#and FUCK zhang teng

[casualavocados]

As long as we can catch him, who cares if he's alive or dead?

KISEKI: DEAR TO ME Ep. 5

[khaotungsfirst]

can fzr and zhang teng just hate fuck already oh my god

[shijiujun]

KISEKI Dear to Me: 3.5 CPs + GANGSTER/MOB + SALT DEATH PTSD

Alright guys, temporarily bursting out of hiatus to talk about this show because DAMN if there's anything we know works in BL-land, it's like underworld AU (hello History3: Trapped and KP lmao), and even better if this underworld AU has like DILFs and two familiar actors who WERE FORCED APART in their previous roles and who knows if that'll happen again BUT!

Without further ado...

Title: Kiseki Dear to Me, based on novel Dear to Me by Lin Peiyu Beginning: Aug. 22, 2023, 7PM (GTM+8) Episodes: 13 Total No. of CPs: THREE CONFIRMED + "childhood friends" DILFs

-----------

CP 1: BAD BOY + GOOD STUDENT

Fan Zherui x Bai Zongyi: Fan Zherui, 25 years old, is a gang member who turned to the gangs due to family problems, and one day when he's injured, Bai Zongyi saves him, he falls in love with him and decides to leave the gang, but things go awry when his enemy Zhang Teng (played by Wayne, see CP 3) comes after for revenge. Bai Zongyi is a good student, your cutest boy next door, who is independent and has some PTSD from when he was beaten up in the rain - meets Fan Zherui and for once realises what it means to be loved, to have someone to care for him and more. TWO MEOW MEOWS?! Anyway, Bai Zongyi, according to MDL, will take the rap for some fight for Zherui, and then end up in jail, but then very weirdly the official description says that CP 2's Eddie ends up in jail for Bai Zongyi, I'm a tad confused but WHATEVER we will find out when we watch the damn show.

----

CP 2: ADOPTED SON OF GANG BOSS + CHILDHOOD "YOUNGER BROTHER" PUPPY

Chen Yi x Eddie (Ai Di): They both grew up together with Eddie as the younger 'brother', with Chen Yi being 'adopted' by gang boss Chen Dongyang after his parents, also gang members die to protect the boss. Eddie has been chasing after him for the longest time, and has a sad family background as his parents are druggies and he was only able to grow up well under the protection of Chen Dongyang, and he only listens to Chen Yi. UNREQUITED-REQUITED love, but Eddie sees how Chen Yi feels deeply about Chen Dongyang (I don't know what that means from the description LMAO like??) and decides to leave Chen Yi, and somehow get embroiled in something and ends up in jail for Bai Zongyi. Chen Yi is only just understanding his own feelings for Eddie when Eddie literally goes to jail DOGBLOOD MUCH?! Anyway they will reunite 4 years later.

----

CP 3: MY BAOBEIS?!?!?! MY LOVELIES WHO MADE US GET PTSD OVER SALT?! WILL THESE TWO GANG MEMBERS GET THEIR HAPPILY EVER AFTERS THEY BETTER FUCKING DO

Zhang Teng x A-Jun: BOTH GANG MEMBERS if you couldn't tell from their loud af shirts and thick ass accessories LMAO omg I cannot believe how happy I am to see these two again. A-Jun is Zhang Teng's like follower??? Has been following him since he joined the gang and both fears and reveres him, and Zhang Teng is just angry ball of angst and revenge and vengeance, if you couldn't tell from Wayne's face. I cannot believe they're in a setting! WHERE THEY MIGHT NOT GET GOOD ENDINGS WAS SALT SEPARATION NOT ENOUGH TELL ME YALL

----

CP 3.5: DILFS? "CHILDHOOD FRIENDS" DADS???

Friends yall do not understand how I feel about these two uncles. IF you've ever watched Taiwan family dramas, these two, especially the one on the left Xie Chengjun, is a fucking LEGEND, he's in EVERY SINGLE FAMILY DRAMA all hundreds of episodes of them, he's literally like THE dude to idolise he's been paired up with EVERY SINGLE POPULAR GODDESS ACTRESS in Taiwan - I KID YOU NOT I GREW UP WATCHING HIM on OUR CHANNELS EVERY SINGLE DAY ACROSS 5-7 POPULAR FAM DRAMAS it's been like 20 years ISTG.

Anyway I'm NOT SURE if they are actually going to be a CP at all BUT (1) at press conference this week, these two made kissy faces at each other sooooo...?

Zhou Minglei grew up with Chen Dongyang protecting him as he was a weak and sickly child, so they're childhood friends, and he becomes super unhappy and upset that Chen Dongyang begins to protect and pays attention to Chen Yi ;-; LIKE WHAT IS THIS DESCRIPTION? Okay we could think of this professionally as like two bosses of a gang with their interests at stake BUT THE DESCRIPTION?! And ok Chen Dongyang on the right, he's obviously gang boss, and he relies on Zhou Minglei a lot to fix his problems for him. EXCUSE ME?!

----

The main CPs (1 & 2) are torn apart in a particular fight, and they will reunite 4 years later LET'S SEE HOW THAT GOES THANK YOU.

500% I'll be watching this you bet your damn ass because they better give me happy ending Wayne and Junzhi THIS TIME otherwise they're seriously cursed?!?!?!? No more salt accidents fuck you writer for that ;-; AND IF THE DILF PAIRING COMES TRUE even if just bromance and meaningful side eyes, this bitch will take it.

[respectthepetty]

I started to watch Kiseki last week thanks to my dash. My original plan was to bingewatch it after it`s finished if it has a happy ending which might have been wiser. However I am obsessed with Ai Di and Chen Yi. I think it`s interesting that Chen Yi tells Ai Di that they have to be quiet during their first night because Ai Di would get angry if he heard. I am not sure how he wouldn`t recognise Ai Di even if he is drunk because they have always been together but that`s not the point. He clearly cares about Ai Di and doesn`t want to upset him. But how does he know that Ai Di would hear them? Has he heard Ai Di with another man and has he been mad? Even though he calls Ai Di brother at that point he seems awfully upset when Ai Di is with other men and drags him away from them.

Anon, you didn't know this when you sent it, but I am the wrong person to ask.

I'm stressed.

I'm spiraling.

I'm laying in a field of lavender trying to snort the stems in an attempt to chill the fuck out.

All because Kiseki: Dear to Me's finale is so close that I feel it, yet I'm terrified the scene we are all clinging to from the extended trailer is a fake-out, and we are about to be MODC-ed all over again.

If this doesn't make sense to you, GOOD! Stay innocent, anon. Three episodes ago, I was worried about the same thing as you, but here I am on the eve of the eve of the finale, and I can't bring myself to fathom the show will kill someone, even though IT ALREADY KILLED SOMEONE!

But if you do know what I'm writing about, Anon, HOW ARE YOU SO CALM RIGHT NOW?! At least calm enough to send me this ask on the eve of the eve of the finale?! How is Laws of Attraction the only show to know the value of a bulletproof vest unlike all these mafia BLs WHERE IT SHOULD BE A GIVEN?!

And you're just as cool as a caterpillar on a leaf. I'm the caterpillar in the cocoon dissolving into liquid mush freaking the fuck out about death and bulletproof vests, while you are munching on the good bits of this story. Teach. Me. Your. Ways. I'm over here praying to all the santos about a FICTIONAL CHARACTER! My ancestors are judging me right now. So is God.

So due to divine shade, I'll try to answer your question - Chen Yi admitted he was always jealous of Eddie being with other people which is why he was dragging Eddie's ass out of places, (so I can't imagine him being on your level of chill if he heard Eddie having sex with someone else), but Chen Yi didn't realize that it was jealously and possessiveness until Eddie was . . .

Until Eddie WASN'T THERE!

See, I'm already detouring again! Because what will Eddie do if Chen Yi ISN'T THERE?!

