#also zhou zishu’s expressions are everything to me

[yeyayeya]

I literally can’t with Wen Kexing. Man is too much and won’t stop smiling at Zhou Zishu everytime they’re both together and it’s too fucking much omg

Man is in love already

#yeyarants #word of honor #faraway wanderers #wen kexing #zhou zishu #how did they get past the censors?? #hello??? #Damn like at least hide your crush a bit #also zhou zishu’s expressions are everything to me #so fucking funny #ngl i thought WWX was bad in the untamed #Wen kexing is worse #also I have adopted gu Xiang and zhang chengling #my children now #did I spell their names right? #idk #my man called Zhou zishu his soulmate #chill dude

[gay-disabled-characters-showdown]

LGBTQ+ Disabled Characters Showdown Round 1, Wave 5, Poll 5

A character being totally canon LGBTQ+ and disabled was not required to be in this competition. Please check qualifications and propaganda before asking why a character is included.

Check out the other polls in this wave and prior here.

Mille Roper-The Arcadia Project

Qualifications:

She has BPD, which is a rarely represented disorder as it is, and is also a quadruple amputee, and she's one of the best characters with BPD I have ever had the pleasure of reading about. She is also canonically bisexual!

Propaganda:

GODDDDDD Millie she is one of my favorite bisexual, borderline, and amputee characters ever and when it comes to bi and BPD rep, she reminds me frankly of myself....I love her so much I need to reread borderline

Wen Kexing-Faraway Wanderers / Tian Ya Ke

Qualifications:

1. The LGBTQ+ part: he is canonically a gay man. (Though he does not identify by this specific word due to being from, yknow, fantasy ancient China, he is very vocal about only having interest in men / not having interest in women.) He is also one half of the main (canon, mlm) couple in the book. 2. Disability part: he has complex PTSD, with dissociative symptoms being most prominent. It's not articulated as clearly as the gay part, but there's a lot of textual evidence. For example, for his bouts of dissociation, he has a clear trigger - thinking or talking about personal loss (mostly his initial traumatic event, brutal murder of his parents when he was a child, but at least once it was fear of losing his partner), - and there's a very distinctive way the author describes it: "far-off gaze", "blank" expression or eyes, being "in a daze"/"dazed" were all words used more than once in those situations. He also exhibits symptoms of depersonalization, especially in contexts of violence. The one that made it click for me was a moment when someone was striking to kill him while he couldn't defend himself, and he was described as being calm "as if the one about to die was not himself", but there are also smaller hints, like several times he is described as 'fighting as if he doesn't notice pain and exhaustion' - which I would not take as evidence on its own, but tied in to other dissociative moments of his... yeah. 3. Last thing, in case you aren't sure PTSD/dissociative disorder should count as a disability, I want to make my argument that it should, as it noticeably impacts the character's quality of life. Both continuously (he mentions, for example, sleep problems/insomnia - that clearly stem from his traumatic experiences) and at specific moments (like that time he started dissociating in the middle of the battlefield, nearly resulting in him getting killed........)

Propaganda:

Okay, imagine a classical Chinese martial arts story. Young orphan meets a mysterious master, who imparts all his knowledge upon him; the boy trains hard and challenges various villains, until making it all the way to the final boss who was behind everything. Now, imagine if, in the very beginning of this story, the final boss accidentally ran into that mysterious master. And became suspicious of him. And began following him under pretense of falling in love with him at first sight. And then fell for him for real. And then they had adventures and also started co-parenting that young orphan.

THAT is the plot of Tian Ya Ke. And the final boss in question? Well, that's Wen Kexing I'm submitting! And yes, Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu - the aforementioned mysterious master and the main character of TYK - are a canon couple. Wen Kexing in particular is very, ah, out and loud gay. Gay and making it everyone else's problem even. So that's the LGBTQ+ part. (Also they are SUCH a couple. They're so funny! The whole circus! And then they do something and you are like oh yeah right. each of them is a villain of a different story. Good thing they decided to play house instead.) On the disability front, Wen Kexing has mental health stuff - to be specific, complex PTSD with signs of dissociative disorder. I'm not gonna describe his wide array of traumatic experiences on the form because it needs SO many trigger warnings, but the important part is how those impacted him. For example, he mentions having sleep problems/insomnia due to fear. (Which made the fandom lose our shit once we connected it to the earlier moment where he, in a vulnerable state, drags himself to Zhou Zishu's side and falls asleep on his lap. The! Trust! That! Shows!) He also dissociates frequently when thinking/talking about his initial traumatic event. Which is my favorite part of the portrayal of his PTSD because... you know how there's this trend in media with superpowers/magic when the character's trauma response is portrayed through their powers, like their powers going out of control? And TYK went 'yeah, no, when /our/ OP final boss has a ptsd flare up, he just dissociates like a normal person'. (and I, a normal person who also copes by dissociating, was like 'i owe u my life'.) Also, I think it's great that not all of his episodes are plot relevant. Like, in four out of five cases it's just something that happens (the narration / pov character makes note of it), and then the scene moves on - so it feels like a feature of his character, as opposed to a plot devise for creating situations. And the one case where it does happen in an action moment - when Wen Kexing gets revenge on the person responsible for his initial trauma and promptly starts dissociating in the middle of the battlefield, and someone else has to step in to prevent him from getting killed by other enemies - kinda highlights the disability aspect, imo. Like, it shows that PTSD creates barriers for him where a person without it wouldn't have any.

Anything Else?:

1. It's a Chinese novel, so character names are written down with surname first. So Wen Kexing = surname Wen + given name Kexing. 2. There's a live action adaptation of this novel, called Shan He Ling / Word of Honor, but it's uh. well. The portrayal of Wen Kexing's trauma and PTSD in it is. Bad. 'Completely butchered everything I thought was refreshing about it in the novel' bad. (please understand i hate everything about the adaptation and am barely refraining from infodumping about how much I deplore it here) So if WKX makes it into the tournament and none of the images I sent work for u, pls at least don't use the live-action version? He is practically a different character there!

#polls #poll #disabled characters #lgbtq characters #disability #lgbtq #lgbtq dcs round 1 #lgbtq dcs wave 5 #mille roper #the arcadia project #wen kexing #faraway wanderers #tian ya ke #id in alt text

[animanganerd]

Everything Annoys Me And I’m (Too) Hot - Epilogue

The Untamed / Mo Dao Zu Shi Fanfic

Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/47881336/chapters/141148528

All chapters: here x

Epilogue

After all was said and done, Murong Zheng disappeared, never to be heard of again.

Now that Lan Xiaoli had gotten his long-awaited revenge, the group spent the night raising cups to celebrate their victory before going their separate ways.

For Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu, this meant returning to Changming mountain, while Zhang Chengling had to go back to his sect and take care of the disciples in Zhou Zishu’s stead.

Mu Chun, on the other hand, probably had to stay in Linguang to replace Murong Zheng as mayor. 

Of course Lan Xiaoli would’ve loved for Mu Chun to join them on their travels, but his dads most likely wouldn’t agree to it.

In other words, Lan Xiaoli didn’t know if or when he’d see Mu Chun again, so he wanted to leave him with fond memories.

Later that night, the two lay in an embrace, as they always did when they shared a bed. After the candles had been blown out and the room was draped in darkness, Lan Xiaoli took a deep breath to brace himself. It’s now or never!, he thought.

With that, he flipped onto Mu Chun.

“Let us do it!”

Lan Xiaoli couldn’t discern Mu Chun’s face, but the latter was clearly taken aback. “Are you sure?”

“Yes!”

After a long pause, Mu Chun asked, “...Why?”

Lan Xiaoli could hear the raised eyebrow in Mu Chun’s voice, and frowned. “Is this not what couples do? …Do you not want to?”

“I do,” Mu Chun chuckled softly, “But I don’t want you to feel pressured.”

“Do not worry about me,” Lan Xiaoli said. “I really want to!”

“There's no need to rush, you know. Don’t force yourself.”

“I am not forcing myself,” Lan Xiaoli insisted, “I think last time could have been much better if not for my comment. It was mean and unnecessary. Let us give it another try and simply enjoy ourselves.”

This explanation seemed to have the desired effect. Mu Chun cupped Lan Xiaoli’s face in response and pulled him into a kiss.

⬩ ❖ ⬩ ❖ ⬩ ❖ ⬩

The next morning, Lan Xiaoli mentally prepared to say goodbye, not ready to say goodbye at all. He was the first in the main hall of the inn, sitting on the bench of their first meeting with Mu Chun.

As he looked out the window, he began to daydream, remembering all they’d been through. His first encounter with Mu Chun, the cases they’d solved, the secrets, the bickering, the feelings… all of it flashed through his mind like a bittersweet afterglow of the good and the bad times they’d shared.

As the memories played out before his inner eye, a smile unconsciously formed on his lips. Looking back, Mu Chun had solved almost all of Lan Xiaoli’s problems. He was truly too capable. Perhaps leaving him behind was for the best after all. Next to him, Lan Xiaoli would always look like a wastrel.

Lan Xiaoli puffed a soft laugh which ended in a sigh.

“What are you laughing at?”

Mu Chun’s voice ripped Lan Xiaoli out of his thoughts.

Lan Xiaoli looked at him with wide eyes. His heart lurched at the thought of their impending parting. Then, his expression eased into another smile and he lightly shook his head. “Nothing.”

One by one, the others joined them to have one last breakfast together.

Lan Wangji couldn’t help but feel that Lan Xiaoli and Mu Chun were suspiciously close.

What he didn’t know was that the pair had spent a very intimate night together. Even though he couldn’t quite put the finger on it, he knew that something was off and unwittingly emitted a faint murderous aura.

“You two seem awfully happy,” Wei Wuxian remarked, who also had noticed that there was a strange air about them. “Did something happen?”

Lan Xiaoli was all smiles and giggles, blushing as he replied in a small voice, “N-no.”

“They had sex,” Zhou Zishu said flatly, not even looking up from peeling his melon seeds. 

Mortified, all Lan Xiaoli could exclaim was, “Uncle Zhou!”

Zhang Chengling was nonplussed, and Wen Kexing felt both amused and indifferent by the revelation. He really couldn’t care less about Mu Chun’s personal affairs, yet he was proud of Lan Xiaoli for taking that next step.

Wei Wuxian could barely contain his excitement, which was only dampened by Lan Wangji’s reaction.

His face darkened and the murderous aura in the hall intensified. His sword unsheathed, but Wei Wuxian quickly pushed it back. “Hey, hey… Don’t you want our son to be happy?” he tried to appease Lan Wangji, but it didn’t help.

Zhou Zishu continued to gleefully peel his melon seeds, while Lan Xiaoli buried his face in his hands, wanting to curl up and die on the spot. Mu Chun patted Lan Xiaoli’s back, trying his best to ignore the killing intent directed at him, his back covered in a thin layer of cold sweat.

After Zhang Chengling, Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu had bid farewell, Wei Wuxian decided it was time for them to leave as well.

While his dads were at the inn’s counter to pay their bill, Lan Xiaoli grasped Mu Chun’s hands, his expression grave. He still wasn’t ready, but this probably was his last opportunity of properly saying goodbye to Mu Chun.

Hence, he steeled himself before gazing deep into Mu Chun’s eyes.

“Thank you,” he said with utmost sincerity, “For everything you have done for us. I cannot possibly put into words how grateful I am. Since we will not stay here, I guess… this is goodbye.”

Mu Chun snorted. “What are you talking about? I’m not going to stay here either.” 

Lan Xiaoli stared at him, genuinely dumbfounded. “Then… where are you going?”

Mu Chun raised his eyebrows. “Well I wanted to join you, but if you don’t want me to…”

“No, I do!” Lan Xiaoli blurted. “But… my dads…”

Mu Chun heaved a sigh. “It wasn’t easy to convince them, believe me…”

“T-Then what about replacing Murong Zheng…?”

Mu Chun shrugged. “My job here is done. I don’t care about the rest.” He then furrowed his brow, “I still feel like you don’t want me to join…”

Lan Xiaoli squeezed Mu Chun’s hands and repeated with vigour, “I do! I do!”

“Are you guys coming?” Wei Wuxian’s voice sounded from outside. He stood at the window with Lan Wangji by his side, waving at Lan Xiaoli.

Lan Wangji did not seem to have any objections.

Lan Xiaoli gaped at them. His brain was still trying to catch up with his heart.

Why had no one told him?!

…Not that he was complaining…

With a sudden burst of energy, he jumped up from the bench and beamed at Mu Chun, his voice filled with exuberant enthusiasm, “Let’s go!”

Mu Chun chuckled in response, letting Lan Xiaoli drag him out of the guest house.

Hand in hand, they joined the other two men to continue their indefinite journey, looking forward to the adventures yet to come.

⬩ ❖ ⬩ THE END ⬩ ❖ ⬩

Afterword

It feels a bit like I’m treating this like a novel, but oh well…

First of all, if you’ve read this fic till the end, thank you very much! ♥️ I hope you enjoyed it.

If the last few chapters felt a bit rushed/like Frankenstein’s monster, that’s… because they are a bit.

