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stoopid-turtle · 1 year ago

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Overall BTS in Order Summary + Takeaways

Okay, this project was a) impromptu and b) fun and c) biiiggg.

There are some observations and thoughts that didn't quite fit in any one month that I wanted to add on. I also wanted to think through what I take away from this timeline as far as ggdd's relationship. So here's super-duper long post.

Shenanigans on set - professionalism

It's commonly observed that ggdd are a chaotic duo, and the impression you get from watching bts highlights is that they must have been a nightmare on set. If you watch through the bts clips on the daily, though, it's easy to see why gg and dd are well-regarded by people they work with.

Most of their day is endless takes of doing the same scene over and over. They spend a lot of time talking through a scene and their characters. Sometimes making small modifications but usually just giving a scene another go. They're usually doing this in harsh physical and emotional conditions, whether hanging on wires, immersing themselves in cold water, doing fight scenes in thick robes and sweltering heat, or working into the wee hours of the morning. Both gg and dd worked while injured and/or sick.

The moments of chaos are pretty rare and typically not disruptive. They're during moments where they're waiting for the crew to set something up. Sometimes they're egged on by the crew and the director. Overall, they're dedicated professionals who took advantage of slow moments for some fun but were otherwise focused on the show.

Kudos also to the rest of the cast and crew who were similarly dedicated. (Also, how do I get a job as dd's umbrella holder? Where should I send a resume?)

If you go into the bilibili playlist expecting non-stop ggdd shenanigans, you're gonna be disappointed. If, you're, like me, a nerd who finds the meta of filming interesting and doesn't mind sitting through people doing the same thing over and over again, then you're in luck because there's literal hours of that.

The fuzziness of the timeline.

I want to provide some cautions with the timeline. I rely heavily on a cfan-made bilibili playlist whose method I honestly can't understand bc it doesn't translate well through Google. What's more, I made some judgment calls when comparing against other timelines I've found, a cfan-made Weibo timeline, and vic's timeline here on Tumblr. Any of these could be wrong, so don't take this timeline as super-duper solid.

There are times I identify a clip as a widely-known translated clip, and there were also clips that were NOT in the bb playlist but that I tried to place based on some assumptions. I want to break these down.

Type 1

This is simple. These are when there's a clip on the playlist that is identical to a translated clip I've seen, just without the subtitles. This makes up most of them. The chocolate bar hug, the bondage conversation, the jealousy in English clip. As long as the bb playlist date is correct, then the date for these clips should be correct.

Type 2

Much less common. This is when I've seen a longer, translated version of a clip on the bb playlist so I'll include in the timeline what else goes in that clip.

As an example, the bb playlist has the clip of dd pretending to choke gg. I've seen elsewhere that this clip continues past where the bb playlist cuts off to also show gg singing Sam Smith to dd. So I place those both on the same day. These should be as reliable as Type 1

Type 3

These are the most open to error. There are clips that are not in the bb playlist but that have gg and dd in the same costumes, shooting the same scene as playlist clips. In those cases, I make a (big) assumption that they took place on the same day.

As an example, the bb playlist has Cloud Recess era gg and dd in the Cold Springs (not the secret cave but the place where gg makes his sword pee). The playlist does not include the clips of gg injuring his foot, but I've seen those clips and they're shooting the same scenes so the costumes and such are the same. I assume they're all on the same day.

But I could be wrong. Oftentimes, the same scene is reshot weeks later for technical reasons. Some scenes take multiple days to shoot. The script was also changing as they shifted away from het-washing wwx, and they had to reshoot some scenes as a result. The clip of gg injuring his foot could be from some other day when they had to shoot those scenes again for whatever reason.

Likewise with the cloud recess library pretzeling clip. I'm guessing it goes on 8/20, because that's the only day the playlist has clips from those scenes. But that does not mean that 8/20 was the only day cloud recess library scenes were filmed.

