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praphit · 3 years

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JL - The Snyder Cut: A Quarter Pounder With Cheese

Was it 2017 when The Regular Ass Justice League came to the big screen? Idk. I can't remember anything before COVID.

I thought that movie was... decent. It was somewhere between "ok" and "good"; that's not a knock against it. It's like a quarter pounder with cheese. You know??

- it's about 1pm at work, and you ain't had lunch yet. You'll annihilate

a QPWC, but you also can't say it's a gourmet burger from some fancy spot; they put love and time into their burgers. If you compare a QPWC to THAT... then you might call it somewhere between "shit" and "almost ok"; movie snobs said things like that.

I wasn't like the snobs. I was like - "QPWC". But, in the defense of the snobs, it's hard not to compare the reg ass JC to a gourmet burger like The Avengers:

A team is assembled, there's a destroyer of worlds lurking about, there are magical alien objects to collect, there's a part in this new version that has a similar battle axe scene to Thor/Thanos, there's a character who at times can be a bit sexualized - and I'm not talking about Wonder Woman. I'm talking about

Aquadude.

"Wait, are we about to eat? I better pop this shirt off. I don't wanna get food on it."

"Wait, are we about to watch Tv? I better pop this shirt off, so the couch doesn't wrinkle it."

Zack Snyder came along and said "Quarter Pounder With Cheese?! Well, yeah, but that wasn't on me at all. Y'all need to see MY vision! MY burger would have been glorious!"

So, here we are... kinda like a second date, when the first one was 'ok', but not quite "the one". DC was like "That date, we were rushing things and may have gotten a lil handsy. We were copying moves we saw in other films and it was awkward. And something was up with our face that night.

BUT, this time, will be different!"

Let's talk about what's different:

#1 - The Flash

We get a lil more back story with him, but in the process an awesome scene where he saves some black woman with his lightning speed (so fast that everything is slow). I loved this!

The black woman whom he saves, I can only assume is Iris. I'm not a super comic geek, but I've seen the Tv Series (hence my assumption).

Flash is apparently all about black women. Maybe I should go back and read some of his comics. Perhaps he ONLY saves black women; pretty, young, single black women :)

He had better be careful with his hands as he saves them, with things all slow. I was watching him when he saved Iris.

Sometimes, you might have to feel some one up in the process f saving their life, you know?? I don't know, but Flash does :)

I'm just saying... my man might get hashtagged, if he's not careful.

#2 - Darkseid

He is the thing of nightmares and it's perfect! He is everything that I wanted Apocalypse in that awful X-Men movie to be.

A villain as powerful as Darkseid should look menacing.

Not like this -

But, like THIS.

YES!

He looks like he has been possessed by several spirits, and all of these spirits are high on meth and voodoo.

#3 (now this was unfortunate) Lex and The Joker make an appearance.

(Joker here lookin like he just got finished eating ribs. What the hell is going on with his mouth?)

Ugh.

We told y'all that these two were bad. Real, real BAD! It's like me saying that the cologne you were on our last date smelled like expired sauerkraut juice, please don't wear that on this next date. YET, here it is... stankin up the joint!

Some may say, but Joker revealed some things that could be interesting for Batman, moving forward... Spoiler Alert - in the future, Batman bleeps up! That's not much of a revelation. Batman is always screwing up. Just look at Arkham - full of his screw ups.

But, that's a story for another day (a day that hopefully, will NOT include actors Jared and Jesse).

#4 - Martian Manhunter.

He looks smoove. I don't know much about him. I've seen him in some cartoons. I imagine that someone who knows nothing at all about this universe would have been totally confused. But, regardless, he looked great! I hope we'll see him in the future. Why is the second part of his name "manhunter" though? First order of business, if he joins the team, is to change his name. Though perhaps all martians have names like that:

"Martian Boozehound", "Martian Cock Blocker", "Martian Narcissist". Maybe they'll all join one day.

The Martian didn't really move the plot though. He was just there to be kinda "look-at-me".

Think being on this second date, and at dinner, the person randomly starts juggling. You're like "That's really cool, but can we get back to the meal."

#5 - Steppenwolf!

YES! YES! and more YES! There's no way anyone can hate on his new look.

We also get some backstory as to why he's doing what he's doing. Before I thought he was simply being mean because his name is "Steppenwolf" A name like that demands that he be bullied. But, here, we find that he has pretty much been canceled. I don't know what he did or tweeted, but Darkseid wasn't having it. Now, he's gotta do everything he can to get back into the fold; popping up random places and doing what he must to be redeemed - kinda like Louis C.K.

#6 - A lil more attention to the characters

a) Alfred being a gadget wiz.

b) Wonder Woman reminding us how amazing she is. Where was this woman in her sequel? THIS WW, I’d follow to hell and back.

c) Aquadude had some more scenes for build up as well.

Unfortunately, this woman was a part of it.

She's not bad at acting, she's just a bad person (look her up if you don't know what I'm talking about).

d) Batman though --- it's not that I don't like Affleck in there. His Batman just looks so old, slow, and tired. There are some more chemistry/slightly flirtatious scenes with him and WW, and I'm like "Dude, there's no way that you have the energy for that action." :)

e) Cyborg though (Ray Fisher)-

He's the star of this cut! Before he was just the angry black guy. In this one... next to Superman, I'd say he was the most key to their victory.

As far as this second date:

It looks way better. There's a lil more story added. It's dark and depressing, but that's just how DC and Snyder roll.. This is probably why we don't see Shazam; he's way too peppy for the group.

Seriously wowed by the effects. I couldn't sit through 4 hours straight, but when I broke it up, I really enjoyed it!

However, it's still the same movie. You know?? The same failings are there from the first. It makes me think more of what could have been.

What if they had treated Ray Fisher better (look it up, if you don't know)?

What if they had taken their time to build up to this movie like Marvel did with The Avengers?

What if Batman and The Joker didn’t go through a identity crisis every few years?

Amy Adams is in this movie! She's one of the best actors around, today! I keep forgetting that she's in it, because they wasted her talents.

It's like our date got buff, dressed up this time, took us out for a nicer LONGER time, but they still rushed and were handsy, they were still a lil too dark

(dating tips, kids: save your stories about your messed up childhoods for at least date #3), and they were still wearing that damned sauerkraut cologne.

Once again, good stuff, when not compared to a gourmet meal. More like a fancy McDonalds, serving us a quarter pound STEAK with cheese.

Grade: B-

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llycaons · 3 years

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29! overall a very sweet and silly episode. this is one of the few with no jiang cheng at all, so that may be part of the reason why. he kind of brings down the mood

I always skip the opening but I just realized how many blatant spoilers appear in it. like, you see myu and jfm dead in LP surrounded by blood and wen soldiers. I wish cql had the budget to make an intro like tsomd had

the first couple seconds are actually really funny because lwj and wwx are just sitting in silence and lwj is staring at his food and a-yuan is running around and trying to get lwj to look at his toys but lwj doesn’t know how to deal with kids yet so he’s just like it’s okay just sit here. kinda awkward

a-yuan must be so excited to meet a new person. he has no playmates his age :(

there’s sometimes (to me) a disconnect in how wwx is written in the romance and that’s because some of the scenes are from the novel and some are cql originals, and not only is the dynamic different but the narrative of the love story is too, with how they interact with each other. it’s impossible to watch cql with the novel in mind and say it’s completely accurate to novel characters, especially since a lot of scenes are up to interpretation, but the cql characters aren’t always consistent either

last time we saw wwx and lwj together, wwx was passionately proclaiming his willingness to die at the hands of lwj only, and before had a very intimate and vulnerable confession to him (cql scenes) and when they meet up again he’s like very lighthearted and casual (I think that’s accurate to the novel) so the tonal difference is kind of jarring. by the end of this scene I do think he gets back to that cql dynamic though (which is, imo ‘we know we’re in love or at least I know I’m in love but the circumstances are impossible and he’s made his choice and he’s drifting away from me because of the choices I made, but I can’t make different choices. also i’m worried he’ll try to lecture me and judge me”) meanwhile in the novel iirc he thought lwj hated him and wanted to capture him and punish him. it’s dumb.