I don't care if this chick is Zhang Teng's sister avenging his death or just has a crush on Baker Boy. She is the sole female character, and as a feminist who supports female wrongs, if she is the shooter, Mortal Kombat "FINISH HER ASS"

I support the gays, the goths, and the girls, but in the words of a woman who got it, Jane Austen,

Had not my feelings decided against you, sus high school girlie— had they been indifferent, or had they even been favorable, do you think that any consideration would tempt me to accept the woman who has been the means of ruining, perhaps forever, the happiness of a most beloved menace?

She better have really gone to the dumpster to throw that glass she just conveniently broke and helps step in to save Chen Yi when she witnesses the shooting because if not . . .

"FUCK"

[saelterlude]

welcome to lc musical list pt7, long one bcs i've been stalling lmao (special thanks to the musical gang over at the 18+ lc discord for being the only reason im up to date whilst sick <3)

(pt.1, pt.2, pt.3, pt.4, pt.5, pt.6 here)

103. 04/05/2024 day, yall Shu Rongbo and Zhu Hanbin duo is here(shortest-shortest duo lol), my two favorite voices and theyre good together plss I want more of them. theres also sulky SRB refusing to get up on the table after getting pushed off by ZHB aaaand disastrous clap lol.

(also, it's srb lg completion day. congrats on being the first cxs who has played with all lg) (nvm, not anymore! theres 2 new lg actors lmao, srb is still the closest to completion though)

104. 05/05/2024 day, back to back Zhu Hanbin clip but most importantly, it's LG UPPIESS CLIP PLSSS Wang Yifei lifting up ZHB is perfection, they cute. also, chaotic bow lmao, ZHB just wanted to fix WYF's sprout.

105. 05/05/2024 day, same performance as above, have WYF getting bullied by ZHB into announcing his lost in basketball today (15:1 lmao)

106. 05/05/2024 night, right after ZHB bullied WYF 15:1, Teng Chunpeng came out with 101 points. What the actual fuck man. So have this rare encore of him being tired and less energetic than usual.

107. Basketball highlights week 1, simba Shu Rongbo, mad Jing Yanqiao, Du Guangyi scored with one hand, Ding Xingchen lost his shoe too. and many many others.

108. Basketball highlights week 2, 110 points Teng Chunpeng, summersault Du Guangyi, cheating Wang Minhui. Zhu Hanbin continues to ignore his opponent, he only got goals on his mind.

109. Extra behind the scenes, bcs i wanna point out, on 00:45 Du Guangyi talked about how tempted he was to score a goal during the slow part of the song. On the week 2 highlight (#108, 1:50) he gives in to temptation, and fails to score a single goal lol.

Du Guangyi is the true basketball god btw. he makes the best shots and whomever he picks to win, win.

110. More BTS vids, Wang Minhui is a basketball failure <3, especially whenever he's going against Bai Zhuoming.

111. 18/05/2024 day, Cai Qi and Wang Minhui have a shoelace fight lmao

112. 20/05/2024, It's Cai Qi and Wang Minhui again! This time they're having a puppy boxing fight. Yes, I meant that quite literally.

113. 18/05/2024 night, I think Shu Rongbo was particularly salty about losing(6:8) to Guo Hongxu this day lol.

114. Basketball highlights week 3, Shu Rongbo gets whacked, Bai Zhuoming backwards shot, Teng Chunpeng high pitched screams, and more!

115. 25/05/2024 day and 03/06/2024, have a pair of Guo Hongxu and Ji Xiaokun mic-cupping shenanigans.

116. 24/05/2024, This!!! The most tender hug, head cradle by Teng Chunpeng and Wu Yihan. WYH in general is very giggly this performance its so nice to see. TCP, ofc brags abt his basketball skills at the end and WYH just pushes him out lol. There's Zhang Jiahao sneak pillow attack too.

117. 01/06/2024 night, Wang Minhui and Cai Qi fighting on the table again? nothing new. Wu Hanglu (half successful attempt at) pushing them both off the table though? That's new.

118. 02/06/2024, Wu Hanglu rightfully hunts down Guo Hongxu after he introduces her as Deng Xianling lmao. it's the LG curse to struggle with names.

119. 03/06/2024, "rock, paper, scissors is boring. we should spice it up, whoever lose gets slapped"- probably Guo Hongxu and Ji Xiaokun backstage. Twice, during People Pursuing Light and the RPS song.

120. Basketball highlights week 4, Ding Xingchen scoring with his shoes?? what's with him and shoes. Sulky Ji Xiaokun. Zhu Hanbin's basketball skill is like Du Guangyi without the nonchalance and effortless look. Wang Yifei and Guo Hongxu 0:0 gameplay.

Closing this list with (the last?) basketball highlight we're gonna get. And at 120, pretty number. Next list, we're starting with Guo Hongxu in orange, 3 new actor debuts (theyre really good btw), the return of hug pioneers WYH-SRB duo, and maybe (based on how long the list gets) the debut of TCP-ZHB duo (aka tallest-shortest). So look forward to that!

[bengiyo]

Kiseki: Dear to Me Ep 9 Stray Thoughts

Last week, we took a break because someone screwed up and accidentally released episode 8 early. In that episode, we got to wish some other gays well wishes on their new marriage before Zhang Teng chased Bai Zong Yi and Fan Zhe Rui into an alley. To protect Zong Yi, Zhe Rui beat Zhang Teng to death (I’m still mad about Wayne and Chun Chih being in this show just to die). The bosses then approached Zong Yi to take the fall for Zhe Rui with the promise that they would also pay for all of Zong Yi’s father’s medical expenses for an organ transplant. We left with Bai Zong Yi being hit over the head in his prison cell.

Adding amnesia plots to my least favorite things in BL lately.

“Ai Di will get upset again if he hears us.” Sir, what the fuck does that mean?

Oh damn Ai Di is fit. Still, kinda hate that their first time is when Chen Yi is this drunk.

We time skip after that ominous farewell and the confirmation that the Fan family attacking Zong Yi?

Did Ai Di put himself in prison to watch over Bai Zong Yi?

I don’t know if Chen Yi is asking Ai Di about the sex, and rather about the decision to leave.

I kinda hoped they’d change Bai Zong Yi’s hair after four years.

The Bai family reunion scenes are really well done. The dad’s breakdown at the refrigerator was especially good.

Bai Zong Yi also has brain damage! I figured something was up with him when Ai Di was so adamant that he check the notebook.

Chen Yi also super fit.

Man… this show is just not it for me. Even the reliable Taiwanese acting performance and cast chemistry can’t get me over the hump of “Why is any of this happening?”

[hils79]

Hils Watches Kiseki: Dear to Me - Ep 8

Sadness I'm over halfway through this now and am feeling the strong urge to ration it so it's not over too quickly. But also it's good and I want to binge it.

Such a good question

Just stroking your bro's hair the way bros do

He's so close to getting it

He's giving Ai Di an out because he wants him to be happy. I'm fine.

I'm not sure I knew same-sex marriage was legal in Taiwan but look Bai Zongyi and Fan Zerui happened to walk past two same-sex weddings just in case you weren't sure

I'm just waiting for the shoe to drop because there's still another 6 episodes and they are far too happy for that amount of remaining time

Oh shit here we go it's about to happen

I love them

God is all of this gang rivalry going to come down to the fact that evil gang dude has a crush on Fan Zerui

Oh, god, he does!

Shiiiiit! I should have known when they made a big deal about the fact that Fan Zerui has never killed anyone that it would end with him killing someone to protect Bai Zongyi

JFC Bai Zongyi is not having a good time of it. His boyfriend is in hospital with a potentially life threatening head injury and now his dad has a life threatening heart condition

Oh no...I think I see where this is going. Is he going to ask Bai Zongyi to take the blame for killing Zhang Teng in exchange for payment to save Bai Zongyi's dad? Oh no.

Yep there we go. I knew something terrible was going to happen and yet here I am still shocked and saddened because everything is terrible

And now Chen Yi is getting punched and yelled at by the man he loves. Look, I was expecting things to be terrible but I wasn't expecting it to be this terrible

God, now I'm actually crying

Did Bai Zongyi learn about biting the man you love from Ai Di? Bai Zongyi's is more romantic though

I have no idea why Bai Zongyi's sister thought sending his recipe book to him in prison would make him feel better. Surely that would have the opposite effect. Here's a list of things you can't bake for the boyfriend that you can't see.

