got lucky with you

Knot the series - Prelude

bonus:

It's very interesting to notice how DD/LWJ's face changes throughout the shooting of CQL. These two frames are from the same episode (29) and are a continuation. But the left frame was shot in the early days of filming (April 18th), while the right frame was shot later, in early August.

Like GG says in this interview, DD was criticized because of the way his eyes were pulled by the wig at the beginning, making his expression not LWJ-like in the eyes of the fans, so they changed it. His eyebrows are also different, I guess making him look more regal and stern in the right frame.

I think GG/WWX's changes aren't that visible because it seems the way the wig pulled his eyes wasn't as noticeable as DD's, and they didn't change much of the shape of his eyebrows either.

Guess what, folks! It's summer! And it's gonna be a hot one, because they all are, recently :(

Did you know you can lose about a liter of water, a gram of sodium, and 300mg potassium in an hour of profuse sweating? If you're working outside in the heat, or even just existing in a very hot and humid environment, you're gonna want to replace the electrolytes you're losing, and you're gonna have to be purposeful about it.

But electrolyte drink mixes, while convenient, are surprisingly expensive for what they are. So I'm going to give you a top secret recipe that you can whip up for literal pennies that will replace what you're losing in sweat.

1 liter of water

1/2 tsp table salt (about 1g of sodium)

1/8 tsp potassium chloride salt substitute (about 350mg potassium. NuSalt is a popular brand, it's sold near the salt at the grocery store. If you don't have this, replace 6oz (180ml) of the water with orange juice or eat something high in potassium, like a banana, each hour you're sweating)

6-8 tsp of granulated sugar (you do actually need this and not a no calorie alternative- sugar helps speed up the absorption of electrolytes in the gut. You can omit if using orange juice for your potassium source, though!)

Lemon or lime juice for flavor, optional

Mix together and drink 1 liter for each hour you're profusely sweating. Adjust your intake so that your pee is light yellow.

If you want to make this mix ahead of time, put 1x the recipe of salt, sugar, and potassium, along with unsweetened Kool Aid powder or crystalized lemon or lime juice, in a small baggie. I do not recommend putting multiple servings worth in a baggie, as the ingredients settle differently and you might not get the right ratio.

NOTE: like any electrolyte drink, it works better if you sip it instead of chugging. If you chug it, you end up pooping out a lot of your electrolytes, even with the sugar.

A Chinese billionaire hires 4 professional thieves to rob the British Museum and repatriate to China artifacts looted during the 2nd Opium War. However, his true goal is to acquire and drink Emperor Qín Shǐ Huáng’s Wine of the Immortals, as exposed by the 4th thief who just turned 188-years-young!

(Watch closely for the reflection!)

during the euro 2024, over 300 cases of domestic abuse and violence were reported, with the cause all the victims believed to be being linked back to the major football event occurring. major events like these cause women and girls to live in even more constant fear than they may already do.

in a different study, it was found that government statistics undermine the extent and seriousness of cases of violence against women by 39%, whereas it is 26% with cases of violence against men. in cases of domestic violence, statistics reduce serious domestic violence against women by 59%, whereas with men, it is only 5%.

Like, when we first meet him, he's the Ghost General. His name is spoken in whispers. He's this terrifying undead powerhouse with edge-to-edge black eyes and black veins. He can plow through dozens of trained cultivators like it's nothing. Someone wrapped him in yards of chain to try and contain him and it's not working.

And so, when we meet him when he was alive in the flashback to the Cloud Recesses, and he's this shy, sweet, kinda dorky guy, it's like, awww, no, now I like him, and I already know this poor dude's going to die and end up a zombie. :(

And this just gets worse as we get to know Wen Ning further, and witness how much he adores his sister and how devotedly and bravely he's willing to stick his neck out to help Wei Wuxian, just based on a little initial kindness. Oh, nooooo - now I love this character, and I still know he's going to die and end up a zombie!

And then, of course, we do see him die, and it's fucking devastating. And the show ratchets up the tension as Wen Ning is suspended in limbo, with Wei Wuxian trying to revive him. We've all seen this play out before, in countless other stories. This is the Came Back Wrong trope. The grieving loved ones try any kind of dark power at their disposal to get the departed person back, but what they manage to revive is... hollow, or soulless, or changed in some hungry, terrible way. A violent abomination, wearing their loved one's face. We've already seen what Wen Ning turns into. It's a foregone conclusion.

... AND THEN HE DOES COME BACK AND HE'S THIS:

THIS MASSIVE FUCKING DORK:

He is an undead powerhouse, but he's still fundamentally himself: goofy, sweet, brave, and inclined to use his new abilities only to defend the people he loves. It's a great twist in itself, and also sets up an even more unsettling mystery (if death didn't turn Wen Ning into the figure we met in the beginning of the show, what did?).