a-yuan offering wwx food and then putting the spoon into his own mouth even though there’s no food on it...sweetie. kids who try to take care of grownups like they get taken care of is so cute. I wish my brothers did that it would have been hilarious. they did other things, like flush their toys down the toilet and try to eat dog food and mix flour and raisins together. carnage.

on the other hand that scene where he tries to comfort wwx is actually a little uncomfortable...he’s like, four years old and he shouldn’t feel the need to do that? I read a rly long post a while ago about how his trauma manifests as people-pleasing and that fact that you can kind of see that here so young no matter how hard his caretakers worked to give him a good childhood is so sad

wwx being like “well you came here to see me huh? well you’re not interested in marriage and I don’t want to be lectured about music okay?” oh buddy you’ve totally given up on the idea of being with him huh...

wwx correcting himself to say “lady jiang” and then immediately going back to saying ‘senior sister” and “jiang cheng” yeah

little wwx and jc planning a wedding together is so cute I love that detail this loss for him breaks my heart it really does he should have been there!! not to mention missing JL’s ceremony not to mention her DEATH not to mention him dealing with JL hating him it just gets worse and worse. and you know she NEVER wanted that for him! she just wanted him to be happy and loved and safe! jc talks big about respecting her memory while not respecting that her dying wish was to keep wwx alive jfc

in the novel yanli was apparently very plain and boring and people thought lowly of her which is why wwx says “people don't think she’s good enough for jzx” but this wasn’t really a thing in cql so it sounds out of place. and if we didn’t know how highly wwx thought of yanli, then it would have sounded very passive-aggressive lol

I’ve seen people call the BM community an anarchist commune and I’m like???? there is still a hierarchy there. wwx and wq are called by their titles based on their status. wwx doesn’t really have to do manual labor and doesn’t think he should have to based on his status. granny wen curtsies when she comes to take a-yuan. they exist outside the clan’s political system and it’s definitely not authoritarian but I don’t think anarchist is the right word. but that’s not something I’m too well-read on maybe I’m wrong

wq crying and holding wen ning after he wakes up!!!!! wwx getting flashbacks to how his sister used to comfort him!!!

I find it nitpicky to try to claim who wwx felt closer to or who was his ‘real siblings”. the wens didn’t replace the jiangs. they were all his family. he loved all of them. on some level, he did belong with all of them.

wq expressing her concern for wwx without disregarding his boundaries or insulting him...she does threaten him a little but it’s not like, serious...that reminds me how annoyed I get when jc dismisses wwx’s worries or fears with this implication that he shouldn’t even be complaining or that he has it great (”when have you been treated like a servant?” as if myu never existed or the politicians didn’t use that as a tool to try to control him)

jc isn’t even this episode and I’m annoyed with him

anyway the demon-subdue pun is still fucking hilarious

the untamed is like *comical music plays as the protagonist spits up blood*

and the farewell...wwx saying he doesn’t have any other choice or else the wens would die and lwj can’t even argue...

lwj spends most of the episode avoiding eye contact and not speaking actually. he knows any argument he’d give against wwx’s choices doesn’t have much merit and he’s too honest to try

SINGLE-PLANK BRIDGE. god that line fucks. ready to do what he needs to do even if it kills him

but then!!!! if you walk around in the dark all alone you'll get hurt!! we’ll light up the way for you!!! it’s not dark anymore because we love you!!! wen ning is cooking!!! fourth uncle made wine for him!!!

you’re running too fast we can never catch up to you! see how I cry over this foreshadowing

wwx was loved here, and had reprieve from the specific challenges he faced in LP, and after he gets closer to everyone else I like to think he wasn’t suffocating so badly. but he misses lwj and yanli bad enough to get absolutely smashed that night

he doesn’t even MENTION jc except in connection with yanli lmao you are so relieved not to have to baby him while concealing your own pain anymore aren’t you buddy. god I hate to say this but if jc died and the other three lived I would have been so much happier. at least wen ning came back!

OKAY and the snow punishment scene!!!! the visuals are so stunning I forgot that this wuji version plays the lyrics too, which allude to old flames never being extinguished and both grief and joy in a life (on-brand)

lwj in snow....this scene had almost no dialogue but honest to god it’s one of the best in the series for the callbacks the atmosphere the illustration of lwj’s character in stark relief the cinematography the symbolism and finally the music making this punishment both melancholy and triumphant like WOW lwj is amazing

this little chunk at the end is pretty forgettable to me but it’s fun to see him buying up those caricatures of the yllz while creating his inventions. his sense of humor really never did leave him, after everything. that’s extraordinary. it really is

knockoff chenqings being sold by con artists is SO funny. the humor feels very modern in the same way tgcf’s humor does, despite the setting

you know I’ve seen posts about how wwx and wen ning have a more equal relationship postres, which I like in theory, but lbr the stuff wwx has wen ning do for him in this episode is absolutely the kind of stuff he has him do in ep46. and wen ning doesn’t mind it! he and his family are alive bc wwx made an incredible sacrifice. and he has this undead body now that can’t cry or sleep, but is very very strong so of course he’s going to help out his best friend who’s draining his life force by the day to keep their family safe. so while I don’t love wen ning taking on this role, I get it

I’m not in love with how only a handful of the wens are even named, which lessens the emotional investment on the audience’s end and makes them feel like plot devices to get murdered. I do look forward to seeing the lotus pond and yanli’s robes so I’m going to try to keep it moving

#getting into crama was great bc it gives me somthing to do on break. thanks cql #cql rewatch #long post

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keysmash · 5 years

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AU where (***SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO DIDN'T SEE THE FORUM ON NOVEL UPDATES***) LSZ hadn't lost his memory of WWX and the remaining Wen clan members.

ILY ANON! This AU is one of the few things I have lined up for, like, after I’m done with the soulmate HCs but since you asked, here you go (under the read more cut, because, SPOILERS!) It’s a lengthy one. I hope you enjoy this anon~

First of all, I’ll have you know that my muse while writing this down are obviously Wangxian by LWJ and You are my sunshine (Nick Lachey ver.).

It starts with a dream, or memory - WWX hides little LSZ in a place he thought would be the safest, further away from what he thinks would be considered war loot. A-yuan hears a lullaby WWX sings to him every night and difts off to sleep

Before waking up from his dream, LSZ remembers WWX apologising to him for what’s going to happen (I would tell you to come kick my ass in hell, but I hope you’ll go to heaven, A-Yuan.)

When he wakes up in the cloud recesses, at least two weeks have passed since WWX died. He wakes up, panics and cries for for Xian-gege (Xian-gege where are you? I promise to be a good boy! A-Yuan will call you mama! I won’t call you Brother Poor. Wwaaaaaahhh)

LWJ takes the crying boy into his arms in an attempt to shush him. LSZ recognises his Brother Rich and cries harder. (I want Xian-gege! I want granny! I want- I want… Uwaaaaaa)

LWJ plays Inquiry every day with a sleeping LZS in his lap, usually crying himself to sleep calling for Xian-gege.

He stops crying himself to sleep after a few weeks but still accompanies LWJ every day as the latter plays Inquiry. (What are you doing? // Finding Wei Ying // Can you find Xian-gege this way? // Mm. // Can A-Yuan play too? A-Yuan will help find Xian-gege. // Can learn. // Will brother teach me? // When you’re older.)

