u/Lara_ami

In my previous post about this I told you guys there was a bad ending Li Tai would get another wife and a little daughter and son. There was a video about it of the actual scene I’ve seen on Red Note (with Li Tai with the fake beard) that was deleted. Now I’ve found it so here you go (I legit hope Chinese 45 fans leak the entirety of the original script of the new path so the hard work of everyone involved in it doesn’t go to waste since it’s not looking like they’ll release it themselves). So happy they deleted it because it’s SO OUT OF CHARACTER. Li Tai would never do anything with another woman that’s not Yuanzhao. This mf went to war for the antidote to save our live bitch please he would rather DIE for us than be with somebody else (he literally did because the war he fought to get the antidote gave him injuries that heal and then unheal again and then kill him). Even if he was forced to due to the circumstances (being the brother of the Emperor, a prince that has to continue the royal bloodline) he’d rather off himself lowkey, and if he did get married we would never fade from his memory, he’d at least name his daughter after us. He’d have a daughter first and then the son to be the heir (in the video the little boy was shorter than the girl) and after that he’s done, he’d take good care of the children but he would never get over us, it would be a hell of a loveless marriage. Even a non-canon bad ending has to have the bare minimum of cohesion and this doesn’t so thank you person who leaked this and the hallucination thing so Chinese 45 fans could protest about it and made them delete it because as you can see this is also a part of the reshoots and not the og version so the version we have is bad but it could be EVEN WORSE.

Also, we were robbed ONCE AGAIN (it’s a part of our routine at this point) because not only many New Path voice audios are not synchronized with the mouth movement, originally in the final scene when we were talking to Li Zhi we were ALREADY MARRIED TO LI TAI!!! Yao Chi says as Li Tai we are his wife and the voice acting says something else over it instead and subtitle it. They really had diamond, gold, platinum and decided to discard it for the cheapest copper in the market just because of a loud and annoying minority (don’t even try to tell me it was the government because they had a better script ready that some parts were leaked and undeniably romantic scenes already shot that got deleted that were shown in the trailer at the end of the first game, the censorship approved, otherwise they wouldn’t have even wrote it and started to shoot it, it was the history police that fucked up everything), oh original New Path with 13 chapters and a happy main ending you’ll never be forgotten, you’ll always be famous, you are canon to ME and nothing else matters.

It is not its length. Because quality it’s what matters, not quantity, and we always knew it would be shorter. If these seven chapters were longer and more well-used, it would have been better. 

The very first contact we have with Road to Empress II in the trailer at the end of the first game is “if you choose the Empress Path, you become Ruling Empress in the end, if you choose the New Path you live a free life with Li Tai in the end”. And that is not what happened. They used the final shots of the Empress Path but not the ones of the New Path. It just makes me think that it was supposed to end with the tree scene, which would make it so much better. It would be two people who are so used to action and an agitated life having their well-deserved peaceful time and as Wu Yuanzhao said “riding with Li Tai felt like freedom itself”.

The Empress Path is about a woman getting to the top of the system. The New Path is about a woman ESCAPING IT, maybe even DISMANTLING IT (considering the original script of the New Path heavily implies rebellion and some say that fight scene where we were both in red it wouldn’t be just a bad ending but an actual sequence) being with whoever she wants, doing whatever she wants because now she’s not confined to the walls of the palace or Ganye Temple and can go anywhere in the world she wants.

We should have had the same ending as Xu Minhui and Danlichi: Get married and be rulers together (since Danlichi is the prince of Beirong, Minhui is now his princess). Minhui says in her speech that if she ever wanted Danlichi would let her go. That’s how it should have ended with Li Tai and us.

It’s just disheartening to compare how much effort they put in with Li Tai in the first game. Our romantic interactions with him started first then with Li Zhi, the most romantically thrilling moment of the first game was seeing Li Tai killing that centurion for us. You literally have a hidden storyline just for him if you choose to not accept the emperor’s summons and don’t serve him. The scene of him fleeing to the north is the last scene we see before our new identity as a nun named Mingkong is introduced. All this made it seem like they would keep up that dedication and elevate it in this second game, which was not the case. I mean it was, but they decided to throw it all in the trash. In the first game, even though there are many times Li Tai just leaves and they try to push you to Li Zhi (Gaoyang giving Li Zhi the pill, Li Tai going to war and later being temporarily exiled as punishment), Li Tai is still very impactful. I remember every single outfit that mf wore because he just naturally stands out from EVERYONE ELSE. I remember being SURE he was the male lead, because while Li Chengqian and Li Zhi had softer features and wore clothes in lighter colors, you had Li Tai with sharper features and clothes in darker colors. He’s the only character that has ever used dark blue in both games. I’ve checked, all the others wore light blue. I only realized they were pushing and favoring Li Zhi later. So why would you make Li Tai so remarkably outstanding and with such a recognizable identity if you were going to treat him with such indifference and negligence later on?

The New Path just breaks everything they had built in the first game. Liu Xi mentions she kept ALL, as in more than one, our letters to the prince of Wei safe. In our most recent letter we mention that we want to use our freedom by traveling the world WITH HIM but these letters are never brought up again. The letter Xi Xin would send probably was thrown into the well with Liu Xi’s body, but what about the other ones?

