#zheng was done so dirty in this show

[p0ochy]

idk ofmd's budget was slashed for s2. this just isn't a surprise

#ofmd #the way the women were written i think i'm good on the show being done. #she is tough! she is bossy! that's all we know how to do! #like come on. #archie is nearly fucking forgettable #and i like her! #and they did zheng yi sao so FUCKING dirty lmao

[khruschevshoe]

Jim and Oluwande got the worst end of the deal. I'd even say they regressed as both characters and partners and anything they had built up in s1 was almost completely stripped away from them. The way they're portrayed together and apart in s2 is not only unlike the characters we saw in s1, but their rich storyline was reduced to extreme side characters used only as plot devices in a way they absolutely did not have to be used. I LOVED them in s1, and I was so disappointed by what s2 did to them and their potential growth, which I think applies to pretty much everything in s2, not only them.

Mind if I piggyback of this ask to go into all my critiques of the handling of Jim/Olu in Season 2? Thanks!

OFMD Critique: Tealoranges, Dropped Storylines, and Wasted Potential

God, the issues I have with the writing of Season 2 extend in so many directions. Jim's character, I felt, was well-handled for at least the first two episodes but then slowly starts skewing wrong as early as episode 3 (I am still chewing glass over the way their reunion scene with Oluwande was written- or, rather, NOT written). Episode 4 was good, but everything after that? Someone said that Jim in the back half of the season feels more like Vico than Jim, and though I do love and appreciate Vico, it's completely true. Jim doesn't feel like the same character we've come to know, whether from Season 1 or even what is set up in early season 2.

And yet, I STILL feel like they're written better than Olu, if you can believe it? So, I haven't talked about this much, but I feel like Olu is done dirty from almost the moment he is introduced in Season 2. At least Jim (through editing alone, but hey, we'll give the show the smallest benefit of the doubt) gets an acknowledgement that they miss Olu during that flashback sequences while they talk to Archie- Olu doesn't even get that. I read about a deleted scene that would have had Pete and Olu desperate to reunite with Lucius and Jim in episode 1 and I feel like that was DESPERATELY needed to make the Season 1 finale -> Season 2 jump make any sort of sense. I like Zheng, but for the love of God, her romance with Olu (which I had my own issues with for the disservice it does both their characters) is not worth destroying the tealoranges build up from Season 1. Just cut something from the first episode or one of the Zheng/Olu scenes from the second episode to make it make sense.

Then, moving onto later in the season- I've posted about how Olu and Jim deserved the grand, epic reunion otherwise 1x10 and everything set up with them in Season 1 doesn't make sense. Could the writers of the show have possibly redistributed some of the glorious cinematography from Ed and Stede over to Jim and Olu? All I need is one shot of their reunion (a proper, emotional one, not played for laughs or friendship or whatever) framed by the sun to parallel Ed and Stede's being framed by the moon and I would have been happy on that front.

And then later in the season...I was down for the poly elements if they could have been executed better. Fanfics have shown that the Archie plot could have been executed well. But the fact that Zheng is straight up NOT MENTIONED until 2x7 by Olu? And then Jim says that he's been pining for her the whole time? I'm sorry, but it doesn't compute. Show, don't tell. There's a reason why I'm down for Jim/Archie/Olu (if executed well), but can't see Zheng/Olu at all.

But of course, 2x7 comes along and we get the "family who fucked" line. And the implication that Olu could have ever left the Revenge without Jim, when in Season 1 he became a wreck because Jim left for A FEW DAYS, much less was FORCEFULLY SEPARATED from him for MONTHS. Then in the finale, at the lupete wedding, they were separated out, him with Zheng and them with Archie, and, well, at that point...I was tired. I'm not gonna lie. Because this wasn't questionable or problematic writing, it just fundamentally DIDN'T MAKE SENSE.

And this is just on a romantic relationship POV. I hated seeing Olu lose his leadership arc from Season 1 and his loyalty to Jim and his nuanced emotional level-headedness/sense of logic. Season 1 really felt like it was slowly building up the idea that the ideal Captain was neither Stede nor Blackbeard but someone a bit more rational, a bit more grounded, a bit more communicative with his crew- someone like Olu. And he gets shoved into the back in Season 2 and reduced to the guy who can't sort scrolls or know that the BOATS ON A MAP MATTER. He gets no influence on plot or major decisions when he was often the voice of reason in Season 1 (we all remember Lucius being a romantic voice of reason in Season 1, but rarely remember that Olu was a major supporting deciding factor in a number of decisions made on the Revenge).

And as for Jim, I wanted more exploration or even just acknowledgement of their trauma post episode-4. I wanted an actual organic continuation of their character arc post-vengeance quest and post-Blackbeard, not just them getting defined by "funny knife thrower with a girlfriend and an ex-boyfriend who they want to get with his crush." They were so much more than that, and it killed me to see the two people who were basically main character 3 and 4 in Season 1 get shoved aside for unneeded subplots about Ricky and Zheng or Gentlebeard's three separate breakups when Jim and Olu's plotline had so much more potential than any of that. They weren't just star-crossed lovers- they were a slow burn ship built of absolutely interesting, complicated, and well-developed characters who brought out the best in each other with a DEVASTATING midpoint to their arc and it honestly would have made a better season not just for them as characters, but for the show overall if someone had just realized that the parallels between a couple that fights and claws to stay together no matter what (tealoranges) and a main ship that was still figuring itself out (Gentlebeard) would have SLAPPED.

(I am now picturing a version of this season where instead of the Izzy fakeout death/Gentlebeard reunion in the beginning of the first episode, we get an Olu/Jim reunion in episode 3 to parallel whatever reunion the writers wanted to slap together for Stede/Ed. I would have actively cried over the Olu/Jim reunion and it would have drastically improved the season.)

#oluwande boodhari #jim jimenez #tealoranges #my asks #ofmd critical #ofmd season 2 #meta #analysis #jim x oluwande #jim x archie x oluwande #rant #just in case #garlicule rides again

[somewhatvellum]

so i too am pissed at not only izzy dying but the way the whole thing was done

but im also pissed at how dirty zheng has been done. in general, and in this episode. they really brought in a pirate queen and made her whole arc about her pining after a guy??

we deserved better than what we got with s2. it started off fairly well but holy shit so much of the series feels disrespectful.

i have various suspicions why it turned out like this, and no its not all financial.

its such a shame, s2 has spoiled the whole show for me. i saw people getting ofmd tattoos for the past year and a half and purposefully held off in case s2 was shit - so glad i did

i'll give s3 a shot (if it gets made) but my expectations are kinda on the floor ngl. even if they bring izzy back (which seems unlikely and honestly would also disapppint me cos it cheapens death when main characters cant die) it'll never be the same.

#i also miss buttons 😭 and the rest of the crew in general deserved better too #ofmd #ofmd spoilers #ofmd s2 #ofmd s2 spoilers

[19eyebrows]

How about an accident marriage Au. Where tianshan gets drunk and gets married and like maybe he tians dad doesn’t believe in divorce and won’t let them and makes them live together cause he doesn’t want his public image destroyed

Hey Anon. Tbh this is not really my cup of tea but maybe I can come up with some little headcanons. Also my health today is not that great so I'll keep it short. But still thank you for reaching out.

________________________________________

- maybe they don't necessarily got married by accident but by full consciousness but nether of them told their parents "it wasn't the right time"

- but they had Jian Yi and Zhan Zheng Xi there as best men

- He Cheng also knew about it but kept silent

- unfortunately at some point He senior got wind of it and first confronted He Cheng ("why haven't you told me") and then He Tian ("do you think I won't find out if my son got married with the son of my boss as a best man?")

- i would rather think that He senior would try to get them divorced but He Tian refuses

- so He senior makes a really dirty move. He pays Mo's parents a visit (Mo's father is out of prison by now) and revealed to them what their son had done.

- i can imagine that He senior is blaming Guanshan A LOT. Something that he had seduced his son or similar.

- Mother and Father Mo are shocked, Mother Mo had the feeling something was off but couldn't put her finger on it

- but to He seniors surprise father Mo starts defending his son and He Tian

- it's revealed that he knew about their relationship. He found out by accident but wanted to wait for his son to come to him

- it's that moment Guanshan and He Tian enter the scene. (they got a hint from He Cheng) and there is a big emotional scene were Mo is apologising to his parents and He senior that it wasn't his intention to deceive them

- He Tian on his behalf try to put all the blame on his self

- they confess that they got married because otherwise they won't count as family and if something would happen they won't be able to do anything

- but He Tian's father is having non of it (he is way to prideful)

- in the end he is about to leave with the words "you have chosen him over your real family" and He Tian would answer "You made that decision on your own"

- He Tian is definitely hurt but not surprised

- it's when Father Mo put his hand on He Tians shoulder "He will eventually come around" "I don't think so"

- then they talk things out with Mo's family and He Tian basically gets adopted

- Guanshan's parents insist on a really wedding celebration with all their friends (and surprisingly He Cheng and Brother Qiu show up as well against the with of He senior)

- He Tian and Mo Guanshan couldn't be happier

__________________________________

That definitely went into a complete different direction. But I hope it was still enjoyable <3

#19 days #he tian #mo guan shan #tianshan #old xian #19 days fanfic #19 days headcanons #19 days drabble

[aquanology]

I'm speculating, yet again....

So since the 19days chapter realsed a day or two ago (maybe even three depending on when this gets done and then posted), I wanted to share a few thoughts and some opinions along the way, hope you enjoy.

So the cliffhanger Old Xian left us with is making me worried about Jian yi, for several reasons being:

1. She li is somewhat and somhow on par with He tian, or atleast close to him power/skill wise (still less strong than He tian tho).

2. I know Jian yi has been training with brother Qiu for a while now but we don't the typ of training he went through, was it training him to run away and have as much stamina as possible, was it to defend himself in case someone caught him and tried to kill him, or was it a training to teach him how to kill? (Or make someone lose their consciousness/beat'em up)?

Brief Answer(?): The most likely one is that he is trained for two of them one in particular he is very good at, also the one he won't use, running away. Whilst the second is defending himself (it could be fighting rather than "defending"), why am I so confident you ask? Well simply because he won't show up to She li's invitation to specifically get beaten up (or worse..).

3. Even if Jian yi can take on a few of the gangsters that are helping She Li, which I doubt for a few reasons:

A. All of these gangsters (including She Li) have weapons and I'm not sure if he can handle that ( weapons like bats and whatnot)

B. She Li in particular is not a nice fighter who plays clean, he always uses some dirty methods like using knives and other dangerous stuff to just win, and I'm not sure if Jian yi can handle a stab or two...

4. You can call me a hopless romantic who enjoys love interests coming to the rescue of each other, but I think Zheng xi will come and try helping Jian yi afterall he promised to protect him, didn't he?

5. I know I said you can call me a hopeless romantic but really I am but a mere hypocrite, hence my upcoming contradictory point here, which is brother Qiu is gonna be the real champ here and save the day. Since Jian yi is highly limited to his small experience in fighting (street fighting) and there is only so much Zheng Xi can do, and also because Qiu is supposed to be protecting Jian yi. While yes I know that the relationship between HT and HC is very complicated it doesn't have much to do with Qiu's job to protect Jian yi ( it kinda does but you wouldn't expect him to not protect him, unless I'm wrong which of course, doesn't happen.)