When LSZ is officially recognised as a Lan, he remembers WWX telling him about “the rich sect with lots of rules”. He will study hard and be strong so that if WWX returns, LSZ can protect him. He doesn’t like to follow the older disciples into town. They all talk bad about WWX and LSZ won’t listen to them

He meets LJY for the first time when he turns seven. They end up in a fist fight because LJY talks shit about WWX (I bet he’s evil and ugly OWW what did you hit me for?!) They are punished to kneel and copy the rules for two whole months after classes. Within the two months, the boys reconciled and become fast friends (LJY: We’re BFF now yeah? Yeah!)

After a year or so, LSZ tentatively asks LJY: “What if I tell you I’m not actually a Lan?” He has read books about the Wens and slowly starts to understand the atrocity committed by the Qishan Wen Sect in the past. He wants LJY to know about him although he is scared of losing a friend. LJY simply tells him he doesn’t care even if LSZ is a demon king or whatever and that they’re friends either way. He’ll also fight other people who make fun of LSZ. I LIVE FOR THEIR FRIENDSHIP OKAY

When he turns 10, LWJ starts him on quqin training. After getting no answer 10 times, LSZ secretly breaks down crying before he goes to sleep. He gains a newfound respect for LWJ who never stops playing Inquiry for a long time. He starts calling LWJ Hanguang-jun out of respect although in his heart, LWJ will always be the kind Rich Brother and a dad.

LSZ studies, cultivates and trains diligently. He helps LWJ take care of the rabbits. (Hanguang-jun, how did these rabbits end up here? / Wei Ying.) At 10, LSZ is too young to understand LWJ’s real feelings so he thinks LWJ must have been a very close friend of WWX

LSZ lights incense and prays for his fallen family members every year on the anniversary of the siege. He visits the kitchen and makes spicy congee as an offering and plays Inquiry in a solo attempt to find WWX.

One night, he dreams about his family and wakes up earlier than usual. He sits at his desk and draws the faces of everyone he loves and misses. When LJY asks, LSZ says he is scared of forgetting their faces, so he wants to draw them while he can still vividly remember how they look like.

LWJ finds his drawing. LSZ apologises for wasting time on mundane things and expresses his readiness to accept punishment. LWJ asks him to describe each and every person in his drawing. LSZ happily complies

When they arrive at WWX’s drawing, LSZ sees the changes in LWJ’s expression and offers LWJ his drawing. He’s not surprised when LWJ takes the drawing and thanks him for it.

At 12, the young disciples go on an excursion to Caiyi Town. LSZ discovers a romance novel and secretly buys it. In the novel, the character has achieved immortality and waits for hundreds of years to be reunited with his deceased lover, traveling to many places for a chance to meet each other. LSZ thinks the character is similar to LWJ and realises with a jolt how LWJ must have felt for WWX.

One night, he silently joins LWJ to play Inquiry next to him. LWJ looks at him questioningly. LSZ simply says “I also love Xian-gege.” and plays his quqin. “When I meet him again, I’ll surprise him and call him Mama. He was so jealous when he thought I cried and called you papa the first time we met, Hanging-jun. Uh… Sorry for my ugly crying, haha.” He swears LWJ actually smiles a little but when he blinks, the hint of a smile is no longer around.

One evening, LWJ hears LSZ playing a melody he has never taught the boy (wangxian). It isn’t 100% the same but very similar so he asks LSZ about the song. (Xian-gege used to sing it for me when I had trouble sleeping. Sometimes he plays the tune with his flute. It’s very different than the other songs he played).

By the time he starts training with guest disciples from other sects and meet Jin Ling, LSZ has calmed down enough to not react badly when people thrash talk WWX. In a way, he understands why JL is the way he is but he is not afraid to voice out his opinions when he thinks it’s necessary.

Like LWJ, he listens to stories about JC capturing demonic cultivators and hopes none of them is WWX.

One time, LSZ buys every copy of a book depicting the evil deeds of the Yiling Patriarch from a street vendor, highly exaggerated to the point of obvious slander (WHAT IS THIS BOOK? XIAN-GEGE WOULD NEVER INFLICT PAIN ON PEOPLE FOR FUN!) He burns every single copy to dust.

In class, they learn how to use the tools invented by WWX in night hunt (like the compass and the flags). LSZ sighs at the irony of people hating on Yiling Patriarch but still making full use of what he left behind.

The request for an exorcism at Mo Village arrives and LSZ is in sent out because from the request received, the matter doesn’t seem very difficult for even junior disciples to handle.

When he reaches Mo Village in the morning, it feels like any other village he had previously visited. At around noon, however, he feels a subtle change in the atmosphere.

Seeing fierce corpses fight each other reminds LSZ of his childhood. He feels a pang of nostalgia when he remembers WN but shakes it away to focus on the intense fight.

When he hears MXY play a hastily carved bamboo flute, LSZ is stunned. He knows there are many people who venture into demonic cultivation and want to be as strong as Yiling Patriarch but the melody played, although much poorer in quality probably due to the flute, sounds nostalgic.

When WN appears, LSZ has to stop himself from breaking down in tears because Brother Ning who protected him, played with him, took care of him, whom everyone thought to have been ground to dust, has returned. When WN roars at the cultivators who gang up to capture him, LSZ wants to interfere.

Before he could, MXY plays a soft melody to calm WN’s bloodlust. LSZ recognises the song straight away as his childhood lullaby. (“A nice song isn’t it?” WWX asked little LSZ in the past. “I’ll only play it so you can sleep, okay A-Yuan? I’m going to lose face if people hear the feared Yiling Patriarch playing songs like this in public hahahaha”

He sees LWJ protecting MXY from JC and all his doubts are cleared. WWX has returned in the body of MXY.

LSZ runs to stand by LWJ an WWX and tries to reason with JC. (“I won’t let him take you, Xian-gege”). He is the only disciple not surprised at all when LWJ brings WWX to The Cloud Recesses.

Following LWJ’s lead, he pretends to play along with WWX’s charade as MXY until LWJ tells him otherwise. It’s okay, he thought. We have waited 13 years. What a little more? Besides, the wait is already over. LSZ can’t wait to show WWX what he has learnt. He wants WWX to be proud of him.

Later, LSZ thinks, it is really impossible to doubt that it is indeed WWX in MXY’s body. WWX’s smile, although in a different body, is the same cheeky smile he remembers.

And so LSZ waits.

Should I continue?

#MDZS AU #mdzs fic idea #mdzs headcanon #mdzs hc #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #founder of diabolism #lan sizhui #LSZ #lan yuan #wei wuxian #wei ying #lan wangji #lan zhan #lan jingyi #魔道祖师 #wangxian #LWJ #WWX #LJY

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grandmasterofwangxiancultivation · 5 years

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I've always seen stories portraying Zhuilingyi with LJY as the one to join SZ/JL, which is good and all, gimme all that LJY angst - but consider: LSZ and LJY are childhood friends and get together probably before canon starts, and JL is the awkward third wheel who starts falling for them and reacts very badly when he figures it out.LJY screams at him for being a prissy princess and not telling them how he feels and then kisses him and LSZ's just. Smiling at both of them and blushing like crazy.

sorry it took me so long to reply, but your ask changed my life and i had to write something about this moment, because you’re absolutely right -we need more flustered!jl in this universe.

just, i thought it’d be shorter, but honestly i couldn’t limit myself into commenting your idea and nothing more. FORGIVE THIS FOOLISH MASTER!

“Formation!”

Lan JingYi nods swiftly, all previous chattiness gone from his demeanour. He follows Lan SiZhui with practiced steps, dancing lethally but gracefully around their prey. He seems as elegant as the other, a quality one would not think JingYi capable of -which is just stupid, he is a Lan, after all, they are born like that.