Jesus fuck as if things weren't already as bad as they could be someone just tried to kill Bai Zongyi in prison

Well, that was awful. Hope things start to improve in the next episode or I'm just going to curl up in a ball

[befuddledcinnamonroll]

10 QL Humans That I Want Carnally

Tagging myself, because why wouldn't I want to overshare about who gets me hot & bothered?

I do need to mention there are a lot of QL characters I enjoy aesthetically, and adore for many reasons, but cannot imagine personally being carnal with because they look too damn young. If I met them in real life, I would just want to give them a warm hug and feed them some soup. Maybe that will be another list.

Fan Ze Rui & Zhang Teng - Kiseki: Dear to Me

I have openly discussed my Wayne Song weakness on here before. Anything he shows up in, I will want him. And Ze Rui is both gangster and babygirl. Who can resist?

Both of them together? I would die happy.

Nawin - Laws of Attraction

He is an unhinged himbo, and I want him so badly.

Togawa - Old Fashion Cupcake

I have more in common with Nozue than I'd like to admit. I need a Togawa to show up, take me out for dessert, and pin me to a wall.

Yi - Cutie Pie/Naughty Babe

Similar to my Wayne weakness, I also have a Max weakness. Fucking gorgeous.

Maya & Rose - Laws of Attraction

It's funny now to think about how long I assumed I was straight; the fact that I'm not was definitely reinforced by watching LOA.

Nuea/Phaya - Secret Crush on You/The Sign

Yes, these are technically two different characters, but I'm counting them as one, because it all comes down to Billy and his ability to portray "I am so fucking horny for you and once I have you I am going to devour you" energy.

Tee - GAP the Series

I'm still salty her romance with Yuki was so limited. I appreciate that we're gradually getting more GLs, but I really hope they don't neglect to add more non-femme representation. I mean, look at her!

Choi Jun - Jun & Jun

Gorgeous, devoted, and has moves. Honestly, I cannot get enough of this man's face.

If no one's tagged you yet, feel free to join and play along!

[bunnakit]

KISEKI DEAR TO ME TIME WITH THE BESTIE LETS FUCKING GOOOOO

so far he took one look at zhang teng in the intro and basically said "i can't not fuck him"

[solariswrites]

THE FANG TO YOUR CUT [Lil' ✂️]

Was it the best plan? No. But did the vessel need to die? Yes. So when Chen Yi had weighed his options. He knew what he needed to do. Too many had lost their lives to this vessel. Zhang Teng was getting smarter on those he resurrected. But intelligence wasn’t going to save him if he couldn’t keep the ranks, which is what Chen Yi was focused on keeping Zhang Teng to the bone. His true hunt was being able to find out where the leader was staying so he could solve the problem once and for all. 

That’s how he found himself chasing the damn vessel through the cement towers. He knew he was getting further and further away from his men and Ai Di. Which wasn’t smart. Ai Di might be human but he was just as ruthless as the vampires that surrounded him. He felt the first pelt of rain as his heightened senses were starting to dull. Soon that damned rotting baby powder smell wasn’t going to be able to help him keep track. 

“Where the fuck are you?!” Ai Di’s voice came statically through the ear piece he was wearing.  He was really getting too far. 

“Near the Hightower roundab-” Chen Yi tapped his ear delivering his location as he continued the chase. His heart pounding in his chest. 

“We are -” Ai Di’s voice was the last thing he heard as he jumped from one building to another only to have himself be jumped from the side. The vessel had doubled back around while he’d been crossing, sending him to the ground. His rifle went rolling but that little as he caught himself to be able to seamlessly bring himself back up to his feet. 

“You’ll die here and I’ll take your heart to my master!” The waif of a vessel growled out. His stench told of just how long he’d been serving Zhang Teng. 

“You can try!” Chen Yi gave back just as the vessel decided to lunge once more. His last thought before the tussle for life began was that he’d tear the vessel apart to give Ai Di the male’s heart.

[universomovie]

Qi Gong Research Institute

Zhang Teng e Ding Dawei fotografados por Zhou Mi e estilizados por Eden, em exclusivo para Fucking Young! Online. Diretor de Arte: Roupai @mroupaiMaquiagem: Chen cheng @CHEN9TTCabelo: Sheng long @shenglong833

[ao3feed-wbl]

Out of management

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/VXF1gUY by Bharryismylife Zi Hong gets a new client, Yu Teng, and he will make his dreams come true, at least is what they both want, but nothing is that easy in any aspect, and when they start to fuck without compromise, everything just gets more chaotic. Words: 3498, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Fandoms: 永遠的第一名 | We Best Love (TV), 永遠的第一名 | We Best Love (TV) RPF Rating: Explicit Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: M/M Characters: Lin Tzu-hung | Sam, Yang Yuteng | YU, Zhang Ruijia | Ray Chang, Shih Chihtian, Luo Dehong | Evan, Lee Chi | Richard, Zihong’s friends from Spexial, Hsin Le-erh | Belle, Fanchiang Yen-feng | Zack Relationships: Lin Tzu-hung | Sam/Yang Yuteng | YU Additional Tags: Manager Zihong, Singer Yu Teng, sex friends - Freeform, Friends to Lovers, Friends With Benefits, Angst with a Happy Ending, Angst and Fluff and Smut read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/VXF1gUY

[shijiujun]

honestly the best thing about kiseki dear to me is the eddie x chen yi angst stupidity LOL like chen yi is so head over heels gone for eddie but he stuffs it under a unconscious veneer of brotherhood verbally WHILE doting on eddie and being possessive like MOST UNAWARE DUMB DUMB EVER

like it's so?!?!?! like you don't treat your brother like that. if my sister was gonna get dead ass drunk yes i'll pick her ass up but she gonna be lucky if her feet don't drag along the ground as i go down the stairs and SHE GONNA GET SHOVED UNCEREMONIOUSLY INTO THE BACKSEAT like, maybe you'll hit your head, and no you are not going to get a seatbelt fallen over like that - chen yi TENDERLY stuffs him in front and makes sure his head is tucked in and then pulls the seatbelt over AMEN

also like all the plot holes LMAO like zhang teng's character suddenly losing the fight like that and they still let the dealers run and fan zherui acting like he's a fucking COP?!?!?! it's like h3t altogether again except they're all GANGSTER BROS

and fan zherui being like "i had to expose that we know each other because you were being bullied and framed!" and i'm like BRO YOU COULD HAVE CLEARED HIS NAME AS AN IMPARTIAL TEACHER WHO IS FAIR jfc

the weird plotholes we're used to with taiwan bl dramas that we know are back HAHAHAHAHA i mean i have nothing really to complain about tho eddie x chen yi and DILF CP are keeping me going on this

[respectthepetty]

Pet! It was the highs of the highs but also the lows of the lows 😭

How am I (we) supposed to wait a week?!?

I kept saying to myself, they're not going to do it to us. They're not. Not after MODC. They can't.

But I wasn't able to fully believe it.

But then I realised there is something I can trust.

Ai Di.

I don't have screenshots but in the preview for next week Ai Di is too calm. He's pouty. He would be much more rage-filled feral murder bunny if anything happened to Chen Yi like that. Especially after their *ahem* confessions. (Their 'father' is also too unaffected).

I have to trust that.

And I will hold your hand and help you trust that too 💛

DADDY! The only thing keeping me together is the existence of this scene.

Knowing that I will get this scene regardless of how episode 12 ended is what my last shred of hope is tightly hanging onto because this episode came for my entire life!

I was fucked up all day. Yoga? Useless! Grading? Fuck them kids! Gay Christmas? It happens every year LIKE CHEN YI AND EDDIE'S BIRTHDAY!

But much like you, I'm thinking Eddie looks annoyed and their dad/boss is looking . . .

smug? Like he is happy that his kids have finally worked it out?

