#can you imagine if xiao zhan and wang yibo did to the untamed what the actors who played Wen Kexing and Zhao Zhishu did to word of honor?

[yinyangbuns]

cql is interesting bc one second they are saying things that anyone who knows anything about the novels know is yearning af, and then there’s a scene cut and you feel like one of those psychics that touch dried blood splatters in creepy houses and go “something happened here….”

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 14 first part

(RR The Untamed Masterpost) (Canary’s Pinboard - more Masterposts) 

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Murder Turtle, Continued

Lan Wangji wakes up after a good night's sleep leaning against a rock wall, to find that his leg is no longer splinted, and his perfectly clean and unbloody headband has been put back on his head while he was sleeping.

Leaving aside the "not waking up" part of things, how, exactly, did Wei Wuxian get his headband on without mussing his hair? Did he bring a crochet hook?

Wei Wuxian gives him a sitrep and then they cozy up and have an extended conversation about the nature and history of the Tortoise of Slaughter. Wei Wuxian is interested in everything Lan Wangji has to say, and Lan Wangji talks a lot more than usual; they are completely on the same wavelength here and are enjoying swapping obscure knowledge.

Lan Wangji: My lacerated leg and I are actually super aware that it has big teeth, but thanks for the reminder.

In the course of the conversation, Wei Wuxian mentions his plan to 1. sneak into the tortoise's shell and 2. drive it out of its shell so they can attack it. 

OP did a little tortoise research and learned that the only species of turtle that can leave its shell is the Koopa Troopa.

Good news for Wei Wuxian: If you jump on its shell in the right spot, you can rack up a pile of extra lives.

Does that make the Tortoise of Slaughter a giant Koopa Troopa? Perhaps...the king of the Koopa Troopas?

I'm gonna say yes.

(More after the cut)

Let’s Go Killing

Wei Wuxian is exhilarated by the idea of fighting a giant dangerous monster with Lan Wangji. Some day Wei Wuxian will found the Nike clan, because his motto is definitely "Just do it." 

It's sweet how, in his romantic notions about chivalry and Lan Wangji, he's completely elided the original reason they were (sort of) told to venture together. 

Wei Wuxian: I'm still on the "find the Yin Iron" quest; I'm just skipping the "suppress it" part.  

Wei Wuxian weighs up their chances against Bowser and tells Lan Wangji that even if they die, it will be badass to be killed by a famous monster, so they won't have to feel embarrassed.

This is the exact moment that Lan Wangji's feelings for Wei Wuxian go from "smitten" to "gagging for it."

Lan Wangji: as soon as we get out of here I'm going to borrow a whole lot of books from Nie Huaisang

The boys come up with a plan that involves a rather long montage of collecting archery equipment and deconstructing it. This potentially-dull montage is fun to watch because they are both very, very good looking.

Artists who want to draw Wang Yibo as an elven archer, this is your episode.

Now we suddenly have, with zero explanation, telepathy. Ok, sure. It seems to work kind of like a phone conversation, in which they say specific things to each other, rather than like Cherry Magic telepathy where you can hear everything the other person is thinking. Or at least, neither of them is embarrassed, so I assume they are maintaining some mental privacy.

Club Ruohan

Same, Wen Chao, same

At some point there is a boring sequence at Club Ruohan.  Wen Ruohan doesn't know where Xue Yang is, but really wants his hunk of Yin Iron. Wen Chao thinks that WRH's 3 pieces of Yin Iron should be able to beat Xue Yang's 1 piece, but apparently he is dumb and that is not how math works. O...kay? OP does not understand this either but whatever, Wen Ruohan is boring, moving on. This scene is really just here to make us think about Yin Iron before Wei Wuxian jumps into Bowser's shell.

Bigger On The Inside

So then Wei Wuxian climbs into Bowser's shell, which is, to quote The 12th Doctor, bigger on the inside.

Bowser’s shell is the approximate size of my entire house. It is also bathed in a hellish pure red photo filter, which OP has done her best to remove for these gifs, because it gives me eye strain and it obscures Xiao Zhan's hotness.

Camera Operator: What did I do? 

Wei Wuxian wanders around inside, finding random corpses encased in slime cocoons. Tortoise, spider, xenomorph, whatever. There are also random curtain things hanging all over, and then at one point Wei Wuxian stares into the face of a corpse, and then does a jump scare response at the camera operator even though nothing particular happened. 

I imagine the corpse was supposed to open its eyes and say "killl meeee" but it got censored. He also makes about 8 other faces at the camera operator, so we get that the inside of this TARDIS-like tortoise shell (must...resist...temptation...to...say...TORDIS) is yucky.

Lan Wangji waits outside listening to Wei Wuxian telepathically complain about the smell.  He is anxiously clenching a bundle of string and an arrow, and wishing he could clench Wei Wuxian Bichen instead.

Serendipitous Yin Iron

Wei Wuxian backs his way through the TORDIS until his butt bumps into a sword that is steaming with resentful energy. That's right: Wei Wuxian is about to pull a piece of Yin Iron almost literally out of his ass.

He grabs it and is overwhelmed by its screaming resentful energy and has to let it go again.

So this is what a vibrator with 4 batteries feels like

When Bowser comes looking for him, however, he quickly decides to go for it, grabbing the sword and singing "I've Got the Power (Gonna Make You Sweat)"

Wei Wuxian plunges the sword into Bowser's lower jaw, and Bowser pulls his entire head out of his shell with Wei Wuxian attached, while leaving the rest of his body and all rational laws of physics inside the shell.

Gamera Versus the Cultivators

What follows is one of the more ridiculous action sequences in the history of the world, and I say that as someone who likes Mothra movies. 

Wei Wuxian hovers in a perfect horizontal plank while “hanging from” the sword, which is held well below the level of his torso. While Bowser spins him around. For much of the time, Bowser keeps his head still and just waves his neck around.

Lan Wangji and the camera operator do everything they possibly can to make "guy pulls on string" look interesting. 

Everybody tries really, really hard and the actors are great at pretending something is there when it isn't, but this whole sequence is just horribly conceived.

What works well, though, is the Yin energy and Wei Wuxian's wrangling of it. He starts off being frightened and overwhelmed, and looking like it's too much for him; I dont' know if they made his face puffy on purpose or if that's just what happens when you spend days hanging from the ceiling fighting an imaginary monster. But he looks slack and unwell as he grapples with the iron sword.

Which makes this moment, when he gets control of it, deliciously creepy. He uses the power of the Yin Iron to stick a bunch of pokey things into Bowser's neck.

Lan Wangji has seen him struggling and now sees him...not struggling. Which scares the piss out of him, and he moves to finish the fight as quickly as possible, slicing up his hand and breaking the string. Combined with the pokey things, this does the trick and Bowser dies while Wei Wuxian faints and falls into the water.

Do the Whumpty Whump

Lan Wangji rescues him and wakes him up, and Wei Wuxian clutches the Yin Iron sword and tells Lan Wangji that he was knocked out by the screaming of disembodied voices.

This certainly sounds like a strange and dangerous phenomenon, so Lan Wangji carefully asks him to explain everything.

