I guess I should just go watch this again then... SIGH Because it hits just that RIGHT spot for me... Angst, longing, wit, intrigue, REAL stakes and an explosive conclusion. Why do I love frustrated teeth grinding so much? I would never know!
psttt.... there is news that (The drama) Sha Po Lang is being sold to Thailand and will release from there in 2025... Could we? Maybe? Perhaps? Light a candle? Burn some incense? Eh? Eh?
You know it's so weird... HOB is my all time favorite Danmei ever. And Zhang Linghe is my currently favorite C-drama actor, and until this week, I never realized that he was cast as HUA CHENG! I knew that HOB was going to be adapted into a Drama, but I never realized that it had gotten so far along and my literal favorite actor was going to play my literal favorite ML... Like WHAT??? I don't usually miss these things. How the hell did I miss this?? LINGHE would EAT as Hua Cheng too! You know he would! Playing a menacing, appearance and age-fluctuating, king of SIMPs and GHOSTs... Like if you have seen his range, you know he would have a field-day with this character! OMG PLEASE!!! I want this DRAMA NOW! please please please
All in all, at times I wonder if Wu So Wei still loves Yue Yue and wants her back although I don't know why he…
It's pure revenge. She was cruel and mean to him and dumped him rather ruthlessly, he also found out that she is a gold digger and is only with the Bf and then Chi Cheng for money. There is a whole plot coming up regarding WSW and Yue Yue, things will make more sense then.
Wu So Wei, literally jumped into Chi's LAP at the basketball court to stop Chi from talking to Yue Yue... Lmao... I laughed out loud at that. Also tied their Drawstrings together, TALK about giving SIGNALS. I almost feel sorry for Chi, being so blatantly tantalized... but I know what happens next LOL
Fr like if Chi Cheng really wanted to force himself on Suo Wei, he would've done it already... that man literally…
The amount of pulling Chi Cheng around Wu So Wei was doing this episode, and Chi Cheng's expression anytime it happened was so hilarious and well done. The boy is DOWN bad for this idiot already. Chi Cheng is so intimidating that even his father would think twice about his words when scolding him. And Here is CLUELESS Wu So Wei, pushing and pulling Chi Cheng around like it's no biggie... Sometimes Unawareness is BLISS indeed. :D
Oooh I liked this episode! Chi Cheng's getting edgy. "If I could bear to force myself on him, why would I be asking you?"
This is Chi Cheng NOT forcing himself on Wu... imagine what forcing would look like. There is already people in the comment section feeling uncomfortable... Which is fair, as many don't know about the Source material and the Author. They are keeping it very sanitized so far. So BEWARE.
Then are there chances for addicted or stay with me come back again ? with different actors ?
I am not that updated about the actors. But there have been no problems so far for the Drama, so I don't see why not. As for Chai JiDan's best novels... I personally like "Advance Bravely" a lot. "Feng Mang" is really good, but I have yet to find a good translation. The only novel of hers that I haven't read is "Ugly Man's Big Transformation." I am saving it for a rainy day. It's her most polarizing novel, either people absolutely adore it or absolutely hate it. But even those who hate it admit that it's not boring. So make of that what you will.
Ok... Calm down people. Let me put this into perspective for you. It's going to be a long read.
This Drama is adapted from a Chai JiDan novel. She is one of the most celebrated BL writers in the C-Land. Back in 2016, it was an adaptation of her novel "Addicted; Heroine" that became so popular and created a media frenzy that it brought attention of the govt. and they decided to BAN the genre because of them being anti LGBTQ. One of Chai JiDan's other novel Adaptation called "Advance Bravely", which was high budget and had some serious talent behind caught the WORST brunt of the BAN. So she had to do fan viewing events to actually show episodes of Advance Bravely to only the most devoted fans. In those Fan meets and further ahead, she promised that she will work out a way in future for her to be able to get her novels adapted. Obviously she had enough backing in the International Asian Drama market, that she talked about getting offers from various production companies that were operating out of Hong Kong and Taiwan and I think she sold the rights to several of her novels to be adapted to Thailand as well (Many of us saw the Thai remake of Addicted just last year. )
But then for a long while all went quiet on that front, and I kind of lost touch. But recently, with the advent of new streaming platforms that are independent, we have been seeing Chinese Web dramas pop up again.