The other scene that falls into this type is from June, when gg and dd complain to each other about how few scenes they have together. The clip I've seen (elsewhere) was clearly taken while shooting the scene where LSX and WN run off together, so I've placed it there.

This brings us back to what I explained in April but I really just want to pound on it: we know SOOOO little. Most days, we don't even have an hour's worth of bts footage. There are so many scenes shot that we don't have any insight on. And we don't know what we don't know (and probably never will).

There are some clips that weren't included on the bb playlist that I can't even begin to guess the date for. I've seen the clip of gg saying "delete it" to a wwx/wq scene, but even though I know the costume that gg and dd were wearing, I don't have anything more specific to place it to a date.

I also really wanted to know what the date is on the clip of dd questioning a costume-jiejie about what gg said about him in an interview. No such luck. The most I can do is guess it may be related to the interview in July. The Aug interviews seem way too late for that clip, but who knows? (Honestly, the July interview seems a bit late for that type of clip)

Another clip that I wish I could date: the clip where dd casually mentions how handsome Xue Yang is to prompt gg to give rainbow farts to lwj.

I was also just curious about the WQ scenes in general, so I was disappointed they weren't on the playlist. I've seen some of the original WQ scenes elsewhere (I guess from gg solo playlists on YouTube), and I'm just generally interested in the shift the production team made in response to fan complaints (and maybe to complaints from their stars?).

All this to say, take the timeline as fuzzy. If someone wants to take on the herculean task of tracking down and correcting my errors (and making that super-awesome comprehensive Google sheet), then you have my highest respect (and my sword).

Is the devil's timeline possible? Looking at you, may.

I've been approaching my takeaways from the assumption that they met first on DDU, didn't interact for a year, then properly met again when they ended up on the Untamed. I don't have strong feelings about the Devil's Timeline, honestly, and I wouldn't be too surprised if it's true. But I tend to stick to the documented first meeting timepoint when speculating, just to not compound speculation atop speculation.

But putting that aside, if there anything in the timeline that rejects the Devil's Timeline out of hand? Not really. Some of the harder to explain dates are also hard to explain with the standard timeline (I'll get to those), so the devil's timeline is as likely as anything.

Is there anything that supports the Devil's Timeline?

Well, there are some clips that indicate a committed relationship much earlier than the standard timeline assumes. This may not necessarily mean we're in devil land. It could just mean their relationship moved faster than most people think. But they are notable.

Let's look at 2 clips in May that stand out as odd.

On 5.22, there's a clip attached to a rumor that gg and dd had a fight. The rumor goes that dd left the set early for some reason. In the morning, when gg asked where dd was going, dd said it was none of his business. When he returned, gg gave him the silent treatment. Dd grew increasingly upset about it while gg got snippy about how dd clearly didn't want him to care about him.

The clip this goes with is shot from a distance. There's no real sound, so I'm assuming that somebody did some lip-reading to come up with a transcript (that was then translated to English for the version I've seen). In it, an upset dd tells gg that he never told him (gg) not to care about him (dd).

There's obvious issues when relying on lip-reading for a conversation. Especially in this case, because their mouths are blocked at several points by people bustling around. The most I can reliably say about this clip is that gg does look a little frosty and dd is most definitely upset (like, startlingly upset).

If the rumor and the lip-read are accurate, this type of exchange only really makes sense in the context of some type of serious relationship. This was about a month before the dragon boat festival date.

I don't know enough about the original rumor to even have a guess as to how reliable it is. It's interesting to me, though, and I'm not inclined to dismiss it out of hand. If it's not true, then I wonder what, exactly, dd was so upset over if they're not yet in a relationship.

The other odd clip is the 5.17 clip of gg being jealous of the camera guy.