Ha ha ha j/k. Lan Wangji asks him exactly nothing about the strange sword or the black smoke or his weird evil smile or his new power over pointy objects. Lan Wangji appears to have a Star Trek: TNG level of unconcern about strange phenomena happening directly under his nose. But in fact he has noticed what's up, which is why he will be instantly distressed when he sees Wei Wuxian's flute moves at the Wen Corporate Headquarters.

Wei Wuxian has a fever (stay positive test negative) and comments on Lan Wangji's being so nice to him.

Wei Wuxian: I could never have imagined Lan Er Gongzi acting this concerned about me. Lan Wangji: what else have you never imagined me doing, while we're on the subject? 

Lan Wangji transfers a stream of spiritual energy to him. Lan Wangji has so much spiritual power he can be a battery for Wei Wuxian without breaking a sweat or, like, noticing whether Wei Wuxian has a golden core or not, for that matter.

Wei Wuxian basks in the nice feeling of gigajoules for a while but then decides he's bored. So then he pouts, whines, and cajoles Lan Wangji in exactly, EXACTLY the way he whines at Jiang Yanli.  I think this, while annoying of him, is a leap forward in his relationship with Lan Wangji.

He's letting his guard down and not just allowing Lan Wangji to take care of him; he's demanding to be cared for on multiple vectors, when he asks the guy who's already busy healing him to sing to him as well.

Lan Wangji obliges, singing him the song he composed about their love cultivation journey, while Wei Wuxian (or possibly Lan Wangji) (or possibly both) has a flashback to assorted sexy interactions that they've had so far.

Wei Wuxian memorizes the song perfectly on one hearing, before passing out.

Writing Prompt: Baldur’s Gate III / Untamed Crossover AU featuring elf archer Lan Wangji

I DARE YOU

Soundtrack: 1. Everybody Dance Now by C+C Music Factory 2. Paradise by the Dashboard Light by Meatloaf 

Wei Wuxian fainting tally (cumulative): 3

[peekbackstage]

I noticed in one of your responses that you speculated that Xiao Zhan is currently the #1 star in china and his agent is probably not inclined to request talent buyers but rather command top pruce. Can you expand a bit on your thought process? I always feel like without the usual modes of exposure through various high end endorsements and appearances in shows and stage, he has lost a lot of influence and power. Granted he finally has The Wold air, and attended two live events, but rest of the year he has has no new endorsements, shows or appearances. Is it just the various ranking charts that would lend him his influence? How do talent buyers figure out the ‘pull’ any actor would have??

Disclaimer: The following response includes both facts and speculation that is informed by my 10+ year career in the music industry. 

“Xiao Zhan is currently the #1 star in China” is probably not what many fans would expect to hear after the year Xiao Zhan has had. In fact, it wasn’t too long ago that I also did not believe this, but quite a number of factors have moved my assessment. 

There are a few factors that determines how a talent buyer might assess an artist. These factors include:

HARD DATA

Social media following 

Sales and streaming figures 

Viewership 

TV rankings

Awards rankings 

Brand deals 

Media reach 

SOFT DATA

Internal projections 

“Hype” 

Overall marketability 

Market sentiment 

Media sentiment 

All of this culminates in a general assessment that helps to determine how much an artist is “worth.” Essentially, you might as well call all of these key performance indicators (KPIs). 

If you consider that artists are a brand, and all brands can either appreciate or depreciate in value depending on market sentiment, you might be able to get a better understanding of how artists are evaluated. 

To provide a concrete example that might help everyone understand how this works a little better, think for a moment about how public companies increase in value and how stock prices rise and fall. If a company reports solid earnings (hard data) and announces that they will be releasing a new line of highly anticipated products (hype), this increases market sentiment, which then results in a direct increase in positive price action for their stock. Conversely, companies that have bad earnings reports and lackluster product offerings might see a sell-off that results in a drop in price (and therefore, in value) when information hits the news cycles.

Like companies, artists are evaluated much the same way. Consider that Xiao Zhan was, prior to the 227 Incident, at the very top of the game in China. He held a huge amount of brand deals and was highly sought after, especially after his popularity skyrocketed due to the international acclaim he received from The Untamed. All of this created an intrinsic “value” that translated to a specific guarantee price.

(Guarantee: the price a talent buyer guarantees an artist when they are booked for a performance.) 

The 227 Incident for Xiao Zhan is what we would call a “Black Swan” event. Another Black Swan event is COVID-19, which decimated the stock market in March 2020. Over 90% of companies listed on the S&P 500 had “distributed large negative returns.” Did this catastrophic event mean that it was the end for all of these companies? Absolutely not. Was 227 the end for Xiao Zhan? Absolutely not. 

These are basic fundamentals that talent buyers understand, especially if an artist hasn’t been blackballed or been subjected to a career death. Sometimes, artists have scandals. Some have a hard time coming back from them, but Xiao Zhan’s enduring popularity has not waned, even if he did lose brand deals and has not really been in the spotlight. 

The following KPIs are what a talent agent would notice for Xiao Zhan: 

#1 selling single in 2020 - 光点 (Spotlight) sold over 40.9 million copies with pretty much no promotion, which is actually insane. (This actually qualifies him for an RIAA diamond certification!!! There are only 44 other singles that have earned this ranking.)

 The Wolf became the #1 streaming show in China the moment it was released, entirely because of Xiao Zhan’s popularity. It immediately led to a significant amount of positive media coverage, both domestically and worldwide. 

TV viewership surged dramatically when Xiao Zhan appeared on December 5 as a surprise guest. (I forgot the exact figure, but I think I read it was 17 million? Please correct me if I am wrong.) This positive statistic is another solid green check mark for talent agents. 

Xiao Zhan’s Red Sea was a top trending topic and had massive media coverage. This is essentially what agents are looking for when they book artists. It means HYPE HYPE HYPE, and HYPE means MONEY MONEY MONEY 

Positive media coverage over Xiao Zhan’s fans cleaning up the entire arena

Massive award sweep - In 2020, Xiao Zhan won every single major award he was nominated for, and took #1 in pretty much all other smaller media award lists, except for 2. Here is the list: Jinri Toutiao Awards - Most Noticed Male Celebrity Weibo Awards - Hot Figure of the Year - The Untamed Weibo Awards - Weibo King China Literature Awards - Actor of the Year - The Untamed, Jade Dynasty China Literature Awards - Heartthrob Actor - Jade Dynasty China Screen Award - New Actor of the Year - Jade Dynasty 27th ERC Chinese Top Ten Awards - Top Ten Songs “Unrestrained” with Wang Yibo 27th ERC Chinese Top Ten Awards - Top Ten Songs “Remaining Years” Weibo TV Series Awards - Most Popular Actor - The Wolf Tencent Entertainment White Paper - Male Singer of the Year - “Spotlight” Tencent Entertainment White Paper - Star Power of the Year Tencent Video All Star Awards - VIP Star WeTV 2020 Awards - Best Wuxia Drama - The Untamed  WeTV 2020 Awards - Best Male Lead TCC Asia The 100 Most Influential Faces of 2020 - #1 TCC Asia The Most Handsome Faces of Asia - #1 Weibo The Most Beautiful Charity Ambassador in 2020 - #1 Starmometer  The 100 Sexiest Men in the World 2020 - #1 TCC Asia The 100 Most Handsome Face in Asia Pacific 2020 - #1 Top Beauty World The 100 Most Handsome Men in the World 2020 - #1 WeChat 2020’s Top 10 Handsome Idols - #3 TC Candler The 100 Most Handsome Faces in the World 2020 - #7  Yes, even despite everything that happened in 2020, Xiao Zhan still took home quite a lot of awards! Note that a number of these awards were won after the 227 Incident, notably, the Weibo TV Series Awards, the WeTV 2020 Awards, and Tencent Video All Star Awards. 