Let me remind you, Untamed and it's unprecedented popularity, followed by Dramas like Word of Honor kind of reignited the world's attention towards the Genre and what Chinese writers had to offer to the sphere. I mean, the MONEY both these dramas made was LEGIT. And money will find you ways to side-step the rules. So then dramas like "Immortality (2ha)" and "Heaven Official's Blessing" were promised, even Shot... but, my theory is *whisper* Unlike "The untamed" they are too GAY even after the censorship for them to be aired. I have read all 3 novels and MORE, so I would know.
So back to the current issue; The thing you must know about Chai Jidan's novels is, they are ROMANCES. So you cannot take the BL out of them, they wont make any sense whatsoever. YEs they are toxic, and have a lot of RED flags, but You cannot cleverly turn them into a bromance like Priest's or MXTX's novels. Chai Jidan's novel are GAY novels and are very EXPLICIT. And aren't any other Genre. You want an example of a Chai Jidan story being sanitized and censored, watch and cringe at "Advance Bravely"
So "Stay with me" was born. It is an adaptation of Addicted, Chai JiDan's original juggernaut of a BL novel. And they did some extra precautionary things to keep it off radar. There might have been some copyright stuff too, so they changed the NAME of the Drama and changed the names of the main characters too. The whole title sequence of "Stay with Me" heavily featured the little Girl, to make it look like and adapted family based drama with the cute 3 siblings. But we all know what it was, though they did add to the family aspect of it in the Drama Script. But it remained the Stepbrother LOVE story through and through. And a second season is in works as well. Chai JiDan delivered as she promised LONG years back. The formula worked. And though there was similar hullabaloo about "Stay with me" on Chinese SNS, they could not do much because the production was not based in Chinese, and also it did not AIR on mainstream tele in China. I think this is the SAME formula that they are working with here.
This Drama is being released independently on a separate Youtube Channel. The production company is most probably not based in China. The actors only stand to gain from the association with a Drama like this, even if it gets banned, because the BL fandoms are strong and great for a budding actor. They only gotta be really GOOD at their craft. The budget is not that high. So with all the heat and the buzz the profits will be good enough. So everyone will benefit from a production like this.
So TL;DR I think Chai finally worked out the way around the Chinese Ban. And this is going to air fully. I don't think we have to worry.
I share the same trauma from 2016. Honestly, I haven't gotten over Addicted's cancellation to this day. :'(
Those were some depressing days! I still ache for how Advance Bravely got absolutely BUTCHERED! CounterAttack is not even Chai's best novel. I think her best is "Advance Bravely" and it was SO perfectly CAST too. ughhh.... THE HEARTBREAK
Yapping in the comments aint enough i need a bestie to cryy with im so dammnnn happy and excited
GIRL those longing side-stares Chi Cheng is throwing at Wu, and his phone and his surroundings, Like he's frustratingly trying to figure out a puzzle he knows is VERY BASIC, but still frustratingly unsolved.... *chef's Kiss*
As someone who has been through the China BLpocalypse in 2015/2016 post-Addicted. My heart is not ready for full-on investment in another amazingly done Chinese BL. Also it's super frustrating to me when Chinese Novels are adapted by Thai BL Drama companies and lose all their EDGE and great character arcs by introducing typical Thai BLtropes and nuances. "Stay With me" was a recent exception, which was chinese, caught a lot of eyes and stayed Airing, even if there was a lot of censorship. So I hope this goes at least that route. **Fingers Crossed** But seriously. Keep this as quiet as possible until its done airing ok? Lets keep it our quiet little BL gem for now, until it's fully aired. OKAY? BLFans UNITE!
Gosh, it was a long time back, try on Wattpad. It's English name is "Counter Attack" the Author is Chai JiDan, I am sure a simple search on wattpad will lead you to a fan translation.
Because it hits just that RIGHT spot for me... Angst, longing, wit, intrigue, REAL stakes and an explosive conclusion.
Why do I love frustrated teeth grinding so much? I would never know!
Could we? Maybe? Perhaps? Light a candle? Burn some incense? Eh? Eh?
LINGHE would EAT as Hua Cheng too! You know he would! Playing a menacing, appearance and age-fluctuating, king of SIMPs and GHOSTs... Like if you have seen his range, you know he would have a field-day with this character! OMG PLEASE!!!