Traveling the world with Li Tai wouldn’t exclude Yuanzhao’s freedom because that’s what she ORIGINALLY WANTED. They have more freedom alongside each other. Yuanzhao and Li Tai have many of the resources of the other one at their disposal, like Yuanzhao’s cleverness by helping in his plans and Li Tai’s fighting skills by teaching her martial arts and self-defense for example. So having her leave him because he’d be “an obstacle” in her way just doesn’t make sense when in the first game the foundation of their relationship was using each other and how useful one was to the other, so they’re not obstacles in each other’s life because they’ve always been about mutual help. They would support each other through their freedom. That’s why a happy ending was what made more sense so they would keep helping each other now with love and sincerity instead of lies and manipulation, and that was where they were headed at until they made a full 180 (never forgiving the annoying history police and the devs for choosing to listen to this minority that hates fun instead of the Chinese 45 fans and the international fans, maybe go open a history book then and see that the affair with Wu’s sister and niece that they call “unofficial history” is right there mentioned in both the old and new book of Tang yet these hypocrites only care about historical accuracy when it’s about Li Tai, funny right?). They should have at least two main endings, a good one and a happy one so people can choose from since it’s a game of choices. But they just force the bad ending on us. It was just a poor excuse to send us far away and kill Li Tai off screen which was just disrespectful. Even in the Empress Path you can say goodbye to him properly and in his own route, you can’t. I just hate this trope that for an “independent girlboss” to be badass she has to end up alone, with no love interest. In the Empress Path she got 32 years together with Li Zhi and became Empress. So she got both love and independence. While in the New Path she got the independence but not the love. It just passes an impression that no matter how hard you try women can never truly have everything. And it’s okay for a character to have no love interest, but that’s not how you advertised it. You marketed it as you can be with the guy you want in these two paths, Empress for Li Zhi, New for Li Tai. But in reality in the Empress Path you get Li Zhi like promised and in the New Path you didn’t get any. Because even though in both paths she ends up alone (even though they made it seem like you would end up with Li Tai in the New Path), you spent a whole life with Li Zhi and it was something that was necessary to happen so we can become Empress, not to mention we have children and a whole entire life with him before he dies from health and old age. Meanwhile Li Tai’s death is not necessary for anything, it doesn’t serve a purpose. In the Empress Path it does, that is historical accuracy but in the New Path? Entirely pointless. Not to mention they did the bare fucking minimum by erasing all the other romantic scenes and keeping just the kiss, and it’s not even a canon kiss, you can avoid it if you want. Of course romance is secondary. The main goal is achieving success no matter what you do. But with Li Zhi the romance is there as background and with Li Tai there’s barely any romance at all because most of it was cut out.

All of this also breaks the hairpin foreshadowing symbolism. Li Zhi’s hairpin is the Sun and Moon, which symbolizes the Emperor and Empress reigning together. That was achieved in the Empress Path. Li Tai’s hairpin is Soaring Red Kite, which complements his Azure Finch Jade Pendant. Which means they should rise and fly high TOGETHER. That was NOT achieved in the New Path. The Empress Path delivers what it promises. The New Path doesn’t.

The Empress Path is about us, and consequently everyone else, following exactly what fate has in store for everybody. In the Empress Path, Li Tai’s fate is sealed: He is exiled and he dies young. Facts. It’s what happened. It’s what everyone knew was going to happen. The New Path is about us, and consequently everyone else, defying fate and going a different path. And it’s what happens for us, Rui’er, Xi Xin, Yue, Minhui, Danlichi and everyone else EXCEPT LI TAI. In a path that the fate of EVERYONE CHANGES BECAUSE OF OUR CHOICES, IT DOESN’T MAKE ANY SENSE FOR LI TAI’S FATE BE THE ONLY ONE TO STAY THE SAME: DYING YOUNG. It just proves what Li Zhi said in the first game to be right: “some things are decided before the game even starts so all schemes will be in vain”. The Empress Path should be about proving this right. The New Path should be about proving it wrong. But it’s just something that proves to be right no matter what you do because Li Tai’s fate always stays the same. It’s kinda depressing, that no matter how hard you try and fight back, you’re not the one controlling your own life, destiny is. So the Empress Path is about accepting your fate because it’s a good fate for her, even if it’s not that good for others. The New Path is about “fuck fate I’m gonna write my own story on my own terms” and with that everyone else gets a happy ending but Li Tai. The way they’ve done it seems like they just gave up from everything they constructed at the first game and feels like they didn’t even try, when in fact they tried but discarded the amazing material they had for a mediocre one. So yeah I think that’s where the real frustration lies. At least for me. 

I’m mostly compiling everything I could find (and ranting about it) so people who haven’t seen it yet can see it and because once I complete 100% exploration in the game (already completed the New Path, finishing the Empress Path now), I’ll do a New Path rewrite, so this post makes it easier for me to visualize a way to put all these scenes together, because I want to try and use all of them, and if you guys have any ideas and/or suggestions for my Rewrite feel free to share.