Changing market sentiment - Overall market sentiment with Xiao Zhan is trending more positive than negative. Essentially, if Xiao Zhan were a company, they would describe this as a “bullish crossover” and a “bull trend.” 

In general, all of the above helps to form a talent buyer’s assessment of the intrinsic value of an artist. And this is largely why I personally believe and would assess Xiao Zhan to be China’s #1 star that will provide any stakeholder with the #1 ROI, which has already been statistically proven by the strength of his sales and continued award wins. 

Of course, I can’t say with absolutely certainty whether or not Chinese talent buyers absolutely, positively see it this way, but this is more or less how most talent buyers evaluate talent. If Xiao Zhan were to be evaluated as an asset at this very moment, he would essentially be rated as asset that is in the process of “mooning.” (I.e. Going [back up] to the moon. Breakout positive trend! It’s raining money again!) 

I have a very hard time imagining that any talent buyer worth their salt would somehow miss the clear indicators that show the tides are changing and a trend crossover has occurred. 

I have strong faith in a full comeback for Xiao Zhan. I believe that he will soar once more - not only in popularity, but also in success. While he will always have antis who will try to dim his shine, I fully believe that there is nothing that can stop the brightest star in the sky from ascending to new heights. 

I only see blue skies above.

[stellahibernis]

Lan Wangji: the Model Student Edition

AKA Lan Wangji’s costumes in the Untamed, part 1/9 

I got it in my head to write about Lan Wangji’s costumes in the Untamed for a couple of reasons. One, they’re extremely beautiful and worth paying attention to (as are all the costumes in the series!) and two, they do an excellent job of reflecting his mental state and where he is on his journey as a character. Hence, I’ll always look at them from two points of view, what’s actually happening in the costume, and how the choices made tie to what’s going on while he wears it. Note that I’m not going to even attempt to touch on how they connect to actual historical clothing (you’ll need an expert for that, which I’m definitely not).

I decided to make separate posts for each outfit rather than try to cram all of them in one post (or a few posts). I suspect this’ll be long enough anyway, since I’ll cover some common elements in his outfits in this one, and the images also add to the length. I tried not to go too crazy with the number of the images, although I suspect there’ll be more in the latter posts that cover some of his more elaborate costumes. I had a bit of fun with my image choices as you’ll see (also several times I forgot I was meant to capture stuff and just kept watching, as one does 😂).

Without further ado, let’s start with the outfit Lan Wangji had on when he walked into Wei Wuxian’s life. This outfit was worn mainly in episodes 3-7, briefly in episode 8, and also in WWX’s memories in episode 1.

The Costume

In my head this goes in the simple-but-formal category of LWJ’s outfits, meaning he has the full amount of layers on, and the fabrics are of the usual high quality, but they have no particular texture, and there’s not much embroidery. This almost feels like the basic Lan disciple outfit upgraded to a higher level, which goes nicely with the fact that even though he is the Second Jade of Lan, he’s also a student among the rest of them.

First some basics about the robes the Lan Sect members wear, possibly obvious stuff, but I’ll cover it anyway. They are usually made of fairly lightweight fabrics (that move beautifully in action scenes, I might add), although those of higher rank also have robes made of fabrics with more texture and weight. They’re always white or shades of blue, again more blue for those of higher rank (if they so choose), and the cloud pattern is usually embroidered at least somewhere (significantly LWJ has two outfits with no cloud embroidery).

Innermost layer consists of the white pants and the undershirt that seems to be standard for everyone, we see LWJ (in episode 43), LQR (in episode 33), and WWX (in episodes 42-45) all wear similar shirts. The actors aren’t necessarily wearing all the layers due to heat, but we’re meant to believe they’re always there and that cultivators are just immune to the sun or something. (In that bts video where they bicker on the boat we actually see Wang Yibo wearing the undershirt when he pulls back his sleeves, meaning he’s in five layers and somehow looks cool as a cucumber, while Xiao Zhan is dying of heat 😂). Next come two or three sets of robes, possibly always meant to be three, since the Lans are formal like that, but we don’t see that many with every costume. Then comes a sash to keep the robes closed, and for those of higher rank optionally another robe on top (which LWJ and LXC don’t always wear).

Here’s another look at the costume, with a bonus WWX. This was obviously chosen solely because it shows the silhouette very well.

As I mentioned earlier, this outfit has all the elements listed above, including a robe worn over the sash, but there aren’t too many details. The fabric is certainly meant to be silk, and possibly even is. Whoever did the hemming of the robe definitely struggled enough for it to be silk (modern detail that one, btw, you wouldn’t sew it like that by hand. I’m a bit surprised they didn’t just do that, making an invisible hem isn’t actually that slow, but maybe it’s still significant when you need to make so many costumes). The sash is very basic, with no decoration at all, but he of course has the waist ornament with the jade pieces and tassel, which is one of the two things he always wears, in addition to his forehead ribbon. The white shoes are maybe the biggest flex from the Lan Sect, just imagine how much time would be needed to clean and replace all of them, especially since the climate at the Cloud Recesses is definitely rainy, and then there are the night hunts.

Above is the top seen in detail, we have his first head ornament (which is very cute, IMO), and the forehead ribbon. Interestingly it’s pale blue rather than white (as I believe it’s in the book). Blue is slightly less stark against the skin, so that may have been the reason. Then there’s the embroidery on the lapels, the Lan Sect clouds done with white on white, basically the least extravagant you can get and still have them. We only see one more layer, I believe. There’s blue and white in the collar, but looking at how it overlaps I think it’s just one robe with two colors. But hey, a teeny tiny bit of color on him at least!

Another detail to note is that if he has narrow sleeves visible, there are always fabric bands wrapped around the wrists, yet another bit of complexity and formality to his outfits. He also has them with this costume, you don’t see them that many times because the big sleeves cover them pretty well, but we get a nice glimpse of them when LWJ and WWX are tied together with the forehead ribbon in the cave, see below. 

Yes, I capped the moment where they collapse to the ground after getting out of the cave. I have to get my amusement somehow, but it was actually the one where you can see the detail best. 😂 (I also tried the part where LWJ ties the ribbon but all the caps came out blurry, so this one it is). LWJ’s hand is the top one, obviously, and WWX has just a regular sleeve end there.

