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bougainvillea-and-saltwater · 4 months

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Hello, hii! 💖💖💖The drunken sailoress would like to know the answers for the following questions for the couple's ask!!

6. Who would ask the "would you love me if I were a worm?" question? How would their S/O answer?

8. Who is the big spoon? Little spoon?

11. Who is clingy?

22. What is something - either character - doesn't like about the other?

25. Do they have any pet names for one another?

33. Which one of them gives "that look" when they other is acting like a fool?

60. Are they willing to show PDA? If not, is there a reason?

62. How would outside characters describe their relationship?

74. Who's more likely to bail who out of jail? Would they give the other one shit for it?

85. Their S/O is tipsy. How do they handle it? (This is my favourite question hehehehhe)

97. How do they wake their S/O up? Is it difficult to rouse them?

Welcome, welcome! If the drunken sailor wants answers, then answers will be given! 💖💖💖

💕ask game💕

6. AH, THIS QUESTION WAS ONE OF MY FAVORITES. 😂

Look, you know Jia. You know her. She's an inquisitive little creature who likes dabbling with alchemy, eats the ingredients raw, just to see what they do, and has crafted a potion that instead of making her invisible, it made her clothes disappear. Of course she'd be the one who just goes, "Oh! That's a mushroom specimen I didn't know it existed... Let me just take a bite, just a tiny—", turns into a worm, and sends a message to Miraak to ask him if he'd love her that way. Miraak, who's familiar yet so done with her antics, simply answers: "Yes. What did you do."

8. Jia is relatively small in stature and even smaller next to Miraak—she's 165cm (thanks to her Imperial dad and the fact that she was born prematurely) and he's 203cm (Atmoran/Snow Elf heritage doesn't help when you don't want to end up like a giant). So, it can't really be otherwise: Jia is the little spoon, and Miraak is the big one! In the future, however, she'll spoon him herself, just for fun, and he likes it very much, it makes them both burst into laughter! Her feetsies don't even reach his ankles...🥺

11. OUGH, I found a Perfect Meme on Pinterest a few days ago regarding "clinginess", and it fits so much with those two!

yEAH, ANYWAY...

I'd say that they're both "clingy" to each other, in the sense that they feel "half" and "missing" when the other is not near... They won't openly admit it or create a fuss every time one is away from the other, or every time they just need their space alone, but they like it when the circumstances don't force them to stay apart for too long...🥰

22. This has been answered here! 👀

25. THANK YOU FOR THIS QUESTION, I LOVE IT! 🫂 😭

They have MANY pet names already, and the more time passes, the more they become creative with those (I HOPE I'M NOT FORGETTING SOMETHING HERE HELP—)

Jia calls Miraak "qostrun", which means 'thunderstorm' in Dovahzul, given his affinity for winter's magic, "iilahil", which means 'moonheart', because his face and hair are very pale (and also, Miraak's mother's sobriquet was 'Snowhart', so unconsciously Jia calls him with a similar nickname!), "lokzii" which means 'sky spirit' or what we'd call 'angel' in Christianity, given to how he looked like and what he did to revive her as a newborn, and both in the AU and in TPATD she'll end up calling him "Fen" or "Fenrir", which is his original birth name.

Miraak calls Jia "vahlokraan" in Dovahzul, and it can be read in two different ways: as vah and lokraan, 'spring-bird' or what we'd call 'swallow', and vahlok and raan, 'guardian animal' (the word raan seems to etymologically derive from rah, which means 'god' probably due to the Ancient Nords' animal totem worship, so it's more like 'guardian-god'). Miraak purposely means both senses! He also calls her "silsogaal", which means 'soul-gem' for Plot Significance™, "yolsil", 'fire-soul', "shulkun" and "shulselein", 'sunlight' and 'sun of [the] world' respectively, "silsesili", which means 'soul of my soul', and he will call her "Elettra" or "golsez" which means 'amber' in Dovahzul (just as the name Elettra does in Old Cyrodilic), by the end of the fic, where he claims her own birth name!

There is one more that I adore, but it's very spoiler-y, so I just gnaw my keyboard and wait...

33. I think the only look they'd give when the other starts acting like a fool is the look of approval! 😂 Both Miraak and Jia are very reserved and kind of formal, so letting go of that and acting a bit foolishly is always such a pleasant and unexpected occurrence—it means they're happy and free!

60. The truth is, they don't go too much PDA—Miraak is maybe more 'open' concerning displays of affection, with his expressions of love also exhibiting the true pride he feels for himself for being Jia's partner and his need to show it to the world. Jia is a bit more reserved than him in that aspect, so she'd show her affection when she had the privacy to do so—in her personal moments, she is very expressive in her love, though! Of course, if her counterpart is hurt or in danger or does something badass with his powers and turns her on? That's another topic...😇

62. Like worlds colliding into one, like one ray of light refracted by two mirrors, like ice and fire, but instead of the one element destroying the other, they actually fuel one another's power against every law, like an everlasting solar eclipse indicating that this impossible junction becomes possible for them. They look so much alike in everything they do, that those around them can really overlook how they differ physically and get confused, thinking they see the same person before them...👀

74. You know, this is a question that fits 100% the AU I'm preparing and less to TPATD-verse because Jia is a master thief and doesn't get easily caught while thieving, and Miraak, even though not vibing too well with the law, is too old and tired for getting himself into shenanigans. In the AU though, both Jia and Miraak are very likely to end up in jail together, and it is Jia who usually initiates the trouble, pulls poor Miraak with her, and they get into Situations... I imagine them being thrown into jail, Jia laughing her ass off and enjoying this, and Miraak chastising her for it, but damn would she ever listen to what he says...😂

85. They simply enjoy it, whether they're both tipsy or one of them! I mean, a flushed-faced, overly jolly, and free-of-inhibitions Jia or Miraak, where they do nothing but sing at the top of their lungs, use Throw Voice and mock people with it, switch languages mid-sentence and slur everything in the process, confess their most deep-seated feeling and then laugh it off and continue With Their Business, Miraak doing Dumb Shit with his frost magic (maybe building a palace and/or a snowman like Elsa from Frozen😂)—in fact, I'd love to see them both tipsy one day!

97. It isn't really difficult to rouse them, no! They're not usually heavy sleepers (and rarely need too much sleep, given their Dragonborn-ism), and I think this is understandable, especially for someone like Jia and Miraak who suffer from constant nightmares. They both like to wake up early in the morning—Jia has her routine of baking her pies and feeding her swallows, and Miraak loves to rouse before the sun dawns so that he can marvel at it peeping out the Throat of the World first things first before he goes along with his day...🥰

#ough i'm terrible... the essays are on another level here...#miraak #oc: jia #otp: twin flames #the priest and the dragoness #skyrim fanfiction #miraak x ldb #i had forgotten to post this sooner but i REALLY ENJOYED these questions! 💖

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lu-is-not-ok · 1 year

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Hey... so, I saw your commentary on Hong Lu not using their real name in LCB, and... you referred to the statement in his Liu identity's uptie cutscene of him being a "gem of a child" to be a statement of his family loving him.

It's... not that, not that at all.

What purpose does a gem serve? It's simply displayed, polished, shown off as a show of influence and then put away into its box once again.

With what we know from Hong Lu's comments during Hell's Chicken, we know that he would sneak out from his room to the great hall in search of food... That's not something a kid who's taken care of would have to do. A child of a well-meaning family wouldn't have to sneak out of their room, nor would they need to try and sneak themselves food. They could just ask. So, why did Hong Lu have to sneak into the great hall in search of food if his family cared for him?

I think the statement was more literal.

To his family, Hong Lu seems to be property. A show of their power and influence, but not a person beyond that. Just look at how his brother speaks of him at the end of chapter 1. And also the mere fact that his brother is very explicitly one of the bad guys, being teamed up with the immoral scientist that is Hermann.

Hong Lu's family doesn't care about him as a person.

They care about him only as he relates to them.

To his family, he is a gem of a child. Not a child or even a person. Just a piece of jewelry in their collection.

Iiii think you misunderstood what I meant in that post my guy.

The exact wording I used was " some of his dialogue seems to imply that his family was at least decently fond of him, if not more (his comment about being “a gem of a child” in his Liu uptie story comes to mind)."

I used that to compare Hong Lu to how Bao-yu and Dai-yu are thought of by their family in the novel Hong Lu is based on (this is mostly because in the case of Bao-yu, he's seen as an utter failure by his father no matter What he does, which wouldn't fit with what even your reading of "a gem of a child" implies, now would it).

Being Fond of someone is not the same as Actually Treating Them Well. What I was referring to in that post is the Very General Opinion Hong Lu's family seems to have of him, that being one that is positive. That Does Not Negate the fact that they have Absolutely mistreated him, and I feel like treating his situation like somehow both of those cannot co-exist would be removing an important degree of nuance that is being built up to.

Everything points to Hong Lu believing his family loves him, and, discounting Jia Huan who acts antagonistic even in the source material, there's some implications that his family usually Does thinkg of him fondly. That doesn't change the fact that the environment he grew up in was a highly oppressive and likely abusive one.

I'm going to stop myself here, because if I try to speak on this any further it will start getting into some personal shit I Do Not Want to share on the internet because of a random anon. Just know that Hong Lu's family situation is something I've thought about Extensively, all the points you have brought up included, and it's the kind of situation I myself am way more intimately familiar with than I wish to be.

#ask #anon #lu speaketh #hong lu lcb #hong lu #lcb theory #lcb analysis #i don't think i want to tag it with any more main tags

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fyeahpoc · 2 years

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hi! first of all i'd like to say your theme looks gorgeous i love the mobile layout of the blog <3 second of all if it's not too bothersome could i please ask for first name and surname suggestions for sabrina zada/pasabist? i'm going for a floral/fairy/princess vibe if it helps with anything EDRFTGYU thank you so much and have a wonderful day!

* hey , thanks so much ! and yes , absolutely . sab is filipino and chinese ( my research says she’s also hispanic but it’s not stated specifically what she is - edit : anon said she is mexican so also consider this ! ) so i’ll list a combination of names that could fit your vibe 😇

chinese first names ↴

jiā : good , auspicious , beautiful .

qiàn : pretty , winsome .

bao : gem .

chao-xing : morning star .

mei lien : beautiful lotus .

eu-meh : gorgeous .

li jing : beautiful spirit .

níng : peaceful , to pacify .

genji : like god .

jia li : good and beautiful .

hee : lotus flower .

hua : flower .

li-mei : beautiful plum flower .

chinese surnames ↴

huang : yellow .

cai : firewood .

lai : to trust .

hu : whiskers or wild .

cheng : complete , journey , honesty .

li : the plum tree or logic .

gong : to give .

kang : well-being .

sun : a descendant .

xiao : quiet .

you can find more from these masterlists : x , x , x .

filipino first names ↴

bernila : blessed .

floribeth or lilibeth : flower , god is my promise .

dari : grace .

eleanor : shining one .

jaslene : flower , pretty .

dalisay : pure .

atarah : crown .

carmelita : beautiful garden .

mahalina : to be charmed .

analyn : gracious , beautiful .

althea : wholesome , to heal .

diwata : fairy .

marisol : sunflower .

filipino surnames ↴

adlawan : sun .

tanglao : illumination or light .

banaag : gleam , daybreak , reflection .

panganoron : sky .

valle : valley .

cruz : cross .

bulan : moon .

lualhati : glory .

guinto : gold .

divata : guardian .

you can find more from these masterlists : x , x .

— drea .

#rph #answered.#anonymous #*#*drea.#*name help.#name help.

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buryurfriends · 2 years

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MUNDAY INFO.

𝟘𝟙 | NAME/ALIAS / isa / jia! whatever floats ur boat :^)

𝟘𝟚 | BIRTHDAY / may 31st.

𝟘𝟛 | ZODIAC SIGN / gem sun, aqua moon & sag rising. yes my big 3 are perfect, no i’m not taking any criticism.

𝟘𝟜 | HEIGHT / 170cm.

𝟘𝟝 | HOBBIES / writing (ALLEGEDLY.), baking, doing nail art, cafe-hopping, sending snail mail letters, shopping, collecting lip products & skincare.

𝟘𝟞 | FAVOURITE COLOUR / purple & blue.

𝟘𝟟 | FAVOURITE BOOK / oh man... i don’t read much now but i remember reading totto-chan as a kid. very emotionally damaging. i loved the percy jackson novels then & tbh? still do

𝟘𝟠 | LAST SONG LISTENED TO / ive’s love dive.

