top 5 (or top 3) favorite characters from MDZS? And why you loved them? And your top 5 favorite moments from the series? Thanks if you want to answer....

yeah sure!

Characters:

5. Lan Sizhui/Lan Jingyi I love their dynamic SO much. They're best friends who have clearly known each other for such a long time, and they're both really interesting characters in their own right! Lan Sizhui is so interesting, what with his Lan upbringing and his Wen heritage, and the fact that he's connecting to both by the end of the book. Lan Jingyi is Lan Sizhui's ride-or-die, protecting his best friend at every opportunity while having the best lines in the entire book, and he makes every scene he's in 100x better.

4. Wen Qing Medical malplractice queen!! But in all seriousness, there's something so viscerally powerful about the fact that she's willing to go against nature itself for her baby brother. She'd both die and kill for Wen Ning, and later for Wei Wuxian. I feel like her type of character (murderous older sister) is kind of rare and I really, really like her. I feel like The Untamed really fleshed out her character and I really appreciated her after I watched it. She's equally capable of nurturing and destroying—a force of nature herself.

3. Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian Fun fact: I hated Lan Wangji when I first read MDZS, and to be honest I'm still so-so on novel Lan Wangji. However, he was easily one of my favorite characters in The Untamed, and watching it made me see him in a whole different light. He doesn't communicate through his words, but through his actions. I think Wang Yibo was perfect casting because he NAILED Lan Wangji's micro-expressions and body language and really brought the character to life. Reading Lan Wangji as autistic also made me understand him a lot more. As for Wei Wuxian, I initially read him as a silly guy and... was right. Despite everything, he stays silly. I do find him a little insufferable pre-death, but I think that was intentional. He probably would have been higher on the list, but while I think he's a really compelling character (and ADHD personified, just like me fr), I'm also very frustrated by him and I don't like how he treats people sometimes. Still, I adore the way he looks after Jin Ling, refuses to let anyone blame Jiang Cheng for anything that happened to him, and takes care of Lan Wangji (towards the end, anyway).

2. Jin Ling Ok he probably would have been at the very top of this list but unfortunately jiang cheng brainrot is real. But CAN WE TALK ABOUT HIM. Over the course of the story, he finds out that his disgraced uncle who insulted him for not having a mom was actually Wei Wuxian reincarnated, then had to contend with the fact that Wei Wuxian was both the reason his parents and grandparents died AND the guy who protected him at every opportunity. Not to mention, he learned that Jin Guangyao, his beloved uncle who gifted him his beloved dog, had orchestrated his parents' death and was ready to kill him too. And what does he do at the end of the novel? He cries. He doesn't seek revenge, he doesn't get angry, he just cries, and he lets go. He chooses not to pursue revenge, because he's seen how the quest for revenge has destroyed everyone around him in one way or another. He's a little shit (because he's an edgy 15 year old) but he's a really intelligent and kind person who loves Jiang Cheng more than anything.

1. Jiang Cheng Some of y'all are going to disagree with me but it must be said. Jiang Cheng is the best MDZS character. Jiang Yanli's love and care taught him how to be loving and caring too. He loved Wei Wuxian, he loved Jin Ling, and he loved his sect. Jiang Cheng never stopped loving Wei Wuxian, even after everything that happened. He hated Wei Wuxian too—that's undeniable—but he also loved him. He kept his belongings intact, he never stopped believing he would come back, he literally gave up his golden core to protect Wei Wuxian. And Jin Ling! He loves Jin Ling so much! Despite having AWFUL parents himself, he was determined not to be that way towards Jin Ling. He did his best to break the generational trauma of his family because he wanted Jin Ling to have it better than he did. When Jin Ling becomes sect leader, he makes sure that he knows that if he EVER needs ANYTHING, he'll provide it to the best of his ability. I could go on for hours about this man. Best MDZS character. He's so full of resentment and hatred and vengeance, but in the end, the thing that always wins out over everything else is his unshakeable love.