But Daddy, I'm shocked that you of all people didn't mention THIS!

What are our two dads doing?! Are they behind some of this?! AND WHO WAS ZHANG TENG TALKING TO?!

Because this chick went "to the dumpster" to throw out the glass she broke

And somehow, a gun is being pulled.

If this is Zhang Teng's sister, our dads better not be in on it, and crying about this oversight.

That's all I know.

hold my hand, pet my head, tell me I'm pretty Chen Yi x Eddie will color match next episode

[tomorrowsdrama]

And this is when I completely fell in love with Fan Xian and Zhang Ruo Yun.  I went from “yeah, Fan Xian is a funny and clever character, he’s fun to watch” to "this man is amazing I LOVE HIM I LOVE HIM NOBODY BETTER DARE TOUCH HIM.”

So the head of the first division just told Fan Xian that they’re releasing Teng Zijing’s killer in exchange for some secret military information that will help them win the imminent war and that he needs to look at the bigger picture.  Fan Xian’s response to that?  Fuck your bigger picture, you can’t just sacrifice innocent people for the so-called “greater good.”  Oof, and then the head says that Teng Zijing was just a guard and my man Fan Xian goes OFF on him in full righteous indignation and it is the best thing ever to watch.  You can feel the full body rage emanating out of Fan Xian at the suggestion that Teng Zijing’s life was expendable.  

You can also see the very moment that Wang Qinian fell for Fan Xian and his ideals the same way Teng Zijing did.  Because Wang Qinian is no different than Teng Zijing.  To those in power, he’s just another insignificant cog in the machine that can easily be disposed of and replaced.   He may feel the injustice of letting Teng Zijing’s killer free, but he’s also been conditioned to accept that there is nothing they can do about it and that’s just the way the world works. But Fan Xian is different.  It’s likely that Wang Qinian has never witnessed a person of high status like Fan Xian go against those in power for “just a guard.” And he is visibly moved hearing Fan Xian say that Teng Zijing’s life had value and he was important, even if he wasn’t important to those in power because your worth as a person is not determined by your status or how much power you hold.  Because that also means that Wang Qinian’s life has worth.

The thing is, internally Fan Xian has the memories of a modern man so these notions of “every man is created equal no matter what his status and every life is important” are not so foreign or radical to him.  But he’s not living in the modern times anymore.  He’s living in ancient China where there’s a class system and he happens to be a part of the upper class.  Yeah, he’s an illegitimate son, but he is treated well by his father and he’s engaged to a high class noble woman as well.  All of this is to say, he’s a member of the elite with some clout so he doesn’t need to abide by “every man is created equal.”  He can very well live by the status quo of the times and make his life easier.  But he actively chooses not to.  He openly defies the head of the first division in front of everyone so he can’t even backtrack and deny it later on to save his butt if he needed to. And he does it all for “just a guard” because that is the right thing to do and Teng Zijing deserves justice.  Ooooh I swear, the more upset he became on Teng Zijing’s behalf, the more attractive he looked in my eyes. 

Of course, the head completely disregards Fan Xian and says that the exchange is happening as planned.  Fan Xian asks if anybody at the bureau even believes the “every man is equal” mantra that is carved on the stone in front of the gates and you can tell from Wang Qinian’s response that this isn’t the first time people in lowly positions like his got screwed over by the higher ups for the “bigger picture.”  

The well-meaning prince offers money as compensation and I think for the first time in his life, he realized that you can’t put a price on someone’s life.

I love how unyielding Fan Xian is about all of this.  No matter how many people tell him no, or that he should just let it go because that’s the way this world works, he still insists on doing the right thing and seeking justice for his friend who was unjustly murdered for no good reason except that he was with Fan Xian.

After episode 13, I get it y’all.  I totally get all the love and praise for this drama.  THE HYPE IS REAL and I can’t wait to watch the rest of the series.

[chalkrevelations]

Street Dance of China S3, Ep 3. It sounds like maybe I should step up my pace on these, as they’ve announced the captains for S4 now? (Yibo back, Lay Zhang back, plus a couple of new guys I don’t actually recognize yet.) When is this going to air because it is just LAUGHABLE that I can keep up with 3+ hours of this a week. Particularly if I’m going to keep obsessively re-watching Word of Honor AND try to finally finish Killer & Healer in the miniscule free time I actually have for teevee. There’s certainly no way I can watch and dither on about 3+ hours/week worth of dance show in realtime before January, at least.

ANYWAY, this ep, we get a recap of everyone falling out after the captains’ cypher, and we learn who got the final extra towels and passed through to the next round: Lu Jiao Ni, who we barely see, on Team Jackson Wang; Yuan Ye (as promised) and A Li (who we barely see) on Team Lay Zhang (ETA: Wait, we find out later that A Li isn’t even on Lay’s team, she’s on Yibo’s - he wouldn’t move her on, and she gets one of Lay’s towels instead); Bullet (as promised) on Team Wang Yibo; and Xiao Ming (as promised? maybe? as we’ve barely seen this guy?) on Team Wallace Chung.

This week: Out of 400 people, we’re down to 105. Not all of these faces are familiar, and I suspect I don’t really need to learn 90 percent of the unfamiliar faces. I … am going to go out on a limb and make a guess that one of the dancers whose name has been bolded in one of the past two episode recaps is going to be the ultimate winner, because I have umpty SYTYCD episode reactions on my LJ, and I suspect I know how this works. I wouldn’t even put money on any of those five bolded names in the previous paragraph, quite honestly. Anyway, now it’s time to start culling down to 60. We bring out the team captains, and my first reaction is “MY EYES” because wth are some of you wearing? Wow. Yibo’s shoelaces are all over his jacket. Wallace looks like he rolled a flasher on the street for his trenchcoat. Lay Zhang is wearing a baggy pink jumpsuit, and I guess, OK, it’s easier to maneuver bathroom breaks in one of those when you have a dick, but that’s definitely a fashion trend that should have stayed back in the ‘80s. I guess questionable fashion is an international phenomenon.

There’s also an empty chair for the promised Mystery Guest, and there’s a game with clues, and a lot of guesses from our captains about who the Mystery Guest will be, and Jackson does A Bit through the whole thing. I don’t know whether to be entertained or annoyed by him. He’s the only one without some egregiously questionable fashion choices (so far) this episode, so maybe he gets a pass. Anyway, I don’t have the pop cultural context to understand the guesses, and I also don’t have either the pop cultural context or the knowledge of this area of dance to grok the Mystery Guest’s identity, but he’s Huang Bo, and apparently he had more than 1000 dance performances in the 1990s, so he must be at least as old as me and Wallace, if not older. Yibo takes the opportunity to make the – very NON-politic – remark that maybe HE wasn’t even born yet at the time? That … is not the way to win friends and influence people, Infant. Also, the Mystery Guest is NOT the person Jackson kept doing A Bit about. The reveal is all very dramatic, and he does a lil’ bit of choreography from of each of the four Extant Captains’ videos before he takes off his mask, and they act appropriately impressed, and there are some girls with short shorts among his backup dancers, so that all happened. The show obviously wants me to be very impressed by him. Show also tells us he’ll have a special skill that will be very important and at least leads us to believe that he’s going to be the “life-saver,” so the audience immediately curries favor, or at least plays at it.

Next up: Rules. Eliminations this week involve contestants self-selecting into groups of anywhere from one to five people and performing for a panel of all the captains. Teams pull a number out of a hat for performance order. Thumbs up from all four captains, you go to the next round. Abstentions from all captains, you go home. Thumbs up from some and abstentions from others, you face the possibility of a call-out from other contestants, whereupon you have to dance for your life battle to find out which of you stays and which of you goes. Oh, and we’re only going to keep going until the 60 available seats are filled, and then we’re done. If you’re number 35, you’d better be prepared to battle someone earlier and kick their ass, or you’re fucked, you don’t even get to dance. I’ve said it before: Audentes Fortuna adiuvat. Only wait, ETA: There will be some last minute BS rules fuckery, in a way that is clearly intended to save someone in particular, which I feel some kind of way about - and it is not really the way that almost everyone on the show seems to feel - but I guess we’ll get to that later.

