#but damn is Wang Yibo pretty and why I watch it probably

[jiangwanyinscatmom]

@narcissismincarnate

Thank you for these wonderful tags since I wanted to expand a bit on my thoughts on this in particular!

A lot of what I'm writing here is just personally from my indulgent take away, since I was raised in a traditionally Mexican household that generationally has always been very clannish when it came to family dynamics with blood and adopted members and I see some of that reflected here. I'll also try to messily bring up points with the original novel and with the context of CQL expounding on that "Yunmeng sibling bond" being a lot stronger in that adaption. So yeah, there's that disclaimer for this rant lol.

Originally in MDZS there is a lot of emphasis of Wei Wuxian being on the outside of the Jiangs despite being taken care of them. He is raised by Jiang Fengmian as a high ranked disciple but still keeps his family name of "Wei" not "Jiang". This is already a big sign of intention that he is not viewed as a brother/son to the Sect Leaders, or Jiang Cheng. They are more lenient in terms of who they take on within the sect, but the inner workings of Lotus Pier hold a strict adherence of drawing the line of what is family.

Notably, it is only Jiang Yanli who calls Wei Wuxian actual endearments "A-Ying" in the novel's text, and also, the only one other than Lan Wangji to use his birth name. She does not use it liberally unless she is with him alone due to the overarching threat of Madam Yu blowing up if he is acknowledged as anything more than a preferred servant. She is also one of the only Jiangs to really implicitly show actions that would be considered familial, such as with peeling lotus seeds and making him soup. His bond with her sub-textually was already stronger than that of any of the other Jiangs. She does in all but words think of him as a brother but socially, she can not say that at all as it breaches too many barriers that are seen as radical.

Due to societal etiquette he never uses endearments for the Jiang siblings. (If he ever used A-Cheng or A-Li it would be a massive overstep of boundaries of his given station. Wei Wuxian is fully aware of his station within the Jiang family, which is why he takes his role of protecting Jiang Cheng, with those words parroted by Jiang Fengmian and Madam Yu, as his future sect heir first and foremost. It is his use of the Jiangs as he is always reminded, he is Jiang Cheng's to do with as he sees in life.

The promise between Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian is also only clouded in the frame of Sect Leader and Head Servant as Wei Wuxian reassures Jiang Cheng he is there to be of use to Jiang Cheng always. There is no note of a brotherly dynamic for this promise other than the implied wants of Wei Wuxian having wished to be actual family. Jiang Cheng also is never the one to hint of ever seeing Wei Wuxian as a sibling anywhere in the text. This is a huge nod to Wei Wuxian's overarching theme of trying to find his place unconditionally as a loved one to someone.

He tried with the Jiangs at first, who made it known that there were boundaries and that title of family was not his. He also was taken in by the Wens as their benefactor, but that was another issue as Wen Qing and Wen Ning, ingratiated to him took on a level as a servant to master in their time together and was another level of distance maintained from being true family. But they were far closer in their interactions than what was shown with the Jiangs.

CQL though, erases a lot of the social limitations that were present in the novel. Jiang Cheng himself takes part in the mishap that Wei Wuxian gets into despite originally being the one to tell him to show respect as being part of the Jiang disciples and never once actually taking part of Wei Wuxian's pranks. This I think is why it is so heavily taken as a more important dynamic than it turned out to be in the novel, since they did blur that line of master/servant to be more brotherly like Wei Wuxian wished it to be in the novel. Jiang Yanli is also made to be more sentimental than she actually was over their partings and, in my opinion codependent on that bond, when she had been the first to realize their dynamics would change in the future and each had been prepared for this. This is a sacrifice to the needed theme of Wei Wuxian finding his place as he never really had one after his own parents passing. Jiang Cheng still had his sect, Jiang Yanli found hers with Jin Zixuan, the Wen siblings still had each other. Wei Wuxian did not have anything until he meets Lan Wangji again after his resurrection which there are no stipulations and he openly accepts Wei Wuxian as he is unconditionally.

Jiang Cheng was upholding the continued line of his parents thinking as he thought of Wei Wuxian as a tool that was out of line. The tragedy there is that Wei Wuxian put more weight on the meaning of their relationship than Jiang Cheng. Who did, quite coldly, in the the novel abandon Wei Wuxian. In CQL he is given more humanity in parts, but since his original awful actions are kept it's a large case of whiplash when he does act so severely cruel. It makes his actions even more stark when his nature was always hinted to before in the novel and Wei Wuxian played as his defuser until he no longer could.

[khaotungsfirst]

ali‘s embarrassing celebrity crushes throughout the years

thank you to @fengqing for wanting me to expose myself, i hope y’all don’t judge me too much 🥴i had to go through my archive to remember most of these cause as fast as these crushes hit me sometimes, some of them went away just as quickly.

tagging: @schnaf @manhasetardis @morifinwes @xiaodaozhang​ @huigusu​ @yibocrisis​

ok here we go, putting it under a read more cause this got long

MEN (since 2006)

tom kaulitz nothing more attractive to 10 year-old me than this 15 year-old with dreadlocks and pants that hit the floor askdjhgkjfdg

joseph gordon-levitt i..... can’t even explain this?? lmao.. i mean inception was and is my favourite movie but not because of him so like??

niall horan niall girls unite!! i was a niall girl until i got into larry and then that was all i cared about for a long time ksadjgkdf but i still love him!

dan howell he was funny and british, that’s it

dylan o’brien listen every teen wolf fan was mainly there for him, don’t even lie about it

seb stan holy shit i was crushing on him so hard after the winter soldier came out. he was the epitome of perfection to me! this was a big one for me but it went downhill once he started growing out his hair afgkjdfgjkd retrospectively i’m not sure if i was only thirsting after him because everyone else on my dash was doing it (also does anyone remember political animals??)

dane dehaan oh god..... listen, it’s all the fault of the amazing spiderman 2! also his look is so versatile like in some photos he looks really nice and in others..... 😬yikes lmao skdjgfdk idk man

loïc nottet this was a short-lived crush but he absolutely killed it at the 2015 esc and tumblr went wild over him so... 🤷🏻‍♀️

marc bartra so we’re getting into football players now and just look at him! he joined my favourite team (bvb) and i immediately loved him cause he made such an effort to integrate himself. after the team bus was attacked and he got injured my love for him only increased. he just seems so sweet and nice aaahh

niklas stark idek how i came to know abt him cause he plays for hertha which i don’t care abt aksjgjghjf but he has such a beautiful smile i think that’s what got me

andré silva i just thought he looked neat (still does but he doesn’t blow me away anymore)

héctor bellerín 2016 bellerín?? oof!! don’t look him up on google tho, he’s had a lot of... questionable hair and fashion choices throughout the years 🥴the way we all dragged him for it was really funny tho. i still love him he’s a great guy always supporting good causes

arón piper listen earrings and curly hair maketh the man

matthías tryggvi haraldsson once again a crush resulting from esc. he was my icon before i turned into a mdzs blog. i don’t even think he’s super attractive, i just love the contrast between hatari matti and normal matti

harry styles i’ve given in to the harry supremacy propaganda. he really is my favourite 1d member these days, musically-wise and looks-wise

bill kaulitz we’ve come full circle!! nowadays bill is my favourite kaulitz twin. it’s funny cause they literally have the same face so it all just comes down to how they present themselves and bill is just my preference

MEN (recently/currently)

wang yibo i don’t even have words!!! his look, his personality, his talent just!!! I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT HIM!! (as we all do) (also big genvy causer)

lesbian yibo this gets a separate bullet point cause i had this realisation like two weeks after falling for regular yibo but oh boi am i gay for her

xiao zhan he’s just.. so pretty and lovely. i thought about putting wwx into the fictional characters category cause i think xz looks the prettiest as wwx but xz as a person just seems so nice and down to earth that i had to put him here

bright (vachirawit chivaaree) a baby!!! his smile is so pretty and overall he gives off very ~soft~ vibes. also how does he look so good when crossdressing??

boun (noppanut guntachai) once again the jewellery got me. boys with earrings really will be my downfall one day... (this is not to say that he isn’t pretty without them, his face is also very much up there on reasons why i stan him)

tul (pakorn thanasrivanitchai) get you a man who is as comfortable in his masculinity and sexuality as tul

felix lee will i ever get over the dissonance between his looks and his voice?? probably not. also he’s just a fucking cutie

hyunjin felix might be my bias (oh god i’m starting to speak in kpop lingo) but i’m also kinda simping for him, what can i say?

WOMEN (sadly not as many but you know, heteronormativity)

scarlett johansson literally everyone on this planet thinks she’s hot and they’re right (yeah she’s kinda problematic but i can still appreciate her looks)

halsey remember when halsey used to kiss her fans at her concerts?? completely unrelated to that, i really wanted to go to one of her concerts..... 🙃 also i once dyed my hair blue bc of her

kiko mizuhara she was fancast as blue from the raven cycle so many times and i was so on board with it cause in my head she fit the character perfectly but maybe that’s just because i thought she was really really beautiful and wanted to see more of her 🤷🏻‍♀️

rihanna i mean... c’mon

michelle phan oh man this goes way back.. she was one of the first youtubers i watched in like 2010 before i even played with makeup myself. she just always gave off such calming vibes and she seems so nice. also look at her 😍

zendaya oof zendaya is a big one for me. she’s just so fucking beautiful just... how?? what??? i- AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH

lena i started actively following her on ig after she released her last album in 2019 (which is great btw) and... damn girl do i want to be you or date you??

xuan lu oh god she’s so adorable but then also so hot but then also so etheral but then also so cute but then also so beautiful but then also s-

FICTIONAL CHARACTERS

stefan salvatore (tvd) gotta love how even at 14 i already knew not to make the toxic choice ����

legolas (lotr) if you didn’t have a legolas phase you’re lying

draco malfoy (hp) if villain bad then why sexy?

anakin skywalker (star wars) if villain bad then why sexy? 2

noora amalie sætre (skam) she’s just really pretty, ok? the red lipstick didn’t help either...

chris p (skam) if villain bad then why sexy? 3 (ok he’s not a villain but he’s an asshole)

tokio (money heist) hhnnnnnnnggggggg girl with a gun make brain go brrr

wen qing (the untamed) funny how in the show i’m simping for wq but irl i prefer xuan lu... someone explain that to me. but anyways, she’s pretty, she’s fierce, and she looks fucking hot in red

[eohachu]

Post pictures of your first ever (fictional/celeb) crush to the latest one and tag five others to continue the game.

