#i am ALSO very worried about the 2HA drama adaptation

[mejomonster]

It is a.. not so small hope I guess.. that the cdramas coming out based on bl novels... idk genuinely try to be faithful to their source and try to genuinely tell those stories instead of changing them and watering down/ignoring parts of the story u.. u know...?

[shijiujun]

hey so uh, it's 110% Not Your Job, but can i ask for like a crash course on these chinese bl series that are everywhere around me but i don't know them. like i'm familiar with the untamed or however many names it has but i'm seeing two or three more???? help please if you can thank you

hello!! oh no worries, i happened to be looking for a distraction too so this was timely hahaha although it’s a pretty broad question since there are so many new live adaptations coming out (and some which have already come out which are featured as bromances), but let me see if I can like round this up for you a little. 

*i may be giving you a bit more than you need or like irrelevant stuff, but i guess i’m bound to hit something hahaha

Okay so the chinese BL series you’re talking about is The Untamed, and since you said you’re familiar I won’t get into it in detail, BUT just for like flow’s sake:

The Untamed (Chen Qing Ling) is based on the danmei (BL) novel written by MXTX, called Mo Dao Zu Shi (and yes however many like English translations to this title there is), or MDZS for short. You watched the live-action, and there’s like a lot of other versions of it e.g. the anime, the chibi anime, audio dramas etc. etc. the list goes on. In case you still haven’t seen any of those, just glance through this masterpost made by @the-social-recluse​ - In any case, right now everything is sort of already out EXCEPT:

MDZSQ - chibi donghua, cutest shit you’ll ever see

More MDZS merch 

Some teasers from MDZS mobile game which has been one year and developing

Now moving on to other BL series floating around so frequently - MDZS is the second book that MXTX wrote. So there’s SVSSS (The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving-System), which is also called lovingly by others in the fandom by Scumbag System/Villain in short, this is MXTX’s first danmei novel. Right now if you’ve seen this on Tumblr, it’s the anime (donghua) version - 10 episodes only for Season 1, available on WeTV with subs, finished airing like a few weeks ago. Translations of the novel are definitely out in full somewhere.

An absolute mess, but an organized one

Tried to do a manhua but failed

Everyone thought the donghua wouldn’t air on time either (it has a history of dropping development halfway) but it did

Would probably be the most entertaining if ever dealt with a live-action

And then there’s arguably, the most beloved child out of all three novels (at least right this moment) - TGCF (Tian Guan Ci Fu, or Heaven Official’s Blessing). This is the third and so far last (???) danmei novel MXTX has written, main pairing invented love. Strawhat-wearing scrap collector smiley angel with devoted kid-turned-adult-turned-ghost-king who follows smiley angel for like many years because he loves him. Anyway, if you’re seeing this, once again on Tumblr a lot, it’s the donghua version you’re seeing. Still airing, I think we’re midway through the whole season, the yelling starts Saturday (Asia time zone) and then extends into Sunday, sometimes Monday.

There’s like a god-tier Eng translation in full for TGCF by Suika

There is a manhua for this as well, only like 45 chapters in, but the time Jan/Feb 2021 rolls around, the donghua would have overtaken the manhua progress on the storyline HAHAHA

Apparently the director/production team who did CQL/The Untamed managed to get the rights to filming its live-action, but heh nothing much about that just yet aside from casting rumours and fans worrying that the casting will be done wrongly and also that they won’t be able to do justice to the story.

Alright now that we’ve more or less cleared MXTX and what everyone is hyping over (for good reason), let’s move on to the other CHINESE BL stuff you could be seeing (although I feel like you might not actually be asking about this), and these will all be live-actions (I’m also only clearing SOME of this year’s stuff, so none from before 2020, don’t ask me why I didn’t leave Guardian or SCI up here):

✨✨✨ Already aired, done and dusted or maybe ongoing, just ones I see on my dash and notifs so I definitely am biased ✨✨✨

The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty (Cheng Hua’s Fourteenth Year) - Many episodes, much bromance, base novel is gay af, but live action is cute af. Read more here and full translation is not yet done I think

My Roommate is a Detective - THIS IS A SPECIAL MENTION. NOT BL. Doesn’t even have like a book to go along with it, it’s just I’ve seen people getting into this again and creating content, so idk, imma just leave this here. It ain’t BL but it got the most glaring BL-esque relationship I’ve ever seen in my life. You’ll get what I mean if you watch it

The Lost Tomb Reboot - AGAIN another special mention, because many handsome young-ish men who you know, head into tombs, much bromance. Based on a huge series of novels, totally not BL, but as always with like a lot of men put into one story, ships happen. This year as well, in case you’ve seen it floating around

