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marauderstars · 1 year

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Ways J.K Rowling did poc dirty in canon:

Making the last name of one of her most powerful black characters “Shacklebolt” - a crude af reference to slavery and just in very poor taste.

Naming her only east Asian character “Cho Chang” - a Korean surname as a first name for a Chinese character - proving she did no research whatsoever into Chinese naming traditions.

Cho’s characterization also leans in to the trope of tragic Asian female characters being defined by their romantic connections to white men, as in “Miss Saigon” or “A Quiet American.” Cho’s storyline centers on her romantic involvement with Cedric, Harry and Roger Davies. She gets no meaningful arc of her own.

The sidekick-ification of Lee Jordan.

Michael Corner being referred to as “the dark one” which is bad enough, and then him being whitewashed in the films.

Pansy Parkinson’s comment about Angelina Johnson’s braided hair looking like “worms” goes completely unpunished. Rowling treats this as standard bullying instead of a racially-charged comment. Rowling clearly didn’t understand the serious implications of this comment and its rooting in deeply-ingrained discrimination against black hairstyles, or she would have written a similar reaction to this as she did to that of Hermione being called a “Mudblood.”

House Elves as a metaphor for slaves is highly problematic because they are depicted as “liking” their enslavement and being complicit in it, much like the black slaves in “Gone With The Wind.” Despite Dobby being a beloved character, he is also seen as an anomaly for desiring freedom, and many other House Elves are depicted as grotesque, fawning, ridiculous or sinister. Pretty garbage metaphor for black slaves.

In Goblet of Fire Rowling describes a group of “African” wizards wearing “long white robes” and “roasting what looked like a rabbit on a bright purple fire.” This is just… *sigh* The way this is worded is very clearly just token exoticism and includes no genuine detail about their clothing, cultural food or nationality. It’s just “wow those zany rabbit-eating Africans and their purple fire.” Once again black characters are being used as examples of otherness rather than shown as human beings.

Rowling has openly admitted that she created a detailed backstory for Dean Thomas, one of the series’ few black characters, but did not include it in the books and included the backstory of Neville Longbottom, a white character, instead.

Approving the casting of a white actress in the role of Lavender Brown in the films, a character the majority of readers assumed was black.

The portrayal of Blaise Zabini’s “famously beautiful” black mother who was known for offing her husbands and taking their money. Like. Come on. Tbh she sounds like a queen but violent woc gold digger is still a shit trope.

Just the entire treatment of the Patil twins at the Yule Ball, the way Harry and Ron treated them and Rowling’s garbage attempt at describing their traditional clothing.

Padma Patil’s portrayal in Cursed Child as the stereotypical controlling Indian wife. The idea of ending up with her instead of Hermione being positioned as some kind of horrible alternate reality for Ron had very xenophobic undertones, and while Hermione is portrayed as black in the play, I don’t believe that Rowling originally intended her to be a black character nor that casting directors deliberately set out to cast a black actress as Hermione in Cursed Child initially.

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renewedmotionforjudgment · 4 months

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My subtweet of Chinese netizens re: cdramas, part 2, because I periodically peak on the other side of the great firewall and immediately regret my actions.

Toxic beauty standard: honestly, this makes me glad that I didn’t spend my teenage years in the mainland. Bc apparently, being able to move your face when you make an expression is bad because you have lines.

And yet somehow critiquing in particular female idols and actresses for either photoshopping their pictures or getting plastic surgery to fit those beauty standards. The cognitive dissonance.

line delivery: I’m going to make this one on the record, so it may come back to haunt me. But honestly, as long as the way the line is delivered matches the scene and the emotions of the scene, I do not give a single flying fuck about whether the actor has “perfect mandarin” (a standard that literally is imposed by an authoritarian government to erase all traces of diversity within a country as big as China, there are 200 dialect and my family internally speaks 5 and we understand each other just fine.). Or, because I keep hearing this as this “gold standard” of line delivery — the clear enunciation of each character. Like is the founder of that standard John Malkovich? Literally unless the character is Captain Benjamin Sisko, people don’t talk like that and I like my characters even if they are in some Xianxia realm or a fake dynasty to sound like people, not like they are doing the morning news channel. I’ve consistently found that when actors either dub themselves or it’s real voice on set, the scene is so much more emotional, proper mandarin and enunciation be damned.

The weird idea that a drama can only have flattering camera angles: this is me being a Zhu Ruibin defense squad member. But like, no, this isn’t an ad campaign. Camera angles should reflect what the director wants to convey for the scene.

Finally, the idea that international fans somehow are less knowledgeable or are idiots with bad taste. Which admittedly, I’m personally offended by this accusation. Most international fans can tell good and bad acting, thank you very much. But also, since I neither care about conformity to mainstream Chinese culture nor to the CCP, I’m free to enjoy things that appeals to me as oppose to holding it up to some arbitrary standard, whether that’s line delivery or beauty or mandarin pronunciation.

#this is a subtweet #cdrama

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accio-victuuri · 13 days

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wang yibo - seminar on TV drama "War of Faith" held

On April 12, a seminar on the drama "War of Faith" sponsored by the China Television Arts Committee and Jiangsu Provincial Radio and Television Bureau was held in Beijing. The meeting was chaired by Yi Kai, Secretary General of China Television Arts Committee.

At the meeting, Tan Songzhi, director of the TV Drama Department of the Jiangsu Provincial Radio and Television Bureau, believed that the drama promoted the national spirit with patriotism as the core, pioneered and innovated in subject matter, techniques, and content, and provided rich opportunities for theme creation. Experience and inspiration demonstrate the enduring charm of classic narratives.

Ma Jun, deputy director of the TV Drama Project Department of the Film and Television Drama and Documentary Center of China Central Radio and Television Station, believes that the drama has a novel perspective, vivid characters and a clear theme. With faith as the soul, the protagonist's process of finding faith, establishing faith, and strengthening faith is described in detail, which is highly contagious. Let the audience, especially young audiences, receive patriotic education while understanding the history of the party and modern economic history.

Dai Ying, senior vice president of iQiyi and chief producer of the show, said that the show responds to the mood of the times, integrates traditional espionage themes with current audience needs, and resonates with the audience; it focuses on the experience and destiny of small people, and in financial espionage. A glimpse into the reality and complexity of human nature, arousing empathy from the audience. The drama has achieved good ratings in Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, the United States, Indonesia and other regions. It has broken the user profile of previous spy dramas and significantly increased the proportion of young users and female users.

Long Qian, president of Ruyi Pictures and chief planner of the show, believes that the show is a carefully polished work of ingenuity, a reproduction and tribute to China's excellent traditional culture and the original mission of the Communist Party of China.

Zhang Shuwei, chief producer of Enlightenment Pictures and chief producer of the show, believes that the characters in the show are flesh and blood, and the characters have strong vitality, allowing the audience to feel the power of faith while being moved by the protagonist.

The chief director of the drama, Yao Xiaofeng, shared the process of creating the drama, as well as the details and gains during the filming, expressed the original intention of paying tribute to the faith, and hoped that through this work, the audience can feel the original intention of the Communist Party of China to serve the people.

The drama’s screenwriter Weng Liangping shared his creative ideas and expressed his creative ideas of revealing the inevitability of the KMT's defeat and showing that finance under the leadership of the Communist Party serves the people. He believes that the Chinese Communist Party leads the people to victory, which is the choice of history and the people.

article source.

#wang yibo #wei ruolai #war of faith #it’s really a success omgggg

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wolffapex · 1 year

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partners in crime

→ request: in which the reader is a Team principal with a all female team which is kicking butt on the grid and Toto decides to be over protective of the reader and her team and he encourges her to always do her best and he also protects her wellbeing. I mean the friendship is high and he does tease her about her lil crush on him since she has said she admire him on the social as he is her inspiration. → words counting: 2,9k → warnings: none, just fluff. → khai's note: this is my first one shot! i just love this plot where the reader/oc is a team principal just like toto so much (i have a story in portuguese with this plot but they're enemies so i thought it'd be nicer if they were friends in this one). hope you like it!

At the end of every non-race week, you and Toto had an appointment: get together in the living room of your flat in London or his in penthouse in Oxfordshire, over a nice bottle of wine — which he usually brought out of the prized wine cellar that he owned — and some of the food was prepared by the austrian himself — it was one of his hobbies was cooking, especially something from Italian cuisine.

You and Toto knew each other from your youth. Your first contact with the austrian was when he went to the Nürburgring to accompany a friend driving in an amateur category of Formula 1. You were already passionate about motorsport and it was this passion that made you close to Toto.

Throughout life, you had gone through many moments together because friendship developed far beyond sport. You were there when he got married, he was there when you graduated with honors in mechanical engineering from the University of London, you were there when he bought shares in Williams, he was there when you started working at Alfa Romeo as a mechanic , you were there when he became boss of Mercedes and he was there when you managed to buy the Swiss team.

You closely followed all the path that Toto took to the success of being eight times champion of the constructors' championship with Mercedes while you paved your own path with Alfa Romeo which, despite having a smaller investment than Wolff's team, started to get the level up, the way you were working to get it.