𝟘𝟡 | LAST FILM/SHOW WATCHED / going to you at a speed of 493km!

𝟙𝟘 | INSPIRATION FOR MUSE / i love shoko. when i first saw her in the anime i audibly gasped & my friends laughed at me. also just love having muses in healthcare #represent and felt like her character is/was very often relegated to being a third wheel in sashisu & wanted to explore the more complicated dynamics/emotions tied to it!

𝟙𝟙 | STORY BEHIND URL / she buries her friends. ya. was listening to a lot of billie eilish when i was making her blog.

tagged by: @umbarae (thank u!!) tagging: anyone who wants to do it! ♡

#isa talks.

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ruubesz-draws · 3 years

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“Nah, count me out! I ain’t dealing with that sh*t. Nope!”

*SPOILERS FOR GODZILLA VS KONG*

I have mad respect for Kong

Despite his injuries and nearly dying, he still fought MechaG and saved Big G.

I'd sh*t my pants lmao

(Also, poor Goji ;_;)

*DO NOT REPOST MY ART*

#Godzilla #godzilla vs kong #kong #godzilla vs kong spoilers #jia #mechagodzilla #i respect you kong #you're a chad #i'm still happy how they teamed up together #and they respect each other #glad that none of them died tho #i'd cry #thank you for letting both of them live #also jia is a gem #an angel #i don't really know ASL #so apologies if it looks incorrect #do not repost #my art

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shijiujun · 3 years

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Hope everyone is partying (by yourself, spiritually, or with people, all are totally fine) well into the Christmas weekend! I am back with even more recs (I’ll prolly give it a rest at the 10th one sorry for the spam guys)! This one I just finished a few days ago, because CHINA BOOKSTORE PUBLISHED THIS ON CHRISTMAS WITH MANY GOODIES!! And I was like oh cute long-hair dude, let me read this.

Anyway this is a fengshui + supernatural + body-switching type of novel, with a heavy focus on fengshui! I don’t know if everyone knows what fengshui is (I will prolly do a list for Chinese New Year) and I am no expert, but it’s basically like Chinese geomancy where you can calculate a person’s fate, wealth, marriage suitability etc. with things in an individual’s environment.

So a lot of Chinese people, for example businessmen when they have new offices or when couples renovate their homes, they may get a feng shui master to arrange furniture and add crystals or talismans or whatever to increase wealth/prosperity/happiness or harmonize bad energy etc., just an example. When you want to check the compatibility of yourself and your SO, some people do go to the fengshui master and calculate their 八字 (day, hour, time they were born + other things) to see when is an auspicious day to marry etc.

My ex-editor really believes in feng shui masters because hers really predicted a year that her husband got into hugeee trouble like almost to the day itself apparently. And she always wear an accessory with a snake on it because the master said

Written by the same author (Xi Zi Xu) who wrote Kaleidoscope of Death!

- Part of Min’s ‘Why You Should Read’ Series -

Summary:

This book is set in the normal, regular, law-abiding modern city world where fengshui is heavily believed in, and skilled masters can see spirits, bad energies. Where dogs can be reincarnated as humans, and there are demonic pets that humans can keep, and paper dolls can come to life basically.

Zhou Jia Yu is a government office worker who dies in a car accident one day, and wakes up in the body of another Zhou Jia Yu - a handsome man whose name is the same as his. He’s brought back by this spirit bird in his head called Ji Ba (pun not intended), who says that Zhou Jia Yu is fated to save Lin Zhu Shui, the young, blind fengshui master who has caught him.

Unfortunately, this second Zhou Jia Yu is a con-artist who has cheated the money of several families via fraudulent fengshui schemes, and his scams have led to the death of several children in the process. Legendary fengshui master Lin Zhu Shui and his disciples have caught/imprisoned this Zhou Jia Yu, not knowing that original conman Zhou Jia Yu has died (and therefore his soul is gone), leaving good citizen Zhou Jia Yu in the body of a conman.

Lin Zhu Shui intends to kill conman Zhou Jia Yu (not really kill, kill but probably will do something to his soul, considering there are laws against murder you know) when good citizen Zhou Jia Yu wakes up in this body, but because he has come back from the dead, his body and soul is considered an extremely yin (cold) body, which allows him to attract more bad spirits and energy, giving him an extraordinary, gifted ability to excel in the fengshui line. Of course, being the master that he is, Lin Zhu Shui also realizes that this Zhou Jia Yu (and his soul, in particular) is not the one he caught, and as he has an extremely yang (hot) body, the both of them are compatible with each other. Lin Zhuo Shui realizes that he can train Zho Jia Yu and then takes him on as his disciple.

Cue Zhou Jia Yu being tossed into a dangerous fengshui competition as he figures out just what Ji Ba wants him to do about Lin Zhu Shui. In the meanwhile, he falls in love with amazingly handsome, cool and aloof Lin Zhu Shui (who threatens to murder him if he doesn’t come out first in the competition), who keeps him warm when he gets unbearably cold due to his body condition. They also have to deal with an evil person working behind the scenes, and how Zhou Jia Yu eventually returns back into his own body at the end.

Read:

Novel (Online) | Novel (Print) - Dec 2020 Print | Novel Translations

Characters:

1. 周嘉鱼 Zhou Jia Yu (third from right) - A really cute government office worker whose soul was pulled into a conman’s body, who has the same name as he, when he got into a car accident. Has an extremely yin (cold) body which attracts spirits (good and bad), and allows him to see, smell or hear them more clearly than everyone else except for Lin Zhu Shui. He cooks extremely well too and is considered a treasure in the household by Lin Zhu Shui’s other disciples because none of them can cook for shit. They don’t initially know that this Zhou Jia Yu is not conman Zhou Jia Yu, although they suspect it, and once they fall in love with his cooking no one doubts him anymore HAHAHA.

He gets a feng shui tattoo personally done by Lin Zhu Shui who already knows that his soul was switched, a tattoo which is supposed to help him in feng shui matters. Gets a paper doll son halfway through the story, who he calls Xiao Zhi (little paper), which calls him Dad (and calls Lin Zhu Shui Big Dad - da baba) ;-; It’s the cutest shit ever.

There’s a mystical creature in the back of his head that speaks to him and helps him out on certain feng shui things, and helps him to explain what he’s seeing, but aside from telling Jia Yu that he’s supposed to save Lin Zhu Shui, the mystical bird thing is unable to tell him anything else. Within a few weeks of him waking up in this body, he’s sent by Lin Zhu Shui on an international feng shui competition without having any sort of basic knowledge, only innate talent, much to his panic XD As Lin Zhu Shui continues to protect him, teach him and tease/smile at him, Jia Yu, who is certified gay af, falls totally in love with the seemingly aloof and strict feng shui master.

They probably would have continued like this if not for Jia Yu’s body deteriorating because his body is technically not his and not compatible with his soul, and Lin Zhu Shui tries to find a way to save him, after seeing the future where Jia Yu’s body is rotting as he dies slowly over months and begging Lin Zhu Shui to kill him and let him die.

2. 林逐水 Lin Zhu Shui (third from left, right next to Jia Yu) - Long-haired, wears changshan perpetually and is blind, but can see more clearly than most people. He knows where everyone’s positions are exactly, and can see spirits etc. very well despite being blind. Considered a genius of the feng shui world and is the patriarch of one of the big feng shui families in the world - the Lin family. He’s a master at drawing talismans, carving crystals/gems and feng shui tattooing.

He’s so well-known that everyone wants to be his disciple, everyone wants to get a talisman/crystal/tattoo from him, everyone wants him to come and look at their houses, but he can’t be bothered with most people. He’s also super handsome? So a lot of girls (and guys) are always drooling over him.

He has an extremely yang (hot) body, which is supposed to naturally help to repel spirits and what not, but because of this he suffers a lot in the summer. His body condition is very rare and when he was younger, others said he would not live past 18 years old, and his parents gave up their lives to change his fate so he would survive. The feng shui master also predicted that Lin Zhu Shui would experience another calamity when he was 30 (thereabout), and that year, thankfully he has Jia Yu as his entire house caught on fire in the summer while he was in it (and cooling talismans and the house item placements meant to keep the house entirely cool in the summer were no longer working). Jia Yu helped him to cool down with his incredibly yin body.

Knows right off the bat that this is a different Jia Yu, and starts teaching him as one of his disciples. Can only eat the food hat Jia Yu cooks because his yin qualities transfer to the food he cooks as well, and Lin Zhu Shui usually cannot eat anything else that’s cooked outside. Gives Jia Yu a carved jade pendant he made himself that’s apparently worth thousands of dollars to keep him safe, and is a dumbass when it comes to confessing to Jia Yu hahahaha (although he’s successful at the end!)

3. 沈一穷 Shen Yi Qiong (second from right, dark skin tone) - Lin Zhu Shui’s youngest disciple and also Jia Yu’s best friend, technically. Brash but smart, and is always thirsting openly after his shifu Lin Zhu Shui, it’s hilarious! He’s a little jealous in the beginning because his shifu is showering Jia Yu with so much attention when he’s only been around for a week etc., but quickly gets used to it and supports Jia Yu. Jia Yu always makes fun of his tanned skin, then makes fun of his singlehood HAHA, while Shen Yi Qiong provides emotional support to Jia Yu, and by emotional support I mean when Jia Yu asks him what will happen to him if he loses the feng shui competition, Shen Yi Qiong pats him on the shoulder and asks him to choose a vase/pot pattern (like a ceramic pot where you put cremated ashes) = shifu will kill him if he loses the competition, so gets Jia Yu to choose a pot he likes so Shen Yi Qiong can help him put his ashes in HAHAHAHA. He is the last one to find a significant other, but the one he finds is like a legendary mystical creature who half deceives him into promising to marry him and then keeps chasing after Shen Yi Qiong so he can marry him XD

4. 林珏 Lin Jue (first from left) - Lin Zhu Shui’s cousin but technically his older sister because she brought him up after his parents died. Spends most of the novel being sad about her past lover who died because of an illness, and is wooed a few years later by a legendary golden dragon.

5. 小纸 Xiao Zhi (that little cute white thing on top of Jia Yu’s head) - A paper doll who’s given to Jia Yu after he helps out at the paper doll village/tribe, and grows up with Jia Yu and Lin Zhu Shui taking care of him. Is the cutest little shit ever, can speak, and calls Jia Yu ‘baba’ and Lin Zhu Shui ‘da baba’ i.e. dad and big dad. Very strong, and can protect Jia Yu very well.

Other Things I Like in the Novel:

Jia Yu basically goes to the feng shui competition and destroys everyone else because he’s just gifted in this aspect - When he wakes up, and in the days leading up to the competition, he doesn’t have a cellphone (Lin Zhu Shui and his disciples live in a remote part of town, a traditional-type house, one with nature) and after he wins the competition, other people want his phone number to contact him and he’s too embarrassed to say that he’s basically too poor to have a phone after rising from the dead, so he bluffs everyone and says “My shifu says that handphone signals and radiation will interfere with advanced feng shui readings so I don’t have one” and LITERALLY half of the feng shui training population gets rid of their phones on that day, gullible af

Everytime Jia Yu runs cold, he has to drink some of Lin Zhu Shui’s blood mixed with water/milk, and the man’s yang blood warms him up immediately

Jia Yu has to deal with four of Lin Zhu Shui’s disciples, all who are really suspicious of him because they think he’s the conman, and Jia Yu doesn’t realize they already know it’s not him until they defend him in front of other people, and he’s so touched

Shen Yi Qiong gets his marriage fortune told during one of the cases by accident. He asks when he’ll get married, and the thing replies “Seven Three” AND HE’S SO DEPRESSED BECAUSE he thinks that it means he’ll only get married when he’s 73. It’s a source of jokes between him, his other shixiongs and Jia Yu, but then towards the end he realizes what it means - His supposed match, a legendary mystical male weasel who’s 73 years old XD

Jia Yu keeps thirsting after Lin Zhu Shui, fully aware that he’s very gay himself, and he’s confessed to while he’s stuck in the haze of a high fever, so he thinks it’s a dream. Lin Zhu Shui doesn’t realize he forgot/thinks it’s a dream and is pissed that he’s rejected HAHAHA and then Lin Jue reminds him to not be a dumbass and confess properly, and so he does so again in an empty amusement park, after summoning evil spirits so they can fly in the air and make a heart shape just for Jia Yu while they’re on the ferris wheel XDDDD

#danmei #danmei recs #我五行缺你 #my five elements lack you #my five elements is short of you #西子绪 #xi zi xu #min's why you should read

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letterboxd · 3 years

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How I Letterboxd #13: Erika Amaral.