Ali tagged me, thanks. I guess 😘 @lanzhansmiles​

A’ight so I’m simply taking this as an opportunity to show off my frankly impeccable taste 😌 *coughs into the crook of my elbow with my mask on and from a safe distance* More under the cut, godspeed!

I’m tagging uhh I really don’t want to expose anyone but uh. @morifinwes​ @ttaechwita​ @sunshine304​ @treemaidengeek​ @flamingwell​ no pressure tho!!

Since 2006

Janina Fautz: Die Wilden Kerle, anyone?? Tbh i had a crush on quite a lot of the characters/actors but in hindsight Janina was and is the most influential one. Also probably my first ever girl crush (again, in hindsight bc it took me until 3 years ago to finally find out i’m queer lol)

Eva-Maria May: Yeah well I’m not gonna talk about where I know her from let’s say it was an incredibly bad soap opera my mom used to watch. She was one of the reasons why I went Yeah I Have Always Been Into Girls. I was pretty obsessed with her to the point where mini me secretly printed out a photo of her to look at lmaooo the signs have always been there and it’s truly amazing how I had been missing them for years

Amy Adams: Her as Amelia Earhart in Night at the Museum was also definitely a huge Thing to young me. Again, I had been completely oblivious about this crush for years

David Luiz: HAH! This is the point where we do NOT get into my football/soccer crushes bc this list would get WAYYY too long hahaha. I had to cut loads of people from my list for this post bc I develop a new celebrity crush every 5 minutes basically but yeah. David Luiz was definitely my biggest football/soccer crush out of..... everyone else

M*rvel

I don’t have a lot to say about any of them since I’m not into m*rvel anymore TFATWS makes me want to stick the tip of my toe back into m*rvel waters but otherwise NO THANKS

Sebastian Stan was, if my judgement of my archive is right, the longest highkey celebrity crush I’ve ever had. Mostly because I love Bucky a lot and he was so amazing in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. I must’ve had a crush on him for as long as I had been in the m*rvel fandom

Recent Past

some celeb crushes from last year that were all more or less short-lived tbh

Ester Expósito: As it often goes I didn’t find her spectacular in the beginning but as Élite went on I started to develop a huge crush on her. I still find her pretty hot but I’m not invested in Élite so yeah..... I have no object permanence

Mina El Hammani: Got to know her through Élite, too. She’s so incredibly beautiful. Had a hard time choosing a photo of her bc I’d stare at every single one for ages. Wow.

Danger Days!Gerard Way: Hah! The ones of you who’ve been following me for longer might remember my posts about wanting to dye my hair neon red. Well, him’s the reason and also clinical depression. Ended up with natural red/ginger bc my hair is too thin for bleaching lel. ANYWAY

Maxence Danet Fauvel: Pretty short-lived crush from my Skam days

Ramy Moharam Fouad: So Ramy has a brother, Tamino-Amir Moharam Fouad, who makes INCREDIBLE music. Ramy made some of his music videos (directed them? not sure), that’s how he came to my attention. Idk man he’s just so incredibly beautiful.... gives me a hint of genvy, too......

Janelle Monáe: Became a fan when Make Me Feel came out, listened to the entire album for days and eventually inevitably crushed on her

Lera Abova: Saw her in ANИА and fell in love. I screamed to my friends for weeks about how she was the most beautiful human being I’d ever seen etc etc. Eventually my crush went away mostly, but I still think she’s stunning

Keiynan Lonsdale: Keiynan said FUCK gender and I said 😍😍😍 and that’s all you need to know.

Current

*deep breath* alright let’s gooo

Bright (Wachirawit Chivaaree): Crushed on him for as long as I watched 2gether/Still 2gether lmao. I still like him a lot and sometimes lose my mind over him but I’m not exceptionally Thirsty™

Tul (Pakorn Thanasrivanitchai) and Max (Nattapol Diloknawarit): If you search either of them on tumblr you will have to scroll for a long, long time to find seperate photos of them. However, I’m not patient enough so here we are. Re: Tul, actually I want to copy/paste what Ali said bc DAMN a man who is confident about his masculinity and sexuality really is kinda hot. Same goes for Max tbh. Also Max’ lips look so soft I [redacted]

Lukas von Horbatschewsky: Also known as Lukas Alexander. He did an amazing job in Druck and he’s just a person I admire in general. As one of the few out trans actors in Germany, he had a main role as a trans boy in Druck and also co-wrote Druck’s seasons 5 and 6. He’s just a huge role model to me and, apart from that, Big Crush Material (h i s  e y e s)

Li Wei: Someone suggested him as Hua Cheng for the TGCF live action and my life hasn’t been the same since. While I’m open for whoever will get that role in the end, I could look at his face for hours and not get bored. Major Genvy, too.

Li BoWen and Liu HaiKuan: I will have to deal with these two in one paragraph bc LanLan bc they have the exact same effect on me which is. that they’re not 100% my type but I WILL go absolutely feral about them at regular intervals, if you know what I mean

Song JiYang: ohh honey. oh honey.......... hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I have a natural affinity for aquarius ppl and this one lives in my heart rent free. I’d even make him soup if he’d ask.

Wang YiBo: WELL HOLY SHIT. listen. LISTEN! the hype around him is 100% justified imo he really is That Bitch and I love him so so much for it. Fucking ICON

Honorary Mentions: Gender Envy

Here’s to the People I Thought I Had A Crush On But Not Quite until I learned the word Gender Envy:

Zhu YiLong: Man, this is the person who’s mainly responsible for me finding out AT ALL about not being entirely cis. The POWER he holds!!! His performance as Ye Zun in Guardian was like a breakthrough point for me which. certain people witnessed in real time hahaha oh I love this fandom!!

Zhu ZanJin: HIM. AAAH!! He’s literally so beautiful and whenever I see him I just go ZANZAN!! in my head and in the tags bc. well. hIM.

Xiao Zhan With Long Hair: Look, Xiao Zhan is always amazing but BLESS the person who made these manips. I can finally rest.

Wang YiBo: uhh what’s he doing here again?? Tbh YiBo is one of the few, if not the only person that gives me Major Gender Envy that I would also [redacted] if they asked. Do I want to be him or be with him? The answer is Yes.

I skipped the fictional characters bc I tend not to crush on them 👉👈 Instead I will just directly crush on the actors/actresses lol!

Thank you for bearing with me. As a prize, you can choose between a ladder supported forehead kiss, or a bowl of homemade soup. ❤

[gffa]