Jin Ling’s heart thunders in his chest. He grips the handle of his sword, grits his teeth, but he doesn’t close his eyes.

They stay wide open, and take everything in -the resentful energy leaving the corpses under the array created by SiZhui and JingYi’s combined strength, they perfect coordination, pure white robe swaying in the night wind and blades flashing sleek and crystal clear as entities of their own.

The corpses stop moving, falling on the ground, and the two Lan disciples halt, breathes not even heavy, energy quivering excitedly around them and on their faces.

SiZhui’s ponytail winds up on his left shoulder, forehead ribbon fluttering for a moment. The boy’s relief gentles his facial features, but the residual rush from the battle still lingers on his contracted arms, straight back, drawn sword, vigilant and focused eyes.

He throws a side glance at the other side of the formation, nodding in silent acknowledgement at his childhood friend.

JingYi’s mouth opens in a wide grin, the smooth skin at the corners and on his cheekbones wrinkling in a joyful expression, forelock swinging and trying futilely to cover the twinkling in his irises. He seems on the verge of saying something -stops when SiZhui tosses something. JingYi catches it swiftly, laughing at the sight of a juicy looking loquat -Wei WuXian must have rubbed it off on him in the long run. Things like how did you know I was hungry? and As if I still need to ask you hover between them, needless to voice out loud.

Then, SiZhui turns and walks toward him, smiling tenderly at Jin Ling. So they know I’m still here he huffs, eyeing warily the loquat he is being offered.

Lan SiZhui, “You should eat, Young Master Jin. It is important to retain one’s strength until the very end.”

Jin Ling knows, he is not stupid, nor does he need all this curtesy and big words and long sentences every time he is being addressed by either of them.

He hesitates, sheathes away his sword, falters toward SiZhui. Hears JingYi giggles at his clumsiness and blushes angrily at the patient gleam in the boy’s gaze when he reaches out at snatches the loquat, being careful not to touch his hand.

A second passes, then two. SiZhui lowers his arm and presses his lips tight.

“Let’s keep going and be careful, we are almost home” he advices, and goes back to JingYi’s side. The boy, though, keeps his gaze on Jin Ling’s grumpy expression, a tactful glance from SiZhui warning him from saying anything rude or too nosey. He rolls his eyes and looks over at the Lanling Young Master -Jin Ling notices.

“What?” he bursts out, all his muscles tensing and quaking in shame under their bewildered expressions.

“I didn’t even say anything!” JingYi protests before SiZhui can hold him back.

Jin Ling, “Then why were you looking at me like that?”

Lan JingYi, “Like that? Like what?!”

“JingYi…” SiZhui admonishes, putting a hand on his shoulder. JingYi relaxes slightly, but a frown still mars his features.

Jin Ling clenches his fists and diverts his gaze elsewhere, walking forward and moving past the two of them, slowly abandoning their hunting field.

He hears JingYi complain about something, but his whining is cut short -probably thanks to SiZhui. Jin Ling bites his lips until the physical pain he feels is stronger than the black hole in his stomach and the confusion in his mind -until it is louder than the worried whispers behind his back and the shuddering questions burning into his veins.

—

JingYi is staring at him.

He tries to not react, to make it seem as if he has not noticed yet -though how can he, when he is sitting exactly in front of him, back at him, JingYi’s gaze piercing it as if he was attempting to set Jin Ling’s robe aflame.

Lan WangJi has probably noticed as well and decided to not say anything, to just keep going with his lesson. As long as no one interrupts him or distracts the other disciples, there was no true need to assign punishment.

Jin Ling knows he has to endure it.

He also knows he has no explanation to give him.

It’s not like he is not aware that he is behaving strangely -it feels stupid in his eyes, too. The truth is, every little thing the Lan boys do irritates him.

How they don’t need to talk to understand each other, and appear to use common speech only when they want to relate something to him. How perfectly they fit one other while night-hunting -how beautiful they are while doing so, Jin Ling bitterly adds.

He has always noticed these little things but then, then they had to invite him to Cloud Recesses to study with him for a bit and his uncle had to accept their offer, because do you have a good enough reason to refuse the Lan’s kind offer, Jin Ling?

As a matter of fact, he does not -and that’s what makes thing worse. How can he explain to his uncle something he can’t fully grasp himself?

And then he had to see them silently sneak away after dinner the first day, JingYi holding SiZhui’s hand tightly and the other smirking at him while they made their way between the trees, in a more secluded area.

He didn’t know what possessed him to follow them -what made him keep quiet when he saw them whispering with such comfort, smile with such confidence, kiss with such ease it was clearly not the first time for them.

Jin Ling felt quite flustered and confused -but more than that, he had no explanation for how strongly he had reacted to that. The way his chest had tightened slightly, something similar to envy weighing down on him, similar but not identical -he knows it wasn’t simple like that, he was accustomed to envy and could easily recognise it, though not accept it. The way he had been unable to tear his gaze away, shamefully following the path drawn by SiZhui’s fingers on JingYi’s side when he gently coddled him against a tree, the boy softly moaning his name and smiling lovely while his neck got peppered his little kisses.

The way his body had responded to that -and how he fled the scene so quickly, he got reprimanded with a no running in Cloud Recesses by a laughing Wei WuXian, among all.

Accepting to go night-hunting with them weeks later had been more a flustered mistake than a heartfelt agreement. He had bitterly watched them triumph as the perfect team over and over again, too focused on chasing that strange envy away to register how little he had participated -and how that had baffled the Lan boys.

Jin Ling keeps his eyes on Lan WangJi and tries to ignore everything else, but he cannot run from his own thoughts and feelings much longer.

—

“Release me!”

“Not gonna happen”

“JingYi, maybe you should consider-”

“I won’t consider a damn thing! I’ve had enough!”

“What the hell are you talking about?! Release me this instant-”

“There” JingYi says, with a note of finality in his voice, and Jin Ling stumbles backward, back hitting a rock wall. He is breathing hard, not from actual exertion but rage and dread, sweaty hands clamping behind him.

“Are you insane-” he starts, but the other stops him almost immediately.

“Shut up, whiny mistress! You either are like this or ignore us, I’m going insane!”

“JingYi, we won’t resolve a thing like this!” SiZhi tries to interfere, planting himself between the two. Jin Ling can’t see his face, but JingYi puffs his cheeks and lowers his eyelids, diverting his gaze. Turns it back on them a moment later, arms tensing on his sides.

“We have handled this as you wanted and it didn’t work, now we are gonna do it my way” he retorts, eyes burning in determination.

SiZhui sighs, bites his lip, shakes his head and looks down.

“Alright” he complies. His eyes focus on Jin Ling and the boy feels like he should take a step back -he can’t, the rock wall threateningly solid against his back.

He swallows, unable to old their gaze.

Jin Ling, “What’s wrong with you two? Why did you bring me here?!”

“Young Master-”

(Jin Ling starts clenching his fists at the formality in his tone)

Lan JingYi, “You’ve been avoiding us, don’t deny it!”

The Lanling boy lifts his chin, irises jumping between the two Lan disciples.

Jin Ling, “What are you talking about?! Did you eat too much bland congee and it finally went to your head?!” he says, the frenetic rhythm of his heartbeat making him all the more flustered. Why are they looking at me like that?

Lan SiZhui elbows JingYi on his side, receiving a dirty look. The boy ignores him, taking a deep breath.

“Jin Ling” he calls, clear and light and warm, before moving a bit and taking his hand.

Jin Ling’s eyes widen, his heart trembling in his chest and the rest of him going dead still. His lips part, but nothing comes out, and he grips his robe with his free fingers.