Film sociologist Erika Amaral on the blossoming of Brazil’s women filmmakers, the joys of queuing for the movies, the on-fire Brazilian Letterboxd community, and the sentimental attachment of her entire nation to A Dog’s Will.

“It is hard to produce art without institutional support and it is very complicated to produce art during this tragic pandemic.” —Erika Amaral

In the wide world outside of English-language Letterboxd, Brazil occupies a particularly fervent corner. Sāo Paulo-based feminist film theorist Erika Amaral has connected with many other local film lovers through her Letterboxd profile, and for anyone with an interest in Cinema Brasileiro, her lists are an excelente place to start.

From her personal introduction to Brazilian film history, to her own attempts to fill gaps in her Latin American cinematic knowledge, Erika’s well-curated selections are a handy primer on the cinema of the fifth-largest country in the world, and its neighbors. These lists sit alongside her finely judged academic deep-dives into filmmakers such as Luis Buñuel, Glauber Rocha and Sarah Bernhardt.

Endlessly fascinated by how “the history of cinema is all intertwined”, Erika has also written on Jia Zhangke for Rosebud Club, is an Ana Carolina stan, enjoys collecting films directed by women featuring mirrors and women, and, like all of us, watched many remarkable movies during quarantine.

Suzana Amaral (left, rear) with cast and crew on the set of her film ‘A Hora da Estrela’ (Hour of the Star, 1985).

Olá, Erika. Please give our readers a brief introduction to your brilliant Introduction to Brazilian Film History list. I’m so happy to see this list getting popular! I’m a sociologist interested in film and gender studies. It’s been four years since I started studying Brazilian film history but my passion for film is much older. I tried to combine those two aspects in this list; films that are meaningful to me, historically relevant films, and historically relevant films erased from film-history books, for instance, those directed by women. The main purpose of my list is to highlight Brazilian women filmmakers’ fundamental contributions to Brazilian cinema.

I listed some absolute classics such as Hour of the Star by the late director Suzana Amaral, and other obscure gems such as The Interview, by Helena Solberg, which is a short feature released in 1966 alongside the development of Cinema Novo. Solberg’s work was hidden for decades. No-one knew about it. In Brazil, especially in the field of film studies and feminist theories, we are experiencing the blossoming of public debates, books being released, and film festivals that look specifically into films such as Solbergs’s and [those of] many other women directors, including Adélia Sampaio, the first Black female director to release a feature film in Brazil in 1984, Amor Maldito. We need these debates on Letterboxd as well, so I wrote this list in English.

As a representative of the passionate Brazilian community on Letterboxd, can you provide some insight into the site’s popularity where you live, especially for those of us who have not learned Brazilian Portuguese? I feel at home using Letterboxd. Everywhere I see Brazilian members posting reviews in both Portuguese and English. It’s a passionate community. It’s directly related to Twitter where Brazilian cinephiles are so active and productive, always sharing film memes (and even Letterboxd memes). Many content creators are using both Letterboxd and Twitter to showcase their podcasts, classes and film clubs. I once started a talk at a university for film students mentioning that my Masters research project came into life when I watched Amélia, showing my mind-blown Letterboxd review in the presentation. I follow many of those students now and it is so good to be connected. Brazilian Film Twitter and [the] Brazilian Letterboxd community are on fire!

Alexandre Rodrigues as Buscapé in ‘City of God’ (2002), directed by Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund.

When uninitiated cinephiles think about Brazilian cinema, City of God is most likely top of the list. It’s the only Brazilian film to be nominated for Best Director at the Academy Awards (despite co-director Kátia Lund being shut out!) and it’s the only Brazilian film in IMDb’s Top 250. After nearly 20 years, is it fair for City of God to represent Brazil? Of course, it is fair for City of God to represent Brazil! The only problem is if we think all Brazilian cinema is exclusively City of God. The film is entertaining, well-directed, has a great cast, but it has some flaws—for example, the aestheticization of violence and misery in Brazil, which scholar Ivana Bentes calls the “cosmetics of hunger”. Even so, it is a great film and it captivated Brazilian and international audiences. We shouldn’t limit any country to only one or two films.

If you enjoy City of God, check my list for Brazilian films directed by women in this period, which we call “Cinema da Retomada”—the renaissance of Brazilian cinema after the economic problems [that] hampered the film industry in the 1990s.

Selton Mello and Matheus Nachtergaele in beloved Brazilian comedy ‘O Auto da Compadecida’ (A Dog’s Will, 2000).

Several Brazilian films have stunningly high ratings on Letterboxd, giving them a place on many of our official lists. This includes A Dog’s Will, which is in the top ten of our all-time Top 250. On Letterboxd, A Dog’s Will reviews are cleanly divided into two camps: Brazilians (who absolutely love it) and everyone else (who fail to understand its popularity). What drives this home-team spirit? People truly love A Dog’s Will! It’s funny, has a fantastic rhythm, and it references many aspects of Brazilian culture, especially regarding north-eastern Brazilian culture. It was shown both as a film and as a miniseries infinite times on the largest and most popular television channel in Brazil. I can’t help mentioning that A Dog’s Will portrays Jesus Christ as a black man and Fernanda Montenegro as Brazil’s patron saint, Nossa Senhora Aparecida. It’s a brilliant moment for Matheus Nachtergaele, one of the greatest Brazilian actors ever.

Can you offer us a ‘Gringo’s Guide to A Dog’s Will’? I love the idea of a ‘Gringo’s Guide to A Dog’s Will’! You need to have good subtitles. The beauty of A Dog’s Will is that it is regional but it was made to be understandable to all of Brazil. You are going to need subtitles that [cover] the expressions, slang and proverbs—not mere translations. I would recommend watching some other films from north-eastern Brazil; Land of São Saruê, Love for Sale and Ó Paí Ó: Look at This. This can help you understand other social and cultural dimensions of Brazil beyond, for instance, City of God. A Dog’s Will is a movie that we would watch on a lazy Sunday afternoon with the family, so we have a strong sentimental attachment to it.

Leonardo Villar bears the weight of a cross in ‘The Given Word’ (1964).

Religion plays an important role in Brazilian cinema—for example, one of the few Brazilian films to win the Palme d’Or is the masterful The Given Word. Is this connection a part of what makes Brazilian cinema so potent for the local community? Religious symbolism and religious beliefs are extremely significant in Brazilian cinema. Its presence in cinema seems to address our daily challenges, rituals, history, but not always apologetically—as you can see in the despair of Zé do Burro in The Given Word. Religion does not seem to help him. There’s nowhere to run. The spiritual belief, as well as the cross itself, is a weight on his shoulders.

So you see, religion in Brazilian cinema is so potent because we can think beyond it, we can understand how people relate to their beliefs and how sometimes religion can fail a person. That’s what happens when a priest falls in love with a local girl (The Priest and the Girl), when a curse falls upon a man who turns against his people (The Turning Wind), when we teach fear and sin to young girls (Heart and Guts), when religion becomes a determining way of life that does not pay back efforts (Divine Love), when we accept the possibility of going against religious institutions (José Mojica Marin’s, AKA Coffin Joe, films).

We have all these movies fascinated by religion and how it creates meaning in our society. This is just from Christianity, because if we think of African and Indigenous heritage, we have another whole dimension of films to reflect upon, such as Noirblue and the documentary Ex-Pajé.

We have some Brazilian films in our Official Top 100 by Women Directors list, including The Second Mother, which sits in the top five with City of God. Who are some overlooked female Brazilian filmmakers that you want to celebrate and put on our map? Undoubtedly Juliana Rojas and Gabriela Amaral Almeida. They’re both on the horror scene and their work is astonishing. I strongly recommend Hard Labor and Rojas’ latest film Good Manners (if you are into werewolves). I can’t even pick one for Almeida—The Father’s Shadow and Friendly Beast are awesome. Beatriz Seigner’s The Silences—filmed in the frontier between Brazil, Colombia, and Peru—is really impactful. Glenda Nicácio’s films, co-directed with Ary Rosa, are among my favorite recent Brazilian films. Watch To the End immediately!

Eduardo Coutinho’s ‘Twenty Years Later’ (1984).

Brazilian documentarian Eduardo Coutinho has not one, not two, but three of his films in the Official Top 100 Documentaries list, including the all-time number one Twenty Years Later. Can you describe Coutinho’s significance in Brazil? Coutinho is a monument! Coutinho is an institution! Coutinho is everything. His works are of strong political importance, as you can see in Twenty Years Later. A movie he was making in 1964 was interrupted by the dictatorship installed in Brazil, and the main actor and activist, João Pedro Teixeira, was murdered, then his wife Elizabeth Teixeira had to flee and change her identity.

The documentary follows Coutinho and his crew looking for the actors from his movie from twenty years before. Later, his works developed many different tones and formats as you can see in Playing, an experimental portrayal of real women and their personal experiences side-by-side with actresses representing their real-life events as if in a play. Playing was one of the mandatory films to be analyzed for [my] Film School entrance exam, so I had to watch it a million times in 2017. His works are profound studies on Brazilian people and culture—piercing, but also delicate.

Contemporary documentaries are also doing well; Petra Costa’s latest, The Edge of Democracy, was nominated for an Oscar, and Emicida: AmarElo – It’s All for Yesterday was briefly Letterboxd’s highest-rated film late last year. How are these docs tapping into the zeitgeist? Those are both very different films. Emicida is part of a strong and structured movement against racism, against the marginalization of Black people, against limiting the access to art and culture to certain social groups, which is a common practice in the history of this country. Petra Costa’s documentary is another form of reflection on contemporary politics but in a melancholic tone since, recently in Brazil, we have been facing political storms such as the impeachment of ex-president Dilma Roussef, the imprisonment of ex-president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (who has recently been declared not guilty), and rising far-right politicians. Not to mention another of our losses, the still-unsolved killing of Marielle Franco, a Black and lesbian political representative. These films have helped us face these difficulties and try to gather some hope for the future.

Bárbara Colen (center) and villagers in ‘Bacurau’ (2019).

How has Brazil’s cinema industry been affected by the one-two punch of the pandemic on top of ongoing social and political issues? And, can you talk a bit about how the acclaimed Cannes-winner Bacurau shocked the nation two years ago, and in what ways the film confronted these problems? This question is challenging because there’s so much happening. At this moment, we have 428,000 deaths [from] Covid and we are still mourning the Jacarézinho favela massacre in Rio de Janeiro. We have very troubled political representatives that are not fighting Covid in an adequate way to say the least, and we have had major cut downs in the cultural sector since, in Brazil, a lot of artistic and cultural projects are developed with governmental incentives. It is hard to produce art without institutional support and it is very complicated to produce art during this tragic pandemic.

Right before this chaos, we had Bacurau. Actually, I have a pleasant anecdote about my experience with Bacurau. Everybody was talking about how it was going to premiere at a special event with the presence of its directors. We had some expectations regarding the premiere because it was going to be free of charge and it would take place at the heart of São Paulo, the Avenida Paulista, in an immense theater.

We arrived at 1pm to form a line and people were there already. I discovered through Twitter that the first boy in line was hungry so I gave him a banana. I had brought a lot of snacks. The line was part of the event, and it got so long you couldn’t believe it. It was great to see so many friends and people gathered to see a movie—and such an important movie! There weren’t enough seats for everyone but they exhibited the film in two different rooms so more people could enjoy it.

I love everything about that day and I think it helps me to have some perspective on cinema, culture, politics and what we can accomplish by working collectively—people uniting to fight dirty politicians, people joining forces to fight social menaces, generosity, empathy, fight for justice and the power of the masses.

The life of 17th-century nun Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz is explored in María Luisa Bemberg’s ‘Yo, la Peor de Todas’ (I, the Worst of All, 1990).

Would you like to highlight some films from your neighboring countries? I have been watching some fascinating films from South America. Bolivian filmmaker Jorge Sanjinés has an extensive filmography and his films were the first to portray characters speaking Aymara. I really like his Ukamau. I also love Argentine director María Luisa Bemberg’s films, such as I, the Worst of All. I’m currently studying Jayro Bustamante’s La Llorona, from Guatemala. I have no words to say how incendiary this film is. You’ll have to watch it for yourself!

Who are three Brazilian members that you recommend we all follow? Firstly, I recommend you follow my beautiful partner in crime and cinema, Pedro Britto. Secondly, a fantastic painter and avid researcher of Maya Deren and Agnès Varda, my adored friend Tainah Negreiros. Finally, I recommend you follow Gustavo Menezes, who is the author of many excellent lists [about] Brazilian cinema. He’s also the co-founder of a streaming platform called Cinelimite, which everyone should take a look at.