Tagged by @generallkenobi Rules: name ten favorite characters from ten things, then tag ten people. 1. Star Wars - Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker - mmffffmmmfffff, no, you can’t make me choose!  I know it seems like I’m probably a bigger fan of Obi-Wan’s, but honestly as much time as I spend thinking about and yelling about Anakin Skywalker, I’m pretty sure they’re tied.  I LOVE THEM SO MUCH, sobs.  I love Obi-Wan because he’s what I aspire to be, someone who is reserved but shows a depth of feeling at the same time, who has his shit together even when the worst happens, he still finds a way to keep getting back up, and still is kind to the galaxy, finds the good in people. Meanwhile, Anakin Skywalker is someone I see so much of myself in, all that messy noise in my head, the anxiety and depression that I read into his character, the fear of rejection that I’ve experienced on a bone-deep level, the disastrous choices he makes are ones that I feel come from a place where I understand what led him to them, and the fear of how hard it is to look within myself and really face myself, that I avoided it for a lot of years because it was too terrifying.  I trash talk him a lot and I yell about the shitty choices he made, but it’s never without the understanding that I feel I understand why he made them and why they resonate so powerfully with me. 2. Sailor Moon - Tsukino Usagi - My forever girl!  Usagi’s journey, especially in the manga, as someone who was emotionally fragile and would rather die than live without her special people, to someone who stands up and says, no, this time I’ll be the one to save them!  That her journey being told, from that fragile person to that strong person, was worth the telling, that her starting point was worthwhile, not something to be derided, that the journey itself, the back and forth progress of it, that it wasn’t just a straight line, is one that has incredible meaning to me, as someone who has struggled with similar things. 3.  Tolkien’s Legendarium - Thranduil - I was totally won over by Lee Pace’s portrayal in the movies, despite my frustration with the way he was written.  Part of it is that I’ve always loved the Elves (let me yell about how much I love Thingol, it’s ridiculous) and I love the connections he has to my favorite groups (I love the Sindarin Elves so muuuuuuch, I cry, even as I love the Noldor and Vanyar, too, like, I will fight a man for Finrod, okay, oh, and Fingolfin deserves the world!! and my problematic fave Maedhros ;__;) and I love his relationship with Legolas (or the potential of it that fandom runs with much better than the movies did), but mostly it’s that he’s a king who loves his people and chose them and they loved him in return for it. 4. Bleach - Inoue Orihime - I have a weakness for characters who doubt themselves, but find a core of strength in being kind and loving.  That Orihime has this tremendous power, that she could have been the most OP of the entire cast, but thoroughly rejected the idea of using it for violence, and instead only for healing, for kindness, cemented her as one of my forever loves.  She can be so silly and loopy and ridiculous, she can be “weak” in the way she cries and reaches out for people, she has trouble letting other people see the truth of her sometimes, but when it counted, she refused to break and instead chose to be kind.  I love her so very much. 5. Marvel - Thor - Thor is one of my favorites because the galaxy dumped a whole lot of shit on him and he refused to let it make him be less than he was.  Well, at least until Endgame, but we don’t talk about that movie.  (And even then it wasn’t that he stumbled, it was how they treated his depression, as one long joke, that makes me RRrrhhhaaggghh about it.)  He grieved for everything he lost, including his brother, but he also refused to let Loki walk all over him, that he missed his brother, wished he could trust him, but wouldn’t let Loki’s pain rewrite what actually happened.  The conversation on the skiff in Svartalfheim alone is why The Dark World is a movie I will always defend, “Who put me there [in the cell]!?”  "You damn well know who!”  YOU TELL HIM, THOR.  That care + refusing to be budged on what was right, yes, that’s my guy right there. 6. Gravitation - Yuki Eiri - As dumb as this show was (and the manga even more so, but I enjoy the show more), as much as it was a silly BL show, I loved this character for being there for me when I needed him.  Someone who had all this anger and hurt inside him, this depression that constantly ate at him, that he pushed people away because he couldn’t stand to let go of it, and it didn’t matter that there were people who loved him who wanted to help him, that a simple hug didn’t fix him, that it could help, but it couldn’t make him magically better--that was something I really needed when I watched the show.  That depression and the rage it could cause wasn’t something a hug could fix.  That he had to be willing to start opening up to people again, to risking more hurt, and that it wouldn’t be easy--I really, really needed that message at the time I got it, and I will always be thankful to that dumb show for giving it to me. 7. Steven Universe - Pink Diamond - Did you know that one of my favorite things in the world is hot mess lady characters?  I love them sooooooo much, like, you give me a lady who did questionable things but we’re still meant to find her sympathetic and her story worth telling?  I AM THERE.  And Pink just slammed her way into my heart with everything she’d faced, the terrible things the other Diamonds put her through, that she had to change on her own, that she never had a Steven there to help her, she had to realize everything by herself, and that she wasn’t perfect at it, that she hurt people in the way she stumbled forward, yet there was a person there who loved and cared deeply?  I love her forever. 8. Adventure Time - Princess Bubblegum - Nerdy science princess who is the sole possessor of a single braincell on the show and yet is just as batshit as the rest of them?  The one character who looked at all the wild shit that happened in Ooo and said, sometimes you gotta prepare for the worst or do things that aren’t nice because otherwise we’ll all die?  But never stopped caring about her people or the rest of the world and listened to others and tried her best to help?  And had this complicated, fraught relationship with Marceline which is one of the best “f/f doesn’t always have to be nice” relationships that I’ve gotten to consume?  I LOVE HERRRRR. 9. Mo Dao Zu Shi/The Untamed - Lan Wangji - I am weak to his character type, okay!  Reserved, talented, driven up the wall by the genius brat that bugs the shit out of him but also he loves them the most in the world, and utterly devoted to them?  YEAH THAT SOUNDS LIKE MY TYPE.  Also, Wang Yibo is so good-looking in the drama, oh my god. 10. Fruits Basket - Honda Tohru - Another character who refused to let the crap piled on her make her any less kind to the world.  She goes through so much and yet never stops loving people and finding sympathy for them, she never stops reaching out her hand.  While she’s never expected to do this, she’s never obligated to do so, there are plenty of characters in the series that are understandably angry and closed off that aren’t judged for being that way, that Tohru chooses to be open and loving, no matter how much she’s hurt for it, is a wonderful counterbalance.  And I am forever grateful that she got the family she wanted, she got the guy she wanted to fall in love with, she got to meet all these people she cared about and they cared about her in return, and she was stronger in her love than any of them were in their fear, anger, or hate.  I LOVE HER FOREVER. Tagging:  DON’T MAKE ME CHOOSE sobs

[eyeslikefoxglove]

Episode 10 - Tywin Lannister called, he wants the Rains of Castamere back & once again, Foxglove cheers when someone gets shanked

Hiiiii! Welcome to episode 10 commentary! I’m doing this one right after episode 9 because for once in my life I started on this early enough in the day I can get more than one single episode in. Hope you enjoy!

Before I descend into several “wtf is wrong with this guy” rants, let me point a funny to y’all. The corpse that WWX checks for pupillary changes is not only breathing, you can see his carotid pulse jumping on his neck.

Ok done.

WHAT THE FUCK THAT’S A LITTLE GIRL WHAT THE FUCK.

Fuck this creeper oh my god. I know he’s supposed to have a tragic past and be cute and charismatic but I just want to shush him every time he opens his mouth.

(XXC truly looks like an elven prince doesn’t he)

Aaaaaand WWX gives zero fucks about your dramatic exit stage right.

He also gives zero fucks about the fight to the death happening right in front of him, I mean, why would he when he can flirt with LWJ instead?

Speaking of said fight, I really hope they sped up the footage of them spinning through the air, because if whatever machine and harnesses they used truly spun them so fast I feel for the actors/body doubles.

Hey XXC that’s your boyfriend right there!

Today is really not XY’s day is it.

(That disgusted face WWX makes is pretty much a visual representation of what I feel when XY tries to be cute. Seriously)

SHUT UP XY MY BOY IS HAVING A FANBOY MOMENT.

I can’t believe I’m saying this but he’s got a point. Not in this case, because these five are actually good people but the rich and powerful are indeed a bunch of hypocrites. *Softly plays Eat the Rich*

LWJ is a hairsbreadth away from slapping XY out of his faux-innocent act and I can’t say I fault him tbh. And WWX is fucking smug because he is the king of being a little shit and this amateur got nothing on him.

Is Zhu Zanjin wearing eyeliner or are his eyelashes actually that incredible?

I’m making pained noises because I keep wondering what would’ve happened if WWX had asked XXC for help after people mounted a witch hunt against him and why do I keep doing this to myself?

WWX: *talks about his boyfriend*

JC: *eyeroll*

Oh my god this bit is so painful. You can see how starved WWX is about finding the smallest connection with his mum and my soul hurts.

And LWJ’s face watching them go. He’s probably just realised this was a dream you could have, and there it is, walking away. I’m gonna go make myself some tea and eat some cake or something, I deserve it after all this emotional turmoil.

(Aaaaaaand there goes XY being a fucking creep again)

LOOK AT MY TWO LIL CUPCAKES BEING FUCKING ADORABLE WHEN THEY GET PRAISED. LOOK AT THEM.

We’ve already established that I have the survival instincts of a concussed lemming but NMJ is a dude I want to get into a shouting match with. I don’t dislike him or anything and he’s badass, but watching this is obvious a five year old with an attitude can push his buttons. And he’s both a political leader and has a whole baby brother to take care off, you can’t allow yourself to get so angry you contemplate murder in your living room my dude. Furthermore, I know his way of cultivation makes him even more unstable and prone to Qi deviation; but instead of finding a way to work around that this idiot is ok with dying young and leaving everyone who loves him fucking devastated. Because why? It’s the way of his clan? It’s traditional? It’s honourable? Fuck that, no wonder NHS dislikes sword fighting so much if that’s going to eventually kill his big brother.

NMJ: I am a just and frank man, I fear nothing in presence of sinners like you.

Me, with a megaphone: HUBRIS IS A BITCH

The One Braincell Trio being MY fanboys gives me life *insert another million canon-divergences in which they befriend MY and everything is less Lannister red as a result*

THIS ASSHOLE IS2G SOMEONE SAYS SOMETHING LIKE THAT ABOUT MY MUM AND NO ONE WILL FIND THE BODY.

Ok, NMJ called Lan Yi “the great talented leader of the Lan”, I want to pick a less violent fight with him now.

Wei “let me be damn sexy while drinking” Wuxian back at it again.

WUJI IS ON! MOONLIGHT! ROOFTOPS!

WWX: Lan Zhan I’ll sleep on your roof tonight

LWJ: Wei Ying I have to go

WWX: Lan Zhan I’ll sleep on your roof tonight

LWJ: Wei Ying, there’s room in my bed if we snuggle.

There, I fixed it. (Here I come again, joking to hide the pain. Parting is such sweet sorrow and all that)

... oh hey I’d never noticed how big Wang YiBo’s hands are and now I’m in trouble. Which is funny, cause LWJ is v much not my type, but Wang YiBo apparently is now? I mean, I’ve reblogged stuff about him because he’s ridiculously beautiful but...

*falls down a google images rabbit hole*

...

Yeah I can safely say I’m into Wang YiBo’s badboy-prettyboy-coolboy-gremlinboy attitude.

Anyway back to the show:

That was a fucking great sword throw and I love the little smirk MY’s wearing.

... what did I just see?

I don’t know how to describe it, but when WZL sticks the tip of his sword into the flat of NMJ’s sabre and drives him back and you see then go through the frame in front of WC? That’s like the most ridiculous anthropomorphic version of a train dragging a car along the tracks. All that’s missing is the “nyooooom” sound.

Speaking of WZL that’s one coolheaded dude.

Ok, I’m going to go down a Meng Yao rabbit hole again. Brace yoselves.

At risk of sounding like NHS I really don’t know why MY would’ve set XY free. I mean, if he gets XY and the Yin Iron back to WRH he’s got the chief cultivator’s favour... but everyone and their mum wants WRH out of the scene, including as far as he knows Daddy Dearest. He’s clever enough to realise there’s going to be a war, so he might’ve though that if he put himself up as a spy this soon it would’ve benefited the, yet nonexistent, SunShot Campaign. In the book he also murders his bully of a superior right before “defecting” and becoming a spy, and much like in here, NMJ catches him and stabbing happens. Do I think he, like the Jins, was playing both sides during the war? Yeah, but in this instance if I were him I wouldn’t trust in the benevolence of a man who makes puppets out humans for funsies, especially seeing how much he gets bullied.

