#but it also represents loving woh

[wanderingfandoms]

For Word of Honor’s 2nd Anniversary

Special thanks to the shl archive carrd

[bizarrequazar]

hi! i'm pretty new here (yes i am horribly late i regret it immensely) and i have a few questions on this whole /hand wavey/ situation with zzh.

1. so i've read that he's submitted a defamation lawsuit in dec 2021 and seeing as there aren't any updates i could find and how it's currently 2023, i'm just wondering if the length of this process is normal in china's judiciary system?

2. this one would be more of a matter of personal opinion. the more i discover about this whole scheme the more it seems as if it's deeply entrenched in the very workings of c-ent. people seem to be overall quite optimistic but as a person somewhat looking in it seems like he'd have to dismantle the whole system before being able to obtain justice. do u personally think that zzh will be able to return to the industry - even if it does take a very long time? (asking this to protect my own heart bc i think i'm love him)

3. i've found the link of the woh archive and the link in your master post of some of junzhe's individual works but i'm just wondering if there's a comprehensive archive of zzh's past appearances (reality shows, interviews, etc.). i would be very grateful if u could direct me to people who have access to these - either in the intl fandom or on weibo.

thank u so much for reading through all of that and for making information readily accessible to new fans! i was so confused for a while trying to navigate social media ... please only do respond if u would like to i'm aware that i'm asking a lot. have a good day!

1. Length of the defamation lawsuit

(I'm going to preface this by just clarifying that I have no formal legal training. My knowledge largely comes from what I've learned since I started following Zhang Zhehan's case, and if anyone has corrections please do let me know.)

To give you a short answer, yes the length is really nothing surprising.

To give you a long answer, please see [this post] for a good breakdown on the legal process in relation to Zhang Zhehan's case. In summary, even the simplest cases usually take half a year at best to be seen by a judge due to backlog, and Zhang Zhehan's case is far from simple. As a comparitive, I like to bring up a much more standard lawsuit Gong Jun had against an anti in 2021 which took 13 months to be fully settled. That was a civil lawsuit, while Zhang Zhehan's is likely a criminal lawsuit, which I'll get into in the next paragraph. The complexity of his case is also increased by things such as what the scam gang has been doing—one of the main purposes of the Instagram account, Zhang Sanjian, etc. is likely to complicate things in order to drag the legal case out longer.

This goes a bit into your next question, but part of the situation with Zhang Zhehan's case is that while his individual aim is the defamation suit, that's not all there is to it. CAPA has a monopolizing presense within c-ent, which is why 813 was as successful as it was. Last spring, the Chinese government began an initiative aimed at dismantling industry monopolies, and CAPA is the prime target of that since 813 is a spectacular example of association overreach. When Li Xuezheng was active, he stated that a lot of not only legal bodies but also government representatives were very interested in the case, and this is exactly why—813 was meant to make an example out of Zhang Zhehan, now Zhang Zhehan's legal case is seeking to make an example out of CAPA. The government itself is likely invested in this case, which is a double-edged sword: it means that Zhang Zhehan has a better chance of winning, but it also means that they're going to be very meticulous in order to ensure the victory, which takes more time. (This is also probably why CAPA is still continuing to put resources into defaming him: Zhang Zhehan's victory may mean that CAPA is dismantled altogether.)

One other thing to keep in mind with regard to news of progress is that while usually legal cases in China are public information, exceptions can be granted by the government in instances of very sensitive cases. Given what I said above, it's possible that Zhang Zhehan's case falls under this.

Also, while there haven't been any official updates on his case, based on the scam gang's pattern of activity and the recent attempted attack on Li Xuezheng, a number of us who have been following things closely suspect that something has recently happened behind the scenes.

2. Returning to the industry

I think this is going to come down to a matter of Zhang Zhehan's own desires more so than the industry at large.

As stated above, there's a heavy chance that his victory will mean that CAPA will disappear as a force against him—even if it's not dismantled, he will have the legal proof that they have no grounds against him. On a more individual level, I think it's reasonable to say that there are probably a lot of people within c-ent who would be happy to see his victory and his return, either because of personal connections with him or simply because it will eliminate (or at least mitigate) the threat of another 813 happening to them. It's also clear that, despite the scam gang's efforts, he still has a very large and loyal fanbase within China.

The real question is whether he wants to return to the industry, and that's really something that only he can answer. 813 really showed just how cruel c-ent can be. It may be that he decides to return fully to acting, it may be that he decides to take a more behind the scenes role such as becoming a director, or it may be that once he wins his case he will choose to pursue another career. Only time will tell.

3. Archive of work

Ironically this is actually the trickiest part to answer 😅 The issue is less that interviews are hard to find and more just that most of the accounts that have uploaded them have turned whaler... I recently set up a YouTube channel of my own to try to circumvent this issue, but I haven't had time to do much with it yet, sorry. (I should be getting to it towards to the end of this month, hold me to that.)

Some resources that I'll give you are Shi'er on Twitter, who has compiled an AMAZING archive of Zhang Zhehan's Weibo posts including videos, and 浪钉之家, GJ & ZZH, and wenzhou subs on YouTube which have more recent (ie. 2020-2021) stuff. zzhellyfish is one of those who has turned whaler, but on YouTube at least they haven't uploaded anything since 813; they're a good resource for subbed interviews including some older stuff.

Hopefully this answered everything you were wondering about. Please never be worried about sending me questions, I enjoy having the excuse to talk about him.

[joylinda-hawks]

At the end of Sunday - the second part of promotional photos from WOH. Specifically, I chose the advertising posters for the series here. We have some interesting shots on them. Each of the posters thinks that it has been well thought out by the author. Much could be said about each of them. I had trouble choosing. I was wondering for a long time which poster to choose. I chose the darkest and most suggestive one in my opinion. The whole poster is economical in colors, black, brown in various shades and silver of swords. In the foreground we have the figure of ZZS in the outfit from the Window of Heaven. The colors of the individual layers of robes: purple, brown and red sash perfectly match the person of ZZS. They define its character through color. Here he is a brave, resolute young man who is able to defy the prince he serves. His gaze, facial expression suggest a decisiveness. ZZS has chosen this path and intends to follow it. He no longer cares about the support of the prince and the fact that the prince turned his back on him. It is nicely shown on the poster. ZZS goes ahead. In the background, we see Prince Jin standing with his back turned but looking back, holding Bai Yi in his hand. But he couldn't stop the person who was wielding it. It is also important to put two characters Han Ying and Duan Peng Ju in the background. Both men stand on either side of the ZZS figure in fighting poses. They represent two sides: one ZZS and the other Prince of Jin. Without knowing the content of the series, we know that there must be a clash of these two characters. I love this poster not only for the colors, but also for the message it carries.

[sprinklenoodles]

The other polls gave me some answers! Most of you do plan on reading my fics, but haven't yet. So, let's just start with a quick summary of them!

That Really Wasn't Supposed To Happen

This is my main fic. It has almost been a year and a half since I posted the first chapter and it currently has over 110K words! I'm also close to being doing with it, since I've begun with the very last trial!

It's mainly about Chihiro and Byakuya. What happens is that Chihiro gets distracted just before he meets with Mondo and reveals that he's a boy (that isn't changed from canon) to Byakuya instead. Oopsie...

This leads to other murderers and victims. Chihiro also gets an ahoge at one point! During the fic, Chihiro and Byakuya become closer... for the most part.

Chihiro really gets some well deserved development and slowly becomes much more confident. Byakuya does also get some devolpment, though he's still Byakuya.

The Ultimate Mystery Incorporated

Out of my two long fics, this is definitely the much less known one. It has over 36K words, though I'm far from finished.

This fic centers around a whole group! You have Byakuya, Kyoko, Leon, Sayaka and Yasuhiro as the self appointed Mystery Incorporated! They solve mysteries around town- which is Crystal Cove- Scooby-Doo style, though without a talking dog.

All of them have a Scooby-Doo character they represent, but that's loose. It's very much still the danganronpa characters, though with some changes. For one, Byakuya and Kyoko are childhood best friends!

Both of their fathers (who are not terrible and play a role in the fic) have been best friends since college and that transferred over to Byakuya and Kyoko once Byakuya and his father moved there.

There are a few ships, mainly Leosaya which will get something good next chapter. Though, there is some slight Naegiri. Both ships aren't together... yet, there's just the crush fase.

Some ships that haven't appeared yet, but do exists, are Ishimondo, Sakuraoi and Tokomaru (which will get a mention in the next mystery). There is also another ship that will get a moment next chapter...

It also has a lot of lore. Because, if you know me, you know I love lore! There have only been some little hints dropped so far, but there will be some big lore drops eventually. The lore does involve DR characters, but in a very different way!

The Forced Outside AU

This is the fic you guys chose! I haven't begon writing it yet, but that doesn't mean I don't have some info about it!

It mainly centers around Makoto, Byakuya and Kyoko. What happened is that Junko found the idea of a killing game eventually too boring, so mostly destroyed Hope's Peak before the killing game ever begon.

It will include the same ships as I mentioned before, though probably no Tokomaru since that wouldn't make much sense.

Also, the people from the motive video's haven't been captured or anything! As of now almost all families are complete/alive. Even Byakuya's (why...?) The only exeption to this is that Jin is missing.

So, class 78 (minus Junko and Mukuro) formed some kind of resistance to Junko's 'rule'. They've been trying to stop her. At this point, the Future Foundation is beginning to form.

The remnants won't really appear and neither will the WOH. Though, they are still on Junko's side. But, the Towa Conglomerate still makes quite a bit of the Monokuma's for Junko, though that's mostly all they do.

Well, that's it for the info! If you have ANY questions about these fics or just want to know more, ask them! I'll happily answer them :D

[icharchivist]

id ask which slut you prefer between belial and luo because i sure cant pick one

"i'd ask" they say, as they're asking

this is a difficult situation to put me in though...

in term of sluttiness, it's Belial, hands down. Lu Woh is hot and there's definitely an appeal to the whole victorian maiden look he has going on, but Belial genuinely radiate sex appeal to me.

I'd say Belial also have more features i genuinely like (red eyes, messy black hair, wicked smile ect..) but Lu Woh also have features i genuinely like (cat ears, glasses, stoicism which makes any emotion stand out ect...)

in term of characters, Belial gives me the most brainworm to think about and he has been in my brain for a longer time, so he's a strong contender. But Lu Woh is a character i grew attached to extremely quickly and i care about him a lot and i find him very interesting.

(and we are opposing characters who represent life and death, which probably explains even more this divide.)

i can't even use their voice to separate them because on one hand, we have Belial having the sexiest voice ever put to recording, which is genuinely so sexy and have so much going on in the acting that just listening to him is pure bliss. ... while Lu Woh is voiced by a seiyuu i absolutely adore, who voiced multiple favorite characters of mine, and who sang a lot of songs i really love and have in my top ten most listened songs of all time.

They're like. so drastically opposed in my brain that i can't even put them in a proper competition against one another.

If we just compare on a sluttiness level, Belial wins out of being the biggest of sluts.

but in most "which one is your most favorite" criteria, i'm a bit stumped to reply. They don't compare to one another.

So i think your final answer anon is: why choosing when you can hold both of their hands. and more.

[kakivino]

Proprietà Sperino 2013 Coste della Sesia Uvaggio

Strikingly floral bouquet offers red berry, rose petals, baking spice and damp leaves. Lip-smacking mélange of crunchy red fruits, think cherry and raspberry, with mineral inflections, grace the lithe palate beautifully framed by high acidity and svelte tannins. There’s weightless elegance to this beauty, plus a creamy touch bestowed by its blending mates. While it might not be awfully complex, it’s impossible not to fall for Uvaggio’s charm.