“I’m sorry if we scared you. We just… we wanted to know if we did something wrong, because it really feels like you’ve been avoiding us” he murmurs, trying to keep his tone reassuring and diplomatic -not suspecting how that gentleness and his closeness is killing every ability of functioning like a normal human being Jin Ling owns.

He opens his mouth again, wanting nothing more than to deny it again and run away, but JingYi’s eyes are pleadingly and anxiously staring at him, and Sizhui’s fingers are still holding his.

He quivers.

Jin Ling, “Why do you care?”

Not another word.

Lan JingYi, “What does that mean? We are your friends-”

“Maybe I shouldn’t be your friend! I wouldn’t want to intrude between you two or anything!”

Don’t say it, it’ll make you look weird, you’ll be the strange one all over again and they won’t want to have you with them.

Lan SiZhui frowns, pulling him toward him by the hand, but Jin Ling notices the understanding flashing quickly in JingYi’s irises.

You’ll be cast aside again.

Lan SiZhui, “Why would you? We invited you here!”

Jin Ling, “So that I could work as a disguise, cover for you? Do you think I am an idiot?!”

Why can’t you be less strange?

Lan JingYi, “It makes no sense! You made your head think too much, we actually-”

Jin Ling flashes a ireful look at him.

“I don’t care! If you wanna kiss or whatever, do it when I’m not here!”

He clumps his mouth shut. Dread slowly fills his veins, closing his throat with a knot, and he suddenly feels dizzy from talking too much. And he did -he said too much.

He frees his hand from SiZhui’s grasp and moves, feeling ashamed, so ashamed, what he had told himself was envy melting away and revealing itself for what it actually is -longing, fierce and overwhelming, enough to justify the wetness in his eyes.

Jin Ling freezes and JingYi snaps, seizing his arm.

“Are you-”

“Jealous?” the Lanling boy interrupts, abruptly prying his arm away once more and turning to face them. “Of you two spending so much time together alone, thinking I’m not aware of your- your- whatever it is?! Yes, I am! It angers me so much and I don’t know why! I shouldn’t even care, it’s your business! Yet here I am, yelling at you because you keep being all polite to me and treating me like an outsider but- but-”

Jin Ling can’t bring himself to say the rest, a reason swiftly climbs back into his head -making him realise that he did, indeed, said all those things.

They are going to hate him, of course. How could anyone-

JingYi, “You are the most idiotic mistress I’ve ever met”

Jin Ling tries to counteract that -he is ready, the next insult hesitating on the tip of his tongue-

but JingYi cages his cheeks with his palms and brings him closer, not giving him time to think or even oppose him.

Kisses him with vicious intensity and burning determination, lips pulsing on Jin Ling’s, whose hands fly on his shoulder to fight back a fainting spell.

JingYi’s mouth is rough but slow, caring but raging, and he almost -almost lets himself go, shock dominating every fiber of his being-

-he pushes him away, and JingYi lets him be. Jin Ling’s eyes stops on Lan SiZhui, terrified of his reaction, but the older boy -cheeks aflame, lips parted, breathe eluding a natural rhythm- doesn’t show him what he feared. His irises are sparkling, wild with something that scares Jin Ling more than anger itself.

“Y-you- he-”

Jin Ling is confused, but JingYi’s arm wrapping around his waist, his signature grin on his face, and SiZhui moving toward them with shy but relieved steps, gives him the reassurance he didn’t know he needed.

“We both want you” JingYi whispers in his ears, and Jin Ling shivers and blushes desperately, outraged and on fire.

“So, if you want us both…” SiZhui tentatively tries, going for Jin Ling’s hand again.

He doesn’t let go -squeezes it with all the strength he could muster in that moment, which isn’t much, and gathers all the courage he owns to reach out for SiZhui nape and bring him closer, clumsily kissing him before he can think that’s a bad idea.

JingYi tightens his hold and SiZhui hugs him with his unoccupied arm, tilting his head up with his lips and nuzzling Jin Ling’s tenderly, then drawing back.

They all smile and Jin Ling can’t bear it anymore -he looks down, away, face burning and lungs constricting in a kind of pain he already loves, and they are still here, still keeping him close, no more walls made of formality or misunderstandings to divide them and no one to intrude or witness, for this moment is theirs and theirs only.

#13reasonstoeatthatcake #ask #zhuilingyi #lan sizhui #lan jingyi #jin ling #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #the grandmaster of demonic cultivation #the founder of diabolism #the founder of evil magic #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #my mdsz writing #my writing

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insomnia-productions · 5 years

Text

Jiang Cheng & Jin Ling (braids)

I have a lot of Emotions about these two.

When JL is very young, he always asks JC to braid his hair. So, for much of his childhood, he sports the characteristic Jiang braids. It becomes almost like a ritual for him to run to JC’s room every morning, where he will sit for up to half an hour while JC brushes his hair and carefully braids it. JL chatters the whole time (perhaps because he doesn’t have anyone else to chatter to), or else JC takes the time to lecture him on cultivation techniques and proper sect leader etiquette.

Then he gets a little older and JC starts letting him go to Koi Tower on his own. The first time he goes, he is away for a week or two and JC is stressed the whole time. He snaps at everyone even more than usual, and it irritates everyone who works with him. Only the ones who have been with him the longest don’t begrudge him the sharp words; they know it all comes from anxiety about his nephew.

When JL comes back, he isn’t wearing the braids anymore. He has always dressed in the Jin sect’s golden colors, but, without the braid, JC has to face, for the first time, the fac that JL will eventually leave Lotus Pier to become the Jin sect leader. It hits hard, and hurts him more deeply than he will ever admit. JL picks up on this from the less than enthusiastic greeting and the way JC’s eyes keep flitting from his hair to the peony on his clothes, and after that day he doesn’t come in the mornings to request braids. But he misses having them, and more than that he misses the ritual. JC does, too. But they’re both too proud to admit it.

Years later, maybe post-canon, something happens and JL is injured. Nothing too serious, but it means he can’t go on a night hunt with his friends that he was looking forward to. He’s sitting somewhere quiet in Lotus Pier, thinking about all the fun they must be having without him. JC comes to sit with him. He knows that JL is upset and, more than that, he understands better than anyone how he must be feeling, but he never knew how to cheer himself up back then and he doesn’t know how to cheer JL up now. He knows what WWX would do, but he’s not WWX and that kind of carefree cheer doesn’t come so easily to him. So, instead, he pulls the ribbons from JL’s hair and starts to braid it. JL is surprised and stiffens for a moment, but he doesn’t say anything and relaxes pretty quickly. Neither of them speak as JC makes two neat braids on either side of JL’s head and then pulls everything back into a ponytail.

The morning ritual doesn’t come back - JL is a little old for it now - but after that JC teaches JL how to braid his hair, and he wears those braids every day after, even when he becomes a sect leader.

#I will stop posting self indulgent head canons about these two two days after my death and not a minute before then #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #gdc #founder of diabolism #jiang cheng #jin ling #jiang cheng & jin ling #jiang cheng and jin ling

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susiecarter · 7 years

Note

It's not quite as timely, but: Clark, Bruce, (and Diana, if you think it can apply): on fathers, and fatherhood. Any thoughts on what it means/meant to them?

Oh, great question, anon! :D And I actually do think it applies interestingly to Diana—fathers and fatherhood are such abstractions to her, I think, a bedtime story at the absolute most. It would probably take a while for her to grasp the kind of impact it can have on people in Man’s World, the cultural scaffolding that’s been built around both of those words and the things they do and don’t mean in different places and to different people.

