#which means there's a good chance we're getting the teaser for no. 3 this week

[ennuijpg]

Hi hi!! I have a few ooo questions for you if you feel like answering :) so now that we have yoojung and kb solos and remixes why do you think they got the remixes they did? Do you think they had any say on which one goes on their album or was it just whichever remix was done first? Do you think they had a certain attachment to the og song that was remixed? What songs do you think the other members will get remixed? Which songs do you hope the others will get or which song do you associate the others with? I do love reading your ooo essays and thoughts about their art <3 but I realize this is a lot so feel free to ignore this!!

anon hi hi!! i've been looking forward to answering this ask and today i finally have time, this is such a fun ask <33

for which remixes go with which solo, i definitely think taeyeob and kyubin had at least some say in which ones they got beyond it being whichever was done first. given that wookjin is working a lot on the remixes and he worked closely on begin and be free as well, i can imagine there was discussion w taeyeob and kyu abt which ones they would get (and i imagine this will apply for the future ones as well)

as for specifically why they got the ones they did, i'm less sure. both picasso and desert are ones that were originally largely composed and arranged by producing line themselves + the producers they work w v frequently (nap!er, haeil, ximon, etc). i'm not sure if that actually has anything to do with it, but if it does, i'm also not sure which direction the causality runs. like maybe they're only remixing ones they themselves + ooo producers worked on bc that's logistically and artistically more feasible (i.e. they have all the original files + they have 100% right to do whatever they want w it) or maybe the ones they want to remix are the ones that lend themselves better to their signature art pop style and those naturally would be the ones they worked more closely on themselves

now this gets even further into just my own speculation of potential reasons but: for taeyeob getting picasso, i feel like it makes sense bc to me, dora maar has always been a very taeyeob song and choreo, and in the choreo, he essentially plays the character of dora maar (here's a thread analyzing the choreo, and here's a video essay version of that thread + other dora maar analysis). i doubt they'd do an art pop remix of dora maar since it already is the quintessential example of their art pop style, so to do the companion song to that makes sense to me

and for kyubin getting desert, while he didn't work on the original song actually (though jisung and wookjin did), it is one of their early songs that i feel like is most in line w kyu's preferred k-rnb style. i originally thought kolo was gonna be k-rnb bc that genre is just soooo kyubin and suits his voice especially well, so given that be free wasnt, it makes sense to me that at least the remix was

now for the upcoming remixes, i'm gonna do this in the order that i think they're gonna be released (though i myself am conflicted abt what i think the order is gonna be, so this is just one theory)

i really hope that sungho gets something dramatic that shows off his vocals; i'm personally voting for onlyoneof you because that's one of my faves of theirs, i think prod line can do smth rly cool w an art pop remix of that, and sungho's parts sound incredibleeeee in the original already. but beyond that, i actually dont have much of a guess bc we havent seen much of sungho's personal musical style as prod line and i associate him more with the choreo, naturally

for junhyung, i feel like i might even have less of an idea bc we know he worked on suit dance, and the song that, to me, feels most analogous to suit dance on their discography is instinct. but, i feel like they might only be remixing songs from pre-instinct era bc underground idol is loosely a continuation of the instinct saga (e.g. the styling, the concepts so far, the fact that the name comes from the tracklist of ip2), so it makes sense in a way that they're only remixing things from outside of it. for pre-instinct stuff, i think it'd be interesting to hear a designer art pop remix. it's so stylistically different from the art pop stuff, but the concept is similar to suit dance in a way. but, this one was largely worked on by boycold who doesnt work w ooo regularly (though haeil is credited on designer as well), so if we're going w my earlier theory that they're only remixing stuff they worked on the most, this wouldn't work. much to think about!!

for yongsoo, i would loveeeee to hear a blossom remix bc i think it's such a fun yongsoo song or a asoiaf remix bc i feel like pd2 era looked so good on him and his rap in that one is so good, but neither are ones that the members worked closely on, plus it seems difficult to make either work w the art pop style, so ik they might be off the table. in which case, i feel like onlyoneof you would make sense for yongsoo. it's sentimental, it's sweet, just like he is <3 also he cried to it during the fan party but that's neither here nor there

and finally for wookjin, i would absolutely killllllllllll for a byredo art pop remix. if we got that, i think i would just levitate. that song is already sooooo sexy, and the art pop remix style would fit so well with it. we also know that song is wookjin's baby and one of his favorites if not his no. 1 favorite off their discography, However, if we're going w my earlier theory of them only remixing pre-instinct songs, that wouldn't work. had taeyeob not gotten picasso, i feel like that one would also work for wook, both conceptually (i.e. he plays the character of picasso in the dora maar choreo) and stylistically. i think there's also a good chance that he gets ooo me, though like i said i'm hoping sungho gets that one, so much to think abt here too 🤔🤔 (but sidenote, if they are remixing instinct era songs as well, i think tear of god would also be an excellent choice for sungho and gaslighting an excellent choice for junhyung)

