#chan wai-ming

[swanlake1998]

julia battersby, annie cheung, yeung suk-yi, marie caroline henin, emma jane tucker, and chan wai-ming photographed performing as snowflake fairies in the nutcracker by siu wang-ngai

[taekwondolifemagazine]

Twilight of the Warriors is a Great Way to Spend Two Hours

August 14, 2024 (NYC)– Twilight of the  Warriors is a Great Way to Spend Two Hours. Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (2024), is the latest theatrical release from Well Go USA Entertainment.  It is a great martial arts, action film and worth seeing in theaters. SYNOPSIS: Many years after the bloody turf war that ushered in an uneasy era of peace in Hong Kong’s underworld, the notorious Kowloon…

[captainamsel]

Ma Xiuying from the Radiant Emperor duology!

Design/research notes under the cut

The characters read 馬秀英 (Pinyin: mǎ xiù yīng), her personal name, and 孝慈高皇后 (xiào cí gāo huáng hòu), her name as Empress.

There's certainly no dearth of material on Chinese clothing history out there. That is, if you can read Chinese, which I can't, so everything I have is from secondary and tertiary sources and/or relies on translation software. Fortunately, we're dealing with historical fantasy here, so some anachronisms are not only allowed but encouraged.

While Shelley Parker-Chan takes many liberties, the books are still set in a very specific time period, which is both a blessing and a curse. Most readily accessible resources will tell you about dynasties, which can span hundreds of years, and the duology takes place in a transitional period. So how to dress a Semu girl from the Yuan dynasty who lives with Nanren rebels wanting to revive the Song dynasty and who later becomes the first Ming empress?

Let's go through them one by one. The best resource was this book which is on the Internet Archive. I disregarded Mongol and Semu influences for the design since clothing is very much political and a way to either stand out or fit in with the surrounding society, see for example Wang Baoxiang wearing a topknot in Khanbaliq. Ma, I imagine, would want to fit in with the Nanren around her, so she's pretty much wearing the attire of Han women under Yuan rule. For the hair I went for something that looks youthful while being plausible, though I found very little on hair in this period, so who's to say.

The next one is from a specific scene in the book, so there is some description to go on: red, long sleeves with gold embroidery, high hair, red and gold ribbons. Since this is the scene where Ma declares herself queen and future empress in front of the Red Turban, it has to be a very deliberate dress. It therefore takes inspiration from Song aristocrats' broad-sleeved gowns as well as from 翟衣 (dí yī), the highest ceremonial gown of both Song and Ming empresses. (Some examples for 翟衣 are in this post, which also features the bird shaped crown I just had to include, and this post.) Her hair still has the loops, but it's much more sculpted.

Finally, Empress Ma! This is mainly based on the two actual portraits I could find of the historical figure that Ma is based on, with elements taken from other portraits and paintings. It includes 凤冠 (fèng guān), the phoenix crown, 霞帔 (xiá pèi), the sash, and 禁步 (jīn bù), the jade belt. This video shows how Ming dynasty layers are worn, but it refers to a much later period so it's not quite the same as Ma's.

(Some additional, historically irrelevant notes: I realized too late that a right-to-left timeline might be more appropriate. Oh well! Also, how the colours photograph frustrates me, I swear I did not make her this deathly pale. And finally, some of the characters look a bit smudged because my cat spilled water on them. I did what I could to save them.)

[nikkotinamide]

my observations and take on some nuances not conveyed in translation

to cope while waiting for Tuesday, I've been rewatching Ai Di scenes and noticed some things! this is my drawn out summary

*Disclaimer: I'm not critiquing existing translations, I think the translators have done a phenomenal job! Just wanted to add my 2 cents worth.

Part 2

Language Use in Kiseki

Ep 2

Here I realised, Chen Yi was the one who first said these lines to Ai Di, before Ai Di repeated them to Chen Yi in Ep 12. And the wording is exactly the same...sighs...these two

Ep 3

I died. After Chen YI delivered his line "我不找你，你就不会跟喔" - "Like as if you wouldn't have tagged along if I didn't find you", Ai Di actually mouthed "我就不会跟" - "I wouldn't have come". Given his facial expressions mocking Chen Yi's brooding face, I think he was being snarky and just parroting Chen Yi 😭

Chen Dong Yang asked them "当回总堂是回娘家" - basically asking them if they take HQ to be their maiden home. 回娘家 doesn't really have any deep meaning (except returning to your maiden home), but chinese/taiwanese dramas usually have female characters use this term when they are being bullied by their husband's family...make of it what you will...