✨✨✨  Upcoming Chinese BL live-action adaptations, confirmed + casting + filming. You may have seen some of these because like posters were recently released etc. - As far as I know these are all slated for 2021 ✨✨✨

Faraway Wanderers (Tian Ya Ke) - A danmei novel by Priest, filming wrapped up, should be airing soon. Leads are pretty cute, although I’m sure they’ll turn this bromance. One of the male leads is known for a lot of period web dramas, and Gong Jun, the other male lead, is known for more contemporary modern dramas, but damn Gong Jun’s jawline

Winner is King (Sha Po Lang) - Another danmei novel by Priest, filming wrapped up recently as well if I recall? Posters recently released, and this is arguably Priest’s most famous and popular danmei

Immortality (Hao Yi Xing) - A super popular danmei novel called 2ha or The White Husky and His White Cat Shizun by Meat Bun. Filming also... wrapped? I think, because posters came out the next day and everyone from Earth to Pluto went mad, definitely one you should look out for next year spring i think, but I’m pretty sure there’s gonna be a hell lot more teasers, posters etc. coming up and then half of danmei Tumblr will probably go into cardiac arrest

The Society of Four Leaves (Zhang Gong An) - Ehhhh I think this hasn’t yet been filmed but casting was recently confirmed (contentiously).  Concept posters are up though. This technically isn’t classified officially as a BL. There are no CPs officially in the novel, but apparently it’s very like idk flirty etc., also slated for next year

*There are a few more by Priest, e.g. Liu Yao, but no concrete news that I’ve seen (by now like at least 60% of her danmeis either have a live-action contract or a donghua contract or both lmao)

✨✨✨  Upcoming Chinese BL donghua adaptations (2021-ish). All by Priest✨✨✨

*Throwing this in just as a by the way thing, because these are also recent news (these two weeks). There might be more but I haven’t seen anything yet personally :D

Imperfection (Can Ci PIn) - Space AU, the novel won like two national literary awards if I recall like last year? Anyway a brief trailer recently came out last week I think, and main lead is handsome af, and once again it’s space and space wars so it’s pretty cool

Silent Reading (Mo Du Zhe) - Novel is called Mo Du, and honestly I think the donghua has been like teasing fans for like idk years, but it looks like we’re finally getting to the donghua as the team previewed the first ep like... two weeks ago live to an audience? Modern crime thriller thing, there’s a masterpost going on Tumblr

Lie Huo Jiao Chou - Another Priest fan favourite, a historical + modern danmei combination. Much angst from what I’ve seen, but donghua teaser looked good also, released also last week

---

anyway hopefully some part of this or at least one part answers your question? if not, just send me another ask or like, DM me hahahaha

[manggaetteokkie]

Why 2HA adaptation might not be as bad as we think...

Okay so BL novel “The Husky and His White Cat Shizun” (chinese title: “二哈和他的白猫师尊”) aka 2HA is getting a live adaption which will be called “Immortality” (“皓衣行”). I know that usually, fans of original works are less than excited about this kinds of news and with good reasons. The issue is that those who buy the IP rights to a novel simply see its popularity and think that they can profit off of it without actually trying to understand the reason behind its popularity. Too often, BL fans see themselves forced to endure any of the following: 1) sex change of one of the male leads, 2) creation of a random female love interest, 3) turning a happy end into a bad end, 4) adding a bunch of scenes unrelated to our main pair that ends up dragging the series, 5) turning romance into brotherly affection... the list goes on and on. Sometimes, companies think that as long as they film any two guys together and sell a bit of physical touching here and there, fans will jump on it like rabid dogs which... is kinda stupid because, y’know, we have eyes (and standards) too.

So obviously, with the unprecedented popularity that came with the release of The Untamed, even more producers are starting to see the potential of danmei (BL) novels and with it came an onslaught of IP rights being bought and adapted. The list is pretty extensive, with some big names that I’m sure anyone who’s even slightly in the Chinese BL novel community has heard of before. Of course, included in that list, with the casting for the leads done and filming underway, is 2HA.