(one song i havent mentioned yet is fragile. i think there's a super high chance that it's gonna get a remix bc it was produced completely by the members + their regular producers, it lends itself well to their art pop style, and it's a pre-instinct song. if it gets remixed, i think it can work with a lot of them. i feel it works with wookjin stylistically a lot, and it works with sungho and junhyung vocally a lot. but i didnt mention it earlier bc a part of me hopes that it doesn't get remixed bc i personally associate that one w jisung a lot, in large part bc his vocals in it are crazzzzyyyy good, so while ik prod line would be able to make an incredible art pop remix of it, it would make me a little :(( to hear it without jisung, even more than their other songs do)

and also a little abt the upcoming solo order, bc it's semi-relevant to this and i have speculations i want to talk abt a;lsdfkjasd: im very much wondering if the other solos are going to be released by unit like kyujung's were or if they wont be. like it ofc makes sense that begin and be free were released back to back, but i'm not expecting the other solos to have stories that are that interconnected, which leaves the question of if they'll still be released back to back

one thing is, i feel like wookjin's solo is near the end. ive mentioned it before, but during a begin-era (i.e. not long ago) fancall, he said that wolo is not close to done yet and that he's already scrapped 3 potential songs for it. given how much of a perfectionist he is, i doubt he'd leave himself so little time to finish wolo esp since i imagine whatever solo is next is already rly close to done if not already recorded, and this fancall was within the last ~month. also in his youtube live yesterday, he showed a tiny spoiler for the next cover he's working on, and while ofc u can work on two things at once, i feel like if wolo was soon, he would be focusing on that and probs wouldnt have another cover planned for the near future (i also feel like all the covers he's been doing recently are in part an exercise for him to try out diff styles and figure out what he wants to do for wolo)

so if his is one of the last two (i personally think it's last) and they're releasing by units, that means that the next one has to be either sungho or junhyung, in which case my bet would be on sungho. but if his is not one of the last two or if they're not releasing by units, for some reason i also feel like the next one could be yongsoo's. but another thing is i feel like it also makes sense for rolo to be last bc that would mean that sungho gets to release his during his birthday month, but then that also throws a whole other wrench into my current theories, so who knows. my current strongest bet is on sungho>junhyung>yongsoo>wookjin, but also ik there's a few other orders that are also super possible

anyways, i would say sorry this ended up being way longer than expected but also i had a feeling i would end up writing an essay in response to this a;slkjfasl;dfkj i hope u found this helpful/interesting anon, and ty for such a fun ask!!

[razberryyum]

TGCF donghua Special Episode Thoughts (SPOILERS for episode & novel!)

Favorite moment:

Of COURSE that amazing ending sequence, which is the mirror of Dianxia's backstory at the end of the first episode, except this time from Hua Cheng's point of view. Speaking of, holy mother of YUM, dear gods, Hua Cheng:

Look at this "hideous" man. I am DROOLING.

Funny thing is, I didn't even know his appearance was supposed to be a secret, that we technically hadn't seen his face yet all this time. I remember we had a super quick glimpse of him in the Banyue pit and I thought that was his reveal, that that'll be all we'll get for now and I was fine with that...that is, until this ending sequence happened and we actually see him in his entirety. My eyes will forever never be the same. What was I even thinking??? The flashes in the pit were absolutely inferior to the real thing. No comparison. He is so gorgeous; I can't WAIT for Xie Lian to meet him next season.

Second favorite moment:

What I love about this scene is first of all it features some of my favorite lines from the novel, "If you don't know what to live for, then just live for me. If you don't know the meaning of life, then take me as the meaning your life." Even though Dianxia was playing it up for dramatic effect, I loved how he crawled towards San Lang and then uttered the lines with such conviction. I LOVED the way the music reached a cresendo during his words--hell, I love the music in this entire episode, this entire show, period. I also love how bittersweet this scene is: here Dianxia is so embarrassed by his own words that he even laughs about them, dismisses them, not know just how much of an effect they had on the person he said them to, how they really did serve to motivate that person to live on, to exist, utterly for him. Not knowing at all that that person he said what he now thinks were silly words to is right in front of him. The irony!