Toto was tremendously proud of you, his best friend. You still remember how his eyes lit up when you told him you were buying Alfa shares and how he encouraged you to juggle the two roles of team principal and CEO.

— If I can be team principal and director of Mercedes, you can too because you have much more talent than me.

You wanted to laugh every time he said that because it was impossible for you, the rookie in that universe, to have more talent to command an entire team than him, the guy who was responsible for taking the team to eight consecutive titles.

However, if there was one thing that Toto Wolff knew how to do, it was to motivate the people around him and the people he cared about. You were one of the people on that select list that he had because the austrian wasn't a man of many friendships — and you knew that very well.

When the first questions arose about his acquisition of Alfa, he publicly spoke out in your favor, giving the support you needed to face that bunch of journalists for the first time that besieged you for idiotic and sexist questions.

That Friday, however, you weren't in the mood for the weekly date. Last weekend was still on your mind because Guanyu Zhou was very close to getting the first podium of the team under your command, but the car had problems on the last lap of the race and took away from the chinese the chance to conquer the third place in Melbourne.

You took a trip from Australia straight to Switzerland and, together with the Alfa engineers in the factory, spent the entire week analyzing the driver's car to understand what had gone wrong, what would be the reason for the failure that seemed to hurt so much in your chest.

But in addition to the pain, there was something you were also struggling with. That was something that haunted you since your entry into Formula 1: the questions about your competence.

Adjusting your coat against your body, trying to cover yourself a little more from the cold in the city, after leaving your Alfa Romeo parked across the street, you pressed your finger against the austrian's penthouse number.

It took a few seconds, but finally, the Austrian's deep voice came through and you smiled when you heard it.

— Yes?

— It is me. — you replied, not bothering about ceremony — Can you open it or will I be forced to freeze?

— Come in. — the noise of the latch on the iron gate made you push it, opening the way so you could go inside the building towards the penthouse where the austrian lived.

As the elevator ascended the fifteen floors, you swiped your Instagram feed. That was one of your guilty pleasures because you knew that the social network could be extremely negative, difficult and bad, but you couldn't help but not look a little at what people were doing, however futile sharing was.

Your attention was caught by an image of Toto on one of his support profiles. You always said he should create a profile on Instagram, but the man was totally technology averse — he still read the printed newspaper and you thought it was funny how he always insisted on having a copy of the Financial Times every morning.

As he hadn't created his own profile, you followed some accounts made in support of the Mercedes boss who was something of a celebrity in the Formula 1 — which always generated jokes from you for him — and, right before your eyes, it was a photo of the two of you, taken at the very first race of the season in Bahrain.

It was a selfie taken just before the pre-race ceremony began. You two were in the middle of the grid when he suggested that you should do a souvenir of his first race as team principal.

— Since you're with of your phone in hand, take a picture of us. — he said as he stopped by her side with the brown irises staring at her.

— A picture of us? — you asked.

— For us to keep for posterity.

— Why?

— Because if you ever become champion, I'm going to need to have some presentable photo with you to say I was your friend a long time before it.

You laughed, shaking your head at the phrase, but decided it was a good idea to capture the moment. He turned his body, raising your arm with the front camera on and felt Toto's arm on your shoulder as your finger pressed the white button on the screen a few times to have more than one picture taken.

The result, even if you had seen it that day, was right before your eyes once again and it was impossible not to analyze the beauty of the austrian in that photo or the fact that it was clear that you were a match — which is what you heard most from people around you, and even though nothing ever happened, you had a bit of a crush on him.

Toto was a handsome man, very handsome. He was kind, loving, and caring to you, and he was the person who knew you best in your entire life. It was kind of impossible that you didn't have that feeling for him. Everyone should have.

When your eyes flickered to the photo's caption, a smile immediately crept to your lips. It looked like it was taken from a recent interview with him and, as the photo demonstrated, it was about you.

“We have known each other since our youth. I think we've been friends for twenty or thirty years and I can say that she's my partner in crime… Not that that's a very nice thing to say, but she is. We talked a lot about the leadership of our teams, we exchanged advice and what I can say is that I trust her. She is intelligent, sensitive enough to understand people and their problems, which makes her a human being and an exemplary team leader. Not forgetting to mention that she is showing that it is possible to have a diverse and competent team. I have no doubt that Alfa will continue to grow. I believe a lot in her and her competence.”

You blinked a few times, reading once more what was written there so you could let those words enter your mind to serve as a kind of incentive that, like it or not, you always ended up needing. After all, it was fantastic to know that the person you admired the most had so many good things to say about you.

The sound of the elevator announcing that you had arrived at the penthouse made you take your eyes off your phone and type the password on the panel, which made the doors open for you to follow to the door of the only penthouse on the floor.

As soon as you step out of the elevator, you're met with Toto standing in the doorway with a tea towel draped over one shoulder.

— You're late.

— Hello to you too, Wolff. — you walked over, standing on tiptoe to hug him — I brought dessert.

— I thought the guest brought wine...

— Why not spend a bottle of wine from this wonderful cellar, filled with the most expensive wines in the world?

— I always knew you were a gold digger. — he joked, stepping aside so you could enter the penthouse — You know… Make yourself at home!

You nodded, walking into the hall and taking off your shoes to leave them by the door and leaving your purse on the sofa in the living room. The environment was complete as the last few times you were there, everything minimally decorated, in a cold tone that you hated and that would change in less than two weeks if you lived with him.

Toto had his attention on the pans on the stove, but he could hear your footsteps entering the kitchen, no matter how hard you tried not to startle him, leaving the bag with the dessert on the kitchen island.

— Did you pick the wine or did you really think I would bring it?

— It's separated in the cellar. — he laughed.

— You know me very well, Wolff.

— Perhaps more than you realize.

You knit your brows at the phrase, but went to the cellar so you could get the wine, finding it separated as the austrian had said, and returning to the kitchen quickly.

— Why do you say that?

— What?

— That you know me more than I realize.

— Because it's the truth. — he laughed — And because I can see that there's something bothering you… What is it?

— Do you want the list in alphabetical or chronological order?

— I want you to open the bottle, fill two glasses and start telling me. — you blinked.

— Bossy.

— I'm taking care of you.

— By the way, why aren't you wearing the apron I gave you?

— I've been waiting for you to arrive. — he murmured in a loud tone so that you could hear as he went to the cellar that was next to the kitchen.

You returned with a Lopez de Heredia in hand, which was one of your favorites, and Toto knew perfectly well, that's why it had been his choice for the night.

— Why?

— I would feel bad not giving you the pleasure of putting the apron on me. — he murmured with a laugh and you rolled your eyes. — You see how I think about you?

— Yes, Toto, you think of me a lot.

Despite all the complicity you had, there was something you never used to talk about and that was your love life. Of course, you had heard the austrian talk a lot about the difficulties in his marriage to Stephanie and had even given him advice at the time, but you never opened up about your feelings.

On the other hand, Toto had never spoken about his feelings for you either, but there was an aura of tension whenever you were too close — and even though you both liked it, neither of you had the courage to break it.

Your friendship was worth so much more.

You filled one of the glasses with wine, placing the bottle on the table before raising the glass to your mouth, taking a long gulp under Toto's watchful eye, who divided between the food and you.

You closed your eyes, feeling the liquid go down your throat, the alcohol burning the place a little because it was what you needed at that moment and, when you opened your eyes again, you found the austrian staring at you.

— You are a terrible guest.

— I thought you told me to make myself at home.

— Not literally. — he laughed, receiving the other glass of wine in hand, shaking it a little so he could analyze the red content and bringing the glass close to his nose so that he could smell it.

— I hate it when you do that. — you murmured, shaking your head from side to side and walking around the kitchen island so you could get the apron.

— I thought you were used to it by now. — he said after taking a sip, smiling at the taste of alcohol — It was a good choice, wasn't it?

— Great. — you smiled, lifting the apron in your hands and he faced you, allowing you to place the fabric around his waist, crossing the part of the ties so that you could do it in the front.

— Perhaps now, after a sip, you can tell me what's bothering you?

You looked up, finding the brown eyes focused in your direction, and even with the difference in height between you, thanks to your high heels that you didn't usually take off, you could smell his alcohol breath.

— My team was about to get their first podium of the season and the fucking car stopped. — you replied — We've been analyzing it all week and we still haven't been able to get to the cause of the problem. Since the beginning of the season there have been thousands of comments and newspaper articles questioning my work. Now, they believe that I am proving that having a female-dominated team is not helpful and questioning the competence of my team.

— You know that doesn't mean anything, right? — Toto smiled —The comments and the newspapers are just some noise you need to ignore.

You shrugged, finishing the knot on the apron and couldn't help it: you hit the austrian's abdomen twice. It was only to signal that you were done, but a sly smile played on his lips as you walked away to fetch your glass of wine.

— How do I ignore the noise, Wolff?

— Using him as fuel to your success.

— I thought you were going to say to me say to everyone to fuck off.