The Context

When LWJ first walks into the scene in episode 3, he’s at peace with himself in that his world makes sense, he has a clear understanding of who he is and what his responsibilities are. I’m not saying it has come without struggle considering everything to do with his mother (I bet LQR was just thrilled when he moved to the Jingshi, which all things considered probably hadn’t happened that long before the start of the story), but it looks like it’s something that’s been worked out. Also, when I say his world makes sense, I don’t mean that he’s completely happy about everything (if I had to define it, I’d go for comfortably neutral), just that there are no particular issues that he doesn’t know how to react to until WWX comes and turns everything upside down.

Much of the past timeline for LWJ is about his struggle between his loyalty to his sect and what he perceives as his duty, and his connection with WWX. This can be seen reflected in his costumes as well. Broadly speaking (obviously individual scenes can shift the focus for a time), when he wears predominantly white with wide sleeves (his more formal outfits) it signals that he’s particularly conscious of his duty and his upbringing, while his blue outfits with narrow sleeves (arguably more casual ones) come to play when he’s more forcefully pulled by his connection with WWX. Notably, he also wears one mostly white outfit with narrow sleeves, but we’ll get to that later.

At this point of the story, the real struggle hasn’t yet started for him, he’s (mostly) the perfect model student that he was taught to be literally from birth, and his outfit reflects that. He’s definitely thrown by the effect WWX has on him, as it’s most likely a completely new experience, but he also considers it nonsense that he intends to drop (or boring, as he has a tendency to say). When he sets out alone, I’d say it’s with the idea that he can just leave what happened in summer school behind and focus once more on his responsibilities. Clearly there’s some regret that he feels because of it, as we witnessed his undoubtedly warm feelings toward WWX when hearing his resolution in the lantern scene, but right after that moment he focuses on the Yin Iron once more and maybe chooses that road (only he doesn’t get to walk it alone, WWX is stubborn like that).

Next time, blue robes and the point of no return for LWJ just whooshes on its way behind them.

(You can find the rest of this series via “lwj costume series” tag below, or through my blog contents page. I’d link for ease of access but the links made it disappear from tags, so. 😒)

[kdramacrybaby]

The Untamed (2019)

Genre: Fantasy, Xianxia, Adventure

Synopsis: In this world of mystery and magic, one clan, the Wen Clan sits on top of the other, smaller clans. When the Jiang Clan goes to study at the Cloud Recesses where the Lan Clan resides, Wei Wuxian gets in regular trouble for his mischievous behaviour. He is determined to befriend the disciplined Lan Wangji. Trouble is brewing throughout the land with the revival of an old, evil artifact with incredible powers. The young disciples set out to figure out what is happening, each taking their own path in life that in the end lead to consequences they had never imagined.

Episode info: 50 episodes / Runtime around 45 minutes

Lead cast: Xiao Zhan (Wei Wuxian), Wang Yibo (Lan Wangji), Wang Zhuocheng (Jiang Cheng), Xuan Lu (Jiang Yanli), Yu Bin (Wen Ning), Meng Ziyi (Wen Qing), Zhu Zanjin (Jin Guangyao), Liu Haikuan (Lan Xichen)

Link to watch: You can watch on Netflix or Viki

Drama rec masterlist | Drama rant thread (beware of spoilers)

Okay listen, I spent so long trying to summarize this without 1) spoiling anything and 2) sounding like an absolute moron. I failed at both, but like, this drama cannot be explained - it’s a whole goddamn experience. Go watch it if you don’t believe me, I dare you.

So, before I even started watching this drama, I knew it was a big deal, which was also why I wanted to watch it. It had to be good, right? (Spoiler: it was). However, I do have one small critique of the majority of fans I have seen/come in contact with; almost every time, the first thing they mention when trying to sell me the drama has been “it has HOT GUYS!” - Which like, yeah, fair enough, everyone in this drama is unfairly gorgeous.

But what about the interesting, compelling, and almost genius plot that has you on your toes all the way through because you never see the twists and turns coming?

And the set and locations of this drama? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more visually stunning drama than this. Every single camera shot had me stunned with how breathtaking they made this world. The nature - hell, even the built sets - left me wanting to go there myself. Like Cloud Recesses and Lotus Pier? I am so in love. Even every single camera angle they used was thought out and perfectly shot. The costumes are out of this world as well. They spared no expense and it shows.

Also, the music? It made me feel so… nostalgic, happy, sad. Everything. I can’t really explain it. Listen for yourself here.

Their whole magic system is genius and gorgeous and I love it. They never over-explain anything about it to you, they just go on with the story and expect you to figure out the rules for yourself. I really love that!

The actors are all phenomenal. The style of the drama has them over-acting in a way I don’t usually like, but I got used to it eventually, and it didn’t bother me at all. These characters are all probably some of my favorite characters of all time, and it’s all thanks to the actors for doing an amazing job bringing them to life.

One thing I never really got used to, was how they did the action scenes. I am fully aware that this is a style that is completely intentional in dramas like these, but I found that all the flying around and unnecessary slow-motion took away the action. A tiny thing though and just personal preference.

This drama is a whole journey, and I honestly feel a little sad now it’s over. I’ve come to know and love these characters, and I’m going to miss them. I’ll definitely watch it again sometime!

[last-of-the-jaded]

After having willingly given the last month of my life over to MDZS and it’s Live Action counterpart I wanted to compile a list of my favorite aspects of both (including spoilers). Both the original Chinese Novel and it’s stunning 2019 Summer Release counterpart are breathtaking in different manners, but if you are looking for a quick recommendation, I do recommend going for the drama first as it will simplify the further consumption of content if you decide you want to partake in more.

What I love about THE UNTAMED:

The symbolism of the cliff at Nightless City, and how that entire scene marks a clear shift in Wuxian’s mental state as well as the overarching story. Similarly, how in the end it is Wuxian who throws himself off that precipice to sure death. This detail provides a direct comparison between his mental state at this moments and Cheng’s after his core was squashed, while also touching on an unique level of disparity and regret that is unrealized in the novel at this point (considering how this isn’t how Wuxian dies in the written version)

Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo. I’ve made posts about this already so I’ll spare you another essay (Here and Here)

Jiang Cheng’s entire character arc. Seeing him fully fleshed out, utilized, and properly human within the drama made it hard for me to swallow how shallow he often felt on paper, especially in the early chapters. I get that this is partially due to the youth sequences in the book being written completely from Wuxian’s POV, but for me there is something incredibly human and genuine just lacking from the version of Cheng on paper that stood out so gorgeously for me in terms of his drama counterpart. Wang Zhou Cheng did an amazing job bringing out his raw emotion and anger on screen, lines were delivered in a manner that truly solidified this characters growth and vulnerability to me. For such a new actor within his field he did a brilliant job, and is the reason I have so many damn emotions concerning Jiang Cheng’s character arc. (I have a million analysis pieces typed up on my blog if that interests you)

The sequential order for the flashbacks was incredibly easy to consume. It helped to keep events and motivations clear. I understand why the book was able to skip around in a more winding mysterious manner, but from a drama standpoint I massively appreciated being able to consume the events leading up to Wuxian’s demise in consecutive order. The first few episodes were initially extremely confusing to me as a new watcher, and it’s only when the flashbacks hit that the plot-line solidified as well.