Related content

Silvia’s Cinema Novo list

Gabriela’s Cinema Brasileiro master list

Serge’s list of films that have won the Grande Otelo (Grande Prêmio de Cinema Brasileiro for Best Film)

Follow Erika on Letterboxd, Tumblr and in print

Follow Jack on Letterboxd

#letterboxd #how i letterboxd #erika amaral #film academic #film study #feminist film theory #feminist film #feminist theory #brazilian cinema #cinema o brasilia #Cinema Brasileiro #Brazilian film #suzana amaral

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ninbayphua-moyan · 3 years

Text

An Instant’s Beauty: A Moment’s Eternity

I cannot sleep deep in the night; I rise and sit to play my lute. Thin curtains mirror the moon bright; Clear breezes tug my lapels mute. A lonely swan shrieks over the plain; Hovering birds cry in north wood. What do I see pacing in vain? My heart is grieved in solitude. [1]

Warm morning sunlight streamed in through the lightwell, painting the dimly lit room in a dreamy pastel gold, quite like that of a faded photograph. The balmy Penang air was steeped in the fresh, earthy petrichor of a recent shower, blanketed with a sense of Saturday languidness. A gentle breeze, pleasantly cool against my skin fleeted through the wide-open windows, carrying with it the alluringly sweet scent of frangipanis.

I flipped the century-old poetry book, its yellowed leaves a beautiful contrast against the teal-blue covers. White silk cords stitched together the pages in a butterfly binding whilst faded black ink encased in vermillion frames marked each leaf, punctuated only occasionally by an ink wash painting of landscapes or plants and animals. Reflexion. I placed the book back down on the table and picked up the brush. Dipping the tip in freshly grounded black ink, I started copying the text.

I remember a sense of meditative calm seeping into the room against the backdrop of gently rustling palm leaves and running water. The way my hands traced the familiar characters with controlled ease and precision. The movements of the brush long since deeply ingrained into muscle memory from years of practice. Stroke after flowing stroke danced gracefully across the beige xuan paper, each carefully crafted character a painting of woven words. It strikes me now, as I pen my memory onto paper in Bute Park, how similar writing is to calligraphy. Even though it bears a certain form, each writer brings with them their own flair as they string together the words and weave them into a tapestry of thoughts.

A ripple in the tranquil air.

The soft fluttering of paper-thin wings. A shimmer of blue at the corner of my eye.

Propping my brush against the holder, I looked up to see a beautiful blue butterfly flitting in through the window bars. It hovered by the inkstone momentarily before finally coming to a rest on the wooden brush rack next to it, the erratic beating of its wings slowing to a stop. Brilliant hues of cobalt and azure scales glistened as it sat there peacefully basking in the warm tropical sun. Watching the butterfly, I couldn’t help but wonder if the old folklore A-Poh[2] told me was true – that butterflies were the souls of deceased ancestors visiting the living. Wouldn’t that be nice if it was real. Then I’d be able to tell A-Gong[3] all about getting into university; about how part of me was glad that I got accepted but also about how another part of me didn’t want to go since I’d be leaving home for three years straight. What if everything changed whilst I was away? The places I’ve known since childhood…the familiar faces I’ve grown up with…If only the butterfly really was A-Gong. He’d be able to give me some advice.

A tantalising aroma of freshly steamed glutinous rice dumplings wafted through the air, successfully drawing me out of my musings just as the clock struck noon.

“Jia-bui-lo!” [4]

Scurrying feet on creaking floorboards could be heard all over the house as my siblings and parents made a beeline for the dining hall. I looked away from the butterfly and smiled at A-Poh who was standing in the kitchen doorway. She beckoned me over with a toothless grin, her eyes crinkling into two half-moons as she motioned at the large bowl full of steaming glutinous rice dumplings in her hand. Getting up from the Luohan bed[5] where I sat cross-legged, I joined them at the dining table where Di-Di[6] and Mei-Mei[7] were already sat with their chopsticks at the ready, excited grins plastered across their hungry, eager faces.

I take a seat next to A-Poh, and, picking up my chopsticks, took a bite out of the dumpling in my bowl, its familiar flavours instantly crashing over my taste buds like waves washing up against its shores. A groan escaped my lips as I relished each mouth-watering bite. The savoury note of succulent pork belly marinated in soy sauce and five spice; umami-rich dried shitake mushrooms with its juicy and chewy quality; firm-textured salted duck egg yolk that gives the dumpling a briny aroma whilst its bright orange-red hue creates a pleasant splash of colour against its otherwise brown and black counterparts; the refreshing sweetness of the water chestnuts, a crunchy nuttiness amidst the softness; soft, sticky golden brown glutinous rice encompassing it all, delectably infused with the subtle fragrance of its bamboo leaf wrappings and rich flavours of its fillings from the hours of steaming…ah…these tenderly wrapped packages of love though plain in appearance were worth more to me than gold.

I was still half way through my first dumpling when another newly unwrapped one plopped into my bowl. Quickly swallowing my food, I tried protesting only to be shushed with another mouthful of rice being forced into my open mouth and a fond pat on the cheek. I shook my head in resignation whilst my siblings sent me cheeky looks before sneakily scooting closer to our parents. There was no stopping A-Poh now that she was on the rampage and those little troublemakers were smart enough to know to stay out of arms reach of her stuffing chopsticks. The rascals. Di-Di even has the audacity to stick his tongue out at me which was obviously returned with an eye roll.

Little did I know then that these habitual banter, familiar aromas, and accustomed faces would be what I would miss most after leaving. Everything was as it should be; and everyone was where they belonged. In that instance, surrounded by dust particles glimmering in the golden tropical sunlight, it was as if a spell had been cast that would make today go on eternally. For a moment, I let myself believe in the enchantment; that tomorrow will never come and the flight ticket to London was nothing but a forgotten fantasy…

Bzzz.

Bzz. Bzzzzzz.

Bzzz.

I instinctively reach for my phone to turn off the alarm that pierces the heavy veils of sleep. However, when I open my eyes, I’m met with an unfamiliar white ceiling instead of the usual worn wooden beams. For a moment, I lie there, disorientated before realization sinks in. Cardiff. I am in my flat in Cardiff and the weight I felt on my stomach wasn’t Hua-Hua[8] but rather, my laptop which was still perched on its spot from yesterday’s all-nighter. I must’ve dozed off at some point.

Slowly sitting up, I gaze around the silent room. Its bleak white walls; books and worksheets sprawled messily across the covers; steely early morning sunlight filtering through the narrow window into the dingy room; folders organized in a nice pile on the desk...My wandering gaze comes to a grinding stop when it lands on the calendar next to the neat stack of folders.

February 7th.

I sigh. Looks like I’ll be celebrating both my birthday and Chinese New Year alone this year…

The frigid February air is still bitterly cold despite being swaddled from head to toe in layers upon layers of coats and scarves. Miserably, I trudge onwards along the banks of the River Taff. Razor sharp winds slice at my cheeks leaving behind searing scars. As the last remaining trickle of warmth leave my body, my mind shuts down and I plod along the cobblestone streets mechanically, limbs and face numb from the biting cold.

A lukewarm breeze flutters by, stirring my slumbering senses. Bit by bit, warmth seeps back into my frozen limbs and my foggy mind clears as if waking up from a trance. Glancing around, I spot the words Marchnad Caerdydd [9] and realise I’ve arrived at the market. I shake off the remaining frost induced spell and venture into the quiet maze of stalls, trolley in hand.

The smell of freshly baked bread and pastries wafts through the crisp air, tinged with a breath of floral sweetness. A range of raw meat laid out in clear glass cases bathed in neon pink lights line the murky grey brick walls. Whiffs of coffee beans tickle my nose whenever a dull-eyed person shuffles soullessly pass me in the near vacant market. Stall owners sit spiritlessly at their stalls staring lazily into space. It was almost like walking into a ghost town.

A splash of colour.

Turning around, I see a stall filled to the brim with a rainbow array of fruits and vegetables. A refreshing sight in the seemingly deserted marketplace. The sudden craving for something sweet results in me buying a bag of strawberries before wandering on.

As I nibble away happily on the strawberries browsing through the stalls up in the gallery, I was suddenly struck by a sense of déjà vu. Bit by bit, the scene before me starts to change. The glaring daylight fades away into the tranquil darkness of night and the dusty marketplace roof is now a sky full of twinkling stars. A magnificent full moon shines softly against the vast velvety void, casting a gentle glow on everything below. Towering, lush palm trees replace murky grey brick walls and the cobblestone floor is transformed into a well-travelled dirt road. A lively buzz fills the now soothingly warm tropical air as a familiar sight begins to emerge in the distance. For there, at the very end of the road, stood Penang’s bustling night market, glowing and glittering like a chest of magical gems in the blanket of darkness.

Brightly lit stalls sheltered by rainbow umbrellas formed a colourful labyrinth, drawing people young and old towards those warm lights like moths to a flame. The sound of street vendors hollering out their wares permeated the air, mingling with the cheerful haggling. Weaving in and out of the throng, I hurried over to the food stalls section. Bellowing clouds of smoke imbued with the irresistible aroma of Asian street food rose into the night air and my mouth began to salivate.

As memories melt into ink and reconstruct themselves as words on the page, I am suddenly reminded of Lauren Elkin’s essay on being a flaneur.[10] Wandering through the streets of a city, uncovering its secrets and crafting it into a tale for the shelves. Having read Virginia Woolf’s Street Hunting, it’s fascinating to see not only the difference between Penang and London but also her contrasting writing style.[11]

A familiar smell wafted down the street. I snapped out of my trance and made a beeline towards a stall tucked away in the corner. An old couple stood amongst bamboo steamer baskets selling staple dim-sum[12] delicacies. Noticing my arrival, the old woman hurried up to me and enveloped me into a bone-shattering hug.

“Nai-Nai![13] Can’t – breathe –”

She lets go of me with a laugh, grabbed my hand and quickly led me inside. As she busied herself fawning over me, Ye-Ye[14] quietly filled up a bowl and placed it in front of me with a kindly smile. I looked into the bowl to find it full of crystal shrimp dumplings[15], my favourite dim-sum dish.

I picked up a piece of dumpling with my chopsticks and take a tentative bite, my mouth immediately exploding with flavour. The saltiness of grounded shrimp marinated with soy sauce and sesame oil contrasting exquisitely against the unique juicy sweetness of fresh prawn; a thin yet sturdy glass-like wrapper encapsulates it all with delicate pleats, creating a tasteful balance between the plainness of the dough and the richness of its fillings. Ah…heaven in a bite-size bundle.

Ye-Ye and Nai-Nai smiled fondly as they watched me wolf down the shrimp dumplings with the same unrestrained gusto I’ve had for the past nineteen years. We reminisced about the past, laughing at funny memories whilst savouring the simple dim-sum dishes, and I couldn’t help but noticed how time had flown. Just yesterday I was barely tall enough to reach their knees; today, I stood half a head taller.

“How long?”

“Three years.”

Minutes pass, neither of us uttered a word. Then, Ye-Ye gently ruffled my hair, the same way he’s been doing since I was two, only this time, the smile on his face seemed tinged with a hint of melancholy.

“Silly child.”

My nose soured at the affectionate nickname and I quickly tilted my head back to stop tears from falling. The stars seemed strangely lonely that night.

“Still such a cry-baby.”

“Am not!”

Hastily blinking away the tears, I got up and enveloped Nai-Nai in a tight hug.

“Take care.”

I nodded, not trusting my voice. After a few pats, we broke apart and I turned to head home.

“We’ll save some shrimp dumplings for when you come home!”

I dared not look back so I raised my hand and waved farewell instead. Until next time.

Strolling down the five-foot way, I paused in front of a pair of ventilated timber doors. Mythical creatures of Chinese folklore embellished each panel. The dragon floating reverently amongst wispy clouds, each delicately carved scale shimmering with contained power. Opposite it, perched nobly on golden branches, was its gentler feathered counterpart – the phoenix, its wings spread wide, ready to take flight. Under the moonshine, it was as if those gilded bodies were suddenly brought to life. Their once dull sheen now aglow in brilliant shades of scarlet, orange and gold, almost as if they would burst into flames at any moment, just like in the myths of old, and be reborn from the ashes.