While editing, I stumbled upon a few plot holes that I fixed along the way with no regard to the future plot – so I had to patch it up as best I could. 👀💦

That’s why LXL has such a hot and cold temper, seemingly unable to decide whether he likes MC or not.

Editing me had ✨ so much better ideas ✨ which completely fucked me over in the end. Because I still needed LXL to dislike MC for the plot to work.

And trust me, I already killed (and rewrote) so many of my darlings 🫠

I also tried to emulate MXTX’s writing style (or that of the English translation, at least) and failed miserably, cause – frankly, it sometimes contains quite some exposition or passages that are more tell than show.

Considering this is my first written work, I had no confidence in pulling that off, cause it made me sound even more amateurish than I already am.

Ultimately, it ended up as a weird mix… and I’m not sure if that made it any better.

⬩ ❖ ⬩ ❖ ⬩ ❖ ⬩

I wanted to talk a bit about the impact MDZS/The Untamed had on my life – cause it technically was many of my firsts.

My first Asian drama – of course I tried to watch some before, but they always lost me after the first episode.

My first novel of the xianxia/wuxia genre. It also got me back into reading in general. I did read a lot when I was a child, cause I didn’t have free access to a TV or the internet, but I’d always been a slow reader – which was rather frustrating and made me switch to Manga.

My first fanfic/written piece. Although the beginning of this afterword may not indicate it, writing this fic brought me a lot of joy. 

I honestly thought that I’d never write anything ever; not in this lifetime. But when I came across MDZS/The Untamed, I immediately fell in love.

It was exactly what I needed, scratching an itch in my heart I couldn’t quite pinpoint. It filled me with such comfort that I totally lost myself in it.

As mentioned in the ”preface” note of this fic, it all started with a brainfart which turned into a whole plot – so in the end, I just couldn’t help but write this fic.

My creative outlet used to be drawing, but after working on my comic for at least seven years now, I decided I'd rather paint pictures with words.

Even if my writing can't compare to the best, I mainly wrote this fic to indulge myself a little.

I'm also gonna print it and put in on my shelf next to the MDZS novels and pretend it's canon hahahaha

⬩ ❖ ⬩ ❖ ⬩ ❖ ⬩

Some "fun facts" / plot points for a "sequel" I probably will never write because I don't have the time:

Lan Xiaoli is around 21/22 years old in the sequel (it plays around 4 years after the main story)

Lan Xiaoli asks his dads if he can travel with Mu Chun alone (given that he's old enough) and of course they agree... (because he's old enough)

Lan Xiaoli's temper has settled A LOT! He's much calmer and much more mature now lol

Lan Xiaoli and Mu Chun both drop their ponytails, with their hair only "half up" now

They discuss marriage and stuff

They visit a town which sees white hair as a blessing (opposite to Lan Xiaoli's hometown) & people ask if they can touch Lan Xiaoli's hair for good luck

They steal the crown prince (I've got so much lore for this, but I'll keep it to myself just in case I decide to write to sequel after all lol)

We learn more about Mu Chun’s past (before he met Murong Zheng)

WWX and LWJ still have cameos

While I don’t intend on writing this sequel, I had a lot of fun with this fic and started plotting some original wuxia/xianxia stories that I hope to write in the future. :)

Thanks again for reading and have a wonderful day!

Ryvis

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #the untamed #mdzs fanfic #fanfic #fanfiction #everything annoys me and i'm too hot #eamaith #wei wuxian/lan wangji #wwx/lwj #word of honor #woh #zhou zishu/wen kexing #zzs/wkx #crossover #found family #adoption #original characters

[chalkrevelations]

So, Word of Honor Ep 23, and LISTEN. This is going to be another long one. We are in it, now.

(Clearly, spoilers, so if you’re thinking you might want to start watching and don’t want to know everything up front, scroll away and come back after you watch the ep.)

Look, I’m just gonna talk about this first because I can’t even process anything else, or function, until I get this out of the way: I came for the bl and the pretty boys, but at this point, I have to reiterate what I said after Ep 22, that I am so grateful Zhou Ye got her fingers into Gu Xiang and absolutely refused to let go of this role, through everything. She’s going on my actors-to-follow list, and I’ll also be following scriptwriter Xiao Chu into whatever she writes from now on. A little bit, I’ve come out of Ep 23 thinking, did anything else even happen, other than That Scene with A-Xiang and Wen Kexing? (Oh, yeah, That Other Scene with Wen Kexing and Cao Weining about Gu Xiang.) The show is going to have to work to top That Scene for me. The first time watching, I couldn’t even really focus on how the Gu Xiang/Cao Weining and Wen Kexing/Zhou Zishu relationships continue to reflect each other and how everything A-Xiang expresses during this conversation is exactly what Wen Kexing feels/fears about himself but cannot say out loud. All of that was there, and I mentally picked through it and unpacked it some more on a re-watch of the scene, but the first time through, I was too busy being legit distressed about Gu Xiang’s fear and pain and how desperately she wants this new thing and how afraid she is, not only of fucking it up or having it fucked up for her, but of getting it. Last night at dinner I compared this storyline to a kind of reverse Persephone story, where she’s being pulled by her lover OUT of the land of death, but is nevertheless having to leave behind everything and everyone she knows and is familiar with, including her beloved brother/parent figure. And all this after being told for essentially her whole life that what she’s doing is forbidden and unworkable, that the human world and the world of Ghost Valley do not mix. (We just saw Wen Kexing have his own little mental stall over this, just so the show can make sure we don’t forget.) And Gu Xiang is so unprepared for all of this and so terrified by it, despite the fact she wants it so badly, that she literally cannot do anything - this shining, clever, fierce girl who will stab you if you look at her the wrong way because she’s been taught to survive above all else - she can’t do anything other than sit down with her arms wrapped around her knees pulled to her chest so that she’s the smallest target possible, protecting all the tenderest, most vulnerable places, and weep. Y’all, it is killing me even thinking about it. I might have to take a minute.

So, then they come at me with the second hit of the one-two punch, which is the scene between Wen Kexing and Cao Weining, where Wen Kexing talks about how this little girl not only saved him, but he calls her meimei, and at that point, I’m done. I’m just. There’s nothing else I need right now from this show. I realize this is supposed to be a story about Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu, and up until now, my ride-or-die has been Zhou Zishu, but whatever. Fine. I WANT TO LIVE HERE AT LI MANOR FOREVER, SHOW, WHY MUST A-XIANG AND CAO-XIONG GO BACK TO HIS SECT? Listen, I think it is a far, far better idea if Cao Weining marries in to Four Seasons Manor, and Gu Xiang’s paternal figure is the ... lol, I almost just called him the Ghost General ... he is who he is, so frankly, I don’t know why he should be so concerned about following social conventions, like having daughters of the house marry out. (I know you think you’re protecting her, Lao Wen, but YOU ARE BREAKING UP THE FAMILY. I need them to stay with the rest of you forever. I need Zhou Zishu to continue to call A-Xiang a “good girl,” because I suspect that hasn’t happened very often in her life, and she needs more of it.) Then, as a last kick in the ribs, once I’m down, the show has WKX tell A-Xiang that she’s not a wild girl because she’s his girl. Thanks, show, I didn’t need my heart for anything like pumping blood to oxygenate my brain or any of my body parts. It’s OK. I can do without it.

Anyway, going back and looking at multiple story-telling levels of all this, there’s the additional issue that during That Scene, A-Xiang is also a proxy for Wen Kexing, saying things that he can’t. (For emotional and psychological reasons within the show, and for practical reasons because they probably wouldn’t pass censorship.) Maybe some things that he can’t even let himself think, at this point. So every time, from here on out, when Zhou Zishu asks Wen Kexing about his past and Wen Kexing momentarily freezes with that trapped look on his face, we can think back to this conversation with A-Xiang and realize that Wen Kexing is terrified by his relationship with Zhou Zishu, despite how desperately he wants this new thing. He is so afraid of fucking it up, but he’s also so afraid of getting it, and he’s so unprepared for it that he literally cannot do anything - this fierce survivor, this ghost king, who will crawl over corpses and skin a guy alive and kill you if you look at him the wrong way because almost (almost) all he’s known is to survive above all else - he cannot do anything except mentally and emotionally curl up so that he’s the smallest target possible, protecting all the tenderest, most vulnerable places. So thanks, show, for what promises to be a repeated exercise of stabbing me in the heart.

Just a little bit more about these scenes: I also think we’re getting at least one, maybe two other foils in the story-telling, which are more about the Wen Kexing-Gu Xiang relationship. Maybe less supported but nevertheless intriguing, I have to wonder if, when he took on that little girl despite (or maybe because of) still being essentially a child himself, Wen Kexing was trying to re-create - even subconsciously - something of the shixiong-shidi relationship he experienced for that brief time with Zhou Zishu as a child. Yes, she saved him by making him keep his heart, because he had this actual nurturing relationship to at least try to model their relationship on. I also think that we’re maybe supposed to be seeing them as a foil to Xie Wang and his AWFUL yifu, who appears to have taken on a kid and turned him into a murder weapon not in any effort to help him survive, but to use him as a tool in his quest for power. Both Wen Kexing and Zhao Jing have produced Poorly Socialized Murder Babies Who Love Them Very Much, but I think Wen Kexing actually had his kid’s best interests at heart, as he understood them, and tried to do the best he could with the extremely broken tool box he had to hand. Also, he loves her back. All that doesn’t mean she’s not fucked up or necessarily any better prepared for the “human” world than Xie Wang, but it may have made the difference between an amoral murder baby who can learn better and an actual sociopath.

In other comparisons, that first convo of the ep between Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing - when ZZS says that he doesn’t want to see more sins on WKX’s hands - is essentially the same convo that Cao Weining had with Gu Xiang in the previous ep, when he tells her that he wants her to be more careful because he knows she actually will feel bad for killing innocent people. This is the same conversation because these two relationships are the same relationship. (Note, I don’t think they started out like this, or that their beginnings were all that similar. Cao Weining was much more of a pursuer and initiator than Zhou Zishu was, in the beginning. But I think the courses of the two relationships have converged, at this point, with Cao Weining and Zhou Zishu knowing what they want and being all in, while Gu Xiang and Wen Kexing also want it but are too fucking scared of it for practically the same reasons.)

Meanwhile, speaking of Xie Wang - what are you up to Xie’er? Do you want the Water of Lethe so you can drink it and get over your awful yifu? Are you finally at the point that you’re doing some critical thinking about this relationship? Or do you want the Water of Lethe so you can slip it to your awful yifu, so that he’ll forget about his obsessions with power that prevent him from focusing on YOU? You call Beauty Ghost an idiot, but I think you may be empathizing (though not sympathizing) a bit much with the women of the Department of the Unfaithful.

Finally, that brief little moment of Zhou Zishu’s face when Wen Kexing spits out his wine after stealing it from him ... Oh, god. You didn’t realize how bad it tasted, did you? Your sense of taste is going.

#zhou ye #gu xiang #wen kexing #zhou zishu #cao weining #xie wang #word of honor #little and broken #but still good #word of honor episode reax

[fismoll7secinv]

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime, books, movies or tv series)? And why you like them?Thanks....