6. I think for the next chapter or the one after (or the after both of these) we will see HT and Mo chilling.

================================================

So that was a hard task, of course this took three days or so(maybe four) because I'm lazy and I also have a life, a sad one, but still a life nonetheless. Hope you can take this with a grain of salt since I'm no God, Goddess or author of this magnificent series, I'm only a fan like you guys are and I'm doing this for fun. If i git anything right then that's great and if didn't, well that's also great, just means Old Xian is unpredictable. Hope you guys are having fun with climate change horrors we're experiencing this year <3.

#19days #finally speculation time #She Li beating time is upon us #im not slacking #hydrate yourself #brother Qiu to the rescue

[notthatiwilleverwriteit]

19 Days’ Mothers Appreciation Post

Zhan Zheng Xi and Zhan Zi Qian’s mother

We don’t know much about her but she seems like a warm, caring mother. And really, all you need to do is look at her children to know that she’s done a good job being a parent. Both Zhang Xi and Zi Qian are responsible and caring. She seems like a mother who listens in on the kids playing while doing dishes or cooking and smiles a little to herself, savoring the moment and restoring it in her heart. Then she’s brought back by a little hand tugging on the hem of her apron and finds a pair of dirty chubby faces peering up at her. “How did you end like up this~,” she says and crouches down to wipe the little faces with a corner of the rough kitchen towel, wondering where on earth the kids had found - was that sand?

Headcanon that one day after kindergarten Zhang Xi brought home a boy with messy wisps of fair hair, puffy red eyes, and scrapes on his bony knees. He was clinging to her son’s jacket sleeve and peeking at her carefully behind him. Gently, she disinfects the kid’s wounds and tells that she’s proud of Zhang Xi for standing up for his friend but violence is bad. Afterwards, munching on chocolate chip cookies dunked in cold milk, the little boy starts to open up. She smiles at his animated gestures and how her son seems very protective of this boy, Jian Yi.

When she heard of Zhang Xi getting hurt - that he’s unconscious in the hospital kind of hurt - she could already guess what had happened. Years ago, he had told her about his promise to always protect him. She had kissed the top of his head - while the little boy had furiously blushed and tried to resist the affection - and never been more proud of him. But she had also been scared. And now she was here, trying to peel the apple to keep her hands from shaking. It helped how upset and scared Zi Qian was. Comforting and calming her down helped her to keep her own panic and worry at bay.

Jian Yi’s mother

Anyone trying to come between this woman and her son should think twice because she will come at you with the ferocity of a tigress. She’s been through a lot and most probably dealt with a lot of dangerous people to protect her child. She’s smart and independent. She’s learned to take care of herself. Out there, she needs to be tough and intimidating, to carry herself with confidence but her son allows her to show affection and vulnerability.

As a mother she’s had to make tough, no doubt painful choices between being the kind of mother she wants for Jian Yi but also keeping him safe. She hasn’t had the luxury of always being there for him, and every time she’s had to leave him crying after her, I’m sure the ache in her heart has been nearly unbearable. I’m sure she’s felt guilty about that many times.

This woman demands respect and wouldn’t hesitate to fight even the gods themselves to keep her little cub safe. Unfortunately, the world she lives in doesn’t work like that. She knows it will catch up to her and Jian Yi eventually, so he needs to be prepared. I’m sure she wishes he could live a carefree life but she will make sure he’s ready.

Mo Guan Shan’s mother

This woman has made sure that no matter what the world said about Guan Shan, she would never ever stop believing in him. No matter what happens, she wants him to know he can always come to her. It doesn’t matter if he gets in trouble, she knows how much good there is in him. If it hadn’t been for her, Guan Shan could have ended much, much worse.

She’s worked incredibly hard to raise Guan Shan on her own while having her partner put away. I’m sure she’s missed the support of another adult countless of times. To not have that emotional place of relying on someone must have kept her awake on many nights. It’s also difficult to see her partner withering in prison. His shame and how much both the father and son miss each other must have pained her very heart. All the times she’s been to see her husband must have also been tough. The stigma must have burned her cheeks but she just squeezed the strap of her purse a little tighter and held her head high. None of it was fair but she couldn’t waste time thinking about that.

Seeing her son have some friends probably made her incredibly happy and relieved. She knows Guan Shan isn’t easy to approach but she’s grateful for the kids who have managed to overcome his walls and seen what she sees.

He Tian’s mother (presumably)

We don’t really know anything about her but her memory seems to be close to He Tian’s heart. Visiting the grave and picking a flower for her was something private for him. What kind of a mother was she? Did she give He Tian comfort and love in the world they lived in? Did she know he is afraid of the dark? And now his own darkeness? What would she say if she could see her son now? Would she be proud? Scared for him? What kind of a future did she want for him? What kind of memories He Tian has about her?

She Li’s mother

Everyone has a mother, even the antagonists. She Li’s mother is another character we know very little about but I’m curious about her relationship with her son.

It seems the marriage is complicated and stormy. The family seems well off but all the money in the world could never make up for the presence and warmth of your partner. He says he’s working hard for them but is she deprived of him actually being there for them? Does she feel trapped in the expensive house? In her marriage? How well does she know her son? Has she lost touch with him? Could she even take her resentment and frustration out on him?

Bonus round:

The mother in place of a mother

The I-don’t-get-paid-enough-for-this mother

#19 days #Zhan zheng xi #mo guan shan #he tian #jian yi #he cheng #brother qiu #she li #my 19 days post #mother's day

[morkofday]

thank you once again @yibobibo​ for tagging me ♥ even if, like I said, this is pure torture. I have so many sons that I’ve given up on counting them sigh but here goes.

favourite male fictional characters.

I took it that this meant ten so am going with that (tho am not gonna try and put them into order). am also sticking to all the characters I loved this year. and gonna ramble and add gifs so cutting it here. 

1. Liu Sang

The Lost Tomb Reboot/Reunion: The Sound of The Providence

I have so much love for this boy it’s not even healthy. it’s a bit funny tho bc once I started tltr, I didn’t really like him and almost forgot about him as the first season ended. he just felt so annoying and bitter in what I saw him, even if I did get that he had a Tragic BackstoryTM (I felt for him but well. tltr really made him hard to like at first). but then they brought him back in the second season with his sad puppy eyes and inability to handle his thoughts on wu xie and being all touch-starved and pitiful and whatnot and baam, I had the adoption papers ready. he’s wonderful and so strong and so smart and amazing. and liu chang as his actor has been wonderful (and he’s so pretty my god, have you seen him??)

2. Shen Wei

Guardian

never did I expect to just. fall into this hole after a year? I remember what a mess I was when I first watched guardian over a year ago, right after finishing the untamed. I was in shambles even as I knew how it would end. and now I’ve done this all again while also reading the novel and. my love for shen wei, especially bc it’s zhu yilong acting as shen wei? astronomical. I want to write poetry about him and his stupid responsibilities that he chooses to carry silently and his devotion to zhao yunlan and his love for his ppl and his didi and. I hope that one day I manage to write weilan bc I have this one idea and you can come pry it from my cold, dead fingers if it doesn’t get out there (am also super happy about the edit I made bc my god does he deserve at least that)

3. Cloud Strife

Final Fantasy VII

ok so stepping into the video games territory now. I was waiting for the remake like crazy and it was everything to me once the quarantine hit during spring. the game is so beautiful and I felt like I looked at this gorgeous boy once and was ready to give him my heart (tbh am quite sure he owned my heart before I even learned to know him). he is tragic in so many ways (I’ve only scratched the surface of all of his pain I know) and I wish I could just. hug him a lot. he is kind and cares very deeply even if he hates to show it and I love it how remake showed him also just being a human disaster (some of his scenes are just. peak comedy). I would kill for his smile (I have already cried for it a dozen)

4. Geralt of Rivia

The Witcher (The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt)

if there’s one grumpy, brickwall of a man I love, it’s geralt. I affectionately call him “papa wolf” while playing witcher 3 and his voice in it does things to me (I am just so fond of him ok, begone you dirty fuckers). I got introduced to him through the books and adored him in them bc he is so prickly and sarcastic and still so full of love even if he will never admit to it. he is the father figure I wish I could have in real life. (and yes, I’ve seen the tv series (or at least a couple of the first episodes) and it looks stunning but. this is my version of geralt and that’s the hill I will die on)

5. Xiaoge

Zhang Qiling, Daomu Biji (The Lost Tomb 2)

(wow finding a gif for him was a pain, apparently I gotta learn how to gif or?) ah, my dear boy who I’ve ended up just calling xiaoge bc he seems to prefer it over his real name/title/whatever zhang qiling really is. I got introduced to him through tltr where we really didn’t get to know that much about him bc he was just... there. huang junjie was absolutely stunning tho and his soft smiles made me super fond, but only in the lost tomb 2 did I really fall in love with xiaoge as a character. I was surprised tbh bc I didn’t expect it to be this drama? I had so many doubts about the cast in tlt2 but they all delivered! and I think cheng yi’s xiaoge is now my favorite bc he somehow captured that softness and the pain of him? (and we do not talk about that buxun storyline tyvm) tho now that ultimate note is on the way, I gotta say that xiao yuliang does a wonderful job as xiaoge too!

6. Wu Xie

Daomu Biji (Ultimate Note)

(sorry we have to go with a pingxie gif now but maybe it’s only fitting) tbh it’s hard to choose my favorite version of wu xie. I think all of the actors for him have done amazing job showing wu xie in different parts of his life (all of them are very distinct but still feel like the same person) but currently zheng shunxi takes the lead. I really wanted to put the reboot version of him here (bc I love that mature, relaxed and somehow very soft version of him and the angst is phenomenal and the thoughts he has about death... yeah) but I already have zhu yilong’s face here once so :’D wu xie is just one of those characters you cannot not like. he is so strong, so kind, so stubborn, so wonderfully stupid sometimes and in need of careful protection. I also adore it how smart he is and I could listen to him spew history facts for 10 hours straight (even if it was in a tomb full of blood zombies) ♥

7. Jiang Cheng

Jiang Wanyin, The Untamed

my darling boy! my beautiful angry grape! I love him beyond words. I love him in all of his raging, misunderstood, stupid, sassy, constipated, abused, tragic, bitter, big hearted glory. I could write novels about him (and I did and am still writing oh boy) and his love for ppl and his inability to show that love and his loneliness and his issues. I could also write another novel for all of his outfits etc. bc damn, what a fashion king. he is just so great. he owns my soul. he deserves happiness and in this essay I will

8. Isana Yashiro

Adolf K. Weismann, K Project

I rewatched k project this spring bc a) it’s one of my favorite animes ever (it just looks stunning with all the colors) and b) I love yashiro to bits. I remember falling in love with him when I first watched k project many years ago bc he was just so kind and bright. this time though, I ended up seeing another side of him and my god did I cry. he is... so sweet. he cares for others so deeply and is ready to sacrifice so much for them and his love for his two clansmen... yeah. I think I finally saw the tragedy of him too, all the pain and loneliness and insecurity he decides to hide behind his smile and obnoxious personality. he reminded me a lot of myself and watching him made my heart bleed in a good way

9. Qi Tiezui

Ba Ye, The Mystic Nine

(wow am going to riot for the lack of all the gifs hhh) yes, we’re continuing with the dmbj universe that sucked me in big time this year. the drama of the mystic nine wasn’t probably that earth shattering for me as it somehow got boring more than once but I did love ba ye to bits. he was just... so nice? I got it that he was somehow this “comedic relief” in the drama with all of his funny scenes and ridiculous mannerisms but I could see the brilliance of him. he is warm and smart and kind of a romantic too and he cares for all of his friends so deeply? it was also sweet how protective of him his two zhangs were (does that run in the family? the tendency to imprint into one smart but disastrous man and keep him safe? maybe) and I really hope I knew more about him bc he seemed to have a lot of knowledge and a lot of impact to ppl’s lives (I yelled when they mentioned him in ultimate note, I miss him ;;)

10. Dorian Pavus

Dragon Age Inquisition

(yes I’ve been replaying DA:I this year, this counts!) another darling boy! my lovely sass master son! I have so much love for him and his story in DA:I. he is my favorite companion (and his romance is my favorite too, probably obvious in the way am currently romancing him for the third time) and he has given me a lot of strength. the way he stands up against his father, how he’s ready to reform his homeland instead of walking away, how he’s so caring for those he sees struggling... it’s very warming and I feel like I’m safe with him. it feels a bit silly to say that but he really is that comfort character I will seek out when I just want to know am doing fine :’) (and I am so excited to see him again in DA4! probably?)