— That would be nice too, but not publicly. — he smiled, turning off the stove flame — You are incredible and you are doing an excellent job in rebuilding Alfa. I don't give you much time to start fighting for something more in the championship, but you have to be patient.

— It's a beautiful speech about being patient when you have eight consecutive titles hanging on your office shelf.

— But the first one wasn't won in my first year at Mercedes. I made an effort and worked a lot to be able to change things there, you know that I even cleaned the bathroom to teach that the way each of my employees worked needed to change.

— I know, but I can't believe it if there's no proof, like a picture.

— The phone back then was the BlackBerry. — you laughed — And you're doing an excellent job in your first season.

— Thanks. — you smiled, drinking wine — Thanks also for your words in Melbourne…

— Did you see? — he laughed, surprised — I thought I told you that it wasn't good to read what is written about you or watch the interviews you gave.

— I read it on Instagram while I was in the elevator. It's nice to know you believe in me enough to say that to the world.

— I care about you, you know that very well. — Toto shrugged. — I'll always have your back, even when you be kicking my ass in the championship in the future.

— Is this going to take long to happen? — you smiled — You can be sure that I will speak highly of you from now on too.

— I thought you already did that… I'm pretty sure I read you saying that you looked up to me, that I was your inspiration and the hottest man you've ever seen in your entire life.

— One of those three claims I didn't make.

— I hope it's not that I'm the hottest man you've ever seen in your entire life.

The way he said that calmly made you laugh out loud, bringing your hands up quickly so you could cover your mouth as you shook your head from side to side, causing him to laugh too because Toto couldn't help himself when he heard it. your laugh.

When your laughter ceased, you reached for the wine glass once more, still under the watchful eye of the austrian and he stretched out his hand to touch yours that was positioned on the kitchen island. A gentle smile was bestowed in your direction and, in that instant, all the things the world talked about about how you managed your team or your job didn't seem to matter in the slightest.

All because, inside those eyes that watched you with that unusual brightness, but that were always present when turned to you, there was everything you were looking for and his words, once again, reminded you of that.

— I believe in you.

#toto wolff #toto wolff x you #toto wolff x reader #formula 1 one shot #formula 1 fanfic #toto wolff fluff #f1 one shot #f1 fanfic #formula one one shot #formula one x reader #wolffapex os

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ladysisyphus · 1 year

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Okay! Now that we have finished it, I would like to take this moment to recommend the Chinese drama The Disguiser.

It is a must-watch if you liked Nirvana in Fire, because of course it's the same director and a significant chunk of that same cast, except all playing significantly different roles with different dynamics.

For normal people, you should give it a go if you like:

spies

suits

spies in suits

the amazing east-meets-west aesthetic of late 1930s Shanghai

international incidents

acknowledgements that non-marriage-trajectory relationships can still be important and intimate

minimal unfounded valorization of heterosexuality (like, I can't really explain this one without spoilers, but trust me)

but when the heterosexuality happens, it's cute? so you can't really begrudge it for happening

pretty men getting tortured horrifically

some amazing female villains, like seriously, most of the main bad guys are ladies and they're powerhouses

transparently hilarious try-hard patriotic shit

the inherent eroticism of having someone who loves you shoot you with a sniper rifle

did I mention the suits? because damn

an ending that is satisfying and not relentlessly, senselessly tragic

For perverts, let me sell the show to you like this:

大姐. Elegant and terrifying. Will make you kneel and hit you with a flogger, but only because she loves you. Mommy? Sorry. (Not sorry.)

大哥. Executive homosexual. Will bend you over a bench and paddle you in the foyer, but only because da jie told him to.

弟弟. Should not, from what I understand of the book (and the musical???), be the main character, except he's Hu Ge, so of course he's the main character. Spoiled little gremlin. Everybody's baby. Has a real weird daddy thing going with a very bad man, if you're into that. Bisexual slut powers activated, but only patriotically.

弟弟 #2. Adopted when he was ten. Just like a member of the family except when he's not. Faithful right hand and subordinate of da ge, whom he tops so hard. (But seriously, they're in love.) (No, really. They're basically married.) (I sense the source material has him a little saltier about his station in life, but in the show, he never shows an inkling of being anything but perfectly content doing what he does.) Sultry baritone. Will hold you down so da ge can spank you.

And I'm going to say that pervert shit runs strong throughout what little fandom there is, at least as AO3 would have it:

Which is what happens if you include everything tagged for the Disguiser. If you filter it by English-language works only...

And some of those that say they're in English aren't even in English! They're just pretending to be in English! What I'm saying is, if you feel like making kinky things for a bitty little fandom, this is the place.

Now! If I've sold you on it, here is how to watch it:

Option 1: KissAsian. Upside: Subtitled by the same Viki team that did the Nirvana in Fire subtitles, so they're absolutely readable and like 98% comprehensible. Downside: Slightly sketchy site.

Option 2: YouTube. Upside: It's YouTube; different translation that's also perfectly okay; hardcoded Chinese subs. Downside: Whoever formatted the hardcoded English subs did not put anything behind the plain white text, so any time the English text appears over a bright background (which is curiously often), the words disappear.

Also there's a musical??? that came out in 2021????? If I find a link to a full production of that, I'll come back here and update. The clips I've seen of it look great, though.

Look, this is not a show for everyone. It's got some gore and torture and onscreen injury that's pretty disturbing. It portrays the truly awful realities of Japanese occupation of China during this period. The rah-rah communism! bits are at best hokey and at worst distasteful. It can be slow at times and way too condensed at others. If you're not familiar with this period of history, it's tough to keep track of all the various resistance factions. Because of the spycraft and double-agent business, it can be legitimately tricky to remember who's lying to whom about what at any given moment.

Nonetheless, pervert shit aside, it's a solid story about a complicated quartet of siblings who love and also injure one another, and all the people who love/hate them. There are plenty of genuinely tense moments. The hairstyling and costuming are perfectly on point. The actors turn in some stellar performances. As I alluded to in my bullet points, it has an ending that includes some tragic elements, but not so many that it'll sink all your ships and ruin your day. And I tell you what, this show is legitimately horny for everyone in this car:

So if you watch it, let me know what you think!

#the disguiser #伪装者 #c drama #nirvana in fire

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dangermousie · 3 months

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Here is a list of cdrama actors who I used to avoid watching at all costs that I changed my mind about after watching them be good in something - an incomplete list since I am sure I am forgetting people. (I won’t make a kdrama one because I only had like three MLs on it in terms of working actors and no FLs and two of MLs come off it by now)

Hu Yitian - the most wooden block to ever block thought I. And then saw the 1930s pilot epic Defying the Storm.

Ju Jingyi - never thought she was capable of any impression until Chinese Paladin 4

Dylan Wang - probably the biggest example on this list. I remember mocking whoever was insane enough to cast him in LBFAD. And then I had to eat all of those words.

Zhang Jingyi - I was so appalled by her acting in Fall in Love that I decided to skip anything she was ever in from then on. And then I watched L&P because I had the first ep downloaded on my phone and nothing else available and went aaaaa!!! I adore her now.

Deng Wei - he was background noise in so many dramas; it’s not that I disliked him per se, he just didn’t register. And then I watched LYF1 and he ended up being so good and playing arguably my favorite male cdrama character of the year.

Yang Zi - before all the howls start, yes she’s a huge A-list star in a ton of beloved dramas. And I adored her so much in Battle of Changsha (which is a masterpiece btw, go watch!) The problem is I didn’t enjoy her in anything since and Changsha was in 2013. To me it felt she was just coasting and then…LYF1 - my fave female character of the year hands down and she was soooo good! In fact, an OTP portrayed by her and Deng Wei, were my OTP of the year and if someone told me that before summer, I’d have checked them for concussion.

Joseph Zeng - I thought he couldn’t act much but in retrospect nobody could have performed well in the horrifying dramas I first saw him in (that one with Li Landi is guaranteed to induce a stroke in anyone) and then I saw Heroes and went bzuuuuhhhh and everything I’ve seen him in since he was good.

Zhang Zhehan - until Word of Honor. And then we all know how that went.

Wu Lei - ok this is an odd duck on the list because even when I didn’t like him, I couldn’t deny he was a solid actor. I just loathed his miscasting in TLB so much - he was visually all wrong and there was zero chemistry with DD and honestly he was so boring to watch on screen. So after that drama I went I guess he’s growing into a bad actor, huh? And then came LLTG and it turned that TLB was an aberration not a trend.

Then there are a couple of actors where I admit they are wooden as hell but I find them so good to look at I don’t care - Yukee Chen and Alan Yu. Some actors who I used to love but who I shudder when I see cast now (Peng Xiaoran is a great example), and of course the remaining Hall of You Are a Pretty Tree Plant Yourself Far From Me - Cheng Xiao, Yang Chaoye, Fan Cheng Cheng, Gulinazha, Yang Yang, the no longer working Zheng Shuang, Neo Hu, Ao Ruipeng, Wang Churan, Chen Duling (tho I have some small hope for Wang Churan and ARP if they get a good enough director and YCY was watchable in Heroes so if she gets a miracle director like Li Muge you never know. And CDL is an odd duck where I don’t think she has much range or is likable as a heroine but she mostly picks roles where she’s 90% rbf and it works so keep trucking!)