Spanna is nebbiolo’s little known northern brethren at the Italian Alps. Now that the cat is out of the bag, interests in Alto Piemonte (an umbrella analogue encompassing a cluster of miniscule appellations) have sparked a bit of a renaissance to the region, whose renown once eclipsed that of Barolo and Barbaresco. Kudos to the likes of Antoniolo and Travaglini, torchbearers in Gattinara who flew the flag during the dark days; also to the De Marchis, of Isole e Olena fame, who returned to their roots to restore family legacy to its former glory. — ★★★★

Appellation: Coste della Sesia Region: Lessona & Bramaterra, Piemonte, Italy Subzone: Cépage: 80% Nebbiolo (Spanna), 15% Vespolina, 5% Croatina Abv: 13% Production: 16,000 Élevage: 20 months in barriques old and new, 500l puncheons and oval 15hl casks, with further aging in bottle Distributor: Tong Woh

Critic Reviews

What a delightful wine this is. Loaded with finesse, it opens with lovely scents of red berry, crushed rose, graphite, cooking spice and Alpine herb. The beguiling medium-bodied palate offers sour cherry, raspberry, white pepper and mineral while fresh acidity and polished tannins provide impeccable balance. It’s already drinking beautifully but will also provide several more years of pure enjoyment. Kerin O'Keefe (Wine Enthusiast, 02/2017) 93

The 2013 Uvaggio, a blend of 80% nebbiolo and 20% vespolina, is absolutely delicious. Beautifully perfumed and light on its feet, the Uvaggio captures all the pedigree that makes the wines of Lessona so captivating. Sweet red cherry, raspberry, mint, orange peel and white pepper add brightness throughout. Focused and nervy, with tons of energy, the 2013 Uvaggio is a winner. Moreover, it is a very serious wine for the money. Drinking window: 2020-2028. Antonio Galloni (Vinous, 06/2018) 92

This wine is named Uvaggio in reference to the fact it represents a blend of three grapes: 80% Nebbiolo, 15% Vespolina and 5% Croatina. Some of the fruit for the 2013 Coste della Sesia Uvaggio is harvested from parcels with sandy soils that give the wine more perfumed characteristics and other fruit is harvested from granite-rich soils that give the wine more structure and fiber. This is a deep and authentic red wine with balanced red fruit aromas that saturate a long and silky mouthfeel. Savory tones of spice and leather give the wine staying power. In all, the 2013 vintage is delicate and nuanced in nature. This property is managed by Luca and his father Paolo De Marchi (of Isole e Olena in Chianti Classico). It sits at a fascinating spot just at the base of the Italian Alps in a place characterized by one of the most dramatic altitude ascents in Italy. Those mighty mountains rise like a veritable wall causing violent exchanges between hot and cold air. In fact, Luca tells me that this is one of the most hail-prone spots in Italy and frequent storms have wiped out many promising vintages in the past. The property’s soils have loose grains of yellow sand that impart elegant mineral characteristics to the wines. Monica Larner (Wine Advocate, 08/2017) 93+

[jeriafterdark]

Part 4/4: GJ being loud and Married - The Ring Saga

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

The final part (whew), this has taken a lot longer than I expected lol. Here is our boy, GJ, flaunting that ring.

What if GJ just wears these rings for fun? or just for work? Is it a big deal?

Normally, GJ doesn't really wear rings to my knowledge. Also, he's very obvious about work commitments vs personal commitments. He doesn't really mesh the two? Here's an example.

When he was filming Dream Garden, he was given a cp ring as part of the prop for the scene. He actually waits til he's about to do the scene to put the ring on.

And then when he's done with the scene, he immediately takes it off.

He's a person with very strong personal boundaries, as you may have seen as he scooches away from almost everyone he meets lol. Esp during that Vogue event where he's just sitting there... thinking about his life, in the finest clothes, in the midst of a party of super stars. He's just like... nahhh, I'm gonna be on my phone kthx. This man literally just hiding at the bar.

2. Filming Chinese Restaurant

He also wore his ring during his filming of Chinese Restaurant. He actually cooked along with Zhou Ye, the actress for A-Xiang, along with a bunch of other people.

He's shown as putting his hand behind his back when he -just- gets picked up by the bus. We assume that he was taking off his ring here. His hand shows up as oddly.. blurry, as if someone took a photoshop smudge tool and tried to smudge out that ring on his ring finger again (remember part 2-3?)

And then in the scenes where they're sitting around and chatting. You can see that he's HOLDING THAT RING AGAIN. He didn't even want to put it in his pocket lol.

DO YOU SEE THAT EDGE ON THAT RING? IT'S NOT CIRCULAR? It's almost.. hexagon-shaped?!?!?!?! - foams at the mouth -

Here's some more images of him sitting around with that ring, he's such a playful puppy, look familiar?

One final note, someone asked the Tasaki representatives to ID the rings that GJ/ZZH wore, and the rep actually said it's the same ring.

^ I can't remember the tweet this was from, but it's from Amber's collection!

3. Recent appearance at Global Chinese Music on CCTV - Apr 23, 2022

People noticed that his recent appearance (on the same stage that two years ago, ZZH appeared on wearing white as well), he had a peculiar tan line on his ring finger.

Bonus: ZZH still wore that ring in leaked pictures from a variety show he was filming before 813

To conclude: This is the saga that destroyed my sanity, and caused me to dive face-first into every JunZhe/LLD candy there is. I firmly believe that if it weren't for this evidence, I may not have joined this part of the fandom at all lol. I just can't deny that it's clearly an attempt to hide the fact that they're connected/married/engaged. This including the deleted BTS of the WOH concert / WOH filming, where ZZH is always threatening to kiss GJ for various reasons?? You could be the most homophobic person in the entire world, and still can't deny this. C'mon now. (I joke).

If RPS makes you uncomfortable, of course you don't have to believe in it. Do what you wanna do. This is just some international fan's observations. I firmly believe that I'm supporting a real couple, not shipping a "cp." This is only ONE ASPECT of the evidence of their relationship, by the way lol. ONE ASPECT. And it took me FOUR PARTS. I just love them, I love how loyal and sweet GJ is. I love how defiant ZZH is. And I'm heartbroken about what happened to him. If anything, I just want those two to be able to walk out into the light again.

I'll be doing more series on JunZhe/LLD to try and convert all my saved materials into some organized content for this blog, thank you for joining me on this small recollection! I hope you had fun!

[potteresque-ire]

This post is Part 5 of the five-part meta series on the Zhang Zhehan (張哲瀚) Incident, based on what has transpired up to 2021/08/22.

1) The 2nd Sino-Japanese War (1937-45) & the Yasukuni Shrine 2) Post-War Sino-Japanese Relations; “Every Chinese should visit the Yasukuni Shrine” 3) The Summer of 2021: The Brewing Storms for One 4) My Thoughts on Zhang’s Incident, Part A 5) My Thoughts on Zhang’s Incident, Part B

5) My Thoughts on Zhang’s Incident, Part B

As a highlight to the mob nature leading to Zhang’s downfall, please consider the timeline immediately before and after Zhang’s losing his endorsements on August 13th (or, why August 13th really mattered):

August 12th, evening: Zhang’s 2019 attendance of a wedding at the Nogi Shrine (乃木神社) went on Weibo hot search, and into public awareness. The Nogi Shrine (乃木神社) is of far less fame than the Yasukuni Shrine, but was named after a Japanese general of the Imperialist Japanese Army who was also the governor-general of then colonial Taiwan.

August 13th, ~ 2 am: netizens uncovered photos of Zhang’s 2018 visit to the Yasukuni Shrine, which were spread onto Weibo and made the hot search.

August 13th, 1:39 pm: Zhang posted his first letter of apology that began with: “Today, I’m ashamed of my once ignorant self, and furthermore, wants to apologise deeply for my past inappropriate behaviour.” (今天我為曾經無知的自己而羞愧，更要對之前不當行為深刻地道歉。)

August 13th, 2 pm: Nabuo Kishi, Japan’s current Minister of Defence, and a right-wing member of the House of Representative, Yasutoshi Nishimura, made an un-announced visit to the Yasukuni Shrine. The date was 2 days earlier than the 76th anniversary of Emperor Hirohito’s surrender speech (August 15th), as customary for Japanese officials to avoid visiting the shrine on significant anniversary dates of the war.

August 13th, 4:39 pm: People’s Daily (人民日報) published an online critique of Zhang’s apology. “… As a public figure, to be so lacking in historical knowledge, so unfeeling towards the suffering of the nation, it’s too inappropriate. On matters of righteousness of the nation, testing is not permissible, challenges are definitely not permissible. If knowingly committed, one would pay a heavy price.”  (。。。身為公眾人物，對歷史常識如此匱乏，對民族苦難渾然不覺，太不應該。事關民族大義，不容任何試探，更不容有任何挑戰。若明知故犯，就得付出沈重代價。)

August 13th, 5:05 pm: CCTV News (央視新聞) posted the video of Nabuo Kishi’s visit to the Yasukuni Shrine.

August 13th, 5:33: Zhang was dropped from his first endorsement. He would be dropped by all 27 of them within the next 5 hours.

August 13th, 5:35 pm: Zhang responded to People’s Daily’s critique piece, stating he shall repent and learn his lesson, and that as a Chinese, he loves his country and the CCP.

August 13th, ~6 pm: S. Korean news reported that the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs had summoned the Japanese ambassador in Korea to protest the visit of the Japanese Defence Minister to the Yasukuni Shrine.

August 13th, 6:26 pm: CCTV News (央視新聞) critiqued Zhang’s apology. “Whether to take photos in front of the Yasukuni Shrine, or to attend a wedding at the Nogi Shrine, Zhang Zhehan touched the wounds of history, hurt the feelings of the nation. It cannot be blamed on “once ignorance.” Just now, a Japanese Minister went to the Yasukuni Shrine for “demon worshipping” (Pie note: demon, from guizi 鬼子), China firmly opposes to this wrongdoing of Japanese high officials…” (無論在靖國神社前合影，還是到乃木神社參加婚禮，張哲瀚都觸碰了歷史傷痕，傷害了民族感情，不能簡單歸咎為「曾經無知」。就在剛剛，有日本大臣到靖國神社「拜鬼」，中方堅決反對日本政要這種錯誤做法。。。)

August 13th, 9 pm: China’s Ministry of National Defence answered press questions regarding the Yasukuni Shrine visit by Nabuo Kishi and Yasutoshi Nishimura.

Not only did Zhang’s incident happened in August, 2021, it happened on pretty much the worst day for him in August, 2021; the latest of his incident interleaved the unfolding news of the Japanese high officials’ visit to the Yasukuni Shrine.

What I’d like to call attention to, however, is this: Zhang’s endorsements didn’t begin dropping until *after* People’s Daily criticism.

If the companies had been genuinely offended by Zhang’s action, why was the wait necessary? If their Chinese feelings were genuinely hurt, why hadn’t they moved earlier, in the morning of August 13th, when Zhang’s visit went on hot search? Were these companies also ignorant about history, the significance of the the Yasukuni Shrine? The Chinese government has far more important things to worry about than an idol, but what about these companies that had paid good money for their spokesperson? That watch the public opinion, the market carefully?

Even if they didn’t care about the war themselves, why hadn’t they dropped Zhang based on the expected public opinion? What does that say about what these market experts believed, or knew about the public opinion? What does that say about their assessment of whether their potential customers would, as their actual selves, stop spending money on their products because of Zhang’s Yasukuni Shrine visit?

Were the act of dropping Zhang, then, more an act of performative patriotism than anything else? Once the first company started, the rest raced to follow for fear of being the slowest one, viewed as the least patriotic one. Hence, the 5-hour storm of endorsements abandoning Zhang. This herd ... mob behaviour, in which actions were either not taken or all taken at the same time, was also observed in the timing of different online platforms removing Zhang’s works, and fandom content with his name.

A “bingo card” for netizens to cross out Zhang’s endorsements as the sequential drops happened. Similar cards for Kris Wu had circulated in July. 

Were WoH and Zhang’s other group projects removed because Zhang was unpatriotic, or was it because the online platforms (and the tech giants behind them) were trying to protect themselves? Youku explained WoH’s first-time removal as a technical glitch but then, as reports of other platforms removing Zhang’s content poured in, the series was removed again.  

