How very depressing that Neil Gaiman had trended not even a tiny bit for demonstrating what a fucking horrific person he is.
As a reminder, he's suing Caroline Wallner, one of his accusers, for breaking her NDA. Not for libel. He's saying she shouldn't have told anyone about it, not that she lied.
The author says Wallner broke her NDA by sharing her story with the media, including with New York Magazine.
He doesn't need the money. He's risking the Streisand effect. He is punishing Caroline, he's trying to intimidate other victims who have signed NDAs to scare them into continued silence.
He is no friend to women, to the LGBTQIA+ community, to anyone quite frankly unless he thinks they are of value to him.
Share the story. Put it on Facebook and bluesky and whatever else you're on. Make it clear what a horrifying person he is. Tell your friends. He's paying Edendale a fortune to try and cover this up. Make this hard for him. Make it cost him money.
Trying to sort through my thoughts after watching Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Gallants for the first time.
Spoiler free review ahead.
First of all: If there is any chance at all, you need to watch it on the big screen. It was made for the big screen. It's so, so epic!
I went in with high expectations. And I was still blown away!
If you've read the book: The movie is nothing like the book. But at the same time, it's still clearly The Legend of the Condor Heroes. The movie takes bits and pieces of the book, really just a small part of the whole, and not even the main parts, rearranges them, re-interprets them, adds something new, and just makes the story its own. It's still Legends of the Condor Heroes. But it's also a brand new story. I'm glad I read the books, because I think some of the flashbacks might have made more sense to me, and some of the relationships made have had more of an impact for me. But because so much was so different, the storyline was still surprising for me. Familiar, but also not at all, in the best way possible.
Same for Xiao Zhan's Guo Jing. He was undeniably Guo Jing, but Xiao Zhan - with the help of the script and director, obviously - made Guo Jing his own. Turned him into his own character, his very own, fresh version of Guo Jing. (Side note: I tried watching one of the TV versions not long ago, but had to give up a few episodes in, because the story was almost 100% faithful to the book, but felt wrong. Here the story was different from the book, but felt right).
I did not expect the movie to put such a focus on the love story. The first part basically has the love story at the heart of everything, and builds the rest of the story around it. And it works! Because it's really well done, and because all characters involved, Guo Jing, Huang Rong and also Huazheng, are all amazing characters in their own rights. Love, love, love the interactions between the two girls in particular. Love both girls, period.
All the important characters are memorable, actually: Temujin, Tolui, Guo Jing's mother, Ouyang Feng, the beggar clan...
The movie is surprisingly funny at times, even at times when you don't expect it, but even then it just works and fits seamlessly into the moment. My very favourite surprisingly funny moment: Guo Jing's "I cannot believe that actually worked" face. You'll know it when you see it.
And it's super, super epic. The fight scenes, the effects, I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it before.
Also, don't forget to stay through the credits.
There's so much more, but that's all I have for now. I'm still feeling pretty overwhelmed and very, very grateful I got to see it on release day, on the big screen. And that I'll get to see if several more times, so I can pay more attention to the details, and give everything more time to truly sink in.
I'm so happy for Xiao Zhan, that his first movie is such a special one. And I hope everyone gets a chance to see it, fan or not. It's just a really, really good movie that works on every level.
Sometimes I just go on with my life, doing my every day things and sort of maybe almost forget that Xiao Zhan is the most beautiful human alive. But he still exists and luckily I'm occasionally REALLY reminded.
I just reada really good fic but halfway through I realized "oh shit this is really familiar.... didn't I write something like this once?" And as I kept reading I kept predicting what happened next and the further I went the more convinced I was that they'd ripped off my story-
like, copied the ENTIRE plot and re-written it, just better than I had? The characters were more fleshed-out than mine were, and the POV was more interesting, and the pace made more sense- but it was MY STORY?
So close to the end I was like "holy shit.. do I message them? Ask if my story inspired theirs? Should I be angry? Flattered?" Cause their tags and description didn't mention me AT ALL, which, sure, it's fanfiction to begin with, but if you're using my work than at least credit me as inspo, right? Just to be courteous?