It's clear that gg felt threatened by the camera guy, but it's ambiguous as to what that implies about their relationship. Jealousy can rear its head within a romantic relationship, of course. But it could also manifest if they're still just friends but gg feels a special claim on dd somehow. Maybe they're in early flirting stages. Maybe gg knows dd has a crush on him, likes it, and feels threatened when dd's attention (which is usually pretty focused on him) is taken by another guy.

Any of these could be the case here. So gg's jealousy doesn't necessarily indicate that gg and dd are an item at that time. But it could.

These 2 clips are definitely interesting in how early they happen, and the earlier we see signs that gg and dd are an item, the more likely the devil's timeline is real.

So yeah. If you're on the devil's side, you got just as much support as anybody else based on this timeline.

Confusing dates

@bzhitstruth and I brought up a couple clips on the timeline that surprised us with their dates. Specifically, the jealousy in English conversation and the "I'm not talking about wwx, I'm talking about xz" moment. Both of these take place in July, while it seemed to me that mid-June would be the latest that gg and dd could get together based on the walk of shame after the dragonboat festival date.

Why is it weird to have these 2 clips a month later?

Well, the jealousy conversation involves them each accusing the other of chatting up other people. DD is specific about having heard gg talking to a girl some days ago whereas gg just accuses dd of having talked to men on WeChat. (I'm putting aside whether dd and gg were chatting up other people bc I'm not incredibly interested in going there. I'm more interested in what it says that they had this discussion). This is a conversation that I would expect to see if they were either not yet in a relationship or if their relationship was brand new and they were bringing up old habits the other had that they feel threatened by.

It reads oddly if they're a month into their relationship.

The other clip is more subjective, but my general impression before doing the timeline was that dd's smooth pickup line there is some early-stage flirtation. Both dd's line and gg's reaction come across as fresh and new, not an interaction one has with a person they've been dating for a month.

These are both Type 1 clips, so as long as the bb playlist is correct, then I'm 100% sure that they're dated correctly.

As to what to make of all this...uh...

"It's complicated" relationship status

Here's a best guess? I'm not committed to this. Just spitballing ideas that may fit the timeline.

I'm also basing this on my experience dating before I got married (I got married when I was 28, so I was still dating when I was gg's age). Of course, I got married around 2010, so the tech and dating landscape was different then. And obviously, I'm an American bisexual woman, not a gay/bi Chinese man. So my experience is probably gonna be a poor fit for gg and dd's experience, is what I'm saying. Take everything with a big ol' grain of salt.

One thing I'm pretty firm on, they had a sexual relationship on or before 6/18. Dd's walk of shame is hard to otherwise explain. There is the possibility that dd did that lazy smell test thing where he didn't have any clean clothes so just wore what he wore yesterday without thinking about it. I knew a looottttt of guys his age that did that (in fairness, I did that sometimes). Course, they were poor college students or burnouts who did not have PAs and staff to do their laundry so...

I'm sticking to it my certainty here. It's not realistic that they started a sexual relationship later than 6/18.

I noted in the May summary post that when dd realized that gg was physically affectionate, he hopped to take advantage of that (not in a predatory way). On 5.4, dd was constantly draping himself all over gg. What if they started having casual sex around this date?

Bear with me, y'all.

Plenty of decent relationships start with casual sex. My marriage began with me intending it to just be FWB (my wife had other intentions and, well, obviously it moved beyond FWB). So let's not do any shaming on this (in other words, I will take it personally). It's a part of modern life. In addition, my understanding is that actors' sex life is oftentimes connected to what they're filming at any given time.

Being friends w/ benefits (FWB) means gg and dd have an intimate connection that we see on set sometimes. On 5.7, dd helps gg practice his dance, for instance. But it also means that they're not on firm romantic footing, even if feelings are creeping in (which they definitely were).

How might this play out? Check out my fanfic outline:

On 5.17, we have gg getting jealous of the camera man. He feels some exclusive claim to dd given their FWB relationship and given dd is clearly nursing a crush on him, and he doesn't like having competition for dd's attention.