Honorable mention: I loved MianMian in the Untamed and wish she got more time to shine in the novel

Favorite moments: 5. Literally anytime Lan Jingyi is in a scene. Every time he opens his mouth it's my favorite scene. He keeps Wei Wuxian humble in a way that only a teenager can. 4. The WangXian scene where Wei Wuxian hides porn in Lan Wangji's book. It starts off so genuinely nice—you can tell Lan Wangji isn't really serious anymore when he tells Wei Wuxian to stfu, and you get the feeling that Wei Wuxian is probably the closest thing Lan Wangji has to a friend. Wei Wuxian draws Lan Wangji a little portrait, and it's genuinely a sweet gesture. Lan Wangji thinks so too—he hasn't ever gotten something like this, and the fact that Wei Wuxian took the time to learn his appearance and commit it to paper makes him feel some type of way. And then, it turns out that everything was just a ruse so Wei Wuxian could prank Lan Wangji. Lan Wangji is,, understandably enraged. It feels cruel that Wei Wuxian would be so insincere just to do that. I kind of hated Wei Wuxian in this scene, but it's one of my favorites because it kind of shows the nature of their initial relationship—half-sincere, but never truly sincere. 3. Xuanwu cave scene. It's so funny and so painful and so sweet. We really see everyone's characters coming out—Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji being selfless protective, Jiang Cheng being capable and responsible, Jin Zixuan being brave and righteous, MianMian being the GOAT, Wang Lingjiao and Wen Chao deserving death, etc. 2. The umbrella scene in the Untamed. It was just so powerful. Lan Wangji putting down his umbrella, which represents the rules and morality of his sect, and just letting the rain mess up his perfect appearance. He doesn't know what's right and wrong anymore, because he loves Wei Wuxian, but everyone is telling him that's wrong. Wei Wuxian himself doesn't know what's right and wrong. Lan Wangji has been thinking in terms of black and white all this time, and for the first time, he finds himself in a gray area. It was just so powerful!! 1. The conversation between Jin Ling and Jiang Cheng after the temple scene at the end. It was just so beautiful. Go read/watch it.

[mirageofadesert]

Rating cdramas I watched as a newbie pt.1

!!Spoiler Warning!!

The Untamed 9+1/10 

Acting: 10/10 World-building: 9/10 Production: 7/10 Storytelling: 9/10 Re-watch Value: 10/10  Pacing: 7/10 Bonus: +1 for Chemistry & Fight Scenes 

The Untamed was the first C-Drama I watched. At the time, my BTS focused Twitter TL started to watch the drama during BTS 2019 break and I joined them out of curiosity. The first few episodes left me very confused, while the beginning of the flashback in episode 3 failed to grab my attention initially. It wasn't until episode 10, that I was completely sold. Later on, the show made me cry so much. In retrospect I think, that this drama doesn't just have a high re-watch value, it actually gets better watching it a second time.

When I watch the initially confusing beginning now, it makes me tear up. While I didn't care about all the side characters at first, the second time around I was full of emotion and sadness seeing their story play out. However, the initial pacing was a bit too slow and I almost stopped watching the show. The overall world-building is interesting, but it left me with a lot of question regarding the sect system and the Wen sect felt especially flat. The highlights are definitely the acting by the main characters and the supporting cast, as well as Yibos fighting scenes. One of the biggest problem of the show is the production: From low budget CGI to cheap looking props, to strange camera angles and lighting issues.

I would always recommend this to someone who hasn't watch cdramas yet. It's easy to get into and the story and characters are equally well done!

---

Word of Honor 8/10 

Acting: 8/10 World-building: 8/10 Production: 5/10 Storytelling: 8/10 Re-watch Value: 8.5/10  Pacing: 9/10 Bonus: A psycho with red eye makeup and a fan.

Neflix was really adamant that I would like this show and after a while I (fourtunally) gave in. As much as I love it now, initially, it took me a while to get into the characters and world. I was often confused about the story, which actually added tension. I cried so much during that wedding. Some of the acting of the side characters was rough, so was the production at times. The romantic slowed down fight scenes really made me cringe so hard I had to pause the video multiple times. One of my favorite things is the world-building, especially the social constructed ghosts, even through it took me a while to fully understand them. The story arc between the Scorpion King and his adoptive father messed me up a bit, but it gave the show even more nuances. I love this show so much now, Wen Kexing has my whole heart.