Furthermore, before this he asked them to "叫老爸" (call me dad) when they called him 老大 (boss) and he kept making excuses for them in front of Zhou Ming Lei.

CDY really sees himself as their papa...

Ai Di calls Chen Yi "竖子". Coward fits the context but more directly, it is a derogatory way of calling someone a brat. Chen Yi gets upset because a punk younger than himself is being rude, and I think he got Ai Di's hidden barb - a reminder that Chen Yi is but a kid, especially in CDY's eyes, and how CDY will never see him as a man.

Ai Di makes a double entendre. He says "他会变老，你会长大。长大。" - "He'll grow old, you'll grow up. Grow big." 长大 in mandarin usually means growing up but can also mean /ahem/ growing big. To let Chen Yi know he's thinking dirty, Ai Di purposely looks down in the vicinity of Chen Yi's crotch and smirks.

Ai Di continues provoking Chen Yi, calling him 大哥哥 mockingly. Big bro is a correct translation but doesn't convey Ai Di's feelings. Here he's ironically calling Chen Yi the mandarin equivalent of onii-chan.

Our boy is a big ball of hurt and only knows how to express it through antagonising Chen Yi 🥲

Ep 4

Sighs. I really believe Zong Yi has a profound impact on Ai Di. Zong Yi is the one who told Ai Di that birthdays should be shared with people you like, and Ai Di took it to heart! He repeated this to Chen Yi in Ep 12.

Chen Yi I love you but I wanna smack you. Here he is speaking to CDY and in reference to their birthday, he uses "我的" (my), before adding on "还有艾迪" (and also Ai Di's), instead of using “我们的" (ours). Boy here really wants to be special in papa's eyes...

The translation is correct but the emphasis is lost. 那么 - so much. Ze Rui is asking Ai Di why he likes Chen Yi so much. Ai Di's dejection must have been so palpable Ze Rui felt he had to ask Ai Di just why Chen Yi was so good that Ai Di has to subject himself to so much pain.

Time for some Chen Yi redemption. Ai Di explains why. Again, translations are okay but nuances are lost. Chen Yi is the one who found Ai Di when he was so ill he was on the brink of death. Chen Yi is the one who cares for him the most (alt. gets in his business the most), the one who scolds him the most. And Chen Yi is also the one who looks after him the most.

替他 - substitute for him. Chen Yi really is Ai Di's everything so much so that he is willing to die on behalf of Chen Yi. There is a fine nuance between dying for (为他去死) vs dying on behalf (替他去死). I can't put it into words well but to me, I would say the former means there is an intentionality in following your fate, while the latter means there is an active choice in exchanging your fate for someone else's.

this post is getting too long, continued in Part 2

[welcometothejianghu]

Welcome to another round of W2 Tells You What You Should See, where W2 (me) tries to sell you (you) on something you should be watching. Today's choice: 成化十四年/The Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty

(The) Sleuth of (the) Ming Dynasty (it's hard to get an agreement on how many definite articles should go where) is a beautiful, high-budget 2020 drama about a weenie genius detective, his long-suffering and deeply traumatized sugar daddy, and the eunuch with the most difficult job in the Great Ming: keeping these two dumbasses from getting their fool selves imperially executed.

Depending on how you like it, it's either an OT3 or an OTP with an intense, underage third wheel, and either way, it's delightful. I wouldn't call it a comedy, but it has very many funny elements that keep the drama fun and engaging. The first half is full of shorter mysteries that are clever and thoughtfully plotted, and the second half goes in on the longer mystery that ties them all together.

I've already done my quick guide to the early-episode characters, if you want a taste of just how many people are running around and how wonderful they all are. But in case you want to know a little bit more before you commit yourself to a 48-episode series, here's five reasons I think you should watch it!

1. The whole thing smacks of gender

Yeah, this was originally going to be selling point #2, but I know what the people want.

This is not a show about gender. But boy it is a show that has a lot to say about gender, and not just by way of critiquing premodern Chinese gender roles (though it does do that!). Many of the cis characters are either a) somewhat gender nonconforming, b) canny enough to weaponize binary gender expectations, or c) both. Sui Zhou's entire third-act storyline is about how expectations of masculinity exacerbate PTSD in veterans. Three different AFAB characters either dress or live as men. The part where one of the male characters goes undercover in drag is played for laughs, but the joke isn't 'ha ha, a boy in a dress,' it's 'ha ha, this particular boy in a particular dress, and also he's terrible at it.'