Pictures 1 to 10: This clip was in a special behind the scenes video from the first game. Honestly just the fact that Yao Chi and Huang Yi are holding the original script and reading it out loud, me knowing the fact that it might never see the light of day, makes me SICK. Yuanzhao’s feelings for Li Tai would actually be consolidated at one point and they would probably stop giving you options such as “you’re truly moved” and “you’re only pretending” because she’d actually be in love with Li Tai. I chose “to protect you” as in the game because I thought it would lead to us having this thought, I was wrong. They just erased it. One of the scenes I was looking forward to the most. I hate it here.

Picture 11: We see Li Tai teaching Wu Yuanzhao fighting, but we don’t actually see them fighting for real. It was just Li Tai attacks and we dodge, then he teaches us the dagger move and that’s it. But we would actually spar at night, probably an improvised fight since they’re not wearing training attire. Maybe we planned a sneak attack on Li Tai to get him by surprise and have more chances of winning.

Picture 12: This was the choice I was looking forward to choosing the most! I swear my anxiety is killing me! I have no idea where this place with the stairs is because it was completely cut and there’s nowhere like it that we’ve seen (although he’s with the same black outfit from when they meet Xu Xiaode so maybe it’s something to do with that but we can’t be sure). The fact that I’ll never know what the questions was and if it’s worth taking the risk or if it really is a con is going to haunt me until the end of times. I WAS READY TO RISK IT ALL WITH LI TAI AND FACE THE CONSEQUENCES AMD THEY TOOK IT AWAY FROM ME. FOR A GAME OF DECISION MAKING SHAPES YOIR STORY MY CHOICES ARE NOT REALLY MATTERING MUCH.

Picture 13: Posted by Yao Chi/Zeawo on Weibo. As you can see, in the original New Path, he was not an hallucination, he DID went to Ganye Temple for us WITHOUT THE LETTER, and even CLEANED THE BLOOD FROM OUR HANDS. Even though Yang Jing said that he was detouring through Sheng’an just to see us, which means he WAS going to go to Ganye Temple to meet us and we surprised him by us finding him first instead and I like the fact that he knows we’re capable and independent by saying “if you can’t save yourself, I won’t save you”, I still wanted to see him there. He confirmed in a live that the hallucination thing was part of the February reshoots. I wonder if they only did new shoots for the New Path, since from the first trailer I saw all the scenes of the Empress Path on the actual game. If they kept the original New Path we could have actually maybe had the game released in February as planned, ugh I can’t.

Picture 14: ENDING 54 MY BELOVED. It just makes me think ending 54 was actually a sequence that was part of the original, real, happy, main ending and Gaoyang was right behind us. It just kills me how Wu Yuanzhao is looking at him so fondly, she was finally reciprocating his feelings and looking at him like he looks at her, Li Tai was probably feeling so happy inside by noticing this, for goodness sake the man is BLUSHING, and THEY TOOK IT AWAY FROM ME EVERYTHING AGAIN, ERASING THIS SHOULD BE A CRIME, WHOEVER DID IT DESERVES JAIL SORRY NOT SORRY THE TRUTH HAS TO BE SAID.

Pictures 15 and 20: These are most likely the same scene. It happens after our meeting with Gaoyang, at night when Yang Jing and Li Tai are by the campfire and we are inside the carriage thinking over what to inform Mirage Pavilion. That whole sequence would be longer and jealous Li Tai, aka the most iconic Li Tai, would make a comeback (even better because we make him jealous ON PURPOSE) and we’d finally see jealous Wu Yuanzhao WHAT IF I JUST END IT ALL???

Picture 16: The way we actually have dates with Li Tai, seriously all these options look so good, it would be even better if we could choose all of them. Then we actually are drinking with someone at a Tavern and we are drunk and shouting (would be fun to see). Maybe it’s Yang Jing and the pic is out of order. Then Li Tai arrives and says he denied the marriage alliance to Xu Xiaode and then he asks us to save Minhui. It would also be fun to see Yang Jing drinking with both Wu Yuanzhao and Li Tai, both being frustrated by an arranged marriage it’s not even officialized yet, and him realizing he’s not paid enough for this shit lmao.