And cue ridiculously long nattering, so we’re going to cut here.

First group is Lin Meng (Team Wallace), Teng Zai (Team Lay), Bing - of the infamous motorbike flirtation - and Dian Men (both Team Yibo), along with a dude we haven’t actually seen yet, Tang Qian (also Team Yibo). Your lack of even B-roll so far is concerning re: your chances in this competition, Tang Qian. I’m just sayin’. Anyway, this is a powerhouse group, and at least Lin Meng and Teng Zai are familiar with each other because they’re from the same crew, and Xiao Bao remarks from the audience of contestants that these guys are going to go through, no matter what. They’re going to do a totally popping routine. My sound drops out at the beginning which … yeah, makes them look even more like a boyband at the beginning, in their matching baseball uniform shirts. So, here’s the thing, they’re a little muddled, they don’t move smoothly around each other on stage - their dance moves are coordinated, but they’re not moving in space like a group that understands each other. (Somewhere in here, my sound comes back, and Yibo already can’t hold still to the music.) The other thing is, though - all of these guys are very good at what they do, they finally hit their stride a minute or so in, and when they do, they hit it hard. I’m frankly surprised they don’t get passed right through to the next round, but Jackson abstains on the vote, and when called upon to explain himself, it turns out he just wants to see them battle. I can understand the impulse, Jackson, but this is already super stressful on all the dancers, and it doesn’t escape my notice that you’re the only one of the four captains without a dog in this particular fight, so a little bit you look like you’re doing this just because you can. Remember this, because it will set a bad example for an 11th -hour vote. Anyway, there’s the chance for a callout, which no one takes because the entire audience is convinced this group is too good to beat. Five of 60 seats taken.

Group two is Shen Kai Xiang – the Jack Ma lookin’ dude. He’s flying solo. He gets to stand around uncomfortably for a while onstage while Special Guest Huang Bo does A Bit making fun of all of the captains’ speech patterns and accents and pronunciation, except Yibo’s, because Yibo apparently never talks. Ha ha. (I’m also wondering if there’s some socio-cultural stuff underlying some of this that I’m not cued in enough to fully understand.) Huang Bo then tells the contestant that Jackson has probably fucked him over by praising him too effusively (he came from Jackson’s team, and Jackson already is displaying a tendency to rhapsodize about how everything is “ART”), so all the captains now will have inflated expectations that Shen Kai Xiang is surely only going to fail to meet. I’m beginning to suspect that Huang Bo’s Special Guest Superpower is not “lifesaver” but “kind of annoying asshole.” Maybe it’s to take that particular spotlight off of Chick. ANYWAY, Shen Kai Xiang FINALLY gets to perform, and he gets a little bit of a slow start, but he packs in a lot of elements and gets a LOT of good air in his moves once he gets wound up. He’s lyrical and super emo about it. I’m kind of “eh” on him – technically, he’s good, but I’m not particularly connecting with him, which I’m willing to admit could be a me thing, as everyone else seems super-impressed. Three captains pass him through. Yibo does not and explains this decision as personal preference – he likes more “underground” styles, more battle styles. Huang Bo brings back the issue of too-high expectations to help explain why Shen Kai Xiang isn’t being passed directly to the next round, even though Yibo just explained his decision and that is literally not the reason he explicitly gave. Anyway, Shen Kai Xiang gets no call outs, which seems to surprise Yibo, and we’re at six of 60 seats taken.

In quick succession, we move through Liang Hua Jie – we don’t see much of him, but we learn that while Wallace likes his musicality, Yibo doesn’t like his face (OK, doesn’t like his facial expressions, which, what can I say? I get this. If I’d had the power to unilaterally send home Lacey Schwimmer on her season of SYTYCD, I’d have done it, that’s how fucking annoying I found the way she’d mug for the camera the entire time she danced. Like I couldn’t even watch her dancing, because I was too distracted by what she was doing with her FACE the whole time.); Jian De Chao (wait, is this Chao from the first episode?) & Chen Zui – who, from what we get to see of them have some good flow and move pretty well together, but can get a little bit mushy in their moves, and Yibo likes their skills, but Lay thinks they don’t feel like a group, which what? Incorrect; and a group that’s dubbed themselves Purple Storm Show, which includes Alex from Jackson’s team and four other people who I can’t even catch – we barely see their performance, and Lay likes them, but Jackson thinks they’re flat. I can’t tell if any or all of these guys were sent through to the next round or sent home, but if they didn’t make it, then  :(  because I liked Alex, and he got hit in the eye for this, he deserves better than to get sent home because his team can’t get it together. We still have no group that’s been passed through by all four captains.

And then, next up is another powerhouse team: Gongsu Wu Ming and Hei Zai (Team Lay), George and Xiao Ming (Team Wallace), and (Xiao) Bai (Team Jackson). Yibo is skeptical about an all B-boy group, and don’t make me fight you, Yibo, because an all B-boy group is like my dream come true (sorry, poppers; sorry, lockers; my heart truly belongs to the B-boys, they are my favorite). We learn they added a flip at the last minute – an assisted flip, with a couple of them flinging George into the air over the other two of them. Wu Ming thinks that George is the only one of all the competitors who could do it, but George – who has a little more skin in the game than anyone else, as the guy who could potentially land on his head wrong - is a bit concerned about whether they’re going to pull it off. They start, and they’re all good, a little bit muddled before they hit their stride, but the slo-mo cartwheel is great, and from there, they’re off and running. This is why I like the B-boys – I know it takes a lot out of you to do this, but there is nothing – nothing­ – like the magnetic energy they can generate when they’re in their performance headspace and everything is flowing. This is a performance, and Wu Ming has talked a little bit about wanting to step up breaking, and if this is the sort of thing he wants to do, I’m all for it – give him the platform now. I’m going to take just a minute to single out Bai and say that he’s better when he’s not doing A Bit like he did in his initial performance for Lay Zhang – he’s much more electric here, and someone else’s choreography may make the difference. Jackson, Yibo, Lay – they’re all out of their seats, none of them can hold still in the face of this. We get to the end, and unfortunately, everyone else is kind of cluttered and mushy moving into position for the flip – that is not a way to go out guys, DO NOT DO THAT at the last minute – but then George f’kn NAILS the flip, so that’s thankfully the last impression they leave. The captain’s faces are a picture. (Except Wallace, who’s suddenly too cool to give us anything, apparently.) FIRST ALL-PASS. George’s assessment: “Not bad.” :facepalm: OK, Mr. Cool Guy. They also cut in a post-interview bit with Bai about the performance, and he notes that they all know each other, they’ve been battling each other for like, a decade, now. Dance together more, guys.

Moving on, we fortunately have another very strong group to follow them: Gai Gai, Wang Tao and Huang Xiao, all from Jackson’s team, and you can tell he badly, badly wants to start in on the ART! bit but he (loudly) keeps his mouth shut about this group until after the performance. The only one of these three we’ve seen so far this season has been Gai Gai, but they all dance in the same group together, and they seem to be well-known by a lot of the other competitors, particularly Huang Xiao, both as a dancer and a choreographer. They say they’re doing jazz, although I’d be more likely to call this contemporary, if I was going to put them in a box. They are gorgeous – lyrical, fantastic dance vocabulary, amazing choreography, beautiful musicality, and the way they move together as a unit is … :chef’s kiss:  I think Huang Xiao may be the best of the three, technically, but there’s something ineffably charismatic about Gai Gai that’s pulling focus a bit – just a bit – more than the other two in this performance. If there’s a weak link, it’s Wang Tao, and really, that’s only by comparison with the other two, which is a really high bar. We get some shots of the audience of competitors worrying about Yibo’s reaction, given his preference for the old-school battle dancers and an apparent “strictness” with urban dancers and related genres, but these three also get an All-Pass to the next round, and Yibo talks to them a little bit about the choreography and his (complimentary) reactions to the performance before they leave the stage.