And that's even before we get to the eunuchs.

There are several professionally dickless, permanently unmanned characters running around. One-third of the OT3 canonically had his external genitalia nonconsensually removed when he was five years old, and because of this, he has been given unimaginable authority. He's basically the second most powerful man in the entire empire, and he only gets that way by being unquestionably, ostentatiously, and genuinely submissive to the first most powerful man.

I have seen other Chinese media where eunuchs are treated like sinister clowns, good only to be the bad guys and the butts of jokes. Sleuth's main eunuchs are real and complex characters, and because of this, the show gets to explore what it is to live in this weird third-gender category of incredible power and powerlessness.

Now, don't go into this expecting woke gender treatises. Wang Zhi's never going to sit down and go, "You know, my friend and fellow eunuch Ding Rong, because of my lack of a penis, I understand my relationship to masculinity differently than other men do." But the show understands that even if he doesn't say it, it's true. And that makes a lot of the characters and their relationships just so much more interesting.

2. Uncle Jackie Money

Sleuth was the was the fourth c-drama I dove into, following the Untamed, Word of Honor, and Guardian -- or, Some Money BL, Less Money BL, and No Money BL. So imagine my absolute wall-eyed shock to find this was All The Money BL, courtesy of its executive producer, Jackie Chan (seen here with some of his handsome boys):

Sleuth looks good. The costumes are amazing. The sets are stunning. The cinematography is beautiful. Everything is so detailed, and while I can't speak to the absolute historical accuracy of all those details (see point 3), they're still gorgeous. In fact, you know what? I'm going to shut up and show you some of the promotional images.

(For actual screenshots, I'm just going to point you at @rongzhi's tsomd photoset tag, as they have done a tremendous service to the fan community -- though do beware of spoilers.)

Uncle Jackie's influence doesn't end with the money, though. Even though things get a bit goofy and wirework-y near the end, most of the drama's fights are shows of real martial arts skill. You can see his fingerprints on a lot of the choreography -- I'm thinking particularly of the time Tang Fan tries (and fails!) to stab Sui Zhou three times, which is pure Jackie Chan high-speed dexterity.

Add this one to the category of shows your Average American Television Enjoyer Who Can Handle Subtitles would like. In fact, I have shown the first episode to my normie father-in-law, who was impressed. Show it to your dad! See if he picks up on the gay!

3. I am from ... HISTORY!

The Chinese title translates to "The 14th Year of Chenghua," which works out to the year 1478. There are some clear anachronisms, but they tend to be played for comedy, so it's hard to hold that against them. On the whole, though, the show is trying real hard to evoke a very specific moment, and I feel it does so beautifully.

This does, however, mean that several of the characters are real people. I don't even have a good sense of how many of them are based on historical figures, that's how many. Hilariously, Wang Zhi's tag on AO3 used to read "Wang Zhi (?-1487 CE)."

Moreover, these are characters I've seen pop up in other media, played very differently! In particular, Noble Consort (up there in blue) tends to be written as an uncomplicated villain elsewhere, whereas Sleuth gives her a chance to add some goodness to her badness, until, damn, you can't but root for the bitch. (It also downplays the cradle-robbing, which, honestly, is for the best.)

You may have guessed from the eunuch section earlier, but it bears repeating: Wang Zhi is straight-up the best character in the show. He's smart as hell, and he has to be, because the second he's stupid, he's dead. I actually consider it helpful to know ahead of time that he's never going to do a heel turn -- I feel like on my first watchthrough, I was holding my breath for the first two-thirds of the show, waiting for his sudden but inevitable betrayal. It does not come. Wang Zhi is one of the heroes.

He's also, like, evil. He orders people flogged, tortured, and executed. The very first thing you see him doing is sinister as hell. And the show clearly doesn't think this is good, but it also doesn't judge him for it. He's a traumatized seventeen-year-old who has not had a normal moment of his entire life. He's working thanklessly for a boss who could kill him on a whim -- and he's doing it because he literally, physically was made for his job. He's mildly freaking out because he has no emotional grounding to help him understand that these weirdos want to be his friends.

Was the real Wang Zhi like this? That's beside the point. The point is, you get to see how someone in that position could wind up as the war-crimes-committing platonic ideal of a little meow meow.

4. oh my god the food

Warning: This show will make you hungry.