I want this DRAMA NOW! please please please
"If I could bear to force myself on him, why would I be asking you?"
This is Chi Cheng NOT forcing himself on Wu... imagine what forcing would look like. There is already people in the comment section feeling uncomfortable... Which is fair, as many don't know about the Source material and the Author. They are keeping it very sanitized so far. So BEWARE.
Also that kiss in the fields was kinda cute.
I personally like "Advance Bravely" a lot.
"Feng Mang" is really good, but I have yet to find a good translation.
The only novel of hers that I haven't read is "Ugly Man's Big Transformation." I am saving it for a rainy day. It's her most polarizing novel, either people absolutely adore it or absolutely hate it. But even those who hate it admit that it's not boring. So make of that what you will.
Let me put this into perspective for you. It's going to be a long read.
This Drama is adapted from a Chai JiDan novel. She is one of the most celebrated BL writers in the C-Land. Back in 2016, it was an adaptation of her novel "Addicted; Heroine" that became so popular and created a media frenzy that it brought attention of the govt. and they decided to BAN the genre because of them being anti LGBTQ. One of Chai JiDan's other novel Adaptation called "Advance Bravely", which was high budget and had some serious talent behind caught the WORST brunt of the BAN. So she had to do fan viewing events to actually show episodes of Advance Bravely to only the most devoted fans. In those Fan meets and further ahead, she promised that she will work out a way in future for her to be able to get her novels adapted. Obviously she had enough backing in the International Asian Drama market, that she talked about getting offers from various production companies that were operating out of Hong Kong and Taiwan and I think she sold the rights to several of her novels to be adapted to Thailand as well (Many of us saw the Thai remake of Addicted just last year. )
But then for a long while all went quiet on that front, and I kind of lost touch. But recently, with the advent of new streaming platforms that are independent, we have been seeing Chinese Web dramas pop up again.
Let me remind you, Untamed and it's unprecedented popularity, followed by Dramas like Word of Honor kind of reignited the world's attention towards the Genre and what Chinese writers had to offer to the sphere. I mean, the MONEY both these dramas made was LEGIT. And money will find you ways to side-step the rules. So then dramas like "Immortality (2ha)" and "Heaven Official's Blessing" were promised, even Shot... but, my theory is *whisper* Unlike "The untamed" they are too GAY even after the censorship for them to be aired. I have read all 3 novels and MORE, so I would know.
So back to the current issue;
The thing you must know about Chai Jidan's novels is, they are ROMANCES. So you cannot take the BL out of them, they wont make any sense whatsoever. YEs they are toxic, and have a lot of RED flags, but You cannot cleverly turn them into a bromance like Priest's or MXTX's novels. Chai Jidan's novel are GAY novels and are very EXPLICIT. And aren't any other Genre.
You want an example of a Chai Jidan story being sanitized and censored, watch and cringe at "Advance Bravely"
So "Stay with me" was born. It is an adaptation of Addicted, Chai JiDan's original juggernaut of a BL novel. And they did some extra precautionary things to keep it off radar. There might have been some copyright stuff too, so they changed the NAME of the Drama and changed the names of the main characters too. The whole title sequence of "Stay with Me" heavily featured the little Girl, to make it look like and adapted family based drama with the cute 3 siblings. But we all know what it was, though they did add to the family aspect of it in the Drama Script. But it remained the Stepbrother LOVE story through and through. And a second season is in works as well.
Chai JiDan delivered as she promised LONG years back.
The formula worked. And though there was similar hullabaloo about "Stay with me" on Chinese SNS, they could not do much because the production was not based in Chinese, and also it did not AIR on mainstream tele in China. I think this is the SAME formula that they are working with here.
This Drama is being released independently on a separate Youtube Channel. The production company is most probably not based in China. The actors only stand to gain from the association with a Drama like this, even if it gets banned, because the BL fandoms are strong and great for a budding actor. They only gotta be really GOOD at their craft. The budget is not that high. So with all the heat and the buzz the profits will be good enough. So everyone will benefit from a production like this.
So TL;DR
I think Chai finally worked out the way around the Chinese Ban. And this is going to air fully. I don't think we have to worry.
But seriously. Keep this as quiet as possible until its done airing ok? Lets keep it our quiet little BL gem for now, until it's fully aired. OKAY? BLFans UNITE!