+ 11. Li Cu

Tomb of the Sea

yes I cheated a bit (with my own rules lol) to fit li cu here. I didn’t really expect to like him or tomb of the sea as much as I did once I started it? I’ve seen leo wu elsewhere before this (battle through the heavens, nirvana in fire) and his face always makes me think about a sad puppy so maybe I just grew fond over li cu instantly bc he was... so hurt? the first episode really slaps you in the face with all of it, showing him being abused, wounded, kidnapped, tortured, used and then just very, very scared and broken. he continues being that throughout the whole drama and I feel like tomb of the sea (or sand sea or sha hai idk) is the darkest and angstiest story in the dmbj universe. I know it deserves to be bc this is a dark time for wu xie but... my darling li cu. I wish him only happiness ;; he was so strong and smart and wonderful in this and it was just so amazing to watch him grow and find his own place in the world just bc he did something himself (even when he got dragged into all of this bc of wu xie) also I support the wu xie adopts li cu -agenda

Honorary mentions: 

Zhang Rishan, Xie Yuchen and Hei Xiazi from DMBJ universe. The Twin Jades of Gusu and Ouyang Zizhen from The Untamed. The Iron Bull and Fenris from Dragon Age games. Thane Krios, Kaidan Alenko and Jaal from Mass Effect games. The whole lot of Assassin’s Creed protagonists (especially Ezio Auditore and Shay Cormac). Adam Parrish and Ronan Lynch from The Raven Cycle. Neil Josten from All For The Game. Eduon and March from The Smoke Thieves. Qiling from L.O.R.D. Critical World. Luo Fei from Detective L (played by Bai Yu). 

well, with this I can really see that I have a thing for those who are tragic :’D I have a thing for grumpy, prickly and antisocial guys or those who hide their pain behind a smile. maybe it’s bc I am somehow both, even if I can’t show my anger or be mean to others and even if I feel like my smile never sticks either. I just find kinship in all of the characters who are on this list. and I feel like I aspire to be as strong and as kind and as loving despite all the pain I’ve been put through.  

thank you, this was so much fun! and sorry I made this so long and so complicated ^^’ but well, there are just way too many male characters I love haha

at the end I want to tag @i-am-just-a-kiddo​ @ashenwren​ @kholran​ @tiesanjiao​ @lan-xichens​ @aheartfullofjolllly​ @manhasetardis​ and @lzswy​​ ♥ feel free to do this in your own way or not at all! and thank you if you managed to read through my rambling :’D

#tag game #wow this was something #i've been waiting for one #bc there is so much love in me #and this year i've discovered so many #new characters to just gush over #about me #random #edit: added a few characters #and tagged some more ppl sorry #also mobile tumblr wouldnt let me edit so lol

[shijiujun]

[ENG] History3: Trapped Novel - Chapter Six

~5,000 words (proofread by @weilongfu​)

Translation Masterpost can be found here

Disclaimer: Translations are entirely mine and Wei’s - these are not official translations and some phrases have been changed for better English interpretation so you’ll definitely see better/different translations elsewhere. Also keeping in mind when we translated this we aren’t exactly thinking about the style of writing and this translation is as close to the novel as we can make it XD So yes, some parts may be a little awkward to read. And yes some teeny weeny details and words may not turn up in the translation because the Chi to Eng mind acrobatics didn’t work out. If you see asterisks, scroll all the way to the bottom for notes!

Full chapter below the cut

Chapter Six

Hospital

Tang Yi and Dao Yi both sprint into the emergency room and see Jiang Jin Tang, who’s wrapping up Hong Ye’s wounds.

“Hong Ye!”

“Ah Yi?”

Tang Yi rushes forward immediately and hugs Hong Ye, who’s sitting up in the hospital bed.

“How is she?”

As he’s treating her wounds, Dr Jiang explains the situation, “There are a few abrasions, I’ve already prescribed some medicine for that. And because we are afraid that she may have a concussion from trauma to the head, so we’ve also done a brain MRI, and now we’re waiting for the report to come out.”

Realising that Hong Ye was mostly fine, both men release huge sighs, relieved. Dao Yi’s tightly clenched fist at his side also relaxes gradually.

“That gun was just pointing at us… I was really scared, my mind just went blank-”

A nurse comes over with swift steps and goes over to Dr Jiang’s side, and reports, anxious, “Dr Jiang, the other patient has been wheeled into the operating theater, Dr Zheng hopes that you can go over right now.”

“Okay, I’m going now.”

Dr Jiang’s expression is somber, and just as he’s about to turn to leave, Tang Yi grabs onto his arm.

“Is it Meng Shao Fei?”

“Gunshot wound to the abdomen, his Glasgow coma score is 3♯.”

The man wearing his doctor’s robes answers, then moves Tang Yi’s hand off of his arm, before following the nurse quickly into the operating theatre. The doors of the emergency room slide open once again, revealing Captain Shi and the rest of Team 3, who were informed about Shao Fei’s injury earlier. Their expressions all reflect panic and worry - even Yu Qi’s eyes are red, and she’s obviously cried a few times on the way here.

Captain Shi rushes straight for the desk and grabs onto the nearest nurse to ask, “Meng Shao Fei, where’s Officer Meng?”

“Officer Meng was shot in the abdomen, he’s currently still in surgery.”

Standing on the side, Zhao Zi is unable to hide his panic either and asks, anxious, “How did he get shot?”

“We’re not very sure either. Please wait at the side, and don’t obstruct the way into the emergency room.”

Captain Shi looks up, about to find a place to sit, when he sees a particular someone in the waiting area. He walks forward angrily, and without saying a word, Captain Shi directly slams his fist on the other’s face. 

“Tang Yi! I agree to let Ah Fei protect you, but he’s not for you to use as a shield for bullets! Why did this happen? Why?”

Blaming himself for it all, Tang Yi does not resist - his eyes do not land on Captain Shi even once, and his expression is so cold and distant that he almost looks like a nonchalant outsider. Only those who know him well like Hong Ye and Dao Yi understand, that the man in front of them is in a state of absolute fury.

“Tang Yi you listen carefully, you better pray that nothing happens to Shao Fei, otherwise I won’t stand on ceremony and will arrest you to the police station!”

“Boss, don’t be like this! Boss!”

Zhao Zi and Jun Wei hold onto the captain’s arms on each side, and drag the fuming man away from the emergency room, that is packed with plenty of other patients and their family members. The last one to walk in is Ah Zhi. Right before he leaves, he turns and sends Ah De a look at the doors to the emergency room. Ah De subtly shakes his head at him, before turning his gaze back to Tang Yi seated in the plastic chair and who is staring straight ahead.

The Tang Household

Having just returned home from the hospital, Ah De follows closely behind Tang Yi up the stairs. Jack, who’s been waiting there since earlier, takes the initiative and approaches Tang Yi first, “Boss.”

“Where’s he?”

“Inside.”

Tang Yi’s footsteps do not cease as he angrily tears his suit jacket off of him, the garment dropping to the ground. Ah De picks it up and hangs it over his arm, his expression revealing both anxiety and unease. 

The moment the door to the room opens, they see the man who attacked Hong Ye and Shao Fei earlier tied to a chair in the room, gagged with a piece of cloth. Once the man sees Tang Yi’s expression, he immediately begins to struggle and shout.

“Get out.”

Knowing that Tang Yi intends to torture the man personally, Ah De immediately stops in front of him. He says, “Boss, let me do it. Don’t dirty your hands.”

“Get out,” the words leave Tang Yi’s throat softer than before, but his tone this time leaves a chill down everyone’s spine.

“This small matter, I can handle it-”

Ah De does not get a chance to complete his sentence before he’s viciously shoved to the wall. Glaring at the subordinate who has interrupted him repeatedly, Tang Yi glares at the man.

“He dared to touch my people, and you call it a small matter? Then what is a ‘big matter’?”

“I’m sorry, I spoke out of turn. I’ll leave right now.”

Having followed Tang Yi for so many years, this is the second time Ah De has seen such an expression on Tang Yi’s face - the first time, was four years ago when Tang Yi woke up in the ICU ward, only to be given the news that Boss Tang was dead. Ah De knows that he can no longer say anything. All he can do is hold onto the suit jacket in his hands and leave the room, feeling panicked.

The merciless expression on Tang Yi’s face is akin to a grim reaper just as it’s about to wield its scythe - he grabs at the man’s jaw and smiles coldly, “Hold on just a little longer. I’ll definitely let you listen to the sound of your ribs breaking one by one.”

Wearing his spiked brass knuckles on his dominant right hand, the man tied to the chair is so fearful that he soils himself, his pants stained with the evidence of his shame and also the unpleasant stench.

Outside of the room, Ah De is unable to sit still and instead paces outside the door, wanting to know what’s going on inside, then also looking at his phone from time to time, as if waiting for someone’s reply.

Jack calmly plays with the butterfly knife in his hands, and speaks, “Don’t worry. He won’t beat him to death. Boss knows this much at least.”

If the man is beaten to death, then he cannot reveal any clues. The trick is to beat him until he thinks he will die in the next moment, but leave him that tiny, little glimpse of survival. Only then can they get the answers they need. This is what Jack learnt from the battlefield, and this is also the logic he used on himself when he was captured as a hostage and interrogated. Even if he was at his limits, he remembered that there is no reason for him to be loose-lipped, because once he tells the truth he no longer has any value. And people without any value and use will truly walk towards certain death.

“Why would I be worried about that fucker?”

“Oh? Then I must be mistaken. I saw that you were so nervous, I thought both of you knew each other.”

“What do you mean? What do you mean by I know him? Who does he think he is, do you think I will know a small fry like him?”

Jack looks at the man who has suddenly switched moods, then smiles, “De Ge, don’t get so angry. I’m hardly being serious here, don’t take it to heart and don’t listen too closely.”

Ah De suddenly grabs onto Jack’s butterfly knife in his grasp and warns sternly, “Some things cannot be said for the fun of it. Also, be careful of your knife.”

At this moment, Ah De’s quiet phone sounds with an incoming message and quickly leaves. A few minutes later, Jack deftly keeps his knife and walks over to the floor-to-ceiling windows. With his smiling eyes that scream anything but friendly, he watches as Ah De drives out of the house.

Restaurant booth

“Why did you only just return my texts, he’s already been caught by Boss,” Ah De says to the person who’s been waiting there for a while, the moment he opens the door and walks into the booth.