I don't mind at all! Only 10 is So Hard, I tried but gave up don’t count them

The order is not most fav to least fav, it’s absolutely random. Might’ve forgotten some but alas

columbo <3 - the sheer respect I have for this man, damn. One of the smartest characters ever, but not haughty and full of it like some other detectives in fiction. He’s kind, pleasant, and very easily underestimated, which plays to his advantage in investigations. Such a keen eye for details and reading people. Idk I could just go on ang on, I love him

amelie (movie amelie) - i’m just fond of this movie and its music, comptine d’un autre ete has been my favourite comfort piece to play on the piano for years. As for amelie herself I enjoyed her quirkiness and openness, how true she is to herself and to everyone around, how she enjoys life in such simple ways and shapes the reality around herself into something comforting

a-qing (mdzs) - very dangerous despite her frail appearance. Smart af, cunning and quick to adapt, turns her weaknesses into weapons, and her tenacity is incredible, especially when she’s facing something she can’t win with but can still hinder it significantly. She could’ve achieved so much...

kamina 😭 (gurren lagann), richard & kahlan (the sword of truth), eleanor (the good place), allen (d.gray-man), vi (arcane) - heart of gold, ready to sacrifice themselves for others, wit off the charts, cool AF, lowkey crushed on them lmao

wei wuxian (mdzs), xie lian (tgcf), alba (senyuu.) - same as the above except the crushing part, sweethearts 🥺 but also unhinged in some ways 🙃 (except alba, he’s just a sweetheart)

kusuriuri (mononoke), ross & teufel diabolos (senyuu.), sandra (pyre) - love their calm, resting bitch energy, sharp tongue and biting remarks, done with your bullshit™, “I’m an unmovable stone but piss me off and I’ll annihilate you”, cool AF, lowkey crushed as well

wen kexing (tyk), gojo (jujutsu kaisen), tyki (d.gray-man), hua cheng (tgcf), kuvira (tlok) - questionable bastards with a lot of sass, strength, and intelligence, easy-going and kinda mischievous, idk just cool and fun, might’ve crushed hhh

uncle iroh (atla), zedd (the sword of truth) - wise old men who held power and did questionable things in the past but since then grew wiser and gave up their position in order to focus solely on teaching the younger generation to be better

guillermo (wwdits) - just... everything?? The way he grew across the seasons, how cunning and strong and confident he became, the relatable christian guilt, the queerness, the need to protect his found family, on top of that he’s an absolute madman and possibly a sociopath, the LAYERS of this character. I love him

nie huaisang (mdzs) - to avoid spoilers let’s just say he shares some traits of other characters I listed. Those who read the novel/watched the drama know ;) fatal journey spin-off my beloved

zhou zishu (tyk), liu qingge (svsss) - the relatable inability to express feelings and the initial distrust but vulnerability once bonded, stubbornness, strong badasses, eyeroll™, for zzs also the bastard and gremlin inside of him

rorschach (watchmen) - I respect his tenacity and sticking to his ideals, I’m also weak for detective characters so yeah

baek (dr. frost) - tbh i haven’t read the comic in years and there wasn’t a lot of chapters back then so not much was known about him, but a lot of tropes I liked, the smarts, the calm but mysterious energy, kinda a detective vibe but in a psychological way (he’s a psychologist). I gotta go back to that webtoon

sokka (atla), barry allen (the flash), levi (d.gray-man), jim (the office), haida (aggretsuko) - funny, smart, good people

toph (atla), gina (brooklyn 9-9), gu xiang (tyk), nathan (misfits), shang qinghua (svsss) - the ultimate gremlin energy, their Sass and confidence is unparalleled, hella fun

yin yu (tgcf) - idk i just love him so much, he’s too ambitious for his own good but incredibly hard-working and loyal, relatable in some aspects

ooooof if i’m allowed to go on i could, so i’m gonna end now and possibly have regrets later lol

#ask #dnana 2809 blog #ask opinion #so sorry it's been a month since you sent this xd #very tough weeks...

[the-music-maniac]

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR WORD OF HONOR EPISODE 35

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The thing about episode 35 of Word of Honor is that, objectively as a scene - it's cinematography and acting and emotional control - it's so well executed, I can't even truly be mad at how it conga line stomped all over my heart it.

Like the way they managed to control the tone of the preceeding scenes so well to lull the watchers into a false sense of security - everything is over and the tone of these episodes are so merry, nothing bad is going to happen probably -

The way the actions were executed when he goes to hold Cao Weining's head, the hope and happiness and trust in Cao Weining's face.

The faint sense of foreboding the watchers get as that embrace lasts for just a little too long, the hands placed just a little too strategically.

When y'know, it happens, the turn Cao Weining does from the momentum of the snap so that he's now face to face with Gu Xiang. He dies looking at her in her wedding clothes. And the framing of them facing each other in that one shot. The slow dawning of realization on Gu Xiang's face.

Then the resulting fury and heartbreak and resentment Gu Xiang experiences - God. Zhou Ye's acting there is so phenomenal. The emotions on her face and in her actions - she really went full out, and there was no attempt to look pretty in death like I see with a lot of cdramas, if anything how twisted her expression is in that moment is everything but pretty, and all the more compelling for it - how she's half crazed by it, and how just visceral and raw it all is, especially when she's screaming that she wants to kill him.

I wanna make a personal note here: the way I got into word of honor was actually because my mom would watch it in the living room and I would occasionally wander in, watch one or two episodes with her (not understanding all the aspects because there would be a LOT of skipped episodes - I think at one point I saw episode 5 and then when I next watched it with her she was on episode 20 something. And also no English subs - my mandarin is serviceable for casual convo but not anything more formal. I watched it with her mostly for her company, not the show itself) and so I didn't know anything about what was happening, and I didn't know any of the characters or have any emotional attachments to them when I saw episode 35. I bawled like a baby anyways, I cried for literally 30 minutes straight for a character I barely knew, because that's how strongly I felt her anguish and her absolute need to do this one last thing before she died, to take revenge for the person who took their happily ever after away and it just. Wow. Absolutely no words. I think the reason I legitimately sat down and binged word of honor is because of her acting - Gong Jun's and Zhang Zhehan's too actually, especially in Wen Kexing's role as an older brother, and Zhou Zishu's protectiveness - how you can feel how much they care for each other, even though it is not the focus of any of those scenes. All of that combined. I have no doubt I would've eventually watched it properly anyways even without seeing episode 35 once I realized how fucking gay it was ,but that scene really cemented it for me - like yeah. This is a well executed show. I need to properly watch it.

(Sidenote: it was not any easier watching that scene a second time after I made my way back up from episode 1 😅😅 if anything it was ten times worse)

And Gu Xiang's final words to Wen Kexing for him to take care of himself, and his response that he's her brother - help. Especially when he cuts the wedding decorations to be their funeral shroud, that scene just really emphasized the tragedy of the entire situation, how two people - kids if we're gonna be honest, like they're of age to get married obviously but they're what, 18?? 19?? - who became a casualty of a conflict that shouldn't have ever been their responsibility to solve, from the greed, pride, hatred and false righteousness of old men. The audacity.

The resulting battle between Wen Kexing and that wrinkly cockhead of a sect leader is, needless to say, pretty amazingly choreographed.

Yeah, this episode was basically just piling angst onto angst onto angst back to back - but it was executed so beautifully?? It was so visceral and real?? I low key hate that I can't even be truly mad at it! I can't!! What the fuck kinda scam -

Anyways, now that my thoughts have been put out there and become the rest of the world's problem as it were, I'm just going to completely ignore the fact that episode 35 exists. 10/10, phenomenal acting and directing and writing. It was beautiful. Would not cry over again.

They are happy and married and alive, the end.

#funeral who #all i know is happily married gu xiang and cao weining #word of honor spoilers #spoiler warning #spoilers for episode 35 of word of honor #shan he ling episode 35 #shan he ling #gu xiang #cao weining #xiangcao #caoxiang #wenzhou #zixing #zhou zishu #wen kexing

[sixteenthshen]

Interview with Word of Honor Scriptwriter (6)

Q: Some reviewers have said it seems like the role of Wen Kexing has been favoured so far, that many of the drama’s highlights have been given to him, whereas several aspects of Zhou Zishu’s character hasn’t been fully developed?

A: Actually, this statement really makes my heart ache, because I don’t care if the audience wants to scold me. But I’m honestly afraid and worried that I’ve let down the characters in the drama. Even blame myself if I’ve not done well enough.

At the start, it’s true that Zhou Zishu gets the worse of it because everything about Wen Kexing is clear, laid out in the open and he also has visible ups and downs.  It makes him very memorable to the audience, and it’s easier to emphasize Wen Kexing’s brilliance (from a production standpoint). While the things going on with Zhou Zishu at the start are all in his heart. He’s basically an “internal monologuing monster”*. He complains like crazy only in his mind while his face stays so still that you won’t even see a ripple. This doesn’t translate well to live action unfortunately. And if we keep using voiceovers for his thoughts, it’ll also be a bit strange. This is where this character suffers, and also where I’ve not done as well as I could’ve.

But what isn’t true is to say that Zhou Zishu has lesser screentime than Wen Kexing, as the first episode was mainly about Zhou Zishu’s struggle and his burdens. As I’ve enriched his character background and his relationship with the Window of Heaven, (you’ll see that) there will be a complete plot thread later. His character will also be revealed further later, there will also be a proper explanation of how he became the person he is today. Aside from that, the way Zhou Zishu is at the start is designed to be that way intentionally. I created his character to be colder and more introverted (than in the novel), this way, when the two of them interact with each other, it would be more meaningful. When he lets his guard down (against WKX), he becomes more vibrant and livelier, even starts to talk more and more.  

Zhang Zhehan had to work very hard before, as it’s difficult to act while only able to use little movements and details to express the character’s inner thoughts. But I think he’s done it very well, and the way his portrayal of ZZS shows progression and is layered.

* If you’re interested in CN webspeak, the actual term used is OS怪, it’s an acronym for “overlapping sound”

T/N: the interviewer’s question (that’s actually a statement that ends with “?”) references some drama in the fandom which I don’t want to go into. I just want to share this answer because I like the scriptwriter’s love for her characters & hope everyone will respect her characters too. This is also the last of the interview answers that focus on the characters, I’ll do one last one after this but that’s on the scriptwriter’s thoughts on wuxia as a genre.

#word of honor #word of honor interview #wen kexing #zhou zishu

[thegreymoon]

Word of Honor

Oh, this poor evil baby 🙁

He’s hoping that this slimeball will go public with their relationship, like he isn’t already grooming the younger model right under his nose to replace him as soon as he’s done using him. 

***

What the absolute hell. I am once again watching the wrong episode! 😠😠 What the fuck is wrong with me and my brain!! At least I caught it earlier this time, smh. Anyway. Back to the real episode 27 now 🤬🤬

***

Oh, sweetheart 😢

He’s preparing to meet Ye Baiyi and die, isn’t he? He fixed A-Xu’s painting and then gave himself one last good day with the man he loves and their child. This is his goodbye 😭😭

***

Oh, ZZS intercepted him first!

He knows. He absolutely knows. 

***

Here it comes 😱😱

I don’t want!! Please take us back to the happy scenes!! 

***

Yep. Zhou Zishu knows. 

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LMAO, he’s really going, “I don’t care what he did, you’re taking him over my dead body!” 😅

***

This would be an absolutely gorgeous fight if it wasn’t so upsetting 😕

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He’s magnificent 🔥🔥

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Ye Baiyi is just ridiculously powerful! Like, ZZS and WKX are top tier masters of martial arts in this universe, not to mention its most effective and dangerous killers! This is established! And yet Ye Baiyi takes them both down in a couple of moves. He barely breaks a sweat! 

***

All my tears 😭😭

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Aww, yes, Ye Baiyi! 🤗🤗 I knew I stanned you for a reason!!

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Also, I think it’s hilarious that his condition for sparing Wen Kexing was that he ‘learns to behave’ 🤣🤣 I know that he meant that he should learn to behave like a normal human and not cause chaos and carnage wherever he goes, which is a tall order for someone who was raised by murderers and had his entire psyche warped since childhood by torment and hate, but considering all of YBY’s previous interactions with WKX and how he thinks he’s an ill-mannered brat, I found this pretty funny 😆😆

***

Aww, my guilty puppy 😢

Just like Gu Xiang, he’s ready to die, but he doesn’t want his found family to know what he is and hate him for it 😭

***

They are such idiots, and so in love, and so adorable!! 😭😭

I love them so much, they are so healing!! 

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Aww, look at these two puppies being all adorable!! 🤗

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WHO ARE YOU CALLING EVIL??

I WILL PERSONALLY COME THERE TO FIGHT YOU!! 🤬🤬

***

Oh, thank goodness.

Somebody did spoil me for this early on, but it’s nice to have it confirmed. I don’t see how Chengling cound forgive him if he was the one responsible. The deaths of his family were so horrible and cruel. 

***

Oh? 

So, Scorpion has the piece of armour that Zhao Jing claimed was stolen? And this is also what he gave to him as a ‘token of his sincerity’? I never made the connection!  

***

LMAO, he’s a child 😂😂

But he hasn’t had anyone to play in so long 😢 It was just horror and misery for years and years!

***

The one thing I really appreciate about this how are all their beautiful costumes 💜

Especially his gorgeous outfits!

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Anyway. Moving on to episode 28 properly now! 

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Never mind the BL, I don’t understand how they managed to get her past the censors 😶

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They are gorgeous!

These robes are so beautiful! 

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How is his face so smackable? 😠

He’s just so easy to hate. 

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Okay, so I have never personally killed a chicken, but I’m pretty sure this is not how you do it 😂😂

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LMAO, well, that went as well as could be expected 😂😂

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LOL, his wisdom!! 😂😂

Why is this so funny to me? 😂😂

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The expression, I mean. Obviously, it’s not funny that the best of his generation is dead while he’s still alive and stinking up the place.

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This disgusting filth, he spat on her memorial tablet!! 🤢🤢

I am so going to enjoy seeing you die 😠😠

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YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME.

***

I HATE HIM, I HATE HIM, I HATE HIM. HE’S THE MOST LOATHSOME KIND OF MAN THERE IS AND HE HAS JUST RUINED MY DAY.

Scorpion, baby, you can do better than this! Please do better than this!!

***

I can’t even watch these two eat after that scene just now. I feel nauseous. 

All the hate for abusive men. I can’t stand them. They ruin everything. 

***

Somehow, I doubt that’s going to be the case, but OK.

***

Oh, so it was *just* on his desk, was it?

There is zero chance this was not intentional and that this whole thing is not a trap for Zhou Zishu. 

#word of honor #woh spoilers #woh ep27 #woh ep28

[kdromo]

Word of Honor - thoughts on the drama vs. the novel

Props to the screen writer of WoH for making it so much more than the source material. The drama is a huge elevation of the story and characters compared to the novel. The drama provided greater depth and likeability for the characters and story, and developed the relationships far more than the novel did.