Picture 17: “we have won another battle together. Let’s see if these foreign tribes will dare invade again” WE WOULD HAVE BADASS POWER COUPLE SCENES FIGHTING SIDE BY SIDE MULTIPLE TIMES AND ALWAYS RETURNING VICTORIOUS I’M SO MAD. Hypothesis for this are 1. Li Zhi granted us both a place in the army to fight in the borders of the Northern frontier in the name of the Empire. 2. We actually pulled off a rebellion and got independence from the North Fiefdom and now we rule it together as a country and Li Tai is one of those kings that go to war to lead it so we’re going with him because we can or we stayed back, out of the battlefield and operating behind the scenes from our palace with strategy, resources, etc, and foreign countries think that because we’re a new country we’re easy to invade and being proven WRONG and we actually extended our borders (something similar to the division of the Roman Empire maybe?). Also, us flirting and calling Li Tai pretty I USED TO PRAY FOR TIMES LIKE THIS. Also the fact we kissed (not a kiss you can choose wether it happens or not with a timer like the one we got, an actual kiss proper to the story) lying on the grass and that would probably lead to something else if you know what I mean, I miss what I never had and I miss THIS ONE THE MOST. Li Tai and I could be emperors who hold equal power, we would be Empress in both routes, just from different countries, I’ve always thought that idea was far-fetched and the most likely scenario would be us becoming nomads and traveling the world with no children living wild and free like Yao Chi and Huang Yi asked the devs to do, which I would be happy with, but the fact there was even if a faint possibility Li Tai and I have our own kingdom/empire, the devs would have the opportunity to create a new world (literally) built from scratch based on other places/regions that got independence back there during the tang dynasty, and by the end they could just go “after Li Tai and Wu Yuanzhao reign and die from old age, the territory is taken back by China”. It would show that even if the Tang dynasty (still calling it Tang not Sheng) loses, they eventually win again, it’s a great message to pass and it still makes Wu Zetian the only female ruler of modern China and would rule alone for a while since Li Tai would die first. I don’t think it was originally exactly that, because censorship, but maybe something similar to these possibilities I mentioned.

Picture 18: Li Tai saying we would start over and looking at the almost deserted North Fiefdom with his eyes filled with desire for power and ambition, GIVE ME MY SUCCESSFUL REBELLION PLOT BACK. This was all I could think about after I came back in the new path and chose to tell Li Zhi “he doesn’t have the power to rebel” and then he answered Li Tai has won wars with WORSE ODDS AND ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN (oh Li Tai you really are THAT GUY). So winning a rebellion would be viable and possible since Li Zhi, the Emperor himself admits it and considers it a possibility. Li Tai wrote a geography book man I’m sure he’d use the mountains, soil and weather of the north to his advantage and win the war against the imperial army, idc. Also the correct translation would be Li Tai calling us Cairen Wu and us asking him “in this world, is there still a Cairen Wu left?”

Picture 19: Again the campfire scene. The start of it. If you choose to leave because you’re unsatisfied Li Tai is using you as a pawn (which is so out of character btw, we’re also using him and he’s clearly only saying it to deny the real feelings he has for us in front of Yang Jing) he lets you leave. And then the next picture is probably option B that keeps the story going and them talking about “ascending to heaven” and her thinking about “gathering power for herself in the north fiefdom” nah y’all they were made to govern together, I don’t make the rules.

There’s also this scene where we are literally being CRUCIFIED. Outfit is still fire though. I would have like to see what the hell we chose for a punishment of that level, seems like a punishment they would give for rebelling.

http://xhslink.com/o/AXmGHHAISha

Now onto the two scenes I’m actually HAPPY they erased: 1. The butterfly hallucination that we never left Ganye Temple scene, which thank God it’s not the main ending, it would be even worse than what we got and I refuse to a knowledgeable it more than I have to, but it seems to be linked to this script we have now, not the original script. Because the same old man from the ending appear and we have the choice to actually go back to the pivital choice and do the Empress Path or die as the mad woman of Ganye Temple and then the New World Line is completed. They also mention a place called Zhaoyue Tower that helped many people and we have no information about it. The person who posted it was a 95 fan but it turned out to be half true. Considering how intensely 45 fans protested against it, I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the original bad ending and they erased it last minute from a ending that is not as bad but still bad. I just think it’s so pointless to have a bad ending with Li Tai when you advertised you could stay with him. Then when we choose “leave this place for a new path in the first game”, they should have just made a lady black screen with “Li Tai finds you and you spend your lives traveling the world and being happy together”, because it would save them time. In the way they did it, nothing differentiates the New Path from all the other bad endings we got, just the fact that it’s longer. Anyways, 2. Yao Chi with the fake beard and mustache and ANOTHER WOMEN leaning on him and they are talking to a little boy and girl while they play. Even if it was a non-canon bad ending and he actually didn’t love the women (because it seemed like it in the video) and only agreed to the marriage because he had to, I would still be highkey tortured watching it. Just like the previous one, someone leaked on Red Note but it’s not there anymore and I couldn’t find any trace of it. Maybe it’s for the best.

And that’s it. If there’s any more that I forgot, please let me know and I’ll add here or even make another post.

The fact that Huang Yi posted this video on the day the game launched, I know my girl also mourns the original new path we could have had

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZXJzctMLw7/?igsh=MWdza3ZwNWFyYzJoeg==

If the new path doesn’t end with Danlichi and this woman with him that I’ll assume is his wife attending my wedding with Li Tai YOU WILL BE HEARING FROM ME BECAUSE I’LL BE ON THE NEWS

So we have this picture right? Us with Li Zhi, Gaoyang and Li Tai got different flowers, and we are going to dissect the meaning of these flowers RIGHT NOW. Please correct me if I say something wrong.