And then. Oh, dear. Then we get a group of three – Da Mao, A Li and Tall(? Maybe? It looked like he was going to get out of this anonymously – probably lucky for him – but then the subtitles threw up this name on him at the last minute) – who are the only krumpers who’ve made it this far. Lay Zhang is really promoting them, because he really wants to see a bigger krump presence, and he’s really nervous about their performance, and he really, really should not have pinned his hopes on these three, because I hate to say it but they are a hot fk’n mess. They are … not good. I can’t believe any of the three made it this far, and in fact, we learn after their performance, while everyone is sitting in a kind of stunned horror (and y’all, I am not exaggerating for effect there), that Yibo did not pass A Li on from his team, that she got one of Lay Zhang’s final extra battle towels. I mean, there’s an obvious gap in the quality of this performance compared to everyone else we’ve seen. There’s also a lot of pacing around and standing around instead of dancing. They’re trying for the attitude, but they’re not managing it. They do manage to get an embarrassed reaction from Chick, which says something all on its own, as I wasn’t aware that he had any shame. Other competitors also are doing the embarrassment-squick cringe in the audience. Lay Zhang is literally hiding behind his clipboard. This is the first All-Out we get, where they’re directly eliminated – not even Lay can bring himself to vote “yes” on them. Now, all the krumpers are gone, and Lay is visibly sad and frustrated, but as we appear to move to a little bit of a break, Yibo displays the most emotional intelligence of anyone there and asks Lay to teach him how to krump, to distract him and get him actually doing the dancing he enjoys for a little bit. It’s also a chance for Yibo to learn a new thing, and he talks about his chance to improve in a little interview bit from later on that’s cut in here. I mean, yes, that actually was kind of a sad attempt at krump during the cypher, my dude, so this can only help you, but you also are being an extremely good guy, giving your fellow captain some emotional support right now. Thumbs up.

Next up, we have AK Dong (Team Wallace), also flying solo, and they give us a little heart-tugging B-roll about how he doesn’t have a team with him there, so he’s going it alone. He’s fantastic right out of the gate - good musicality, clean and precise, and he’s got a nice texture to his performance, it feels … full even though it doesn’t feel as big and expansive as some of the other dancers. Unfortunately, Lay doesn’t agree with me (incorrect), says he wants a performance that’s more elegant and “balanced,” and is the single holdout vote, which opens my dude up to a call-out challenge. This is the guy who looks like comedian Hank Chen, which has overshadowed his dancing twice now, because he had to listen to it from Haung Bo when he came out to dance, and he CANNOT catch a break, because now he gets challenged by three teams, including Bouboo’s team, which also includes Klash, Bullet and Colin (all Team Yibo), plus Boris (Team Lay), who we’ve only seen B-roll of so far although he speaks good Chinese, despite being from … I’m not sure where, but not China? AK Dong complains about how Boris looks at him with innocent eyes and tells him that they have no option other than to challenge, which is true (ETA: insofar as we know at this point), because they’re #36, and the 60 slots would almost certainly fill up before they even get a chance to dance. This team wins the bottle spin against the other two challengers, and I mean. :hands: This is a slaughter. They’re five-on-one, and they’re all really good at what they do, they make it look effortless, and AK Dong’s face is going to kill me. Wallace actually does vote for him, but the other three vote for the team, and that’s five more seats filled, and AK Dong eliminated, and I’m annoyed (although not as much as I’m gonna be) because I liked him, and I would have liked for him to get a chance to dance without having to listen to the Hank Chen nonsense at least once.

Next, we have Li Yue & Sha Sha, who appear to dance together on the regular. They have a kind of sultry number put together as the Green Snake and the White Snake that is … hm. I don’t know if we’re classifying this as urban or jazz for the purposes of the show, but it’s another piece that fits more into my contemporary box, if we were classifying them for most of the Western dance spaces I’ve seen. They’re good, as befits this stage of the competition, but a little inconsistent, technically. Also, I don’t find them particularly exciting to watch – I feel like something’s missing, although I can’t quite put my finger on what. I’m not sure their flow is consistent, and they’re probably not helped by following Gai Gai, Huang Xiao and Wang Tao. They get three yes votes from Lay, Yibo and Jackson, although they are … enough to maybe make Yibo a slight bit uncomfortable, being the shy and fragile homosocial forest creature that he may be, or that he may be getting edited as, who knows. Huang Bo pokes at Lay Zhang about his reaction to and vote for them. He also basically says that Wallace didn’t vote for them because Wallace wasn’t turned on by them, because Wallace is still doing his imperturbable cool-as-a-cucumber routine. Wallace’s hold-out vote opens them up to a call-out, and several groups come down to challenge, including – bad luck for Li Yue and Sha Sha – TI, who win the bottle spin. This group includes choreographer Zheng Jian Peng, as well as Su Lianya, who I didn’t realize was a TI member, both Team Wallace, along with … oh my god, Wei Ming, who’s the “Sir, what are you doing?” guy from Episode 2 when Wallace was giving out towels to poppers like candy, and I’m kind of pleased he’s made it this far, just based on that moment, alone, never mind any dancing skills. Rounding out the group are Long Long and Wei Lin, both from Team Yibo, and I think we got B-roll of Wei Lin at some point during Yibo’s eliminations in the first couple of eps. I know nothing about Long Long at this point. At any rate, everybody in this group is so good, I can finally see how they got their rep – fantastic musicality, and a great job of working as a unit. They feel like a team, even when they don’t manage to be quiiiiite synchronized. I’m not really feeling their costumes. Su Lianya continues to be a standout, even in a group that sets the bar this high. Wallace’s composure finally breaks when the other team captains evince interest in poaching her, and oh my god, he still has the hair elastic that he held for her at her initial performance, that they said would be a token of their vow to go all the way in the competition together. OK, I give Wallace a lot of shit, but this is actually kind of adorable. He literally pulls it out of his pocket to tell the other captains they can’t have her and to plead with her to remember their promise to each other. TI gets three votes and moves on. (Lay, still apparently captivated by the snake ladies although not enough to bald-facedly vote for them in the wake of TI’s performance, abstains.)

Next up are Tao and CiCi, and OK. I’m going to be honest here. I think they’re leveraging the “couple” schtick for all it’s worth, and good for them, it looks like they can pull it off, because I think some of the amazed reaction we get from the captains and from the audience is influenced a lot by their coupleness, but at the same time, I think some of the amazed reaction we get from the captains and from the audience is actually influenced by their coupleness rather than their dancing. I mean, Su Lianya and Wei Lin are in the audience of competitors clutching each other’s hands and crying, and it seems to be just as much about Tao telling CiCi out loud that he loves her just before the music starts and the fact that they kiss as part of the piece, if not more than it’s about their actual dancing. The show is also really pushing me on this, because whereas, with everyone else, it tosses up closed captions that tell me what moves are happening (in addition to dialogue subs), now I’m getting things like “heaven-made match.” They’re good, but I think they actually also suffer a bit from following the Gai Gai/Huang Xiao/Wang Tao powerhouse, because I think we’re unlikely to get anything on the lyrical side of things that’s going to match up to that for the rest of the day. Tao and CiCi are better than Li Yue and Sha Sha were, and it is pretty badass the way she manages to make herself so small and compact she literally disappears behind him for that last little bit, and if they’d won the bottle spin on the last callout, they would have won the challenge, I have no doubt. But. :hands: I think the show has actually done that thing Huang Bo accused Jackson of earlier and set my expectations too high. I’m’a sound like Yibo – or like Yibo normally would, because he also seems to get suckered into the overwhelmed reaction for this – and say that I think Tao was better in the less lyrical style when he danced with Yibo and Bing in the Ep 2 towel battle. They get an All-Pass from the captains and talk about their inspiration for the piece, which apparently is a couple who confessed their love to each other the day before the girl had to go into COVID quarantine, and well, now I guess I feel like just a little bit of an asshole for not appreciating the COVID love story properly? Anyway, the captains then keep asking them intrusive questions about their relationship, and Huang Bo mocks Lay for apparently never being in love so he won’t understand what it’s like, and I’m cringing in my seat a little before Jackson gets us back on track and Tao and CiCi finally go sit down.