#cdrama

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tnbscans · 4 months

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Inside Sunrise Interview

Inside Sunrise interview with Masayuki Ozaki and Kazuhiko Tamura. This is transcribed from an Anime News Network video linked below.

The Origin of Tiger & Bunny

Ozaki:

The idea for Tiger & Bunny came from two different roots. The first was Director Keiichi Sato's sentiments. To Director Sato, it's a story about heroes with mundane problems. The director said he wanted to depict a superhero drama with a sense of life to it. The other was my sentiments, as a producer. I wanted to depict the conflict and drama one sees when they've belonged to an organization for a while.

The impetus for the project came from the controversy over the competition swimsuits in the Beijing Olympics. I saw in an interview that wearing one particular kind of swimsuit gave you a chance at setting a record but, well, the athletes who had contracts with Japanese companies couldn't wear that fast swimsuit.

At the time, we were coming up with the project, so we thought the conflict of those athletes who belonged to those industries was very interesting and intriguing. And so we thought it would be nice to take the Director's desire to make a hero story, the story of heroes who have to bear the weight of sponsors, and depict the conflict, drama, and culture that lies behind all of that. So that's, well, how the idea came to fruition.

Tamura:

This is where we work on the storyboard for Tiger & Bunny. We're very particular about using pencil, and, um, the expression of performance, you could say. There are things you can't express without using pencil to depict motion, so we pay extra attention to those parts.

This is called the layout. A layout, you see, is this image, framed here by the screen. It's an image we use to make sure how it'll fit in the television frame. We use this as a base to create the key animation.

Oh, this character is Blue Rose. It's a scene where Blue Rose is drinking soda. It's part of a TV ad campaign in Japan. The drink is for one of the sponsors, but this is the test layout for that. We'll use this as a base to draw the animation.

Thoughts on the Characters

Ozaki:

When we were working on the costume design for the heroes of Tiger & Bunny, we paid special attention to their variety. There are 8 heroes who appear in this work, but from the start we had the idea that their suits should be diverse. We set the story in a near-future city that's anethnic melting pot, so the characters themselves were set to be a variety of races. There's a Russian character, a Chinese one, a Hispanic one, and a Japanese one too. We thought the hero suits should be designed to match those different characteristics.

Character Designer Masakazu Katsura, himself is very knowledgeable about superheroes. He loves superheroes, in particular, those from American comic books. Director Sato really liked that aspect as well. So Mr. Katsura pulled out a whole lot of ideas for what he wanted the superhero designs to be like. Fire emblem really is the kind of suit-wearing super hero you might find in American comic books.

A hero made with a bull as it's motif. Rock Bison is the kind of design you'll find in Japanese Tokusatsu, but not in American comics and that was the kind of variation we wanted it to have.

Tamura:

This right here is the CG check movie. We're running a check on the motion. We work on drawing the animation after we first make the CG.

Visual Effects Efforts

Ozaki:

Also, one of the visual aspects of Tiger & Bunny we were really conscientious about was depicting the heroes primarily through CG. The female character Blue Rose is the only one that's frequently hand drawn, but basically Tiger, Barnaby, and the others are all CG. They're designed to actually bear industry logos so since those industry logos would change over and over, we'd have to draw it over and over if they were hand drawn. That'd make it very difficult. But by making them CG, that kind of work, the swapping out of corporate logos, is not big deal.

One other reason is, we were keeping the world market in mind, and because of Pixar and Disney, CG animation is the visual style people around the world are most used to seeing. Hand-drawn animation certainly has its own good points, but in the end, we thought CG had the most universality and we designed each hero in CG. In doing it that way, we're able to come up with some pretty detailed imagery. For example, the hero Fire Emblem wears a cape, and that cape constantly flickers with fire as a pattern. If that was hand-drawn we couldn't do something like that. Those are the kinds of visual effects we focused on.

About Kotetsu

Ozaki:

The design for the character Kotetsu was clearly risky. For starters, he's middle-aged, has a beard, and is a single father. Characters like that in animation are, well, how do I say…it's a fact that they're hard for viewers to accept. The truth is, we were half hopeful and half fearful, but in the end we went with that design for the animation, and luckily, he's well accepted right now. We're actually getting word from the fans that they can empathize with him, and we're very happy to hear that reaction.

Kotetsu wasn't the only character, there's his partner, the younger Barnaby. This is a buddy story. By having another main character, we think we've established a very nice balance. Kotetsu's a middle-aged guy who used to be popular back in the day, but lately he's not doing so well. That's his character background. That said, there were things we wanted to illustrate thematically with him, like the importance of never giving up, of the bonds between people, things of that nature.

Plus, Hollywood movies, especially lately, are getting lots of sequels, and as the main character's actor gets older, they write the character to age with him. By part 4 or 5, he's already middle aged. Their refusal to give up, their continued fight, gave us some queues as well. You can say it's targeted more towards adults. As for me, I want to create dramas with universality, dramas that people of any generation can sympathize with and to keep making them in the future. That's what I hope for.

Source:

youtube

#tiger & bunny #translated #interview #masayuki ozaki #kazuhiko tamura #Youtube #2011

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doctorwhoisadhd · 23 days

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another thing, RTD's first era had one singular female writer and two female directors working on 7 episodes total altogether out of 60. moffats had 3 female writers (one of whom is openly gay) and four female directors working on 13 episodes total altogether out of 84. chibnalls era had 10 total writers and 6 of those were women (2 of whom were black), and there were also 6 female directors (one was black, one was south asian, one was chinese), and altogether those 12 women did 12 episodes out of 31, and of those 12 episodes 5 had both a female writer AND a female director. AND moffats era is the only one with an openly jewish person either writing or directing.

#RTDs second era aint shit lol #ari opinion hour #get a trans person writing an episode and maybe ill let up

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laxmiree · 4 months

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[CN] MLQC Lucien's "Wicked" Date English Translation (Part 1/2)

⚠️ SPOILER ALERT!! ⚠️

This post contains a detailed spoiler for a date that has not been released in EN yet! Feel free to notify me if there are any mistakes in the translation~

"The wicked are always clear-headed; they see the emptiness after the revelry, the dynamics after the financial feast, the dealings after the battlefield smoke clear."

"...The wicked toy with the era, revel in the era, and above the era."

"Are you interested in such a role, Miss?"

Translation under the cut!

[T/N: I don't want to ruin the immersion too much so I'll put some T/N and Trivias here lol]

huài rén (坏人) in English is typically translated as "bad person" or "villain" It typically refers to someone who illegally uses violence or deception to seize others' property or even their lives. However, on this date, I’ll translate the word as “wicked” considering the context of this date and all lol. Special thanks to @/perhaps-in-anotherdream for suggesting this word <3

"ài rén" (爱人) and "qíng rén" (情人) both refer to a romantic partner or a lover in Chinese, but there is a subtle difference in their usage.

ài rén (爱人): This term generally means "spouse" or "life partner" and is typically translated as "husband"/"wife". It emphasizes a deep emotional connection and often implies a committed, long-term relationship a.k.a marriage.

qíng rén(情人): This term translates to "lover" in English and is more associated with the romantic and passionate aspects of a relationship. This term is broader and can refer to a lover or someone with whom you have a romantic or intimate relationship. It's a more general term for a romantic partner and doesn't necessarily imply marriage.

This date is set somewhere in New York City in the 1920s. Which why Lucien impliedly mentioned war/a "battlefield" (refer to WW I), there's alcohol prohibition going on (Prohibition era that lasted from 1920 to 1933), and MC mentioned the Golden Age (The Roaring Twenties)

[Part 1]

Director: Miss MC, have you had any prior experience in acting?

MC: Yes, I have... a bit.

Director: Are you sure?

The director leans back in the chair, impatiently tapping the script on the table.

Director: Not only did you misread the lines just now, but the few steps you took to the staircase were also awkward…

Director: Miss, the acting experience you mentioned wasn't just playing house with your female classmates in school, was it?

A burst of laughter erupts on the set, and I find myself feeling embarrassed amidst the laughter, my nose tingling with a hint of sourness.

Director: Alright, alright. I've seen plenty of girls like you who work as restaurant waitresses.

Director: Dreaming of becoming a female star just because you've seen a few movie posters in Times Square.

MC: Hold on, Mr. Director, I wasn't dreaming, I just…!

Director: Next!

I'm about to argue, but the staff unceremoniously stops me, signaling me to leave.

More auditioners with heavy makeup are surging forward, pushing me to the outside of the door.

MC: ….Hmph! Why does he look down on female waitresses!

I angrily kick the door frame. Despite the annoyance and frustration, there's an inexplicable hint of happiness in my heart.

——Even though the audition went haywire; if the director didn't see through my "restaurant waitress" facade, does it mean my acting skills aren't that bad after all?

MC: So, it's the director's lack of judgment. Why should he say I lack acting skills!

[T/N: Basically, MC just realized that due to the director's preconceived stereotype about waitresses, he might unfairly judge her during the acting audition.]