Even though the drama is censored, I enjoyed WenZhou's relationship far more in the drama. Their relationships blossoms beautifully throughout. They are flirtatious and tender, and their deep connection, love and care is evident from early on. And the chemistry between the actors is just so amazing. The screen writer also makes great use of poetry to express their love. This all just created a wonderful romance which outshone the novel. The only thing really missing in the drama is for WenZhou to outright say "I love you". But there was almost no need because they were already saying it in every other way possible.

The drama also gave me the found family dynamic I crave. I was a little surprised that novel Chengling isn't as close to Wei Kexing as he is in the drama. There is also a bit more distance in Zhou Zishu and Chengling's relationship, with it feeling more like a teacher/student relationship. A-Xiang and Wei Kexing's relationship is pretty similar between the drama and novel, but Zhou Zishu and A-Xiang's relationship is sweeter in the drama. For A-Xiang and Cao Weining we get to see them fall in love in the drama. In the book it's love at first sight for Cao Weining, but we don't get to see how A-Xiang falls for him.

In the drama, they all truly acted like a family and they refer to each other as such. It was also so sweet that Chenling's daughter's name means in memory of A-Xiang, showing he truly viewed her as his older sister. The drama also made Wei Kexing and Ye Baiyi's antagonist relationship so much funnier. Ye Baiyi really felt like the grumpy grandpa with the trio.

Additionally, I really liked the changes they made to the characters overall. The novel never delves much into the secondary characters, thereby never allowing the reader to develop any real feelings towards them. On the other hand, the screen writer took the time to dwell on the secondary characters and make them more intriguing and interesting. They also introduced some interesting dynamics between certain characters which I loved. This is especially true of the Scorpion King, Liu Qianqiao and Tragicomic Ghost.

Overall, the novel is good, but I wouldn't recommend it. It took me a weekend to read so it's not too long, but it's vastly different from the drama.

Other thoughts...

I had hoped for happier endings for the secondary characters as we actually got to like a lot of them. But even though it was devastating, climaxing the story at the wedding was a great change. It gave us an illusion of a happy ending before shattering  everything. Though it made me cry, it was one of my favourite episodes. Which I can’t say for the finale. The finale felt rushed and they seemed to just cram in a lot of things without proper build-up. And that ending… I’m just thankful for the special episode.

Overall, WoH was such a wonderful surprise. I had just finished The Untamed and did not expect much when I watched WoH on a whim. I certainly didn’t expect to fall in love with the story and characters. It’s only a shame I caught everything at the end.

#word of honor #faraway wanderers #the drama may not be perfect #but i love it a lot #i wish it could be longer #and am sad it's over

[whatisalifeihaveablog]

Word of Honor episode 3 (part 2)

-Cheng Ling is the kid with Zhou Zishu now? Right? I guess I'll find out if I'm wrong and maybe now is when I can learn his name for real

-I fucking knew he was going to follow them and look at his face, he's so proud of himself for it lmao love the splash of color with these robes, very cute

-Unfortunately for Wen Kexing, he very much gives the impression of a person who is up to something and Zhou Zishu is not trying to have any of that, thank you

-THIS LITTLE SHIT HE IS SO FUNNY

-"Oh man crazy coincidence meeting you here no I'm totally not stalking you at all why would you think that"

-"Thank GOD someone came and murdered all these people" like lady you are a savage and it's a lot but I would be lying if I said I didn't respect it

-If Wen Kexing is the one who reserved the whole place I am going to lose it

-THIS BITCH AS;DLKFGA;DFGRHJ

-Whatever game they were playing, he definitely thinks he just won and yes he is still my favorite so far

-He's being such a shit about it too I love this character so much

-Hey kid I would really like if you would let someone help you with that suffering in silence is not the way

-Zhou Zishu feeling tense and being determined to have as little as possible to do with his stalker is an understandable response but also this shit had me cracking up lmao

-And Wen Kexing is equally determined to be as all up in his business as possible, who is going to win this particular struggle? If this small moment is some kind of foreshadowing it seems Wen Kexing will

-Also I am quite worried for the kid

-Ugh, this shit REALLY rubbed me the wrong way. Not everything she said was entirely wrong but her continued assertions that he's just being spoiled was too much. It's consistent with her character so far to be lacking empathy or sympathy but I'm hoping she gets some development in that department bc her rant here made me mad

-On the other hand it did get him to eat though it also made him cry

-THE BOY. IS PROCESSING. TRAUMA.

-Bro you can't say things like that with the expressions you make and not look sus lmao

Hopefully I'll get another episode in tomorrow! After this week I'm going back to work so idk how frequently I'll be able to do these then. I'm still really enjoying the show! <3

#word of honor #sarah watches woh

[simply-zhouye]

Entering the rivers and lakes for the first time, brutal heart丨Interview with Zhou Ye

Zhou Ye’s first full length interview with Sohu’s 骨朵星番 Gu Duo Xing Fan is out! She talks about her character Gu Xiang in-depth, working with her costars Gong Jun plus how she’s handling netizens feedback about her acting. [Rough translation] Spoilers ahead for her character’s history & future ~

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/fQphUwOd9ATrIV8QXXv6DQ  #山河令 #wordofhonor

"Savage Sniper Little Witch", Zhou Ye replaced with this as her Weibo signature when "Shanhe Ling" was broadcasted.

This is Gu Xiang’s character in the play. She and "Please call me Philanthropist Wen" Wen Kexing, "Chief Editor 裸辞 事业 " Zhou Zishu, and "Optimism Researcher" Cao Weining and other actors collectively entertained and opened a happy atmosphere. Overflowing the screen.

However, the little witch Gu Xiang is a somewhat tragic character. Her destiny and feelings affect the hearts of the audience, so that when netizens find clues from the screenwriter that Gu Xiang and Cao Weining may be happy ending for the CP pair, celebrating in advance, it can be seen how attractive this girl in purple clothes and holding a long whip is, and she likes it to the point that "the audience has already begun to feel unhappy before saying goodbye."

This is not unexpected. Quite a few actors in the world leave some mark in the audience’s brains and hearts when they “pass”, deep or shallow. Those spiritual marks are often called “impressions”, and Zhou Ye’s especially, the scratches she left on people are deeper.

This may be due to the characteristics of her character, clear loves and hates, or complex and multi-faceted, or from her pure and awe-inspiring face under the lens, which is unforgettable, but it is certain that people have seen it in Zhou Ye. Something, what is that thing?

 When we don’t know how to explain the “goodness” of an actor, we often add the word talent to it, but Zhou Ye doesn’t think she belongs to this type of actor. She said, “I think I’m a little bit of an acquired taste.”

01 First entry into the arena

This is Zhou Ye's first time filming a costume drama.

Some people say that there are "walls" between ancient costume dramas and modern dramas, and the moment Zhou Ye decided to take over the role in "Shanhe Ling" was the beginning of Zhou Ye's breaking of the wall. 

"When I read the script, I thought it was a very good story. It told a series of stories from the rivers and lakes at the time, including the fact that I actually liked the role of Gu Xiang. She was eccentric, dare to love and hate, and had her own shining point."

Zhou Ye's love for "Shanhe Ling" is beyond words. A few hours before the show went live, she wrote a small essay on Weibo to interpret the Gu Xiang in her eyes. In an interview with Gu Duo, Zhou Ye missed that unforgettable environment. "It’s actually very happy to be on the shooting scene. Gong Jun sings in the dressing room every day , and everyone often chats together."

More under cut. Spoilers ahead.

However, playing Gu Xiang is not without pressure. For the first time in ancient costumes, Zhou Ye didn't know what kind of state the costumes should be, and she didn't know if she could play this role well.

"She has a miserable life experience. She had no parents since she was a child, and was later taken in by Wen Kexing. Although A-Xiang is from Guigu (Ghost Valley), she is not bad in the full sense. She has some things from Guigu, but she is very naive. For example, she has rescued two people, the first time was to rescue two girls from the hands of the jealous ghost, the second time was to save the singing girl when she met Cao Weining in a tavern.

When Gu Xiang saved people for the first time, Wen Kexing mentioned that the dog she raised when she was a child was stewed and eaten, and she cried for three full months, as a reminder: If saving people is irresponsible to the end, It's better to give it a pass.

"Gu Xiang agreed, because she is particularly eager to have companions and sisters. The multi-faceted character of Gu Xiang is very attractive to me."

In the play, Gu Xiang followed Wen Kexing from Guigu to the "world". She felt that the people she met after leaving Guigu were stupid, but she also said that "Wen Kexing next to Zhou Zishu feels is like a person." However, the "different paths between people and ghosts" laid the tragic tone for the master and servant to walk through the world, just like the implied meaning of the names of Wen Kexing and Gu Xiang, "the hometown of mourning for the guest."

In Zhou Ye's eyes, Gu Xiang and Wen Kexing have a feeling of being dependent on each other. 

"Wen Kexing is like her brother and her father, because Gu Xiang was saved by Wen Kexing since childhood, so her broken mouth and her violent temper were actually learned from Wen Kexing. The guest line said, "Gu Xiang is the only living thing around him."

When Zhou Ye talked about the relationship between Gu Xiang and Wen Kexing, she seemed to have re-entered the role, and everything was vividly visible.

02 "The people I play are not very like me"

"Have you seen the eyes of wild animals?" When the policeman played by Yin Fang uttered this line to Wei Lai, a bullying girl played by Zhou Ye, in "Better Days", Wei Lai's eyes were pure and chilling.

That was the first time Zhou Ye entered the public eye. With her outstanding performance in this film, Zhou Ye was nominated for the 33rd Chinese Film Golden Rooster Award for Best Supporting Actress, and also received a lot of support from netizens. "Sister Wei in society, there are not many people who are ruthless", "This damn bad woman is so sweet" , there is no lack of pampering in the words.

Actors who have portrayed villains often have an annoyance, that is, if they act well, the audience will hate the actor if they are too deep into the play, and it will be difficult to transform in a short time. But for the newcomer Zhou Ye, the audience is uncharacteristically "double standard". They are afraid of Wei Lai, but like Zhou Ye.

As a newcomer actor who has just entered the industry, Zhou Ye admitted that when facing the camera, she was actually a bit "fearful". Whether it was when the director shouted at the beginning or when working with seniors, she would be a little nervous, but she couldn't take this fear away. Show it. 

"Because Wei Lai herself is an aura and relatively calm person, so of course the Wei Lai you look like will not show your fearful side in front of your eyes."

"Then are you a calm person?"

"I am more in line with the stubbornness of the Taurus. I am more stubborn. Calmness still depends on the situation. I am not particularly calm." Zhou Ye paused for a while and continued, "It seems that my role is not very close to myself. Wei Lai is very close to me unlike Gu Xiang. She is a little girl who has lived in a particularly bad environment since she was a child. Lin Huajun of "Our Southwest Associated University" is a schoolmaster, but she is a talented girl from Peking University, and Tang Susu in "Ah Cradle" in fact, is not too different from Gu Xiang’s character."

The reporter tried to get Zhou Ye to summarize herself in four words. She only thought of two words- "stubborn and delicious", and then she added herself in the eyes of the staff, "They said I was hardworking and well-behaved." It's too early for a girl who is new to campus to analyze herself. It is far from the time to analyze and summarize. Everything has just begun.

Last week, she just graduated from the Beijing Film Academy. She spent six yuan to get the graduation certificate photo and happily shared the joy of "saving money" with netizens. 

"At that time, it was a rather unexpected result to be admitted to the film school. Later, when I was in school, I found acting was more and more interesting, and then I embarked on this road. I didn't really have a long experience as an actor. I started an internship when I was almost a senior. I took the stage slowly, and didn't make many films."

03 The life she loves and understands

Regarding "professionalism", Zhou Ye expressed that he is a person who "takes one step at a time and sees another step."

Although she is not the main protagonist in the broadcast of "Youth in the Young / Better Days" and "Shanhe Ling / Word of Honor", she feels that "the protagonist and the supporting role are no different, they are all a role, and each role will have its own shining point. With her own story, I will definitely play a supporting role in the future. If I have to have any small goals, it is to play every role well.” Zhou Ye seriously emphasized the matter of “playing every role well”.

"Then what do you think is the standard for acting well?"

 "Then it depends on the reactions of the seniors who filmed with me, the feedback from the director, and the feedback from the audience."

When "Shanhe Ling" first aired, some viewers responded that they were not comfortable with the "not cold" Zhou Ye played by Gu Xiang, but now they love this role more and more. 

"I pay attention to the audience's evaluation and criticism. I think their feedback is reasonable and I will accept it with a humility. As for Wei Lai and Gu Xiang, in fact, each character must be different. I will try a variety of roles and let everyone see a different me ."

This year Zhou Ye is only 23 years old. When answering the question, the tone was a bit childish, but the words spoken were surprisingly peaceful, with a natural sense of transparency. 

She said, "I don't mind the comparison. I think everyone has their own choice. I can't interfere with other people's ideas, so I don't mind what they say. Everyone has the right to express their preferences."