Now if we go the other direction, of wrong place wrong time, MY doesn’t seem displeased with the Nies. I mean, NMJ and NHS like and respect him as far we’ve seen, NMJ even follows his advise. Why would he want to risk his fucking neck against NMJ just to get a potential in (that again depends on WRH liking him) to spy in a potential war? Call me a hufflepuff, but I’d stay put. Right before NMJ finds MY murdering someone we hear the voice of he asshole captain who loves to mess with MY, same captain that wasn’t present when confronting WC and that was really fucking drunk last night. I’m not saying this man works for the Wens, but hangovers make you sluggish and tired, who’s to say XY didn’t actually break tf out if this yahoo was the one guarding him (back again to the bit when MY asked the captain to post extra guards and the captain told him where to stick it, we don’t know if he actually doubled the guard) and MY walked in on it. Now this asshole has the perfect scapegoat! The *insert his preferred MY slur* did it! He saw it! And MY either panics or snaps and gets stabby.

Listen, it’s murder either way, and I won’t pretend MY doesn’t have a whole alphabet of plans for every situation, but damn I cheered.

Shut the fuck up WC.

My one track mind is shrieking because MY has a stab wound in his chest and he’s just... chilling? (Like a villain lol)

Did y’all see the fan smacking the hand bit? Now that I’ve seen the whole thing is evident, but that’s pretty much the same exact show as at the beginning with the “mysterious man”. Ooooohhhh I love the hints!

HOLY FUCK NMJ IS CRYING (my 3zun ship is sailing y’all can’t stop me).

Speaking of 3zun if y’all could point me to nice fics where everything doesn’t go up in flames for these three idiots I’d appreciate it.

And that’s all for this episode. Thanks for reading.

[razberryyum]

The Untamed/陈情令 Rewatch, Episode 13, Part 1 of 2

(spoilers for everything MDZS/Untamed)

[covers MDZS chapters 52, 53 and 54]

WangXian meter: 🐰🐰🐰+🐰🐰+🐰🐰+🐰🐰+🐰🐰+🐰🐰🐰+🐰🐰🐰+🐰🐰+🐰🐰+🐰+🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰

(Each WangXian scene automatically gets one 🐰 even if they’re just thinking of each other; one scene can earn up to five 🐰 depending on the intensity of WangXian-ness. Each scene is separated by an “+”. In rare instances, certain WangXian scenes are so full of WangXian love that they warrant more than five 🐰...the last scene of this episode is a prime example of such an instance)

The last 10 minutes of this episode, starting from this moment, is probably one of the most giffed, vidded, screencapped, blogged, reblogged, tweeted, retweeted, etc scene in the entire show, so there’s really not much more I could say about it that hasn’t already been stated and echoed by many, many others. Suffice it to say I absolutely love it: I love how the scene was constructed and performed, and I am still amazed that it exists at all. It is perfect, adorable, hilarious, and simply precious. Even though it is still a few degrees tamer than its novel counterpart (I’ll get into that in the second part of the post), the scene still managed to fully capture the spirit of the original. It really is so damn perfect, thanks in large part to Lan Zhan’s sublime reactions. Seriously from now on, under “gay panic” they should just show Lan Zhan’s face while Wei Ying is taking off his clothes:

Strangely enough, this disrobing moment always reminds me of a WangXian scene that occurs much later, during Wei Ying’s second lifetime, which was left out of The Untamed because...well, there really is no bromance way to interpret it. It’s the scene in Lotus Pier when Wei Ying is up in the tree looking down at Lan Zhan, and he thinks, “if he catches me, I’ll....” For some reason, whenever I watch this moment, I instantly think of that scene, except in this case, I always imagine Lan Zhan thinking, “If he takes off his clothes, I’ll....” The sentiments and circumstances between the two scenes are hardly related, and yet I feel a similarity between them because in both instances, figuratively speaking, the person directly affected—Lan Zhan in this case while in the Lotus Pier scenario it’s Wei Ying—seems to be standing at the edge of an emotional precipice, and a little nudge is all it’ll take for them to fall right over and become overtaken by the emotions they were feeling. For the later Lotus Pier scene, Lan Zhan does catch Wei Ying, and I think that’s when he realizes his feelings for Lan Zhan. Whereas with this moment, I don’t know what would’ve happened if Wei Ying had successfully taken off all his clothes in front of Lan Zhan, but I feel that Lan Zhan was deathly afraid to find out himself, hence, his overreaction.

~~~

I love that Wei Ying pulled that stunt because he figured Lan Zhan was such a prim and proper fuddy-duddy that the idea of being naked or seeing someone else naked would've been enough to shock him into spitting up his bad blood. While that isn’t an unreasonable assumption, it doesn’t quite hold water since we’ve been seeing how Lan Zhan is around Wei Ying all this time and had been privy to his point of view leading up to this moment. As a result, I feel like there’s two realities going on at the same time: what Wei Ying thinks is happening and what Lan Zhan is actually experiencing, which is sheer panic because he already had feelings for Wei Ying but has been more or less keeping a tight control over his emotions. With Wei Ying’s in advertent act of temptation, his control was quickly slipping away. It’s no wonder he became so overwhelmed that he vomited up all that blood; it's like an anime’s equivalent of a nosebleed.  

Wang Yibo really hit it out of the park with his performance in this entire scene: I was truly impressed with how he so capably brought to life the spectrum of tumultuous feelings Lan Zhan was experiencing. While Xiao Zhan has plenty of opportunities to emote due to the nature of Wei Wuxian’s character, Wang Yibo naturally has the shorter end of the stick due to Lan Zhan’s stoic nature, so most of his emoting is usually restricted to just his eyes. As a result, chances for him to fully break out of that restrained façade is rather rare, and I think he really relished the opportunity, taking full advantage of it and gave it his all in the limited capacity that he was able to without getting out of character. His reactions really ran the gamut of emotions: there was pain (due to his injury), shock, confusion, indignation, the aforementioned panic...erm...vomiting, then gratitude, jealousy, displeasure, hope, annoyance, and finally sadness about Cloud Recesses and his family. No wonder he fell asleep shortly after, he must’ve been exhausted from emoting alone.

I think it's a significant point that Wei Ying mentions that Lan Zhan has never spoken to him as much as he had in the cave since I believe it is here that Lan Zhan has finally, truly fallen in love with Wei Ying. That’s part of the reason why he opened up to him much more than he has ever done with anyone else except for Big Brother Xichen. I’ll hold off on talking more about this until the next episode but I would definitely consider the Xuanwu cave as a landmark event in their relationship, especially for Lan Zhan. In the novel, he actually starts crying in front of Wei Ying because of what happened to his home and his family. Here in the show, while he did get teary-eyed talking about Cloud Recesses...

...he still obviously held back, not letting his tears actually fall.  At first I thought it was a shame that Team CQL made that change from the book since it was such a heart-breaking yet sweet moment, but since my initial viewing of this episode I’ve learned to really appreciate that choice. It means that the only times Lan Zhan has ever really cried was because of Wei Wuxian.  That’s just so utterly beautiful it makes me emotional.    

Still, the fact that Lan Zhan had such a moment of vulnerability in front of Wei Ying was a strong indication of how much their relationship has deepened. Even during their journey to the Xuanwu cave, there were a number of small yet significant moments that further illustrated the steady growth of their bond. As usual, they were constantly focused on each other, always aware of what was happening to the other person so that they could offer support. In addition to offering Lan Zhan a piggyback ride and then asking Wen Qing to slow down the procession for his sake, Wei Ying was generally just so attentive to Lan Zhan, bringing him water during their rest stop, which actually earned him a rare smile...

...and then when they got moving again, Wei Ying was right by Lan Zhan’s side to help him.

Even if Wei Ying’s attentiveness can be attributed to his considerate nature, what adds meaning to their interaction is Lan Zhan’s behavior in return, since he’s constantly going against his known reticent nature by exhibiting his concern for Wei Ying, such as when he worriedly calls out Wei Ying’s name after Wen Chao kicks him over the ledge:

It’s like once again, seeing Wei Ying endangered, Lan Zhan forgets all caution and his surroundings and just zeroes in on Wei Ying.  Even though he was seriously injured, he still raced down those ropes to the bottom of the cave so that he could help Wei Ying.  

Not to mention, while they were distracting the Xuanwu so that the others can escape, Lan Zhan pretty much sacrificed himself to protect Wei Ying, thereby worsening his leg injury.  

 Interestingly, in the original version of that scene, Lan Zhan actually got caught in the jaws of the Xuanwu so Wei Ying had to jump in to rescue him, which resulted in him carrying Lan Zhan on his back. In other words, Wei Ying did actually end up giving Lan Zhan a piggyback ride after all. I’m not quite sure why Team CQL decided to omit that detail. If it’s a censorship issue, carrying an injured person on one’s back seems a reasonable enough thing to do...and it’s not like there wasn’t a piggyback ride later on. If it’s a strength issue on the actors’ part, if Wang Yibo can manage to carry Xiao Zhan, I’m sure Xiao Zhan could have done the same to him, especially since he has a few inches of height on WYB. I really can’t figure out why they omitted the piggyback ride in the drama. Strangely enough, the donghua also left out the piggyback ride as well. Again, considering what they kept in the scene (Wei Ying is half-naked, Lan Zhan touches the brand on his bare chest), it is rather puzzling why a relatively harmless piggyback ride didn’t make the cut.

Continued in Part 2...posted

[thelonglazyworm]

[TKA Fan Radio Drama] Glory Professional Alliance Sports Meet (with translated transcript)

One of those fan radio drama from a couple of years back. It’s pretty fun~

Many of the voices actors that took part in this ended up officially in the animation for characters such as Ye Xiu, Huang Shaotian, Steam Bun, Han Wenqing. This fan radio drama is actually one of the reasons why they ended up in their respective roles. I really love the voice acting here!

Someone put up the transcript so I took liberties to loosely translate it here. Many thanks to Amsdia & Merlin for doing a quick proofread!

I was halfway into the translation when I realised that people who finished the book probably don’t need this translation. -o- People who are following the English translation of the novel probably aren’t familiar with half of the characters here. There’s also bunch of spoilers... Oh well.... You’ve been warned.

Translation:

Glory Professional Alliance Sports Meet

Chairman Feng: We are at the tail-end of summer, as the autumn wind rounds the corner. Thanks to the valiant efforts of the Sports Committee and the participants, the first Glory Alliance Sports Meet opens today! (Applause) Blah blah blah…...

  Wei Chen: Damn it. Why is Old Feng so long-winded today? He was never this bad during the pro-league prize presentations.

Ye Xiu: Yeah, it’s been almost an hour. Man, I’m about to be burned to death.

Wei Chen: What the fuck are you doing?

Ye Xiu: I can barely stand. Come on, let me lean on you for a bit.

Wei Chen: Get off. Can’t you see that I’m in the same situation?

Ye Xiu: Get Cold Hands to recover your HP.

Wei Chen: Why don’t you do that!?

Fang Rui: Hey, will the two of you keep it down? Have some restraint.

Wei Chen: Fang Rui, you shameless fucker. Saying that when you’re about to fall onto Tyranny’s side yourself.

Ye Xiu: Say, Old Han, aren’t you Tyranny people feeling the heat in all that black clothing? Who’s the designer? Does he hate you?

Huang Shaotian: Hot like hell hot like hell hot like hell hot like hell hot like hell hot like hell! Captain, don’t you think that the Alliance must be brain dead from the heat? What’s with organizing such a stupid Sports Meet before the competitions? That’s totally heartless and inhuman! Don’t you agree, Captain? Don’t you agree?

Yu Wenzhou: Chairman Feng has mentioned that the body is essential to playing games. Therefore pro-players also need to train up.

Wei Chen: Haha. Do you really buy that explanation?

Yu Wenzhou: Ah. Hello Captain Wei.

Huang Shaotian: Say, Boss Wei. How could you eavesdrop on others’ conversations?

Wei Chen: Bullshit, kid. Who needs to eavesdrop when you’re that loud? Didn’t you see Old Feng glaring at you from the corner of his eyes? [Pang Guang = corner of his eyes]

Huang Shaotian: Side glance, Boss, it should be side glance. “Pang Guang” is for pissing. [Pang Guang = bladder]

Wei Chen: Piss off! I meant “pang” as in side! Are you looking for a beating?

Huang Shaotian: Hey, hey, a gentleman doesn’t raise his hands.

Wei Chen: (hitting while saying) I am so raising them! Raising and using them!

Huang Shaotian: Sidestepping, sidestepping. Haha, heh, you can’t hit me~

Cheng Guo: (speechless) Seriously, that’s enough...

Tang Rou: Frankly, it’s a pretty daunting task for people who aren’t used to working out to compete in such sweltering heat.

Ye Xiu: Sigh. Should have applied for sick leave. I’m starting to miss the keyboard and in-game world.

Lin Jingyan: God Ye is sick? What illness?

Han Wenqing: Final stage of lazy cancer.

Everyone: Pft! (laughter)

Steam Bun: What? Boss has cancer? Oh no! When did that happen?

Ye Xiu: Steam Bun, you...

Su Mucheng: Shh. Quiet, quiet. The Chairman is almost done with his speech.

Chairman Feng: … And I hereby announce, the Glory Alliance Friendly Sports Meet, starts now!

  Pan Lin: Hello everyone, I am Pan Lin, your announcer for today.

Li Yibo: And I am Li Yibo.

Pan Lin: First up is the Men’s 200m heats. Let us put our hands together to welcome our first group of competitors!

Li Yibo: They are: Wei Chen from Team Happy, Huang Shaotian from Team Blue Rain, Xiao Shiqin from Team Thunderclap, Wu Yuce from Team Void, and Li Hua from Team Misty Rain.

Wei Chen: Thank you! Thank you, everyone, for all your wishes and support towards me.

Huang Shaotian: Boss Wei, please keep your shamelessness in check. Are you sure those cheers are for you? Take a closer look. See, those are obviously banners for Blue Rain!

Blue Rain Fans: Blue Rain, Blue Rain is the best! Blue Rain, Blue Rain beats the rest!

Wei Chen: Hah. It even rhymes.

Pan Lin: Ok, everyone is prepared and ready to go. And the referee raises his gun.

(Cheers)

Pan Lin: And with a bang, Huang Shaotian is the first to head off, as expected of the best opportunist of the Alliance!

Li Yibo: Right on his heels is Wu Yuce. Ah! And Wu Yuce has overtaken Huang Shaotian! He is fast!