???: Indeed, in my opinion, Miss has great acting talent.

A sudden male voice startles me, I turn around and find a gentleman wearing a long trench coat.

He gives me a friendly smile. I recognize his face and realize who he is.

MC: You are... the scriptwriter sitting next to the director!

Lucien: Yes, you can call me Lucien.

Lucien: I just watched your audition, and I feel that Miss might simply not have found her true role.

MC: True role?

My puzzled expression earns a light chuckle from Lucien. Surprisingly, I don't sense any mockery in his laughter.

Lucien: Mm... the character in this play is quite theatrical in her actions, yet there are many delicate monologues. Therefore, it requires an experienced actress to handle it within a short time.

Lucien: For newcomers like you, I do have a role in my next project that you can give a try, would you like to try it out?

MC: What role is it?

Neon lights spread across the gradually thickening night, and the latest jazz music faintly sounds in my ears.

Lucien's gaze hides behind the lenses, making it difficult for me to discern his emotions. I can only see his lips that's full of interest.

Lucien: An aristocratic young lady from an old manor house who has stumbled into the world's most prosperous metropolis.

I pause for a breath half-step step back. It takes a good while before I manage to force a smile.

MC: ....Why do you think I'm suitable for such a role?

Lucien: If I say it's intuition, would you believe me, Miss?

Lucien pushes up his glasses, his tone becoming serious.

Lucien: The awkwardness during your audition, the somewhat old-fashioned and reserved demeanor when wanting to argue with the director, and the expectant light in your eyes when faced with something new…

Lucien: Exactly like the noblewoman I envisioned.

MC: ….

The way he describes this noblewoman, why does it sound like she's a bit silly? I pout.

MC: Such a role doesn't seem very interesting, does it?

MC: Nowadays, what everyone wants to see is a more adventurous and trendy movie story. The "noblewoman" is already outdated.

Lucien: Miss, do you feel that my character isn't popular enough?

MC: Ah, that's not what I meant…

MC: I wasn't doubting your professional writing skills, I was just analyzing the trends of this era.

Lucien: Now, that sounds more like it.

I take a deep breath and glare at Lucien. Only then does he retract his smile and give me a slight bow.

Lucien: Are you upset? Allow me to apologize for my presumption. I'm sorry.

Lucien: I can tell you're a woman with a lot of ideas. I should have sought your input first rather than imposing my own framework on you.

Lucien: So, what kind of role would you like to play?

...He's indeed a strange man.

I'm not a fool; I can certainly sense that this man named Lucien has a lot to say, but it seems like he finds me amusing and was teasing me.

But that last sentence, I can tell that it's sincere.

Faced with an honest person, a truthful response is in order. My curled up fingers run over the fringe of my skirt.

MC: I... don't want to play a role.

MC: I just want to find myself.

[Part 2]

=Flashback Start=

MC: Just tell that young master whose name I can't even remember, that I've got smallpox, malaria, and tuberculosis, and I'm about to drop dead!

MC: Let's see if he still wants to marry me!

As soon as the words left my mouth, a commotion erupted in the hall. Even the usually gentle butler, who had watched me grow up, furrowed his brow.

Butler: Miss, the words you're uttering right now are far from ladylike. Besides, it's not respectable for a woman to break off an engagement; you'd bring shame to the family's honor…

MC: It's not the Middle Ages, who still believes in that nonsense?

MC: If I don't pursue my own worth in this golden age, what's the point of engaging in some political marriage? That's when my life would truly be ruined!

I understand that my words were harsh, but I also knew that I couldn't make any concessions at this moment.

The first twenty years of my life were already trapped in this estate. I don't want the latter half of my life to be spent in some secluded castle with some old-fashioned young master.

With this in mind, a plan gradually took shape in my heart.

I took a deep breath, straightened my back, and tried hard to appear more composed.

MC: Not breaking off the engagement is also fine. I remember our family has a property on Long Island. I'd like to move there for a while.

Seeing my tone easing, the butler had no choice but to go along with my suggestion.

Butler: Moving is possible, but how long does Miss plan to stay?

MC: Since you mentioned that it's not respectable for the woman to break off the engagement, then I'll stay until the gentleman is willing to call it off.

[Trivia: It's important to remember that the United States does not have a system of hereditary nobility. So MC and her fiance are likely from Europe and went to America for reasons that'll be revealed on this date; whether explicitly or impliedly~]

=Flashback End=

I've been living on Long Island for some time now.

I originally thought that leaving the secluded manor and coming to the world's most bustling city would allow me to smoothly launch my career.

Once I have my own reputation and capital just like those successful women in the newspapers, marriage won't be able to confine me.

-But my plan keeps hitting obstacles.

It's a place where one can strike gold everywhere, but the skills and courage required for "striking gold" seem to be something I completely lack.

Coming for this audition today was simply an attempt to find something I could do for myself.

MC: Perhaps being an actress isn't suitable for me either…

Lucien: Ah, what are you saying?

MC: Nothing.

I lift my head and point to the girls still auditioning in the hall, indicating them to Lucien.

MC: Mr. Lucien, our conversation reminded me of the original intention I had when coming here.

MC: The role I want to play may not be in your script.

MC: If you need actresses, go talk to them, you might find someone more suitable.

Lucien: ….

Lucien shows a surprised expression for the first time, then he squints his eyes slightly.

Lucien: (chuckles) There won't be anyone more suitable than you.

Lucien takes two steps toward me, his figure almost engulfing mine.

The scent emanating from his collar isn't the strong perfume popular in this era; rather, it resembles the ink's subtle fragrance in my grandfather's study.

Perhaps because this fragrance is so gentle and familiar, I don't shy away even though this isn't an appropriate social distance at this moment.

Lucien: I can sense the lady's ambition, what you truly want to play isn't a role on the screen but rather…

Lucien's voice is low and enticing, I can't help but look up and gaze into his eyes.

Lucien: The wicked who can dominate this era.

The wicked?

To be honest, my concept of wicked people only exists in the classical novels I've read.

They are morally corrupt, constantly opposing the protagonist, yet intellectually lacking, repeatedly exposing their flaws and ultimately becoming stepping stones on the protagonist's path to happiness.

MC: ...The wicked you're talking about probably aren't just petty thieves or robbers, right?

Lucien: (chuckles) Of course not.

Lucien chuckles at my remark. He shakes his head, and the pupils beneath his lens are deep and serene.

Lucien: The wicked are always clear-headed; they see the emptiness after the revelry, the dynamics after the financial feast, the dealings after the battlefield smoke clears…

Lucien: The wicked toy with the era, revel in the era, and above the era.

Lucien: Are you interested in such a role, Miss?

Lucien's tone is not impassioned, but my heart starts to beat faster because of his calm words.

I nod gently, then because I'm afraid he might not have seen it clearly, I nod more heavily.

MC: Of course, I do. But I lack experience, and I haven't seen that kind of wicked person in the newspapers….

Lucien: I can take you to experience some examples.

MC: How can I experience it?

Lucien let out a long "Hmm". He calmly takes off the white glove from his right hand and extends his well-jointed hand towards me.

Lucien: Go on a date with me.

MC: Wh... What did you say?!

In this city, it turns out that just chatting for a few sentences can lead to a date?

Seeing my surprised eyes, Lucien innocently tilts his head towards me.

Lucien: (chuckles) Could it be that Miss has never been on a date?

Lucien: That shouldn't be the case. A beautiful waitress like you must receive countless admiration from men.

Oops, I almost forgot I'm still playing the role of a "waitress"!

MC: Sir, actually, I…

Actually, I can now tell him my true identity; after all, I am the daughter of an "old money" family, and he seems to be just ordinary "new money".

But his calm and composed demeanor only makes me more reluctant to reveal myself as the kind of "naive aristocratic girl" in his writing.

I coughed, swallowing back my explanation.

MC: Actually, I have experience, haha!

MC: It's just my first time receiving an invitation from a gentleman like you, and I'm a bit overwhelmed with happiness.

MC: But can you go on a date now? Aren't they still auditioning over there…

Lucien: It's okay, the director will send me the photos for approval.

Lucien: Let's go, my car is over there.

Although I'm a bit confused about how a silent scriptwriter during auditions has such decision-making power, I don't dwell on it and follow him to the car.

MC: Where are we going?

I asked him the last question, and Lucien smiled as he opened the car door for me.

Lucien: Of course, we are going to observe this era.

Part 3 & 4-> [Here]

#man is sus af #ISN'T A BIT TOO FAST??? SIR???#mlqc lucien #mr love queen's choice #mlqc cn #mlqc spoiler #mlqc #mlqc translation #mr. love queen's choice #mr love lucien #mlqc xu mo #mlqc spoilers

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xinyuehui · 6 months

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This scene is most likely a spite to an old superstition. In old traditional opera troupes, "Dan roles"* were not allowed to sit on boxes that held costumes and props because women were considered to hold Yin energy (while men held Yang energy). Yin energies were considered bad luck, especially if the women were to be on their menstrual cycle, sitting on the boxes will tamper the energy of the items in it. This tradition has passed down from generation to generation, some directors in the modern day still believe in the superstition and will not allow women on set to sit on apple boxes or crates. *Dan roles - Dan is the term for female roles in Chinese opera. They may be played by both male and female actors.