But I get to the end of the final chapter, and it's not finished, and I'm kind of disappointed cause I never finished my story and I was really immersed in their version now and had been looking forwards to seeing how they tied up my loose ends- so I scroll to the bottom to leave a comment, and.
It's MY URL.
IT WAS MY STORY THE WHOLE TIME.
THE ONE *I WROTE*.
In *2013*.
And FORGOT ABOUT
BECAUSE I WAS SO INSECURE ABOUT MY SLOPPY, SHALLOW, AMETEUR WRITING
And I'm just sitting here now staring into space thinking about every shitty story I've ever written now like
On Yizhan day (October 13) Yibo posts two photos of himself hiking. Really? A week (8 days to be exact) after Xiao Zhan's birthday photoshoot of him hiking?
Really?
The both showed off the same make of camera within days of each other and now, right after rumors they were both hiking together at the same preserve, Yibo posts photos of himself hiking. I love it, it's so bold!
And look how these photos look like puzzle pieces that fit together:
Like yin and yang.
Love these two so much... I hope they enjoyed their hike. ❤️💚
ETA: Apparently this is Ulanqab, in Inner Mongolia? Inner Mongolia?? Where Xiao Zhan is filming LOCH?
GG posted two photos that are connected to nicknames he's given DD in the past. Piggy (more on that here) and Venus (more on that here). Of course, it's just a coincidence!
The statue is the Venus Callipyge, or "Venus of the Beautiful Buttocks" (the statue is baring her buttocks and looking back to admire them), which is just the sort of thing GG would get a huge kick out of and want to associate with DD. 😅
By existing as a citizen in and paying taxes to the imperial core, we automatically hold complicity in imperialist oppression because we are literally footing the bill for it. That is just the basic nature of being born to privilege in systems of oppression in general. We can be disadvantaged and marginalized in every single other consideration and we still have to understand and cope with this, and ensure we leverage it as effectively as possible.
Voting abstinence/sabotage does not absolve us of our responsibility to do everything in our power to lessen harm, but it DOES show that when our personal morals aren't satisfied, we retreat into (imperialist, this time) privilege to 'wash our hands' of the situation and declare it's not our fault and it's not our problem.
In other words “I know the trolley is gonna kill more people this way but the lever is icky and it’s more important that my hands don’t feel gross than it is that fewer people die. I’m a good person, watch me continue to shovel fuel into the trolley and preach against its trajectory while doing absolutely nothing about it”.
if the candidates hold the same views on issue 1, look at issue 2, and issue 3, and issue 4. you WILL find ways to differentiate them and find that one of them is more closely aligned with your views. it's not rocket science.
This is not a question, but a reflection. With this BF story, I thought a lot. And I think that as French, I don't have the same point of view. I was especially shocked by these words: “he must be educated”. France has a deep colonial past. and I thought: "we must educate these ignorant Chinese? but who are we to think that we are better and superior? we who today have so much hatred for them?" Each country has its point of view depending on his history. no need to respond if you don't want to. And thank you for your always respectful and thoughtful publications.
This is in reference to a previous post.
Bonjour lyndariell, j'espère que tu vas bien. ☺️
This is a perfect example of what I was saying about this being a very complex issue with a lot of different perspectives and angles.
In order to make sense of and come to terms with this issue we each need to find the right balance between upholding our own values and respecting the values of others. That's bound to be a tricky process because we're each coming from a different region, with different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives on the world.
Each of us will have a different degree of empathy and alignment toward one or more of the various stakeholders in the situation as well, based on our own experiences, interests and values.
In other words, it's complicated.
It is true that for some people, hearing so many white Westerners say that a Chinese man half a world away 'needs to be educated' on any topic might legitimately feel distasteful and wrong. There is this Western conceit that our values and way of life are superior and obviously correct, and that other nations are just 'behind us' in heading toward the same goals*.
*Although the same is also true going East to West.