How much is real when it comes to the thunderous online declarations of love and betrayal against China? 

Related to this: turtles may remember the Xinjiang cotton incident in March, 2021, how Chinese netizens harassed anyone who used, endorsed Nike. One may assume, with that outcry, that rage, that anyone with a reputation to keep, with ties to the Chinese state, in particular, have severed their ties with the brand.

As it turns out, the teams of the Chinese Super (Football) League, for example, have kept their Nike kits. The Chinese Football Association (CFA), which, despite being officially non-governmental and nonprofit, is managed by the State General Administration of Sports (國家體育總局), issued a statement on March 27th on Weibo that only criticised Nike’s “wrong actions in choosing its cotton source” (對耐克公司在棉花原料選擇上的錯誤行徑表達了譴責), and reserved “its right to further deal with  contract with Nike” (保留進一步處理同耐克合同的權力). It never cut off the contract with Nike: a 10-year sponsorship,  signed in 2018, which amounts to 3 million RMB (463,000 USD) in funds from Nike for each football club every year. The CFA statement was later removed from Weibo. Photos of the football players have simply had the Nike Swoosh covered up, or photoshopped away. 

Photos from the Shanghai Shenhua football club, with and without the swoosh (Source).

Life is practical in China … and darkly humorous, at times. As a Mao-founded regime should be, perhaps.

I got Asks wondering then: will our non-Zhang-related favourite stars and CPs, dramas and fandoms get affected by the incident?

At the moment, my guess leans towards a no. My basis is this: in the critique piece against Zhang, published on 2021/08/16, by 中纪委 Central Commission for Discipline Inspection—the CCDI, by the way, is the highest anti-corruption, rules and regulations body in China—I believe the reason Zhang was disciplined was clearly stated:

對於所有「拜鬼」行為，中國都堅決反對。但如果我們國內的公眾人物去靖國神社都不被譴責和追究，我們又怎麼挺直腰桿要求外國人不去呢？

“Regarding all “demon worship” behaviour, China holds firm oppositions. But if our own public figures going to the Yasukuni Shrine get no reprimands, no investigations of responsibility, how can we straighten our backs and demand foreigners to not go?”

This has led me to think the state has no ulterior motives in targeting Zhang: Zhang’s “sin” was limited to his visiting the Yasukuni Shrine as a well-known, public figure, and/but that was enough. And the punishment had to be given in a heavy-handed, high profile manner, given the “news “of Zhang’s visit broke out on August 13, 2021. The following observation may be my being over-sensitive, but in the timeline above, Zhang was reprimanded, and his first round of the punishment in full swing (dropping of endorsements), before the China’s Ministry of National Defence talked to the press, which happened later than it had to be (compare the timing with S. Korea’s). Short of removing Zhang’s hot searches—which netizens would’ve noticed—this ordering of events was necessary; otherwise, the Chinese government issuing a formal complaint against Japan for their Minister of Defence’s visit to the shrine would’ve co-existed on the hot search with the report of China’s own celebrity visiting the same place. I therefore believe the state’s reaction had nothing to do with how Zhang achieved his fame, the past and present projects he was involved in, the CPs he was coupled with. Other state agencies and media would likely be careful about not attaching these topics to Zhang’s case as well, so not to distract from the central message of the government that … the Japanese are very bad people in the summer of 2021.

(Whether they’ll attach them to the Clear and Bright campaign is another matter.) 

Another Ask ~ Will Zhang be able to make a comeback? In five years? Ten?

Looking that far ahead is difficult, but one thing has to happen for Zhang to return—the Japanese have to stop being very bad people according to the Chinese government, which isn’t likely to happen soon. The Japanese government has shown few signs that they shall soon revise their attitudes towards their World War II history  (Yasutoshi Nishimura, who went to the Shrine with Japan’s Minister of Defence on August 13th, is associated with a historical revisionist group), while China’s escalating military aggression in the Indo-Pacific region will be seen as a growing threat to Japan, likely push the country towards the right. 

And 5, 10 years later, Zhang will be 35, 40 years old. Even if he’ll be able to work in the industry again, it’ll be difficult for him to achieve the fame he has before. Also, just because the government no longer bans him doesn’t mean production companies will be willing to hire him; he’ll be considered high risk—policies of China are volatile, after all, and the decision to un-ban can be easily reversed.

(I’m so sorry, Anon, I wish I have a better answer for you.)

And... here’s a thought I’ll finally end this meta series with. I don’t see Zhang as the only loser in this incident. I don’t really see any winners in this incident at all. An industry is dangerous for its every worker if its narrative, its list of guilty is penned by cyber mobs and in the name of patriotism; if the accused cannot speak for themselves, aren’t allowed to grow; if its rules of appropriate conduct are every-changing (The Reporter in 2017 = OK; Zhang in 2018 = Not OK); if its workers are penalised not by their own deeds but their associations (the rest of the cast and production team of WoH and other Zhang-associated projects).

The think tank for the National Ratio and Television Authority (國家廣播電視總局; NRTA, ie, the Chinese visual media censorship board), in their criticism piece about Zhang, hinted at even rougher waters ahead, in light of Zhang’s (and Kris Wu’s) transgressions:

明星頻頻「犯事」，說到底還是行業內對明星藝德約束不夠嚴格。據瞭解，電影行業正在籌備全國電影界道德委員會，將對電影從業人員道德規範提出更高要求，並提出，要將明星藝德納入法治化的軌道中來，給明星藝德約束加一道法規之鎖，明確明星的責任和義務，將明星的個人行為與職業利益掛鈎。 “The ultimate cause of stars “getting into trouble” frequently is that the industry has not tied a sufficiently severe bind on the stars’ artistic virtue (Pie note: roughly, = professional ethics). Based on reports, the film industry is preparing a National Film Industry Morality Committee that shall raise the moral requirements for film industry workers. The industry has also suggested that the stars’ artistic virtue shall eventually be governed by laws, to add a lock of legality to the bind of artistic virtues for the stars, to make clear the stars’ responsibilities and obligations, to couple a star’s personal behaviour with their professional (monetary) gains.”

My interpretation of this: should the suggestions become reality, it shall be written in future film contracts that a star who commits an act that the state considers immoral will have to pay the investors the production cost of their projects, and possibly, the projected profit. 

To put some dollar signs to this interpretation: a high-profile star may work on one or more projects with a price tag in the order of 100 million RMB (~15 million USD); box office, merchandise sells, and long term profits expected from online streaming can raise that number by several fold. This is a sum that even the most affluent stars will have a difficult time affording—and that’s before considering the endorsements, for which current contracts already require the stars to pay the damages.

The key word here is that the offending act only has to be considered immoral, not criminal. Immoral acts range from not liking the CCP enough—an easy-to-understand offence—to deviation from the society’s 公序良俗 (“public order and fine customs”), which includes just about anything that disagrees with the state-defined mainstream values.

Stars are stars because they invite the imaginations of their audience, because they break boundaries: from the seemingly insurmountable humdrum of daily life, to something that can be much, much more.

Stars should, of course, be law-abiding; they should be patriotic. But a star who’s mainstream in every way? Are they still a star, something we regular people wonder about, dream upon?

Bind and lock, the NRTA think tank referred to these suggestions. It reminders me of a quote by the famous Chinese director, Feng Xiaogang (馮小剛), who, in 2014, complained to BBC—perhaps in a slip of tongue—that Chinese directors could be like “dancing with fetters” (戴著腳鐐去跳舞) when working with the country’s censorship system.

Yeah. It’s kinda like that.

===

The Zhang Zhehan Incident Meta Series:

PART 1  PART 2 PART 3 PART 4 PART 5 <- YOU ARE HERE

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed, Episode 25, part one

(Masterpost) (Other Canary Stuff)

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Holy crap, Episode 25! We’re halfway through! *Cue Bon Jovi*

Hunt Invitation

After taking a nice long break to watch Word of Honor pick lotus pods, Wei Wuxian and Jiang Yanli return to stressing over the shitshow that is the post-Sunshot cultivation world. Jin Zixuan has come to invite them to the Phoenix Mountain Hunt, with a special invitation from his mother to Jiang Yanli. Jiang Cheng reacts to this in a mature and reasonable manner, while Wei Wuxian...doesn't.

On the surface, Jiang Cheng has matured in recent months; much more than Wei Wuxian, with his secret burdens, has. But it's only on the surface, as we'll see later in the episode, when Jiang Cheng's insecurity will take the reins.

Jin Zixuan is adorably pleased by Jiang Yanli's acceptance of the invitation. Wei Wuxian is less pleased, but sort of tries to suck it up. 

Jin Zixuan kind of undercuts the romance of his errand by asking Wei Wuxian for the Yin tiger amulet as soon as Jiang Yanli is out of earshot. 

As always, Jin Zixuan makes an impression by being the best Jin currently in existence, but the Jins are terrible. JZX is working to advance his dad's ambitions, and as such he is currently Wei Wuxian's enemy.  

(more after the cut)

Opening Ceremonies

There's a bunch of cultivators arranged for the opening ceremony. Later someone will say that this is more than 5 thousand people. Ok, sure.

As I've said before, it's best to think of it like a theatre production and assume the other 4,900 people are offstage or, you know, painted on the backdrop.  

The young lead cultivators from the four main clans are standing together. Nie Huaisang is trying out some new body armor.

The clan leaders are seated up on the stage, along with Jin Furen and Jiang Yanli. Unfortunately Jin Furen doesn't seem to have a personal name that I can discover. Her title Fūrén ( 夫人)  means she's the primary wife of the head of the family, according to this excellent meta. 

So “Madame Jin” is a decent translation...if you're French?  I feel like instead of English subtitles including borrowed words from French (”Marquis” in NIH), Greek (”Water of Lethe” in WOH), and other European languages, we could try borrowing Chinese words instead. Jin Zixuan's mom is titled, not named, Jin Furen. Since we don’t know her actual name, I'll call her that and abbreviate it JFR.

Wei Wuxian's childishness continues at the opening of the hunt, as does Jiang Yanli's encouragement of his childishness. I know she's had a rough couple of years, and it's understandable to want to baby her little brother out of a sense of nostalgia. But it's not good for him, and she shouldn't do it; she should encourage him to be more mature, just as she does with Jiang Cheng.

War Crimes Contest

Jin Guangyao says they're going to have an archery competition, and they're going to liven it up by endangering some prisoners. These prisoners are Wens in Wen cultivator uniforms, meaning they're not the noncombatants that were being hunted down earlier. But they’re still helpless people in chains. 

There are three different reactions when the Wen prisoners are brought out.  All the Jins are pleased, or neutral. All of the Jiangs, including Wei Wuxian, are upset.

The Nies and the Lans, what we see of them, are a little shocked, but not obviously upset. Based on those reactions, it seems like this is a maneuver that in-world is considered shocking and cruel, but not necessarily unethical or immoral.  Shocking, cruel displays of power are pretty normal in this world; remember when Wen Chao lit a Lan cultivator on fire just to say hello, and nobody complained? 

This whole scenario, of course, has been designed to provoke Wei Wuxian. One major goal of this event, and the whole reason for wanting Wei Wuxian to come,  is to get the Yin Tiger amulet.  Making him lose his shit in front of 100 5000 cultivators is a good step toward compelling him to hand the amulet over.  

We see Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli both signaling Wei Wuxian to keep it together, and he takes a step back and tries to chill.  

Meanwhile, Jin Zixuan seems annoyed by all this, and goes to take a shot at it, making it clear from his demeanor that this is easy and JGY is making a show of nothing. 

He hovers in the air and makes a perfect shot, pleasing most of the crowd and impressing Jiang Yanli. 

Then his cousin Jin Zixun taunts the crowd, challenging anyone to do better.  This presents a bit of a problem for Wei Wuxian. For the sake of the Wen prisoners, Wei Wuxian should just take this taunting and let the contest end, if no-one else is willing to take a shot. But for the sake of the Jiang Clan’s status, and his continued control of the Yin Tiger amulet, he needs to put the Jins in their place.  