田耕纪 · Romance on the Farm · 2023

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riplever · 2 months

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Review of Lost You Forever S1 《长相思》

4.4/5

Romance versus love, fantasy, xianxia, drama, politics

No better place than here to admit that I initially thought this would be a trashy especially because I have very little patience for romance dramas. But I have to swallow my words now because I was wrong.

Tong Hua is the original author and also scriptwriter for this drama; this lady kept a very close eye on the adaptation throughout. The show was directed by female director Qin Zhen, and with both of them in the car it's no wonder this drama feels different than the romances shot by male directors.

The Plot: The plot is romance, literally, filled with romantic tropes and whatnot; but the not-so-subtle meta is that it's also a meditation on love and romance, through characters and plot developments that debate heartily on the topic. The plot is also about the roles of men, women and "love" in the traditional, patriarchal Chinese society that is the setting. This is overall an intelligent story that endeavors to go beyond just fulfilling romantic notions.

Xiao Yao: Leading lady Xiao Yao is a 300+ year old princess, sharp, resourceful and wiser because of her traumas. In her life, she has been subject to torture and assassination, would rather take a reckless shot at the great unknown than wait away in the deathliness of peace, and has an intimate understanding of men, women and the things in-between, having also lived a good chunk of her life as a man.

Xiao Yao's greatest love is freedom. She loves freedom so much that she would rather have both her legs be broken (ironically) than reconcile with her dearly beloved brother and father — because she knew that meant walking headfirst into the gilded bird cage of stature and politics.

She values freedom of the mind and spirit if she can't have freedom of will and being, and only demands that her husband will have her as his one and only wife. It's a very tall ask in this game of politics. For comparison, her father pulled it off at the cost of devastating war.

Xiao Yao believes in love, but she doesn't believe in romance. She gives and receives love freely, and even on occasion unconditionally — but having learnt that emotional damage is far worse than physical ones, she guards her heart carefully to spare herself from the kind of pain that romantic love will cause.

Ultimately however, Xiao Yao knows that even that stance is one of self-denial.

Cang Xuan: Xiao Yao's brother (or cousin, if you wanna be technical). Interestingly, he's not popular in Chinese and International fandoms for the same reason — exactly like Xiao Yao, he's rational to the point that it's a double-edged blade, and he had unknowingly, intentionally, caused Xiao Yao to suffer immense pain in the beginning.

I wouldn't so much as blame Cang Xuan for that as I would consider it to be a visible metaphor of the kind of self-sabotage that Cang Xuan and Xiao Yao do to themselves when they only consider love for its utility.

Because this is a show about multiple love interests, the argument of "but he was first" works best in Cang Xuan's favor. The two of them are childhood best friends and swore an oath on the deaths of their family members to never be without the other.

With an emotional baggage shaped like Cang Xuan, you miss the point if you only fixate on the boundaries that he can operate in under "romance". He notices his own feelings for her exceed that of brother and sister, but as clinical as he is with romance, marriages and other women, he suspects that the relationship he has with Xiao Yao by birthright is the truest one in the sense of "love".

Does it have to entail her hand in marriage to give or receive her love? Will he not always be by her side through thick and thin, even after her "romantic" matches disappoint her time and again?

Will he still feel so self-assured even after Xiao Yao embarks on her newly married life with her future husband?

Xiao Yao loves him enough to give up her greatest love of freedom of him. She knows that Cang Xuan will always be there for her, and deeply understands that this status quo is the best way to maintain the longevity of their love for each other.

Tushan Jing/Ye Shiqi: Shiqi is the purest form of romantic love + pure mutual companionship that Xiao Yao has ever experienced, full stop and past tense. At the very beginning, Shiqi was just a servant and she was simply his savior. If he could live life exactly as he wanted, he would live it as a love-blind idiot and doting malewife, penniless, besotted and happy.

I can't quite say that he loved Xiao Yao irrespective of her gender, given that he guesses rather quickly as to her true gender.

Regardless, due to his upbringing and trauma, Shiqi is (initially) generous with his heart and kindness, not minding if he's being taken advantaged of, or shamelessly used for money — his love language is acts of service, and he can't think of anyone he'll rather love than the equally kind-hearted stranger who saved his life when they didn't have to.

However, Shiqi is indeed a dream, and he is too good to exist for real. His full identity is Tushan Jing, whose emotional baggage is as large as his soft heart. On one hand, Jing cannot bring himself to sever toxic family members even when it sabotages himself and his relationship with Xiao Yao; on the other hand, both Xiao Yao and him are dependent on his full identity as Tushan Jing to advance their respective interests of: supporting Cang Xuan's bid for the throne; and marrying Princess Jiuyao with all the socio-political razzmatazz befitting her stature.

Because of this, he's guilty of betraying Xiao Yao's heart severely, time and again. The fox does in fact bite.

One of the most scathing commentary I saw about Jing in the Chinese fandom was that Xiang Liu spent 37 years saving Xiao Yao's life, while Jing spent the same amount of time lying down (in a coma).

I'm not sure if or how this metaphor will bite back later in S2, but Xiao Yao's favorite childhood toy/Chekov's gun is a nine-tailed fox tail. Her evil torturer who knew the truth about her birthright is also a nine-tailed fox. Tushan Jing himself is the descendent of nine-tailed fox.

Fangfeng Bei/Xiang Liu: I almost wanted to write Fangfeng Bei separately given that all the other guys (except Cang Xuan I think?) all said something remarkable: that they think Fang Fengbei is the best man for Xiao Yao. Even I thought that was cheap dialogue thrown in to artificially lend weight to "Team Bei", and I am on Team Bae.

I eventually realized that they said that because they are all clever people, and know that Fangfeng Bei epitomizes freedom (the character for "wind" is in his name), and also that while they might compete for her heart, freedom is what Xiao Yao yearns most painfully after.

Probably this is why Xiang Liu is allergic to saying goodbyes, preferring instead to come and go like the wind does — silently.

Interestingly, Fangfeng Bei also has another recurring metaphor, this one vis-à-vis our good cousin Cang Xuan. Cang Xuan's most tried and trusted strategy of handling whatever life throws at him is to "not hope", and thus not have to bear the brunt of disappointment.

Fangfeng Bei is obsessed with hope. He says hope is the lie that keeps people going. He is the de facto commander of an army that's been defeated for centuries. In the underground fighting ring he mocks Xiao Yao for her shabby encouragement attempt, but is the one to give the fighter real hope by sharing about his own real survival story. Four decades later, he pretends not to care when the fighter finally earns his freedom, but is pleased to see Xiao Yao gift the fighter priceless resources. When he was still pretending to be a different person than Xiang Liu he taunts her, over and over again, "Who do you hope for me to be?" and "What do you hope for me to say?"

Xiang Liu is massively popular in the Chinese fandom as the OTP for Xiao Yao (contrasted against Jing's popularity on tumblr). An interesting tidbit is that the drama team made character social medial accounts for them on Weibo, and these are their follower counts at this point of time in writing:

Xiao Yao: 485k

Xiang Liu: 461k

Cang Xuan: 384k

Tushan Jing: 378k

Countless other literature have been written, and countless fights have been had over how much Xiang Liu has done for Xiao Yao in the name of true love. I will say that in contrast to Jing, who desperately attempts to blur the boundary between himself and his idealized self (i.e. Ye Shiqi); Xiang Liu endorses the idea of Fang Fengbei within limits, and personally cuts off Xiao Yao's wishful daydreams before they can gain any kind of traction. This is one part (of many) where the two of them are similar, because transacting within the confines of terms and conditions is what makes them comfortable.

He can't forgive her for breaching his lines where he drew them. She said "If I'd been the one to save you, I'll let you be Fangfeng Bei forever. Free and without burdens or worries."

She can't forgive him either for breaching her lines where she drew them. She told him "You're not the kind of man that any woman should dream of". She had already dreamt of him a long long time ago.

Let's just conclude for now that Xiang Liu has incredible finesse at snaking back and forth across enemy lines.

My Guess as to What "Lost You Forever" means for S2: I've always wondered why so many Chinese drama claim variants of "love" and "longing" in their English translated titles when the Chinese words are so much more vividly metaphorical about other things (I'm talking about "A Journey To Love" for 一念关山 and "Love And Redemption" for 琉璃).

That being said, "Lost You Forever" is a pretty straightforward and semi-direct translation of “长相思". The translation of the original novel title is actually much closer, "Miss You Forever". The drama title dramatizes it.

/**SPOILER WARNING/**

Xiang Liu dies, and Xiao Yao ends up with Tushan Jing.