On 5.22, they have that fight. I wonder if gg took dd by surprise by pushing the bounds of their relationship to that point. GG, like dd, is feeling more invested in their relationship than a simple FWB requires, and he's getting annoyed when dd doesn't act the same (by going off to lunch without telling him where he's going). DD looks stressed bc while he does want something more with gg, he didn't realize they were at that point, and he's worried he screwed things up before they could develop.

After that point, romance might have started to play more of a role in their interactions as both of them pick up on the fact that the other might want something more as well. On 6.1, gg pulls out the heavy flirting with a kabedon and whispering in dd's ear. DD is clearly into it.

On 6.7, we get the clip where dd seems to ask for a kiss from gg. If they've been having sex since May, this isn't a huge surprise. Their relationship must also be common knowledge on set (they had that 5.22 argument in front of a bunch of crew and XL, all of whom didn't even seem to be paying attention).

On 6.14, they have the frankly obscene Cold Spring Adventures with each other.

Then on 6.18, they go on a date (with director and producer for plausible deniability). Maybe it's the first actual date they have and marks when they officially move from FWB to explicit romance.

On 6.30, there's the scene where jgy monologues while gg wants dd to romantically give up his life for gg (and dd's like, "nah, I'll just use my sword").

Moving a FWB to a romance can be weird and can take some work. Old habits creep in a lot and the fact that things started as FWB can lead to some early relationship insecurity.

On 7.17, dd's a little insensitive when he calls gg stupid after gg injures his foot in the water. GG honestly doesn't seem to notice (he's focused on getting to the shore and looking at his foot), but dd is clearly beating himself up throughout the clip and apologizes multiple times.

On 7.18, we have dd doing his "I'm not talking about wwx, I'm talking about xz" line. Maybe he's going hard, trying to make up for his misstep from yesterday? Given gg's reaction, this is clearly the type of romance he's looking for, so dd pretty much nailed it.

On 7.23 we have the English jealousy conversation. As they started as FWBs, they were probably aware that the other had similar arrangements in the past. That was probably a source of insecurity for both of them at the beginning as they moved onto a romance. This may be what's behind this particular conversation.

On 8.4, the night before dd's birthday, we get some big romance with rooftop stargazing and a birthday countdown. Then on 8.5, the cake and prezzies. On the morning of 8.6, dd posts his Weibo message about continuing things he started at 21 when he's 81.

DD's Weibo post always read as a response to something specific. Maybe gg was starting to have reservations about where their relationship would go after filming. The end was in sight, and gg may have been wanting to pull away, citing dd's age as a concern.

At the same time, they haven't put the kibosh on things yet. Maybe they're just trying not to think about it. They're busy enough, after all, they can put it out of their minds. That's how we get gg singing sam smith to dd on 8.18.

But then something happens. Maybe gg gets some big reminder that filming is wrapping up soon. Whatever it is, he deletes dd as a contact on WeChat. This leads to the 8.20 fight where dd asks gg to add him back and gg says they'll go their separate ways.

Maybe gg does add him back that day after the fight. Maybe he decides to wait until the very end to disconnect rather than hash it out while they still have filming to do. Maybe there are crucial events happening that were never caught on camera (Okay, this is definitely the case).

Whatever it is, they return to some form of normal for the next couple days. Then on the day they wrap, maybe that's the day gg breaks it off again. This is why dd was late to the photoshoot and why they fought on the steps after.

Whew. Okay, so I think that kinda accounts for all the ups and downs of the timeline.

Again, I'm not committed to this take. I'm just spitballing something that might make sense of some of these dates on the timeline. I'd love to see what other folks come up with!

We're all probably wrong anyway, and there's no way we'll ever know! 🤡🤡🤡🐢🐢🐢🐢

#bjyx #yizhan #the timeline of ggdd love yue #prezzie for turtles #this is ridiculously long #i'm sorry #i just have a lot of thoughts

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