As for the audience who likes her, Zhou Ye said: “Thank you very much to them for liking me so much. I want to make a good film and reward them with more good film and television works. I can’t let them down. In fact, some of the films I’ve filmed have not been broadcast yet. I especially want to see how I am in a different state in different scenes."

During the epidemic, Zhou was not very anxious. She read books at home, played with slimes, and chatted with her mother. 

"Because all the work at that time was pushed back, it was actually quite good, and I could rest at home for a period of time." Zhou Ye entered busy work after the rest.

"The pace of work is actually good now, because you have to adapt if you don't adapt. You are a worker, of course you have to adapt to your job ."

The wish of "Playing Workers" Zhou Ye this year is to take a driver's license, and like all southerners, Chongqing Girls, Zhou Ye also has an obsession-"skiing". 

“I didn’t go skiing when I was in college in Beijing. Now I graduated, and I’m filming in other places every day, skiing is even more impossible. In my impression, I haven’t skied before, but my mother told me that when I was very young, I didn’t go skiing. I went to the Fairy Mountain in Chongqing once and glided there once, but I don’t remember."

"If you were say a few words to your future self, what do you want to say?"

"Filming every day, staying up all night every day, you have to protect your body, and then protect your hair." 

However, Zhou Ye told Gu Duo that he has not yet begun to pay attention to health preservation.

"Because young and capricious."

#zhou ye #word of honor #gu xiang #cdrama #wei lai #sohu interview #周也 #better days #shan he ling

[animanganerd]

Everything Annoys Me And I’m (Too) Hot - Chapter 15

The Untamed / Mo Dao Zu Shi Fanfic

Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/47881336/chapters/127864741

All chapters: here x

Chapter 15 ❖ Wandering families crossing paths (Part 2)

The next day, at a market in a quaint town. On one side, Wen Kexing was glued to Zhou Zishu as they browsed through the variety of jewellery and accessories on offer with the intention of picking a matching pair, while on the other side, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji walked arm in arm, stopping at every food stall to buy all the food Wei Wuxian desired.

Visibly annoyed by his parents’ infatuated behaviour, Lan Xiaoli sat down at a random table, all the while shaking his head and staring at them with a dark expression.

“Embarrassing parents?” a voice asked, startling Lan Xiaoli. He hadn’t noticed that the table was already occupied.

The voice belonged to a youth around his age. The friendly features of the young man’s face were only interrupted by the cheeky glimmer in his eyes. But he didn’t have a malicious aura about him, so Lan Xiaoli quickly shook off his initial shock and nodded, his face still clouded with gloom.

“I know that feel,” the other sighed with a knowing smile and pointed with his thumb at two men behind him.

It seemed like Lan Xiaoli wasn’t the only one troubled by his adopted parents being obnoxious love birds in public. Yet, Lan Xiaoli was startled once again. One of the two men had white hair – just like him!

Lan Xiaoli’s staring must’ve been obvious, as the youth asked him, “Do you want to talk to them?”

“Wha–,” but before Lan Xiaoli could deny it, the other had already called out to the two men. They promptly walked over and joined the boy on his side of the table, all three of them now facing Lan Xiaoli.

“This brother has a question for you,” the youth said, after they had introduced each other. 

The boy’s name was Zhang Chengling. The taller man with white hair was called Wen Kexing and the other man’s name was Zhou Zishu, although he was introduced as “A-Xu” by his partner. 

The two men looked at Lan Xiaoli with expectation, but also with a clear sense of patience. Heat shot into Lan Xiaoli’s cheeks; he could practically feel his face turn red. He’d never had any problems with acting like a brat towards his dads, but in front of strangers he turned into a shy, well-behaved boy.

“Y-Your hair…,” he finally stammered, addressing Wen Kexing. “How can you live with it? Do others not bully you?”

The question took the others by surprise, their expressions turning blank. A moment later, Wen Kexing laughed heartily. “Bully? Me? No, I don’t get bullied.”

Lan Xiaoli gaped at him. “Like… never? In your whole life?”

Wen Kexing shook his head, still chuckling. “My hair just turned white recently,” he explained.

Lan Xiaoli furrowed his brows in confusion. “How does your hair just… turn white?”

Of course it couldn’t be expected that people knew about the sacrificing ritual, as Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu had only learned about it themselves in the armoury on Changming Mountain, so Wen Kexing elaborated.

“When you love someone veeeeeery much...,” he started, his tone similar to that of a parent explaining how babies were made, but he was interrupted by Zhou Zishu, who had shoved his elbow into Wen Kexing’s ribs, and gave a proper explanation.

“In order to save my life, he had to sacrifice his meridians. His hair turning white shows the trade was successful.”

This piqued Lan Xiaoli’s curiosity even more. Could it be that he’d been part of something similar in his past? Was his white hair related to him not being able to form a golden core? Had his ability to become a cultivator already been destroyed before his dads had picked him up?

He probed, “Sacrifice?”

“Yes, it’s a complicated and dangerous technique. But we don’t want to bore you with specifics, let’s talk about something more pleasant,” Zhou Zishu suggested with a kind smile.

“No, please, I want to hear it,” Lan Xiaoli pressed.

“Me too!” Zhang Chengling chimed in. So far, Zhou Zishu had only given him a brief summary of what had transpired on Changming Mountain.

Zhou Zishu was a little taken aback by their enthusiasm.

Wen Kexing, on the other hand, grinned. As he knew the most about the ritual, he gladly obliged and started again, “It’s a technique that allows you to rescue someone from certain death. It takes two people to perform the ritual and requires genuine qi, which needs to be refined over a long period of time and can be so fierce that no common body can contain it. I received the qi from an ugly monster-- oof!” Another jab from Zhou Zishu’s elbow.

Wen Kexing rubbed his abdomen and continued, “Anyway, that’s not the point. The one carrying the refined qi has to transfer it to the dying person. To help this person escape death, the qi carrier needs to fully destroy his meridians in the process.”

Even though Lan Xiaoli was incredibly interested and listened attentively to every word, a flash of disappointment crossed his face at the end of the story. Hearing Wen Kexing’s explanation, it was rather unlikely he’d been part of such a ritual as a child. What’s more, he probably wouldn’t have forgotten it, would he?

The disappointed look on Lan Xiaoli’s face didn’t go unnoticed by Zhou Zishu’s keen eyes. His own expression softened, and with a hint of a friendly smile, he asked, “Why do you want to know about this?”

Lan Xiaoli paused for a moment. He lowered his eyes before he started to explain, “My natural hair is white too, and for some reason, people had nothing but hurtful words for me. At some point I just could not take the bullying any longer and dyed it black. My father was not amused, but my life has certainly been more pleasant ever since. Still, I could not stop wondering why my hair was so different. But after hearing your story, I can say with certainty that I have sacrificed nothing for it. My dad said I was born with it, but I think… or at least hope there is more to it.”

As he spoke, he stared at his hands, clasped together in his lap. Once he was done explaining, he looked up again. “That is why I was so astonished to see someone else carrying white hair with such confidence.”

Just as Lan Xiaoli finished his sentence, Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian joined the small group.

Upon seeing Hanguang-jun, Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu quickly stood up to respectfully greet the other couple. Not only were they younger, they of course had heard of the mighty Hanguang-jun and his partner. After a short round of introductions, Lan Xiaoli gave his dads a brief account of their conversation.

The random table Lan Xiaoli had picked just happened to belong to a tavern. Since the new acquaintances had taken some of their precious time to listen to the teenager’s woes, Wei Wuxian deemed them friendly and invited them for a meal and a few drinks. As soon as alcohol was involved, the mood lightened up considerably. They spent hours telling each other stories of the adventures they’d been on, their spirited and boisterous laughter echoing through the stillness of the night.

Lan Wangji and Lan Xiaoli were the first to retire, quickly followed by Zhang Chengling, albeit involuntarily. If he wasn’t such a lightweight, Zhang Chengling would’ve stayed up much longer. Zhou Zishu, who was the most sober at this point, saw it as his responsibility to help the teen into bed, and decided to call it a night for himself, leaving Wei Wuxian and Wen Kexing to their fun.

Before going to bed, however, Zhou Zishu stood and admired the accessories he and Wen Kexing had bought at the market, when he was suddenly squeezed tightly from behind.

Apparently, Wen Kexing couldn’t bear to be separated from his beloved for any longer than necessary and had followed Zhou Zishu. Seeing that slender waist of Zhou Zishu, Wen Kexing couldn’t resist the temptation and hugged him, kissing him all over.

Zhou Zishu was in an excellent mood that night and didn’t resist, giving in to all of Wen Kexing’s desires.

During their drinking bout, Wen Kexing had talked about the sacrificing ritual in full detail. The two had never talked about what had happened in the armoury, and Zhou Zishu had never pressed Wen Kexing for details. This was the first time Zhou Zishu had heard the full story, and his heart was so moved by the lengths Wen Kexing had gone to save his life that it had gone entirely weak.

The alcohol he’d consumed that night may also have played a part.

The two of them spent a very passionate night together, with Zhou Zishu even being so generous as to try new positions and everything.

The next morning, Wen Kexing woke up with Zhou Zishu in his arms. It took him a good minute to realise that they were both naked. He jolted up.

“Did we do it?!?” he asked, shaken.

Zhou Zishu slowly came to and uttered a muffled sound of confirmation, still groggy from last night. With Wen Kexing’s indignant screech ringing in his ears, Zhou Zishu had awakened to the point where he couldn’t easily fall back asleep, so he sluggishly got out of bed.

“I can’t remember a thing!” Wen Kexing said with a cracking voice, clutching the blanket. Ever since they had stopped playing games, their nightly activities had become a rare visitor again.

Zhou Zishu picked up a piece of clothing and simply shrugged off Wen Kexing’s remark. “Not my problem.” Then, while putting on his robe, he turned around to send him a cocky smirk.

“Show me what we did!” Wen Kexing demanded.

But Zhou Zishu only shook his head. “Re-enacting it won’t be the same.”

And with that, he stalked out, leaving behind a speechless and deeply upset Wen Kexing, who watched his retreating back with his mouth agape in disbelief.

Once he’d recovered from his shock, Wen Kexing swiftly got dressed as well and decided to consult Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji. He scurried through the whole tavern, knocking on all the doors until he found them.

The two looked at him in surprise.

“Last night,” Wen Kexing began, out of breath, “Lan Xiaoli said he wanted to learn the truth about his past and happened to mention someone who could restore memories.”

Wen Kexing took a short moment to catch his breath. “I am also in dire need of remembering something,” he explained, leaving out the specifics. “Since we have the same destination, we might as well travel together. What do you say?”

Wei Wuxian glanced at Lan Wangji who showed no reaction.

Their reluctance made Wen Kexing sweat a little. Afraid they might say no, he put on his best puppy dog eyes to try and persuade them.

Lan Wangji didn’t object, so Wei Wuxian just shrugged and agreed to his proposal. Their new friends had passed his appraisal with flying colours. Not only were they kind, but from what Wei Wuxian could tell after last night, Wen Kexing was definitely a fun guy, too.

To restrain his smile and prevent his delight from overflowing, Wen Kexing quickly cupped his hands in gratitude, and turned on his heel to find Zhou Zishu and Zhang Chengling.

Both were a little stumped at the “joyous” news, exchanging a helpless glance. But they knew that once Wen Kexing had set his mind to something, he could not be dissuaded, so they really had no choice but to agree to this journey.

Still, Zhou Zishu couldn’t help but feel that Wen Kexing was overreacting. He kneaded his throbbing temples, trying to rub the headache away. Why was he so keen on remembering a damn night?

But then again, he’d always had a tendency to be overdramatic.

⬩ ❖ ⬩ ❖ ⬩ ❖ ⬩

For such a large group, a donkey was no longer sufficient for travelling. Instead, they upgraded to two horse-drawn carriages, with the teens in charge of driving.

Lan Xiaoli had managed to work out a rough direction from what little information he had gleaned from various tales and legends, and there was a long road ahead. Since none of the books or scriptures he’d studied ever mentioned a specific location, all they could do was travel from one northern mountain village to the next, asking the residents if they had heard of or knew anything about this immortal that could restore memories.

During their journey, Wen Kexing and Wei Wuxian became great drinking buddies, their spirited laughter often disrupting the peace and quiet of the night. The two got along very well in general, sometimes a little too well for Lan Wangji’s liking. But with Wen Kexing’s heart firmly set on Zhou Zishu, there was nothing to worry about.

While the grownups hung out together, Lan Xiaoli and Zhang Chengling learned a lot about each other’s practices.

Lan Xiaoli was truly amazed by Zhang Chengling’s skills, and while he knew it was inappropriate to use another family’s techniques, he still wanted to learn them.

He was careful in his approach to ask his dads for permission, putting on his most obedient expression. “Would it be alright for Chengling-xiong to teach me some of his moves?”

Lan Wangji’s brow slightly knitted, but before he could say anything, Lan Xiaoli quickly put forth, “In exchange, he can participate as a guest student in our morning lessons!”