Hong Ye coldly looks at the man who hurriedly closes the door, and asks, “Li Zhi De, did you really want to kill me?”

“I didn’t! The plan was just as I discussed with CEO Zuo previously. We’ll pretend that your attacker is your competition from the bid* and I already instructed them to use only sticks to teach Meng Shao Fei a lesson, to make him look like he can’t protect anyone at all, that’s al!”

Hong Ye picks up the glass of red wine, and with sharp eyes scrutinising the other’s every reaction, she continues, “Sticks? But he was holding a gun. That time, you were the one who said you could chase Meng Shao Fei away and that’s why I reluctantly cooperated with you. In the end, this show has turned out to be farce. Or… did you have other motives for this?”

“CEO Zuo, how could I have any other motives? I really don’t know why it has turned out like this. I called and confirmed it earlier, before my people got to the carpark everything had already happened. Those people weren’t sent by me. I wanted to take care of these small fries by myself, but who knew Boss would do it personally, and I didn’t expect that Boss would have such an extreme reaction towards Meng Shao Fei getting hurt…”

That very last sentence, Ah De says through gritted teeth.

At his words, Hong Ye, who was cutting through a slice of blue cheese with her fork, freezes. Taking a deep breath, she picks up her handbag from the couch, and with a raised eyebrow, she says to Ah De, “In any case, the show is over. If that guy says anything to Ah Yi, you’re on your own.”

“CEO Zuo! CEO Zuo!”

Ah De shouts after her in a panic, but he can only watch as the woman leaves the booth without a backwards glance.

The Tang Household - Balcony

Tang Yi, who hates the smell of cigarette smoke, smokes one now - something that happens rarely. His sleeves are folded all the way to his elbows, still stained with dried blood.

Jack walks to the balcony and speaks, “He’s been sent to the hospital to Dr. Jiang already. Does Boss already know who sent him?”

Tang Yi’s eyes are filled with murderous intent and his gaze sweeps towards the red-haired man. Jack shrugs and smiles, “I’m simply curious what person wants to die so much that he dared to touch the person Boss cares about the most.”

Tang Yi does not reply immediately. Instead, he draws a cigarette out of its box and lights it with his lighter, watching as the white rings of smoke float into the air and dissipate. Then in a voice coloured with resentment, he spits, “Chen. Wen. Hao.”

“It was him after all.”

Having gotten his answer, Jack’s eyes move to the side and watch the brass knuckles settled on the surface of the table still stained with dried blood, and secretly makes his plans.

Restaurant parking lot

Hong Ye walks towards the parking lot, but sees Dao Yi, who’s already standing next to her car.

“What are you doing here?”

“Boss already found out who sent the men who shot at you.”

“Is that so?”

Expressionless, she moves towards the driver’s seat, not want Dao Yi to realise that this was hers and Li Zhi De’s plan, but she hears an unexpected answer.

“Chen Wen Hao.”

Hong Ye heaves a sigh of relief on the inside, and pretends to be calm as she says, “I already told Ah Yi that he should be careful with that old fox.”

“Miss, this time you were lucky that nothing worse happened. I understand that you want to protect Boss, but getting our brothers to hurt yourself, what if something actually happened? We will be very upset and hurt.”

Hong Ye looks at the man who already knows everything, and stops playing the fool. Instead, she goes straight to the reason for doing it.

“Ever since Ah Yi met hat cop, nothing good has happened. I’m protecting him in my own way, what right do you have to accuse me?”

Dao Yi exhales heavily, and calmly replies. “You’ve seen Boss’ reaction towards him. If you’re really thinking about Boss, then let him handle his relationship with Meng Shao Fei. I don’t wish to see you get hurt.”

“You don’t want to see me get hurt?” Hong Ye looks at him, her eyes bitter and asks, “Do you know who has hurt me the most? It’s you, Gu Dao Yi!”

The man averts his gaze and is silent for a few moments.

“Let me send you home.”

He walks towards the left side of the car, about to open the door and sit in the driver’s seat and prepared to send the person most important to him safely home, but Hong Ye slaps his hand away in anger.

With tears running down her face, she yells, “Everytime we get to this topic you hide! Why can’t you face the feelings that I have for you? I just want to say, I like you, Zuo Hong Ye likes Gu Dao Yi!”

“Miss, it’s only because I’ve taken care of you for so many years, so you’re mistaken habit and dependence as liking me.”

“I’m definitely not mistaken! I’ve liked you since I was young, I’ve had a crush on you and also confessed to you for so many years! How could I be mistaken?”

“Miss…”

“Right. You’re right. It’s habit. I’m used to you treating me well, used to you taking care of me, used to you cleaning up my messes, and then I thought habit was me liking you… Very good. I’m awake now…”

Prideful, Hong Ye has tolerated one rejection after another, and yet today all she has gotten is this embarrassing situation. So she lifts her chin up, inhaling deep, and speaks, “You being nice to me is because Boss Tang asked you to. If that’s the case, let’s end it here. These past few years have been hard on you, Uncle Dao Yi.”

Pushing aside Dao Yi who’s standing next to the door, she sits on the driver’s seat and slams the door shut. She starts the engine of her blue car and drives out of the restaurant’s parking lot.

Dao Yi stands in the parking lot and watches Hong Ye’s car leave.

Hospital corridor

“Toothbrush, shampoo, cup, hot flask, ah! I forgot to bring the hot flask…. Is Ah Fei awake?”

Carrying a bag filled with a change of clothes and some necessities, Zhao Zi walks to the hospital room Shao Fei is in. Opening the door and taking a look, he immediately freezes.

Inside the room, Tang Yi stands at the end of the bed watching an unconscious Shao Fei, still under anaesthesia. Hearing the noise made from the door opening, his icy gaze shifts, and Zhao Zi immediately shivers. Timidly, he retreats out of the room and even closes the door shut on his way out.

Standing outside the door, Zhao Zi pats at his chest and hammering heart. “Oh my god, why is he here? I.. better visit later then.”

He picks up the bag, deciding that he will first go somewhere near the hospital to eat something first, then circle around the area a few times before he comes back to visit Shao Fei.

Inside the room, Tang Yi quietly holds Shao Fei’s hand - the one without the IV drip - and gazes intently at Shao Fei’s face, so pale due to the loss of too much blood.

“Meng Shao Fei,” Tang Yi softly calls the person who’s already become the most important person to him.

The man lying in bed moves the fingers clasped in Tang Yi’s hand, then slowly opens his eyes and looks at the blurry but familiar figure before him. Unconsciously, his lips curve up.

“Poker face.”*

Saying those words with a smile, Shao Fei closes his eyes, incredibly at ease, and slips back into sleep.

“You see? It has a dead face like yours, I’m giving this to you. Hold onto it!”

Tang Yi cannot help but laugh at the thought of their conversation then, and takes the keychain out from his suit. Since the day he lost control and beat the culprit who shot Shao Fei half to death and tossed him to Jiang Jin Tang afterwards, Tang Yi has been carrying the keychain with him, along with the lighter that Boss Tang gave him.** Shao Fei gave it to him, this skeleton keychain. 

Looking at the man in the hospital bed, Tang Yi is unable to move his gaze from Shao Fei for a long while.

Outside the hospital

Just as he’s leaving the hospital through its doors, his path is blocked off by a car that suddenly pulls its brakes and stops in front of him.

Jack, who’s been following closely behind Tang Yi since they left the hospital room, immediately stands in a bodyguard’s position, shielding Tang Yi at his front, ready to attack at anytime.

A man alights the car and with an expression of calm, gestures towards the open car door and welcomes Tang Yi in. Politely, he says, “Mr. Tang, Boss Chen wants to see you.”

Jack moves to touch his butterfly knife, but immediately after a gun is pressed at his waist belonging to another subordinate. The clean and smooth movement is familiar to Jack - obviously, these are moves taught to him also by the army.

“Just as well. I have something I would like to ask Boss Chen as well.”

Tang Yi looks towards Jack and with his eyes, hint at Jack to not return the attack. Then, he moves into the backseat, and is sent to a Chinese tea room by Chen Wen Hao’s subordinates.

In the tea room

“We finally meet.”

The man who controls the drug network and supply in Cambodia looks just like any other elder, and with a smile he welcomes the young Xing Tian Meng leader, who was ‘invited’ here.

“If you’ve got anything to say, then get to the point. I don’t like to beat around the bush,” Tang Yi says, expressionless as he kneels on the tatami mat of the tea room.”

“Good!” Chen Wen Hao says, impressed. “We return to others what has been done to us. That has always been a rule in our world, and since you picked on my subordinate, Wang Kun Cheng, so I retaliated with Zuo Hong Ye. But now that Zuo Hong Ye is fine, it seems like I’m on the losing end of this.”

“What do you want?”

“I hear that Tang Guo Dong raised you up himself, and he treats you like his son.”

Deliberately using a nonchalant tone, Chen Wen Hao tries to find out the truth about the rumor that Tang Yi is Tang Guo Dong’s secret son***, but Tang Yi does not react to the sentence. 

Chen Wen Hao picks up his tea and drinks, then continues, “I once treated Tang Guo Dong as my family, and I even went to jail for him willingly. I didn’t expect him to have a son and then not tell me. Then again, according to the ranks in Xing Tian Meng, you should call me ‘Uncle’ as well.”

“Of course. Those who Xing Tian Meng re indebted to, I definitely will treat them as family… but those who betray Xing Tian Meng, no matter who they are, I will make him pay the price,” Tang Yi smiles, responding to Chen Wen Hao, who for some reason keeps focusing on the topic of Boss Tang.

“Since we’re all family, why not let’s make a deal.”

Chen Wen Hao looks at the unflappable young man who reveals no emotion no matter how Chen Wen Hao tries to sound him out, and gives up on asking about the relationship between Tang Yi and Boss Tang. Changing the subject, he talks business instead.

“I don’t intend to be Xing Tian Meng’s enemy. After all, this is not my territory, what’s more important is to be able to make money. I can forget what happened with Wang Kun Cheng and everything that happened before. We’ll treat it that we didn’t know each other then. From today onwards, I can reject all of Xing Tian Meng’s orders. I do my own business, you reform your organisation, we don’t touch each other’s territory. How’s that?”

Filling up a cup with hot tea, he slides it across the table until it’s settled before Tang Yi.

“It’s a deal!”

Tang Yi raises the cup in Chen Wen Hao’s direction, and the man raises his own cup as well. They down the cup in one go, then turn the cups over to show that no drop of tea is left in their cups.

Chen Wen Hao eyes curve as he smiles, and looking at the young man seated in front of him, he says, “Good! I’ll introduce you to someone next time, this person will be very helpful to your legal business.”

“Thank you Boss Chen,” he smiles at the old fox who has finally been led back here after years of planning, placing the cup back on the table.

Hospital roof

“Fuck! So suffocating!” Shao Fei shouts to the sky, who’s sitting on a wheelchair and was pushed up to the roof for some air by Tang Yi.

Tang Yi stands on the roof, gazing at the view in the distance, and says, “Thank you for saving Hong Ye.”

“Please, I’m a cop! This is what I’m supposed to do.”

“But…” Tang Yi returns his gaze to the person next to him, and frowning, he continues, “Don’t let this happen a second time.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t want to lose another friend.”

“Hey! I’ve been upgraded? From half a friend to a friend? Oh, ouch ouch ouch ouch-”

Shao Fei, who was almost at death’s door, enjoys less than three seconds of happiness, before he’s yelling out in pain from pulling at this wound.