---

Back from the Brink 6-1/10

Acting: 6/10 World-building: 7/10 Production: 8/10 Storytelling: 4/10 Re-watch Value: 4/10  Pacing: 4/10 Bonus: -1 for making me hate Liu Yao Yuan's character and acting

YouTube started to recommend the show to me and I started out really liking it. Especially the familiar arc was fun and when Tian Yao took the heart scale from Yan Hui I was ready to cry. However, at some point the show turned into a mess. The characters become more and more flat and the emotional impact of the events were non existing. The acting was another weak point of the show - and I do think it's the fault of the bad script. Neo Hou is doing a good job as Tian Yao, while Zhou Ye as Yan Hui is carrying the show. Riley Wang lacks as Bai Xiao Sheng and I think he doesn't suit this genre. All the villains are flat and boring. But Liu Yao Yuan as the dumb prince Zhu Li is a crime. I hated this character every time he appeared on screen for being annoying and unnecessary. But what really made me lose it, is when I recognized the actor as having played Wang Zhi in The Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty. He did such a great job there and was one of my favorite character. It takes a especially bad script, superficial directing and one-dimensional character to make a talented actor to give such a horrible performance. 

--

Till the end of the Moon 10/10 

Acting: 10/10 World-building: 9/10 Production: 9/10 Storytelling: 10/10 Re-watch Value: 10/10  Pacing: 10/10 Bonus: In my Tantai Jin obsession era

Who needs sleep and sun light, when you got Luo Yunxi as Tantai Jin suffering so prettily? Not me apparently, since I binged the show in one weekend, skipping sleep, only to re-watch the show the second I was done with the last episode. Is there room for improvement? Of course. The editing messed up the pacing, but I still loved it the way it was. My main grievance is that they had to cut so many episodes and side stories. I see a lot of people complain about the complex story-line and plot holes, but I actually think that if you pay close attention its all explained quite well. Only the re-birth connection took me a bit to fully understand. That's why I also like the pacing - it's faster than normal, but that led me to be obsessed with the show by episode 2 (usually it takes me at least 6-10 episodes). I cried, I laughed, I squeaked and vibrated in excitement. The acting is great through out the show, even the supporting cast is pulling their weight next to two strong leads. The chemistry between Luo Yunxi and Bai Lu is really something. I loved watching the bts moment, when they were overacting their parts only to fall into character so well, once the camera was on.

The show - and Luo Yunxi - pulled my out of a hyper-fixation, that was turning draining and effecting my mental health negatively. I will forever be thankful for this, but also stay cautions not to be dragged into fandom toxicity again.

Part 2 coming soon... (including Love is Sweet, Love Between a Fairy and a Devil, And the winner is love and more)

[accio-victuuri]

Wang Yibo Bazaar January Issue feature article

What do you hope to see from him when you pay attention to him?

Faced with a public figure does not speak, should we choose to remain silent and just observe and speculate, or should we continue to build a bridge of dialogue at eye level and continue to ask questions?

This is a question Wang Yibo asked us.

We are happy to receive and answer - to come calmly without presuppositions, to follow only the intuitive guidance of the moment, to eliminate biased thoughts, and to see him as a "person" first.

This is not an article written just to fill the page. Perhaps what I can tell you truthfully is that every word in it was written at the filming site of this work, and was typed word by word at a distance of less than 20 meters away from the person I was working on - Wang Yibo. It seems that this is necessary to ensure the immediacy and time-limited nature of this creation.

It is full of questions that may not be asked even if they sit down and face to face. Perhaps it is precisely because there is no need for conclusive or chaotic answers that these questions become more reckless, direct and useless.

In the end, not only did the answer no longer matter, but it became increasingly unclear who the question was addressed to.

Wang Yibo: What you see is what you get

Written by: Lu Yanni

In a huge room surrounded by cement, there are two small temporary spaces surrounded by black cloth: the larger one is a shooting room, and the other smaller one is a space where people can watch movies and rest at any time. There were some white folding chairs inside, which were only occasionally empty throughout the cover shoot.

For more than four hours, the only thing that never stopped here was the music - some of which were from the editor's private playlist, and some of which were specially requested by Wang Yibo. They may be psychedelic, light, noisy, or strange, difficult to classify and describe, but no matter what the style and rhythm of the music are, they are all consistent and uninterrupted.

Wang Yibo just kept his head down and said nothing, even sternly smiling, and immersed himself in doing what everyone who came to him wanted him to do. Are all similar jobs the same? Does every day of his life look exactly like the same day?

The music was so loud that people could jump inside. He remained silent, without saying a word. There was nothing but silence.

He squatted down, covering his face with his hands, and then his head. His hands messed up his hair.