As I gazed at the exquisite carvings, entranced, an old memory resurfaces. Same door, same carvings, but a very different time. I was a lot shorter for one, and I wasn’t alone. The large calloused hand that held mine was wrinkled and dry like the pages of an old book. Where a finger was supposed to be was stump, the only remains of a work accident in his youth.

I tugged at the hand and A-Gong glanced down, a gentle smile on his weather-beaten face. Seeing the question in my doe-like eyes, he laughed. “These?” he asked as he lifted me up with one arm whilst running his other hand over the carvings which glittered under the setting sun. “These are spirit guardians sent by the Jade Emperor to watch over our household.”

“Howshowld?”

“Family,” he chuckled and tweaked my nose. I giggled, playfully reaching out my stubby fingers to grab his beard. Still laughing, he pushed open the heavy, half-a-century-old doors and we entered the house.

Standing in the living room, the sounds of mirth slowly faded into silence and evening sunlight was replaced with the darkness of night. Without bothering to turn on the light, I walked over to the Luohan-bed and struck a match, lighting the wooden lantern. A pool of golden light was casted around the table where a flight ticket to London sat, my passport placed neatly beside it.

I sighed.

Sinking down into the cushions, I glanced at the clock. Five hours. Then it’s goodbye for a very, very long time. I gazed absentmindedly around the familiar room as my mind takes a trip down memory lane: mornings sprawled across the brightly coloured majolica tile floor trying to trace its intricate patterns; Evenings spent watching A-Poh wielding her embroidery needle with decades of practiced ease; A-Gong playing the erhu[16] on peaceful nights…ah yes, the erhu. Closing my eyes, I could almost hear it. The bamboo bow strung with horsetail hair traversing between two silk strings as A-Gong’s fingers dance deftly along its slender neck producing a vast array of tunes: one moment tender and sombre, the next sonorous and joyful.

“Mmmreeoow?”

I opened my eyes and found myself gazing into the forest-green orbs of a young calico sat patiently on my lap. Snuffing out the lantern, I laid down and wrapped my arms around Hua-Hua as she snuggled against my chest.

An intoxicating sweetness tickled my nose.

I glanced over at the potted plants to find the tan-huas[17] blossoming. Head propped against the pillow; I watched as the tightly rolled petals bloom in slow motion. Its fiery red tendrils unfurling elegantly to reveal a profusion of feathery white petals, much like a swan ruffling its wings, about to take flight. In the darkness of night, its snowy petals seemed to glow from within, as if made of moonbeams. With moonlight streaming in from the lightwell above, even the floating dust particles were transformed into shimmering stardust dancing in the quiet night air.

Yet, as enchanting as it was, I couldn’t help but remember that it would all come to an end very soon. By dawn, before the sun’s first kiss, its lustrous petals would be shrivelled up and a withered carmine carcass would be all that remains of its snowy beauty from the night before; its lingering exotic fragrance a ghost of its twilight arrival. There’s an old saying A-Gong used to describe the tan-huas blooming: an instant of beauty but a moment of eternity. Even though beautiful things don’t last forever, they live on eternally, etched into our deepest memories. Just like the tan-huas, my time left on this quaint little island was coming to an end. By dawn tomorrow, I too would be gone; and though I’d be leaving this cozy old house I called home, I’d take with me its memories, just as the scent and beauty of the tan-hua lingers on forever in the memory of all who witnessed it.

Listening to the rustling palm leaves and soothing gurgle of running water, tension oozed out of my body as my muscles relaxed. The tranquillity of night imbued with the intoxicating sweetness of tan-huas calmed my racing thoughts and my eyelids started to droop. Just before being lulled to sleep by Hua-Hua’s soft purring, I caught sight of a glimmer of azure amongst the radiant white blooms. The fluttering of delicate wings; quiet footsteps; something warm being tucked around me; and the familiar scent of incense from eleven years ago accompanied me as I drifted off to sleep.

NOTES:

[1] Ji Ruan, ‘Reflexions’ in 300 Gems of Classical Chinese Poetry, trans. by Yuanchong Xu (China: Peking University Press) pp. 88-89

[2] ‘A-Poh’ means ‘grandmother’ in Hainanese

[3] ‘A-Gong’ means ‘grandfather’ in Hainanese

[4] ‘Jia bui lo!’ means ‘time to eat’ in Hainanese (one of the Chinese dialects).

[5] ‘Luohan bed’ is a traditional Chinese furniture equivalent to the modern sofa-bed. It is made of wood, often containing a low wooden tea table set in the center.

[6] ‘Di-Di’ means ‘younger brother’ in Chinese

[7] ‘Mei-Mei’ means ‘younger sister’ in Chinese

[8] ‘Hua-Hua’ means ‘flower’ or ‘patterned’ in Mandarin which is a reference to the calico cat’s tri-coloured coat as well as the fact that calicos are called ‘Yin-Hua-Bu-Mao’. The naming is also a pun and an allusion the association it has with the memories her grandfather and his favourite flowers – the tan-huas.

[9] ‘Marchnad Caerdydd’ means ‘Cardiff Market’ in Welsh.

[10] Lauren Elkin, ‘A tribute to female flaneurs: the women who reclaimed our city streets’, in Flaneuse: Woman Walk the City, (London: Chatto & Windus, 2016)

[11] Virginia Woolf, 'Street Haunting', in Selected Essays (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), pp. 177 - 187

[12] ‘Dim-sum’ is a style of Chinese cuisine that’s prepared in small bite-sized portions served in small steamer baskets or on a small plate. It is also a metaphor in this story for a Chinese saying: 麻雀虽小，五脏俱全 meaning ‘small as it is, the sparrow has all the vital organs’. Just like dim-sum, the narrator’s happiness comes from a seemingly insignificant object such as a bowl of shrimp dumplings.

[13] ‘Nai-Nai’ means ‘paternal grandmother’ but can also be used as a general reference to or a friendlier and more affectionate way of addressing an old woman which is often used to show the closeness of the relationship.

[14] ‘Ye-Ye’ means ‘paternal grandfather but can also be used as a general reference to or a friendlier and more affectionate way of addressing an old man which is often used to show the closeness of the relationship.

[15] ‘Crystal shrimp dumplings’ also known as ‘Har-gao’ are a staple dim-sum dish made of prawn semi-translucent wraps kneaded from flour. In Chinese culture, dumplings are normally associated with togetherness and reunions since the wrapping of dumplings is a group activity that is usually done with family which helps emphasizes on the sense of belonging within the narrative.

[16] ‘Erhu’ is a traditional Chinese two-stringed fiddle.

[17] ‘Tan-hua’ also known as Epiphyllum Oxypetalum is a species of cactus found in South America and Southeast Asia that blooms rarely and only at night. In the Chinese culture’s language of flowers, the tan-hua means ‘an instant of beauty, a moment of eternity’, meaning beautiful things don’t last forever but they last forever in our memories.

Author's Notes:

Back with Part 3 of the short story slash prose pieces from uni series (this part was also written in second year lol) The story is back to the present, picking up a year after that rocky start in Part 1 and A-Yun is now in her second year of uni reminiscing about the time leading up to her departure for the UK. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed reading Part 3~

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 4

Since exams are over and graded and I've officially graduated, I can finally post my work online without having to worry about Turnitin picking it up as plagiarism because apparently you aren't allowed to plagiarise yourself according to university which is absolutely ridiculous but I'm not the one making the rules here so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Also, please don't reupload my works without permission.

#ninbayphua 墨彦 #prose #short story #constructive critisms are always welcomed #please don't repost without permission

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tiramisiyu · 3 years

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【未定事件簿】 Tears of Themis: 【夏彦拜访剧情】 Xia Yan’s Personal Story 2-14 Translation

Translated parts: Xia Yan’s Personal Story Chapter 2: 2-1 / 2-2 / 2-4 / 2-5 / 2-7 / 2-8 / 2-9 / 2-10 / 2-11 / 2-13 / 2-14 Translation Masterlist: here

Video: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1xV411m79T?p=11

A quick explanation of how this feature works is that each boy has their own section that you can “Visit”! Part of it is like MLQC’s GSH feature, where you can talk to the boys (with Live2D!) and raise intimacy by interacting with them. The other part of it is a storyline that centers on the MC running around with the respective boy to deal with a certain case or situation.

Antiques Shop

After sending the girl home, Xia Yan returned to his own antiques shop.

He sat on his sofa, flipping through his copy of “Adventures of Sherlock Holmes”.

Yang Xiao: You must have had a lot of fun if you came home this late, right?

Xia Yan: …

Xia Yan: Brother Yang, there are some places in my room that have security mechanisms. It’s not safe for you to come and go as you please.

Yang Xiao: I did want to give you a call before I came in, but I was afraid of interrupting your date.

Yang Xiao: Oh, I’m returning this to you.

Yang Xiao tossed the glinting ring that had fallen on the car before.

Xia Yan: Just like your style of taking action from before… you didn’t even put it straight into the last storage cabinet.

Yang Xiao: I originally did want to do that, but after, I thought that I should give you a chance to turn over a new leaf.

Yang Xiao: After all, something like proposing marriage should be done by the person themselves.

Yang Xiao: But if you still wanted to leave her after today, I would have directly given the ring to her, dragged her to confront you, and watched you deal with it.

Xia Yan: Aren’t you being too ruthless – I’m a sick patient, after all!

Yang Xiao: Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Being brave enough to take risks is my style as a doctor.

Yang Xiao: Plus, a patient like you needs shocking methods. Only by getting stimulated well, will you have a vigorous will to live.

Xia Yan: …

Xia Yan: Alright, I already no longer plan to leave her. Return my box to me.

Yang Xiao: Since you already plan to accompany her, then it shouldn’t be a big deal for them to be returned to you, one by one, by following Sphinx’s riddles.

Xia Yan: Brother Yang…

Xia Yan: I bothered asking you for it because I wanted to act with etiquette. I didn’t want to intrude into people’s homes like you.

Xia Yan: Or do you think that there’s a place on earth that I have no way of coming and going from as I wish?

Yang Xiao: …

Yang Xiao: Xia Yan, I’m actually thinking for you.

Xia Yan shot a glance at Yang Xiao, with “Keep spinning your lies” written all over his face.

Yang Xiao: I’m telling the truth!

Yang Xiao: Think about it. If I return the box to you now, how will you explain to her how you defeated Sphinx?

Yang Xiao: You can’t tell her that the two of us conducted and acted this out, right? Hey, don’t glare at me… alright, consider it as me conducting and acting this out.

Yang Xiao: But with good friends like us, she’ll definitely think that we joined hands to mess with her, right?

Xia Yan: …

Yang Xiao: Today, you lied when you helped me cover things up, right?

Yang Xiao: The taste of lying to the woman that you love the most is definitely hard to bear, right?

Yang Xiao slapped Xia Yan’s shoulder, his face full of sincerity.

Yang Xiao: Take your time. Take your time in weaving this play full circle. Don’t rush.

Yang Xiao: This way, you’re good, I’m good, she’s good – everyone’s good.

Xia Yan did his best to control the twitching in corners of his mouth. With a calm and collected face, he knocked off the hand that Yang Xiao had placed on his shoulder.

Xia Yan: …

Yang Xiao: Plus, with the box at my place, you’ve also got one more reason to set up a date with her – isn’t that pretty decent!

Xia Yan: You’re too much…

Yang Xiao: Alright, I’m leaving the physical examination schedule on your table. Remember to come on time.

Yang Xiao: Your sister-in-law has stewed some dinner for me. I should get home to eat it.

After Yang Xiao finished talking, he stood up. Xia Yan sent him to the door.

Xia Yan: Brother Yang… thank you for today.

Yang Xiao: I’m just contributing all the humble effort within my power.

Yang Xiao: The one who makes the decision is you yourself.

Yang Xiao: That year, I could save you. I can still do so now. Live well for me, young man.

Turning away, Yang Xiao waved at Xia Yan and walked into the night.

Xia Yan returned to the place in front of the computer and sat. He held up that lost-and-found ring, staring at the centrepiece ruby, and fell into deep thought.

That heart-shaped gem, red as fresh pigeon’s blood, was crystal clear. The carefully polished facets sparkled resplendently.

Surrounding the gem, there was a circle of densely-packed little diamonds. The ring of platinum formed the base, stably holding this splendour in place.

It was a most typical look, but it was unique and unmatched in this world – it was a ring that Xia Yan made himself.

[Flashback]

Infirmary

When Yang Xiao pushed the door open and came in, Xia Yan was sitting on the hospital bed, holding sandpaper to polish the gem.