And, of course, it would be FASCINATING for part of that process (obviously a later part, considering how long she’s been in Man’s World by BvS/JL, BUT STILL) to be her talking to Bruce and Clark about theirs! Because in certain ways Bruce’s experiences with fathers/fatherhood are actually kind of similar to hers—Bruce’s parents were killed when he was so young, it’s easy to imagine that his actual memories of them are getting pretty thin and faded, that a lot of what he knows about his father is intellectual rather than emotional knowledge, and he’s seeing how other people feel about their fathers kind of from the outside. Which of course is horribly contrasted by Clark; how Pa Kent was handled is ... let’s say NOT my favorite thing about Man of Steel, but BOY HOWDY is it great for Clark angst. :D

So, yeah, I think of the three of them as points on a spectrum: Diana is off on one end with a pretty theoretical understanding of fathers and fatherhood, and pretty comfortable with that—I think she’d be curious about it because she sees how it impacts her teammates and she cares about them, but she’s also pretty comfortable with her own lack of personal experience; I don’t feel like she has a sense of anything missing from her life because of it, though admittedly that might be because I don’t think she should. :D So, yeah, she's interested in understanding the dynamics other people have with their fathers, but not particularly hung up on it. There was nothing she needed but ~couldn't get just because none of her parental figures were men. shrug.gif

And then Bruce is in the middle, with a concrete foundational understanding of what it’s like to have a father, but missing the full experience and completely, painfully aware of it. /o\ OH BRUCE. I think the memory of losing his parents like that can’t help but be one of the most or even THE most prominent one he has of them, and sometimes I bet he hates that—sometimes I bet he wants to find a way to make himself more conscious of their lives instead of their deaths, but it’s so hard to do (and especially in BvS, when he’s got Jason’s uniform staring him in the face and he’s just, he’s SURROUNDED himself with death, he’s planning somebody’s death, it’s just DEATH DEATH DEATH ALL THE TIME. JESUS, BRUCE). And my Batfamily knowledge is sad and mostly theoretical, but I love the idea that he keeps trying to dad anybody he can find, even though he’s not great at it sometimes and is totally aware that he’s not great at it sometimes, because losing his parents was so awful! And he can't fix that for other people and he knows it, he just wants to be somebody else’s Alfred if he can. /o\ OH BRUCE.

And then Clark, oh, hell, poor dear DCEU!Clark, jesus god. FUCK YOU, PA KENT I like to think he still had his usual mostly-idyllic farm childhood, and Man of Steel just happened to show us those few rare instances where Pa Kent got out on the wrong side of the bed and was kind of a dick. But man, DCEU!Clark's feelings about Superman and his powers and everything must be complicated SO MUCH by Jonathan DYING IN A TORNADO to keep his weirdness a secret. /o\ I mean, just the sheer conflict I can imagine—like, on the one hand his dad cared about him SO MUCH, to ask Clark not to save him when Clark so easily could have, and for Clark's own sake; but on the other hand I bet afterward Clark struggled a lot with being REALLY ANGRY with his dad, because SERIOUSLY. Clark could have saved him SO EASILY. And maybe it would have been a mess and everybody would have seen, but maybe not! MAYBE IT WOULD HAVE BEEN FINE. (And also Clark probably struggled with being angry with himself; he could have done something anyway, it's not like Pa Kent could have stopped him. /o\ OH CLARK.) So, yeah, Clark's on the end with a lot of practical experience with actual fatherhood—a father who's not a god or a saint, a guy who was frustrating and stubborn and sometimes hard to get along with, who loved Clark, who Clark loved, who left a mark through his presence as much as his loss.

And also in the way where his ghost pops up now and then to tell weird cautionary tales about HORSES OF FUTILITY. /o\ But, yeah, Bruce and Clark and Diana could definitely have some really interesting conversations about fathers and fatherhood, the different ways they each look at the concept and the different impacts it has or hasn't had on each of them. :D

#asks:anonymous #asks

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unghchangkyun · 7 years

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92 questions tag

I was tagged by my future wife @mxmb-candyy

RULES: you must answer these 92 statements and tag 20 people

THE LAST:

1. Drink: Water 2. Phone call: I think my mum. 3. Text message: To my friend Sara because I hate her (and Dagmar) for making me watch Train To Busan 4. Song you listened to: Blackpink – As If It’s Your Last 5. Time you cried: During Train To Busan. 6. Dated someone twice: If we count elementary school loves: then yes 7. Kissed someone and regretted it: Yes 8. Been cheated on: Never been in a relationship so no 9. Lost someone special: Yes 10. Been depressed: Yes 11. Gotten drunk and thrown up: Yes, don’t combine wine and beer kids!

LIST 3 FAVORITE COLORS:

12-14: green, blue and pink

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU:

15. Made new friends: Actually a lot of the people on tumblr so hi babies <3 16. Fallen out of love: Yeah 17. Laughed until you cried: Yes! 18. Found out someone was talking about you: No 19. Met someone who changed you: Candice <3 20. Found out who your friends are: Found that out years ago. Next. 21. Kissed someone on your Facebook list: Yes (that’ the one I regret)

GENERAL:

22. How many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: Almost everyone except Rachel, Irene and Candice I think? 23. Do you have any pets: Yeah, a cat called Hayley 24. Do you want to change your name: I used to want to, so bad! 25. What did you do for your last Birthday: I don’t even remember 26. What time did you wake up: 10.30 or so? 27. What were you doing at midnight last night:Uhm…….. I don’t remember! 28. Name something you can’t wait for: My exam results, which I also dread 29. When was the last time you saw your mom: A little bit ago, like half an hour ago? 30. What is one thing you wish you could change in your life: I don’t know, don’t sk hard questions! 31. What are you listening right now: EXO - Transformer 32. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: Yes 33. Something that is getting on your nerves: I DON’T KNOW WHAT TIME MY EXAM RESULTS ARE ONLINE! 34. Most visited Website: Tumblr, Facebook, Toledo (sadly) 35. Mole/s: A lot 36. Mark/s: Yeah, on my foot, on my hand, does a crooked finger also count? 37. Childhood dream: I don’t even know 38. Hair color: naturally it’s blonde-brown but now it’s dark brown dyed 39. Long or short hair: Short but not too short, collarbone length or so? 40. Do you have a crush on someone: No 41. What do you like about yourself: …… I don’t know? 42. Piercings: I really want to get my hip pierced and my nipple (Candice and I are going to twin) 43. Bloodtype: A positive 44. Nickname: Koala, Shels (why), Nerd (subtly looks at Randi and Dagmar) 45. Relationship status: Single 46. Zodiac: Scorpio 47. Pronouns: Female, she/her 48. Favorite TV Show: iZombie and Pretty Little Liars at the moment 49. Tattoos: None…. Yet! 50. Right or left hand: Right but I do a lot left handed? 51. Surgery: teeth two times and my ears. 52. Piercing: Look at question 42 53. Sport: Dancing 55. Vacation: Mar and I might go to Berlin 56. Pair of trainers: How many? Like 5?

MORE GENERAL:

57. Eating: Nothing 58. Drinking: right now, water 59. I’m about to: Write, I think 61. Waiting for: MY FUKCING EXAM RESULTS 62. Want: GOOD EXAM RESULTS 63. Get married: Not really on my list of things to do… 64. Career: teacher

WHICH IS BETTER?:

65. Hugs or kisses: they don’t call me koala for nothing so let’s be clear: it’s hugs 66. Lips or eyes: Eyes are overrated so let’s go for lips 67. Shorter or taller: I’m 1m58…… TALLER! 68. Older or younger: No real preference I guess? 70. Nice arms or nice stomach: If it’s soft: stomach! 71. Sensitive or loud: A mix… 72. Hook up or relationship: Relationship most likely 73. Troublemaker or hesitant: A mix

HAVE YOU EVER:

74. Kissed a stranger: No 75. Drank hard liquor: Yes 76. Lost glasses/contact lenses: No 77. Turned someone down: Yes 78. Sex in the first date: Yes 79. Broken someones heart: I don’t think so? 80. Had your heart broken: Yeah 81. Been arrested: Nope 82. Cried when someone died: Yes 83. Fallen for a friend: Yes, did regret it though

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:

84. Yourself: Sometimes? 85. Miracles: No 86. Love at first sight: No 87. Santa Claus: No 88. Kiss in the first date: Yes? 89. Angels: Yes

OTHER:

90. Current best friends name: Candice and Dagmar 91. Eyecolor: grey-blue 92. Favorite movie: Not really a movie person….