It would be totally understandable if some people were to reject the Westerners' characterization of this issue and say that the choices that led to blackface being used in this film are not our choices to make. After all, the filmmakers are telling a Chinese story to a Chinese audience, and they know best how to go about that.
Fair enough. But...
Speaking of colonialism
While we're on the topic of colonialism shouldn't we also be talking about China and its role as a neocolonial power in Africa? As I said in my previous post, it's not really fair for us to look at things solely from our own perspective and in the context of the cultural environment we are in rather than considering the cultural environment this film was made in.
Have you heard of the Belt and Road Initiative? Actually you don't need to answer that question, because almost every turtle has definitely heard of it. GG sang a beautiful song in celebration of that initiative not that long ago, complete with a video highlighting some of the major projects involved.
I didn't post that video on my blog, but you can watch it here. All the bridges, trains and other infrastructure you can see in the video are projects from the Belt and Road Initiative; China investing across Asia, Africa and other regions to improve transport and trade (and to build on China's power globally).
I'm no @potteresque-ire, so I'm not going to break it all down in a meticulous, intelligent, well-cited masterpiece, but you can learn a bit more about it here. There are also countless online articles, papers, analyses, critiques, accolades, etc. from every possible angle out there if you want to dig deeper.
Some of the core strategy of the initiative involves proposing massive infrastructure projects in poor regions, loaning them the money to make the projects happen (loans in the billions), and stipulating that the contracts must be completed by Chinese companies. Resulting in countries with shiny new railways and hospitals built and paid for by the Chinese government and Chinese corporations, with these countries massively in debt to China for many decades to come and with deep trade ties to China.
Depending on who you ask, Belt and Road is either an exploitative, environmentally disastrous neocolonialist power/resource grab, or it's an innovative unifying effort to improve the lives and trade of its member nations.
I personally feel its a bit of both.
Whichever it is, it does have a very dark side. There have been many stories coming out of these regions, telling about slave-like working conditions and horrific abuse from the Chinese contractors toward their African workers. I made the mistake of researching this and let me just say that what I've seen cannot be unseen. There is a reason people make snide jokes about the "belt" in Belt and Road.
And that's just the Belt and Road Initiative. There are a lot of other Chinese individuals and companies going into regions across Africa to take advantage of the people and resources for their own monetary gain. I posted about one such example the other day.
So in considering imperialistic attitudes it's only fair to reflect on what it might mean for a Chinese person to wear an African ethnicity like a costume, in a country that is frequently racist toward Africans and which is thought by many to be exploiting African nations with a form of neocolonialist debt slavery.
Particularly when said costume leads to a massive increase in the amount of racist posts on Chinese social media, and with a tone of raucous mockery and disdain.
We should consider the impact of this film on Chinese attitudes toward Africa and Africans. Based on what I've seen on Weibo, in various articles and on international social media it seems like there is a strong colonialist 'white savior' narrative coming out of this film; glorifying China as swooping in and saving these helpless Africans.
Taken alongside the horrible racism of Chinese audience reactions to the blackface, I don't think looking at it through 'the other lens' gives us a prettier picture.
If the primary category of people who are not offended by this tend to be audiences who are reacting with racist mockery, then a deeper reflection needs to happen.
All that aside, DD isn't working in a vacuum. He has been actively cultivating an international audience and working closely with international brands. He doesn't have the luxury of ignoring Western values if he wants to continue down that path.
And let's not forget that the culture he's so enamoured of is black American culture. If he loves Western hip hop culture so much it would behoove him to better understand and support the people at the root of that culture. The people who literally made it possible for him to find and enjoy that culture.
DD is a good person at heart. I feel that participation in cultural harm is beneath his dignity, and not something he'd consciously choose to do if he had a better understanding of the impacts.
When it comes to culture clash and differences in values it's also important to remember that while everyone is free to make their own choices about what they say and do, so too is everyone else free to make their own choices about how to respond to what that person says and does.
DD is a massive star, so his behavior and choices go far beyond his own cultural environment. It's inevitable that some people are going to have different takes on it all.
