I built a PC for the first time. I couldn’t have done this by myself, as I’m not tech savvy enough to build a PC from scratch. But I did pick the colour of my case (white, to match my Nintendo Switch OLED) and I helped screw in some of the screws. Hahaha.
I also got a new keyboard, mouse, monitor, and desk mat. The new monitor was unexpected but my family coincidentally had an unopened extra monitor in storage, so that was nice. I have to thank my boyfriend for gifting me the desk mat, mouse, and keyboard. I also have to thank two of my friends for donating their spare keycaps to me, which is how I was able to customize it.
Anyways, I’m absolutely in love with my PC. My favourite part about the setup is the keyboard because it has keycaps from three different keyboards. It was so much fun customizing it, and I think I did a good job with it. The keyboard is from Keychron and it can light up.
My other favourite part is my case because it has a clear cover. I put two of my stands in there (WangXian and BingQiu).
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Edit on November 14, 2022: I bought a Bulbasaur keycap a little while ago. My keyboard feels more complete.
I mainly look for MXTX stuff now so I’m glad I found some stuff! I also found a hand-painted pin of blue hydrangeas, my favourites. My boyfriend gifted me the galaxy desk mat in the picture.
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SFU Summer Festival 2022
No MXTX things this time, but I’m really happy with my haul. It was really cool seeing a print of the UBC Anime Club clubroom, as it brought back a lot of memories from my exec days. I like the Karamatsu detail haha. It was my first time seeing Link Click art so I had to get it! My boyfriend gifted me the cute spoon.
Scott recently posted his Husbando post and I expect Nabe to do the same soon.
I’ve been told that I have questionable taste in anime boys. The reason is because I like villains.
Izaya Orihara from Durarara!!
In 2018, I wrote a post called, Why I Love Izaya. You can check it out if you want detailed reasons as to why Izaya is my favourite anime character of all time. Izaya is an antagonist. He’s an underground information broker.
Bloody Monday is an amazing manga. The Japanese live-action is great, too. I love J in Bloody Monday: Last Season the most. That’s Bloody Monday 3, but I liked J since the beginning.
No surprise, but J is an antagonist. He loves melon soda, hence my username. He’s a genius and one of the leaders of an evil group.
Other Characters I Love:
I’m picky. Although I love a lot of characters (Click HERE for my 30 Anime Characters – Appreciation Post!) I’m not sure if I could call these characters my husbandos.
Juuzou Suzuya from Tokyo Ghoul
Juuzou is a Special Class Ghoul Investigator, which means he helps humans. I think the lines between good and evil are blurred in Tokyo Ghoul. As humans, are we supposed to view all ghouls as evil?
Xue Yang from Mo Dao Zu Shi / The Untamed
I ship Xue Yang with XXC so that’s why he’s not my husbando. Xue Yang is a villain.
Wow, this post is a lot shorter than I expected. Like I said, I’m picky.
R1SE is an 11-member boy band that was formed at the end of the Chinese trainee survival show, Chuang 2019. The 11 members secured the most votes and thus, R1SE was created. They are popular in China but they aren’t as well-known internationally. I suspect this has to do with the lack of translated content. The Chuang episodes on YouTube don’t even have English subtitles. They deserve more recognition!
Since R1SE is a temporary group, they have less than a year left. I still think this is worth writing about because they have some amazing performances.
You’ve probably listened to their songs if you have watched Mo Dao Zu Shi, The King’s Avatar live-action, or Scumbag System.
1. R1SE – 少年如故《魔道祖师 Mo Dao Zu Shi》
This is the third ending of Mo Dao Zu Shi. Five of the members sing it. They are Zhao Lei, Ren Hao, Liu Ye, He Luoluo, and Zhai Xiaowen.
2. R1SE – 荣耀的战场 《全职高手 The King’s Avatar》
Most of their videos on YouTube are in Chinese.
3. R1SE 赵磊 Zhao Lei – 忘言歌 Song of Words Unsaid《Scumbag System》
Zhao Lei is one of my favourite members. Scumbag System is actually airing right now. You can watch the episodes legally on YouTube. They have English subtitles! The CGI rubbed me the wrong way at first but I quickly got used to it. The story is by the creator of Mo Dao Zu Shi. I recommend it.
4. R1SE – 曜
This is their live performance of 曜. They’re amazing in this one! The chorus is catchy.