Starting off with Li Zhi, peonies. The most obvious one. In Chinese culture they’re considered the Queen of Flowers symbolizing wealth, prosperity, honor and imperial status. And historically is very associated to the imperial court of the Tang Dynasty. So no mystery here, 10/10 choice. It’s the queen of flowers, we’re gonna be Empress of China after Li Zhi is Emperor, it all makes sense.

With Gaoyang, it’s either lotus flowers or Chinese magnolias. Lotus flowers mean: spiritual purity, grace, rebirth, virtue and beauty that stays pure even through hardship. For growing even in the mud without losing its beauty, they represent moral values and interior refinement. It could mean that even though the exterior has changed, there’s still traces of the old Gaoyang inside of her, and we can at least reconcile with her, even if she has a sad ending. Magnolias are associated to femininity, noble beauty, delicacy and familiar prestige, usually linked to elegant and cultured women, which also makes sense since she’s a Princess and we become Empress.

Now onto Li Tai. My favorite. These are either plum blossoms or peach blossoms. Both are pretty similar, in a way. Plum blossoms are deeply significant and one of the most potent symbols in Chinese culture and history, because they represent perseverance, resistance, hope, renovation, will power, courage, loyalty, integrity and strength while facing adversity, because they bloom in winter through ice and snow, before spring arrives. It also means dignity, erudition and resilient beauty even through the hardest, darkest, coldest and severe moments in life. Its petals have five blessings: longevity, fortune, health, virtue and a tranquil death (which obviously mean Li Tai and I will die peacefully after a long life together). Peach blossoms also bloom in winter and symbolize vitality, protection, growth, romance and the search for true love (the term “luck in love” in Chinese makes reference to “luck of the peach blossom”). It symbolizes A MAGNET OF LOVE, IMMORTALITY, MARITAL LUCK, THE VICTORY OF LIFE AND A FRESH NEW STAR. In Chinese astrology the peach blossom star is directly linked to affective life and marriage. In Chinese mythology, peach tree is the Tree of Gods, that concedes eternal life. Because of a fable “The Spring of the Peach Blossom”, the expression peach blossom is used to describe idyllic and magical places in China (in this case the North Fiefdom where they’ll have FREEDOM, trust the process). In this context, all of it could be read as a journey, a love that needs to resist big challenges and a deep, lasting connection. It just makes so much sense since now he is Li Tai, Prince of Wei, Grand Duke of the Northern Fiefdom (it’s actually just Li Tai, Prince of Wei in the North but whatever), it’s probably hella cold in there. And you have his blue aesthetic, so a flower that blooms in winter to announce the arrival of spring later on just feels right. Also it’s a very hopeful and positive meaning, and I need something to hold on to and try to convince myself the New Path won’t be doomed and we can have a happy ending with Li Tai. And I hope to believe these symbolisms are a good sign because I’m delusional (girl who is going to be okay).

What do you guys think about my flower theory? If you have any information to add, feel free to.

RUI’ER IS ALSO BACK LIFE IS GOOD (forgive the shitty quality)

If you were the Ruling Emperor/Empress, and had to have a harem, who would you want as your highest ranking wives and husbands, considering you could pick from any character you wanted?

Me, as Ruling Empress, I’d choose:

Emperor: Li Tai
Consort of Preciousness: Xi Xin
Consort of Elegance: Empress Wang
Consort of Virtue: Xiao Nian
Consort of Kindness: Ling Xiao

Yes I know how ironic these positions are and yes I did it on purpose lol

Until June 9th comes I will be here overanalyzing every single thing I can think of. So I think this scene is very clearly the death of her baby daughter, one week after her birth. She blamed it on Empress Wang which Emperor Gaozong believed, leading to her banishment and later execution. Thing is, many said she killed her daughter herself just to frame Empress Wang. But the way she’s crying here it’s not giving that, unless she’s a very good actress. Or maybe she regretted what she did but it was already too late, so even though she kept going with her plan she genuinely felt sad for her daughter. It could also be Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or someone else entered there and killed her but she genuinely believed Empress Wang did it out of envy since between Wu Zetian, Pure Consort Xiao and Consort Liu of Preciousness, she was the only one childless, and she had visited the baby before she was found dead. Maybe they’ll have Empress Wang actually do it. Maybe they’ll have Empress Wang send someone else to do it. Either way, I think Empress Wang has everything to captivate me. She’s not only beautiful, it’s gotta be tough seeing all the higher consorts having children and you, the Empress, the one that should bear a son to be the Crown Prince, can’t even give birth to an “useless” daughter. Since the marriage was arranged, I can not imagine the amount of pressure she must go through to get pregnant and I can see her punishing herself and thinking she’s inferior because of that, so Empress Wang has everything to be a very deep and complex character and the actress has everything to pull off a very emotional performance.

I know I’ll get downvoted and people won’t even read the whole thing but I have to speak my truth, I don’t care.