The female leads! Yanli, Qing, and Mianmian having larger roles and development was absolutely a plus. Everyone had the same intentions and feel as they did in the original, just more fully fleshed out since they were given time to interact within the world. As a bonus note seeing Madam Yu and hearing her bullshit on screen, said out-loud in the bitchy tone her actress gave her, made her 10X worse and from an antagonist perspective I massively appreciate that they were able to make me despise her so damn much.

Everyone important to the past storyline being involved in the Gusulan Study Sessions under Lan Qiren. This was a simple and effective manner of introducing everyone and having characters feel involved and interactive from the get-go. I was honestly a little disappointed that not everyone was included when I went on to read the novel.

Ning and Wuxian’s interactions early on. Their dynamic in the show was given life, and felt genuine in how it shifted over the course of Wuxian’s trails and misfortune. I love how they included Ning in the early on portions of the series, especially the Caiyi Town waterborn abyss debacle where Wuxian saved his life. It just added more layers to an already intriguing dynamic that plays a massive role overall.

The wolf torture scene. This added a whole new layer to Wuxian’s fear of dogs, while still completing its job of giving Ning and Wuxian a reason to interact and grow. Not to mention the example of Wen Sect Torture Tactics really added to the inhumanity of the sect while sparking our main character’s growth and self-sacrificing nature.

The symbolism behind Yanli’s and Cheng’s dreams. These dream sequences give a glimpse into the heads of two complex character’s and honestly added so much background motivation to their storylines. I loved these details and how much analysis us all as viewers can put into them.

The rain scene. Wuxian telling Wangji he would prefer to die by his hands. The first tears watchers see from an incredibly strong and willful young man who has always appeared stoic. (I cannot express to you enough how sad I was that this scene didn’t take place in the novel)

Wuxian’s mask. I understand logistically why they had to do this from a filming perspective (I mean if you have someone as good looking and Xiao Zhan, damnit you are going to let him look like him as much as you can) but I honestly really enjoyed the smaller details they included to make it work plot-wise. I also appreciate how it was designed as a prop considering it actually altered Wuxian’s features in a manner that made him harder to recognize due to its bulky and carved nature.

The secret underground cave in Cloud Recess under the bathing pool. The whole meeting between Wangxian and the female sect leader. I enjoyed this detail and how they expanded upon it when it came to the burning of their sect home and the survival of their people.

Wangxian’s relationship. Their subtle, trusting, gentle way of showing love. On an additional note I appreciate how it never once felt like I needed to discuss consent with the characters (coughNOVELcough) because everything between them was healthy and playful.

The soundtrack, costuming, and bts. I understand that this was a low budget production (compared to the majority of traditional dramas) and honestly I appreciate what we were given taking that into account. They stayed true to the essence and message of the story. I love the manner in which the costumes became a part of the characters and everyone had a clear style. The soundtrack flowed amazingly well with the scene and tone shifts (this is disregarding how fake their instrument playing looked because I’m still not over how off the finger movements appeared at points). The behind the scenes content on its own could win an award - it made completing the show a million times more satisfying because I do believe that the people working on set had fun (somehow even while filming during the hottest time of the year)

The name of the drama. When you reach that moment when you understand why it is called such - it’s a tale of the rise and fall of Wuxian.

The ending scene. I know it’s not the ‘stereotypical happy ending’ fans wanted, but it perfectly fit the tone and message of the piece as a whole. I love the ending. It felt right.

What I love about MDZS (NOVEL):

The Yi City Arc. It’s worth reading for this part alone. Motivations, logic, and everything just hit so much harder. I do appreciate what the drama gave us, but like, once you’ve tasted this version it’s really hard to go back.

Empathy. In general seeing Wuxian use empathy within the novel just works so much smoother. His little anecdotes and analysis while in stasis reliving ghost’s lives gives it a realism that it’s lacking on camera.

Second Siege of the Burial Mounds. The way the novel sets up this part and actually makes it feel scary with hoard mentality makes it work so much better. It feels like there is a weight to this moment. The waves of corpses are terrifying, and the exhaustion of fighting for hours gives it a level of humanity that makes what Wuxian and Wangji selflessly do stand out even more. Not to mention, the leftovers of the Wen Sect fucked me up. I bawled. This is another detail that I would legitimately read the entire novel over for just to experience.

Wuxian being fucking terrifying at points. Playing with demonic energy and losing control is supposed to be scary. In the novel it honestly felt that way. Seeing him slowly get worse was heartbreaking. Watching how people’s opinions on him skewed, and how he dealt with looks, pressure, and weight on his shoulders, took this arc to a whole new level. The way demons and ghosts flocked to and around him in public added a level of horror that was unsettling and necessary.

Wuxian actually losing control. In the drama they added another flute player to sort of work around Wuxian having to accept the result of his failure. In the novel, there is no such thing -  and I love it. It’s another dowsing to the pain and suffering Wuxian has to accept and learn to overcome.  It makes him coming back a decade later - to live and achieve and get revenge - feel different.

Action scenes and gore. If something is called “The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation” you expect some blood, and damn do I appreciate that the author made stuff have impact. I wish the drama had a bigger budget so they could have done the wounds and cgi more justice.

Wangji rescuing Wuxian after the first raid on yiling, and choosing to suffer together, hated by the world, rather than lose the love of his life. I love the use of the cliff in the drama, especially the imagery of Wangji trying to hold Wei Ying up before ultimately falling, but the route the author took in the novel is so much fucking worse. Like I cannot even imagine the pain Wangji went through.

Lan Xichen opening Wuxian’s oblivious eyes. Best brother ever. This entire scene, leading up to the final battle, is like downing a shot and waiting for it to hit. It deserves a standing ovation.

The details in the Xuanyu of Slaughter cave sequence. Every little tell that Wangji gave - he really did fall in love young.

Mingjue’s corpse. The separated limbs, angry spirit, holding bags, and everything made sense because of description.

Wangji explaining how he got the brand mark over his heart. All of his scars. Fuck. There’s inferring, and then there is having it described to you from the person directly and feeling as your own heart dies.

Lan Zhan’s insane arm strength. This is a detail that deserves recognition.

Wuxian’s inner analysis of Nei Huaisang at the end. This was fully formed and actually had some payoff.

The clear comparisons between Mengyao’s fate and what happened to Wuxian himself. Once again you can infer in the drama, but having it clearly implied in the book hits different because when someone becomes a public pariah it’s easier to go with the public outcry than try and defend them. “Nobody knew with more clarity than Wei WuXian that nobody would care and nobody would believe”

Ning protecting Jin Ling and Jiang Cheng in a manner directly parallel to how he killed the people they cared for.

Jin Ling’s realization about being unable to hate anyone in the end. You feel for this kid. You want to see him grow up well.

The beginning set up chapter. Hearing what happened in the past vaguely through spreading rumors and small talk without seeing it for yourself adds a level of intrigue. It has greater mystery than just seeing the scene play-out and cutting away.