Then Huang Bo takes the chance to go over to the contestants who haven’t performed yet and stress them out about how few of the 60 available seats are left. I mean, I guess it’s part of competition, but come on, dude.

ANYWAY, next up, we have a group calling themselves Team Wake Up – it’s the waackers, and this group includes Xiao Bao and San Jin from Team Lay, along with a guy we haven’t seen yet, Tu Zi; Meng Di from Team Yibo; and Gao Shi Yu, who we also haven’t seen, from Team Wallace. They start working it, and I’m like, oh wait … and then they hit the Cat Walk, and I’m like, oh shit, and a light bulb finally goes off, because I’ve been super-fk’n slow, but now they’ve shown me what this genre is about, and I’m interested to see what they do here, because a lot of this performance could be straight off the floors of the ball scene. The entire group is pretty good, although I do think Gao Shi Yu is the weak link, she’s not quiiiiite up to the standard of the rest of them. They move well as a group, though, good coordination, sharp and clean, fantastic musicality, high energy all the way through, with EXCELLENT attitude, which is half the battle, because if you’re not confident for this kind of thing – or if you can’t at least fake it flawlessly – you might as well not even be out there. They all do lose a little bit of focus when they’re in the background as they break out for their individual moves, and they fall apart a tiny bit near the end. Also, Meng Di’s belt is off-center, and I know that sounds super picky, but it kept distracting me, so I wish that hadn’t been the case. Xiao Bao is definitely still the standout here – he takes the lead from the minute they come out, with the mic, and never really relinquishes it. We finally get to see San Jin perform, and his extension could be better. Tu Zi must be lacking in the charisma department to not have shown up before this, because he’s better than I expected. Before they started, the group that Xiao Jie and Yang Kai are in together – who still haven’t performed – were debating if they should challenge this group, but Xiao Jie advised waiting to see how good they were, and then after the performance is all, “nooo, we should not challenge,” and props to you for not just writing off the waackers, my man, because they get an All-Pass, and there’s not even a chance for a callout. Before we move on, Wallace clams he’s learned some waacking during the show, and the other captains (led by Jackson, who calls him gege) make him demonstrate, and the contestants, who know what side their bread is buttered on, applaud.

Available seat check. Yibo participates in further stressing out the contestants by saying “Like, a dozen?” All y’all need to be challenging whatever chance you get. Now I bet you’re sorry you didn’t challenge Shen Kai Xiang back at the beginning, aren’t you?

Next up is our group of X-Crew representatives, hop-hop, and Yibo is excited. I almost expect him to do a little dance in his seat. Yang Kai helpfully lets me know that this group is from the top hip-hop crew in China. Oh, hey, that’s Qin Yu, from Team Wallace, the guy who Gongsu Wu Ming immediately recognized as the weak link in one of the towel battles and got up on; the guy who subsequently got taken out by Teng Zai, My Beloved. Qin Yu, the guy we hadn’t even had B-roll on, and still don’t. I wonder if I’m reading too much into that. He’s joined by Flea (which I’m assuming is a direct translation, as it doesn’t sound like “flea” when he says his name?) and Ding, also from Team Wallace - neither of whom we’ve seen before, I think - along with Ting and Lei Xiao Yang from Team Jackson. This is also the first time we’ve seen Lei Xiao Yang. I … feel weirdly unconfident about the famed X-Crew, given we haven’t seen more of them before this. Then again, we’d only seen Gai Gai from her group, so maybe this is a BigSurprise!edit … Ting comes out hard and heavy, and I actually think this is the best performance we’ve seen from her so far. She spends a lot of time out in front on this one, and I don’t think I got from her initial appearance or from her towel battle performances just how good she actually is. Overall though … I am … not that impressed with this group. They start out strong, but then they get sloppy. They have trouble working as a unit, which is surprising from people who supposedly have experience dancing together. They’re all very good, but they’re not synchronized. A lot of their solo showcase bits lack complexity, and that is an understatement. Qin Yu still has some of that nice fluidity along with his pretty face, but he’s not balanced, and he absolutely does not have the finesse he needs to pull this off. They all do move into the end strong, together again, hard, power behind their moves - almost everything from the slo-mo move is good - but … it’s a little late, y’all. That took way too long to get back together. And then, they inexplicably descend into … it’s not even sloppiness, it’s an utter hot mess during, like, the last 15 seconds of the performance, which is absolutely not the final impression you want to leave. And … wow. Shit. There are captains who actually agree with me on this. Sometimes you see the expected top dancers allowed to slide some in these early rounds of competition shows, but not this time – Wallace and Yibo both vote yes, but Jackson and Lay both abstain, and Jackson … wow. Wow. Is disappointed in them and expected more. Despite the fact that he’s like, 12, and that he’s done this to past groups just because he wanted to see them battle, a little bit this actually has a vague feeling of your dad telling you how much you’ve let him down. The audience is shocked, but I’m glad to hear someone say it. It was a good - if spotty - performance but certainly not the best we’ve seen.

So, we have a callout, and the group with Xiao Jie and Yang Kai, which also includes some guys named Shen Zi Hao, Xiao Zhi Bin and Oscar, pounces. And that is a very deliberate word choice, because these guys are on X-Crew like a lion on the trailing gazelle. They’re in their Men In Black suits (ETA: Wait, no, I think maybe they’re Agent Smith suits), and the audience of other competitors is losing it. Xiao Bao is very excited about Xiao Jie. Both Yibo and Jackson look like they’re in actual physical pain, to be forced to make the choice that’s coming up. Ting looks like she’s getting ready to throw up – she’s accepting this with less equanimity than she did the possible results of her initial performance, at least on the surface. I … am dreading losing her, actually, because I suspect that’s what’s getting ready to happen, and I am so so sorry, baby, that you worked so hard to carry your crew like that and they couldn’t keep their shit together. On the one hand, I’m impressed they’re pitting this level of competition against each other so early. On the other, I feel Jackson’s and Yibo’s pain. God. God. The Xiao Jie-Yang Kai group is here to f’kn battle. This is shaping up to be a slaughter. They are fast, clean, precise, great musicality, complex moves, super performance. They’re synchronized, high energy, fantastic animation – which could be a little cheesy, but they’re confident and fearless enough to pull it off - fun and interesting. They are maybe a little bit too gimmicky to be perfect for my taste, but I’m not the one voting them through, and what they’ve come up with is perfect for the audience that matters – the captains, the majority of which are 20-something-year-old boys – and knowing your audience, and performing for them, is a skill, too. BIGGEST (and frankly, only) ISSUE: Somebody fucked up a move, right at the beginning … I think maybe Yang Kai? (ETA: Yah, it was Yang Kai, ugh, what a time for that to happen.) If you’re going to fuck up, best to do it at the very beginning, I guess, and then give this performance afterward, to mitigate it as much as possible, but that one misstep gives the captains enough excuse put off a decision they really don’t want to make, like it’s not just going to make it worse to kick the can down the road a few minutes. Split vote, 2-2 (I thiiink, Yibo and Jackson for X-Crew, Lay and Wallace for the challengers?), which throws it to a further battle. Ting and Xiao Jie, one-on-one, and both of them are feeling the pressure of competing for their entire team instead of just themselves. Two rounds, hiphop and locking. So, each of them is better in their specialty. Ting’s got some fantastic, precise moves for the hiphop round. Xiao Jie is not as good in this round; I do notice he’s got a more directly confrontational style when he’s battling. I feel like she’s doing more waacking than locking in the locking round. Overall, she’s cleaner, more precise, he’s got a little bit more energy. I wouldn’t want to make this decision, frankly. I think Ting was better technically, but Xiao Jie might be the better performer – better at all that other stuff that adds up to stage presence. I do wonder how much of the captains’ decision is influenced by the groups, and who the captains are or aren’t willing to lose, even though it’s supposed to be based on this 1x1 battle. Just looking at who the show has put emphasis on already, we’ve got Ting vs. Xiao Jie AND Yang Kai, and I don’t know that they’re going to want to let that one-two punch go. Wallace votes Ting and X-Crew. Yibo and Lay vote Xiao Jie and the challengers. Jackson, the coward, abstains. Looks like Ting and X-Crew are going home, and this is the first cut that I’m genuinely upset about seeing. Ting feels bad for letting her crew down, but they let you down first, baby, or you wouldn’t even have been in that position.