And I don't feel like people are telling DD what to do, so much as they're talking about what he needs to do in order to maintain their support. They're drawing out the boundaries of what they deem acceptable as fans. From there everyone has their own choices to make, including DD.
My own position
Here's the thing: I've come under loud, vehement fire from black fans for not taking a strong enough stand on this issue, while some other fans feel I'm being too hard on DD. Now you're saying I should consider the colonialist angle and reflect on whether it's even appropriate for me to think DD has anything to learn.
I can only ever be myself, and speak and act from my own values. I will always think for myself and take my own positions, no matter how unpopular they are and no matter how harshly people attack me for it (and they have).
I am capable of holding multiple conflicting perspectives in my heart and feeling compassion for them all.
I empathize with black people who ***for fuck's sake!!*** have been so thoroughly fucked over on every level and in every possible way by people around them who just don't get it about racism. Who just don't get how deep and broad and far-reaching it is and about how soul-destroying it is to live in a world where this shit is normalized.
I can't even begin to imagine how hard it must be to be a black fan who loves DD and then see him in blackface, and then watch all the fans try to gloss over it as though it doesn't matter.
I empathize with Chinese fans who are in most cases probably not at all ill-intended, whose reactions came honestly even if they were jarring to Western fans, and who have mostly found this story and its telling both exciting and moving.
I empathize with diaspora fans who are having to deal with a whole bunch of sanctimonious lectures about who DD should be and what he should think, say and do.
I empathize with the filmmakers, who after all were probably just trying to give an accurate retelling of something that actually happened in real life.
I empathize with DD, who was likely doing what was requested of him and probably didn't realize that it would turn out to be so controversial or negatively impact so many people.
Anyone who can say with a straight face that they think DD would ever intentionally or knowingly do something that would be this controversial or that would be hurtful to so many of his fans can KMA. That's not the kind of person DD is at all.
Blackface is a huge deal here in the West, and even people in this region are constantly getting it wrong. How can we expect people in regions where it's seen differently to do better than people here who are steeped in awareness*?
*And before anyone says that cultural relativism is such that only people in the West really think blackface is wrong, why not try talking to some of the African fans who've been deeply upset by this?
This is what it is to live in the world. Life is complex, and people are messy. Like I said before; nothing is black and white. Everything is a million shades and hues. As much as people will try to oversimplify the issue and try to intimidate us into taking 'their side', or try to punish and attack us for not doing so, we can only ever live by our own conscience.
No matter how much pressure I come under to condemn one of the individuals or groups I listed above, I will refuse to do so. My conscience tells me to be compassionate and understanding to all of them, and that everyone is always doing their best.
Merci pour cet échange d'idées intéressant. 💛.
I hope and believe that our differing opinions can coexist. We can disagree and still be friends, as long as we remain open to accepting one another, and as long as we respect each other's right to our own conscience and values.
YBO posted A LOT over the past few weeks, as you would expect when Yibo has a new project airing. I haven't had enough free time to sit down and enjoy watching War of Faith, and I didn't even have much time to follow the postings, even though I noticed that there were a lot of 18:30 (Yibo Zhan) post times.
Honestly, I kind of discounted those 18:30 post times a bit because 6:30 pm seemed like a rational time to post about War of Faith if it's airing each night at 7:30 pm.
Today, though, War of Faith finished airing, so I thought I'd look back at the postings and see if any patterns emerged. I wasn't disappointed!
On March 31, YBO posted at 18:30... and while that might just be a "hey, War of Faith is airing in an hour" kind of post, XZS also posted at 18:30. March 31 is ZhanYi day... and maybe that's a stretch, but oh look, XZS posted 9 photos and YBO posted 4 photos, and together that's... 13 photos. Same post time, on the 31st, with 13 photos... that's a lot of coincidences!
Also interesting is that that was the last time XZS posted anything... until today, the last air date for War of Faith. A whole week of no posting is kind of a lot, and it's an interesting coincidence that that week started with what looks like a coordinated posting and ended only after YBO and Yibo posted about War of Faith ending.