Everything making sense in general with no plot holes. It’s one of those things where in television no matter how well you do, you can’t possibly include all the needed details. With the drama you have to infer a lot, and sometimes you will get it wrong. In the novel it really is just much easier to make sense of. This also included the pacing as well. Timeskips make sense.

Kissing. Smut. Damn, it’s so nice to have actual payoff for the slow burn.

[phoenixrisesoncemore]

But Whose Deontology?

The Untamed: three-fifths mark

OK, @thearrogantemu​ I finally had a chance to look at a non-work screen for long enough to watch some more Untamed; through episode 30 now! Oh boy. Spoilers for anyone who isn’t this far yet below the cut:

I feel like this show didn’t exactly *hide* that it was interested in poking holes in everyone’s moral system, but it did spend a lot of time... not distracting us, really, but using the other assorted comical, tender, and otherwise emotional aspects of the show to deepen our investment in these characters’ lives and choices before it started really making its moves. I suspect it wouldn’t have had the same effect otherwise.

The long run up is a pacing I’m quite the fan of from almost three decades of JRPGs that start out as light-hearted adventures about teenage angst only to turn into philosophical ruminations on God and the nature of the universe (see my favorite example: Xenogears). Even The Lord of the Rings does something... similar, albeit not intentionally on the part of the author. It’s actually one of my favorite “tropes” in storytelling: the tone shift—the moment the light-hearted and comfortingly simple reveals itself to be something much wider and deeper and which will leave you unsettled in its wake.(1)

I’m really quite impressed with Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo. Xiao Zhan manages to believably play the process of aging from arrogant and ornery but innocent and lovable “student” in Cloud Recesses, to the (still arrogant and ornery but lovable) rebellious “hero” during the Wen indoctrination, to the (still arrogant but lovable) young man forced to grow up too fast when his adoptive parents are killed, to the Master of Demonic Cultivation and head of The World’s Most Wholesome Farming Co-op (why cultivate only demons when you can cultivate turnips, too!?).(2) And he manages to play it all as believably the same character, always deeply expressive but also somehow... authentic... even when he is putting on a show: his play-acted irresponsible argumentativeness with Wen Qing; his self-infantilization whenever he wants Yanli to mother him. The latter would be laughable if we were to take it as entirely straight-faced—he knows he is playing childish, and he knows that she knows, even if he does legitimately want to be mothered. Jiang Cheng on the other hand seems to never handle the reality of Wei Wuxian as well as Wei Wuxian handles the reality of Jiang Cheng...

I understand there was some criticism of Yibo’s perceived lack of expressiveness when the show first came out, but I think he’s doing a fantastic job portraying a deeply stoic character whose emotional turmoil is buried under mountains of learned and self-enforced composure. It’s not like he’s missing beats; he’s responding, it’s just subtle. He’s responsible for two of my favorite moments so far: when he first smiles ever so slightly when he sees the lantern Wuxian has made him with the rabbit drawing(3) and the scene of him kneeling in the snow as punishment. I don’t know if it’s the lighting or the fact that it’s one of the few times he’s not carrying tension in his eyebrows, but he looks SO YOUNG in that shot. Honestly, he looks more AT PEACE in that shot than I think he does at almost any other time in the show so far. It feels to me like, in that moment, he has no regrets either about what he did nor about the fact that he should have to atone for it. Like he has internalized some sense that both things are right and can exist in tension. The weird effect of this growth next to Wei Wuxian’s feels like watching one of the two grow older (Wuxian) while the other grows younger (Wangji).

Now, I’m a sucker for every last story where two highly disparate-seeming people move from from some variation of dislike (either on the part of one or both) to friendship to, sometimes, something more (no, no BL here, none at all *looks the other way*). Certainly Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji have very different personalities. Wei Wuxian has little regard for rules, authority, tradition, taboos, or social etiquette: he uses Lan Wangji’s ming(4) almost as soon as he meets him! The way he interacts with objects and spaces (and personal space!) shows his lack of reverence/respect for the people and things others expect him to have reverence for. He has no problem questioning what everyone else seems to see as obvious up to the point of outright suggesting the use of dark magic. Because...well, why not?? Because “they said so?”

It’s not that he doesn’t KNOW the rules. Another of my absolute favorite moments is during the Wen indoctrination when Wei Wuxian starts reciting not the Wen clan principles, but the Lan clan principles! Sure, he lacks the expected respect for sources of authority be they personal or ideological, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t KNOW them. He’s obviously naturally talented, gifted, a fast learner, curious, but also—and crucially—he has a very strong moral compass! He does not tolerate bullies, especially when they turn their attention to the vulnerable, like Wen Chao.(5) Yanli notes that their father always favors those with moral integrity and who does he favor? Wei Wuxian.

And this is where he and Lan Wangji are more alike than Wangji initially thinks, and why I love that moment, just after they release the lanterns, when you see, just for a second, the surprise on his face at the content of Wei Wuxian’s prayer: that he always be able to “stand with justice and live with no regrets.” It is, I imagine, the moment when it really hits Wangji that this rebel he finds himself irrationally attracted to truly is *good* despite the fact that he shows no outward signs of respecting the same sources of moral authority Wangji does.

So what is the main difference? Where the rules come from. Who makes the rules? Both of them are pretty sure they know.

Lan Wangji gets his moment to present his source just after their rooftop duel when he catches Wei Wuxian drinking: the Lan Clan principles chiseled right into stone. All 3000 of them. Interestingly, even though Wei Wuxian can and does memorize the code and seems perfectly happy with the notion of moral principles in general, I’ll wager a guess that he is confused by the very idea that a moral code would be so strict and unchanging and inflexible that it could be chiseled into stone *in the first place* or that it would *need to be memorized*. Surely you’d just...”know?” Besides, morality is too contextual to treat this way surely?

As a CLH (Confirmed Lifelong Heretic) my sympathies admittedly lie more with Wei Wuxian than Lan Wangji. It’s not that traditional codes of ethics and conduct are bad things. These are the things that provide stability across entire cultures and peoples. If they’re written in stone, at least that means they’re something everyone has a greater chance of pointing to and agreeing on.(7) And just as Lan Wangji has to learn that there are moral codes that aren’t written in stone and that individual minds can have very clear senses of right and wrong outside of group structures, Wei Wuxian has to learn to temper his arrogance—that his actions, for however right he *thinks* they are, can and do have consequences he would not intend for those he loves, as when he stops himself from calling to Wangji during the hunt. I have a feeling he’s going to be learning more...

Then there’s that whole conversation from ep. 29 as Lan Wangji prepares to leave the burial mounds which is just full of whammies (set, naturally, against the exceedingly domestic reality of the community as a whole and their exceedingly sweet interactions with a-Yuan). Wei Wuxian says: “But let yourself be the judge of what is right and what is wrong, leave others’ comments aside, and care little about gain and loss. What I should do. I know it very well. I believe that I’ll be able to control it well.” And then there’s that moment where you can actually feel Lan Wangji’s heart drop into the pit of his stomach as he presses his eyes closed.