5. R1SE – 中国话
The original song is sung by the Taiwanese girl group, S.H.E. In this live performance, they added Chinese opera and rap. It’s cool that they combined these different genres. This is one of my favourite performances of theirs. At the end of the performance, they pulled out nunchucks like?? Wah.
I love Zhao Lei’s opera in the beginning and Zhang Yanqi’s rap @2:57.
6. R1SE – YOU
This is the practice video version of YOU. This song is more focused on vocals. I love Liu Ye’s vocals the most in this one. He’s also my favourite member.
7. R1SE 翟潇闻、赵磊 – Forever Young
This is Zhai Xiaowen and Zhao Lei’s live performance of Forever Young. The original song is sung by another singer but I actually prefer their cover. They are the main vocals of the group.
This is a performance from Chuang 2019. Only two members of R1SE are in this one (Zhou Zhennan and Zhao Lei). This is my favourite performance from the show. Zhou Zhennan, the one who secured first place in all the episodes, is amazing in this one. Not only is his rap great, but his vocals are perfect @2:50. This song isn’t really his style either, which makes it even more impressive.
9. R1SE+SNH48 – Y’all Don’t Touch It
I like this performance but I think R1SE does a better job than the girls… I think Ren Hao, Liu Ye, and Zhou Zhennan’s visuals pop out in this one. Ren Hao is the one in the beginning and Liu Ye appears at @1:40.
Runner-up songs and performances: 梦在黎明破晓时 and Blue Bird (Yes, the Naruto opening).
I hope that you’ll check out R1SE’s songs. It’s a shame that they aren’t promoted to international audiences. That’s why us fans are pulling our weight in hopes that someone out there will be interested!
Based on the novel Mo Dao Zu Shi by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu.
Elle: So there was once a tweet and then there was a reply to that tweet and that is how this collaboration started.
We totally did not plan to post this on Xiao Zhan’s birthday but here we are. It’s just meant to be. Like Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji. (I rhymed).
It’s quite awesome how we started drafting right away and we just happened to finish the post in time for Xiao Zhan’s special day. Without him, Wei Wuxian’s character would not have come to life the way it did. So thank you for being born Xiao Zhan ❤
Rose: Happy birthday Xiao Zhan! We love you so much and we dedicate this post to you. ❤
HOW DID YOU GET INTO MDZS/THE UNTAMED? The story of how you fell into the rabbit hole.
Elle: I just recently got on the train that is Mo Dao Zu Shi this July when I got home after the quarantine and it was a fun ride! I watched the drama first (The Untamed). 50 episodes in 3 days. Can you imagine? That was some ride. Then I immediately looked for an english translation of the novel. Yes, I am that kid who often wants to compare to the source material. The book vs movie kid. And I found that I appreciated the series even more after reading Mo Xiang Tong Xiu. Special thanks to the fans who translated the novel! The characters were fleshed out properly in my head after that and thus continued my descent into their world.
I only heard about the drama because of Wang Yibo and now here I am knee deep into the different adaptations of the series. After watching the drama and reading the novel, I immediately started the donghua. I just could not wait! By the way, this is my first ever BL series and it did not disappoint.
Rose: I’m impressed you finished The Untamed in three days! I started watching The Untamed by myself. I think I was at 12 episodes. I went on a trip to an island with two friends and we ended up watching The Untamed during the trip. They had no prior exposure to the show and were willing to watch where I had left off. To my surprise, they were immediately hooked! We ended up watching it on Day 2 of the trip. Afterwards, we watched it over voice chat every weekend until its completion. The Untamed is special to me for a number of reasons. One of the reasons is because I was quite touched that my friends expressed interest in a show I liked.
After I finished The Untamed, I started watching Mo Dao Zu Shi and Mo Dao Zu Shi Q. In fact, Mo Dao Zu Shi Q is still airing! It’s a chibi donghua, kind of like Attack on Titan Junior High.
I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve listened to the soundtrack. A lot of the cast sing their character songs which makes it so meaningful. The actors and actresses that starred as Wei Wuxian, Lan Zhan, Jiang Cheng, Wen Ning, Lan Xichen, A-Qing, and the youths sang songs on the soundtrack. Isn’t that the coolest?
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SONG FROM THE SOUNDTRACK?
Elle: I think hands down it’s Wuji. The WangXian song. The one Lan Wangji composed in the turtle cave for Wei Wuxian and it’s also the one that made LWJ able to recognize WWX when he returned. This song is very meaningful in a lot of ways.