Wei Wuxian was patiently waiting for Lan Wangji to answer, but the latter was just kneeling rigidly with a ramrod straight back, as if his body was frozen while his brain was working hard. The deal Lan Xiaoli had offered wasn’t too bad, so Wei Wuxian nudged Lan Wangji with his elbow and whispered,  “Martial arts don’t necessarily require spiritual energy, so it’d be a nice alternative. Plus, it’ll be good for him to have a friend his own age.”

After hearing Wei Wuxian’s input, Lan Wangji’s body slightly relaxed. He closed his eyes and inclined his head in agreement.

Lan Xiaoli’s face lit up. “Thank you!!” he blurted, stumbling a little as he jumped to his feet. He immediately rushed over to Zhang Chengling, who then taught him some martial art basics that didn’t rely on any internal forces.

Once Lan Xiaoli was familiar with the fundamentals, Zhang Chengling proceeded to demonstrate a simple technique – first as a whole, then step by step. Lan Xiaoli repeated each move as demonstrated by Zhang Chengling, following the step-by-step guidance. Zhang Chengling watched his moves carefully and found only little to criticise.

“Your body tension is already quite impressive, there are only a few adjustments needed. First of all, it’s important to keep your fingers tightly closed on your blocking hand. And when swinging your fist, remember to slightly tilt your elbow upward. This allows you to use both your fist and elbow to strike, so you can knock out two opponents at once in the best case scenario.

“And lastly, your forward step. The semicircular motion needs to be bigger. Your goal is to step around your opponent and spin on your heel to get out of their sight.”

Lan Xiaoli nodded at all the points Zhang Chengling brought up. Zhang Chengling showed him the steps once more, and Lan Xiaoli repeated them.

Zhang Chengling clapped his hands in excitement. “That’s it! Well done!”

He taught Lan Xiaoli a variety of techniques throughout their journey, and as they progressed to more complex techniques, they continued their practice under the supervision of Zhou Zishu. 

In return, Zhang Chengling attended Lan Wangji’s morning lessons as promised. At first, it was difficult for him to rise at mao time, but over time, he adapted to the early mornings. Zhang Chengling was eager to learn with plenty to catch up on, and Lan Xiaoli gladly offered his assistance.

Supporting each other with word and deed in their own field of expertise, the two youths formed a strong bond comparable to brothers. Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing, too, became as close as uncles to Lan Xiaoli.

Zhou Zishu reminded Lan Xiaoli very much of his father. He was a strict and nitpicky teacher, who was not to be trifled with. But the similarities went far beyond their teaching styles. However, while Zhou Zishu was also on the calm and quiet side, he was not quite as taciturn and expressionless as Lan Wangji. Still, he had an incredibly discreet aura. Time and again, Lan Xiaoli had failed to notice his presence, jumping in fright when Zhou Zishu suddenly spoke up.

Wen Kexing on the other hand liked to joke around. He was rather outspoken and had a tendency to whine and nag, especially at Zhou Zishu. Despite his somewhat childish demeanour, Wen Kexing was attentive and took great care of everyone. He was, for example, a much better cook than Wei Wuxian, in Lan Xiaoli’s opinion.

The most positive and astonishing side effect of having the others around was a change in Lan Xiaoli’s behaviour. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji were delighted to see that he had finally dropped his bratty attitude and was generally more agreeable.

As they spent more time together, the two families developed a close friendship. They openly shared their thoughts on various subjects, occasionally agreeing and sometimes disagreeing. In the latter case, some nights culminated in heated arguments, especially when Wen Kexing and Wei Wuxian had too much to drink. But by morning, it was all forgiven and forgotten.

After a long day of riding up a particularly steep mountain pass, man and horse alike needed a rest.

Lan Xiaoli and Zhang Chengling guided the carriages to a limpid river that flowed parallel to their pathway. Although the northern air was crisp and clear, it wasn’t cold enough to freeze the water. The stream’s lapping disrupted the otherwise tranquil atmosphere as it languidly rippled away. To reach the river, they had to ride through a small patch of woods.

It wasn’t long before nightfall, so the group decided this was a good place to set up camp for the night. The climate of the cold mountain range in the north was harsh, hence only few people had settled here. There weren’t many villages, let alone towns and never mind cities. Road houses and travel huts were few and far between, but thanks to a few neat tricks, Lan Xiaoli and company were able to isolate their carriages and spend the night in them if necessary.

While Lan Xiaoli helped Wei Wuxian make talismans to keep them warm and ward off evil, Zhang Chengling and Zhou Zishu went to catch fish for dinner. Meanwhile, Lan Wangji and Wen Kexing prepared their carriages for the night.

To work on their tasks, the three parties had to split up. While Lan Xiaoli and Wei Wuxian sat at the edge of the forest to catch the last of the sunlight, Zhou Zishu and Zhang Chengling had gone to the river, and Lan Wangji and Wen Kexing busied themselves inside the forest.

Lan Xiaoli didn’t know how long they’d been working on the talismans, but as soon as he’d finished a batch, he went to hand it to the two men toiling in the forest. However, after a good ten minutes of trekking along the forest path, Lan Xiaoli still hadn’t reached Lan Wangji and Wen Kexing. When he found no trace of them after another ten minutes, he began to wonder.

How far into the woods did they bring the carriages?

He walked and walked, passing tree after tree, but he just couldn’t find them. After an unknown amount of time had passed, he simply scratched his head and, with a shrug, decided to return to his dad.

He marched all the way back from whence he’d come – or so he thought. After wandering for a while longer, his heart began to pound.

…Did he just get lost? How could this be?!

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #the untamed #fanfiction #fanfic #mdzs fanfic #mdzs fanfiction #everything annoys me and i'm too hot #eamaith #wei wuxian/lan wangji #wwx/lwj #zhou zishu/wen kexing #zzs/wkx #woh #word of honor #adoption #found family #original characters #crossover

[shenglingyuan]

interview with priest from 2012

Hello! KK, the leader of GPS Translations(translation group for Imperfections) wanted to share an early interview with Priest. This one dates back to 2012! She talks about the origin of her pen name, her writing style, writing inspirations, and about “writing” smut =w=

You can listen to the audio recording here. Her voice is really cute and sweet!!!

Host(H): Why did you take Priest as your author name? Priest(P): At first, I only had a reader ID. When I registered as an author in Jinjiang(jjwxc), many of the Chinese names I tried were already taken. I took an English book randomly and used the first word I saw, which was “priest”.

H: Really? Just so casually and randomly? I thought it was religious or something like that? P: Really, really. Because I tried some Chinese names and they were all taken and the website system was asking me to add 01, 06, something like that after my Chinese name. It’s quite annoying, so I went to an English one.

H: When did you start writing? P: On the internet, probably 2007.

H: Which one of your work are you most satisfied with? P: What I’ve written, they don’t have much difference to me. I like them all so I really can’t pick up a favorite one. Maybe my favorite one would be something that I haven’t written yet. I hope in the future you can keep supporting me.

H: What genre would you like to try in the future? P: In the future, probably, some weird ancient background or modern background to express reality, I don’t know which one will I choose as my next one.

H: Can you tell us the type of the CP? P: I can tell you that but probably it will change before I finish, because I once liked zhongquan*, but now I don’t know why but I’ve been liking zhagong more. *one of the CP is very loyal to the other one, will spoil and love the other very much  and can do everything for the other *one of the CP only takes advantage of the other’s feelings, doesn’t really love the other one but only use the other half to get a good time H: I’m not really into zhagong but I think I will--- P: So you’re gonna abandon me :( H: No, I will never abandon you!!

H: Do you have an author you like, BL and BG? P: Yes, I do. I think I like quite a lot in BL, maybe I can’t speak them all out loud because if I list it, it will fill a whole paper. I’ve read a lot and I like a lot. I haven’t read BL type a lot recently. Recently I was reading Yu Hua’s book. I liked him a lot, I’m a really a big fan of him

H: So what good novels have you read recently in BL? P: I recently started liking ghost stories for no reason and I read a lot, a lot, a lot of ghost stories but it seems that most of my readers are not really into it.

H: Which one have you read? P: It’s Liu Gan.

H: Someone told me they read ‘Liu Gan’ and they got scared to sleep alone at night. P: Qing Qiu’s ‘Gui Hua Lian Pan’ is quite good. And I read another one, ‘Tong Hua Zhong Lu Si Li Xie Ji Yi Yuan Guai Tan’, and I read this one today.

H: Is there any possibility that you will write horror stories? P: I’m not sure if I’m good at it because no one told me ghost stories in my childhood, so I can just keep reading others for now.

H: An audience is asking, your work often contains a lot of imagination. The multiple subjects and content, are they related to your professional major or hobbies? Take ‘Final Blue-Signet(Zhong Ji Lan Yin)’ as an example. P: Not really related to my major but I’m kind of like a jack of all trades, master of none, so I have quite a lot of hobbies.

H: Another is asking, is Priest a STEM major? Did you feel confused when you wrote ‘Final Blue-Signet’ because of your mixed background? P: You can say so [that I’m a STEM Major]. But I hope you don’t believe my settings too much because I’m just bullshitting. But I’m not feeling confused by it because after all, I’m the one who wrote them.

H: Where did your inspiration came from for writing ‘Final Blue-Signet’? P: I was waiting in line to buy bread and there was an advertisement board opposite it. The ad has a picture that was very very very big and was very very very complicated, and then I just figured out the story for ‘Final Blue-Signet’.

H: What exactly did the picture show? Why would it make you think of ‘Final Blue-Signet’? P: Because I don’t really get the picture, and I can’t figure out why are they drawing those kind of things. I think the complicated thing is like a magical pattern. So, it’s lovely. While I was in the line and I had nothing to so, I just handed out an essay which is very complicated. Then I took out a little notebook and wrote down my settings and started to set for Final Blue-Signet.

H: What about Qi Ye(The Seventh Lord)’s inspiration? P: Actually, it was difficult to write this one. I spent a lot of time and I tried a lot of settings and dropped a lot of settings, but I cherished them so I don’t wanna give up on them. After, I just combined everything together. So the final product is like everything and unlike everything.

H: Can you describe your own writing style? P: You can say that I’m under the “bullshitting” style.

H: Why? How could you call yourself under the “bullshitting” style? P: Because I think I’m bullshitting from settings to the plot, I just make them randomly and very casually. H: So modest. P: No no no I’m really bullshitting style.

H: You must have an outline. Will you change your plot because of what the readers say to you? P: EHHH? I don’t think this question is in the rehearsal. How could you suddenly ask me this question, just because I said I had a bullshitting style? The hope was all for the best at first. I had an outline at the very beginning but almost every part of the outline can’t stand for more than 30,000 words, it just totally goes out of the outline. Whether I will be influenced by my readers ... it depends because some of my novels, I write them in advance and some I write them at the moment. Those that are written at the moment are more easily to be influenced by the readers.

H: Is Liang Jiuxiao in The Seventh Lord really dead? P: Yes, yes, yes, and yes. It’s true. H: He’s a very popular character among your readers and many of your readers think that he has something with his senior brother*? P: They are thinking too much. *this senior brother is Zhou Zishu of Faraway Wanderers/Tian Ya Ke

H:Do you have preference over the type of CP or genre? P: No I don’t have one. If you read my novels, then you’ll know I don’t have a preferred one.

H: Many of us want to ask you a question. Why is there very few sex plots in your novels? When do you plan to write more sex plots? P: There are more and there are less. Actually I wrote them, I just make them less so you can’t see it.

H: No sex plot is really being “deceitful”. P: Well I forgot to say that I’m also a “deceitful” type of writer.

H: So you just erase all the sex plot like that? P: You can say so.

H: When do you plan to write them and do you have any conditions to do it? P: One: until the day I’m finally good at it, and two: when the internet has a rating for different age.

H: You mean you’re afraid of tainting underage readers? P: Yeah, yeah, yeah … I hope that underage readers can see cute media like cartoons or something instead.

H: Another audience question: you have a very busy life, and you update very fast. How could you balance the relationship between writing, your studying, and your life? P: I’m not actually that busy, I like hanging out. I don’t write novels for a very long time a day. In a day, one to two hours tops.

H: How many words can you write in those one or two hours? P: One or two hours is enough for one or two updates.

H: How many words exactly? P: In my bad condition, about 2000 words, if I’m in good condition, more than 3000 words. H: You are so fast! P: Uhhh, right.

H: You never face the difficulty of not knowing what to write? P: I just said my style is “deceitful” plus “bullshitting” so I think this style can make me happy. Also, my stories, the quality is quite low. I have quite a lot of typos.

H: How do you name your characters in your book? P: Mostly, from dictionaries. A book is very handy, too. I think of a page number and line number, which character of the line then I open it. If it’s really weird, I will do it again. If I think it’s okay, then it’s okay.

H: So casual, just like how you chose your pen name. P: Yep yep, but I’m very loyal to the names. Because I can’t remember them all if I have a lot of names.

H: Thank you for your gentle attitude. Is there anything else you want to say to our audience? P: First of all, I wish you all a happy new year and may your wishes come true. I hope everyone can study well and can read less sex plots to protect yourselves.