I'm still making my way through the book so I haven't gotten to the part where all is revealed to Xie Lian yet, but I can only imagine how shocking and emotional this particular revelation would be. It'll probably be ten years before we get to see all that in the donghua, if we ever do, but I'm gonna keep on crossing my fingers and hoping.

"I swear, whether in Heaven or or on Earth, you cannot find someone more sincere than me". The subs left out the Heaven or Earth part but it's still such a good line. Love also how San Lang precedes that by trying to reach out to touch Dianxia but is like too afraid to. The donghua really captured his feelings of...I guess I'd call it timid inferiority...so well.

I have a strong suspicion what that ring is (irl, I've seen companies advertising turning ashes into diamonds as a keepsake of your loved ones...never tried it so I don't know if it's the real deal or some kind of scam) and I cannot wait to get to that revelation as well. Putting aside the potential significance of this momento, the fact that Hua Cheng left Dianxia a ring to wear around his neck is already a beautiful gesture on its own.

I already miss seeing how San Lang looks adoringly at Xie Lian. In fact, I think I'm going to miss San Lang for quite a while since next season I think we'll be mostly spending time with Hua Cheng. Not complaining at all since Hua Cheng will no doubt look at Dianxia just as adoringly, but I will miss this cute guy.

Also already missing the cuteness that is Dianxia. I love all his expressions...the way he said "San Lang" just made my heart explode. How can he be this adorable??? Really, bravo to Jiang Guangtao-laoshi, his voice actor, for such an endearing voice performance. I actually started listening to the Qiang Jin Jiu audio drama because I've become a fan. Imagine Xie Lian being super seductive all the time. That's the ear candy I'm enjoying now, even though I only understand like less than half of the plot due to my shoddy Chinese comprehension.

Proud of how San Lang didn't just lose it when Dianxia cradled his face like that. This man really has unbelievable self control.

I loved that they were chatting in bed like an old married couple. I'm sure this is a glimpse into their future married life. 😁

Besides SanLian, I know Banyue was in this episode as well, I still think she's adorable and love her voice, and I'm glad she gets to enjoy a torture-free life now (I am assuming she does).

I'm glad we got this special episode to really close out the season, but I'm still kinda confused as to why we didn't get it at the actual end of the season but rather as an odd stand alone episode like this. Obviously it picked up right where the 11th episode left off, so it would've slotted in perfectly well. I was hoping the reason they held on to it was because they were going to attach a teaser PV for the next season, but alas that wasn't the case. I wonder if they just needed more time to finish the episode. I still don't quite understand how the Chinese donghua industry works: for something seemingly as popular as TGCF, you would think they'd have good enough budget and resources to finish episodes in time and to make more than just 12 episodes. There are other donghua shows I've seen on Bilibili that have blown way past 12 episodes, so I don't understand why they have to stubbornly stick to a dozen only for something like TGCF. Or is it a danmei thing, I wonder. They just don't want to devote the time and resources to danmei shows beyond just 12 episodes? So weird. Again, VERY GRATEFUL we're getting a second season. SINCERELY praying that we get many more seasons after so that eventually they'll finish out the book. God I hope I finish reading before the donghua team finishes putting out the show.

And that brings me to: Current Reading Progress...chapter 160. Look, I'm gonna be honest, I'm just not a fan of the whole jinx demon concept or the Brocade Immortal. I know all mysteries of the week lead back to the gods and their backstory, but as CONCEPTS, I was just NOT into them so I constantly got distracted. I know MXTX-laoshi was under a LOT of pressure from both censorship and just ridiculous deadlines (I was told she had to produce a chapter a day, which is INSANE), so I feel like a douchebag for even thinking anything negative about the book...not to mention I'm only on Book 3 still so maybe all of this will be wrapped up nicely at the end. But for now, yeah, those two as ideas are a bit underwhelming and almost silly (especially the Brocade Immortal) and maybe I don't need the backstory of ALL the gods. Anyway, before anyone yells at me, there's always a chance I might change my mind about all this by the end...which I hope to get to soon. Didn't finish the book in time for this special episode which was my goal, so readjusting the goalpost back a little further...hopefully just a tad...like a few weeks, because I DO want to get to the unrelenting pain soon so that I can get through the suffering and finally to the HuaLian happily ever after ending.