Thing about this group is that they had a very clear vision of what they wanted. Samara is the best singer, Emily is the best dancer. Lexie is the all-rounder, she is solid in singing and dancing and is also a music producer. The girls have been training for this specific project for a very long time. The gap between them and ALL the contestants was VAST, the judges clearly stated it. So they wanted the final piece to compensate for that and disguise the difference in skillset with charisma, stage presence, facial expressions and star quality. Someone magnetic enough so people wouldn’t notice this gap because they would be busy being captivated by her performance and star power. And that was the very thing Ayana was criticized for ever since the start of the program not just by Son but also Preslee, Jay, Nikky, Lauren Real, all commented similar stuff at one point and Maasa even gives her advice on it, how to improve and find her identity, even mentioning Sakura. Ayana herself admited this and said she was trying to find her identity. Because you can have all the talent you want, like Sabrina Carpenter and Zara Larsson for example, if you don’t find your identity, people won’t look at you. So Ayana had “everything” (she’s really good, but Samara is still a better vocalist, Emily still a better dancer and Lexie is still the better all rounder) except for what they were actually looking for. They gave her chances to improve it, that’s why she made it to the final, but even though she improved, like we saw in Almond Chocolate when they complimented her for it, she still lacked a little at it in comparison to not just Sakura but also girls like Hiori, Rinka, Aoi, Jayla, and Elena for example, who were all complimented by their presence at one point. They wanted to add something new (center/face of the group) and not something they already had (all-rounder). That’s why Jay Ihn said Sakura brought something the group didn’t have yet. She blended in but also stood out in her own way, like all the other 3 girls. Ayana just blended in to the point looking from afar she disappeared cuz her and Lexie looked like the same black haired pale girl.

Not to mention they wanted a new face unknown to the public who would win her first survival show, not her second or third. They wanted to pass a story. The 3 existing members already had a shared story: participated in major survival shows, didn’t make it and were given a second chance. So girls with the SAME story, like Ayana, Rinka, Jayla and Honoka K never stood a chance (in Jayla’s case there’s also the fact she’s mixed and Honoka K is cancelled for underage drinking in Japan, so they would face some prejudice from the public too). They wanted a DIFFERENT story like Sakura’s (young girl from a small town with little resources and limitated experience but big dreams gives her all and rises above the competition), Hiori’s (girl who has trained before in Korea and wants to make her parents proud by achieving her goals and debuting, especially her mom due to her health problems) and Aoi’s (rising, promising young actress takes a risk in her music dreams).

There’s also the visual factor. They wanted someone different but who would still have a similar height and body to bring this sense of uniformity that we know hybe usually goes for. Ayana is 162cm and Sakura a little shorter, probably 159/160cm so no problems here. But Sakura’s body type is more similar to the other 3 than Ayana’s. Also her vibe is too similar to Lexie. Notice how I say vibe, not appearance. They have different bodies and facial features, but they both have dark, straight hair with a similar length and very pale skin. “Oh but hair could be changed” but both of them look better with this type of hair and it’s not just that. It’s the overall atmosphere. Everything Ayana wore, I could see Lexie wearing and vice versa. So it would be half of the group and it would be repetitive. While Sakura passes a different vibe that still complements the other three well and contributes to the aesthetic chemistry.

Before anyone says I’m favoring Sakura too much, my fave has always been Hiori since the beginning and I fully believe that if she hadn’t left, she would have made it into the final instead of Ayana (because the judges made a division when they went to LA and started training together and I fully believe they would have chosen Hiori as the experienced girl and would keep Sakura as the inexperienced girl) and could have won, as Jay Ihn said she was one of the favorites because she had both experience and star quality unlike Ayana who only had the experience. Speaking of Hiori, there’s also the fact that, from the finalists, all of them were considered beautiful to Japanese beauty standards, except Ayana. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying Ayana is ugly, but these standards are still something Hybe considered here to appeal to the Japanese general public. The ones that fit the most I would say were Aoi and Sakura. Hiori is a little behind because her skin is kinda tanned and just like Koreans they prefer very pale skin, but she is still considered beautiful overall. Then Rinka, then Ayana. I’ve seen disgusting comments about Ayana’s looks that I deeply disagree with, but I know that in Riryday she was overlooked in the group by the members that fit these standards more, like Sakura Kitazume.

There’s also the fact that they wanted someone that would be impactful in Japan. Who better than someone who stans Sakura from LE SSERAFIM and has the same name as her, who is really impactful in Japan? She’s a teenager too, which already guarantees that SAINT SATINE will have an easier time in terms of longevity and reaching a wider public and relating/resonating more with a teen audience. And as she fits Japanese beauty standards more, if hxg promotes her right she can be an it girl there. In a way Ayana would never be able to be because she doesn’t fit those standards as much as Sakura and plastic surgery only takes you so far.

I also think both Ayana and Aoi lost major points with the judges for their little fight. Ayana gave her opinion saying she didn’t see Sakura and Aoi giving it their all. OF COURSE YOU HAVEN’T SEEN IT, THEY WERE NOT TRAINING WITH YOU. Even when Aoi said they did make questions and Preslee just told them it was okay, she apologized and said she understood it wrong and then brought it up again out of nowhere while they were having dinner. Neither of them showed maturity because Ayana was convinced she was right even though she didn’t even see how Sakura and Aoi were training and Aoi overreacted. So when a 15 year old shows more maturity in conflict situations, which is essential for a group, of course that’s taken into consideration too lol. Ayana and Aoi don’t even follow each other on ig lmao.