Every Day is Blindfold Day

This moral dilemma is resolved with an abrupt tonal shift, where the humanitarian concerns of all parties seem to vanish. Wei Wuxian flirts embarrassingly with Lan Wangji and then goes as far over the top in besting Jin Zixuan as it's possible to go.

The flirting hits differently, incidentally, when you edit Jiang Cheng's annoyed reaction out of it: 

Lan Wangji doesn't seem embarrassed by Wei Wuxian's request, despite it happening in front of 100 5000 of their fellow cultivators. He looks Wei Wuxian straight in the eye for longer than necessary before turning away; it’s not exactly stern disapproval. We’ll get very used to this look, in Wei Wuxian’s second life. 

Fortunately, Wei Wuxian carries a blindfold with him wherever he goes, (gifset here), and he is such a good cultivator he can hit 5 parallel targets simultaneously without even holding his bow straight or tightening the string.

(OP fixed the angle of the bow for this gif, which is why everyone is standing on a hill in the background).

Everyone is pleased by this shot except Jins Guangyao and Zixun; even the Jin cultivators are clapping, and Madame Jin is presumably this happy any time Jin Guangyao’s plans go wrong.

With that they start the hunt. Jin Zixun challenges Wei Wuxian to do the whole hunt blindfolded. Wei Wuxian agrees, but the censorship committee said no, apparently, so we don’t get to see that.

Flute Hunting

We do get to see Wei Wuxian luring monsters into his nets by being too sexy for his robe, too sexy for his robe, and playing the flute.  

We also get to see Jiang cultivators looking puzzled while random monster roars happen in the woods around them. We do not get to see any monsters, which is probably just as well.

Jiang Cheng is annoyed and concerned, muttering "I told you not to overdo it" which means he didn't, you know, tell Wei Wuxian NOT to do this, just not to do it quite so well. Jiang Cheng knows what Wei Wuxian’s abilities are and he is making use of him, as he should, but he doesn’t have the courage of his convictions. 

Tree Confession

Wei Wuxian sees Lan Wangji and starts to say hi, but then he has a desaturated flashback to Lan Xichen telling him to back off, so he stops himself.  But then Lan Wangji comes over to talk to him.

Lan Wangji starts off talking to him about his latest anti-resentment musical discoveries, and Wei Wuxian pushes back, even calling him Lan Wangji, but gently.  Wei Wuxian asks "who am I to you?" and Lan Wangji turns the question right back at him, then waits a looooooong time, eyes downcast, while Wei Wuxian thinks of a serious answer.

Wei Wuxian says "I used to treat you as my zhījǐ" --which, as we’ve discussed before, is variously translated soulmate, confidant, intimate friend--with a strong meaning of "the person who truly knows me." Lan Wangji says "I still am." Coming from Lan Wangji, who NEVER says how he feels about Wei Wuxian or about anything, really, this sounds a lot like a confession of love. 

It definitely takes the form, visually, of a love confession, as Lan Wangji speaks, then gazes at Wei Wuxian while he waits for a reply.  Wei Wuxian's reply is this:

I don't think Wei Wuxian is oblivious (I'm speaking strictly of CQL, not MZDS, as always with these posts; they are different works). I think he loves Lan Wangji back, and knows it. But Chenqing and everything it represents are between them.

Lan Wangji is quite literally NOT his zhījǐ any more, because he doesn't truly know Wei Wuxian right now. He loves him desperately, but he doesn't know about his core, and hasn't accepted his cultivation method.  So Wei Wuxian answers his confession by showing him Chenqing, effectively declining to accept his still-conditional love.

Snake Measuring

Next we get terrible hetero courtship in the form of Jin Zixuan finding snake discharge on the ground and talking to Jiang Yanli about comparative snake measuring. Seriously: that is the actual conversation that they are having.

Jin Zixuan boasts for a bit, and then awkwardly tries to ask Jiang Yanli on a date. When she turns him down he gets mad, because he's a typical heterosexual dude even though he's secretly a delightful person...very, very secretly. Jiang Yanli, for her part, can't string a fucking sentence together to save her life whenever he's around, so she's not helping their mutual understanding. 

Lan Wangji attempts to hold Wei Wuxian back from beating Jin Zixuan’s ass yet again, but eventually JYL wants to leave, JZX tells her to wait, and WWX intervenes. Why doesn't Jiang Yanli have a maid or Jiang cultivator with her while she's on a date, incidentally? These kids are confused about whether they're doing feudal patriarchy or whether they're doing modern social life.

Jin vs. Jiang

Wei Wuxian jumps in between Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan, which JZX objects to. Jin Zixuan has no fucking business objecting and Wei Wuxian is 100% right, at this point. As soon as WWX shows up JZX should hand her off to her Shidi, bow, and leave her the fuck alone. Instead, he draws his sword on Wei Wuxian, and kind of on Jiang Yanli since she's right behind Wei Wuxian.  Fortunately, Lan Wangji blocks him. 

This instantly blows up into a Jiang-Jin Clan conflict, with Jiang Cheng unfortunately absent since he let his unmarried sister go off in the woods alone with the son of the Cultivaton world's most famous lecher. It looks like it’s a personal conflict, but since Jin Zixuan already told Wei Wuxian directly that Jin Guangshan wants his amulet, any arguments between them are part of a larger power struggle. 

Cousin Jin Zixun comes running up to start shit. Wei Wuxian pretends--I am SURE he's pretending--not to know who he is. The dude hassles Wei Wuxian every time he sees him; Wei Wuxian is a troll, and right now CJXZ is butting in to something that doesn't concern him. Rather than argue, Wei Wuxian insults him by telling him he’s not memorable.

Jin Furen shows up with several maids and cultivator dudes in tow, which is the proper way for a highborn woman to wander around in the woods. She also brings Clan Leader Yao, because if it's Wei Wuxian Blaming Hours, Yao is going to be there.  

I initially found the deep friendship between superhot Yi Zuyuan and dumpy Jin Furen implausible, but then I remembered that my lifelong bestie is a smokin' hot redhead with impeccable fashion sense, while I am a roly-poly nerd.  Friends don’t always match. Also, Jin Furen's actress, Hu Xiaoting, looks like this: 

...so she is actually hot in real life. Not as hot as Zhang Jingtong (who plays Yu Ziyuan) but literally nobody is as hot as Zhang Jingtong. Don't @ me, you know I'm right.

This is a heck of a long scene, so we’ll pick it up in part two! 

Soundtrack: Livin’ on a Prayer by Bon Jovi

Writing prompt: Newly-divorced, cold-hearted CEO Yu Ziyuan buys an apartment next door to newly-divorced, warm-hearted pastry chef ...uhh let's call her Jin Dàngāo (蛋糕), sure. She can name her business after herself. 

They discover their daughter & son are in the same college class, and so they meet up over coffee....several times...trying to matchmake their hopeless, hapless kids, while bonding over their own terrible (former) taste in husbands. Who will Cupid strike first, the kids or the moms?

[taechnological]

I’m very curious about your opinion here: pick a song (may be more than one ofc) for each member that you associate with them - be it because of their singing/rapping part in it or maybe characteristic choreography or just general vibe? I’m just curious if other people link some songs with particular members like I do (like Let Go is totally Tae’s song for me 🤷‍♀️) IF you want I would love to know your reasons too

whoaaa what an interesting question! okay so i thought about this and decided to include ot7 songs only in this (i just made things difficult for myself, didn't i?) bc obviously the solo songs link to the respective members, right? haha okay so let's go in fanchant order~

namjoon:

hip hop phile (why? bc he IS a hip hop phile!), love maze (i hear love maze and my brain immediately goes: love is a maze but damn u is amaze yeah i just can't help it), pied piper (it just does, this song gives off joon vibes to me, yes i am weird), am i wrong (if u know the actual meaning of this song, u get me), look here (um??? what's popping girl??)

seokjin:

CRYSTAL SNOW (for all the obvious reasons), don't leave me and film out (ok let's be honest here, seokjin OWNS all jpn songs, period), autumn leaves (that song belongs to jin and jin only, i have many more reasons other than this, but this one is the strongest), BUTTER (IT IS BASICALLY A SONG MADE FOR OUR MAIN CHARACTER KIM SEOKJIN), butterfly (no reasons needed, he owns it)

yoongi:

mic drop (idk man i hear mic drop and i think of yoongi, his verse, the diss, the actual mic drop, those silver hair in a bandana, shitting on b*llb*ard, everything), FIRE (maybe it's bc of the "bultaoreune" or maybe it's bc of his scene in the starting of the mv or maybe it's bc yoongi represents fire in all hyyh mvs, who knows tbh), 134340 (it's the "a-a-anyeong" for me, i'm telling u), ma city (maybe bc yoongi talks about his daegu a lot, and also maybe bc his rap in this is FIRE)

hoseok:

dis-ease (hobi LITERALLY owns it), 2nd grade (it is hobi's and hobi's song ONLY), pandogangsan (i love his verse in it like i can't help it he owned it), dionysus (smth about the most lightweight of the group making a song about the god of drinking intrigues me), BAEPSAE (YOU KNOW WHY)

jimin:

home (jimin CARRIED this song, it is his now), blood sweat and tears (does this even need a reason??), 24/7=heaven (i am obsessed and it is all jimin's fault), black swan (???duh???), danger (*tae voice* i think it's the eyeliner")

taehyung:

heartbeat, save me and dna (solely for his ocean voice in them, i can't help it, i'm a sucker for it), spring day (it is his fav song (mv)! plus he has a demo of it that i listen to biyearly), jump (NUGA NAREUL MAGADO-), blue & grey (it was supposed to be for kth1 and i am emotionally attached to it's original version), go go (have u SEEN go go tae??), war of hormone (same reason as BEFORE WOH TAE WAS SMTH ELSE), boy in luv (the reason why i'm into bts)

jungkook:

outro: love is not over (it is literally his), your eyes tell (same reson as before), rain (jungkook's voice in it did a lot for me to make me the bts stan i am today), for you (WHY DO WE NEVER TALK ABOUT THIS MASTERPIECE WHYYYY subete for youuuuuu), boy with luv (he gives off bwl vibes to me :( i'm weak), whalien 52 (it is bc of his "i'm a whale" i have no other reason), ON (the nip slips, that's the reason), tomorrow (his voice, and also his hip-thrusts, i'm sorry)

[rainbowsky]

ggdd must be happy about other gay loves stories like woh airing, it's more stories for them to say 'like us'

I wouldn’t be surprised if they were happy to see those stories being filmed. I think it’s an obviously good thing for queer representation, even though the stories are bro-ified and not necessarily representative of actual queer relationships or actual queer lives. There’s a long journey from a show like Untamed or WOH to marriage rights and other rights being enshrined into law, but anything that helps to normalize and bring queer representations into public consumption is a step in the right direction.

It’s also just good and healthy for the entertainment industry. The more stories like this, the easier it will be to get new queer stories made.

[chnqin]

#showyourprocess

From planning to posting, share your process for making creative content!

To continue supporting content makers, this tag game is meant to show the entire process of making creative content: this can be for any creation.

RULES: When your work is tagged, show the process of its creation from planning to posting, then tag 5 people with a specific link to one of their creative works you’d like to see the process of. Use the tag #showyourprocess so we can find yours!

I was tagged by @wendashanren​ to show my process for two of my minimalist posters, thanks for the tag! (also I cannot believe how organised you are, all my ideas are scribbled in my notes app at speed before I forget them, and then I take ages to find what I'm looking for).