Pretty much all the Chinese fans know this. They're familiar with the novel (and on-set leaks) and know that the drama will be faithful. The actors have also divulged this while doing press and promotions since they shot the entire story in one go. Xiao Yao's actress Yang Zi and Xiang Liu's actor Tan Jianci both tend to get teary-eyed or choked up whenever they address Xiang Liu's fate. Yang Zi describes her story with Tushan Jing as "the official pairing", and her relationship with Xiang Liu as "意难平", which is hard to translate because it's three little words that encompasses a broad and vague feeling. It means any or all of the following:

The one that got away (see: the Katy Perry song)

The one I can't ever let go of (see: the Pink song "Who Knew")

The one that I wasn't willing to lose (see: Li Xiangyi in Mysterious Lotus Casebook)

Some tragedies will imprint upon the heart more deeply than some loves ever will.

The titular characters are Xiao Yao and Xiang Liu. They made indelible impacts on each other's souls and are destined to lose each other "forever".

#长相思 #lost you forever #xiao yao #xiang liu #tushan jing #cang xuan #chang xiang si #c drama #drama review

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potteresque-ire · 1 year

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A very young Stanley Kwan 關錦鵬 (right) directing Leslie Cheung 張國榮 (left) and Anita Mui 梅艷芳 (middle) for Rouge 胭脂扣 (1987). Kwan would win the Best Director title for the film at the Hong Kong Film Awards.

Stanley Kwan 關錦鵬 is not only a famous director from Hong Kong, but also the first well-known openly gay figure in Hong Kong entertainment. He came out of the closet in 1996 (before Leslie Cheung, who did so in 1997), in the documentary he directed for the British Film Institute named Yang ± Yin: Gender in Chinese Cinema 男生女相：華語電影之性別. His works had garnered accolades for their in-depth portrayal of female characters, at the time when women in local movies often did little more than being pretty and screaming a lot.

(Under the cut: Director Kwan's own words on one of his most famous works and a gay film classic in Chinese-language cinema, Lan Yu (2001), in 2022 after BL culture has entered mainstream)

Most BL fans know Director Kwan via his gay-themed film Lan Yu 藍宇 (2001), about the eponymous Bejing university student falling in love with a wealthy, closeted businessman, Chen Handong. The film, based on a popular online novel Beijing Story 北京故事, has remained censored in mainland China for its queer content and its mentions of the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre. Its fate of being perennially censored was never a surprise—the film was shot in Beijing in secret, with the crew pretending to be shooting commercials around the capital. Digital filming also didn't exist then, and so the 100,000 ft + of film had to be smuggled out of China later to be developed.

Lan Yu was a project about love. Of love.

The poster of Lan Yu in Cannes Film Festival (left), Hong Kong (center), Taiwan (right), at the time of its original release.

In 2022, Lan Yu celebrated its 20th anniversary with a 4K remastered version. Among the interviews of Director Kwan made for the celebration was one by The Initium 端傳媒, during which Kwan shared some of his views on Lan Yu, in the context of how public reception of queer media has changed over the years after the film's release.

These views may deviate from what some fans, especially those in BL circles, would expect. Precisely because of that, however, I'm posting them here. After all, maybe, hopefully, Kwan will collaborate with Dd (and Gg) one day. Maybe, fans like ourselves will interact with Kwan on social media spaces one day.

I hope Kwan's views will be kept in mind, considered and respected. Due to the length of the full interview **, I'm only translating the two parts that are relevant (lazy turtle here 😊):

《藍宇》雖為華語電影同志片的經典，但過去廿年，關錦鵬卻在不少訪談中提過，電影改編自當年於大陸風行一時的網絡同志小說《北京故事》，而最初他其實並不喜歡那篇小說。

「原著基本上是用偷窺角度去看一段同志關係，特別是集中描寫男體的情色關係，有很多露骨的性愛場面。作者本身是知道這些描寫會令小說受歡迎。」關錦鵬接著說：「但在拍這部電影前，我在 1996 年已經出櫃。而我覺得作為一名同志導演，就更不應該去消費這個題材，所以當我看到原著小說將情色描寫，譬如肛交、口交的過程放大，當時我便跟製片人說，如果要原封不動將小說內容拍出來，我就不做了。」

Although Lan Yu is a classic Chinese-language gay film, in many interviews in the past 20 years, Kwan has mentioned that the film was adapted from the online gay novel Beijing Story, popular in mainland China at the time, and that he actually didn't like the novel at first. "The original novel basically looks at a gay relationship from a voyeuristic point of view, especially the erotic relationship between male bodies, and there are many explicit sex scenes. The author (of the novel) himself knows that these descriptions will make the novel popular."

Kwan continued, "But before making this movie, I had been out of the closet since 1996. And I thought, as a gay director, I shouldn't exploit this subject, so when I saw the original novel expanding, zooming in on the eroticism -- the processes of anal sex and oral sex, for example -- I told the producer at the time that if the novel's content is to be filmed without changes, I won't do it.”

2. 在《藍宇》面世的年代，電影確實意識大膽。但二十年後，當電影得以重新修復，社會氛圍其實亦有了翻天覆地的轉變。近年不但多了同志題材的作品，甚至大行其道，人人消費，成為一種時令的商業元素。譬如人氣男團會拍 BL 電視劇，而過去幾年的華語電影節，最快售罄的場次，都一定是同志電影。此情此景，在《藍宇》剛上映的年代簡直不可思議，電影當年在香港的票房談不上亮眼，普羅大眾對同性戀故事有所抗拒，而本身就是同志的觀眾，想看卻不敢購票入場，怕被旁人標籤。二十年後世界變了樣，甚至總會看到「腐女」在 BL 電影的宣傳海報前打卡拍照。關錦鵬笑說：「是呀，前陣子的確有朋友跟我說，她其實是一名腐女。腐女族群喜歡看男同志電影，但到底喜歡看什麼呢？她某程度上都承認，想看的就是身體，是兩個好看的男人身體如何做愛。」然而，這恰恰就是他當初對執導《藍宇》有所卻步的顧慮。當同志題材今日已走入主流，變成一種受歡迎的商業元素，關錦鵬則仍然有所警惕，跟潮流保持距離：「可能有些腐女都會喜歡《藍宇》，但我想未必完全是她們那杯茶。它真正要說的是兩個男人從色情買賣演變成一段感情關係，尤其是魏紹恩替我改編劇本之後，陳捍東這個角色，在我看來不一定是男同志，而是他在藍宇身上找到一些連自己都不知道的感覺。」但關錦鵬也承認，從好的方向去看，在 BL 作品蔚然成風的助力之下，至少令同志以及 LGBT 性少數族群，相對容易被今日的大眾主流接受：「這是令人開心的。近幾年，特別是年輕人，確實會用比較開放的態度去對待 LGBT 族群。」稍頓，關錦鵬解釋道：「換個說法，關於 LGBT 議題的重點，現在就不再放在色情之上，而更多是感情關係，甚至是性少數族群認清自己身份之後，於生活上如何面對社會。那起碼是朝著一個正確的方向。」 In the era when Lan Yu was released, the film was indeed bold in its ideology. Twenty years later, however, at the time when the film gets its restoration, the social atmosphere has actually undergone earth-shaking changes. In recent years, not only have there been more gay-themed works, they have even become very popular and consumed by all, becoming a kind of fashionable commercial element. For example, popular boyband members are willing to make BL TV dramas, and in the past few years of Chinese-speaking film festivals, the fastest sold-out shows have all been gay movies.

[Pie note: The reporter was unlikely to be referring to Gg and Dd with their mention of "popular boyband members". Instead, they were probably thinking of Edan Lo and Anson Lo from Hong Kong's local boyband MIRROR, who starred in the BL drama Ossan's Love.]

This phenomenon is unbelievable in the era when Lan Yu was first released. The box office of the film in Hong Kong couldn't be said to be impressive. The general public resisted gay stories [Pie note: Hong Kong hadn't decriminalised homosexual relationships until 1991, 10 years before], and the audience who were gay wanted to watch it but didn't dare to purchase tickets, for fear of being labeled by others. Twenty years later, the world has changed -- BL fans can be seen photographing themselves in front of the promotional posters of BL movies.

Kwan smiled and said, "Yes, a friend told me a while ago that she's actually a "rotten woman" (Pie note: = woman BL fan, translated from the Japanese term fujoshi). The "rotten women" group likes to watch gay movies, but what do they like to watch? She admitted, to a certain extent, that it's the body. It's the body, how two good-looking men's bodies make love."

And yet, this was precisely the concern that made Kwan hesitant to direct Lan Yu at the beginning. As gay themes enter the mainstream and become a popular commercial element, Kwan has remained vigilant, and has kept his distance from the trend: "Maybe some "rotten women" enjoy Lan Yu, but I don't think (the film) is entirely their cup of tea. What the film really wanted to express was how two men evolved from a transactional sex relationship to an emotional relationship, especially after Wei Shaoen adapted the script for me. The character of Chen Handong, in my opinion, didn't necessarily have to be a gay man; instead, he found on Lan Yu a feeling that even he himself couldn't understand.”

But Kwan also admitted that, from a better perspective, with the aid of popular BL works, it has become relatively easy for gays and LGBT sexual minorities to find acceptance in today's mainstream: "This is a happy thing to see. In recent years, especially young people have indeed treated the LGBT community with a more open attitude.” After a short pause, Kwan explained: “In other words, the focus of LGBT issues is now no longer on salacity, but more on emotional relationships, and even, on how sexual minorities face society in their daily lives after recognising their (sexual) identities. At least it's moving in the right direction.”