This is the reverse of the moment when Wangji directed Wuxian’s attention to the list of Lan clan principles, so solid they are written in stone.(8)

Then there is that wonderful bit about their respective paths—Lan Wangji’s path vs. Wei Wuxian’s path: the wide avenue vs the one-log bridge. I assume this is a literal translation of the Mandarin. Is it an idiom? If so, I may mangle its meaning terribly and for that I am sorry. But it seems to me that a wide avenue is safe, easy, populated; a single-log bridge is comparatively dangerous and only one person can walk it. Which seems a pretty good metaphor for the differences in whose rule-book each of the leads chooses. Not to mention, with my Western ears, it sounds a WHOLE lot like a “straight and narrow path.” Interesting then, that it is The Master of Demonic Cultivation who is choosing it, while Lan Wangji—with his brightness and discipline and clarity—is following the “easy” way.

So, there it is: whose deontology is the right one? How do you choose?

It’s the epistemological aspect of the question of ethics that Newbigin gets right in that quote I posted the other day. Honestly, I disagree with a great deal (like, a lot) of what Newbigin says in that book, and I think he spends far too much time running himself in ever tighter Calvinist circles, (not to mention I have little interest in missiology and am highly skeptical of evangelism). But! I appreciate that he does, at least, recognize the danger of believing we have insulated ourselves completely from uncertainty or of expecting that certainty is even a thing possible to achieve.

But where do we choose to anchor our axioms? And why? Whose deontology is the right deontology? The rules written on parchment and stone? Or the rules written on our souls? Remembering, of course, that both are fallible. 16 years in the future, will the two leads have changed their minds at all?

And now with any luck, I’ll have a free weekend in which to watch the last 20 episodes, assuming no one wants me to do adult things like house cleaning or completing design projects people are paying me for.(10)

Like how Tolkien switches register from the low and comedic to the high and romantic but you’re fully aware it’s all really part of the same story and suddenly, bam!, you recognize that those aspects of life are somehow not able to be disentangled.

OMG is this an intentional play on “cultivation”? Sometimes I can’t tell what might be getting lost in translation, and I’m certainly too ignorant of Chinese culture, mythology, and folklore to really appreciate everything happening in this show, not least of which due to the language barrier.

He is, interestingly, far more moved by it than the drawing Wuxian does of *him* two episodes beforehand—is this merely the result of the progression of their relationship? This is post-cold springs after all.

That took some research to understand!

The main “vulnerable” character that he never seems to swoop in to save is Meng Yao and I wonder if it’s because he can sense something “off” about him. I felt bad for Meng Yao at first but he always put me on edge. Honestly, is there anyone who trusts Meng Yao as far as they can throw him? *looks at Elrond* OK, anyone except Elrond?(6)

Honestly, before I started watching this I saw that one of the characters was being referred to as Elrond and I wondered, going into it, if I’d know which character it was, and then Lan Xichen walked in and I was like “oh, yeah, obviously!” Seriously, what is it about him? Is it his physical appearance? The way he holds himself? His outfit? His pattern of speaking? How is this person so obviously coded “Elrond?”

Except they don’t really. That’s never how it works.

And interestingly, when looking at his name: “Wei Ying,  Ying is his 名, meaning, baby; Wuxian is his 字, it comes from an ancient prose “喜乐无羡赏,忿怒无羡刑”, which means when you’re delighted don’t reward without restraint,  when you’re angry don’t punish without restraint. Wuxian here means exercise your power reasonably.”(9)

The richness of the world in this show really appeals to me as does the carefully choreographed costume design, productions design, and cinematography (seriously, everyone needs to dress like this all the time; end of story; I have spoken). There have been some amazing shots that I can only assume are drone footage that have been ADRed?

20 years in and adulthood still sucks. 0 of 5 stars. Would not recommend.

[lovefrombegonia]

My journey with BL based Cdramas:

(THESE ARE ALL MY PERSONAL OPINIONS, I AM NOT EXPERT)

(very long, I was just bored and wanted to share my thoughts)

For the last few months, I have watched quite a few BL based cdramas, starting with Guardian, which was rather disappointing after some 15 episodes. Now, although I enjoy BL works, I can't continue watching a series just because of that element. It has to be an overall good drama too. If it wasn't for the acting skills of the lead actors played by Zhu Yilong and Bai Yu that got me atleast invested enough to end the drama. I still speed watched so many scenes.

I was particularly impressed by Zhu Yilong coz he had double roles to do, and he had me genuine believe that Shen Wei and White Ghost (can't remember the exact name) were different people. They had so many of these little moments that I enjoyed. I heard that a lot of production issues and censorship hindered this drama. I felt sad hearing that coz the story definitely had potential. You can definitely notice their impact on the drama. The direction, design, script, audio design, acting, editing, effects...I could go on and on. I still finished it and appreciate the efforts of the team coz they had to do a lot in a low budget. Guardian was bad but it had its fair share of reasons. They did whatever they could despite all the problems they faced. They also introduced me to a really good novel which I have finished half way, atleast.

Then came The Untamed and it was definitely a huge improvement. The lead cast were all good and the actors Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo did a wonderful job. Xiao Zhan, especially, played Wei Wuxian really well. I really felt for this character. I can't imagine another actor playing this role now. But Wang Yibo definitely impressed me more because he got such a stoic role to play and yet he pulled it off. Every small expression and movement from him conveyed something deep. It was so interesting to notice him whenever he was on screen.

The Untamed too had its fair share of technical issues with questionable editing choices and direction. Out of the immediate lead cast of the major clans in the MDZS world, the acting was bad to average. CGI was bad and the action choreography was laughable sometimes.

But what truly made The Untamed good for me was the story...not the script, the story behind the script. The characters, irrespective of whether the acting could justify the writing or not, were complex, intriguing and three-dimensional. The BL part was already long resolved by the mid-series but characters like Jin Guangyao and Xue Yang really pushed the plot well. The fact that their mysteries were investigated and solved by Lan Zhan and Wei Ying, such lovable characters was almost perfect. The Untamed really set the bar high up when it comes to writing characters and major props goes to MXTX, the author of the original novel. After this, I couldn't imagine a better BL based drama than The Untamed. Considering all the censorship and production, their team did a fantastic job and no one has any right to deny it.

Then came the announcement of The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty and Winter Begonia. When I saw the promo videos, I knew production is not gonna be a problem. They seemed to have good budget and the cast looked good too, especially in Winter Begonia. The actors weren't, let's say, typical "pretty doll-like" type of actors that BL dramas always tend to cast for some reason. I don't understand why they do that tbh. It doesn't improve anything in my eyes, especially when the make-up is awfully noticeable. I think that's because this is what majority audience like. The Untamed and Guardian did that too but at a much tamed level (pun intended) so that it didn’t look bad and in their case it was justified coz their main characters weren't exactly like us "muggles". They were either supernatural beings or spiritual cultivators. But the actors in WB looked naturally good looking. It piqued my interest.