For the people I’m tagging please don’t feel any pressure (especially if you’ve already been tagged), but if you have time I’d love to see the process for:

This WOH post by @gusucloud because I’m honestly in awe of the layers, especially the first picture with the fan This lovely art of Wei Wuxian by @risoria because his face is amazing and the colours are so unusual but look so good This gifset by @mylastbraincql - the text effect looks so cool, and all the gifs are so crisp I want to know how you did it This TGCF post by @lan-xichens​ because the colouring is stunning And this post by @leonzhng​ because the amount of layers are amazing and it must have taken so long to make

sorry if you’ve already been asked to do any of these!

Process beneath the cut

Ok, so in some ways my minimalist posters are much easier to make than something involving pictures, where you have to locate good screencaps, remove backgrounds, smooth edges of pngs, correct the usually dreadful colour and brightness etc before you can even begin making something.

The first minimalist poster I made was the Sunshot Campaign trio. I don't really know what made me do it, the general idea just popped into my head to show a narrative through images only, and then I worked out shapes etc later. The subsequent posters have been framed from those original three.

The Yi City poster took the longest of all the minimalist posters because I struggled to decide how to represent the characters in it.

I tried out a lot of different things for the main three figures, but what I knew was that I wanted a cross for szc, a dash for xxc, and something to represent blood for xy.

I also liked the idea of the three characters literally standing in the shadow of the gate, and so gave them what cold be shadows, but could also be robes for the body depending on how you interpret it. In the end I went with the most simplified version - my only regret about that is that I lost the black/white sharing for szc and xxc, and therefore the sort of noughts and crosses idea I was going for.

^ Here are all the layers of different types of figure representation I tried - you can see how many different iterations it took to to become something so simple (each folder has at least two or three versions of that particular style). It took me so long to decide how to represent the three figures, so I'm actually really glad to be able to show people some of the earlier versions.

Most of the shapes I make using the lasso or pen tool. For the cross, dash, and tear/blood I used one of the brushes which comes with photoshop because I have never worked out how to get fancy new ones. The gate I sourced from a free png because I couldn't be bothered making something so ornate, and then I added "Yi City" on it.

I then had to decide how to represent A-Qing, and thought a white, bloodstained bird worked well for how we first see her in the series. The red went on her wings to represent them being clipped (removing her sight and ability to speak) - it also echoes the red of xy, who is the one who killed her.

For the Qiongqi path poster I knew I wanted a blue umbrella and thought a circle might represent it best, and then added the rain. I made the middle line bigger for no reason at all, I just liked the look of it. The umbrella made me think of Kandinsky paintings, which are all very minimalist with shapes and lines, so I added the two lines at the side in white (copied from the middle line of the umbrella). This immediately made me think of LWJ and WWX walking the main path together. WWX's line starts higher, because he's the main character and we are introduced to him first in the narrative. I also left it at the same height as the vertical line in the umbrella, which then echoes a) the downward motion of the umbrella as it is dropped to the ground (an action which is caused by wwx) and b) the literal falling of lwj for wwx ( if that makes sense).

I then struggled for ages over how to represent the Wens and WWX leaving. I was going to try and make silhouettes of them at the bottom on the horses, but nothing looked good - so I went with another line, this time in red, then connected it with his white line. The first wave is the beginning of his demonic cultivation (going by the book, rather than the drama), i.e. leaving the straight orthodox path. You can see that the white line could still turn around here and return back to its original trajectory. The break between the white and red lines which represent wwx is him falling into the burial mounds. The subsequent wave is the upheaval of the sunshot campaign and aftermath, but also can be interpreted a bit like those heartbeat machines in hospitals. The line going straight is when he takes the Wens - a path he cannot return from. His trajectory is now set.

If you've read all of this well done, it's super long, so I will give you an edits tip which helped me with these as a reward for making it this far: If you're ever unhappy with something you've made, take stuff away, don't add it. As can be seen with the minimalist posters, every time I wasn't sure something worked, I made it more simple and ultimately it looked a lot better for it.

[neocatharsis]

The Brilliant Members of World Renowned NCT 127 Share Their Thoughts Fashion, Music, Lifestyle, Favorite Things… What Their Individual Styles Are　#009 MARK

Some Excerpts

To know the world, to be a writer. What are your thoughts on that?

MN: Now then, after thoroughly reading your questionnaire, how to put this, it’s not that often that you see so many amazing responses in one place that happen to be philosophical in nature. That’s how amazing we thought your responses were, MARK-san.

M: Woh~!!

MN: For the question, “If you were to introduce yourself to the readers of MEN’S NON-NO as if you were doing so to someone you just met for the first time, what would that be?”, you answered, “I’m a young man who is still learning about the world”. How concise yet such lovely words. Please tell us in what way you are coming face-to-face with the world right now.

M: Wow, thank you very much. I often feel how scary it is the way time just flies by. Like time is flashing by in an instant. However, I feel that the “youth” of each person is exactly when that person feels like “it is right now”. Of course, it depends on the person, but I think that there is a sense of youth that I can feel at any given time, whether I’m in my 30’s or my 40’s, and I think that will change depending on how I feel and how I perceive it. What I can say now is that somewhere inside, I feel like, “I still have yet to know the world”. That’s why I always feel that I’m in still the process of learning more about the world, and that I have a lot of new things to learn with so many different aspects. There is so much wisdom, information, and knowledge in this world, and it’s as if I’m digesting these things one by one within my mind without rushing the process, and I’m shaping my identity by selecting what I need. I feel like I’m amidst this process.

MN: It feels like facing the vastness of the outside world is also connected to facing yourself. Also, to the question, “What is your source of inspiration for creative work?”, you wrote, “EVERYTHING”.

M: That’s true. I’m currently trying to understand so many things and ingest them within myself. So, well, I guess I’m in the middle of my lessons.

MN: You talked about how you perceive the world, but the concept of the group is exactly “TO THE WORLD”. For the question, “What is important to you in expressing yourself and conveying your style as a global artist?”, you wrote, “I believe that we should know ourselves and be honest with ourselves”. To the world, to know yourself. It seems that “to know” is important you.

M: With regard my policy of being honest with myself in order to know myself, I believe it is necessary with all aspects. For example, as an artist, “I wasn’t honest with my previous performance, but this time I am”, just doesn’t cut it. After all, I think that in order to absorb various things, you should always be honest with your feelings and with yourself. Inspiration often comes from the outside, but I think it’s important to think about how you interpret it, what types of emotions you are willing to accept, and how you are going to express them. I feel like I’m always trying to figure out how I interpret a song and its concept with honesty, and then how I’m going to perform that song. I think the other members are the same, but TAEYONG-san, who also writes lyrics as I do, likely has many opportunities to feel the same way when writing poetry.

MN: Since you brought up writing lyrics, I’d like to ask you a couple of things accordingly. To the actual question, “What dream would you like to achieve in your life other than music?”, you responded, “To write literary work”. We can tell that you like to write from the questionnaire that was jam-packed with words, but please tell us what is important to you when putting your feelings into words, and if there is anything you would challenge yourself to try.

M: Let’s see… Though I mention writing, it’s mostly lyrics these days. However, in order to complete those lyrics, I need to keep writing down my ideas. Those ideas become the source of everything I write and I start from there. Each letter/character and sentence always are the basis of my lyrics and other works, and I think that they contain my various viewpoints as well as perspectives. I also try to express these different viewpoints and perspectives in words.

MN: That’s a vital essence on how to create works of art.

M：For example, even if the theme is the same, the interpretation will change depending on how you look at things, or rather, your point of view, and I think this will appeal differently to people. So, the lyrics then are taken further as they fit the music. Thus, the way it is conveyed will then change depending on the beat and sounds. I rather enjoy that part of it. As far as things “I would like to challenge myself to” in the future… Of course, right now, I think that writing lyrics is already a good way for me to express myself in terms of writing itself, and it’s very gratifying as well, but… If in the future, really further into the future, that is, once I have achieved a lot of experience, it would be wonderful if I could publish a book.

MN: Wow! We look forward to that!

M: My original dream was to become an author! And I am really satisfied that I am able to write lyrics and sing those lyrics, but it would be something if I could publish a book someday when I’m older….

MN: As a young man still in the process of learning about the world, we hope for the day when you, MARK-san, have seen and listened to more things, will be able to share your experiences with us.

M: One day, eventually. Whether it be a novel, or some kind of autobiography, or even something that’s philosophical…or something that represents my thoughts… As of now, it is all up in the air, but I do hope to be able to write a book of that sort one day.

MN: So, your passion for writing something is being devoted to the creation of lyrics.

M: Well, to be honest, I don’t’ really think I’ve been able to express myself fully yet. As I mentioned earlier, I’m still in the process of learning and absorbing various things, and in many ways, I feel my writing skills are still in its infancy as well. However, the important thing to remember is that it’s often not until you write down what you’re thinking about that you realize what it is that you were thinking about. When I write, a lot of things come to mind, and they then naturally becomes letters/characters and then sentences. So, I didn’t notice it before I began writing, but as I continued to write, I realized, “Oh, I had this idea in me” and “I had that idea in me”. The thoughts and feelings that were hiding within began coming to light. Right now, I find that process very stimulating”

MN： And what we hear is what has been output from that process.

M: I guess that’s how it works. And there’s one thing I know without a doubt. I am currently trying to express myself on a daily basis while feeling how “interesting” everything is. Besides, I think that if you don’t have fun yourself while experiencing all these different things, it simply won’t be able to write and express yourself well. That’s why I feel that, in addition to “writing”, it’s important for me to experience more interesting and different things.

MN: Well put. We will introduce the songs written by you, MARK-san, and TAEYONG-san, who came up earlier, at the end of this topic.

What kind of place is NCT 127 for MARK?

MN: We would like to ask what NCT 127 means to you, MARK-san?

M: Yes, certainly!

MN: There was one thing that was deeply impressive and we’d like to share that with the readers first. Two years ago, YUTA-san gave his first solo interview with MEN’S NON-NO and that article became a record-breaking hit. After it posted, when we told him about it at the Saitama Super Arena concert (NCT 127 1st Tour ‘NEO CITY:JAPAN‐The Origin’), you were next to him and we were surprised that you jumped up before him. We felt your deep affection for the other members.

M: Ahh~, thank you for looking over me with such warmth!

MN: We can’t forget how you shook YUTA-san’s shoulders and said, “You did it!”, while YUTA-san was still in shock, saying, “What? Really?” (laughter). All the staff members were talking about how “MARK’s response was the fastest~!”

M: Haha! First off, I mean, YUTA-san is just so adorable. I really do love him. It is of course important to be happy when someone important to you has had something good happen to him, and I’m sure YUTA-san would do the same for me. So, right now in that way, for me, the members mean a lot to me and I want everyone to be happy, and to be really happy all the time.

MN: It shows how you care about one another.

M: Since we are friends who have truly shared various things together and have experienced both joy as well as hardship, we’re so close that we can almost always tell what each other is thinking about. I think that it is more comfortable for each and every one of us to be each other than to be with anybody else, which I’m sure is the same for everybody else.

MN: In contrast, to the question, “What is behind the coolness of NCT 127?”, you responded, “I find it cool to be able to accomplish something difficult, so I think it is cool how I challenge myself and my team challenges itself in order to do so!”

M: We as NCT 127 are an ambitious group. We strive to pursue that ambition and are constantly trying to upgrade our own capabilities. I think these activities have made me a smarter person, and when they look at one another, I feel that we as an entire group are becoming more mature and blossoming through that effort. NCT 127 has really become an indispensable part of my life now. It’s a place in which I am able to grow and where happiness exists.

What are your thoughts about communication?

MN: To the question, “Please list three things that make up who you are, MARK-san”, you wrote, “Family, members, fans”. It appears you’re all about “people”, MARK-san. Due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, it is becoming increasingly difficult to see our loved ones. With group activities, not being able to do offline concerts or events. Under these circumstances, what do you find is important, MARK-san, when it comes to connecting with your family, members, and fans?