Pan Lin: But Huang Shaotian is not giving up. He is speeding up, and it seems… That he’s shouting something?

Huang Shaotian: Fuck you fuck you fuck you fuck you! Look, here’s my triple slash speed boost! AHHHH!

Li Yibo: Huang Shaotian sure is energetic...

Pan Lin: Ah, Li Hua is also close behind! And Misty Rain’s female fans are screaming their hearts out!

Li Yibo: Over at the finishing point, Dai Yanqi is waving her arms wildly, cheering for her team captain, Xiao Shiqin. Such touching team spirit!

Dai Yanqi: Good luck, Captain! All the best! Captain is the coolest! (squeals)

Pan Lin: And so, Wei Chen is the last of them! He’s quite a distance from the finishing line, it’ll be quite hard to catch up.

Li Yibo: Well, it does seem like this level of activity is somewhat taxing for the old guard.

Pan Lin: Yeah.

Wei Chen: (sounds of panting and slow steps)

Pan Lin: As Wei Chen gets slower and slower, Wu Yuce becomes the first to cross the finishing line! That’s truly rare athleticism for a professional gamer!

 (Wei Chen stops, panting)

Wei Chen: (gasping)

Ye Xiu: Say, can you still go on?

Wei Chen: Old… Old me… Is… Is just… Just...

Ye Xiu: I understand, I understand. This elderly one is proving a point~ Shall I call an ambulance for you?

Wei Chen: … Fuck off...!

 Li Yibo: Next up, the 2nd heats of Men’s 200m is about to start. In the order of their respective lanes are: Wang Jiexi of Team Tiny Herb, Zhang Jiale from Team Tyranny, Zhou Zekai from Team Samsara, Yang Cong from Team 301, and Zou Yuan from Team Hundred Blossoms.

Zhang Xinjie: You’re up, Senior Zhang Jiale.

Lin Jingyan: All the best! We believe in you.

Zhang Jiale: No sweat. 200m is nothing.

Ye Xiu: Good luck, Le Le. Aim for number 2~

Zhang Jiale: (shows the middle finger) Fuck you!

 Jiang Botao: Captain, do your best too.

Zhou Zekai: Mm!

Ye Xiu: Xiao Zhou looks like the kind who exercises regularly.

Zhou Zekai: Yes. Every day 20.

Ye Xiu: 20?

Zhou Zekai: 500m, 20 rounds.

Ye Xiu: …(awkward cough) Erm, go on quickly, the referee’s calling for you.

 Pan Lin: Great, everyone’s now in their respective lanes.

(Gunshot)

 Li Yibo: And the race starts! Zhou Zekai is staying put in the lead position and behind him are Zhang Jiale, Zou Yuan, Wang Jiexi, and Yang Cong.

Huang Shaotian: The hell? Does Zhou Zekai intend to run all the way with this speed? Good looks, great gaming skills, and this good at running? Heaven is being absurdly unfair!

Ye Xiu: Uh-huh, it’s quite unfair.

Huang Shaotian: You think so too, right?

Ye Xiu: Why are his conversation skill points all given to you?

Huang Shaotian: … You asshole!

 Pan Lin: There’s 50m left! 30m! And Zhou Zekai has started sprinting! He’s sprinting!

Li Yibo: Awesome! Zhou Zekai leads all the way and is the first to cross the finishing line! That was superb!

Pan Lin: Zhang Jiale also meets everyone’s expectations, doing a good job of taking the number 2 spot. Ah, he’s pointing his... Middle finger at me, expressing his current, erm, enthusiastic feelings...

 Ye Xiu: Take it easy, Old Sun.

Sun Zheping: Thanks.

(Ye Xiu turns, almost bumping into incoming Zhang Jiale)

Ye Xiu: Whoa! Hey, aren’t you too eager to see Old Sun? After all, Zhang Xinjie’s also in this round. You should put on your professional best to support your team, Tyranny.

Zhang Jiale: (gasping) Pah! As if you have any right to criticize me. Who’s the one that’s been going around all morning, putting a wedge among the rivals in competition?

(Zhang Jiale turns to wave at Sun Zheping)

Zhang Jiale: Do your best, Big Sun!

(A sudden burst of fangirls screaming among the spectators)

Fangirls: Zhang Jiale! Sun Zheping! One million years of Blossom and Blood! One~ Million~ Years~ [Blossom and Blood: their famous combo move]

Zhang Jiale: (shocked) What the hell… What is this!?

Ye Xiu: Just focus on watching the game...

(Zhang Jiale drinks water)

Zhang Jiale: (swallows) Sigh, I can’t tell what Sun Zheping is thinking. He usually doesn’t exercise. It’s a miracle if he even bothers to sweep the floor…. Hey, don’t spread this around. I’m screwed if he finds out I’ve been complaining behind his back.

Ye Xiu: No problem~

(Ye Xiu turns his head to shout)

Ye Xiu: Dear friends from Heavenly Sword! I’ve heard that Old Sun doesn’t even sweep his own floor! Send my heartfelt regards to your cleaning lady!

(Zhang Jiale spits out his drink)

Zhang Jiale: (coughs) Fuck, do you want to die? Don’t run!

Ye Xiu: I am off~

(Ye Xiu runs off)

Zhang Jiale: (shouts) Just you wait, Old Ye! I will get my revenge someday!

 (At Samsara)

Du Ming: This looks nice. This one’s also good. So hard to choose...

Lu Boyuan: Du Ming! What are you doing, acting so suspiciously?

Du Ming: Ah?! No...nothing in particular!

(Phone is snatched)

Du Ming: Hey! Give it back!

Lu Boyuan: Yo! Pretty lady Tang Rou huh~ Not a bad photo.

(Jiang Botao walks over)

Jiang Botao: Tang Rou?

Du Ming: Um.. Taken just… Just now during the Women’s 200m race.

(Swipes the phone)

Jiang Botao: Well, this one looks nice.

Du Ming: Thank you, Vice Captain.

Jiang Botao: What is it for?

Lu Boyuan: Need you ask? For his handphone wallpaper, of course~

Du Ming: Go away!

 Li Yibo: The morning matches have all ended. We will continue in the afternoon at 1.30pm. Have a good break, and we’ll see you again in the afternoon!

 Li Yibo: Hello everyone, good afternoon! I am Li Yibo.

Pan Lin: And I am Pan Lin.

Li Yibo: Welcome back to the live of the first ever Glory Sports Meets. You probably still can’t get enough of the exciting matches from this morning. Worry not, as there’s more to come!

Pan Lin: First up is the finals for Men’s Long Jump. In this match, we have our famed Glory Textbook, God Ye Xiu! A rare sighting indeed!

Li Yibo: That’s right! What else could be more exciting than that?

(Behind the scenes)

Ye Xiu: Say… Is it too late for me to back out...?

Chen Guo: Too late! Go, go!

Su Mucheng: Do your best~

Steam Bun: Good luck, Boss! Good luck!

(Ye Xiu is pushed out)

(Crowd cheering)

Pan Lin: Oh? Speak of the devil! Team Happy’s Captain, Ye Xiu, has just appeared on the pit.

Li Yibo: God Ye Xiu immediately strikes up a conversation with Sun Xiang who is also competing in this category.

Pan Lin: The two of them have a somewhat delicate relation in the Pro-Alliance. I can’t help but wonder what they might talk about before the match.

Li Yibo: Now that you’ve mentioned it, I’m curious too!

(Ye Xiu walks over)

Ye Xiu: Comrade Sun Xiang looks spirited. But are you prepared to admit your loss to this awesomeness in front of you?

Sun XIang: You…!

Jiang Botao: Sun Xiang, it’s your turn!

(Crowd cheering)

Sun Xiang: Hnn!

(Sun Xiang left)

Ye Xiu: Ah, that kid’s still as impulsive as ever.

(Sun Xiang aims)

Sun Xiang: Hng!

(Sun Xiang jumps)

Pan Lin: Sun Xiang’s record is a little unexpected… But to be able to jump 2.5m, it’s already not bad for a professional gamer, right? Yibo?

Li Yibo: Haha! That’s right. After Sun Xiang, we’ve now come to Ye Xiu’s turn. Fans here are pretty worked up right now! Ah, someone just threw a water bottle from Tyranny’s side.

(Cheers and Boos)

Ye Xiu: Fans are way too passionate. Oh well, with my overwhelming popularity, that can’t be helped.

(Ye Xiu walks over)

Pan Lin: God Ye Xiu is getting ready to jump! What will his result be? Let‘s keep our eyes peeled!

Ye Xiu: 1, 2, 3… Hey ho!

(Ye Xiu jumps and lands)

(Crowd boos)

Pan Lin: (awkward).....Erm… Ah…. This is a friendly match after all, nobody is a professional athlete. 1.9m is already quite good...

Li Yibo: Yes, yes… Ye Xiu is probably much better performing in Glory. Erm…. Moving on to the next match!

  (Behind the scenes of Team Happy)

Wei Chen: My back is about to break!

Ye Xiu: Don’t say anymore. I have a headache – it’s as if I’ve listened Huang Shaotian perform a crosstalk…. For that team captain friendly something-or-other match later, can I pretend I’m dead?

(Chen Guo jumps up and slaps Ye Xiu’s back)

Chen Guo: Of course not!

Ye Xiu: Oooh ouch ouch pain pain pain!

Chen Guo: Other teams have gotten quite a few champions! We have nothing except for Steam Bun’s win at discus throwing!

Ye Xiu: Sis, it’s just a friendly match…. Surely you don’t have to be so serious?

Chen Guo: Even if it’s a friendly match!

Wei Chen: Girl, you’re getting desperate...

Chen Guo: Shut up!

 Pan Lin: Everyone! We are now at the most exciting part of the day! The final match of this Sports Meet, the Three-Legged 200m Run!

Li Yibo: This is a friendly match where all the team captains participate together in groups of two. Each group is decided by random draw. Isn’t it exciting? Aren’t you looking forward to it?

(Crowd cheers and screams)

Li Yibo: Let us take a look at the final outcome of the draw.

Pan Lin: Okay.

Li Yibo: Blue Rain’s Yu Wenzhou with Samsara’s Zhou Zekai; Void’s Li Xuan with Hundred Blossom’s Yu Feng.

Pan Lin: Tiny Herb’s Wang Jiexi and Excellent Era’s Qiu Fei….. Oh? Who’d have thought, who’d have thought!? Team Happy’s Ye Xiu and Tyranny drew the same lot! Hahahahaha! This must be destiny!

(behind the scenes)

Ye Xiu: Are they trying to make a joke out of me?

Fang Rui: My, my! What a rare matchup! O’ Great Ye Xiu is lucky today!

Tang Rou: Do your best, I favour you two.

Wei Chen: (claps Ye Xiu’s shoulder) I truly admire the close relationship you two share.

Qiao Yifan: Captain, be careful not to trip.

An Wenyi: Captain, you… are really my idol.

Luo Ji: Captain, we’ll all be cheering for you!

Su Mucheng: I needn’t say anything. You know~

Mo Fan: Er… Good luck.

Chen Guo: (claps Ye Xiu’s shoulder) Get a hold of yourself! See, even Mo Fan is cheering for you. Do a good job and don’t tarnish Happy’s reputation!

Ye Xiu: You all definitely planned this together...

(Tyranny’s F4 comes over)

Zhang Jiale: Hahahaha! Serves you right! Karma’s a bitch!

Zhang Xinjie: (serious) All the best. I believe in the unspoken understanding between Captain and Senior Ye Xiu.

Lin Jingyan: (gleefully fanning fires) Haha! Me too!

(elbows Han Wenqing)

Ye Xiu: Wipe off that suffering look, Old Han. Do you think I’m happy? This is the fault of the ballot...

Han Wenqing: Don’t drag me down.

Ye Xiu: Che. That’s my line. Don’t you dare trip in the middle of it. Many pairs of eyes will be staring hard at you.

Han Wenqing: Same to you.

Steam Bun: Boss, you can definitely do it!

Fang Rui: Good luck, good luck~

Steam Bun: Good luck, Boss!

(Crowd cheers)

Tyranny Fans: Tyranny! All the best! Tyranny! All the best!

Happy Fans: Go Happy, go! Go Happy, go!

Su Mucheng: What’s there to fight about when those two are already tied together… Do the fans still want them to fight each other while tied up?

Wei Chen: Must be a sin...

Huang Shaotian: Captain good luck good luck good luck! Zhou Zekai, don’t you dare drag our Captain down!

Sun Xiang: For all you know, it’s the other way round.

Huang Shaotian: What about it? You looking for a fight? Tonight 8pm PK in the arena! Whoever doesn’t turn up is a scaredy cat!

Sun Xiang: Fine! What’s there to be afraid of?

 Ye Xiu: It’s real lively, huh.  Say, Old Han, let’s start with the tied legs first. Look at Xiao Shiqin and Yunxiu discussing, (leans over to whisper) I’ve heard all their tactics.

Han Wenqing: So did I.

Ye Xiu: Bravo, Old Han. Never knew that your heart’s pretty black too.

Han Wenqing: Hn, not as black as yours.

Ye Xiu: Hah.

 Li Yibo: All the groups have been announced and the team captain’s legs are all tied together. Everyone’s ready to go.

Pan Lin: I’m sure all the fans with us are as excited as we are. Let’s cut the chatter. An amazing race is about to start!

Ye Xiu: (whisper) It’s this leg.

Han Wenqing: Shut up.

(Gunshot, Crowd cheers)

Fans: Go! Go!

Pan Lin: This three-legged match demands synchronisation from both partners. And as everyone knows, all the captains are opponents.

Li Yibo: That’s right. Will they be able to overcome their enmity in such a short time and become friends?

Yu Feng: (impatient) Li Xuan, is the rope a little loose? Why do I feel like my legs are getting lighter?

Li Xuan: (panting) That’s because my leg isn’t even reaching the ground okay!?

Qui Fei: (cautiously polite) Senior Wang Jiexi, aren’t we being… a bit too cautious? We have only moved four steps...