“Are you okay? Let me bring you to a doctor.”

Concern written all over his face, Tang Yi anxiously looks at Shao Fei, who’s pressing at his abdomen. Shao Fei is bent at the waist, lightly holding onto where he pulled at his wound and pitifully, he implores, “I just came out and you want me to go back? Please let me have some more air, please, please.”

Tang Yi smiles, shaking his head. Gazing into the other person’s eyes and with a somber expression, he says, “Meng Shao Fei, I’m very happy that you’re still alive. Although you’ve been opposing me constantly in the past four years, but until the moment I was standing in front of the operating room and seeing how pale you were, in a deep, induced coma, I realised… I don’t want to lose you.”

The person listening to this recalls the moment he realised his own feelings for Tang Yi, the night that he cried out of hurt and pain. Shao Fei thought that in the other person’s eyes, he wasn’t even a ‘friend’, but now hearing the confession that Tang Yi didn’t want to lose him.

“You made my life so different and let me experienced warmth again. So I hope that you will live well, even if it’s just for my sake-”

Tang Yi continues to speak, not realising that the person next to him has teared up, his eyes all red. Suddenly, an arm hooks around his neck and lips press to his.

Until they’re almost breathless, only then does Shao Fei finish the kiss and stands from the wheelchair. He walks towards the roof’s shorter wall in front of him and looks towards the clear skies, then turns around and points at the Xing Tian Meng leader, who is sporting an indescribable and complex expression right now.

Full of sincerity and being so serious, Shao Fei says, “Tang Yi! I’m chasing you for sure!”

He will not be like the female characters in an idol drama where she is indecisive and counts the petals on a flower, but also eventually doesn’t dare to take the step to chase after her own happiness.****

No matter who he, Meng Shao Fei, likes, he doesn’t care for anyone else’s opinion. Even if the other person is a male, even if he’s Xing Tian Meng’s boss, even if the underworld and cops are from two different worlds, Shao Fei wants to trap Tang Yi’s person, and have Tang Yi’s heart as well. And-

He will never regret it!

The Tang Household

Tang Yi sits behind his office desk that is illuminated only by a desk lamp, looking at the lighter and skeleton keychain on the table. He recalls what Boss Tang once told him…

“Promise me, if one of these days, you can only choose between yourself and Xing Tian Meng, then give up Xing Tian meng.”

“I’m already prepared to-”

“Just leave that to me, you shouldn’t be the one to have it. Xing Tian Meng was established by your uncles and I, and we have a duty to keep it alive but also die with it. And you don’t.”

“Because I don’t have the right?”

“No, because you still have a future,” Tang Guo Dong smiles and caresses the top of his head.

“Silly boy! There are a lot of precious things in life that’s worth you chasing after, do you understand that?”

“Like what?”

“Love. If you’ve never been in love, you haven’t actually live life properly.”

The man reaches out with his finger and lightly pokes at Tang Yi’s chest, over his heart.

“Every person in life was born lacking one rib, and that rib grows on the person you like. Maybe you think it doesn’t matter right now, but I hope that one day you will understand what happiness is like loving someone. When that happens, don’t forget to let me see what you rib looks like. I hope you will that person won’t be like you, with an icy expression on their faces all the time…”

Tang Yi presses at his chest, right over his heart where Boss Tang once poked at and recalls everything that has happened between him and Shao Fei these past four years. He picks up the skeleton keychain, and makes a decision.*****

Hospital

Busy with helping Shao Fei pack after settling his discharge papers, Zhao Zi and Yu Qi look up to see the Xing Tian Meng leader walking into the room.

Bringing up her courage, Yu Qi opens her arms and blocks his path, and says, “What are you doing here? We don’t welcome you here.”

Although she doesn’t know what the other person is going to do, in any case, she must not let this man close to Shao Fei, because everytime something happens to Shao Fei, this man is always involved.

“Tang Yi, what are you doing here?”

“I’m here to give you an answer.”

“What answer?”

Zhao Zi scratches the back of his head and dumbly asks Jack, who’s followed at Tang Yi’s back and entered the room as well. Jack doesn’t reply, only pinching at Zhao Zi’s cheek with a smile.

Shao Fei nervously looks at the person walking towards him, not sure what kind of answer he will give him.

The next second, Tang Yi imitates the action that Shao Fei did on the rooftop a few days ago - he hooks his arm around the back of Shao Fei’s neck and pulls him close, and in front of the other three people, he kisses Shao Fei’s lips.

So startled Zhao Zi and Yu Qi are that heavy breathing sounds being to come from the both of them, their eyes wide and staring at everything that’s happening before them, speechless. On the other hand, Jack who’s standing on the side with his arms crossed, looks upon the scene with amusement.

“Meng Shao Fei, I want you!”

“We’ll see who will get the other person first!” Shao Fei declares, arrogantly lifting his chin up, and looking at the man who so certainly confessed to him.

♯Glasgow Coma Scale is usually used for helping to assess and quickly describe levels of consciousness in injured people, primarily looking at how impared the brain is by looking at the ability to open eyes, respond verbally, and respond with motor skills. A score of 3 is pretty damn low and means that Shao Fei is not doing well. When the book says he was probably close to death, they mean it!

https://www.nursingtimes.net/Journals/2014/10/10/n/p/l/141015Forty-years-on-updating-the-Glasgow-coma-scale.pdf

https://www.glasgowcomascale.org/

*In the previous chapters, I wrote ‘dead person’s face’ as a literal translation, but in this case, he’s calling Tang Yi that as a name of sorts and not a description, so I’ve switched to ‘poker face’ as a term rather ‘dead person’s face’ or ‘like a dead person’ kind of thing… sorry if it’s confusing!

**WE DID NOT GET THIS LITTLE GEM IN THE SHOW AND OMG that is possibly the sweetest thing ever?!!

***Think in usual cases we’ll call him a bastard i.e. a son had by a woman that Boss Tang never married

****What have you been watching, Shao Fei?!!!!

*****I really like this detail?!!!! And the way the flashback worked in this case because basically Tang Yi symbolically chose Shao Fei over Xing Tian Meng by picking up the keychain, just as Boss Tang said omg

#history 3: 圈套 #history3圈套 #history 3: trapped #history3: trap #history3 novel #translations #ch 6 is finally up sorry for the wait

[midotakaism]

Hello. She Li loves jian yi and Mo?

hello, anon!!

this is not a very simple question to answer for me because i swear i cannot, for the life of me, understand what she li wants and what old xian wants to do with him

let me start this by saying that i personally think love is a bit of a strong term to describe whatever she li feels for jian yi and guan shan. as i see it right now, i feel like he mostly has some kind of personal interest towards them and possibly feels a physical attraction too

(putting the rest under a cut because you know me.. well, actually maybe not, but if there’s a thing you should know about me is that these boys make me talk a lot so more of that under the cut)

if you had asked me this 2 years ago, like pretty much until chapter 203 with the vending machine scene between she li and jian yi, i would have said that she li had his eyes on jian yi, not only for some personal gain maybe related to jian yi’s father, but that he also had an interest in pursuing him romantically, and that he saw and used guan shan only as a pawn to get his dirty work done

after that tho, we only got 2 other moments where we saw she li and jian yi interact with each other, and maybe it’s just me, but the feeling i got from those was kinda different from what i was expecting

for comparison:

VS

again, maybe it’s just me, and im aware the circumstances were different, but compared to the first ones, these last two feels less charged (both on a sexual point of view but also on a romantic/showing interest one as well), they just feel threatening in a way she li could be with anyone

as for guan shan, i do still think she li sees him mainly as a pawn, but a pawn that stood out from the others (which is probably not a good thing). guan shan thinking back to the moment when she li pierced his ears in chapter was really interesting to me to define their relationship a bit more because we now know that she li did save guan shan (from whom or what i really wonder), which ultimately contributed to distort guan shan’s way of percieving others (thanks a lot, she li /sarcasm) and shaped their relationship, with she li making feel like guan shan owed him something for that ‘saving’

guan shan was finally able to break free from him thanks to he tian, jian yi, and zheng xi’s help (the fact that he asks he tian to buy him earrings is SO DAMN IMPORTANT FOR HIS CHARACTER IM SO PROUD OF HIM), the problem is that i think she li has no intention of letting him go. you’d think he would have learned his lesson after he tian beat him up the first time, but he was still out there showing up to visit guan shan at the hospital with a knife and throwing cans at him. we can hope he tian’s second warning was more succesful than the first one, however the way she li looks at them in chapter 282 is not the look of a boy who was cowered into behaving (boy also has ISSUES. like, A LOT OF THEM. who knows how his brain work)

so yeah tl;dr: i personally don’t think that she li has romantic feeling for either jian yi or guan shan, nor that old xian has actually any intention to build him as a possible romantic suitor at this point. As i see it, i feel like he is interest in both of them for different reasons: jian yi possibly for his unknow connection to the mafia world, and gangs in general, and maybe because he is attracted to him (but i highly doubt there are any real feelings involeved), and guan shan because of a sense of fucked up ownership he thinks he holds over him (piercing his ears was literally a way to mark him) and refuses to give up

#this was.. so long and im not even sure if i managed to properly reply to your question anon im sorry;;;;;;;; #do let me know if you agree with me or not if you want to!! #thanks for the question and i hope you're gonna have a wonderful day!! #anon #ask #i cannot remember how i used to tagged things help #also wow those edits are so bad i forgot how to do those #19 days thoughts

[wolf-nir]

So after the devastating chapter 244 I decided to write something post-chapter and it came out that I was very nervous because I and a friend started to discuss the possible injuries that Little Mo suffered and, I have to say, it's very ugly.

This part / fanfic (I don’t even know) is mainly focused on He Tian, since the emotions he showed in the cap were devastating to my poor little heart.

He Tian hates hospitals. He doesn’t remember well when this kind of feeling began to be connected with the white buildings and with the smell of death masked by disinfectant — and maybe he didn’t want to know, just want to hate hospitals like Mo Guan Shan hates cheese in his sandwich for no reason logic.

Do not go there, not yet. Tian closes his eyes trying not to see her thoughts. He is not very successful, but he can avoid thinking too much about why he is sitting in a chair in a hospital waiting room on a thursday night.

He Tian knows that one hour will have to think about it because he will need to tell Ms. Mo what happened and why the hell is your son in the hospital and why He Tian is dirty with blood that is not his and with bandages around his fists.

He knows, but it does not make the task any easier. Then He Tian chooses to ignore for a moment the noise of people talking and walking around him and tries to concentrate on calm down, to keep the damn control.

It's not the first time he finds himself in situations like this, but that does not make it easier to breathe and not cry. Yes, cry. He Tian knows that if He Cheng was there, or, god forbid, his father, he would surely be called weak, but the teenager does not feel that he should mind something like that when Guan Shan is in some white room of that building being treated for wounds that, if He Tian had found him before, he would not even have received them.

It is irrational to think so, but He Tian has always been very good at jumping into impulsive thoughts faster than his ability to kick someone, so it's no surprise to him to think that all would have been avoided had he been less useless, faster , smarter, more everything.

He is not surprised by the ways his thoughts take, but he is surprised at how these thoughts suddenly weigh in his heart and makes He Tian want to bend over and keep himself so that the pain does not overcome the barriers he gets self imposed.