Yang Xiao: Yo, still busying yourself?

He glanced curiously at the gem in Xia Yan’s hand, his eyes full of smiles.

Yang Xiao: Working so diligently… looks like this stone really is important to you.

Yang Xiao: You don’t know how tightly you held it when you were undergoing surgery.

Yang Xiao: Me and the other two team doctors – three grown men – couldn’t force open your hand even when we combined our efforts.

Yang Xiao: With much difficulty, we managed to touch the stone, but just when we shifted it a bit, you started shaking and crying out.

Yang Xiao: Scared us so much that we rushed to put it back.

Yang Xiao: Say, are you Jia Baoyu* reincarnated, with this stone as your lifeline?

Xia Yan’s hand movements paused. He didn’t speak for a while.

Yang Xiao: Although, I also need to thank the lucky influence of this stone.

Yang Xiao: When we stuffed it back into your hand, your will to live clearly increased significantly.

Yang Xiao: Otherwise, with the potency of the toxic gas you breathed in, I wouldn’t be able to save you even if I were Hua Tuo** reincarnated.

Yang Xiao wasn’t wrong.

At that time, it wasn’t just him. The moment he was pushed on the surgery bench, even Xia Yan himself had already lost all hope.

Toxic gas in his body – he was vaguely aware of how many of his teammates that came here before him had died in this way.

It was just that he hadn’t completely resigned yet… he wanted to see her. He wanted to see if she was living well right now…

And then, he heard it.

That familiar voice came from far to near, gradually amplifying beside his ear.

“Xia Yan, you must return. I’m waiting for you to return.”

A ray of light penetrated his chaotic field of vision. In the depths of the radiance, the girl’s figure was outlined with light.

She extended her hand to him. Unconsciously, he started to sprint.

When their fingertips touched, the white figure dissipated in all directions. There was only the girl’s hairclip, which fell into his hand.

Something took root and grew in his heart, and his will to live suddenly went up!

He would continue to live. He would personally tell her of the feelings he had hidden for many years in his heart…

Thus, in the middle of that difficult operation, he miraculously survived.

And the “hairclip” that had fallen into his hand was the source of this gem in his hand.

Yang Xiao: Although seriously, this stone really is pretty magical, with there actually being a natural heart-shaped ruby inside.

Yang Xiao: If you used that to propose marriage, it would be so romantic… wait!

Yang Xiao suddenly looked towards Xia Yan.

Yang Xiao: Young man, could you be using this for an engagement ring?

Yang Xiao: Explain obediently – when did you get a girlfriend?

Xia Yan: … Do I look like someone who has time to establish romantic relationships?

Yang Xiao: Then it must be someone from before. Who is it? How old? How’s her personality? Is she pretty?

Xia Yan: I…

Patient A: Brother Yang, don’t scare young people.

Xia Yan hadn’t finished refuting this when the male patient on the adjacent bed started talking first.

Patient A: To me, Little Comrade Xia must have encountered a heavenly girl by destiny on his missions and fell into the river of love.

Patient A: Just like those 007 movies that they often make. An exceptional girl living in a foreign country, stimulating and romantic.

Xia Yan: Your imagination is so rich that you might as well become a screenwriter.

Patient A: Hey… don’t be shy.

The male patient took out a bag of something from under his pillow. Supporting himself with the bed’s guardrails, he hopped over and moved it to Xia Yan.

Patient A: Here. Encouragement from a senior’s love.

Patient A: Just a ruby is too drab. Set these diamond pieces on the side – it’ll be prettier.

Patient A: I originally kept this to give to her, but these legs of mine… I’m just afraid that I’ll be a burden on her.

Patient A: Do your best. When you get together, remember to invite me to drink the wedding wine!

[Flashback end]

“Reality often doesn’t go as planned.”

“After hearing about those experiences she had, I…”

“But I won’t be confused anymore.”

“I’ve made a promise with her.”

“That when she’s lonely, she has me. When she’s experiencing difficulties, she has me. When she’s being capricious, she has me… for all of time, she has me.

“For this, even if I’m struggling on my deathbed, I’ll work my hardest.”

“I want to always accompany her, by her side.”

“… If I can’t, then let me be her family member, and accompany her to walk just a little bit further…”

TL Notes:

*Jia Baoyu is the main character of a Chinese novel called Dream of the Red Chamber, born as an incarnation of a magic piece of jade.

**Hua Tuo is an ancient Chinese physician, known for his skill in surgery, as well as his use of anaesthetics.

I checked my translation over several times when I read “most typical look” (about the ring) because I was like??? Why would they write that after talking about how beautiful it is?? But there simply wasn’t another way to interpret that line…

Xia Yan also voices the end bit. 10/10 would recommend listening

#tot translation #tears of themis #weiding shijian bu #xia yan #未定事件簿 #夏彦拜访剧情 #夏彦 #guys i literally can’t #Xia Yan MADE a ring #:') cries #caught up now

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cartoonfangirl1218 · 4 years

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Tales from Shadowhunter Academy thought-rant

Maybe it's because I read the series out of order that I have this opinion. But I wish Tales from Shadowhunter Academy had more stories following Simon and George and the like around their training and their missions for the school. Admittedly the first time I read it, I had only read the City of series, and I was eager for more Simon and Izzy so TfSA seemed perfect and I got attached to the character since I skipped to all the Simon scenes. Upon second reading, I had finished the Infernal Devices trilogy which soon became my favorite. I loved the Victorian fantasy aesthetic and all the literary quotes between Tessa and Will, and just ahh a lot of it. Anyway, so some of the stories made more sense now I knew who all these characters were.

However, I still stand by how I wish more of it was focused on Simon at the Academy. In the 10 stories, 4 are stories within a story (The Whitechapel Fiend, Nothing but shadows, The evil we love, Pale Kings and Princes) and 2 have a major focus on side characters to set up future stories (Born to an endless night, Bitter Tongue).

Now don't get me wrong I enjoyed Born to an endless night and The Evil we love. It's always great to see the growing Lightwood-Bane family and compare their acceptance of Magnus to The Evil we love about Robert's time in The Circle. I was so disappointed to find out The Circle graphic novel was canned. I wanted to know more about them. At least The Evil we Love gave a taste, and later Celine’s story. I especially liked Pale Kings and Princes because of how it combines the past with the downworlder prejudice that Simon is trying to combat after the events of the Fae-Sabastian alliance and New Accords. But ones like The Whitechapel Fiend and Nothing but Shadows felt like it was using the Academy as frame stories so people can see the Infernal Devices gang again and learn about the Chain of Gold generation.

Which is nice but.... we have so much content coming from Ghosts of the ShadowMarket, the Chain of Gold trilogy, even in the Magnus Bane. Chronicles which I'd argue is a better use of it since Magnus is part of the story, trying to help James in The Midnight Heir compared to Simon who just listens and learns relevant lessons. I guess the big reason why I want more about Simon's time at the Academy is that I actually wanted to know more about his fellow students.

George, ah, I ADORE George Lovelace. I'd give to see two whole novellas about him, he is so charming. I agree with Simon, he is a wonderful guy and could give Jace a run for his money.

But there's also Marisol Garza Solcedo. It's implied she's had a hard life, dead parents, and that she specifically came to the Academy to learn to fight. I want to know more! What is it like for mundanes like Marisol who don't have any special connections to prominent families (like Kit), just bad lives and iron wills. Like Simon wondered, what drove a 13 year old to join the Academy to potentially die by fighting demons or by ascending. And what about Beatriz Velez Mendoza whose father, grandfather, and brother died during the Dark War? Were they the heads of the family? What was it like when it was only women? She grew up away from Idris, what was it like? How did that inform her nicer perception of Downworlders/does she ever feel pressured to live up to the family members who died? Beatriz who is distantly related to Cristina Rosales-Mendoza, do they know each other at all?

And Jon Cartwright? Is there something he should be ashamed about his family as Scarsbury implied? What was it for him to become close to the dregs that he scorned so much? To fall in love with Marisol? Did he fear his family might disapprove? Is that why he dated Julie briefly before falling hard and committedly to Marisol?

And there's Julie Beauvale. We only had one scene of sympathy to know her mother and sister died, but what about her dad? She says he's useless now, what is it like to live with a dad who may be permanently traumatized or changed? How hard is it to reconcile what you thought you knew about your whole life and culture to realize The Law may be wrong? How did she finally succumb to the charm of George Lovelace (I mean, it's not hard to imagine, George is a gem after all. But I want more flirty George and even sexy George). And what about Vivian Penhollow having to make the Academy work after being retired for the last 50 or so years. Vivian trying not to let her cousin-in-law and Consul Jia down. And someone really trying to reconcile Downworlders and Shadowhunters. Sunil and Boris and the like. I wanted to see their missions, the different styles of leadership between them.

I want to see more of their personality flaws, how they handle possibly failing in archery or something, maybe some heart to hearts and those classic back to back fight poses. If we didn't have that Nothing but Shadows story we could have seen shadowhunter vs mundane baseball! Maybe have them track or fight or something with downworlders we haven’t seen. I always wanted to see more of how mermaids are in this world. Maybe even kelpies. Something besides the big three of vamps, werewolves and fae.

I just feel that these characters had so much more depth potential to be mined but they were sidelined in favor of stories with characters that will have whole novels/POVs in future books. I know Simon can't be observant of everyone since he has his own problems and was trying to get a date with Izzy, I understand that but maybe we could have gotten more explicit hints.

He was surprised that Beatriz and Julie became parabatai, I was too. Cassandra wrote on her tumblr it was because "Aw, you’re so sweet! I’m so glad you like Julie and Beatriz. It was fun to write them, in that they were having a whole sromance (like a bromance but with girls!) which Simon wasn’t entirely aware of. I actually think that Julie and Beatriz weren’t that close before they went to the Academy, but that through knowing Simon, George and Beatriz, Julie’s mind and the way she wanted to live was changed forever, and she wanted (and asked) Beatriz to be parabatai with her for the same reason I think a lot of people want a parabatai… to have someone who keeps them right, to have someone who makes them a better Shadowhunter, not just practically but morally." Well, how do they do that? What does Beatriz get from Julie's harshness? How does Julie become more compassionate? We wouldn't know because as she said Simon doesn't notice, which is a slight shame because until Chain of Gold, we didn't have a female-female parabatai duo.

Jon apparently comes to care so much for George that he cries at his funeral. How would we get that? They hardly hung out until the last story. Simon only starts noticing Marisol and Jon's relationship as something romantic in Angels Twice Descending. Well, I wanted to know more about them too. Because it was clear that something was developing beyond Marisol wanting to scare and humble Jon. When did they first click as something more?

I knew they wouldn't be main characters, they wouldn't be saviors of the big battles and I certainly didn't expect them to be anything more than cameos. But if they'd gotten explored a little more, just for these novellas to focus on them, their deaths in Lord Midnight and Queen of Air and Darkness would become even more poignant because we care about them as characters,not just as Simon's friends. Basically I wish there was some more love for them and maybe more headcanons besides the ones swirling in my head about these unanswered questions. So if you have hcs or ideas or want to add to the rant. Reblog and add on.