Yu Wenzhou: Wait a moment, Cap’n Zhou, hold on! You’re going too fast, I can barely keep up… Ah… now it seems too slow...

Chu Yunxiu: (testily) Darn you, Xiao Shiqin, run slower! Mind the pace, the pace! Counting 1, 2… That’s not 1! 1 is the right leg! Right! You are using your left!

Xiao Shiqin: Sis, my left leg is your right leg!

(Fans cheering)

Li Yibo: Looks like this particular competition is of some difficulty for these long-time rivals.

Pan Lin: But the most unbelievable thing is Ye Xiu and Han Wenqing, who are in the lead right now! And they’re ahead of the current number 2, Yu Feng and Li Xuan, by almost 50m!

Li Yibo: That’s right! Speaking of which, they’re both nearing the finishing line!

Li Yibo: Go for it!

Pan Lin: They’ve passed it! That’s simply incredible! The number 1s are actually Tyranny’s Han Wenqing and Happy’s Ye Xiu, who’ve been bitter rivals for 10 years! Have they just proven that “your enemy knows you best”? This is crazy! The fans of Tyranny and Happy are also ecstatic! They’re waving the team flags enthusiastically!

Tyranny fans: Tyranny! Champion! Tyranny! Champion!

Happy fans: Happy! Champion! Happy! Champion!

(Ye Xiu bends to untie the rope)

Ye Xiu: Damn it....

Han Wenqing: (impatient) What’s taking you so long?

Ye Xiu: Fuck… Who was the one who tied the rope on us!? It’s a dead knot!

 Chairman Feng: To all the participants, referees, and people involved in this event. After a long day of intense matches, we’ve come to the end of the first ever Glory Alliance Sports Meet. Each exciting moment shall be a part of our memorable journey with Glory. Regardless of winning or losing, glory is forever in our hearts. Among all the blessings we’ve received, to be able to stand here together is our greatest blessing….

(below the stage, everyone is whispering/chatting)

Su Mucheng: Hahaha~

Cheng Guo: What’s so funny, Mu Mu?

Su Mucheng: Guo Guo, see this. Pictures of Old Ye and Old Han tied together are being spread all over Weibo by fans.

Tang Rou: That looks like the Alliance’s Weibo interaction with the fans, doesn’t it?

Fang Rui: Let me see! Let me see! Oh~ The photo’s pretty good.

Wei Chen: Hey, hey, this angle is a bit too….

Steam Bun: Woah, it’s trending like crazy! Boss, you’re a super hot topic~

Huang Shaotian: What is it? What is it? I want to see too, I want to see! Let me see! Damn it, Su Mucheng! Don’t you switch it off! Hey!

(ruckus)

Ye Xiu: Eh, Old Han. Maybe we should take a selfie of ourselves and post it up.

Han Wenqing: (black face) Go away!

Chairman Feng: …..and friends, thank you everyone for your eager participation in the Glory Alliance Sports Meet. Next year we shall continue to do our best!

  Huang Shaotian: Geez! It’s finally over~ Seriously, the Alliance organising such a stupid sports event. Pah! Zhou Zekai you bugger! Getting three golds for Men’s 200m, 1000m and high jump alone! Where’s the fairness in that? And that Wu Yuce, so what if he has long legs? What’s so great about that? And that Yu Feng! And that, that Bao something! I protest! The Alliance should seriously consider banning these buggy people from competing! Oh~ Right, right~ Old Ye and Old Han’s photo broke a million views! That’s definitely a headline for the next Gaming Weekly Magazine! It totally proves that what goes around comes around~ Heaven has eyes and you can’t hide~ Hahahahahaha!!!

 Ye Xiu: What is Shaotian muttering to himself over there?

Han Wenqing: His skin itches [for a good thrashing.]

 [END]

P.s, If you liked this, do check out another fan radio drama, 全职高手之全员闹微博配音剧 (TKA: Chaos on Weibo). Because that’s another awesome production!

And if you need a translated transcript for that (shameless plugging =P):

https://thelonglazyworm.tumblr.com/post/162012493344/

[razberryyum]

The Untamed/陈情令 Rewatch, Episode 4  (spoilers for everything)

(covers mainly MDZS chaps 13 and 14)

WangXian meter: 🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰

(a 🐰 is earned every time there is a WangXian scene or even when they’re just thinking of each other…more than one 🐰 can be given based on the level of WangXian-ness in a scene)

I loved and enjoyed all of Wei Ying’s “Notice me Wangji-senpai" moments in this episode, but my favorite has to be the one above: the way he tried to play off Lan Zhan totally ignoring him by blaming the other man’s hearing makes me laugh out loud every time I watch this episode. It’s just too adorable. Even though Lan Zhan is clearly still annoyed with him, I like how it’s also obvious that Wei Ying is slowly but surely burrowing his way into his psyche and taking hold there by either not leaving him alone or just being himself which is ample to constantly draw Lan Zhan’s attention to him. It‘s as if Lan Zhan’s life was a calm pond and Wei Ying was a beautiful, lively carp that suddenly decided to just jump into his waters without permission, taking liberties by swimming and splashing around, basically causing ruckus in every corner of his pool. Naturally, Wei Ying’s actions perturbs Lan Zhan to no end at first, but at the same time, he is also leaving an undeniable impression, so that eventually, when this carp leaves Lan Zhan’s pond, he can’t help but constantly think of Wei Ying and even miss his disruptive presence, thus naturally paving the way for the escalation of his affections that follow later on.  

Whereas with Wei Ying, I think he simply enjoyed irritating this fuddy-duddy at first, but eventually, his light-hearted teasing probably became just a little more meaningful and he started looking forward to getting a reaction out of Lan Zhan because it provided him with genuine joy and satisfaction, until those feelings grew into just joy from being around the other man and interacting with him.  

Ultimately that’s a big reason why I love their relationship: the development and progression of their feelings for each other makes a lot of sense to me. The phrase “opposites attract” has never been more applicable in terms of Wei Ying and Lan Zhan, but at the same time, they still share enough things in common—such as their moral code and belief system—that makes them absolutely just perfect for each other.  I can imagine a future for them right from the start, whereas with other couples in stories, regardless of their sex, I’ve had difficulty believing they should be together other than because the plot requires them to be. I think the drama really succeeded in showing us why it’s completely logical that these two people would be drawn to each other, that they almost can’t help but be drawn together, by actually showing us all these little precious moments between them as they occurred, which the novel for the most part only described in an after-the-fact manner. While subtlety has its merits too, I do appreciate the more clearly illustrated path The Untamed decided to take for WangXian.

Along those lines, I also appreciated how CQL chose to show us the first time Lan Xichen and Jin Guangyao met and their instant connection. Honestly, when I first saw this moment…

I immediately thought they were going to be a couple too, like Wei Ying and Lan Zhan, and I was totally on board, until I found out from reading comments here and there that I shouldn’t be because this ship was bad news. I was disappointed of course and even tried to withstand its alluring call for a while, especially after reading the book and finding out exactly why this wasn’t a ship I wanted to board since it was on a one-way ticket to hell and heartbreak basically. But the drama just made it so damn hard to resist, and before I knew it, I was lowkey hooked.  Much like with WangXian, I was surprised at how much the show was getting away with in terms of XiYao:

I mean, big bro Xichen totally stroked Meng Yao’s finger there, right? First time I saw that, I remember rewinding a few times just to check and and make sure and if it’s just an optical illusion, that’s a damn convincing trick. Amusingly enough I thought at first Wei Ying was seeing the same thing and was reacting in disbelief to that moment, until I realized from his angle, there’s no way he could have seen that small gesture and he was just responding to that (ugly) incense pot.  

After finishing the series, I have to admit I’m pretty much a full-on XiYao-shipper now, which is really out of character for me because I usually prefer ships with happy endings. I have to blame, or rather, give credit to the two actors portraying LXC and JGY (Liu Haikuan and Zhu Zanjin, respectively) for conjuring up these feelings in me because they had so much chemistry together, which honestly at times rivaled that of Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo’s chemistry. I just love how LXC’s expression softens every time he interacts with JGY and even from their first meeting, it’s obvious there were genuine feelings of respect and gratitude behind Meng Yao’s reaction to LXC.

Take the moment above as an example: the extreme admiration emanating from JGY after seeing LXC exhibit his fluting powers had to be for real since there was no reason to react just for Nie Huaisang’s sake. I can totally imagine hearts fluttering all around him as he looked upon XiChen with those wide, innocent-seeming puppy eyes of his. And when he bade his farewell to big bro later on in the episode, I loved how the camera lingered on LXC’s hands as Meng Yao moved away after saluting him, just to reiterate the intimacy of their brief physical contact.  

I also appreciated the small, seemingly trivial moments before and after he meets up with LXC in that scene, where Meng Yao is first ignored by the two male sect disciples walking by him and then later on by two female disciples. Contrast that with how LXC immediately praises Meng Yao and recognizes him as his peer from the get go, going so far as to refer to himself by his own name (“Xichen”) just to reinforce their equality, it’s no wonder JGY was instantly drawn to him. I would go so far as to say he probably fell for LXC right from the start; doesn’t even matter if it might be only in the platonic sense, man was smitten no matter how anyone chooses to categorize his feelings.

XianQing? No thank you

When I first watched this episode, I still had the stormy cloud of fear that Wen Qing would eventually be the love interest that comes in between Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji hanging over me due to some rumors I came across prior to even watching the show. As a result, every time Wen Qing and WWX would have a scene together, I would view it with trepidation as I was certain it was yet another building block to something undesirable, with the ultimate goal of mutating the relationship at the core of MDZS. If I’m going to be honest, I don’t think I was even able to rest easy until after Wen Qing’s passing and knowing for certain that the “danger period” was finally over, even though I had already grown to like her character. I still have complaints about how they altered her personality for the live action, but at least now, when I watch the scenes she shares with Wei Ying, instead of being filled with anxiety, I am actually more fascinated. I can still see the ghost of what Team CQL had initially intended with Wen Qing and WWX in a lot of their scenes together, before the fans’ uproar thankfully forced the producers to change their minds and stick with the source material.  This scene wasn’t one of those moments, but with revisiting each episode, I actually look forward to picking out which scenes were feeding into their ship because of the way they were shot and how the two actors were directed to perform during the scene, especially Meng Ziyi. I’m glad I can actually sit back and have fun with all of this now.  

XianNing? I can’t