And honestly? They dodged a bullet by not debuting Ayana. Some of her stans are almost as toxic as Manon solo stans. Hating on Sakura and even her mother to the point her mom had to close her Insta comments at one point, saying Ayana is a better singer than Samara, saying she’s a better all rounder than Lexie (“too powerful for the group” in what reality are we living?), inventing fake news that Sakura is a nepo baby, criticizing her teeth when many other contestants, including Ayana’s teeth are not fully aligned either. Anyway, the toxic part of her fandom is truly disgusting and I’m glad I don’t have to put up with these people.

They make Ayana look better than what she actually is. Take this pic for example. All three girls are not showing their teeth and giving sexy, Ayana’s smile is giving creepy, not to mention she positioned herself in a bad way so her hair is messy. It’s just an example to show that the judgement’s arguments that she doesn’t have great facial expressions at certain moments, like this specific one, iis valid and some of y’all should stop pretending it isn’t. Eve though her overall performance in We Ride was good, there was still moments like this coming from her that made me enjoy the performance a little less than what I actually could have enjoyed. The only time Sakura was a little criticized for that was in Almond Chocolate when Slow Rabbit said he liked it but it would have been better if she did the bubble face only once instead of twice, then never again. Overall, Ayana is good at singing and dancing but her star quality still leaves much to be desired, what they always said it’s what they would prioritize, cuz singing and dancing they can train (since even though Sakura and Emily were way less stable than Lexie and especially Samara in pb4tp, they were stable enough), while star quality is more limitated to teach in their own words and I agree, the person has to find what fits them on their own. I’m not saying star quality is something she can’t improve in the future. She can, and I hope she does, but at that point it was something she didn’t improve enough to surpass Sakura (and frankly she didn’t outdo Hiori, Aoi and Rinka in that aspect either).

Since many people will interpret this as hate, just going to say the obvious: It’s not. It’s just my brutally honest opinion that I understand the judges and I think they made the right choice with Sakura and if it wasn’t her, it should have been Hiori if she didn’t leave. Ayana is not my fave but I don’t hate her but since many people see even the slightest criticism to her as being hateful here, I’m leaving that disclaimer here just to be clear. I wish all the World Scout girls the very best and I hope they are successful in whatever path they choose.

How do we think this is gonna play out in the Empress Path? I honestly think they’re completely cutting off the niece part, but our older sister is very much there. I don’t think they will cut off the affair, since it’s relevant enough for history, but they’ll probably make it more vanilla than what It actually was. Instead of us seeing them in bed we’ll just see them kiss and stuff and maybe they’ll be like “oh we were drunk, it’s a mistake, we regret it” or they will give the same excuse for his attraction to Consort Xiao, her and our sister resemble Wu, so that’s why he feels attracted to them and since we were not giving him attention because of power he went to find solace in our married older sister. Maybe we’ll show some mercy and our sister won’t die, we’ll just take her out of the palace. That’s my theory cuz the history police cares so much about historical accuracy when it comes to Li Tai, yet when it’s about Li Zhi, suddenly they don’t mind changing history. So the devs will probably make these adaptations so they get less mad and I will be calling their hypocrisy out if I see it lol. Emperor Gaozong also tries to depose us, we find out and he blames it all on Shangguan Wan’er’s grandfather. I wonder how will that go as well. I just hope the devs won’t take or change too much these important parts just to appeal to crazy people

So we have this GORGEOUS WOMAN named Xiao Nian and WHO IS SHE??? I NEED TO KNOW!!! What do you guys think? I went to check and she does not have a character description so she’ll probably have a minor role, but she is TOO DAMN PRETTY GIVE HER ALL THE SCREEN TIME LOL

Yao Chi is the Chinese son of Simone Ashley cuz damn look at this, the eyes, the gaze, the eyebrows, Simone you are the mother!!!

New photos of wife on Road To Empress II, she will be a romance option too, trust the process

(Photos from Instagram and RedNote)

XI XIN WILL BE BACK Y’ALL!!! Still no sign of Rui’er but she has to come back too! Probably just like Xi Xin, she was working for Consort Liu of Preciousness. Speaking of her, in her description it says she has a son, Li Zhong, and he is LI ZHI’S FIRST SON!!! In real life. Consort Xiao also gave him children. And us. Imagine Empress Wang seeing all of us with children and not being able to give Li Zhi a child, that’s gotta hurt (I feel like I’m going to love and hate her at the same time, similar to Consort Wei in the first game). And she’s so pretty too, all the women in this game are. But I’m mentioning Consort Liu because I thought she was just gonna be a sidekick to Empress Wang, but apparently she’ll be more relevant than I thought since Li Zhi’s very first child is hers and in real life he even is appointed as crown prince at one point and later deposed.

LIU XI IS SO PRETTY WHAT THE HELL??? She was already pretty in the first game, but in this second one somehow she became even more pretty!!! Didn’t think it was possible, being proven wrong never felt so good. Bummer she hates us, we could live a toxic yuri Liu Xi, WE COULD!!!