Available seat check: 12. Dancers left: 27. Well.

We’re coming up on two hours now, and there’s clearly some kind of drama we want to get to, because we whip through the next few performances – few names, limited time spent on them. The ones who do make it through are likely cannon fodder in the next couple of rounds. There’s a group of four in khakis that gets sent through to the next round; Yibo liked their moves. Guy named Zhan Ke in a suit goes through to the next round. We’ve turned into a clip show now, and the screen literally says “ … ” at one point as each group of competitors gets 3 seconds of airtime. Cut to three seats left out of the 60. There’s about seven people left, and … that includes Chick. I have a sinking feeling this guy is going to be the real focus, at this point. He’s paired up with some dude named Long, and they have lost the bottle spin on callout after callout after callout, so they’ve never had a chance to challenge, and now, look at these morose motherfuckers, still sitting in the bleachers. I almost feel bad for them.

So, three seats left, and the next group is three people: Yang Qi aka “Apple” from Team Jackson, Lin from Team Lay and Bobo from Team Wallace. Urban dancers. I lose sound on them right at the beginning, but they’ve got some nice sharp moves, good choreography, they work well as a unit. Solid performance, if not the best we’ve seen. Apple’s got the best technique, I think. Audience likes them a lot. We get a cut to Chick and the other competitors who haven’t danced yet as we count down for the vote, and they are all dying. Three votes yes. Yibo abstains. Huang Bo is so prepared for this group to be sent right through that he starts clapping and congratulating them, and Yibo has to be all, “Wait, no. Not yet.” The captains give their reasoning: Jackson says that he felt their power, emotion, speed all deserved full marks. Yibo agrees.

Yibo agrees.

…

...

…

Their faces in response, y’all. Their little WTF faces as he explains that he really just wants to see the other dancers, too. Oh my god, Yibo. You can’t just say that out loud. Are you serious with this, you can’t even make up a thing to fake critique them on? Cut to a later interview with Bobo, who’s been the least able to school his face journey in response to this: “Wang Yibo, I won’t forget.” Also, Bobo says, you’re not even hot. (lol) Joking aside, the group goes on to make all the correct noises about sure, it’s a competition, you face competitors, it’s what happens, because what are you gonna say? Meanwhile, to be completely honest, I’m probably the person who’s been least able to school their face journey in response to this, because come on, Yibo. It’d be one thing if you were making some kind of statement about the way they set this up from the beginning, with all competitors unable to participate, but I’m pretty sure you’re actually doing this to give Chick another chance, because you have been inexplicably all up on his jock since he showed up, what is it about this guy? I don’t get it. At all.

So, we get a callout, and everyone left challenges, of course, because this is probably the last chance. The audience is rooting for Chick. I still don’t get it. Bottle spin ends up on … Zhao Hai Jie, from Team Wallace, who we’ve never yet seen perform. Here’s the thing: If he can win this battle, then he only takes one seat, leaving another two seats available. However, he is NOT going to win this battle, not without ripping off any figleaf of fair competition that the show may have, because he’s just not that great. If he wins, there’s no way around the fact, right in your face, that it’s a strategic vote. He does not win. Four votes for Apple, Lin and Bobo. Sixty seats filled.

HOWEVER, just in case you were worried there may be any integrity here, director Lu Wei comes ambling out to say, hey, you know those rules we have in place? Well, fuck ‘em. Who cares. Let everybody left battle, and whoever wins that battle can have a seat along with the 60 other people. I’m going to translate this one, because despite the limitations of my Level 1 Duolingo Mandarin, I have umpty SYTYCD episode reactions on my LJ and I feel like I’m pretty fluent in Dance Show BS: “We really want to keep somebody who’s left, so there’s going to be some chicanery on our part.” They really do not want Chick to go home, y’all. I know it’s him. It’s super extra obvious they’re desperately trying to save him, at this point. And I am here to tell you that if Chick ends up on this show and Ting goes home, there will be nothing on this earth that could possibly resurrect Chick from the Pit of My Dislike.

Anyway, we get Dai Dai from Team Lay, who describes herself as a fusion dancer and is pretty good for the first 40 seconds or so of her music and then completely loses the thread and kind of falls apart. The captains do not seem impressed. Possibly they also know we’re just killing time until we get to Chick. Up next is Su, who is Very Dramatic. He doesn’t say what team he’s from, but given Wallace’s reactions, I suspect he’s from Team Wallace. I suspect Yibo’s not going to like his face. His performance goes increasingly off the rails as he goes on. He’s got a lot of goodwill from the audience of competitors, but no. This is not a winning performance. And then we get Chick & Long, literally the last to perform. Chick spends the entire time doing A Bit. Long, who anyone barely remembers is even there, does 2/3+ of the dancing. Everyone – everyone – is apparently vastly entertained by Chick, and I just … :hands: Fine. He’s a character, but I have yet to see anything in three episodes, across, like, 7 hours, that lets me see whether he can really dance or not. Yibo literally tells Jackson, “He doesn’t have many tricks, but he’s got a ton of ideas” and later says he’s a B-boy without a power move. Anyway, one vote for Su (Wallace), three votes for Chick and Long. We’re at 62 dancers, and I cannot believe I’m going to be subjected to Chick’s continued clownery when Ting has to go home.

Thank GOD we’re activating the Special Guest Host Powers, the first of which is “REVIVE,” i.e., bring someone back who was eliminated. Yibo is immediately like, omg, the hip-hop group. Then we do Yet Another Bit where the captains cater to Huang Bo so that he’ll take their advice on who to revive, and it goes on too long when we are, my god, two hours and fourteen minutes into this. Meanwhile, Yibo reiterates, the hip-hop group. Yeah, Yibo, this I approve of - if I gotta watch you fall all over yourself over Chick, you need to get Ting back for me. So, we’re finally getting the captains’ actual recommendations: Jackson says the hip-hop group, possibly feeling bad about the fact that he’s the one who spiked their chance the first time around? Yibo is all, me too! Yes! That one! It’s kind of adorable. Also, yes, Yibo, you need to get Ting back for me. Lay says Li Yue and Sha Sha, the white and green snakes. Wallace recommends a popping group that I don’t even know if we saw perform? At any point in the past 7+ hours of three episodes? Wallace, are you high? Anyway, THANK GOD, Huang Bo brings back the X-Crew group. We’re at 67 dancers.

Second Special Guest Host Power is … “battle?” So, we’re setting up Qiang Qi Da Zhan, aka Seven to Smoke, which they’ve apparently done in past seasons? Each captain picks two people – eight total – to participate. Twenty minutes total. Increments of 30 seconds each to battle. And I guess you have to accumulate seven points in various battles. We don’t get to hear the captains’ picks, but I can see that AK Dong is called back for this one. Also, I spot one of the krumpers. (:eyeroll: Really, Lay? Because I know that was you.) We see some clips of this. We see AK Dong get to six points. He … maybe gets his seventh point? Anyway, he says in the last interview clip that he’s here. I guess we officially find out the Seven to Smoke results next ep?

Also next episode: Divided into two groups and battling by genre for the next elimination. Five rounds. Also looks like captains might get a chance to poach from other teams. Also some wacky fuckery with the dancers’ heads that looks like it’s going to be stomping all over my embarrassment squick, argh.

Finally, we get a peek at hotpot, and it sounds like they ended up with 70 dancers, so three people managed to get seven points in Seven to Smoke? And somebody’s mom is apparently coming to hotpot, but I’d have to watch the actual hotpot show to find out whose mom, and we’re out.