“wén dí shēng dú chóu chàng/
Listen for the melody of a flute, alone in sorrow
yún shēn yè wèi yāng/
The nights in the clouds are long”
Or
“Hear the flute, alone in its melancholy
The night is still young at Cloud Recesses (LWJ’s home)”
The instrumental in the beginning, the way the track began, was already a beautiful introduction and then added to it the deep and melodious voices of Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo which makes it all the more alluring. The first time I listened to the track, it felt like heaven in my ears and it is still the same even now. Interesting twist that the rapper, dancer and actor Yibo can also sing so well! And some notes in the song are quite high too so I was really impressed! Xiao Zhan, I understand, is also an idol and he is definitely a talented vocalist. This was my first encounter with Xiao Zhan and I’m already in love with his acting and now his voice in the OST too. I want more! It was quite a deviation from his voice in the drama which led me to research about the voice actors who lent their voices to Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian. Dubbing is fairly common to Chinese dramas and I admit it adds to the performance of the onscreen actors too.
But more on the track.. Lyrics wise of course it was also on point. The soundtrack already packed a wallop even without the lyrics and so when you add the meaning behind it, it just hits you differently. More deeply. I had to rely on translations but I think they delivered the meaning really well. But of course some meanings are lost in translation and some fans said that the lyrics are really beautiful when understood properly in the original language. But no matter, because the way I feel about the song just proves that music really transcends barriers. ♥️
“yòu wén qín xiǎng/
The Qin (Wang Ji zither) can be heard again
chén qíng wèi jué/
Chen Qing (Wei Ying’s flute) is still sounding”
The lyrics also mentioned Wei Ying’s thoughts and what he told Wangji when everyone shunned him for his supposedly crooked path. That he will follow what he thinks is right and his heart/conscience will be the judge of whether it is right or wrong. It also echoed Jin Guangyao/Jiang Cheng’s words in the series about how he is The Untamed hero at best but also someone that can be despised by others if he doesn’t conform with their ways.
“hóng chén zhōng huǐ yù dé shī rú hé qù liáng/
In this world, how do we measure praise and condemnation”
There are also references in Wuji about some scenes in the series and also about the two main protagonists. It was interesting to see different translations and the meaning behind the lyrics. The drama as a whole emphasized on the music part because the characters also used instruments as their weapons.
Ultimately, Wuji is the theme song of the series and it helped tell the story of two people who lost and found each other again, and how these two consider each other as their soulmate.
Side note: The OST album as a whole really sounds great! Even the character tracks and the way it tells the story from their own perspective, really adds to the depth of each character.
Rose: I love how you broke down the lyrics like that. My favourite song is also Wuji. I love all of the versions – WangXian duet, Lan Zhan solo, Wei Wuxian solo, the version by Bibi Zhou, the instrumental version, and the piano version. In fact, I bought a kalimba so I could play this song!
Of the different versions, my favourite would have to be the WangXian duet. While the solo versions are still beautiful to listen to, it feels complete listening to the duet. After all, this is their special song. I listen to this song several times a week. It’s one of my top five favourite songs of all time. I love that the background uses traditional instruments. When I listen to this song, I think of The Untamed and all of the memories resurface. Every time, I am reminded of how much I love this series.
Elle: Same! And whenever I listen to Wuji, it makes me want to watch or read the series all over again. I wonder if you already have a Kalimba post? Or are you planning on sharing something soon? ^_^
Rose: I feel the same way. I’ve posted a video of me playing Wuji (badly) on my Instagram. I learned the second half of the song right after I posted but I don’t remember the tabs. I’ll have to learn it again…
That’s it for Part 1! Elle will be posting Part 2 on her blog so be sure to check it out! It’ll be longer than this post as we will be discussing deeper topics. Thanks for reading.
Rize Kamishiro from Tokyo Ghoul & Jin Guangyao from Mo Dao Zu Shi
These side characters are essential to the plot! Sure, they’ve made the protagonists of their respective shows suffer… but what would the series be without them?
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I only drew Rize and Mengyao/Jin Guangyao for this challenge. Then I got preoccupied with other things so… I filled this with some of my older (but still kind of recent) fan art.
I recently finished the Chinese drama, The Untamed. I’ve watched many Asian dramas. According to MyDramaList, I’ve watched over 1000 episodes. Most of the time when I finish a drama, I just move on and watch the next thing… but I have to write about The Untamed. The Untamed is an exceptional drama. I give it 10/10.