He half-knelt until he gradually fell to the ground. He curled up into a ball. He looked up. He bent over and simply lay flat on the ground, one leg bent, the other leg also bent, and his hands spread out and stretched forward. He fell directly to the ground. He closed his eyes and rubbed his hands on the white floor paper.

He said nothing, nothing but silence. Where is he lying?

I suddenly thought of his name being screamed out by the crowd in that small southern town more than a thousand miles away half a month ago, and the moment of silence when the lights went out in theaters one after another in contrast to the noise. , he sat down in the seat that belonged to him for a short period of time, and could occasionally get a moment of calm and peaceful listening time in the dark.

What shape and color is the peace he needs? Does he need peace?

The stylist used a tool to curl the bangs on the wig to make them fly a little more, then sprayed them with moisture, pulled them up, and sprayed them with hairspray to make them look messy and branched. He closed his eyes and let it all happen. That's not his hair. What does that lock of hair have to do with him?

A group of people squatted there, surrounding him in the center. The umbrella-shaped light illuminated him, and all he could hear was the snapping of the shutter and the blinking of the flash at the same frequency. It was as if a group of people had discovered some rare plants in the mountains and were sampling them very quietly and carefully. He sat there, occupying only the size of a corner.

Is this a rare moment of relaxation for him? "Relaxation" - it's just our guess. How can one person experience what he is feeling moment by moment for another person? Whether it is one-way or two-way, how easy is it to "understand" between people?

He stood up again, covering his head with his hands, as if he had just hit something, or as if the fight had just ended.

He tilted his head back slightly and took a deep breath. Was it exhaustion? Or some other feeling?

The staff passed by and sighed softly: "The shooting was too intense!"

Looking back, Wang Yibo was curled up in a ball and lying on the ground again. The photographer asked his assistant for a tissue, and he caught himself sweating profusely.

Wang Yibo was still lying on the ground, his body stretched further.

Reputation, what is it?

Is there anything else that can rival the vanity that comes with being in the spotlight?

If he were willing to give one thing in exchange for everything he has now, what would his answer be? What would your answer be?

Will prosperity last forever?

"I know why you wanna hate me! (I know why you wanna hate me!)" "

I know why you wanna hate me!"

The music has changed. Clothes changed. His body also seemed to be suddenly injected with a strength that would not be easily suppressed. Wearing a white vest, jeans, and chewing gum, Wang Yibo smiled, danced involuntarily to the music, and sang along, his voice getting louder and louder. The chorus was repeated once, twice, three times, four times...

"I know why you wanna hate me!"

"I know why you wanna hate me!"

He jumped up. His long arms and legs were swinging in the air.

What kind of opportunities and luck are needed to eliminate other people’s prejudices against you or your own prejudices against others? Is this something that can be controlled by just relying on the rise and fall of one's own ideas?

The next picture is the cover picture. Everyone is working hard to get as high a score as possible. His silence then became deeper.

Someone was saying, "Let's not act like a cover photo shoot... just be normal." So everyone laughed together, trying to relieve some of the pressure and tension, but he remained silent.

What are we creating?

He was leaning on the sofa, looking lazily at the camera, suddenly closing his eyes and leaning on the back of the sofa. How can we know what he is thinking at this time? Does he really enjoy this? A question that doesn't expect an answer at all. Who am I talking to? Who am I asking? A tree, a piece of cream cake, a chair, a bolt of lightning?

On this blank screen, a new face and a new piece of clothing appear every month. What does he, who occupies the center of the screen, think about such rapid changes? Is there any panic? If not, then where is his panic? Does he think his panic has merit? Why do so many things have to be assigned so-called "value"? Who stipulates that people must prepare for a rainy day? Can't we make a decision after it rains? So what if it rains and it’s too late to make a decision? It's nothing more than getting soaked all over. It will be fine if the sun comes out the next day to dry it off.

Things seem to be getting a little more difficult.

"We have to get this cover picture out..."

"How about everyone disperse and stop crowding around him."

It's so hot in the room.

What else could he do? He couldn't go anywhere but stay where he was. Doesn't he want so many people surrounding him? Is he afraid of crowds? Didn't he live for the crowds and the attention of everyone? What does he want to live for? What do you hope to see from him when you pay attention to him?

If a little bit of the world is enough for him, how big is that "little bit"? What are the essentials?