** None of you see this footnote, but a copy of the interview without a paywall can be found here. 😊

#pie metas

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the-monkey-ruler · 6 months

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The Monkey King 3: The Kingdom of Women (2018) 西遊記女兒國

Director: Cheng Baorui Screenwriter: Wen Ning Starring: Aaron Kwok / Feng Shaofeng / Zhao Liying / Xiao Shenyang / Luo Ziyi / Lin Chiling / Gigi Leung / Liu Tao / Sun Yihan / Yuan Qiongdan / Pan Binlong / Chen Yali / Shi Shi Genre: Comedy / Romance / Fantasy Country/Region of Production: Mainland China/Hong Kong, China Language: Mandarin Chinese Date: 2018-02-16 (Mainland China) Duration: 116 minutes Also known as: Journey to the West: Kingdom of Women / Journey to the West: Kingdom of Women / The Monkey King 3: Kingdom of Women / 西游记·女儿国 IMDb: tt6466464 Type: Retelling

Summary:

Sun Wukong (Aaron Kwok), Tang Sanzang (Feng Shaofeng), Zhu Bajie (Xiaoshenyang) and Sha Wujing (Him Law) – inadvertently enter the Womanland of Western Liang because they angered the river god, they accidentally entered the female realm of Xiliang, a nation populated by women raised to believe that men are fatally deceptive in matters of the heart. After breaking into it, everyone discovered that there were only women in this country, and there had been no men here since the founding of the country. Moreover, the country has an ancestral motto that regards men as natural enemies. Love nevertheless blossoms between Tang Sanzang and the Womanland's young queen (Zhao Liying), even though her royal preceptor (Gigi Leung) is hell-bent on sentencing the men to death. As Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing search for a way out of this nation surrounded by a vast magical net, it soon transpires, conveniently, that romantic love is the only key to opening the gate.

There is also a prophecy in the classics, indicating that one day, a monk from the East will break into it with a monkey, a pig, and a little blue man and the day they arrive is when the Daughter Kingdom will be destroyed.

Source: https://chinesemov.com/2018/The-Monkey-King-3

Link: https://sflix.to/watch-movie/free-the-monkey-king-3-hd-16532.2519338

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esper-union-lounge · 7 months

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Dislyte's Character Design Director, Ono Dizi: To Design a Well Recieved Character (2.2/3)

Original post:

A continuation of the character design process. Last time, we left off on the second step: How to build a character. Due to the length of the post, I had to cut the last step :Characterisation, out.

So, this part won't be a long read. There are more pictures in this one, due to the pic limit, I will be adding ones that are necessary for the text.

Part 2.1 here

((Note: I am not a professional translator.I will localise the essay a bit more in the future. ))

Characterisation

Secondary traits

Realistic reference

Secondary Traits- Traits to be seen in character’s behaviour.

In character writing, there are two types of traits, Primary trait and Secondary trait.

The general rule of law is: If a character’s Primary Trait (Prim.) is positive, the Secondary Trait (Sec.) must be the opposite. Vice versa. In the context of in-game characters, it boils down to maintaining the ratio between Prim. and Sec.

7:3 is the golden ratio; numbers can be scaled up or down depending on the character. It is best to keep the ratio imbalanced. This is to prevent the characterisation getting muddled and unclear.

This ‘Ratio Method’ has always been a tactic for writers like Marvel, in their characters. A few example of their writing model includes:

Iron Man = “Technological Genius” (Prim.) + “A Play Boy” (Sec.) Personality Ratio: 6 (Prim.) : 4 (Sec.)

Dr Strange= “Highly Skilled Super PhD.” (Prim.) + “Prideful & Sharp tongued”(Sec.) Personality Ratio: 7(Prim.) : 3 (Sec.)

Ancient One= “Humble & Courteous” (Prim.) + “Dark Powers” (Sec.) Personality Ratio: 8 (Prim.) : 2 (Sec.)

Thanos= “Merciless & Lusting for power” (Prim.) + “Undying Fatherly Love” (Sec.) Personality Ratio: 9 (Prim.) + 1 (Sec.)

Examples from Dislyte:

In Dislyte, the character Melanie is blessed by Medusa. According to Medusa’s myth, her appearance was of a monstrous female with a head full of snakes. Anyone who looks into her eyes will be petrified into stone.

In her myth, Medusa was beheaded by Perseus with the help of Athena and Hermes. Medusa’s head was served to Athena, and was inlaid onto her shield since.

Considering Melanie’s character, *I thought about Medusa’s life story. The moment it was turned upside down when she, a young gentle maiden, was turned into an strange, and an *omen of a monster.

Taking that exact moment of Medusa’s life; having her life changed so drastically, we have a character who retains a young maiden’s innocence, while also having mental breakdowns.

Thus, taking such mental state/ characterisation, and reflect it in Melanie’s character.

There are a lot of Espers who uses this ‘Ratio method’.

Triki’s design was set to be a Gambler (Prim.) as the Core Feeling in his brief. Yet, in his Expression sheet, we did not focus on his Prim., but focusing on the “Influential Street Hipster” as his Sec.

“Flamboyant Gambler” + “Street Hipster”= Triki (Loki)

Triki’s Personality Ratio: 9:1

Lin Xiao, her Core Feeling is: “Chinese martial boxer who, is also a reinforcer of justice.”

Whenever Lin Xiao performs Chinese boxing, she becomes highly focus on her craft. Being absolute and intricate in her form and movements, it clashes with her impatience and brashness in everyday life.

“Strong & Reliable martial artist” + “Impatient & Brash” = Lin Xiao (White Tiger)

Lin Xiao’s Personality Ratio: 6:4

Ashley, according to Norse mythology, Heimdall is the guardian of the Rainbow Bridge. Legend says he has golden teeth, and pure white skin. Hence, he is dubbed as the ‘White Aesir’; with keen senses.

For Ashley’s Sec., we decided to give her a more feminine touch, and a girlish heart. In contrast to her Prim, which is her cold and stern exterior, and unwavering sense of justice.

“Strict & Aloof” + “Gently girlish” = Ashley (Heimdall)

Ashley’s Personality Ratio: 8:2

And, many more…

Realistic Reference- Making solid characters

To writing a believable character, we must have extensive knowledge of the character’s background.

Character lore alone is not enough to solidify our characters. The believability lies within references from the real world. From, works of art, or in real life people.

An approach we took was to collect inspiration and references based on the characters’ drawn design, and look into the reference’s history and background. Be it from literature, movies, animation, or liberal studies, these sources reflects humanity and its raw sets of personalities.

An example:

Prim: Strong and tough, scary looking fellow.

Sec: Cute. Into cooking and nutrition.

For the character, Djoser, we referenced from Ma Dong-Seok.

According to Ancient Egyptian mythology, Atum was originally the sun god in the Heliopolis cult. In later times, when the worship of Ra became prominent, it subsequently replaced Atum’s original role, even merging the two gods to create a new god, Amun-Ra.

In Dislyte, the characters, Narmer and Djoser are in different syndicate camps. The Core Feeling for Narmer was along the lines of, “A young and refined Godfather.” While the latter is more aligned in the direction of Latin American Narcos.

We gave Djoser the characterisation of Ma Dong-Seok, scary-looking yet, delicate, because we don’t want to solely focus on the anger and resentment aspect of Atum’s lore. But, to show an optimistic side of the character as well.

Thus offering a contrast between Ra and Atum in the game.

Narmer’s character image.

Djoser’s character image.

We can propose samples of characterisation, and discuss them with our Copy Writers to see which real-life references are the closest to the proposed sample. Be it by matching life-experiences, or similar relationships.

It is important to note, for a game that has many characters, not all of them needs to have a detailed and complex characterisation. The level of depth is determined by resources, character rarity, and the role they play. Sometimes, less is more.

All and all, when designing a character:

Step 1.) Establish the Core Feeling for the character based on the setting.

Step 2.) Design the character; convey who, where, and what

Step 3.) Characterisation. Design a Secondary Trait and take reference from real life sources.

Step 4.) Through basic drawing skills and design experience, mass experimenting and producing character image until the design is satisfactory.

(To be continued…)

_____________________________________________

Translator’s note:

“I thought about Medusa’s life…” : Ono Dizi is responsible for designing Melanie.

“Omen” : The original word in the text means to describe something along the lines of ‘a bad mark/ symbol’. But, for lack of a better word, I used “omen” to suggest that the image of Medusa is a bad sign.

This part of the essay has to be the most I have did research into. There are a number of terms that I need to google them up to see what they are.

The concept of Primary and Secondary traits are hard to translate too. The original essay wasn’t very clear in explaining the concept. It took me a while to figure it out, and then interpret it into English. If anyone doesn’t understand, feel free to ask.

-Esper Union Lounge

#esper union lounge #dislyte #review report #translation #I worked so hard on this #y’all better nice

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