I tag @photosynthesizingparkhyungsik @randilauderdale @dragonsfire @kihyunslips @jellyhyungwon @iminterstellar @a-jl @jiminielore @akaishinkirou

#as always you don't have to but I just love meeting new people

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jenmedsbookreviews · 6 years

Text

Well … not the best week to be fair, for many reasons and none of the them related to books. But you don’t want to hear about that. For one thing, it is boring and for for another, if I don’t commit it to a web page I can deny all knowledge if I fainlly snap and commit some form of criminal offence … Highly unlikely but you never know how far your patience can be stretched before you snap.

Anyway – back to the books. Mixed week there too to be fair. I kind of had a bit of a random one to be fair, neither good nor bad. After last week, it was all rather pedestrian. I was at home all week, but was probably less productive than ever when it came to the blog. Funny how that goes isn’t it? By less productive, I mean I read less. I actually managed to prepare ten blog posts yesterday so it’s not all bad. Sort of …

Part of my post prep has been the collation of my bookvent list for 2017. This is where I try in vain to narrow down my favourite reads of the year to a managable list that can be conveyed over the 24 days leading up to Christmas. It has been really hard this year as, with the blog being more established, I have been really lucky to be given the opportunity to read some absolutely stonking titles, many of which would probably have passed me by otherwise. Ive got through 193 books so far this year (18 Mr Men I hasten to add) so how do you narrow that down to a top ten?

The answer is – you don’t. Mine is going to be a top 25/27 or so 🙂 My blog – my rules. Get over it ;p

Book post wise – I had a couple of lovely little packages through my door this week from Avon. First up – Perfect Death by Helen Fields. Can’t wait to get stuck in, but I may have to re-gift the red wine that came with it as I’m tee-total. I also received a copy of The Cover Up by Marnie Riches. Loved Born Bad so I can’t wait to see what Paddy, Sheila, Conky and co have been up to.

Purchase wise I’ve been very good. To my knowledge. I always say that then take a look at Amazon and realise what a complete lie that is. Turns out this week, it is actually true. Go figure. I really am having a slow book week. I pre-ordered The Collector by Fiona Cummins. High on my tbr this one, I have a physical copy from Harrogate, but needed a copy for the kindle too … I also ordered The Crime Writer’s Casebook. Saying nothing in the hope you don’t spot this … And finally I pre-ordered Last Cry by Anna-Lou Weatherley. I like a good pre-order, me.

NetGalley wise it was just the one – While You Sleep by Stephanie Merritt. It’s not out until March so there is even a small chance I’ll have read it by publication date 🙂 IN my defence it did sound really good…

No new audio. I know – I’m slipping. But I did promise myself a bit of an end of year wind down so I guess this is the start of it right here.

Reading wise, a bit of a mixed bag. Finished an audio bookHe I had started a few weeks back and read three new books. Not my greatest week, but not the worst either.

Books I have read

Her Best Friend by Sarah Wray

You couldn’t have done anything to save her. Or could you?

Sylvie Armstrong has been running from her past for twenty years – until her mother’s death forces her to return to her home town, along with her newborn daughter.

Overwhelmed by grief in her childhood home, Sylvie tries to block out the memories that surround her – but then someone leaves a gift on her doorstep: a gold necklace with a heart-shaped locket.

This locket belonged to Sylvie’s best friend, Victoria Preston – and she was wearing it the night she died. Now it’s back in Sylvie’s life…and it soon becomes clear that somebody knows what really happened to Victoria.

Sylvie has to know the truth. But is she in terrible danger?

An intriguing and engrossing psychological thriller which sees Sylvie faced with a few terrible home truths when she returns to the town in which she grew up, the one where her best friend Victoria lost her life. I’ll be sharing my full thoughts on the book as part of the blog blitz tomorrow, but you can order a copy of the book here.

…

Without Trace by Simon Booker

YOUR DAUGHTER IS MISSING. WHO CAN YOU TRUST? A gripping psychological thriller for fans of Tom Bale, Harlan Coben and Angela Marsons.

Morgan Vine has devoted her years of her life to campaigning for Danny Kilcannon’s release, after his dubious conviction for his wife’s murder.

At long last, he’s released.

With nowhere to go, Danny comes to rely on Morgan and her impetuous teenage daughter, Lissa.

Then Lissa goes missing.

When it’s your own child on the line, who can you trust?

This is my token audio book fo the week. This is quite an addictive story, where you never know quite who to trust and, in fairness, will be completely blindsided by what comes to pass. It wasn’t as I was expected at all, and I must have goen through a dozen possible scenarios of what had happened before finally discovering the truth. No wonder Morgan didn’t know who to trust. I had no scooby either. I’ll be sharing my review very soon, but in the meantime you can order a copy of the book here.

…

Cold Christmas by Alastair Gunn

In the small village of Cold Christmas there’s a church that faces the wrong way . . . What has it to do with the three dead men found in a London flat?

DCI Antonia Hawkins has a killer to catch. Only she can’t predict what is waiting for her at the end of the chase. Nobody remembers the young men entering the abandoned London flat a few weeks ago. Nobody cares if they left.

Until the unbearable smell of decay.

DCI Antonia Hawkins is called in to view the dead men; three, lying neat in a row. There’s no damage to the bodies, no obvious cause of death. Is this a suicide pact? Or is that just how it’s meant to look?

If there is a link between the three very different men then Hawkins needs to find it, and fast. Because unless she does, more are going to die. And they might not all be strangers.

No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Gah. This book! That ending. Just no. Argh. Faced with a potential triple homicide with no clear cause of death, DCi Antonia Hawkins is faced with her toughest case yet, one which will push her, and her relationship with Mike Maguire, to their limits. Drugs or something worse, this is just another reason for Hawkins to hate the festive season. I’ll be sharing my thoughts at the end of the week but you can buy your own copy here.

…

The Usual Santas – Short Story Collection

Finally: the perfect stocking stuffer for the crime fiction lover in your life! With a foreword by CWA Diamond Award-winner Peter Lovesey, these eighteen delightful holiday stories by your favorite Soho Crime authors contain laughs, murders, and plenty more.

This captivating collection, which features bestselling and award-winning authors, contains laughs aplenty, the most hardboiled of holiday noir, and heartwarming reminders of the spirit of the season.

Nine mall Santas must find the imposter among them. An elderly lady seeks peace from her murderously loud neighbors at Christmastime. A young woman receives a mysterious invitation to Christmas dinner with a stranger. Niccolò Machiavelli sets out to save an Italian city. Sherlock Holmes’s one-time nemesis Irene Adler finds herself in an unexpected tangle in Paris while on a routine espionage assignment. Jane Austen searches for the Dowager Duchess of Wilborough’s stolen diamonds. These and other adventures in this delectable volume will whisk readers away to Christmases around the globe, from a Korean War POW camp to a Copenhagen refugee squat, from a palatial hotel in 1920s Bombay to a crumbling mansion in Havana.

Includes Stories By (In Order of Appearance): Helene Tursten, Mick Herron, Martin Limón, Timothy Hallinan, Teresa Dovalpage, Mette Ivie Harrison, Colin Cotterill, Ed Lin, Stuart Neville, Tod Goldberg, Henry Chang, James R. Benn, Lene Kaaberbøl & Agnete Friis, Sujata Massey, Gary Corby, Cara Black, Stephanie Barron and a Foreword and story by Peter Lovesey.