M: I find it truly “unfortunate and sad” that we are unable to do our regular activities and unable to see each other. But since there’s really nothing we can do about this situation, I think we have to accept it. On the other hand, in times like these, I think it’s really important to “communicate” with your loved ones and to find a way to communicate with them. For example, even between husband and wife, it is often said that it is not good to rely too much on “knowing without saying”. I mean, I’ve heard that there are some things that you simply can’t know unless you put them into words… Although, I don’t know about that kind of thing yet (LOL)

MN: Yes, we hear that a lot (LOL).

M: Even I used to nebulously think that my fans likely knew how much I wanted to see them and that I miss them when I can’t see them. However, I have come to realize that it is definitely necessary for people to communicate with each other and to properly express their feelings. I feel more aware of the importance of expressing my feelings in words without assuming that they will understand. With this in mind, I’ve been trying to express my feelings in words through SNS and online content as much as possible, so that my fans can think, “Oh, I’m so glad I waited for you.” I’d like to communicate with my fans through the use of my own words, so that I can stay connected and in a good relationship with all my fans for a long time to come.

MN: Your feeling are already clearly conveyed in those words.

M: If that’s the case, I am happy!

MN: The questionnaire we received back from you was positive overall, and full of strong willed words, but there was one particular answer that was really striking. It was the answer you wrote, “I would like others to see me as a happy person, but in fact, I have a lot of things to worry about.” to the question, “What kind of gap is there between the real you and how you want to be seen by others?” To the question, “What would you like to overcome?”, you responded, “Worrying too much about unnecessary things.” Of course, nobody is fine all the time, but you have an image of being cheerful and energetic, MARK-san. So, the question is, how do you fill in the gaps when it comes to that?

M: Ugh~. That’s partly due to my personality. When I meet people, when I come face-to-face with them, whether it’s the fans or people who are normally around me, I don’t like to show them that I’m not doing well because I’ve had a bad day, for example. I mean, I don’t think it’s in my nature to show my negative side. The reason is that there is nothing wrong with the other person. So, to express the problem I’m having in front of that person is… well, I think it’s just wrong. That’s why I always want to bring as much positive energy as possible to the person in front of me, and to be in a cheerful state.

MN: It’s common to take your anger out on others when you are in a bad mood, but you are making an effort to control yourself there! With regard to, “a memorable piece of advice you received from somebody”, you responded, “TREAT OTHERS THE WAY YOU WISH TO BE TREATED.” There feels like a connection here.

M: Yes, there is. In particular, for my fans, I want to show a good image of myself. They always support us, and even for our concerts and events, they often come from afar to meet us. Why would we want to take the trouble to show our negative side under those circumstances? If we did, we would wind up in regret after getting off the stage. That’s why I always want to deliver energy to my fans, and even if I do have worries or concerns, I do what I can to not to show them. There’s always another place where I can release it. So, if I’m in a bad state, I tend to shift my emotions. I try to eliminate my worries and concerns as much as possible, but if I find it difficult or impossible to do, I think it’s something that should be resolved by talking to the members of the group, talking to my family, or talking to the people around me.

© https://mensnonno.jp/post/58067/

[salmankhanholics]

★ Well done Salman Khan”: Single screen exhibitors react to Radhe – Your Most Wanted Bhai’s hybrid release announcement!

Apr 23, 2021  The industry, trade and moviegoers were left surprised with the sudden announcement that Radhe - Your Most Wanted Bhai, the much awaited film of Salman Khan, would release in cinemas on Eid. However, it’ll also simultaneously arrive on Zee’s pay-per-view platform, ZeePlex. It’s the first time something of this sort is being attempted. Ideally, a massy movie like Radhe - Your Most Wanted Bhai is best enjoyed in cinemas but due to the never-ending second wave of Coronavirus, it seems that the makers had to make this decision.

Shariq Patel, Chief Business Officer, Zee Studios says, “Wherever theatres are operational in India, our film will release. And internationally, cinemas are anyway open. So wherever theatres are functional, we’ll follow the theatrical windowing of that particular country.” In other words, internationally, the film will release only in cinemas, provided theatres are functioning in that region. In India, it’ll have a hybrid release.

He justifies this move by stating, “Internationally, Warner Bros has been following this practice. Last year, we experimented with just a PVOD (premium video on demand) release of Khaali Peeli. We shortened the theatrical window of Suraj Pe Mangal Bhariand Solo Brathuke So Better. We need to adapt to the existing market scenario. One has to understand that a lot of money has been invested. So one can’t keep waiting for the ideal scenario to arise. The pandemic and the resulting restrictions have been going on for a year now and there’s no end in sight. So, the point is that we have to evolve, find a solution to a given situation.”

Trade Speak Trade analyst Taran Adarsh says, “The producers did the right thing. Since it’s a Salman Khan film, the costs are huge. And it’s a film which was supposed to release one year ago. Imagine the interest he must have incurred due to this delay. He has all the money in the world, I am not denying that. But every film has an economic baggage. How long can you hold on?”

He adds, “As for the exhibitors, they were hoping that Salman Khan will bail them out. As I have always said, he is the pied piper of Bollywood. His films, irrespective of the merit, command a terrific initial. Now a hybrid release announcement comes as a jolt for them. It’s going to take some time for them to absorb the reality.”

He also feels that in these sensitive times, cinema is the last thing on people’s mind, “On social media, 99% discussions are only about Covid-19. Cinema doesn’t even feature anywhere as priority. So it’s a wait and watch situation right now. We don’t know how it’s going to pan out.”

Girish Johar, producer and film business analyst, however, is more critical of this development, “This scenario has to be seen through various perspectives. Definitely, it’s a big blow for cinemas. We have already lost around 1000 screens to Covid-19 last year. And now Radhe - Your Most Wanted Bhai, which is like a crucial oxygen cylinder, has gone away on digital. So it’s sure to affect the health of the exhibition sector.”

He says he fails to understand how someone of the stature of Salman can opt for such a model and adds, “If you are an individual producer in need of cash flow, then one can understand if one opts for such a model. After all, the interest adds to the budget with each passing month.” He also feels that the stars have been unfair to the theatres, which made them so popular in the first place. He emphasizes, “These actors, in their 30 or 35 year old careers went to various theatres to promote their films. Kuch actors ne toh ticket window pe tickets bhi bechi hai, for promotions. Pichle ek-dedh saal mein cinemas bandh kya hue, inhone toh tweet bhi nahi kiya for helpingthis sector. It’s the cinema that made you. They should have been a little considerate about them.”

He further tells why the PVOD release is not ideal, “From infrastructure perspective, it is not the right move. It’ll stop the growth of multiplex screens. Also, OTT is an urban market and mostly patronized by viewers of 10-12 cities. Toh Radhe - Your Most Wanted Bhai log ZeePlex pe Delhi aur Mumbai mein dekhenge ya Ichalkaranji mein dekhenge? Obviously, it’ll be the former. And Mumbai and Delhi were the top revenue generating centres for most films. As for audiences in smaller towns, they’ll access the film through Telegram or other pirated means.”

“How long can you keep waiting?” We then asked the exhibitors on their reaction to this development. While the representatives of multiplex chains were unavailable, the single-screen cinema owners shared their views to this writer. Surprisingly, till now, they have always been against a big, feature films releasing anywhere else other than the cinemas first. This time, their viewpoint has slightly altered.

Vishek Chauhan, owner of Roopbani Cinema in Bihar, says, “It’s high time they took this step and no one is to blame here. How long can you keep waiting? It’s a crisis situation for everyone. It’s not like cinemas hi marr rahe hai. Sab marr rahe hai. Everyone is suffering. Zee has paid around Rs. 230 crores. How long can they hold their investment?”

Akshaye Rathi, film exhibitor and distributor, adds, “Given the scenario given in the country right now, the decision is quite practical. I don’t expect a significant number of cinemas to be even allowed to open by May 13. It’s an interesting experiment and I truly hope that the Indian consumers rise to the occasion and actually pay per view rather than hacking the movie through piracy.”

He continues, “As an exhibitor, however, I would have loved it had the movie’s release plans been delayed a bit and was brought to the theatres when things were coming close to normal. Now that the vaccination drive is getting accelerated, I am sure that day isn’t too far out that cases would reduce. Fingers crossed and here’s wishing the team luck.”

Raj Bansal agrees with Akshaye Rathi as he states, “If they really wanted to come in a big way in theatres, they should have waited for two months.”

Question mark over its domestic box office performance However, due to the rise in cases, one wonders how many cinemas will be open in India by May 13. Also, prime markets like Mumbai, Delhi etc. might still be shut. In such a scenario, one wonders what the domestic box office of Radhe - Your Most Wanted Bhai would look like. Vishek Chauhan minces no words as he tells, “Theatre India mein kahan khule hai? Jo bhi khule hue hai, woh naam ke khule hue hain. The way cases are rising exponentially, cinemas will be lucky to be operating by Diwali in this country. The current crisis is unprecedented.”

He also feels that it’s a long way to go for cinemas to reopen. He explains, “First, you need the cases to go down and for people to feel confident to roam around. Then the government should feel confident to open cinemas. Then, theatre owners should feel that it’s viable to resume operations. Lastly, producers should feel that it’s a good time to release their films. Yeh hote hote aisa na ho ki phir se saal nikal jaaye.”

Raj Bansal tells, “Half of cinema theatres in India might be shut during Eid. May 13 is just three weeks away. I doubt if we can open up looking at the lockdowns that are happening in several places. The election rallies and kumbh mela have led to the increase in cases majorly. We can’t afford to do the same during Eid by opening up cinemas.” Even Akshaye Rathi is in agreement that theatres in most regions will still be shut during May 13.

Vishek Chauhan, then, tries to understand the rationale behind this move, “Salman and Zee must have got slightly bolstered since UK cinemas will resume operations from May 11. The USA market, meanwhile, is fully recovering. UAE is perfectly fine while Australia and New Zealand is alive and kicking. So the domestic losses they’ll face, they’ll make up from overseas markets to some extent. Domestic box office, meanwhile, will be zero. Kahan release karenge? The government might refuse to open cinemas for this film, fearing that it’ll lead to crowding.”

‘Radhe’ model to become the norm? Like Radhe - Your Most Wanted Bhai, there are several big ticket films awaiting release. The question is whether these films would also follow suit and opt for a hybrid release. Shariq Patel says, “I am fairly certain. A lot of films have been held on for so long. No producer has the capacity to hold on to their film for such a long period. However, equilibrium will be reached once the situation is back to normal. But when that normal situation would arise is something that no one knows. Today, we are in April 2021 and it’s worse than the circumstances in April 2020.”

Vishek Chauhan also has a similar point of view, “Other makers should follow suit. How long will they wait for? And we cinema owners are in no position to dictate terms to them. But one thing is proven that when cinemas are open, theatres are the best place to release a film. Theatres will be back and theatres will be the main medium to release films.”

Akshaye Rathi however disagrees, “I think a lot of filmmakers would observe what actually happens to Radhe - Your Most Wanted Bhai in terms of its PVOD release. India as a market has traditionally not succeeded too well with the pay-per-view model. Having said that, this is the biggest film to take this route. If it succeeds, then maybe a few more producers might consider it. So I think that it’s a wait-and-watch scenario. Personally I don’t expect too many people to take up this model yet.”

Raj Bansal adds, “It’s too early to decide. We have to wait and see how Radhe - Your Most Wanted Bhai performs, and also how much it affects theatrical business. If the box office gets impacted, then the Multiplex Association of India might now allow such hybrid release. However, since 15 months will pass without any major film, the MAI might allow this model for a few films initially.”

[australian-desi]

Qurban Hua ~ Episode 1: Of Rakhis, Token White People and Mithai

So like I was playing the sims 4 and my sim’s only daughter (she has 5 kids - 4 sons, 1 daughter) just died from an accidental drowning on her eldest brother’s birthday party (but I quit without saving so she’s back to life). So that killed the whole gameplay mood. And I’ve decided to absolutely ignore my master’s degree (yes I’m going to be at uni for 5,000,000 years - fight me) I am going to liveblog both shows (Qurbaan Hua and Pavitra Bhagya coz that’s what was asked of me). My tolerance for shitty television has reduced since KZK so let’s see how long these liveblogs last....