He spends several minutes curled up in the hard chair of that waiting room until the slight touch on his shoulder awakens him to reality. There in front of you is Mo Guan Shan's mother, tearful eyes and frowns in concern.

He Tian feels as if he's about to break something too fragile for his blood-stained hands.

xx

Ms. Mo is taken by a doctor long before He Tian has a chance to talk to her and the black haired has never felt so relieved in his life. He doesn’t know what to say, especially since he does not know how Little Mo got into a fight with loan sharks.

He has his suspicions, but He Tian can not exactly ask this to Guan Shan's mother and he knows that the redhead would surely die before talking about his problems. He just hopes this is not a prelude to a worse situation than what they went through with She Li.

“HE TIAN!” It is Jian Yi with his, always, presence high and bright and beside him his faithful squire, Zhan Zheng Xi.

"Do not scream, jerk.” Zheng Xi hits hard on the back of his best friend's head. “This is a hospital.”

He Tian feels a strange weight leaving his chest to see the two friends discuss and draw even more unwanted attention from the nurses and doctors around and after a few seconds he realizes that this weight is the fear of being alone at that moment.

He almost laughs, but then he remembers where he is and why he is there and lets the laughter die in his throat. This is no time to laugh, it's time to be strong as your brother told to be.

"What are you guys doing here?" He chooses to focus on the pair of goofy. And it seems to be a good decision, since he can see that the nurses were about to call a security guard.

Jian Yi seems to finally realize where they are and stops pulling Zheng Xi's hair, which in turn loosens the grip it had on his friend's soft cheeks.

"Oh, we saw you and Redhead running and then some guys chasing you! By the way, how is he?" He Tian freezes, because that was the question he'd been avoiding asking himself.

"I don’t know. I'm not in the family so the doctors don’t talk to me." The brunet tried to maintain a neutral facade, trying not to show the panic he was still feeling all through his body.

"Why were you being persecuted? What have you gotten yourself into, He Tian?" This time it is Zheng Xi who asks, a closed and slightly accusatory countenance.

He Tian laughs, a bitter laugh, that makes Jian Yi take a cautious stance, as if he did not recognize the friend in front of him. When He Tian returns to look at the two, Zheng Xi almost regrets accusing the brunet.

He Tian seems so broken.

"Why do you think I have something to do with all this?" He Tian returns to his mask of indifference, a smile of derision gracing his lips. "I did nothing."

And for He Tian, he really didn’t. He could not protect Mo Guan Shan, their presence in the hospital is proof enough of that. He could not help Little Mo flee and was dragged into a rampage that may have worsened the wounds of the redhead.

"You brought him to the hospital, He Tian. You can not say you did nothing.” It's Jian Yi who talks, with dark blue eyes and a seriousness that is always unheard of to see in his delicate features.

He Tian once again laughs, not convinced by what Jian Yi is trying to do, what is trying to say.

"I don’t need consolation, Jian." He Tian smiles, a sour taste taking over his mouth. "I did not do anything, just because we're here is enough proof of that." He tries to smile again, but his lips are too shaky to form an arc that convinces the blond in front of him that he is right.

"So what would you have done? What would you do?” It is Zheng Xi who asks him, his eyes closed in earnest, his posture straight and protective. He almost looks like a father, trying to rebuke his son. But He Tian has long since ceased to be bullied by something like that.

"I was going to clear the path. He would have a better chance of getting away and maybe he would not be in a fucking hospital. But he had to go and pull me into his escape." He Tian says, clenching his fists as he remembers how surprised he was by the sudden pull of Guan Shan on his wrist to react and try again to fulfill his plan.

"You're an idiot." It's Jian Yi who speaks, a feral force on each syllable, making He Tian almost tremble. It is rare to see Jian Yi — soft, irritating and cheerful Jian Yi — with a scowl and eyes expelling anger.

"What?" It is He Tian who makes the first move, approaching the blonde and grabbing the collar of the other's shirt. The rage and adrenaline that still raced through her veins increased considerably.

"You heard me, you're an idiot. Worst of the worst." Jian Yi repeats himself, not at all frightened by He Tian's visceral grip on his shirt or black eyes devouring him in a raging black hole.

Zheng Xi moves, wanting to prevent the two start fighting, or rather, wanting to stop He Tian from hurting his best friend. Always the knight in white armor, He Tian mocks in his thoughts.

"You understand me, do not you, Zhang?" He Tian turns his gaze to the greens of Zheng Xi, knowing that the other blond can not lie and say he does not understand because he spent half his life protecting and clearing the path for Jian Yi.

"Shut up! Zheng Xixi would never understand this, because he's too stupid even for him!" It is Jian Yi who responds, wanting to defend his friend, but He Tian knows that it is the sheer ingenuity of Jian Yi that prevents him from seeing the truth.

"Yes. I understand." Zhang Zheng Xi answers him, his eyes still serious and his posture still ready to interfere with their quarrel. Jian Yi looks at his best friend outraged, as if he's really looking at Zheng Xi for the first time.

“Xixi! You can’t be serious! He Tian is being stupid! "Jian Yi walked away from He Tian and the dark haired man left, knowing that his attention was no longer focused on him. Zheng Xi looked at his best friend and Jian Yi calmed down. The two of them would talk about it some other time.

"I said I understand, not that I don’t think that is stupid." Zheng Xi turned his gaze to He Tian. "You were going to do that, but what about Mo Guan Shan? How do you think he would look? He could faint in an alley and no one would find him or take him to the hospital."

He Tian wants to disagree with Zheng Xi, but he does not know what to say. He knows that both Jian Yi and Zheng Xi are right, but it's hard to fully believe it when his mind keeps repeating the scenes of Guan Shan being choked, beaten and covered in blood in his arms.

"Ok. It was stupid of me." He Tian confesses, wanting to appease both blondes. He doesn’t feel exactly like this, but if doing so will give him some sense of peace then he will agree with the two friends.

“Good.” Jian Yi responds.

The three of them are silent, sitting side by side on the hard plastic chairs in the hospital's half-empty waiting room.

He Tian still feels he did nothing, still feels full of anger and anguish, but for now, he will let himself be persuaded by Jian Yi and Zheng Xi. For now he will convince himself that he did everything he could and that Mo Guan Shan will be fine.

#19 days #old xian #tianshan #zhenyi #mo guan shan #he tian #zhan zheng xi #jian yi #this is so sad #my poor babys #protect him #fanfic #my fics #my prompts #chap 244

[fandomfanficsgalore]

A is for Assassins: Part 6

assassins au

Pairings: ZhanYi, TianShan

Warnings: Mention of drugs and suggestion of attempted rape (NOTHING EXPLICIT!)

             Jian Yi shifted from where he sat on the bed, his eyes flickering between the other men in the room. Ever since He Tian and Mo Guan Shan came back last night, He Tian had just announced that they hadn’t had any success. Zhan Zheng Xi, even now, was trying to pry more detail, but Mo barely looked up from his shoes, and He Tian was more evasive than ever.

           Finally, Zhan Zheng Xi sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. Jian Yi loved when he did that. It let him imagine what Zhan would look like with slicked back hair, since the other man refused to style his hair in any way.

           Zhan caught his eye, and Jian Yi stiffened, wondering if Zhan would scold him for staring. Instead, he found himself being talked to, and snapped into focus.

           “…you and I will have to go.”

           Jian Yi blinked owlishly.

           “Us?” he asked, “Undercover?”

           Zhan Zheng Xi nodded, his lips pressed into a grim line.

           “We’re running out of time, and these two have already been seen asking for information. We’ll go in tonight. If we still don’t get him, we’ll have to wait and send He Tian and Mo again. But tonight, maybe we’ll have better luck.”

           No one objected, and Jian Yi’s eyes once again drifted to the other two in the room. It seemed like He Tian and Mo Guan Shan were determined not to look at each other, and Jian Yi couldn’t help but wonder what had happened last night. A million ideas swarmed in his head, but then Zhan said something about dinner and getting ready to go, and all other thoughts were swept from his mind. 

           That night, Jian Yi dressed in a fit of nerves and excitement. He slipped on a tight black shirt and hip-hugging jeans, and even slicked the sides of his hair back a little. He stared in the mirror, contemplating this evening. It had been forever since Jian Yi did any undercover work. Usually it was too dangerous, and Zhan knew that. But maybe they were far enough away that no one would recognize him…

           Around midnight, he and Zhan left together, ditching a very disgruntled-looking Mo stuck in their room with a silent He Tian.

           As they left, Jian Yi frowned.

           “Wonder what’s up with those two,” he mused.

           Zhan shrugged. Tonight the man wore dark jeans and a blue shirt, his hair messy as always. Jian Yi both admired and grew jealous of his easy attractiveness. Still, once they were out in the open air and walking away from the hotel, even Jian Yi forced himself to sober up a little. The two walked in tense silence, both wondering how the night would go. 

              For the millionth time, Mo glanced after He Tian from the computer. Zhan had showed Mo the basics of how to track his and Jian Yi’s locations. Their green dots were moving slowly away from the hotel, and Mo Guan Shan had soon grown bored of watching them.

           As soon as they had left, He Tian had moved to the balcony, and hadn’t emerged, but Mo Guan Shan could smell the stench of a cigarette wafting in through the cracked door.

           He nibbled his lip.

           He Tian hadn’t talked to him at all since last night. Hell, he hadn’t even looked at him.

           Mo Guan Shan had fucked up. But was He Tian really that pissed…?

              Panic overtook Jian Yi as soon as he stepped into the club. The dark room, the stench of sweat and weed and the loud music all threw him back years ago. To glares and smirks and grabbing hands and indignant shouts—his father’s face, and the terror—

           A hand touched his shoulder, and Jian Yi leapt back to present. His head whipped to Zhan Zheng Xi, who stood inches away with his brows furrowed. Jian Yi could feel the man’s breath on his cheeks.

           “Are you okay?” Zhan Zheng Xi asked, his eyes gleaning with a knowing shine.

           Jian Yi swallowed hard and nodded, forcing a smile.

           “Er, yeah! Yeah, of course. It just stinks in here, that’s all…”

           Zhan gazed at him for a long, disbelieving moment. Then he turned away, and Jian Yi sagged in relief.

           Then he turned to the rest of the room, his focus returning. They had a job to do.

           Zhan drifted off to his left, and Jian Yi forced himself not to follow, instead approaching the bar. An older man with peppered black hair and dark eyes smiled at him from over a glass of what Jian Yi could only guess was whiskey or rum. Jian Yi returned it politely and turned away, his cheeks flushing when the man chuckled.

              Zhan milled around, pretending to be searching for something. All the while, he kept an eye on Jian Yi, making sure the other man was in sight.

           Not even He Tian knew all of Jian Yi’s past. He thought he did, but he didn’t. Only Zhan Zheng Xi had been granted that information, and some days, he wondered if he was grateful or not.

           Knowing Jian Yi’s past helped Zhan care for him and look after him, but at the same time, it made everything more difficult. More dangerous, for both of them.

           Zhan Zheng Xi continued to mill about. Luckily, most of the writhing bodies were too preoccupied to pay much mind, and most of the sober men and women were busy trying to become otherwise. Zhan hated places like this. Used to them as he was, Zhan felt disgusting and dirty just stepping inside.

            A girl appeared at his shoulder, no older than twenty, with her shirt cut low and lips painted red. Zhan Zheng Xi easily waved her off. Once she was gone with a roll of her eyes, Zhan Zheng Xi’s gaze found Jian Yi again. Surprise rang through him to find Jian Yi already standing, and the other man quickly turned away.