There was a burst of cheers and applause, and everyone was very excited. He suddenly raised his arms in the slightly depressed atmosphere, and wow, the photo was finally "available".

“Well done!”

[yibocheeks]

Wu Ming Promo Tour - Wuhan Interview Excerpts

More below the cut:

1st showing

MC: Is this Yibo's first time visiting Wuhan? Yibo: Yes (nods) MC: What feeling do you get from visiting Wuhan? Yibo: Mountains and rivers (Wuhan has a number of hills and lakes and has the Changjiang running through it)

There is a very excited male viewer in the audience who gets the mike. He says he noticed a very charming line in the movie, one that he thinks would be very worth seeing Yibo re-enact live for the audience. It is when he says to Ms. Fang, "We had an engagement." MC: If you care about this line so much, then I think you should watch Wu Ming a few more times, the mood can be found within the movie The audience member responds that he hopes he can see Wang Yibo-laoshi's passion and acting Yibo: In front of so many females in the audience, I can't act this out

The next audience member asks about a scene where Yibo and another character look at their watches at the same time. Was this predetermined or was this through the chemistry of the two actors? Yibo: To be honest after speaking our lines, the director did not say "cut". So maybe it was through the chemistry with the other actor that we both looked Cheng Er confirms that he purposely did not say "cut" because he wanted to see how the two actors would act after finishing their lines.

One of the audience members compliments Yibo for how well he portrayed the villain role and Yibo smiles at this.

Cheng Er asks everyone to pay attention to the upcoming interview with Lu Yu (will be broadcast the evening of Jan 25). He says that they will reveal the photograph (that had him select Wang Yibo). Cheng Er: I also want to say a few words on the negative voices that was mentioned earlier (one of the audience members had brought it up in order to say words of encouragement to Yibo to not feel discouraged). I think the opinions on a movie are a very small matter, whether or not you like it is up to you, because you had spent money to buy the tickets. But if you didn't buy the tickets - if you were to slander us to the point of saying that this has something to do with the air forces (Yibo laughs), well this is unreasonable. What I want to remind is, if you let this habit of lying and flipping what's wrong and what's right fester - it's true that if you were to lie about a movie and flip what's wrong and right in the reviews then it doesn't matter, it doesn't cause much harm and doesn't really matter to the world - but lying and flipping what's wrong and right, this habit will fester. Just like when a person will say certain things for the sake of profit, just like now or those who are still walking on the boundaries. A movie is really not important, no matter what may be said, it doesn't harm Yibo or myself. Wu Ming is a movie that will definitely endure. So (these comments) are not important. What is important is that we shouldn't let lies or flipping whats wrong and right become habits that fester. This will eventually harm every one of us, including those who scold us. Don't let these bad habits develop. Let's be honest. We shouldn't do these just because we received money, or because we like another young actor. There is no meaning to this, this only becomes harmful to the other. This is what I wish for everyone, for Wang Yibo and for all the young actors.

MC wraps up the interview and asks the director and Yibo to say a few closing words. Cheng Er: I won't say anymore, I'll leave this time for you to ask Yibo one more question. (The audience member Yibo chooses says that she is part of a mama fan chat group and is overflowing with praise for the fight scenes. She doesn’t end up asking a question 😂)

Last showing One audience member compliments him on the smile that he has in that one notable scene, his Japanese, his gaze, his fight scenes which are even better than action movies. And he smiled so much listening to this.

One audience member asks if this movie will be shown in Hong Kong, Macau or internationally. Cheng Er: As far as I know this movie will be released in Hong Kong on the 15th (of the 1st lunar month).

Another audience member speaks to how he has seen the exceptional talents of the older generation (Tony Leung, Zhou Xun, Huang Lei), the middle generation (Da Peng, Wang Chuanjun), as well (his voices raises in pitch in excitement) as the representative of the young generation, Wang Yibo! Cheng Er then asks all the female members of the audience (who make up the majority) to bring their male friends along to watch the movie, and says again that even if they are not Yibo's fans, they can get to watch him get beat up. 😂

Yibo's closing words: I am very grateful that people are willing to watch 2-6 times for Wu Ming, or to answers the questions that they have in the movie. I think there is no movie that can not be understood, it just depends on whether you want to understand the movie, whether you really care to pay attention to the details within it. As long as you are willing to watch it more, analyze it more and think about it more, I think you will be able to understand every movie. Thank you everyone.