So without further ado, here’s the first Liveblog of 2020: Qurban Hua (honestly just watching this show for Karan Jotwani’s face and physique) 

Ooh we’re in the hills, with Krishna’s bhansuri and the feelzzz of sanskar

So we’re in Uttarkhand (sorry if I botched the spelling) with moustache uncle and representative white dude who has come to ‘find himself’ 

Do not give a damn about the religious talk (also this white dude doesn’t even know who Ram ji is, he’s just here to drink some bhang, go to a wedding, witness some poverty and go back home) 

Moustache uncle is blind and we see this when he walks with a tree branch (no exaggeration) and his eyes closed. Nothing speaks ‘this person is blind’ than having them close their eyes for every shot 

SO MANS ISN’T EVEN BLIND - HE’S JUST MOTHERFKN COSPLAYING TO BE A BLIND PERSON 

honestly, what is this bakchodi where is my boi 

Yaar ab shivji ke gaane bhi sunne padenge, kya loge main characters ko introduce karne ke liye 

Ohhh he’s the head priest’s son and has become an ‘awara shehar waala’ rather than take over for his dad, who is too weak to carry the aag thaali (I do not know what it is called)

“daya aati hai mujhe Vyasji ki hassi par, pata nahi Vyasji ka launda, unki kaleje mein aag laga kar, shehar mein kaunsi aag bhuja raha hai?” So I thought what a weird dialogue, and then in the next fkn scene: 

THERE’S SOMEONE LITERALLY ON FIRE AND HE’S COME TO SAVE HER

Also behen, toda dimaag laga, the fire isn’t that bad yet, her fkn arms are so loosely tied, and she has the lung capacity to scream ‘aag aag’ rather than find a better way to save herself, and save her energy and breath so she doesn’t pass out. 

All these people and not one person calls the fire brigade 

They call Neel instead, coz he’s invincible 

Now comes a dramatic sequence of events

My man runs, unaffected by the spitting fire, there is another boi who is so happy to see him and willingly crouches just so mans can quite literally yeet himself on to the roof and break the window to save her. Not before giving some dramatic looks

A. Only her apartment was on fire, not the whole building, he could’ve easily taken the stairs. B. why was the fkn fire not spreading and C. It took him 3 seconds to get her out of that knot, so like as if she couldnt wriggle her hands out of it (maybe if she wasn’t wearing 300 chudiyas, she might’ve been able to) 

I would also thank the gods they gave him winter clothing with a high neck to wear (coz nothing is hotter to me than men in high neck sweaters - it highlights their jawlines, shows off their muscles and shows how long their neck is) #FashionTipsWithAustralianDesi 

OMG IT WAS A SCENE FOR A MOVIE OR SOMETHING OMG. OKAY YOU WIN FKN HELL. HINDI SERIALS: 1, AUSTRALIAN DESI: 29043284 

Look how adorable he looks

“Production? sorry mera naam actually  woh Neelkanth Bhatt Dhyani hai aur main baju-waale hotel mein chef hoon, mujhe laga tha aag lagi thi toh bachane aa gaya” 

Hahahah, noice mans is a chef. Also his name is longer than my life. And so far, in the 3 minutes I’ve watched of him, I really like him. Let’s hope he stays that way

Let’s be real, I watched the promos, I’m going to savour whatever niceness we get of him 

Okay so dude that looked at him, is the Pushkar/Rudra/Insert-comedic relief-younger-sibling, and basically said that our mans here is on a mission to save a girl every day. Wow what a hobby 

“Aag, Aag, continue, aag, aag, aag, continue” hahahah he’s slowly backing out of there 

Mans wants to do one good deed everyday - that’s a rare quality for a tellywood man (he does it because his sister does one good deed a day for his wellbeing - I don’t understand the logic but whatever)

OH MY FKN GOD WE HAVE AN ANJALI 

She’s made a fkn shrine for him (absolutely love the pictures though) 

And he calls his sister ‘Bhags’ - short for Bhagwan because she is god for him

I think these two could give Arnav-Anjali a run for their money 

...And she’s preggers - and so he doesn’t want her pregnancy to have any complications so he’s going to do one good deed a day

let’s see how shit blows in their face - is it a kamina husband, a manipulative mother or a cunning father 

Also gotta love how her husband is probably chilling while Neel is all like ‘MY DIDI’ 

No one: 

No one:

Not even Neil’s fkn mother 

Saraswati: NEIL IS COMING AFTER 3 MONTHS EVERYTHING MUST BE PERFECT 

Welcome Saraswati Anjali 

This man is completely evil. Change my mind. 

So they went with the Kamina husband/brother-in-law 

Who has a problem that Neel is a chef. But let’s be real he wants Neel to be a chef so he could become the head priest 

I AM ONTO YOU. THIS ISN’T MY FIRST RODEO 

And she’s just here to talk about the successes and accomplishments of her brother, because like Anjali, she has nothing better to do in life 

Whatever her husband says goes right over my head, also it’s Saras-Wati not Sarasti 

So proud of his Personal Protective Equipment. Thank god a career being shown properly

Also this looks really small and homely for an industrial kitchen 

So the ‘villain’ of his life is here. Little does he know, that whether he keeps his job or not does not matter, all that matters is that his rakhi is never removed. 

“Main apni behen ko bhool nahi sakta, isliye yeh rakhi agle raksha bhandhan tak, nahi utregi” ummm how bad is your memory that you forget your sister unless there’s a rakhi on your wrist???? 

“Mere kitchen mein yeh sab bilkul allowed nahi hai, no rings, no watches, aur yeh tacky rakhi toh bilkul nahi, afterall hygeine har cook ki responsibility hoti hai” 

“Yeh rakhi toh na utregi sir,” “acha toh phir yeh jo haath mein hai, woh meri kitchen mein khaana nahi bana sakte hai” 

Wow he didn’t have to call the rakhi tacky. Also like, couldn’t you have a dimaag like Arnav, and keep them in a little box, and then show your sister like “look I kept all your rakhis” 

Now watch him cook with one hand, just to prove a point 

TOLD YA 

Also the dude seemed pretty happy with him, I would’ve been like “banda chuthiya ho gaya hai” 

Also his friend is really annoying me with his overreactions to simple things 

He’s saying that he’s going to make the Singoria for the ‘bhakts’ and not for his dad, coz he doesn’t think he needs to ask for an apology to follow his heart 

I enjoy this content, I like this boi. At least he stands by his actions

“Shaakal ko khush karne ke liye jijaji kaafi hai” Wow the Shyam vibes from his jijaji are through the roof 

He said that line like he’s plotting murder or something with the fire reflected on his face

Also can they stop with the Kedarnath soundtrack 

Lol this procession is still going on, it’s been going on for like 3 days. Like, in the time Neel did his wall climbing stunt, saved a woman who was ‘on fire’, stopped a film shoot, told his whole life story and his love obsession for his sister, went through an inspection and made food for a whole restaurant while sassing his boss, and the procession is still going on

 Omg no, now there’s a fkn murgi - WHICH IS ALIVE HOW IS THIS A PROBLEM, JUST MOVE IT AND CONTINUE WALKING 

I mean making him slip would’ve been more fun than a fkn murgi stopping him - also its alive so how is this an apshagun? Imma skip this I cannot 

NOW FKN FAKE ANJALI IS LIKE “the chicken is a mother, do not touch her eggs, she will not look after her children and then they will never be able to feel the mother-child love” 

Gurl, its a chicken. Chill. If it had this much feeling, it would not let go of it’s child 

Okay, here’s a wild thought - why not just walk around it

The chicken isn’t even taking over the whole step, if everyone walks in a single file, you should be able to pass the chicken

but if we use our brains how will this be a hindi serial 

Man fkn hell this the problem in India, the fkn mindset that “dharm se badke aur kuch nahi hai” is2g if people move away from that thought, life would be easier

Also Sarasti is just here caressing her belly, being all like motherhood is the biggest dharm #OhSnap #MicDrop 

So Vyasji has said his first lines of the show and basically whatever I’m understanding is that dharm should be a part of your life, not your whole life and disregarding emotions for your dharm is in fact the opposite of dharm. Wow the man has some sense. Also the actor looks done and does not seem into it - I do not blame him one bit 

And fake Anjali is all like “yay papa is on my side - fuck you husband” 

NEEL YOU FKN IDIOT, IT’S JUST A BAG COULDN’T YOU TAKE IT WITH YOU, NOW THE SANGORIA ARE GONNA GET MISPLACED I ALREADY KNOW. 

ab yeh kaun hai, jo Dhoom ke set se yahan aa gaya 

and he took the wrong bag - well done Neel, that’s all on you

OMG AT LEAST HE REALISED THANK GOD 

Great, now he’s gonna do some Dhoom-esque stunts 

How dumb is the other dude, like there’s someone that’s literally chasing you and you aren’t going to stop to ask them why

Omg he’s actually grabbing it. Is2g if the prasad is completely fine still, Imma flip 

Yeh chal kya raha hai? Is the other dude literally fighting for the supposed kachoris? 

Oh wow its a wamen. And here we begin the #Romance  

HE LITERALLY JUST SAW HER HAIR AND IS SMITTEN - ARE YOU THAT DESPERATE MY FRIEND 

Lovely, he got distracted and she’s gone off with his Sangoria 

Ofcourse he’s like a girl tricked me, now it’s an ego thing. At least he’s admitting it to be an ego ting 

But also like dude do you not believe women can be cunning? I mean we’re literally known for possessing that single trait 

Wow look how happy she is for some Sangoria - and look how dumb she is for not questioning the dude that was chasing her as to why was he after the bag 

OF-FUCKING-COURSE she had to be a social worker who helps the gareeb bachche 

I gotta love how she’s like, why is there mithai here instead of kachoris - proceeds to eat them because the kids were like we like mithai

Behen, kya aap kisi ka bhi khaana leke kha leti ho? 

Like why wouldn’t you put two and two together 

Why would someone be ready to fight you for this mithai. Do you have any logical thinking skills? 

Me when I check my results. The absolute shock horror on his face is sending me 

"Tum pahadi ho?” “Haan aur sharminda bhi” “Itni der se tumhara peecha kar raha tha, tab nahi samajh aaya?” “Nahin mujhe laga koi chor badmaash hai,” 

Love the logic, love that she was so ashamed that she didn’t bother to give his mithai back - what is this character 

She’s literally telling him how to handle his father that she’s never met. 

Dude if it was that easy, would he be this stressed? 

That was quick - she had video evidence that some gunde were making these kids become beggars, and got them arrested while also making Neel feel like he did his one good deed today and she conveniently has her own childcare 

Wow we have an evil maami too, and some random man wanting to kill our gurl

She’s basically saying how Neel will definitely forget to bring the bhog 

Little does she know he won’t forget, he’ll just have some misfortune which will cause him to not bring it

Now poor Sarasti is bringing her dad a shawl and convincing him to go change, but him being the brown dad he is, is all like “If only your idiotic brother was here, I would be sitting on the terrace watching this pooja, looking at him proudly, but he is a nalaayak and alas I am here,” 

He’s literally so salty that he wants to cook, it’s so funny, I can’t 

First of all, why is everyone just taunting Sarasti about her brother’s actions, like I get how close they are but they aren’t the same person??