Then I started both the dramas almost at the same time on iqiyi tv app. Now, as someone who prefers wuxia and historical dramas much more, I was expecting to like SOMD much more than WB. Oh how I was wrong!! And it didn't happen just because SOMD turned out sadly disappointing but also because WB turned out to be one the most beautiful dramas I have ever watched.

 To keep it short with Sleuth, let me just summarize, except for the eunuch character, I didn't care for anyone else. He was the only good actor and interesting character. The acting of the two leads was quite underwhelming. Now, I can accept that if the story is good but damn! Their script is all over the place! I couldn't continue beyond ep11. The production is good and everything looks pretty but that's it. Right now, it's on hiatus on my watch list. If someone is watching it, please tell me if the story improves in future, otherwise it is a no from me.

Let me just, all this is my personal opinion. If others enjoy this drama then I am really glad you do. I wish I could do too. As a huge fan of Jackie Chan, I really wanted to like this drama and I tried. But it just isn't for me.

Now...Winter Begonia...sigh...oh! The beauty and depth of this drama and its colourful and intriguing characters. I am head over heels for WB. There are many reasons for that. The plot is engaging. The story is good but what truly makes this drama is the characters, specifically, the main leads Shang Xirui played by Yin Zheng and Cheng Fengtai played by Huang Xiaoming. The direction, bgm, editing, visuals, cinematography, acting, production, and the writing range from good to top-notch. I have already become an admirer of Yin Zheng, Huang Xiaoming and Chermaine Sheh. I am going to write a whole new post about WB but let me just say this.. If you're not watching Winter Begonia then you're missing out on an intensely beautiful drama.

Stay safe my fellow drama lovers!!

[razberryyum]

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

(covers mainly MDZS chaps 13 and 14)

WangXian meter: 🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

XianQing? No thank you

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

XianNing? I can’t

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

Wei Wuxian is so smart

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

Random Bits of Randomness

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

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

Odds and Ends:

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

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

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

[geekaisky86]

Today I will rant about Yizhan... Yup, finally want to expose my level of obsession. 

The picture is my favorite picture of Yizhan, why? why I choose Wangxiao instead of Yizhan? Yes, I have my reason. I fell in love with that picture first before I watched The Untamed and falling deeply in Yizhan World. 

My obsession of Yizhan pure because of my curiosity. I’m curious wether Yizhan is real or not. (I believe what I see and I feel, more than that I believe in myself). I think that’s the reason many people fall for Yizhan too. There is no facts, there is no closure, It’s full of perception, notion, allegation and imagination (I love the last... my imagination always go wild if it involve Yizhan... hahaha). 

But I will share why I enjoy this tortured feel of being curious.

First. YIZHAN is undoubtedly superior

Whether they were Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji or Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo, both couple were superior in their world. But in my world where life is about love, work and follow the rules, Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo bring enormous feeling to enjoy every tiny pieces of internet post to make the day brighter than ever. Is it metaphor? Nop... No... 

I’m someone who’s my mood easily changes but once I’m in depression mode, nothing can change it. I remember being angry, restless then sad all day, even in my work sometimes. That’s my depression mode. And the thing I did back then was opening my ig and twitter account and see Yizhan posts. I smiled... little laugh and happy. That’s enough to describe how Yizhan act as endorphin in my life. even though I’m back to my depression self when I finished browsing my Yizhan. 

That’s not the only reason why Yizhan is superior. I could say their looks so magical. They are handsome, no doubt. More than that, they are attractive. Xiao Zhan is more like beautiful type person and Wang Yibo is more like cool yet cute type person. See... see... I can’t even properly describe those two. 

Not only their appearance that superior but also their personality is out of the box (I mean not in weird way). Their kindness and their personal ways to see life and to living life make people jealous. 

Every person born to be kind, yet not every person has the right way to stay to be kind. Emotion is like a boat in heart and surrounding is like wind that always change it direction to move the heart. It will depend on faith and mind to make sure life is going in the right path. 

Yizhan is example of the one who true to his heart, his mind and his faith. 

I’m jealous. Yup... Their power to stay to be kind person, is the thing I will never achieve. Maybe that’s the reason they are so perfect in my eyes, so SUPERIOR. 

Let’s move to the second reason.

Second. YIZHAN Love Story is Epic Journey 

Yizhan journey start from the first time they met until now... and still continue in the future. 

I remember saw I post about their journey. Will share if I find it again. 

Their journey is like a storybook, like a drama script, like a fantasy world yet it’s real. (I don’t say love story, but their ‘whatever’ relationship story). It’s not just about first sight attraction or over time perfection, but about genuine feeling in every pieces of their connection whether they are being together or not. 

Saw every clips about them like saw colorful frames of feeling. They are sometime full of love, affection, jealousy, anger, being childish, being happy, sad, empathy, kindness, patient, tolerance... and others feeling that can’t be described. Sometimes it mixed. 

Ok. Because of something, my mood is on limit again. will continue later, tomorrow, or maybe when my mood better. 

Yizhan... 

Just be true to yourself and what's yours and enjoy life to the fullest

Like a wind among blue sky and white cloud, I’m not even visible. I will be here to every direction you want me, as long as I know there are sun and star shining brightly everyday. I mean everyday is everyday.  Because my love for Yizhan which I call ‘obsession’ is as pure as rain drops in dawn. It can never polluted by this ‘dirty world’. Nothing can change me besides you... 

[lisbeibeth]

When you were watching The Untamed, what did you think would happen in the end (about Wangxian)? For a moment, I thought Wei Ying was just temporarily occupying Mo Xanyu's body and he, like Lan Zhan, would die somehow, but would find Lan Zhan in the afterlife. And then that scene where Lan Zhan is walking the donkey along with Wei Ying, a parallel to the memory Wei Ying has of his parents, that would be the final scene, their happy moment eternalized. e.e

To be honest, I was already spoiled for the ending - I think I’d already read certain chapters (hem hem) because I’m not gonna commit to 50 episodes without knowing there’s going to be a happy ending. And even though people were complaining about CQL’s ending, others were arguing in the comments, saying that HE DID GO BACK! AND LAN ZHAN WAS THERE and analysing the reflection in Xiao Zahn’s eyes, and linking to the behind the scenes video (which showed that Wang Yibo was there for that scene, rofl - like, why?) which also showed the director/AD telling Xiao Zahn that he has to look like his life/the light of his life came back to him.

So yeah. I’m ok with any ending (though special consideration is given to the one where they bang like a screen door in a hurricane) - and I direct you at the S3 extras for the audio drama, where we have a few post canon episodes, one of which features WWX and LWJ working a case with Sizhui!

Re the whole Mo Xuanyu situation - I can quite happily handwave the fact that in the Untamed, he was simply Wei Wuxian again: you can’t have two actors playing the same role if you want the audience to empathise with the character, and as he’s the protagonist, you pretty much have to. Either Wei Wuxian or Mo Xuanyu would lose the audience’s interest. It’s different in a book - because that’s your imagination at work.

So, am fine with that. Mo Xuanyu was Wei Wuxian’s doppelganger - no prob. Willing suspension of disbelief, etc.

[razberryyum]

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

(spoilers for everything MDZS/Untamed)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WeiQing Watch 2019

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

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