H: Thank you for coming today, Priest. P: Thanks, thanks, thanks for your hard work!

H: Well thanks for your hard work too!

Priest is the author of Guardian(2012), Sha Po Lang(2015), Silent Reading(2016), Imperfections(2017), Faraway Wanderers(2010), and more. Masterlist of English translations can be found here.

#danmei #priest

[chalkrevelations]

SO, Episode 28 of Word of Honor was a roller-coaster ride.

(Spoilers, as ever, so scroll away and come back later if you want to see it unspoiled.)

They managed two entirely separate scenes in this one that had me going “Did … did that just happen? Is this really happening?” Let’s get this one out of the way first: The scene of Zhao Jing in his serial killer lair with the altar and memorial tablets and his serial killer trophies. Y’all. I swear, scene opens with a shot from behind of drunk Awful Yifu in his Fantasy Ancient China underwear staggering through a set of doors into a room with candles and draperies, and before I was able to register the rest of the set design, my brain gave a terrified squeak and started rabbiting around like, “Oh my god, please do not let this be Xie’er’s bedroom. Oh my god, they wouldn’t actually go there, not even hinted, surely that would be too far!” Then my eyeballs caught up and registered the set, so I thought I was safe, but that didn’t even turn out to be the moment in the scene that had me going “Is this really happening?” (Although I do think the fact my brain immediately jumped to that scenario speaks to the creepy vibe the show has managed to build between Awful Yifu and Xie Wang). So, Zhao Jing is a sloppy drunk and absolutely shitfaced, stumbling around and yelling at his dead brothers, and I’m sitting here watching him, feeling like I need a shower, with my skin a little bit trying to crawl off my body, and then he picks up Rong Xuan’s memorial tablet and pours an entire stream of alcohol out of the pitcher all over it, and I say, out loud, to the screen, “Oh my god, they just had him figuratively piss on that tablet.” Only, no, they didn’t, because there was no need to have him do it figuratively because then, he literally whips it out of his pants and takes a piss on the tablet, complete with sound effects, and I’m open-mouthed, thinking “Is this really happening?” As some background, I grew up in mainstream U.S. culture where ancestor veneration isn’t formally practiced - although it isn’t an entirely absent part of our cultural mythos, it’s just that now when I when I offer cultus to the Patres Patriae, it’s deliberate and intentional – but I’ve been doing ancestor work in my particular flavor of polytheism for long enough, and intensely enough, that I had a visceral reaction of disgust and horror to this. Hand literally clapped over my mouth in shock, even after watching all of his ranting at his dead brothers and spitting at his dead shifu and just generally being a disrespectful asshole with delusions of grandeur building up to it. So, yes, show, you have indeed convinced me that Awful Yifu is the worst, even in an episode that also devoted that much screentime to Prince Jin.

Fortunately, the other “Is this really happening?” moment was at the other end of the spectrum, somewhere in the face of how married Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing are, which I cannot believe passed censorship. I know I keep saying that, but every time I think I’ve adjusted to how far they’re going to go, the show laughs gay-ly as it pushes the envelope another mile down the road. Truly, this show is the gift that keeps on giving where these two are concerned, and not just because of Zhang Zhehan’s face. I realize I had to spend 50 episodes deciphering Lan Wangji’s smallest microexpression (not that I’m complaining), but I can’t believe how expressive both Zhang Zhehan and Gong Jun are in these roles, with Gong Jun’s little sadness eyebrows when WKX wants ZZS to humor him, and how soft Zhang Zhehan’s face gets when ZZS looks at WKX, and how great they both are at making all this look like a pair of adults who are in an established relationship and confident of each other. I’d be as weak as Wen Kexing if Zhou Zishu pouted at me the way he does when he tells Chengling that he can’t do anything to help decorate the Manor except observe and direct because he’s oh, so injured and frail, poor him. Wen Kexing can laugh at Zhou Zishu when ZZS pokes at him by saying the papercrafter was such a beauty! (Compare this to his reaction back in the day, when ZZS deftly manipulated him out of bringing A-Xiang along on their honeymoon adventures by calling her a beauty and implying she might draw attention away from WKX!) Wen Kexing waves kitchen knives at Zhou Zishu in (somewhat fond) exasperation! Zhou Zishu now accepts Wen Kexing piling his plate with food at the table as perfectly normal! There’s no crying in Spring Festival! They send their kid outside to watch the fireworks so they can have sex some alone time! (Merciless killers. How the fuck so adorable?) Someone must have backed up an entire truckful of money to the house of someone very important to get this aired, because what is the heterosexual explanation for … any of this?

Other thoughts:

We continue to get small things that maintain the parallels between Wen Kexing/Zhou Zishou and Gu Xiang/Cao Weining, including the mirrored theme of finding a home with a welcoming family, shown through family dinner, and expressed through WKX’s description of his former self as a “lonely ghost,” echoing A-Xiang’s self-description (to Shen Shen in an earlier ep) the same way.

HAN YING! Listen, I am stupidly attached to this bit player, and not just because he’s a familiar face (because half of Wen Xu’s screentime in The Untamed was just a disembodied head hanging at the entrance to the Unclean Realm, so it’s not like there was time to get … attached). And I say stupidly attached because ever since we first saw the way he looked at ZZS with big puppy heart-eyes, I knew he was going to be a goner. I just know they’re gonna fridge him for the next step in ZZS’s journey, because something has to pry ZZS out of Four Seasons Manor, as much as I, personally, would like nothing better than to see 8 more episodes of wedded bliss for two gay dads and their son. (OK, one thing I would like better would be if their daughter and son-in-law came to live with them, too.) At least it looks like Han Ying will get to die taking a figurative bullet for ZZS, which will make him happy and might prevent him from finding out the Glazed Armor he’s so proud of bringing is actually pointless, because don’t think that didn’t hurt to know while I watched him being so proud of managing to get his hands on it. But I’d prefer he didn’t die at all, show. Also, why on earth are there only two (completed) stories under the ZZS/Han Ying label on AO3? Because yes, I have looked. I have the search open in another tab right now. Why haven’t more people taken advantage of this guy’s utter devotion for ZZS? How are people looking at the way Han Ying reverently brushes his fingers over the single white blossom on the wall mural in ZZS’s rooms back in Prince Jin’s palace and not falling all over that?

Xie’er, oh, Xie’er. You’re killing me, here. I need someone to rescue you, you desperate affection-starved little sociopath. So, to recap, last time we met, your Awful Yifu finally let it slip that he was never ever going to acknowledge your existence in public. So now, you’re being a very clever boy, setting up a scheme to manipulate him into having to publicly acknowledge you if he’s going to claim credit for your successes (because I’m sure you can’t even contemplate failure) in service to Prince Jin. So clever, but I hate to tell you, you’re clever at everything except learning from your mistakes when it comes to your Awful Yifu. You really learned nothing from Beauty Ghost, did you? Ugh, your sad little face as you watch your hot mess of an Awful Yifu while you wait for the maids to make tea – it hurts me. Please tell me you’re playing some kind of long game, and you’re just a really great actor. Because he’s sloppy drunk, and right now, watching your face journey, I think maybe you think that makes what he’s saying true – that he’s not guarding his words, and he means it when he tells you that of course he loves you and would never leave you. “Are you still angry with me?” Awful Yifu literally asks. “Alright, I’ll apologize. I was just mad. It didn’t mean anything. We’re together in this. I’ll always stand by you.” Xie’er, you have got to stop believing gaslighting abusive men who shovel that BS. This is what they call the honeymoon period in the cycle of abuse. Seriously. This is textbook. Please stop making the same mistakes over and over again. Maybe think about the fact that your Awful Yifu is, single-handedly, the reason the Department of the Unfaithful actually exists in the first place. He is THAT AWFUL. I would like to think actually seeing his serial killer trophy room will make a difference, now that you have some confirmation of what Tragicomic Ghost told you and not the ability to wave it off as part of some he-said, she-said situation where how could we ever possibly know the truth, despite the fact that Zhao Jing has shown he’ll stab anyone in the back in his quest for power? But, then, I also thought maybe learning last ep that he never planned to publicly acknowledge you would make some kind of difference. Are you going to roll the dice again, gambler? Because I’ll tell you right now, the house always wins. (Not that you’d listen to me anymore than you listened to Beauty Ghost.)

(Also, wait wait waitwaitwait. Waitaminit. This is pure speculation and probably way too out there to be true (oh, but, someone’s going to write this AU for me, right?) Hot-mess drunk yifu tells Xie’er that they’ve been depending on each other “ever since I picked you up and brought you back home.” I can’t remember if we know anything about Xie Wang’s background at this point, but it does sound like Zhao Jing might have literally yoinked him off the street to raise him. He … he doesn’t think Xie’er is actually Yan’er, does he? Only he kidnapped the wrong orphaned urchin by mistake? I’m just sayin’, thinking back to Shen Shen’s reaction to finding out Zhen Yan was still alive, it would be exactly the kind of thing Zhao Jing would do, to keep this kid that his brother(s) wanted to find hidden right under their noses.)

Chengling and the chicken. I can’t, y’all. And Zhou Zishu’s face as soon as he realizes what Wen Kexing is telling Chengling to do – he knows this is going to be a show.

Prince Jin, you are almost as bad as Xie’r and his awful Yifu combined:

Prince Jin: Zhou Zishu, you mastermind, your super-secret spy network continues to spread everywhere, including into my very own palace. Oh, the things you must be plotting against me!

Zhou Zishu, chillin’ at Plum Blossom Manor, day-drinking, dressing up in pretty festive robes, taking advantage of his disciple’s unpaid labor so he doesn’t have to raise a finger for himself, and providing his husband with sex so incredible he is never required to actually cook: “OK, my gay husband and our son-with-two-dads, how about we just stay here together forever and be happy?”

Also Prince Jin: *Creeps on Zhou Zishu like a gaslighting m’fker*

Anyway, if Prince Jin always knew what Han Ying was up to all along, is the letter about ZZS’s father a plant, with false info? It was just kind of suspiciously hanging out in the open on Prince Jin’s desk.

#zhao jing #xie wang #zhou zishu #wen kexing #gu xiang #cao weining #zhang chengling #han ying #prince jin #word of honor #word of honor episode reax

[chalkrevelations]

OK. Ep 26 of Word of Honor.

(As always, spoilers, so scroll past and come back, if that’s not your bag right now.)

You know what? Let’s defy expectations and start with Xie’er and his Awful Yifu for this one, since apparently we’re going to spend the obligatory mid-episode extended emo-porn scene on Awful Yifu spinning, spinning, spinning his web of lies and deceit as he works his hardest to keep gaslighting the hell out of Xie Wang. Oh my god, Xie’er, you know the truth already, you don’t have to get Tragicomic Ghost to confirm it, you just don’t want to believe it. No, things will never be settled, and you know it. YES. Yes, he IS humiliating you. He also murdered your yimu, who you appear to have had some affection for, if your tone of voice when you said “Yimu …” means anything, and it probably does, with someone as affection-starved as you are.

So, all of this booted me straight back into the parallels between the Zhao Jing-Xie Wang relationship and the Prince Jin-Zhou Zishu relationship. Zhao Jing has effectively eliminated literally murdered any competing relationship in Xie’er’s life, just as Prince Jin was willing to let Zhou Zishu’s sect get entirely killed off, leaving ZZS alone and isolated. Awful Yifu explicitly compares the Scorpions to Tian Chuang, which touches on a comparison of Xie Wang and Zhou Zishu that’s always just lying around to pick up, as two young prodigies heading mega-successful assassin organizations (plus the fact that they seem to have crossed paths enough in the past for ZZS to know something about the Scorpions and to be very interested in going to their lair and messing up shit, even when he’s worked so hard at leaving everything else from his palace life behind). Zhao Jing also talks about how he relied on Xie Wang above everyone else and presses hard on themes of secrecy, anonymity, and darkness – “I had you support me in the dark” – that echo the motto of Tian Chuang: “Shadows without traces. Entry without exit. Know everything. Be everywhere. Prince Jin requested me to accomplish these four things when I created Window of Heaven,” Zhou Zishu said back in Ep 1. And now it’s also the poor yifu stories, about how Zhao Jing was in a terrible situation and just trying to help, but this unreasonable woman wouldn't let him, just like Prince Jin was in a terrible situation but couldn’t do anything because the previous Prince Jin wouldn’t listen to reason. Oh, and the hugs. We’re doing the hugs, just like Prince Jin when he really truly no really needed his cousin Zhou Zishu’s help so badly because who else could he depend on. (Stop touching them, you scumbags.) We’re family, you know, and that makes you special to me. Zhao Jing: Don’t abandon this relationship. Prince Jin: How can you leave me when everyone else has left me?

So, all that happened.