           A pang his Zhan Zheng Xi’s chest as he, too, turned away, minutely shaking his head at himself.

             Jian Yi hadn’t meant to drink. It just… happened.

           One moment he was watching Zhan Zheng Xi talk to a girl, the next Zhan was staring at him… Staring at him with that knowing look.

           Pitying.

           And now Jian Yi had downed a glass of rum—disgusting, but useful—and debated on whether to order another when a new one slid into his hand, as if by magic. Jian Yi blinked and looked up. The same pepper-haired guy from before grinned at him, raising his own glass. Jian Yi bit his lip, smiled, and raised his in return.

 Zhan Zheng Xi was growing irritated. Their target had yet to show up, and Jian Yi was chatting with some guy at the bar without a care in the world. It didn’t bother Zhan Zheng Xi, exactly. He only wished…

Well. He wished a lot of things.

But at the moment, he only wished that Jian Yi would take their mission more seriously.

It was about the time Zhan was thinking of leaving and calling it another defeat when he caught a glimpse of a familiar face and blonde hair. Zhan straightened from where he’d leaned against the wall, an untouched bottle of beer in his hand. He shifted, peering conspicuously through the crowd.

There!

On the other side, near the cushioned sofas, a man in a golden chain and black shirt greeted a few men eagerly, immediately accepting a blunt and plopping down next to a busty young woman.

Giori Morretti.

Zhan turned and lifted a finger to his ear.

“Jian Yi. He’s here.”

No answer.

Zhan frowned.

“Jian Yi? Can you hear me?”

Nothing but static.

Zhan whipped toward the bar, and balked to find both Jian Yi’s and the stranger’s spots empty.

   The door slid open quietly, and soft, hesitant footsteps followed.

He Tian didn’t turn, taking another long drag of your cigarette.

“They’re taking a long time.”

He Tian was mildly surprised, but shrugged.

“They’ll be fine,” he answered.

           Mo Guan Shan sighed in frustration.

           There was another beat of awkward silence.

           “Look,” Guan Shan started, glaring off into the dark night to avoid looking at He Tian, “I didn’t mean to fuck it up last night, okay? I was just… I didn’t know…”

           “You don’t trust me,” He Tian surmised, and continued before Mo Guan Shan could protest, “It makes sense.”

           Mo Guan Shan finally looked at him to frown.

           He Tian takes another drag, letting the smoke fill his lungs, lingering in a swirling haze before breathing it out. The smoke curled up towards the sky.

           Finally He Tian turned, dropping his cigarette and snuffing it with the tip of his shoe. He met Mo Guan Shan’s eyes, and the latter found no malice, but something almost worse.

           Anger? Disappointment? Both?

           “I guess we’re even then,” He Tian stated with a quick, hollow smile.

           Mo Guan Shan’s fists balled and his cheeks flushed at the reminder of He Tian’s lips on his own and the man’s tongue against his mouth.

           “It’s not…” Mo Guan Shan cursed, running his fingers through his hair. He turned to the balcony, and He Tian watched curiously as his face grew red. “It’s not like that.”

           “Not like what?” He Tian asked.

Mo Guan Shan only shook his head, scowling.

He Tian paused before stepping forward. The other man’s light eyes found his, almost like a warning. He Tian ignored it and stopped only a foot away.

“Not like what?” He Tian repeated.

Mo Guan Shan’s face flushed. He swore softly and faced away again. At length, he replied,

“I’m done being… being used by people like you.”

“People like me,” He Tian said slowly.

Mo Guan Shan sent him a withering glare. It was so much more than that, though. Behind his anger, He Tian saw a glimmer of something he hadn’t seen yet; vulnerability. Fear.

“You know what I mean,” Mo muttered, his eyes dropping to his hands, which gripped the railing in front of him.

He Tian watched him.

“I don’t want to use you,” he stated.

Mo Guan Shan scoffed.

“That’s what they all say. What else could you want?”

Before He Tian could answer, Mo Guan Shan turned on him, eyes full of fire—anger, and fear, and—was that hope? Or just He Tian’s imagination?

 “What do you want, He Tian?” he demanded, “Or do you even know?”

Before He Tian could answer, both of their earpieces crackled.

“Emergency! We’re coming back!”

He Tian’s hand flew up to his earpiece. He gave Mo a meaningful look. This conversation is not over.

“What happened?” he asked.

“Jian Yi,” Zhan Zheng Xi breathed.

He Tian cursed.

  One moment, Jian Yi was chatting with the guy with peppered hair. The next, his stomach began to turn, his vision swimming. His first thought was, Whoa, I’ve had too much to drink.

But he’d only had a glass and a half, and he wasn’t that much of a lightweight.

Then his limbs felt heavy, and suddenly the guy was helping him out of his seat, promising the bartender to help him get home safe.

Through the haze and confusion, realization of what was happening struck through Jian Yi, and panic soon followed. He lifted his arms to try to push the guy off, but only managed to pat his chest before Jian’s limbs once again failed him. Consciousness was a struggle. He only felt them moving, and every time he opened his eyes, Jian Yi couldn’t remember when he’d closed them.

Soon they were out in open air, and the man still had a strong grip around his waist—possessive. If only he could reach his earpiece…

Jian raised an arm, but the man pushed it down, tugging Jian Yi closer to his side and muttering something about taking good care of him. It sounded almost reassuring. Jian Yi wanted to spit in his face.

They’d left out a back door, and Jian Yi’s vision spotted black, the shadows of the parking lot behind all blurring together.

Just then he heard a familiar voice, and their motion stopped. Jian Yi’s vision swirled, but he spotted familiar brown hair and hard eyes, and his heart gave a small, pitiful jump.

“Zhan Xi…” he said, or maybe he only thought it, before everything went black.

#tianshan #19 days #zhanyi #zhan zheng xi #jian yi #he tian #mo guan shan #old xian #assassins au

[viralhottopics]

Beijing’s smog: A tale of two cities

Beijing (CNN)The first thing Jiang Wang does when she wakes up in the morning is check on her daughter to make sure she’s breathing clean air.

Next, it’s time to start making breakfast. She’s already made sure all the groceries come from an organic farm.

She’ll wash her produce with tap water filtered through a separate treatment system under her sink.

But that water isn’t for drinking — there’s imported bottled water for that.

This is how Wang typically starts her day, trying to minimize the effects of the toxic environment in Beijing.

“From the moment you open your eyes till the moment, you rest in the evening,” she says, “you have to pay really (close) attention, to the air, to the water, to the food you eat.”

Wang and her family are part of a growing number of Beijingers who are trying to pollution-proof their lives.

And money is no cost.

It’s “very expensive,” she says. “But think about the health. There is nothing to trade off.”

But for Beijing’s rising middle class and poorer residents, this high-end home equipment is financially out of reach.

That’s turning pollution into both a health issue and a class issue — and it’s killing off those left behind.

Research by Nanjing University’s School of the Environment has linked smog with nearly one-third of all deaths in China, positioning it on a par with smoking as a threat to public health.

Published in November last year, the study analyzed over 3 million deaths across 74 cities throughout China in 2013. The findings revealed that as many as 31.8% of all recorded deaths could be linked to pollution, with major cities in Hebei, the province that encircles Beijing, ranked among the worst.

“Air pollution exacerbates inequality between the rich and poor in urban China,” Matthew Kahn, a professor of economics at the University of Southern California, told CNN in an email.

“The rich live in cleaner parts of the city and on more polluted days they can drive to work, work inside, access better doctors, have second homes in the countryside and have expensive and effective air filters.”

Beijing risks becoming a tale of two cities, a place where the rich and poor don’t even breathe the same air.

It adds up

The Wang family recently installed a fresh air filtering system, which cost them about $4,300.

It works like a ventilation system, cleaning outside air and pumping it into their home.

They also have an air purifier in each room, eight in all, to filter out carbon dioxide and take care of any dirty air that may leak in. Those add up to about $7,200.

And the purifiers need to be changed about once a month — which rings in at $430.

Water filters for sinks run about $300 and shower filters can cost upwards of $1,000 on JD, a popular Chinese e-commerce site.

For the super wealthy, companies such as Environment Assured, an indoor air quality and water filtration consultancy, will assess the toxicity of living and office spaces.

The company offers a top-of-the-line package that comes in at just under $15,000, according to Alex Cukor, the vice president of enterprise solutions at Environment Assured.

Real estate prices can swing based on technology and proximity to pollution, too.

A two-bedroom apartment in Beijing’s MOMA complex — where the units come equipped with air filtration systems — cost far in excess of $3 million, according to the Lianjia real estate listings.

That’s almost six times the cost of a similarly-sized apartment on the city’s dusty fringes.

And these costs aren’t reserved to homes.

The International School of Beijing, where tuition is north of $37,000 a year, built a pressurized dome for kids to play in during the smog. It cost $5 million. (Some public schools have also built domes recently.)

Some people will get organic produce shipped directly to their homes. A yearly membership to Tony’s Farm costs $3,400. That will get you two weekly deliveries of produce, three kilograms (about 6.6 pounds) each.

Others escape the bad air by traveling abroad.

And then there’s the more outlandish products.

You can buy canned air from Britain for $115 a bottle. Anti-pollution creams can top $100 (the jury’s still out on how well these work) and there are also expensive “pollution-catching” amulets.

The typical Beijinger likely can’t afford any of that — the average individual salary is a little less than $17,00 year, according to a report from Peking University. And that’s the highest in China.

But even though China’s economic boom has delivered material wealth to millions, growing numbers are becoming frustrated that China’s elite and ultra-wealthy — many of whom got rich off the country’s rapid industrialization that caused the pollution problem — can protect themselves, but they can’t.

“It really has reached a point where concern over air pollution throughout the country is threatening China’s social stability,” Barbara Finamore of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said in a question and answer session in May.

A recent environmental protest in the southwest city of Chengdu was quickly quashed by authorities.

Baby steps

China is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gasses, and it’s costly — the country’s economy lost roughly $535 billion due to pollution in 2012, according to the RAND corporation.

The government knows air quality is a pressing problem and publicly declared a “war on pollution” in 2014.

With their newfound wealth, China’s upper and middles classes have been able to travel abroad and see more of the world — and in turn learn about the dangers of pollution and how to avoid it.

But on the street during a red alert it is still commonplace to see ordinary people wearing a scarf over their mouth and nose, rather than a protective mask.

Even state media has said the government needs to better study and understand the effects of pollution.

Still, China had some success in recent years, both locally — 663 localities in Beijing’s city limits replaced coal with clean energy, state-run Xinhua news reported — and internationally, with the signing of the Paris climate accords.

And China actually leads the world in wind and solar power, according CSIS’ Finamore.

Such measures though have done little to dispel the view that Beijing is becoming increasingly unlivable. “Under the Dome,” a Chinese documentary on the negative effects of pollution, took the country by storm when it debuted in 2015. The film drew millions of views online, before government censors stepped in and removed it from Chinese video sharing websites.

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Middle-class catch-up

But a lot of the spikes in business are fleeting, coming and going with the thick plumes of smog that roll in.

Activity at Environment Assured has been nonstop in the past three weeks, since Beijing’s most recent “airpocalypse,” Cukor says.