Now she’s saying that he’s on his way - ah little does she know, he’s distracted by a wamen 

Omg he’s literally telling the story of the Prayag Pushp (a flower I think) “that only blooms when 2 true lovers meet for the first time, and no one has seen it bloom, and no one will see it bloom in this family, and with the same confidence, I am telling you your bhola will not come” wow the amount of trust in your son. I am loving it

Also like who wants to bet the flower is going to bloom when he marries this girl or when they have a dramatic meet up 

“Hey bhole baba, agli baar mujhe uss theeki shezwan sauce se mat milwana” Lol is he dumb or is he dumb 

OMG GOD IN THIS SERIAL IS EXTREMELY FAST. HE PRAYED 2 SECONDS BEFORE AND IN THE NEXT SECOND SHE’S IN FRONT OF HIM

She’s deaf as well, he’s literally calling her and she’s like nope, I am looking outside can only focus on one thing at a time 

“Bache hai kya, joh window seat ke liye itne excited ho rahe hai” “Sifaljiya kahi ka” Okay I’m loving the banter but also have no idea what she just called him 

“Kya kaha tumne? Kaunsi bhasha mein gaali di?” “Mars pe boli jaati hai yeh zubaan, gaye ho kabhi?” 

People I ship it! 

“Lokhar ka sir hai kya tumhaara?” This idiot 

Oh good its these ainvayi ke gunde, mans is never going to reach home in this decade  

And they’re on the bus to beat her? Very normal

And ofcourse this our mans’ good deed of the day

“Kya ho gaya bhai ji? Koi takleef?” Love this man so much. The sass and the politeness how does he do it? 

“Teri saki lagti hai kya?” “Meri patni hai yeh” wow man, like honestly dost bol deta, behen bol deta. Nahi she is now my wife for rescuing purposes (what an Omkara thing to do) 

OMG YES THEIR BACKGROUND SCORE IS KURBAAN HUA FROM KURBAAN - I LOVE THAT SONG 

So the episode ends here and wow this took so long to do coz they decided to make the episode 40 minutes long. So far I like it. I just wish the girl becomes smarter (also what even is her name?) 

[randomnameless]

I was browsing a tag (i know i shouldn’t do that) and i read an old post nerding about ancient civilisations and parallels with FE16 which made me glee bcs i love to nerd about history 

But then i was disappointed 

Important Agarthans seem to have greek names (?) so they could be ancient greece, okay why not (the superiority complex over the rest of the world feels adequate but then idk if Socrates (Soloncrates?) would call actual humans beasts or not).

But then it was affirmed that Rhea, not the Nabateans, but Rhea, was Ancient Rome (Romea?). She 1) razed the Agarthans, 2) expanded the Church in the continent and 3) allied with Wilhelm of Adrestia and later Loog who represents the various germanic tribes.

Which made me raise an eyebrow.

1) I’ve already posted earlier about the Sothis/Agartha war but here it seems a bit odd to single out Rhea amidst her people for having rekt Agartha when it was, at most, a collective action of several Nabateans, regardless of the fact that Rhea may or not have participated in the first war.

Also, in FE16, the Nabateans gave their technology to Agarthans, who in turn developed it and turned against them. Ancient Rome was tsun-tsun with their greek neighbours, but it is now commonly accepted that the first romans tried to “copy” or at least were heavily inspired by Ancient Greece to build a national identity. I mean Virgil even wrote a poem to make a Trojan ancestor to what would later become the roman people, and that’s not talking about how the old Roman pantheon borrowed the Greek one but with aliases worse than Danved and Devdan...

In FE16, “Greece” actually borrowed/received their technology from “Rome” but tried to attack “Rome” and failed. “Rome” retaliated, destroyed “Greece” to the point where romans don’t even know what “Greece” was and can only make suppositions about its existence. 

This doesn’t match RL history.

2) Expanding the Church in the continent : this is actually speculation, but afaik, when Adrestia conquered the continent, its religion would have automatically been spread? Still, comparing the Church of Seiros to another religion starting with a C doesn’t really work.

Adrestia was founded by a dude who had been annointed by Seiros herself. The Church, or at least Seiros and her pals, already existed before the Empire. Constantine the Great was the first Emperor to convert to christianity, but he was not the founder of Rome! Christianity became a “state” religion after Constantine. Heck, Julian thought his uncle’s religion was lousy so he returned to a polytheist cult.

In FE16, the only schism between Adrestia (the Empire) and the Church happened after the Southern Church was expelled, giving a good 1000 years of church approved Empire.

Saying Romea expanded the reach of the church through out all of Fodlan isn’t wrong, iirc part of the mediation accepting the Kingdom’s existence is to allow the church to preach in the newly formed kingdom, but i’m not sure it could be tied to RL history, because in Fodlan, Wilhelm walked side by side with Jesus, and Jesus crowned him Emperor. Jesus won against Nemesis. Adrestia’s legitimacy/creation comes from Jesus.

So I don’t think it’s Rhea expanding the reach of the Church through Fodlan, but more Seiros is part of the Empire’s lore, she’s that actual saintly figure who defeated the strongest man ever so everywhere in the Empire tales of Seiros and her deeds are heard of, it makes sense to follow/buy her story. 

Also, if the “religion” the church of Seiros preaches is the rewritten history, people must have “converted” after the unification of Fodlan and yet, if Seirosism is the state religion, and the state is controlling Fodlan, can we say Romea expanded her religion through the continent, or Fodlan, after being conquered by Adrestia, automatically became Seirosist?

It would actually echo the bid to allow the Church to preach in the newly formed Faerghus, if Loog wanted to fig off Adrestia, he might even want to have a different religion than the one from the Empire he came from, hell, the Kingdom even returned to the former naming practices existing before Adrestia. 

The Church would have wanted to make sure that no matter what Loog was doing with his bunch of humans in the North, he would still believe crests are a gift from the goddess, they shouldn’t be misused and if you ever find Macuil don’t murder him to make weapons out of his body.

short story long story : it’s the story of the egg and the chicken, did Seirosism became the leading religion in the continent because Rhea actively preached around, or because it was Adrestia’s state religion? idk.

3) Rome “allied” (well, TC said Rome lorded and traded with germanic tribes until shit hit the fan) with germanic tribes. They could be traded with. But they were not roman citizens. I’m not that well versed in this part of the Roman Empire (even if some part of France was classified as Germania at that time! RIP Franche-Comté T-T). Thing is, Rome never asked for Germania’s help to defeat some enemy, hell, when barbarians invasions happened, it hit Germania first and then Rome.

This is where the Romea analogy falls. 

First of all, Wilhelm became Wilhelm of Adrestia thanks to Seiros who annointed/crowned him, without Seiros there is no Adrestia. (iirc in one of Seiros’ books it is said Seiros makes emperors out of men, and the tradition needs the archbishop to bear witness each time a new emperor is crowned, so i suppose Rhea crowned/proclamed/anointed/made Wilhelm an Emperor).

Rome never had that kind of influence (afaik?) on the various germanic tribes. 

Before Adrestia we had Enbarr and, I guess, several tribes. As I see it (it may be wrong!) Adrestia is made to mirror Rome, sort of. Wilhelm “of Adrestia” set out to conquer unify the world. Now, did Seiros told him to conquer the world or did he came to that conclusion alone, we will never know. And yet, in the time period we’re speaking of (antiquity?), there’s no “Germanic Empire”. Adrestia started as an unified state, not as several tribes. Adrestia thus cannot be likened to “germanic tribes”.

Second, Loog did not receive help from Rhea, but it’s implied (still it’s from the shadow library so i’m not holding it against the TC) he received help from Mole People. 

But from what we know, in the Vanilla game, Loog defeated the Emperor of Adrestia. It is during the aftermath that the Empire, House Charon and the Church negotiated and decided Loog could found his Kingdom. I do not see how Rhea “allied” with the guy, nor, again, what kind of germanic tribe he represents given how he actually got his independance from the Empire to create his own Kingdom.

Then we have another set of facts which are less about history and more about the game, but for the history ones : 

Romea cannot 4) enforce the will of the Church and Western branch rebelling mirrors Rome’s western’s provinces being unruly and Romea gradually losing grasp on Adrestia 5) The Church isn’t completely sacked but still remains in CF to mirror Rome’s “gradual” fall/out of powerlessness (for funsies 6) Edel and the Agarthans make Rome face what they did to Greece and represent the germanic tribes coming after Rome after they managed to free themselves from its influence)

4) Unless I’m mistaken, the most occidental border of the Empire was the Atlantic Ocean?  astérix is a product of french chauvinism 

Northern borders were more problematic, we had Hadrian’s Wall to keep Picts at bay and in the 3rd century the “Saxon Shore” to fend off against invaders coming by the sea. 

Of course around this time there was an important crisis that weakened the Empire, so it might explain why there was unrest everywhere. This crisis saw the birth of the Western Gallic Empire, but also of the Eastern Palmyrene Empire (everyone was happy when Diocletian unified the empire afterwards). After, let’s say, 300ish, the Empire, in general, had difficulties to deal with and keep its borders.

Back to FE, the western church rebelling is actually at odds with Rome, because when it comes to religious stuff, the eastern provinces were the most concerned/active, not the western ones (1st council of nicea was made because of the arian controversy (The Son and the Father are the same entity or not? Discuss) in the eastern provinces). 

Apparently, the Western Church rebels because they don’t like/follow the creed of the Central Church, but if we wanted to keep the Rome analogy, it should have been the Eastern church rebelling. From what we see, it is not because they follow another religion, but they have a difference in doctrine (but then it is muddled because mole people, otoh, it is never said that the western church thinks seiros is a hax or the goddess doesn’t exist, they want to claim lands on behalf of Saint Cichol which means they adhere, at least, to the main dogma about saints) and really don’t like Rhea for some reason. tbh i think some “germanic tribes” converted to arianism but they weren’t the theologists who theorised it

Central Church lost its grasp on Adrestia in 1065 (iirc?) when the southern branch was expelled. Idk if everything was fine and dandy before, but given how Rhea oversaw the construction of Garreg Mach after the WoH and tried to resurrect Sothis with the Chalice, I’d say she already said “peace i’m out” to Adrestia and would just be there for some ceremonies (crowning/being a witness for new emperors i suppose).

I’ve said it earlier, but Adrestia is not supposed to represent the “germanic tribes”, Adrestia is Rome. Adrestia having german names could also mean that the devs were lazy because Gaius Claudius isn’t a funky name, but the HRE was situated in western-central europe. Edel’s rebellion against the central church could mirror HRE and the Reformation, save for the fact that Edel dgaf about the goddess bcs humanity doesn’t need gods or something. So the analogy doesn’t really work...

5) Coming to which, CF!Church is not anything like Seirosism or, i suppose, the former Sothisism cult. Various bloggers already tore this take apart, but the “Church” in post CF-Fodlan seems to be less spiritual and more of an organisation which is overseen by the Emperor. 

I mean, if Edel says humans don’t need gods, what is the Church supposed to do? Fodlan has a cult? A religion? Faith? Faith in what? People are supposed to be free to chose what to believe in, but it is clear that “humans” don’t need gods, so what? You can believe in whatever you want, but not in Sothis because we don’t need her, and fig to the children of the Goddess or fig you if you’re still a follower of Seirosism? Rome still exists nowadays as a capital of a living country, I cannot affirm the Church exists, or if whatever the church of Seiros did is still maintained.

Also, “Rome” as in the Roman Empire (kind of) survived with the Byzantine Empire and the HRE. I don’t think offshoots of the Church of Seiros would be allowed to prosper in CF’s Fodlan.

6)  :)

I cannot remember if Romea’s people (well a civilisation cannot have brethrens it’s not a being!) were turned into various weapons by Socrates and Plato (if they had been blacksmiths i’d have been more interested in philosophy classes i swear) but as far as i know Edel’s Adrestia didn’t wage war against Romea because of her conquests or what she did to Soloncrates/Ancient Greece, nope or to free Adrestia from Romea (especially since Adrestia got rid of the church since 1065). Edel wants to conquer the world and change the “system” in place.

Bonus : About names, yes, the devs validated the “Adrestia is both rome and germany combined” which is as WTF as it seems, and yet, last Emperor from the HRE was named Francis II with his birth name being Franz Joseph Karl which is very far removed from, idk, Trajan being Marcus Ulpius Trajanus. I don’t think the devs thought a lot about names tbh, still, if Emperor Wilhelm might sound “german” and yet his second name Paul, is latin (paulus) so idk. Ionius was apparently a name used in Rome?