#random musings #unpopular opinion #maybe #tales from shadowhunter academy #the shadowhunter chronicles #simon lewis #george lovelace #marisol garza #beatriz mendoza #jon cartwright #julie beauvale

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troofless · 5 years

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sdorica, a list of people to fight

Team Angelia: Angelia: Don’t fight her. She has the charisma and intelligence to back up her rule status. The instant you even think about fighting her, she’ll be manipulating you for the rest of your life. Dylan: You can fight him and he’d allow you to fight him but you won’t do any damage. Sione: She’s a soldier. Don’t fight her. Naya: You can fight her and she’d welcome it but she’d kick your ass. Jerome: This guy has his hands full managing Frederica, and you want to add to it? Don’t fight him. In fact, you should be giving him a well-deserved break. Sharice: You can fight her. She’d be extremely happy to fight, even if she doesn’t show it, and she’d even want to be friends with you afterwards. Frederica: You can’t find her to fight because she’s always slacking off somewhere. Leah: She’d let you fight her but you’ll end up having all sorts of misfortune in the next few weeks to come. Lio: Look, if you even try to fight him, Leah, Angelia and Ned will eviscerate you. Don’t fight him. Team Angelia’s Allies: Crushfang: He’s ok. You can fight him. Dagger: He’d fight you, so you should fight back. Dumb Bear: You CAN’T fight him. You’re just unable to. Golemwalt: This guy’s constantly being hunted for the gems on his back. Don’t fight him. He’s more willing to play with you than fight. Roger: Fight him because Kittyeyes doesn’t deserve the imouto-zoning she got. Kittyeyes: Another person that would kick your ass if you fought. Nolva: Don’t fight her. She’s a gentle soul that would never harm anyone but I can’t say the same for Waverlyde. Koll: The true doggo. Only fight him if your meaning of fighting is throwing him a stick and playing fetch. Team Nigel: Nigel: You can fight him. He’s a tsundere so he won’t hurt you that badly. Izumi: You’re obliged to fight him, you have to, but you’re going to end up dead. Yamitsuki: She would kill you without hesitation. Don’t fight her. Team Elio: Clark: Literally holding all the braincells of Team Elio. If you fight him the main story will never progress. Don’t fight him. Elio: This boy saved his father and got disowned for it, and then got kidnapped and is currently being held in stasis to be used as experiment for Devious and in the future probably Aosta. Even if you want to fight him, there are a number of mad scientists out there who won’t let you. Charle: No. Why would you fight him. He’s a sad dad just trying to look out for his son. Rune: Don’t fight him, he literally fights for a living. Give him a hug instead, he needs it. Sophie: Don’t fight her. Her overprotective spiky uncle Hanbei would stomp you. Maria: Don’t fight her either. She has nukes and will destroy you. Also if you break her Clark has to deal with it and that boy already has difficulties fixing Maria. Sanchez: He’s a good person at heart, but needs a good whacking to be set on the right path. Fight him and force him to make up with Rune.

Team Theodore: Theodore: A poor father and uncle trying to live with the bad life choices he made. Don’t fight him. Jahan: Another guy you’re obliged to fight. He’s wimpy but you have to finish him off if you fight him because if you let him off easy he’s going to stab you in the back. Karen: Don’t fight her. If you fought she’d kill you without hesitation.

Team Neutral: Yan-Bo: You can fight him. He’d beat you up and teach you some important life lessons on the way. Hestia: She’d be willing to sit down for a cup of tea and hold hands and sing songs together. But if you fight her, she’ll kill you without hesitation. Karnulla: You can fight him, and he’d probably allow it as long as you don’t touch any of his bambinos. Pang: If you fight him the furry community will hound you for details on how it felt fighting Pang so you’re better off not fighting him. Fight Puggi instead. Puggi: You gotta fight him. You just gotta. Fatima: She’s a merciless warrior who changed her racism and anti-modernism ways. After seeing her character growth why would you fight her? You’d lose anyway. Morris: He’s dead. You can’t fight him. Tica: Fight her! She likes fighting. Experiment: You can fight him but it has the mental capacity of a dog and will fight you back, and it hits hard. Aosta: You want to fight a cranky doctor who does shady experiments in a lab on the outskirts of town which involve raising the dead? Don’t. Jia Shen: Why waste your time fighting him? He’s just trying to make a living. Shirley: She’s dead. You can’t fight her.

Team Deemo: Masked Girl: Fight her. She’s lonely and will probably enjoy the company. Deemo: You’d fight long boi?? Really?? Don’t. You’d win, but is the guilt that accompanies it worth it? Alice: She’s a kid. Don’t fight her. Team Crazy: Law: Don’t fight him. He’s crazy. Hyde: You are obliged to fight this bastard. What’s more, he’s so weak, he’ll go down with the slightest poke of a stick. FIGHT HIM AND WIN. Team Desert: Ned: He’s a sweetheart. You can fight him and he’d let you but would you really? Lisa would kill you. Lisa: Don’t fight her. She can kill monsters without a sweat, and would kick your ass. So would Sherlock. Sherlock: You can fight him, but he’ll make you pay for the damage. Devious: He’d kill you before you even got close. Run if you see him. Misa: She’s a kid, a zealot and sick. Don’t fight her. Lazer: This old grandpa is a veteran soldier and hardened killer. Don’t fight him. Diana: She was taught by said veteran soldier and hardened killer. Don’t fight her.

#sdorica #sdorica mumblings #troofless stuff

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wennjunhui · 4 years

Note

i just also wanna say I dropped everything I was doing when I saw that post and RAN to my song archives to see if I could find shit but sadly it's been a while since I've listened to a lot of c-pop bdbddjdkkdk I wanna be more well versed in c-pop too tho so if you find other gems pls lmk 🥺 meanwhile I will send more recs I can find/remember if ur cool with that 👉👈

adkfja;lkdfja THANK YOU ;; i got a mini playlist on spotify (tho its mostly just chinese kpop songs) so lemme list a few songs!

love bomb - popu lady

drip - meng jia

what’s your number? - zhoumi

你點的歌救了我 (the song you picks saves me) - a-lin, j.sheon

#answered #ok techinically zhoumis is also a chinese version but like #bruh that song SLAPS

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dramaddict-and-proud-of-it · 5 years

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Tribes and Empire: Storm of Prophecy

Year : 2017 | Country : CN | Nb of episodes: 75

My rate: 4/10

Synopsis :

Young prince Muyun Sheng (Huang Xuan), who was born of a beautiful spirit mother, was shunned and disliked since young due to his identity. Having lived in seclusion and loneliness throughout his life, he one day finds out the truth about his mother's death from her previous attendant-in-waiting. Along with the new-found knowledge, he was given a magical pearl which once belonged to his mother. While his brothers fight for the throne, the whimsical half-spirit prince spent his days seeking the mysteries of the gem. To the outside world, he was declared insane and then dead.

Years later, when the emperor and his brothers died, the abandoned prince was pushed to the throne. Longing for the world of the gem and the woman he saw in it (Janice Man), he escapes the palace by blowing apart the barrier between it and the River Folks. Along with the palace, he left behind chaos and a country under attack on all sides. Leading the attack on land is Shuofeng Heye (Zhou Yiwei), a man who has tamed the wolves and seeks to unify the nomadic tribes and finally give them a home of their own.

And then there is Muru Hanjiang (Shawn Dou), the son of the exiled family of generals who were once equals with the Muyun’s. Returning from the land of giants to seek revenge for the betrayal by the Muyun family, he ends being an unlikely ally to the young Emperor against the new ruler, Muyun Sheng’s uncle (Wang Qianyuan).

Interwoven among the men are the women who also cannot escape from the storm of prophecies. The woman who was prophesied to become Empress (Xu Lu) but whose heart belongs to Muru Hanjiang; the Princess who lusts for blood (Zhang Jianing); princess of a fallen kingdom who is determined for revenge (Kan Qingzi); the treacherous Empress (Jiang Qinqin) and her niece (Wan Qian), who schemes to be the Empress.

Main cast :

Huang Xuan as Muyun Sheng, Sixth Prince

Zhang Jia Ning as Muyun Yanshuang, Princess Jing

Wan Qian as Nanku Yueli

Xu Lu as Su Yuning

Wen Yong Shan (文咏珊) as Panxi

Dou Xiao as Muru Hanjiang

My thoughts on this drama :

It was promising. But it let me down.

I don't know how to express it otherwise. I was hoping for something with a lot of fantasy, magic, epicness. But the result was a mess of bland upon bland. As usual, we have here some awesome costumes and sceneries. That's mainly the reason I stuck to the 75 episodes. At some point, I just fell into some speedwatching to get it over with though.

I would only tell you to watch it if you're really reaaaaally bored and have nothing else on the watchlist.

A Favorite ?

#tribes and empire:storm of prophecy #cdrama #wuxia #huang Xuan #zhang jia ning #wan qian #xu lu #Wen yong shan #dou xiao #shawn dou

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biaswreckingfics · 6 years

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Letting Go: Part 7

Author: biaswreckingyourlifefics

Pairing: Baekhyun x Reader

Genre: Angst

Word Count: 2.9k

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

You smooth your hands over your dress for what feels like the 20th time. As you get out of the elevator and head for the dorm, your anxiety spikes to a new level. Nervousness didn’t really cover the amount of emotion you were feeling. You were working yourself up so much, you worried you’d make yourself sick. Good grief, I need to calm down. This isn’t even that big of a deal. You tried to tell yourself.

“Y/N… Y/N, are you okay? And would you leave your dress alone! You’re gonna smooth out the pleats!” Jia scolds you.

You look down at your dress. The what? You examine the skirt, assuming the “pleats” were what the bunched-up fabric was called. To you, it looked like an open accordion in a dress style. The dress was beautiful and in a shade of deep purple that complimented your skin tone beautifully. The bodice was flat, with purple gems around the sweetheart neckline, and the pleats flared out at your waist. You wore the dress to your high school graduation and brought it with you to Korea on a whim.

“I’m sorry… I’m just nervous.”

“Why are you nervous? You’ll be fine.”

You hadn’t told Jia about the incident in your kitchen last night. You hadn’t kept it from her because you didn’t trust her, but because you still had no idea what had even happened yourself. Baekhyun and you had kissed, and it was a damn good one at that, but he had feelings for someone else. Didn’t he? What did it mean? Did he kiss you spontaneously? Or was it something that had been on his mind? It had definitely been on your mind.

You had tried to call him afterward, but his phone went straight to voicemail. You also sent him a couple of text messages, but they all went unanswered. Baekhyun had kissed you, apologized, and was now ghosting you. Again. You had a feeling the next time you talked with Baekhyun, it was not going to go well for you.

Jia knocks on the door, causing you to jump a little. She looks over at you with a suspicious look on her face, but before she can grill you, Junmyeon opens the door, saving you from a conversation you didn’t want to have.

“Hello, ladies! Don’t you two look wonderful tonight?” He moves out of the doorway, allowing you in. He was wearing a white button-down shirt with black pants, and his hair was a little shorter than the last time you saw him.

“You look great too, Junmyeon!” You compliment him, causing him to beam a bright smile at you.

“I think you might be one of my new favorites.”

You smile, his words causing some of the tension that had built up in your shoulders to release. Looking around, you realize there aren’t too many people here, but there is a good amount that you didn’t know.

Turning to Junmyeon, you ask, “Who are all these people?”

He looks around at the guests. “Oh, some are dancers, some are actors, and then there are SM employees. Just a few close friends.”

You are momentarily stunned at how he just casually drops he was friends with actors until you remember that he was in EXO and that they were famous in their own right.

“Hey babe, you’re finally here.” Jongin’s voice makes you turn around. You watch as he walks up to Jia and pulls her into his arms. You were extremely happy for the couple, the two seemed to be made for each other, but it also reminded you of your unfortunate love life, or at least your lack of one.

You notice that Jongin was followed by Kyungsoo and Chanyeol, and just like that, you spend the next 20 minutes greeting members and being introduced to so many people, you had already forgotten half of their names. There was only one person you had yet to talk to, but you could clearly see him across the room. Baekhyun had made eye contact with you multiple times, causing your heart to start beating irregularly, but as soon as you would look at him, he would immediately look away.

At first, you didn’t know how to feel about it, but the longer it went on, the more annoyed you became. I know he does not think he’s going to avoid me all night, you thought. There was no way you weren’t going to talk about what happened, so when you were finally away from everyone, you made your move.

He was standing off to the side of the balcony door, talking to Yixing, which relieved you. At least it was someone you knew. Yixing spots you coming and smiles at you, a dimple popping out. Baekhyun had his back to you, so he had no idea who was approaching until Yixing says your name.

“Hey Y/N!” Yixing greets you, causing Baekhyun to stiffen.

“Hi Yixing, do you mind if I borrow Baekhyun for a little bit?”

“He’s all yours.” Yixing smiles and walks away. You call out a thank you and wait until Baekhyun turns toward you. When he finally does, his eyes widen fractionally as he takes in your dress. Good. You had been curious as to what he would think about your outfit.

“Hey…”

“Hey…” He responds, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Can we talk?” You ask.

He slowly nods, knowing he couldn’t avoid you forever. He tilts his head in the direction of the hallway, indicating for you to follow him. You had never been in this area of the dorm, so you glanced into the rooms as you passed them, noticing this was where their bedrooms were. Baekhyun stops midway down the hallway and slowly turns toward you.

“I’m sorry…” He gets out before you can open your mouth, causing whatever you were going to say to fly out of your mind.

“What are you apologizing for?”

“The kiss, and also for ignoring you afterward.” He immediately answers. His words triggering a small sting in your heart, but you suck it up and ignore it.

“You don’t have to apologize. Just talk to me. What’s up?” You ask, needing to know what he was thinking.

He looks at the wall to your left and takes a deep breath. “I’m just… confused. I don’t know…” His eyes trail down to the floor, and your heart begins to beat faster.