Speaking of Yuri, this new character is so pretty, possible Yuri option? Who cares if she wants to kill us, enemies to lovers exist lol. Also she’s probably the only hope for a Yuri option, since apparently in canon Minhui will be just like Official Xia, a bad Yuri option that will make our life a hell in canon and we even kill her. I’m still holding out for hope, it’s not over until it’s done.

Li Zhi growing a back bone, that’s gonna get him in trouble. Is he saying this to his ministers or to us? I think it’s us because at one point in history he has an affair with our sister and later her daughter our niece, we poison this last one and Li Zhi tries to depose us but we stop him. I think he wouldn’t talk like that to other men who are older than him, but since we are a woman and younger, he had the guts to treat us like that.

Anyways, going to the New Path. I’M EATING IT UP SO BAD!!! I love when men have doe, bambi, sad puppy, neglected hamster eyes and look all beat up and hurt and miserable and pathetic and pleading like this emoji 🥺 for their women AND LI TAI IS SERVING ME EXACTLY THAT!!! His eyebrows have a life on its own, he is the Chinese son of Kathani and Anthony Bridgerton, love that for him. The way he literally only has eyes for us and only us and his gaze is so intense, I’m sorry but ended Li Zhi, Li Zhi would never lmao. This is a character that not only would never cheat on us with our sister and our niece but would be like Emperor Hongzhi irl and only have one wife, us, his empress. The way he says “first I must claim the throne, than I can claim the one I love” in the first game after he catches us coming back from Dacien Temple with Gaoyang it’s just so good foreshadowing for what will happen next, it shows us that his motives and reasons were already shifting, and the way his eyes get red and start tearing up and then he sighs and composes himself, ugh Li Tai stop you are way too superior to Li Zhi already you don’t need to keep proving that even more XD. Jokes aside, Yao Chi has the best male acting performance in the game in my opinion. By a lot. And from what I’ve seen so far that’s seemingly not changing.

From the women it’s harder to say because we have so many good performances. But to me the ones that stand out the most in the first game is of course our protagonist Wu Yuanzhao, Gaoyang, Xi Xin, Du Ruo, Consorts Yang and Wei, not exactly in this order. In this new game, I think Empress Wang, Consort Xiao and especially Consort Liu, Liu Xi and Xu Minhui will really impress me.

When I first started to play the game I didn’t really know how to use the appearance settings and didn’t even think about making her look like me, I just wanted her to look pretty lol. Then I noticed I ended up making her look like a kpop idol I really like accidentally. I wanna see if they really do look alike by asking to see if you can identify, so who do you guys think she looks similar to?

Is the consort system (the higher ranking ones) a little confusing to anyone else or is that just me?

Like, we know that there are four consorts because they are mentioned in the first game: Consort of Preciousness, Consort of Elegance and Consort of Kindness. Does the Empress count as one of them? Because if we watch the video of the story of Consort Yang and Consort Yang Junior, it is said that they kill Consort of Virtue (and I always assumed Consort Yang Junior became the new Consort of Virtue and Consort Yang felt threatened by her and that’s why she was locked away). So is it four consorts (Elegance, Preciousness, Kindness and Virtue)+Empress or 3 consorts (Elegance, Kindness, Preciousness)+Empress? In this second case, could the Emperor have more than four? That would explain why there was a Consort of Virtue.

And with Li Zhi is even more confusing because we only have Empress Wang and two consorts (Consort Liu of Preciousness who is said to be a former maid to the Empress and Consort Xiao of Elegance). So where is his Consort of Kindness and Consort of Virtue? Since he’s a young ruler, could he assign these roles later on? Especially because in the trailer, when we are talking to Li Tai in jail (my man he did all of it but idc) we are with clothes that are very much like the ones of Consort Xiao, which means at that point we probably eliminated her and became the new Consort of Elegance, becoming Empress Wang’s brand new target. Why didn’t he just gave us one of the available titles (Kindness and Virtue) instead? From what I understood, there seems to be a hierarchy? (Correct me if I’m wrong)

1-Empress
2-Consort of Preciousness (because of the Rear Palace)
3-Elegance (same amount of power but probably more prestigious since our aunt, the former Consort of Elegance became Empress to the former emperor at one point), Kindness and Virtue (because Cairen Yin at the start thinks Consort Yin of Kindness, her cousin, is more powerful than our aunt Consort of Elegance)

So since Empress Wang is well, the Empress, it makes sense she would convince Li Zhi to make her former maid as Consort Liu of Preciousness so she can have control of the Rear Palace through her.

Is it mandatory for the Emperor to have someone to fill these roles at one point? It doesn’t seem to be, since with Li Shimin Consort of Virtue dies, Consort of Kindness dies, Consort of Preciousness dies and our aunt is the only one left as Empress and all the other higher consort titles are available (and Li Shimin didn’t even think about giving one of them to my girly pop Xu Hui, he did NOT deserve her). But then again, Li Shimin was presenting very clear health problems so maybe that’s why the ministers didn’t push it. Since Li Zhi is younger and easier to manipulate, they might do it? What do y’all think?