Throughout my life, I’ve heard people talk about shows in a negative light.
“It’s just a show.”
“Everything is fake.”
“Watching TV is a waste of time.”
It’s really not just a show. I think that we all know that dramas are fictional. Is there anyone who doesn’t know this? I think that people who really appreciate dramas and anime are cognizant of the amount of time and the effort that went into making the show. Actors, directors, producers, scriptwriters, voice actors, camera crew, costume design team, those who work on the sets, those who work on the props, and subtitles, the editing team, the animation team, the list goes on… Pre-production of The Untamed took two and a half years. Saying that watching TV is a waste of time is almost disregarding all of these things.
The Untamed cast practiced posture, calligraphy, martial arts, musical instruments, and more. Since The Untamed takes place in ancient China, they went through training to learn these skills.
Several of the cast members sang their own character songs. They’re really talented.
Wu Ji – sang by Xiao Zhan & Wang Yibo (Wei Wuxian & Lan Wangji)
Wei Wuxian’s theme song – sang by Xiao Zhan (Wei Wuxian)
Bu Wang (Lan Wangji’s theme song) – sang by Wang Yibo (Lan Wangji)
Chi Zi (Wen Ning’s theme song) – sang by Yu Bin (Wen Ning)
Hen Bie (Jiang Cheng’s theme song) – sang by Wang Zhuo Cheng (Jiang Cheng)
Bu Wang (Lan Xichen’s theme song) – sang by Liu Haikuan (Lan Xichen)
Gu Cheng (Yi City group’s theme song) – sang by Sun Bolun & Chen Zhuoxuan (A-Qing)
The youth group also sang their theme song. The rest of the character songs are also really nice. I think the songs really convey the characters’ feelings.
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This is not a goodbye post because there’s still the Mo Dao Zu Shi donghua, novel, and manhua. Maybe I’ll rewatch The Untamed one day. I think it will be interesting to compare the different versions. I think that The Untamed did an amazing job at portraying the relationships, given China’s heavy censorship. I think they made it obvious and clear.
Xue Yang is a character from Mo Dao Zu Shi and The Untamed (the live-action of MDZS). I actually did a significant part of this drawing on my laptop touchpad because I left my drawing tablet at home.
Auri tagged me in this back in November 2017. Yeah. I’ve only done one other tag thing (Click here to read it) so this is not something I regularly do.
RULES (Copied and pasted)
Mention the name of the blog you were tagged by, as well as the creators of this game Realweegiemidget Reviews and Thoughts All Sorts to all blogs involved and including the picture above.
List five of your greatest hotties undeniably attractive people from TV and/or film, i.e. crushes/objects of your affection, including musicians or sports stars too.
Tell us how you were introduced to them and why you like them/what appeals.
Add some appealing pictures.
Tag seven bloggers for their Five Flaming Hotties Super Attractive People.
Post the rules.
MY LIST
I’ll stick with 2D boys because musicians and actors are a whole other post.
1. Uta from Tokyo Ghoul
Okay, for context Uta is a ghoul and ghouls eat humans. I like anime characters with piercings and I have a few ear piercings myself (7 in total).
2. Xue Yang from Mo Dao Zu Shi
I would classify Xue Yang as a yandere. My favourite character archetype is yandere.
***Yanderes are really problematic and I don’t agree with what they do. People that have yandere-like characteristics in real life are extremely toxic and I recognize that. However, my favourite characters in fictional stories are mostly villains and I think that yanderes make stories more interesting if it is done well.***
3. Juuzou Suzuya from Tokyo Ghoul
Juuzou is my favourite character in Tokyo Ghoul. He has a unique appearance and did his stitches himself. I like unique-looking characters because they seem more authentic(?) – Characters that aren’t afraid of being themselves.
4. Izaya Orihara from Durarara!!
Izaya is my number one favourite anime character. I wrote a post outlining the reasons why I like him lolol (Click here to read it).
5. Doppo from Hypnosis Mic
Doppo is a salaryman and pessimist. I like his hair.
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Besides Uta (I feel neutral about him), I really like the remaining four characters. It’s not just appearance but their personalities as well. Or I find them really interesting characters. Appearance and personality generally go hand-in-hand for me.
NOMINATIONS
I’m going to open this up for anyone who wants to do this tag. 🙂
Wretched and Divine 