Another showing  Yibo is asked about the drunken shrimp again. Yibo: I really didn’t count. Before eating I didn’t really dare to as it was my first time to eat something live. But once I was instructed to start, I didn’t think too much about it and ate.

Audience member asks if it was good. Yibo: Maybe it would have been better if it was soaking (in the wine broth) for longer. Have you ever tried Wuhan's hot dry noodles? Yibo: I think I must have had it in Changsha (t/n: perhaps for TTXS)

His closing words: Yibo: To hear everyone's thoughts after watching the movie, that you are interested to analyze it, we also enjoy it and think it is very worthwhile.

Closing words from another showing: Yibo: I think time has passed very quickly. I will not remember or deliberately try to recall what I might have said or done in the past, but everything that I say and do is towards the direction that I hope to achieve and that I work towards. I think that evil will not win over righteousness. As long as we use our sincere hearts, I don't think there is anything that can hinder us. I think for all the people that slander me to spend so much time on me, I think it must be really hard work for them and a lot of effort, so I think they're incredible. For them to choose to spend their lives and so much effort on slandering someone, I think their life would not be very fulfilling. People should live their own lives. I hope the same for you. You may like me very much but I think everyone should have their own lives. I may be your idol or role model, and of course I will continue to work hard, but I hope you will also lead your own lives.

[fierrochase-falafel]

CQL music analysis part 1: Local homosexual lunatic over-analyses people singing (with spoilers)

The Untamed has 2 albums, one of which contains all the songs with vocals they had recorded for the show. While I recommend all of them, a few favourites of mine being Bu Wang (for Lan Wangji) and Woodland (for Wen Qing), I'd like to focus on the fact that only 2 of them are in the show: the classic Wu Ji and Yi Nan Ping.

It's interesting that Yi Nan Ping is the only song other than Wu Ji, the literal wangxian song, to actually appear in the show.

Considering the main characters of the show are Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, it makes sense that their joint song Wu Ji is the most well-known; especially when you add the fact that it appears at the end of every CQL episode. It also appears several times in the middle of the show (especially episode 50, where they played it about 5 times just to make it really sink in how close wangxian are). On the album it has a Xiao Zhan only edition, a Wang Yibo only edition, a chorus edition with both Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo, and a Bibi Zhou edition- it's very clear that this is a song made up of Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, whether by themselves or together they are singing to and about each other.

Yi Nan Ping, however, is labelled on the album as [Interlude], as opposed to the [Theme] of Wu Ji. It's 4th from the bottom of the album. The song is recognised as Jiang Yanli's song at large by fans, which makes sense because it's heard when Jiang Yanli is onscreen, but I am going to speculate as to why it was not labelled directly as Jiang Yanli's song despite it clearly reflecting her character. The only 2 vocal tracks being Wu Ji and Yi Nan Ping was very deliberate to reflect Wei Wuxian's closest relationships. The show centers around him ultimately, it's largely in his point of view and so we hear vocal tracks in moments where he feels the most intense. For Wu Ji, it shows his relationship with Lan Wangji quite clearly, as one of his closest relationships.

My theory with Yi Nan Ping is that the reason it's not labelled Jiang Yanli's song is because it represents the bond of the Yunmeng trio itself rather than just Jiang Yanli. Jiang Yanli's loving and caring nature is presented as that which brings the 3 of them together- when she first brings her brothers back from the Yunmeng woods, consistently when she gives them lotus and pork rib soup, when she dies to protect Wei Wuxian. The lotus and pork rib soup is kinda like a motif representing when they were kids and could just play with each other, and come back to drink her soup that tastes like home. None of the actors for the characters sing in this song, the song is more like a sisterly blanket Yanli has for all of them where it represents their bond together rather than their own voices. One could also intepret it as Jiang Yanli singing, and that bringing all 3 of them together. I think it says a lot about her that she doesn't have an individual song named as being for her, but the songs she is involved in uplift the ones she loves and it becomes 'their song' rather than 'her song'.