I can see why some folks support this ship, and upon first viewing I thought this was a cute moment as well, but of course, I simply can’t go there since my heart already belongs to WangXian. And now, after having read the novel, all I could think about is how much I wish we got the archery contest at the Cultivation Conference. I’m glad we got to see it depicted in the donghua; it was as amazing as I hope it would be, but it’s a shame we didn’t get to see it in the drama. Since the producers had mentioned releasing specials of extra scenes that they couldn’t fit into the flow of the show, I hope the archery contest will be one of them. I don’t know where it would fit in in the timeline though…I guess it could happen while they were all held hostage at Nightless City, so the reason for the archery contest will have to be changed, but then maybe that’s the impetus for Wen Chao’s decision to force everyone on that dangerous quest to the Xuanwu cave: he’s so pissed off at losing at archery on his own turf that he decides to try to get all the sect kids killed.  Either way, I hope we get to see the contest in live action form one day.

Wei Wuxian is so smart

I loved this scene. I love how WWX schooled everyone with his inventive fourth reason. He’s so awesome. That’s really all I wanted to say about it.  

Random Bits of Randomness

I don’t think there’s anything wrong the color function on my tv, so please explain to me how that can be considered “purple” in any universe??

All I could think about in this scene is how disgusting that fish must have tasted cuz it looked awful, and I think Xiao Zhan even mentioned in an interview that it was gross. What probably made it taste worse was the fact that he kept on eating it from the stomach side, which can be really bitter. I think Wang Zhuocheng (Jiang Cheng) was eating it from the same side as well and I just can’t help grimacing every time I see this moment.

Odds and Ends:

I don’t really have any questions from this episode, but I did wonder if Wen Qing ever actually attended classes while she was at Cloud Recesses or did she just spend all of the time wandering the back hills, throwing her needles at barriers, cuz that’s not suspicious AT ALL. Unless I just happened to have missed her every single time in class, even though you would think it’s easy to spot her red in a sea of white…if that’s the case then I probably need to get my eyes checked.

Also, I wish we got to see Shijie draw her sword. She carried it around in the beginning, but I’m kinda bummed that we never saw her actually use it. I’m sure she is completely capable and would’ve looked just as badass as the boys.

And bless Uncle Lan for his brilliant idea of making Lan Zhan enforce the disciplinary action on Wei Ying, thereby allowing the boys to have valuable alone time in the library pavilion to further nurture their bond. In retrospect he probably regrets that decision, but as far as I’m concerned, that’s one of his best one he’s ever made.  

[razberryyum]

The Untamed/陈情令 Rewatch, Episode 9, Part 1 of 2

(spoilers for everything MDZS/Untamed)

[covers MDZS chapters 28 and 29…kinda…well, the Yue Yang Chang sect murders was introduced in those chapters, but it is different from how the show presented it]

WangXian meter: 🐰🐰+🐰🐰🐰🐰+🐰+🐰🐰🐰🐰 +🐰🐰🐰+🐰🐰+🐰🐰+🐰+🐰+🐰+🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰+🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰+ 🐰🐰🐰

(so I decided to come up with a more organized way of scoring on the WangXian meter cuz I was starting to confuse myself: for every scene they’re in together or if they’re even thinking about each other, one 🐰 is automatically given; one scene can earn up to 5 🐰, depending on the intensity of their interaction or thoughts of each other. And I’m gonna separate each individual scene with “+”. I didn’t mean for the grading to be an exact science but I think making it less arbitrary is definitely better…at least for my poor dumb brain)

I have a couple of favorite WangXian scenes from this episode, the one above is the first of them. When Wei Ying defends Lan Zhan from Jiang Cheng, I love how the camera then lingers deliberately on Lan Zhan’s reaction for just a second more; I swear if Lan Zhan was the blushing type, that would’ve been the moment for him to turn red like a tomato. That reassuring smile Wei Ying flashes at him could probably melt all the glaciers in the world and drown our planet, how can any mere human being resist that? That small beam of absolute sunshine had to have made Lan Zhan’s knees go just a little weak and his stomach do a tiny flip flop. It’s moments like this that make me marvel all over again at how perfectly cast Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo are in their roles: XZ with his dazzling megawatt smile and WYB with his beautifully nuanced stoicism are truly Wei Ying and Lan Zhan come to life. Even though I was already attached to their performances by this point, I wasn’t truly able to appreciate just how great and perfect they were as the embodiment of their characters until after I read the novel, and now I’m just in awe all the time as I watch them on screen.  

Wei Ying and Lan Zhan’s little yin metals expedition is really the gift that keeps on giving: despite having to deal with a few (lovable) third wheelers hanging around them, they were still able to further strengthen their bond. I think this is clearly as evident by simple little moments like how often they looked at each other for affirmation. What’s amazing about that is Lan Zhan basically went from refusing to spare Wei Ying a glance even when he was outright clamoring for attention to constantly training his eyes on Wei Ying at every turn. I really can’t get over how effectively Team CQL was able to show the progression in their relationship and Lan Zhan’s feelings towards Wei Ying by just showing these minor differences in the way they interact from before. Watching the change in Lan Zhan is of course the most fascinating aspect of this early part of their relationship because you can track how he’s clearly being overcome by the force of nature that is Wei Ying. I especially enjoy seeing the way he gets perturbed and maybe even jealous by the intimate way Wei Ying interacts with others. Take this moment when Wei Ying is offering protection to Nie Huaisang:

The way Lan Zhan’s eyes focused on the way Wei Ying was holding onto NHS’ arm and that resulting sour look on his face really says it all. And then, shortly after when they left the cave, as Wei Ying was trying to assure NHS, Jiang Cheng and Wen Qing that they were protected in the magical net he created, I actually guffawed when Lan Zhan could be seen just walking off behind him, as if he’d had enough since he just finished watching Wei Ying being rather familiar with Wen Qing.

And then when they were in the forest trying to hunt down Wen Chao’s owl, it’s almost as if Lan Zhan’s disgruntled mood stayed with him since even though they were in close proximity, when Wei Ying started calling out his name, he refused to answer. First time I watched that scene I remember thinking, wtf’s wrong with Lan Zhan, why won’t he just respond to the poor guy who’s obviously worried he lost him in the fog? But now I feel it was a deliberate choice to indicate that Lan Zhan was annoyed at him.  

Because Lan Zhan is not the type of person to be open and friendly with everyone, I really do feel now that it probably did bother him a lot that Wei Ying was a complete opposite to him in that sense, and as he watched Wei Ying carelessly be equally and almost selflessly kind to everyone around him, his frustration with that aspect of his personality gradually built up over time, culminating in what he later says to Wei Ying about Mian Mian while they’re in the Xuanwu cave. I can easily imagine Lan Zhan thinking, if he’s like this to everyone, does that make the way he treats me meaningless? It’s a really sobering thought especially from Lan Zhan’s point of view, but it also justifies why he still ran cold from time to time when dealing with Wei Ying because he was probably holding himself in check, constantly reminding himself that he’s just the same as anyone else in Wei Ying’s life, so he shouldn’t get his hopes up. Thinking about how much inner turmoil Lan Zhan put himself through even before Wei Ying’s death as he tried to grapple with his budding feelings for Wei Ying always makes me feel a little weepy because of how much my heart aches for him. It really makes me so grateful that at least he had Big Brother Xichen to talk to, which also makes me love big bro more for being so understanding and encouraging.  The alternative would have just been too unbearably sad.  

Ugh, and now I just made myself sad for no good reason. Seriously, on a daily basis, I actually get into a near weepy state for WangXian at least once when I think of all the suffering they had to go through before they finally got their happy ending. If MXTX-laozi’s other novels are going to do the same thing to me as MDZS/Untamed has, I probably need to start saving money to seek professional therapy once I’m done reading Heaven Official’s Blessing and Scum Villain (and I’m desperately trying to carve out time to read them soon).  

Anyway, back to this episode: I have a soft spot for seeing my OTP standing back to back in a scene since I think it’s a very effective and sweet way to convey their support and solidarity with each other, nothing says “we are in this together” than two people having each others’ backs, so seeing their stance in the forest really warmed my heart.

I also loved that they eventually teamed up to fight against Wen Chao’s forces. It would not be the first time they fight together, but it is one of the few times that Wei Ying gets to do so with his sword. I think the next instance of that happening is the Xuanwu cave before it’s all over and he is only able to use his flute, so I really treasure moments like this now, especially since they have such pretty moves.  

Every time Lan Zahn and Wei Ying fight with their swords it looks like they’re dancing. I love how Team CQL always makes sure to choreograph in ballet twirls into their fight sequences, even when it’s not quite necessary, such as this moment back in the cave when the two of them twirled away to get away from the ghost puppets:

A BIT on the dramatic side, but hey, I’m not gonna complain when Lan Zhan and Wei Ying looks so damn good doing their twirls.  

WeiQing Watch 2019

I said I was going to keep track of the WeiQing love story that Team CQL was going for way back before MDZS fans thankfully put a kibosh on their plans: here’s one such moment that I think can serve as evidence that they might have been cooking something up between Wei Wuxian and Wen Qing. It’s not just that Wei Ying was holding on to Wen Qing’s wrist for a longer time than necessary—Wei Ying’s a touchy-feely guy, he grabs on to everyone anyway—it’s Wen Qing’s reaction to what he did that gave me pause: she in turn holds on to her wrist in the exact spot where his hand was for a longer time than necessary. I’ve watched enough Chinese dramas to know that that is usually an indication that feelings are being stirred up from physical contact. Wei Ying’s awkwardness at realizing what he was doing was interesting too, it’s as if he suddenly remembered Wen Qing’s a girl. Since I do believe that Team CQL did end up keeping the aspect of Wen Qing’s characterization where she is in love with Wei Ying—there’s  no other logical explanation for some of Wen Qing’s reactions to Wei Ying otherwise—I think this moment might have served as the catalyst for the feelings she develops for him. It was already obvious that she was concerned for Wei Ying before this: she not only tipped off Jiang Cheng to his whereabouts but then she also joined in on the rescue herself, despite knowing what consequences she may face. I know her explanation for her generosity was because Wei Ying saved Wen Ning’s life and this was her way of paying back that favor, but it’s really a hollow excuse considering the larger predicament she was essentially putting herself, Wen Ning AND her clan in: she had to know she was endangering all her loved ones’ lives by helping Wei Ying.  I know she saved Lan Zhan and Nie Huaisang as well but based on her later actions, I think at the end of the day, her concern really was more for Wei Ying. Much like Lan Zhan, Wen Qing was already starting to fall for Wei Ying, and really, who can blame her?

To be Continued in Part 2...(posted)