“What are you confused about?” You quietly ask.

“My feelings.” He responds. You stay quiet, waiting for him to elaborate. When he looks back at you, your breath leaves your body. “I wanted to kiss you. I wanted to see what it was like… and now, I don’t know. I don’t know what I want or how I feel.”

Your mind was blown. Baekhyun had wanted to kiss you? Something that you had thought was spontaneous was actually something he had been wondering about? You were gonna have to process that information later.

“Okay… what do you want from me?” You ask, not sure what you were supposed to do now. You didn’t want to pester or push him into anything. You wanted him to figure out his feelings for himself, but you needed to know what he wanted you to do to help him with that.

“Maybe a little space? I don’t want anything to change between us, but I think it would help me sort everything out… It’s not just you. I want space from her also.”

You knew the her he was referring to was Chanyeol’s girlfriend, so you nod. If space was what he was asking for… then you would give it to him.

“Alright… well, you let me know when you have things figured out.”

You turn and walk away, not wanting to be in front of him anymore. You would give him the space he asked for, only because you didn’t know what else to do.

“Y/N…” His voice stops you, and you turn back to look at him. “Are we okay?”

“I’m not going to hold your feelings, or your confusion about them, against you, Baek. We’re fine.” You pause. “But I want you to know that I don’t regret that kiss in the slightest.”

When you emerge from the hallway, you don’t know what to do with yourself. Your heart was beating almost painfully fast from the flood of emotions you were feeling. You were ecstatic that Baekhyun had wanted to kiss you, hurt that he had ignored you, confused because he was confused, and now you had to patiently wait for him to figure out if he liked you or not, which was likely to drive you up a wall.

“Y/N! Can you settle something for us?”

You turn to see Minseok and Jongdae standing in the kitchen looking at you. Thankful for the distraction, you wander over to the pair, wondering what they want.

“I can try? What do you guys need to be settled?”

“Which do you think is better? Kimchi soup or hot pot?” Jongdae asks you, with an incredibly serious look on his face.

You stare at them for a moment. You’ve grown used to the members bickering and debating about random things. It seemed fun to them, and it made you laugh, so you just let them go.

“I haven’t had hot pot before, so I don’t think I can give a fair opinion.”

Both of their jaws drop, and you try to hold back a laugh at the looks on their faces. After a moment of shock, they both begin talking at the same time.

“Excuse me?”

“I suddenly feel very bad for you…”

“Thanks?” You question, not sure what the big deal is.

“How have you not had hot pot yet?” Minseok asks. When you shrug your shoulders, he continues. “Seriously, is Jia even showing you restaurants? That should’ve been the number one thing on the list.”

“That may be a little dramatic… but we have to fix this. You have to experience hot pot.” Jongdae tells you, not willing to take no as an answer.

“Okay?”

Your conversation with them carries on for another 10 minutes before both men excuse themselves, leaving you in the kitchen alone to collect your thoughts. You could finally have a minute by yourself to just think about everything that has happened since you walked through the door.

It had only been about a minute or so before a couple of voices drifted to your ears, and you knew who those voices belonged to immediately. Chanyeol’s girlfriend and Baekhyun, and from the sounds of it, they were having a private conversation just outside of the kitchen.

You suddenly become very anxious. This was so not where you wanted to be. You absolutely did not want to hear their conversation. Whether it was Baekhyun telling her the same thing he told you, or if he was telling her something else. Whatever the situation, you did not want to hear it.

You also realized that if they walked into the kitchen and found you just standing there by yourself, they would probably think you were in here listening to their conversation. How would you even explain that? Especially now that you’ve heard parts of what they were saying.

“– and that was the reason I wanted to talk to you privately.” Baekhyun had been saying.

“Baekhyun… I thought you told me you were over me? That it was just a little crush, and you’d be fine?” She questions him.

“I did.”

“I mean, besides what you just told me, that’s not what I’m hearing…”

You hear Baekhyun scoff and knew what he would say next. “I’m guessing Jia told you?”

“It doesn’t matter who told me. Baek, you’ve gotta move on… it’s been months. You can’t keep doing this to yourself.”

“I know, and I – “

You hear a new voice add into the mix, causing Baekhyun to stop talking.

“What’s going on over here?” Sehun asks curiously.

“Hey, Sehunnie. What’s up?” She asks with a light voice, trying to bring the focus on the conversation they were having to something else.

“Oh, I’m just going to the kitchen. Don’t mind me.”

Crap. Crap, crap, crap. You have got to be freaking kidding me. Your heart starts beating triple time, and it is insanely loud in your ears. Sehun was coming in here, and he was going to see you awkwardly standing there by yourself.

You were about to be so busted, and you were a terrible liar, so if he asks you what you are doing, you are quickly going to out yourself. You stare at the door with apprehension, and when Sehun walks through, you thought you were gonna fall over from your lack of breath.

When Sehun sees you, he jumps a little. “Y/N, you scared me! Geez.”

All you could do was stare at him with wide eyes, and shake your head, hoping he’d figure out that you didn’t want them knowing you were in there. He looks at you, confused by your actions and your vigorous head shaking.

You glance toward the doorway and notice the complete silence out in the hallway. She and Baekhyun had heard Sehun address you, and now they knew you had overheard their entire conversation. You look back at Sehun and plead with your eyes, but then stop. You didn’t even know what you were asking him to do. How would he know?

“Did you get the drinks?” Sehun asks. Your head snaps up to him, and you feel relief flood through you. He had given you an opening, and you were incredibly grateful.

“I couldn’t remember what you told me…”

“Let me help.” He smirks and walks over to you, whispering, “You are so explaining this later.”

You nod, and once Sehun and you grab some random drinks, you follow him out. As soon as you walk around the corner, you make eye contact with Baekhyun. Damn it. He was staring at you with unreadable eyes and furrowed brows. You turn your attention to the back of Sehun’s head and attempt to keep the guilty expression off your face.

Once you and Sehun hand out the drinks you randomly grabbed, he takes you by the arm and pulls you to the corner of the room.

“What was that? Why did you just look like a frightened baby deer when I called your name?”

You look at him helplessly, not even knowing where to start, but he has no problem with getting it out of you.

“Does it have something to do with Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s girlfriend?”

You nod. “I was in the kitchen, getting a moment to myself, and before I knew it, they were having a private conversation, and I was standing there stupidly with no way out. I panicked, and I didn’t want them to think I was spying on them.”

“How did you know it was private?” He asks curiously.

You didn’t want to tell Sehun too much since Baekhyun asked you not to tell anyone about his dilemma, so you give him a vague answer. “It just seemed private…”

Sehun’s eyebrows furrow and he hums in thought.

“Thank you, though. For helping me and asking questions later. I didn’t know how to get out of it…”

“Well, I couldn’t just leave you there. You looked like you were about to attach yourself to my leg and start begging.” You look at him in bewilderment. “I’m just kidding with you.”

You didn’t know if you were overreacting or not. It wasn’t like you were purposely standing there, actively trying to listen to what they were saying. You were just in the kitchen trying to find some peace and quiet. If they wanted to have a private conversation, they should’ve checked to make sure that no one was in the kitchen in the first place.

Although… it didn’t really help that Baekhyun had asked you for space earlier. He probably thinks you were trying to hear what he was telling her. You turn your head towards the kitchen subconsciously and see Baekhyun leaning against the wall, watching you. Oh, god, was your first thought. Your second thought was, what right does he have to make leaning against a wall look that good?

“Y/N! There you are! I was looking for you.” Jia’s voice rings in your ear.

“I’m taking that as my cue to leave. Try not to spy on anyone else.” Sehun teases.

“Sehun, I – “

“I know, I know. I’m just messing with you.” He laughs. “Take a deep breath. You’re fine.”

“So, about the birthday party next weekend. I was thinking us girls could all get ready together? Does that sound okay with you?” Jia says, pulling your attention back to her.

Your mind has to race to keep up with her. The birthday party she was talking about was for Chanyeol’s girlfriend. It was her 25th birthday, and everyone was going out to some club that was known to be frequented by idols. The thought of getting ready with her after she just found out you were listening to her conversation made you want to skip the party altogether.

Plus, you would be at a club with Baekhyun, the girl he likes, and her boyfriend. Honestly, your head was starting to hurt from all of this, but she had become your friend, and you weren’t going to miss her party, no matter how much you might want to. You mentally sigh.

“Yeah, sounds great.”

#letting go #baekhyun fic #byun baekhyun fic #baekhyun angst #byun baekhyun angst #exo fic #exo angst #baekhyun scenario #baekhyun au #exo scenarios #exo au #byun baekhyun fanfic #exo fanfiction

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sundaynightnovels · 5 years

Text

11/11/11

here’s another 11/11/11 tag by @inexorableblob !! i feel like it’s been a while since i interacted with you, and i loved reading your answers!!! anyway, here it goes again!

How many of your characters have survived dangerous situations? HA. well, considering they’re all ahem, un-alive right now, i think none of them have survived.

Which of your characters forgets their own birthday? shou, definitely shou. for how much he overthinks, he can be quite muddle-headed. ren too, probably. it’s just not really on the calendar for him. jun would too, but it’s less of forget and more of it doesn’t really matter to him.

Camping Week or Day Trip to the spa for you? i love staying in the forest!!!!

What is the most unpleasant place in your WIPs? uhhh. to most of the characters it’d probably be by the lake, but i think the lake has some fairly important scenes. who am i kidding, the lake has the most important scenes. but yea, probably the lake. for zhen it’d be the noisies’ apartment because yknow, testosterone-infested. ewww. for shou it’ll be the tavern where ren works at because... the ‘tea’ there (it’s actually coffee) is horrendous.

What hairstyles do you pick for your OCs? oh no i’m not good at the visualising department! i mean, shou would have the hairstyle reminiscent of his time (Ming dynasty), and in the afterlife he just kinda pulls his long hair into a ponytail, a bun, a braid, whatever he pleases. lu has messy-ish hair that he can’t be bothered to tame. jun has soft-looking, silky hair that he doesn’t need to tame. teng probably tries to style his hair but it still sticks up everywhere and he basically looks like a thug. yu(f) usually has her hair in a messy bun or in any sort of updo, as long as it doesn’t bother her.

How many times have you changed residences in your life? um never i guess

What was the last thing you had an OC eat? hmmmmm. hmMMMMMmmMMMM. probably shou’s coffee. no wait! a sugared gourd! unless water counts??

What would your OCs buy if they won the lottery? zhen would throw most of it in the bank, randomly choose something to invest in in hopes that the value will inflate and she’ll earn more money (but she doesn’t yknow, research, so chances of her losing her earnings are pretty high) shou will spend a long time thinking about it. a really really really long time. maybe what he buys is insight into the future and the living and society of the upper-class rather than a tangible physical object. lu will buy food. lots of it. hide the money in a bag under his bed or something and stuff the food also under his bed. might get a lil something or two for his parents, but might not as well, really depends on his mood on that day. yu(f) would store it all in the bank, no question. ren would donate a lot of it and give a bulk of it to his parents too and share them with his friends who might need it. teng would give it to his loved ones too, like his family etc., or donate it to whatever cause he believes in. he’ll probably keep a smal amount for himself too. jun would splurge, doesn’t matter where the money goes as long as it goes somewhere. throw money around! get a jacuzzi! go on an impromptu trip! what is planning for a rainy day when it’s storming all the time anyway?? yu(m) would be the most reasonable. he’d put a portion in a bank and make good, well-informed investments, he’d give some of it to his parents because filial piety, and well yea. he’s smart. jia would probably use it to invest in herself. like if there’s anything she wants to do, if she wants to set up a business or create something and that needs money, she’s going to fund it herself immediately. maybe a little percentage of it goes to her parents as well, but it’s mostly to invest in herself.

What’s the most unfair thing you’ve written in your WIPs? i don’t really know. maybe what’s unfair is that a gem of a man like teng still has no one to love him. that boy needs some love!!!

If you switched bodies with somebody, what would you expect them to do first? what they would want to do first in my body???? probably pet my dog, not gonna lie. i’d do that too if i was in my own body for the first time.

Are there any cryptids in your WIP? Which ones? If not, which is your favorite? nope! unless, as the all-knowing god watching things from above as a murky amorphous figure, i am the cryptid. in that case, i am my favourite.

going to tag a bunch of new followers to do this @arhamwrites143 @caitwritesstuff @elizabethsyson @surroundedbypearls @jumping-up-and-down-for-writing

#writing tags #like all things out of season #character tag #personal #writers #writeblr #my OCs #my wip

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