Quick overview of the story for those of you that don’t know: the story is set in the POV of the “gong” (top), a character named Mo Ran (also known as Mo Weiyu) who is the disciple of Chu Wanning, the “shou” (bottom) of our story. In his original life, Mo Ran had become the Emperor of the cultivation world through slaughter and tyranny, with the only one ever coming close to stopping him being his shizun, Chu Wanning, who eventually lost his life trying to stop him. After achieving the top by committing pretty much all crimes and sins known to men, weary and tired, Mo Ran decides to take his own life and ends it all. Unexpectedly, instead of dying and going to Hell, he transmigrated to the first year he became a disciple. As a thirty-something man in the body of a teen, he decides to do things right this time around and save the one he couldn’t save the first time around. As he goes through life a second time, truth after truths reveal themselves, with the biggest surprise being that the Shizun he hated so much in his previous life, and who Mo Ran thought hated/scorned him, actually turned out to be protecting him the entire time. 

Mo Ran, in his past life, was powerful, cruel, merciless and arrogant. There was nothing he could not obtain and he knew it. He was cynical, had a very jaded view of the world and was kind of unstable (lots of mood swings and temper tantrums). After his rebirth, he still maintained some of the arrogance and cynicism, but is more mischievous, confident and cheeky. He is very much like a husky, looks kind of scary and big, but can be extremely loyal to the ones he recognizes and can be a bit dumb sometimes. Chu Wanning on the other hand, is an unflappable person with a frost-like exterior, but a heart of gold. Basically, he cares a lot but it’s easier for him to look like he doesn’t than to voice his feelings. He gets embarrassed easily and covers his embarrassment using anger. He is extremely strong, likes peace and quiet, and always abides by the rules. 

Their relationship is kind of complicated. Initially, Mo Ran was in love with a fellow disciple called Shi Mei (despite the word meaning junior female disciple in Chinese, it’s actually the name of a male character). In the original timeline, Shi Mei died and that was the start of Mo Ran’s decline. After his rebirth, Mo Ran decides that he will do everything in his power to prevent Shi Mei from dying again. Don’t be mistaken though, Shi Mei is NOT the male lead. You’ll see as you read more that despite being in love with Shi Mei, Mo Ran is pretty obsessed with Chu Wanning because their relationship was kind of... complicated in the original timeline.

This is pretty much the premise for the story, but do be warned that it goes much deeper and darker than what you might expect (it’s rated R-18 for a reason). So why exactly am I writing all of this? To put it simply, I just kind of want to hype up the series and its adaptation a little, or at least, pique enough interest to give the live action adaptation a chance. Not gonna lie, when I heard 2HA was getting adapted, I was pretty skeptical because how. Mo Ran and Chu Wanning had a pretty physical relationship in the pre-rebirth timeline and that’s partially where the obsession that Mo Ran feels towards Chu Wanning stems from. There’s just basically a lot of unresolved sexual tension between them throughout the novel that I simply couldn’t see getting adapted. However, after thinking about it and reevaluating things from a low-expectations-standpoint, I think it might actually be possible to film something close enough to the original work. Here are some of the factors that influenced my opinion:

First, the series is set to air for 50 episodes (just like The Untamed). Why is the number of episodes important? Because it will determine how closely the adaptation will follow the original story and how much random stuff they can fit into it. Let’s take a step back and evaluate: 2HA’s novel has 311 chapters + extras while MDZS has 113 + extras. Obviously, people might have an issue with the number of episodes (”How are you going to air the same amount of episodes for a series that’s thrice as long??”) but I think it’s a good amount. Why? Because it pretty much guarantees a solid pacing that’ll keep the story moving forward without stagnating. I don’t think there is too much to worry in terms of too much source material being cut because quite a few chapters are R-18/romantic lining scenes that would not have gotten adapted anyways. Once those get deleted, I think 50 episodes is an acceptable amount.

Second, the entire production seems to be solid. The rights were actually bought by Tencent who, if you forgot, was also responsible for The Untamed. With prior success, I believe that they now have a pretty solid idea of how things should be run. Also, the CGI and world-design team is the same one as for Ashes of Love, which has me pretty stoked because while CG in chinese dramas has always been a hit or miss, Ashes of Love is definitely amongst some of the best I’ve seen (see below for examples). (P.S. there are also rumours that Lin Hai, the one responsible for The Untamed’s OST, might be working on 2HA but this is mere speculation at this point.) Overall, 2HA is looking to be like the most high-profile and expensive BL adaption yet.

Third and finally, the casting.

Holy.

Okay.

This is what has me the most hyped. 

Let’s start with Shi Mei, who will be portrayed by actress Chen Yao (or Sebrina Chen).

I know I’ve said that despite the name, Shi Mei is a male. As it turns out, likely for censorship reasons, “Immortality” could not escape from the clutches of the dreaded sex change so they went ahead and turned him into a girl. While not ideal, in my opinion, it actually works out pretty nicely here. In this case, it means that Mo Ran is in love with a female character which would further draw censorship’s attention away from the fact that Mo Ran really has a thing for his beautiful shizun. While it would have been perfect if everything could go according to source material, the fact that it’s Shi Mei that went through a sex change actually works pretty favourably in the grand scheme of things. Not to mention the actress set to play Shi Mei has some good experience acting similar roles so overall, I say that I trust her.