Meanwhile, we’re getting the repetition of the theme “Don’t fail me and I won’t fail you,” in the Xie Wang - Zhao Jing – Luo Fu Meng storyline, and I don’t know if this is worded as a mutual pact or as an “if, then” scenario (i.e., mutual agreement to just not fail each other, vs. if you don’t fail me, then I won’t fail you), and I think it’s been translated both ways in the subtitles. At any rate, I submit that it’s the ZZS/WKX relationship (and possibly the Cao Weining/Gu Xiang relationship, as its parallel) where we’re actually seeing this exact theme of faith and loyalty play out, although I don’t know if that will ever be made explicit in the text of the show. I’d actually go even further and say that, at least for Zhou Zishu, at this point, it could be said that “Even if you fail me, I won’t fail you.” I mean, let’s look at this: Just as Gu Xiang does in a previous ep, Wen Kexing’s response to the new big gossip in the jianghu re: Ghost Valley is NOT to tell his fiancé anything about his past, but to beat it out of town for home before Zhou Zishu (Cao Weining) can hear anything about it. Just as Gu Xiang does, Wen Kexing continues in stealth mode, and wow, ZZS’s face when he walks away after WKX claims he couldn’t find the painter in town, but don’t worry, he totally heard about this other guy he’s gonna go see eventually. Wen Kexing. He knows you are lying and yet he continues to respect the boundaries you are setting anyway. (He’s not happy about it, though. He’s kind of pissy at dinner. Poor Chengling.) He’s opened up to you about his deepest darkest secrets and failures and awful deeds, without blinking, trusting that it wouldn’t scare you away, with absolute faith that you’ll continue to be there. Maybe instead of waxing poetically mournful about the sunset (of your relationship), you could return that faith and let him know who you are. I realize you continue to be terrified of getting what you want, so terrified that all you can do is mentally and emotionally curl up into the smallest target possible, protecting all the tenderest and most vulnerable places, but we are in the place for healing wounded animals, and I really need you to get off the mental hamster wheel and THINK.

Anyway, while I don’t think ZZS could have gotten away with this lack of poker face as head of Tian Chuang – although who knows, maybe that’s actually the reason they cover their faces – I appreciate the acting/directing choice to have these expressions happen anyway, to clue us in that ZZS is a really smart guy, and he (unlike Cao Weining) knows what WKX (A-Xiang) isn’t telling him. (Also, it means Zhang Zhehan’s face, doing things. Anything. Whatever he wants to make it do … Anyway.)

Something’s got to break loose soon. Meanwhile, a few random thoughts:

Does … does that opening scene of Wen Kexing dreaming of protecting his puppy from those little brats have shades of his adopting A-Xiang, with related shades of his own shixiong-shidi relationship with Zhou Zishou that maybe possibly influenced his adoption of A-Xiang? I now have this mental image of him telling this story over family dinner, and A-Xiang as Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally: “I’m the dog?” Meanwhile, a mysterious stranger enters, and baby WKX is already smart enough to recognize Stranger Danger and not give out his name. If Drunk-Like-A-Dream shows you your greatest desires, what tf does all this mean? (Also, I think at the point where everyone in your household needs downers to sleep, it might be time to consider some therapy.)

If Tragicomic Ghost actually did go to the Healer Valley for treatment, it would explain that odd comment about not being able to saving WKX’s dad in a previous ep.

Finally, I know, Fan Shishu, A-Xiang is delightful, isn’t she! Nevertheless, you’re giving her some strange looks over dinner that I find possibly a bit concerning. However, in the dictionary under “cinnamon roll” there’s a picture of Cao Weining. I CANNOT with the way he and Gu Xiang look at each other. I love them so much, it makes me actually, literally clutch my chest with joy.

#xie wang #zhao jing #zhou zishu #wen kexing #gu xiang #cao weining #and a little bit #zhang chengling #word of honor #word of honor episode reax

[chalkrevelations]

Episode 32 of Word of Honor, and once again, this is just. A LOT. A LOT is happening, and all of it is A LOT. Also, show, what is even happening? I have questions. A LOT of questions.

(Spoilers. Go ahead and scroll on by, then come back later, if you want to watch it unspoiled.)

BUT FIRST, before anything else, you know I have to yell about this for a minute because we once again see that the Gu Xiang/Cao Weining relationship and the Wen Kexing/Zhou Zishou relationship are the same relationship. We get the same scene with A-Xiang and Cao Weining – again – that we’ve already seen with Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu, this time from Ep 27, with Fan Shishu in the role of Ye Baiyi. Fan Shishu (YBY) asks “Do you know who she (he) is?” and this time, Cao Weining knows, just as ZZS knew in Ep 27. Cao Weining (ZZS) literally throws himself in front of A-Xiang (WKX) to protect her (him). “Kill us both” (Ep 27). “If you’re going to hurt her, kill me first” (Ep 32). Fan Shishu, like YBY, eventually lets A-Xiang and Cao Weining go, despite having them in a position where he could do them in. Color palettes between the two couples in these scenes match again, with the younger couple being more intense this time – A-Xiang and Wen Kexing in pinks, Cao Weining and Zhou Zishu in blue. (ZZS is mainly in creams and grey, but the piping on his robes is a very light blue, I think the greys have a blue undertone to them, and when you stand him next to Chengling in more intense blue while he’s wearing that particular outfit, it really starts to pull out the blue of ZZS’s outside robe – you can see this at the end of Ep 26.) Between the way these relationships continue to mirror each other and the hairpin scene from the last ep, I honestly don’t know what our takeaway is supposed to be, other than that WKX and ZZS are essentially married.

I also find it interesting - although this almost seems like too much of a stretch to be anything other than coincidence - that we get a specific callback to Ep 27 in this episode, as Ep 27 is also when WKX talks about not wanting to lie to Chengling about who he is anymore, and this ep is when they finally (apparently) meet again after Chengling learns the truth.

Aaaand now A-Xiang is crying, so of course I’m crying. Aaaand then we have the mournful montage. Give me a minute. And some tissues. I notice how much of this mournful drunken montage is ZZS remembering all the times he was cranky with WKX. Oh, honey. No. That’s what you’re remembering, because you feel bad, but it’s not what he would remember at all, if he was looking back over his time with you. And even if he did, it would be with great fondness.

Yeah, so, if I haven’t mentioned, this episode is a LOT. We get a big confrontation between WKX and half the jianghu/the Scorpions/some of the Ghost Valley contingent, ZZS showing up to support his man, Fantastic Cranky Grandpa of my heart getting in his eleven cents, Chengling shooting one of his dads, and two yeets off a cliff. And that’s only 15 minutes into the episode. This is too much, show. And I have too many questions. Also some observations. Also some wild speculation, not just about the fact that Wen Kexing is not dead but also about how he may have (not) got that way. And not just because there’s still four episodes left, and it’s too early for him to be dead.

First a small observation but pretty significant, I think: WKX is NOT in his blood-red Ghost Valley master robes during this confrontation. In fact, I think we’ve seen this set of robes in happier days with Zhou Zishou and Chengling. Just noticing this. Also noticing WKX’s face when Shen Shen starts going on about WKX’s parents and how omg if they could see WKX now they’d die all over from the shame, and WKX’S expression is like, the fucking audacity of Shen Shen saying this, and if he could actually kill people with the power of his mind, Shen Shen would be twitching and frothing on the ground. Also noticing the complete change when WKX sees Chengling – it’s like Shen Shen ceases to even exist for him. Gong Jun, your face, it’s killing me. Anyway, I’m going to start wildly speculating here for a minute, because WKX is willing to let Chengling kill him, because he’s so tired and wants to stop fighting, but he’s going to kick everyone else’s ass who even tries it? And then Chengling is actually the one who shoots him and yeets him off the cliff? Is this a set up? Is Chengling in on this? Is he the one who’s supposed to “kill” WKX? If so, at what point did we get Chengling in on this? And who did it? Did Chengling send what’s his name, Jing Beiyuan’s guard, away on purpose at this particular point, because he knew ZZS would show up in time for this confrontation if he heard about Chengling’s reaction to the news about WKX? And do I actually believe Chengling is smart enough – and a good enough actor – to pull off any of this? (Look, I love our little goldbean plenty, but let’s face it, he’s not the brightest kid running around here.)

Also, my dudes. My clever little killers. Xie Wang and Wen Kexing. I am unwilling to believe that you two aren’t somehow still together on this in some way in order to fuck over Awful Yifu. Your antagonistic back and forth seems a little bit like playing roles. Xie Wang gives Awful Yifu a weird side-eye a few times when Awful Yifu talks about how tricksy and cunning WKX is, like maybe he’s reconsidering, and do not tell me you’re questioning and reconsidering whatever deal you’ve made with WKX, little gambler. Why does your Awful Yifu’s bs always work on you? This is really not the time to roll the dice again. I’m assuming A-Xiang is still the only one who knows about their tete-a-tete? If so, this is a side-take I never would have expected on “you don’t fail me, and I won’t fail you.” Honor among thieves? Stick to the plan, Xie’er, whatever the hell it is. Do not blink.

So then, Ye Baiyi shows up, and my immediate reaction is NO. My beloved cranky grandpa, don’t fuck this up, because whatever is going on seems to already have a lot of moving parts with a lot of places for things to go wrong! But … are you in on it, too? Have YOU coordinated with Chengling? (If so, maybe you should have warned him to expect ZZS’s wild-card self-yeet over the cliff’s edge, since you’ve already seen how self-destructive self-sacrificing these two can get over each other.) Making me even more suspicious, Ye Baiyi later proceeds to walk out of a banquet before even eating anything. This guy is walking away from food? There is no clearer sign in this ep that something is up.

Also, while we’re on the banquets, listen. I cannot be the only one who wants to punch Zhao Jing in the face during his interminable yapping during both post-fight banquets. This is one of those places where the show and the actor have done their job too well, because he is so dislikeable and so off-putting that I almost can’t bear to actually watch him. And yet, I can’t fast-forward, because what if I miss some info? Like the fact that … you know, I went back to watch this bit three times, and that is a very … interesting series of camera shots during the second banquet - after the toasts, just as a couple of randoms start advocating for Zhao Jing as head of the Five Lakes Alliance, and we move from Xie’er to Shen Shen to Chengling, all of them still standing, facing Zhao Jing after their individual toasts, all of them in a formation that’s almost caging him in from the front and both sides. It gets more interesting every time I watch it. Is … is Shen Shen also in on this, somehow?

See, I know that is a lot of wild speculation. I know Wen Kexing got yeeted off a cliff, and Ye Baiyi was busy catching Zhou Zishu. And we saw a body. And ZZS set that body on fire. But I also know that Liu Qianqiao was the person holding vigil outside the shed where the body was being held. And I know she’s the other person, besides ZZS, who we know of that knows the facemask disguise technique (in fact, didn’t she learn it from ZZS’s shifu?) We actually get reminded of this later on in this very episode. Which makes me wonder if that was actually WKX’s body, or somebody else, in the shed. Who “found” that body and recovered it? Was it a Scorpion or one of the Ghost Valley contingent? Also, where’s that key WKX was waving around, and why does no one seem to remember it?

 Other things:

lol at A-Xiang’s reaction to Jing Beiyun talking about how ZZS used to ask him to set ZZS up with girls. Further lol at Jing Beiyuan, “And funny enough, he was NEVER interested in them. Welp, time for another drink!” Seriously, Qi Ye, we like you, you can absolutely stay.

Still at the banquets, Xie Wang seems discombobulated during a lot of this. And then when Awful Yifu calls him Zhao Xie’er in front of everybody, holy shit, he’s getting everything he ever wanted. Xie’er, you … you’re not going to fall for this again, are you? Please tell me you are not falling for this again, at what is likely a crucial moment. This is NO TIME to take another roll of the dice, little gambler. Stick with the plan, whatever the hell it is.

Oh, hey! Are we finally getting some backstory on Fantastic Cranky Grandpa? Oh. OH. “Our child?” What is up, my friend? (I did go back to Ep 16, when WKX calls Chengling “my child” while defending him against Ye Baiyi, and looking at the Mandarin subtitles, I can’t entirely figure out (with my Level 2 Duolingo Mandarin) all of the nuances of these two references, but it doesn’t look like they’re using the same words to describe these relationships.) So some further wild speculation: Apparently, Cranky Grandpa Fantastico is solitary drinking in the dark instead of feasting at the banquet, over someone who (he feels) foolishly wanted to save the lost souls in the Ghost Valley? And now he feels like fate is making fun of him? And he’s asking Dead Beloved what he would do in Ye Baiyi’s position? Ye Baiyi, is it possible that fate is making fun of you because you have found yourself in the position of saving a lost soul from the Ghost Valley? Also, Ye Baiyi, I’ve noticed the children have been turning you grey. I don’t think you had that grey streak when you showed up for the first Hero’s Conference, did you? In fact, I feel like you got offended when WKX talked shit about possible grey hairs on your head. 

Duan Pengju, this asshole, omg … OMG. Well. I guess you got your confirmation, Xie’er. Were you really considering rolling the dice again? AT THIS POINT?

#wen kexing #zhou zishu #gu xiang #cao weining #zhang chengling #shen shen #xie wang #ye baiyi #liu qianqiao #zhao jing #word of honor #word of honor episode reax