Yibo posted at 10:38, and the 38 should be obvious (ZhanBo) so the whole timestamp could be 要你战博, or "want you Zhan, Bo"... and then YBO reposted a minute later at 10:39, which could be 要你战久, or "want you Zhan for a long time." [Oh wait, everyone else in the cast posted about the end of War of Faith close to 10 am, some even at 10:05, but Yibo waited until 10:38 hahhaha]
Then XZS posted at 19:30, or 依旧站, or "still Zhan"... which recalls Xiao Zhan's old catchphrase ("I'm still Xiao Zhan"), but also reads like "yeah the Zhan that Yibo and YBO are referencing in their timestamps? That's me."
And XZS posted old content, nothing important (other than to show off their gorgeous boss in his long-maned phase), as if to say, "hey, we could have posted this at any other time, but we are choosing to do it on the day that Little Boss's big drama is ending because we're proud of him, and also so you notice we've been quiet for a week."
I mean, take or leave the kadian, as you like, but to me, it's so meaningful when they do this, stepping back from posting to let the other one shine. In fact, ever since Xiao Zhan made a sus post about eaves on the eve of War of Faith debuting on March 21, he and XZS have only posted when they had to, because of two fanmeets that Xiao Zhan was doing, and both times, they posted at 18:30. Yes, the fanmeets started at 19:30, but okay, that's a Yizhan Coincidence™️.
Oh, and on 3/25, XZS also posted some stored content... 18 photos with 25 images at 19:00. Let me clown a moment and say that's 19 18 25 or "Yibo loves me still."
Wait, why did XZS post stored content on the 25th at all? Oh I see... 30 minutes before XZS posted, YBO posted 3 (Zhan) photos at 18:30... ugh, you two, get a room.
So what was YBO doing with the War of Faith promotional posting? A LOT OF KADIAN. It's honestly too much for me to get into here because there were so many posts! And I only went back to look at the last week.
It's a lot! Twice they posted at 13:00!
I'm kind of glad I fell behind in looking at the posts and post times until War of Faith finished airing, because all the Yizhan Coincidences™️ jump out more clearly in retrospect.
But don't take me seriously, I'm just a clown for them. Enjoy the candy responsibly.
So today, on the eve of the premiere of Yibo's new banking drama, Xiao Zhan posts... photos of eaves.
If you don't like the English language pun, apparently there's Chinese language wordplay going on too... eaves can be called 屋檐边 (edge of roof) or wū yán biān... or WYB.
I mean, Xiao Zhan has been fond of posting photos of eaves for years:
XZS too.
Maybe he just enjoys taking and sharing photos of architectural features. These rooflines are lovely! Especially in Hengdian!
It's just funny that he's posting eaves, or wuyanbian today, the day before Yibo's new drama drops.
Also... Xiao Zhan posted the photos at 17:15, or "together, you and me" (and XZS reposted at 17:21, or "together, love you"):
Don't mind me, perhaps it's just another Yizhan Coincidence™️.
I think Xiao Zhan is an android created by the Chinese govt to take over the world, and let me tell you why...
WHO LOOKS LIKE THIS? What HUMAN walks around with this level of perfection??
And it’s NATURAL. Even when he’s not made up for a photo shoot the man looks like he’s been sculpted by the gods…
Who walks around f*cking LOOKING like this?!?
And he sings like a damn angel. AND he’s freaking adorable on top of it. AND when he smiles, the whole f*cking room lights up!
Xiao Zhan isn’t real. He can’t be. He was made in a lab using a computer where they programmed in every single attractive trait known to humanity. (Engineers: Should we add a beauty mark? Sure! It worked for Marilyn Monroe!) They molded his gorgeous ass out of some space age polymer to make the world fall in love and own us completely 😍🔥
And it’s working. Have you noticed how even people who claim to hate him can’t stop talking about him? That’s all by design… We’re all playing right into China’s master plan.
It’s either this, or he’s some otherworldly reincarnated god… You know what? I’m not gonna lie, either way I’m ok with it. Just let me keep watching him while the world burns 😂🤣