Next, we have Chu Wanning who will be played by Luo Yunxi (or Leo Luo).

For this character, I have no worries whatsoever. If you’re unfamiliar with this actor, I highly recommend you give Ashes of Love a try. He played the 2nd lead and ugh. He’s so good at playing beautiful and elegant characters that are forced to undergo a ton of suffering and pain. Luo Yunxi used to be a professional ballet dancer so he moves with grace and his fight scenes are amazing to watch. Also, he has great control over his facial expressions. He’s able to act out characters that suffer a lot without making them seem weak or powerless. Even the way he cries can be considered both beautiful and heartbreaking.

Finally, we have Mo Ran who will be portrayed by Chen Feiyu (or Arthur Chen).

Mo Ran is an extremely complex character. From pre-rebirth’s insanity and arrogance, to post-rebirth’s hope and reservation, to post-revelation’s love and devotion, the actor’s going to have a lot on his plate. Originally, when I first googled him, I thought that while he’d manage to pull off post-rebirth teen!Mo Ran fairly well given how clean and refreshing his face looks, he’d have a harder time pulling off pre-rebirth’s arrogance, craziness and general “hardness”. However, after seeing some costume designs and makeup edits, I think that the boy might just pull it off. Also, while the actor is nowhere near as solid as Luo Yunxi is, it seems that he’s willing to put in extra time and effort (as seen by his Weibo post about how he’d been studying the source material) to make up for it. I think that with enough dedication, he might just be able to pull it off.

(Psssst! By the way, keeping this strictly between you and me, another reason why I’m such a fan of this pair is because of the height difference. I mean just look at this?? Their height difference is pretty much bang on with the novel height difference after Mo Ran grew past Chu Wanning’s height. Not to mention, don’t tell me you see this and don’t automatically picture a the big dorky puppy following his reserved and cool master around?)

So yeah, all of this just to say that it might be okay to kind of have some expectations for 2HA. I really want to keep my own expectations down as low as possible given the amount of times we’ve been burned but I want to remain hopeful that, with the success of The Untamed, it can pave the way for better and more faithful danmei adaptations, with 2HA being one of them.

[thegreymoon]

LMAO, Twitter is a cesspool! 😂😂 

I have just been exposed to the most ridiculous fandom drama to end all ridiculous fandom drama! It seems like some YiZhan “fans” are mad at Luo Yunxi and Chen Feiyu for... idk? Interacting with each other (???) at the Tencent awards ceremony? According to them, by doing so, they are imitating BJYX, because, apparently, Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo invented promotion of the shows they are starring in and.. I guess, amicable conversation? 🤔 Also, they are allegedly “suppressing” BJYX by being all smiley and friendly with each other and getting a lot of attention for it. They are “stealing their thing”, you see, because, as we all know, Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo have copyrighted being cute and friendly with one’s costar while promoting a major project that they both have so much riding on. 

So, a couple of thoughts about this nonsense.

1. First of all, why is this even a fanwar?? None of these people are in any way related to each other except for working in the same industry and apparently having the audacity to star in a show of the same genre?? Both can exist at the same time, ffs!! Also, the more the merrier! Please give me all the danmei adaptations!! 

2. Second, toxic clowns like these are the reason why their faves can no longer be seen so much as saying a word to each other out in the open. The only reason Luo Yunxi and Chen Feiyu still get to smile at each other and openly enjoy each other’s company while Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan look stressed and miserable during their rare joint appearances is because they still haven’t had crazies like these almost succeed in ruining their career. Chen Feiyu comes from acting royalty, though, so I am hoping this will shield him from at least some of the nonsense coming his way, but Luo Yunxi already has assholes on his tail because he dared to star in shows with whoever toxic shippers were shipping with other people at the time. (Okay, I don’t have the full story on this because reading the whole thread and its related links got super exhausting very quickly, so forgive me if I got something wrong, but a couple of weeks back I ran across this ridiculous drama on Twitter (again) with people hating on him because he starred in Love is Sweet with Bai Lu, and get this, they are mad because she is no longer doing shows with another actor who got sidelined because he was accused of and admitted to domestic violence.) 