Data from JD, the Chinese online retailer, shows from December 16 to December 20 — during the government’s most recent red alert pollution warning– sales of masks on the site increased by 380% while air purifiers, rose by 210%

Research from Kahn, the USC professor, found similar trends when analyzing sales data from Taobao, another online retailer, in winter 2013, during another spell of bad air quality.

It’s likely because people with less disposable income don’t have the time or money to think about prevention until the problem has gotten out of hand.

And they’re not always buying effective products — many cheaper options simply don’t do the job.

Some have called foul on false advertising as well; a recent report in the Financial Times cited claims by concerned mothers who tested the air quality in some malls promising clean filtered air and found it was not as safe as advertised.

“This poor versus rich differential propensity to invest in self protection means that air pollution exposure exacerbates quality of life inequality in Chinese cities because the poor are exposed to more risk,” Kahn and the paper’s other authors write.

Kahn and and his co-author Zheng Siqi, a professor at Tsinghua University, remain optimistic, pointing to the Kuznets curve.

This curve posits that as per-capita income rises, so does environmental degradation — but only to a point. Once people have enough disposal income that they aren’t living day-to-day, they can afford to worry about pollution, counteract it and hold their leaders accountable.

And when that day comes, pollution should decrease as per-capita income rises.

For her daughters, Wang hopes that day comes soon.

“For us — for everybody — health is number one,” she says.

“Without health nothing can be done.”

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from Beijing’s smog: A tale of two cities

#Beijing’s smog: A tale of two cities

[notthatiwilleverwriteit]

Hellooo! What's your opinion on He tian and Jian Yi friendship from the start till now? And Mo and Zhang friendship from start till now? Also, I loveee your 'the cycle of the sunflower' fanfic!♥️

Good evening, anon-san, sorry it took me this long to answer You had interesting and quite broad questions but first things first: I’m happy to hear you enjoyed my fic so much, and thank you very much for letting me know! I was actually entertaining some tentative ideas for a sequel today while procrastinating. But you know, not that I will ever write it.

“What's your opinion on He tian and Jian Yi friendship from the start till now?”

Tl;dr: I was pretty annoyed by He Tian at first when he was trying to get close to Jian Yi but these days I quite like their friendship. I especially enjoy those little heart-to-hearts they have sometimes.

You gave me quite a long timeline, and I had to go all the way back to chapter 60 when HT was apparently featured for the first time:

That panel doesn’t give us a lot to go on, and I’m sure most of us didn’t even pay that much mind to the random black-haired guy. I know I didn’t. But in retrospect, it could be interesting to wonder if OX’s intention was to make a fleshed-out character out of that random black-haired kid at that point already.

After his first appearance, it takes about 40 chapters before we see HT again (ch. 102):

This time their interaction seems different, like it has more meaning and HT is not just a random passer-by teasing him a bit. JY is upset and conflicted after giving ZZX the confession letter entrusted to him by Xiao Hui. He doesn’t tell HT what’s wrong but he’s obviously down, and HT seems to attempt to lighten the mood, perhaps even comfort him a bit. It’s hard to say how serious he’s being. What’s interesting is that he’s again patting JY’s head, but this time it doesn’t have the same teasing vibe.

After that chapter HT started to pop up more often and increasingly annoy me. Before long, I was fully in the “okay, buddy, you need to go be somewhere else” mood. Whenever he spotted JY’s mop of blond hair in the crowd he annoyingly stuck to him and draped his arm around his shoulders like they were the bestests friends.

What annoyed me the most, though, was that it was hard to say why he was acting so buddy buddy. One thing that struck me about their friendship from the beginning was that it seemed rather one-sided. It was HT who seemed to initiate hanging out and being turned down time after time. I didn’t know much of anything about HT, so at first, it all came across as him being romantically interested in JY. And I couldn’t have hated anything else more. I was fully invested in Zhanyi and worried the already slow pace was going to be hindered by some cliched love triangle. The only thing I was happy about was that JY didn’t have any interest whatsoever in HT.

For quite a long time, I didn’t really question or go back to the idea of HT being interested in JY in a romantic sense. I just thought his interest shifted to MGS. Now, after learning about HT’s past, goals and priorities, those early chapters tell a different story to me. 

Rather than being in love with JY, I think HT sought him out for two reasons.

First of all, we all know this kid is so lonely it hurts to watch but making genuine friends isn’t a simple matter in his situation. I already talked about this in one of my earlier posts, but the bottom line is, HT isn’t like his classmates. He was born and raised in a vastly different world but can’t tell anyone about it.

It’s almost like he’s living a double life. In front of his classmates and fangirls, he appears easy-going, cool, and carefree, but in the shadows, he looks much more intimidating and colder. Both of those sides are a part of him, but no one knows about his dark, shadow side. Not only that, but HT himself wants to get rid of his other side and deny it. If anyone learned about it, he’d risk putting them in harm’s way but at the same time, he craves the “normal”; acting his age. If he was being careful, maybe he could try and have friends even if he couldn’t show them all of himself.

However, I think HT also had another objective to get close to JY. I think he knows more about JY’s family than JY himself and was low key keeping an eye on him. I’m sure the surname “Jian” means something to him if She Li can recognize it as well (ch. 117):

It’s unclear to us how much he knows about He Cheng’s business with Mr. Jian, but I’m sure he’s guessed by now that dirty underworld wants something to do with one of his friends. He seemed to be in the know enough to rush over when HC was trying to get JY for the first time (ch. 166) and later warned his brother to not “get any ideas” (ch. 229). He’s probably pieced together that they’re trying to get to JY but since there’s nothing much he can do to stop that he’s just going to have to follow him. It’s still better than to let him get pulled into the lion’s nest alone. If that means he has to go all the way to the doorsteps of his own family, then so be it.

What I probably love the most about HT and JY’s friendship are those little heart-to-hearts they started having. The borderline philosophical nature of them reveals interesting new sides to HT’s character especially. I think JY was the first one who formed a deeper connection with HT and is still the only one who ponders those kinds of life-sized questions with him.

Chapter 133 is my favorite chapter about the deeper side of their friendship. Earlier JY had asked HT what people are living for, and HT’s half-serious answer was “probably so that they can do the things they want~”. He hadn’t meant it to actually stick with JY, not to mention prepared for JY to get back to the topic and ask something seemingly simple but rather personal from him later on (ch. 133):

Not only do I think that no one had seriously asked HT that before but that question also invited HT to open up. Though, all JY got out of him was:

Even in all its vagueness, it was the first time HT had implied being from a different world to someone who’s not a part of it, at least not knowingly. And that’s a quite sad line if you think about it. The things HT wanted to do in life were no doubt vastly different from JY and most kids of his age. He didn’t want to grow up to a man who would hurt others for a living. He wanted to belong in the world of JY and ZZX. He wanted to protect his friends. He wanted to do good and rid himself of his past that way. He wanted his brother to want to be like him, too. He wanted the puppy and wake up one morning to a normal family and life and it’s all been just a long nightmare. 

All of that remains unspoken and is replaced by silence, instead. HT just pats JY’s head while they stand in the rain and tells him to go to ZZX already; he hadn’t skipped just to sit around with HT, after all. JY wants to go but is also a bit worried about leaving HT like that. When he asks, “what about you?”, HT goes back to teasing him. Before leaving, though, JY gives him a little side-smile that warms my heart. That smile somehow has an understanding undertone to it, and he’s cursing HT almost affectionally.

They had a moment, and no one can convince me otherwise. It was as if JY got a feeling that maybe there was more to HT than what appeared.

And that’s how I see them now; JY was probably the first and closest thing HT could call a friend and it’s become more than just looking after him for HT. JY’s genuine, curious, and obliviously frank nature brings out certain kind of depth and platonic, big brother kind of affection in HT. It also seems JY was the first person to be cool with HT’s “dark” side and not think any less of him.

“And Mo and Zhang friendship from start till now?”

Tl;dr: They’re a bit odd together but I really like their little bonding moments. They’re weirdly similar but in different ways. Mo Guan Shan definitely needs and deserves a level-headed and no-bullshit friend like Zhan Zheng Xi.

This friendship certainly had a rough start (ch. 126):

There’s one thing I’ve always wondered about that fight: Was ZZX actually getting the upper hand? I’m hesitant to say ZZX is a better fighter than MGS, but he still seemed stronger. Did MGS also notice he was about to lose (in front of his posse, no less) and picked up the rock which was somewhat of a dirty move? Did ZZX get strength and courage from the need to protect JY? You know, when you think about something that matters to you and get a mental/physical boost to your drive that takes even you by surprise a little? He didn’t have a delinquent reputation like MGS had but if he lost this fight JY could be in trouble and he had vowed to protect him since they were little kids.

Well, either way, I was surprised how easily ZZX let the thing go when he and MGS came face to face again. He suggested an act of revenge but was actually the only one who wasn’t serious about twisting MGS’s balls in the end. Not only that but he seemed to even think MGS wasn’t that evil (ch. 150):

If I had been ZZX, I’m not sure I would’ve wanted to have anything to do with MGS after that. It’s still a bit unclear to me why ZZX suddenly thought like that, but maybe that’s just how his mind works. He doesn’t dwell or hold grudges, perhaps he finds that even a little childish.

He certainly started to consider MGS his friend and wanted to genuinely help him when the whole She Li situation unraveled and was frustrated when it looked like they couldn’t do anything (ch. 184):

Overall, compared to HT and JY, ZZX was a different kind of friend for MGS. HT would raise hell and go up against anyone who dared to mess with him. JY didn’t lack enthusiasm and oblivious courage to stand up for him and loudly demand justice. To both of them, MGS reacted with varying degrees of annoyance.

ZZX, on the other hand, was silent, calm and mature. He doesn’t talk bad about people behind their backs and when he’s done with something, he’s done with it. He’s in touch with himself and grounded. But it seems MGS wasn’t used to having people like that around. The way ZZX wasn’t bothered by being alone with him made him uncomfortable (ch. 248):

MGS is always half-expecting people to negatively react to him somehow; avoid making eye contact, look down on him, and whisper behind his back. When ZZX just stands there in silence and faces him head-on it bothers MGS. He feels awkward because he never apologized for the fight and bashing ZZX in the head. Pulling stuff like that in the heat of the moment could have had serious. long-lasting consequences. He seems to be ready for ZZX to bring it up and hold it over his head, and he’d have the right to do so, too. But it doesn’t look like ZZX is expecting an apology, either. As far as he goes, the matter is over and done with.

Interestingly MGS and ZZX are quite similar deep down but in a different way as weird as that might sound. They’re both very responsible; MGS has had to work and take care of the house from a very young age to support his mother. ZZX is very close with his little sister, he’s always taken care of her and learned the responsibility that way. They both have tsundere characteristics; Others being touchy-feely with them might earn them curses and a couple of punches, but they’re good at taking care of others. ZZX can be quick to lose his temper with JY but also quite tender and reassuring and surprisingly comfortable showing affection. MGS takes a certain kind of pride in cooking for his friends and can’t quite hide his concern for HT if he’s bleeding or having a nightmare. His help is always very practical.

What I love the most about ZZX and MGS’s friendship is that they kind of join forces being the only responsible voices of reason of the bunch. As a huge fan of my precious MGS, watching them bond over cooking warms my heart so much (ch. 289):

I’m so happy MGS has gained such a strong and loyal friend as ZZX. I’m really interested in seeing more of them together.

Thank you for your interesting question, anon-san, and sorry for such a late reply again.

#19 days #mo guan shan #He Tian #Zhan zheng xi #Jian Yi #answered ask