A perfect collection of festive crime short stories. Some of these stories really did make me chuckle, especailly Mick Herron’s short story, The Usual Santas. That one had me chuckling so hard on my flight to Dublin, I’m sure I saw the woman next to be shuffling away in her seat. I’ll be reviewing very soon but you can bag a copy of the book right here.

…

That’s it. Not too shabby but not too clever either. Blog wise, it was another busy ish week with posts every day. You can catch up on the links below.

#BlogTour: Hell To Pay by Rachel Amphlett

#BlogTour: The Perfect Victim by Corrie Jackson

#FestiveReads: The Advent Killer by Alastair Gunn

#BlogTour: CWA Short Story Anthology – Mystery Tour

#BookLove: Jill Culiner

#Review: Give Me The Child by Mel McGrath

#FestiveReads: The Deaths of December by Susi Holliday

The week ahead is equally busy. Blog tours through until Wednesday for Kierney Scott’s Now You See Me, Sarah Wray’s Her Best Friend and BK Duncan’s The Last Post. I also have a Q&A’s with Chris Whitaker and Louise Jensen in the countdown to December’s First Monday Crime panel and the start of my #bookvent countdown. I can’t wait.

There will be less reviews from me over December as I’m planning a little bit of a slow down and catch up with real life. That doesn’t mean I won’t be around as I’ve some fabulous blog tours planned, as well as my #bookvent countdown. And keep your eyes peeled later this week for a special Christmas competition. Even when I’m on a go slow, I can’t quite stop. It’s genetic I think …

Have a fabulous week of reading all. I’m going to go and lie in a darkened room. Well … at least until Wednesday. I’m off to a Christmas market on Wednesday. Go figure …

Rewind, recap; Weekly update w/e 26/11/17 Well ... not the best week to be fair, for many reasons and none of the them related to books.

#Rewind Recap #Weekly Round UP

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jenmedsbookreviews · 7 years

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Today it’s my great pleasure to welcome author Jane Cable to the blog to help me spread a little more book love. Before we take a look at Jane’s choices, here’s a little more about the woman herself.

About Jane

Jane Cable is a writer of romantic suspense novels. Her first, The Cheesemaker’s House, was a finalist in The Alan Titchmarsh Show’s People’s Novelist Competition and won Words for the Wounded’s Independent Novel of the Year Award. Her latest book, Another You, is published by Endeavour Press and tells the story of how chance encounters around the 60th anniversary of D-Day help downtrodden Marie to rebuild her self confidence and to find new love.

You can follow Jane on her website, Twitter, Amazon and Facebook

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Another You

Sometimes the hardest person to save is yourself…

Marie Johnson is trapped by her job as a chef in a Dorset pub and by her increasingly poisonous marriage to its landlord.

Worn down by his string of affairs she has no self-confidence, no self-respect and the only thing that keeps her going is watching her son, Jude, turn into a talented artist.

But the 60th anniversary of a D-Day exercise triggers chance meetings which prove unlikely catalysts for change.

First there’s Corbin, the American soldier who she runs into as she’s walking on the cliffs. He is charming and has a quaintness about him, calling her an ‘English rose’.

Then there’s George the war veteran, who comes to dine at the pub, and his son Mark. George fascinates Marie with his first-hand accounts of the war, whilst Mark proves helpful in making sense of the pub’s financial situation.

And there’s Paxton. Another American soldier with an uncanny resemblance to Corbin. Young, fit and very attractive, Marie finds him hard to resist. But little does she know Paxton is also battling some inner demons.

As the heat of the summer intensifies, so do the issues in Marie’s life. Why is Corbin so elusive? Why is the pub struggling to make ends meet? Why has Jude suddenly become so withdrawn and unhappy? Can she help Paxton open up and begin to deal with his pain? Or will she be shackled to the pub and her increasingly spiteful husband forever?

But as events unfold, Marie finally realises that she is not trapped, but stuck, and that it is down to her to get her life moving again.

Perfectly blending the complexities of twenty-first century life with the dramatic history of World War Two, Another You is a charming tale that will warm your heart.

Amazon UK | Amazon US

You can read Mandie’s review of Another You here on the blog tomorrow.

Childhood Sweetheart Favourite book from childhood

Terribly politically incorrect now, but it was a tiny illustrated book called Little Black Sambo which told the story of a small boy who was terrorised by a tiger but out-witted it by getting it to chase its tail around a tree until it turned into butter. I was so disappointed I couldn’t find the book when I was clearing my mother’s house after she died.

First love The first book you fell in love with

Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. I actually wanted to be Jo. It must have been the start of my desire to be a writer.

Biggest book crush The book character you’re totally in love with

I found this question really hard because I mainly seem to fall for settings or atmospheres. Plus the answer I’ve come up with might be cheating because it’s Wilfred Owen – but Owen as depicted in Pat Barker’s Regeneration trilogy, in particular the final book, The Ghost Road. I’ve never read a biography of Owen in case it rips away my fantasy of the tragic hero whose death in November 1918 seemed to sum up the wasteful loss of life.

Weirdest book crush Well… duh

Fiver in Watership Down. A psychic rabbit? Well you did ask…

Hardest break up The book you didn’t want to end

R F Delderfield’s Horseman Riding By trilogy. Thank goodness there were three of them.

The one that got away The book in your TBR or wish list that you regret not having started yet.

Oh dear – my TBR is far too long so there’s plenty of choice. I think the one that’s lingered longest for no particular reason is Elaine Everest’s The Woolworth Girls. I downloaded it as soon as it came out and I still really, really want to read it!

Secret love Guilty Reading pleasure

I don’t think I’ve ever felt I had to keep loving a book a secret, but I have had a huge crush on K M Peyton’s Flambards books since I was a teenager and I probably should have grown out of it by now.

Love one, love them all Favourite series or genre

A few years ago I became absolutely hooked on Mark Hebden’s Inspector Pel series. I borrowed Pel and the Picture of Innocence from the library to read on holiday in France (where the books are set) and loved every last one of them, even though I probably read them in the wrong order. The characterisation is fantastic and the mysteries suitably hard to guess. Even after reading an awful lot of them.

Your latest squeeze Favourite read of the last 12 months

Barbara Copperthwaite’s debut novel Invisible. I was completely gripped and continually chilled by this brilliantly drawn story. No wonder she’s since signed a major deal with Bookouture.

Blind date for a friend If you were to set a friend up with a blind date (book) which one would it be?

It would depend on whether they were looking for a lifelong commitment or a bit of fun. For the former I would say Claire Dyer’s The Perfect Affair, a simply beautiful book about two relationships, one in the 1950s and the other today. For a bit of fun anything by Judy Astley – perfect chicklit for grown ups. Unchained Melanie is probably my favourite.

Greatest love of all Favourite book of all time.

Rosamunde Pilcher’s The Shellseekers – absolutely no question. The characters are so beautifully drawn across the generations. I could read it over and over again.

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Thank you Jane. Some fab choices in there. I love Little Women too and get what you mean about wanting to be Jo. She was such a strong character. And I love your weird book crush pick. Who doesn’t love rabbits? Although Watership Down always makes me cry…

What about those picks then guys? Any of them sound like your kind of read? Any other books you think that Jane should be checking out?

Join me next week when I have Helena Fairfax and Jack Steele joining me to spread a little more #booklove.

Have a brilliant weekend everyone.

#BookLove: Jane Cable @JaneCable Today it's my great pleasure to welcome author Jane Cable to the blog to help me spread a little more book love.

#BookLove #Jane Cable

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