3. Third, the way Luo Yunxi and Chen Feiyu interacted couldn’t be more innocuous. It’s just what you would expect from two people who worked closely together for several months and also happen to like each other’s company. With that said, of course Tencent put them together on the red carpet and during their performance so that they can be cute as a pair! They have a show that they have sunk major money in to promote! Of course Tencent wants the hype! How is this even controversial and idek, somehow dishonest?? Also, Luo Yunxi and Chen Feiyu are dead ringers for the characters they are portraying, so please let the book fans enjoy seeing them together in peace! Nobody really thinks they are together, ffs! 

Anyway, was this post strictly necessary? Of course not, I’m just baffled and annoyed. I was so sad for Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan and how awkward they had to be with each other the entire night. Ship them or not, it’s just insane to me that these two young people launched an international hit show together and now can’t be seen talking to each other because their fandom got so toxic and awful. In addition to that, I am low-key worried and scared for Luo Yunxi and Chen Feiyu because even without this RP shipping nonsense, they have this massive target on their backs because of the nature of 2ha. And lastly, I simply hate antis of all kinds. You don’t like someone or something? Nobody is forcing you to watch, you absolute asshat! Click out and go watch something else, ffs, but don’t go around spearheading hate campaigns against real people and shitting on everyone else’s fun! This kind of garbage supports no one and only does damage to everyone involved. 

[haitangblossoms]

What's the drama going on on w*ibo? I heard that many people are pretty upset with the current director. Like they are like the director sucks and that he won't do justice to 2ha.

Hi! I think it’s a really good moment to reply to this, in light of the leaks that just appeared on weibo mere minutes ago. I am not familiar with the director and I don’t speak Chinese so I rely on G translate most of the time, but I think that is enough to get the gist of what is going on with the fandom.

To keep it short, the C-fans are very worried that the show will be excessively straightwashed. Because even on one of the official pics on the HYX page on Baidu the actors are not yet listed in their “importance order”, so to speak, they have complained that Shi Mei might move from being a secondary character (compared to RanWan) to a main heroine. I believe that was one of their first concerns since filming began in April and the image on Baidu hasn’t changed since then. 

Second was the fact that not only Shi Mei, but also Hua Binan and the Tanlang Elder will be played by women even though they are men in the novel. I won’t say much about Hua Binan to avoid spoilers but that was kind of a necessary decision. As of why they did that with both them and Tanlang Elder, tbh I am not yet too familiar with danmei adaptations but my guess is that they are going for a more varied cast. There’s probably 5 or 6 female characters only in 2ha, and I personally don’t think having a higher number of female actors would be a bad thing. When I found out Shi Mei would be played by Chen Yao, I actually thought about how this could play into ultimately reinforcing the RanWan game - there is a leak where they are talking on a cliff, I believe it’s after they come back from Jincheng Lake in the novel, and the scene features Chu Wanning gazing at them from a distance while the two talk (in the novel, the two flirt in front of CWN). This is one of those moments where I believe having a woman play the mc’s love interest could actually play in the main couple’s favour.

There also seems to be an abundance of very clear, very detailed shots and videos of Mo Ran and Shi Mei together, while most of the RanWan moments are very low quality or there’s always staff trying to cover the actors with umbrellas as soon as they’re done shooting. Why would they purposefully not show the main couple (even with all the censorship) but have no issues with showcasing RanMei instead? My guess -and this is ONLY a guess, don’t take me too seriously!- is that they are feeding us the het and giving us RanWan crumbs so that people's interest is kept high. The result is that every time something comes out that is some sort of PDA between CFY and LYX (the bridge leaks, the ones with the baby and so on) everyone goes mad about it and the topic blows up on weibo. The last of these leaks from today show Chen Yao and Chen Feiyu almost kissing, although more have come out straight after (in lower quality of course) where Chen Feiyu is doing something very similar with Luo Yunxi. Again, it’s crumbs but people who had already begun complaining about the possibility of a kiss, quickly begun speculating about how likely it is we will get RanWan borderline PDA. We won’t because of censorship, but I still believe we will get something. 

My position at the moment is to just wait and see what the official press and bts are going to look like, as well as waiting for the actual episodes. To be honest, even with The Untamed people were complaining about the cast as soon as it was announced. C-fandom is probably very different from Western fandom and I won’t say either is right or wrong, but I can’t stand pointless hate towards real people before we even get to see what the final product looks like.

Please if you have any insights let me know! I’m fairly new to danmei and have only been reading 2ha for a couple of months, I’m happy to be corrected if I misunderstood something or know other people’s opinion on this matter. 

EDIT:  I added some translated weibo posts and the leaks I refer to in here. 

(Yaomei would be Chen Yao, Shi Mei’s actress)