Wu Ji, compared to Yi Nan Ping, has both the voices of Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji in abundance. Focusing on the chorus version, even if Wang Yibo says less individual lines (which is quite in character for Lan Wangji), his presence in the song is always felt. When I listen to Wu Ji, it's like Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji are two halves of one tiger tally, the song incomplete without each other's voices pulling through. Wu Ji requires that which Yi Nan Ping doesn't: in the sense of the characters having to mutually acknowledge and be open about their feelings, singing them out loudly to the world together. Considering Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng's relationship is frought with hidden feelings and miscommunication, Jiang Yanli's open love being what brings them together makes perfect sense- it's notable that the former 2 are only open with each other when they're forced to be at last in Guanyin temple (Wei Wuxian wouldn't have voluntarily told Jiang Cheng about the golden core operation, and Jiang Cheng never actually ended up telling Wei Wuxian why he ran away in the first place, resulting in his core loss). Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji though come clean within their first conversation after Wei Wuxian's resurrection, and have always put the effort to understand the other's position on important matters. In CQL, they're always as open about their feelings as they can manage from the get-go. Personally, I feel this sets up a dichotomy between Wei Wuxian's 2 closest relationships- that with the Jiang siblings and that with Lan Wangji.

Furthermore, where Yi Nan Ping reminisces about the past consistently (the most notable refrain in the chorus being, 'Can you still hear someone calling out “A-Xian”?', using the first online translation I could find by radishtears), Wu Ji reminisces vaguely about the past but always comes back to looking to the future (repeating, 'Why not soar high and free as a bird with the winds and waves, and sing this one song together to the world?', courtesy the genius lyrics translation). Yi Nan Ping is always a soft, comforting echo representing Wei Wuxian's past with the Jiang siblings and Wu Ji boldly looks to his future with Lan Wangji. They represent very different relationships and carry different connotations to a current Wei Wuxian, but they are the most important relationships to him to the point that they have vocal tracks directly present in the web series.

[jiangwanyinscatmom]

Sorry, my wifi disconnected so my previous ask may have gotten deleted? If not, discard this please and thanks lol

I was wondering what your thoughts are on CQL in terms of its portrayal/characterization. I know adaptations can change things but I don't know if I agree with fundamentally changing characters or altering them to suit your whims?

Good morning anon, I did get this one and perhaps not the other.

I... have a certain soft spot for some of CQL aesthetically and the acting of scenes from Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan, but, I mostly despise about 90% of the scripting and story changes. (No, I won't ever drop that Yang Xia literally thought the two were just carrying a corpse between them while they traveled miles of China and that's why she made it a sword fetch quest).

Do I personally agree with the adaption changes. There's a certain way to please and respect the original work even with censorship mandates. CQL as an adaptation, was not that. I'd actually vastly recommend Legend of Fei or Word of Honor instead if you want a full adaptation vs canon text original. CQL, was from conception done to wash it of the original thematics, character intentions and the effects of those that rounded them as deeper and a natural progression of gay men falling in love.

One was the way it pawned off Jiang Yanli being so obsessed with the three of them as "together forever". No where in the novel does she say this, as she knows she is bound to be married into another family and grow up apart from Wei Wuxian in some way, SHE was already prepared for this, and Wei Wuxian had always expected to be a servant to Jiang Cheng, but he never said it would be indefinitely even in his promise. There was no indication of "forever together" among the three, Jiang Cheng also only expected forever submission from Wei Wuxian as no one else had expressed a want of listening to him (his parents as his elders having been outright abusive or passively apathetic).

It also made Wei Wuxian cope through the usage of alcohol at the idea of Lan Wangji now not "approving" of him. He did not want Lan Wangji's approval in the novel, he wished for his attentions and stated as such he felt they could be friends because they were so similar. He only grew volatile and distant towards him when Lan Wangji himself did not put up a strong front of liking him in Wei Wuxian's own presence each time they continued to interact. It cheapened Lan Wangji's own growth and realization that the expectation of "good" doesn't need to come from oppressive traditional rigidity as he had been told since he was young, and that a good person is not made by rule obedience.

There is good intentions, and there is Yang Xia. The only ones with good intentions were the director Chan Ka Lam (Who was the one to produce and film the happily touted "alternate" JP CQL ending that removes the separation of the special condensed edition to be more "Wangxian") Wang Yibo, and Xiao Zhan once they were able to lean into the original romance of the original work after fan backlash to the original script approvals from Yang Xia. Unfortunately, when the script you are made to work with is a bit of a turd, you can polish and glitter it as a fix, but the turd is still there under the gold veneer.