Again, beware of spoilers, but @peppersandcreamsicle and @qinzai have put together an entire cook-along Google Doc so you don't just have to drool -- you can do something about it! Or you can just read it and learn about Chinese cuisine, which is a little more my speed.

But it's not just about how good the food looks. Food is a vital emotional part of the series. People bond over it. They make and share it as a sign of love and care. It indicates status, ethnicity, interest, personality. The show's message about the healing power of cooking for the people you love will bring you to tears.

And yes, Sui Zhou is the main one doing the cooking, so get ready to drool over both the dishes and the handsome man preparing them.

Oh, and as though that weren't enough, Fu Meng Po can actually cook in real life. He's so dreamy. Absolute unreal handsome man with a devastatingly sexy voice. (I know my opinion might be different if I could hear his Taiwanese accent, but I can't so it's not!)

5. An Unsunk Ship

So like I said, my intros to c-drama couples had been WangXian, WenZhou, and WeiLan. That meant I'd basically come to terms with the idea that you can't have a main couple in a BL-but-not-really drama without splitting them up at least a little in the end, for no-homo plausible deniability reasons.

Tang Fan and Sui Zhou are still definitvely, unequivocally together when the story ends, as the iconic pentultimate scene of the series confirms with beauty and simplicity. I refuse to give any more details than that, but that ship's afloat.

(These shirtless pictures aren't from the end, but I wanted to include them, and I didn't have a better place to do it. ...Also, you know, ships and water? Yeah?)

And I think their winding up together reflects Sleuth's entire attitude. Tang Fan is made of sunshine, and the series loves him for it. There is tragedy aplenty in this show, but there's no misery. It is ultimately a hopeful show that believes in the power of second chances, if you're willing to take them. Time and again, the moral of the story is that you are only ever as good as the people who have your back -- but you have to be willing to let them have your back. Let people help you. Let people cook for you. Let people give you a reason to keep living. And then keep living.

Also, Sui Zhou gets two good kabedons off on that little twink, which means they're legally married now. I don't make the rules.

Bonus: Banger opening theme

This is one you will watch all 48 times.

Bonus #2: The Halo Video

This is the video that made me go, huh, these Sleuth boys seem like other boys I've enjoyed! Perhaps I shall enjoy them as well! And then I did. So if that might be convincing to you too, well, have at it. Even if it isn't, it's a fascinating three-minute study of shared those-boys-are-in-love visual language across these shows.

Fair warning that it contains shots from right up to the end, so if you'd rather go in completely blank, give this one a pass until later. (Excuse me while I now go watch it for the 10000th time.)

Have I convinced you to watch it yet?

It originally ran on iQiyi, though Viki's got it as well, and Viki's is free if you're willing to put up with some ads about it.

...I just noticed iQiyi's description of the series reads, "When the two handsome leading actors Darren Wang and Fu Meng-Po work together, what will happen? A lovely prefectural judge and an arrogant embroiered [sic] uniform guard join hands to crack unusual cases! Are you going to choose a new idol?" And you know what? Yes. The details are a little off, but that is the correct spirit. Thank you, thirsty blurb.

[hongtiddiez]

can i have your top 5 feral boys AND old mans you meet this year?

lkjlakjglk YOU KNOW ME SO WELL - so i just started watching BL in june??? so pretty much everything is new to me, sorry if some of these are old news to ya'll. idk if you meant for me to pick 5 of each but that's absolutely what i'm gonna do.

"OLD MEN" BRACKET 🌸 (most are my age or younger)

hoooooly shit papang in general. houghghhh i want to lick the blood off his teeth. i want to raise anarchist young adults together. i want to-- well. let's not bring beam into this, maybe. regardless, old man of all time.

what right does this old man have??? hello??? you just go around LOOKING LIKE THAT? all the time? i want to run a humble restaurant together. i'd be his ride or die.

i had to go make a gif special for him bc no one loves akk the way i do apparently. i wanna fuck that old man - and yeah, you can add that one to the counter. obsessed with him, i wanna see him get a romance of his own, i want to know everything about him. (and this is saying something bc i hate cops, but The Sign boys get a pass - for now.)

i know chan has pretty privilege ok? i KNOW. i do not care. i love him, i want to know everything about him, i've started several fics about him, he was my first absolute brainrot in BL.

i understand what chen yi was about and once again i am asking sooo so nicely for a prequel about his and ming lei's past and relationship. i would love if it was a parallel to chen yi and ai di.

FERAL BOYS BRACKET 🌸

this comes as a shock to absolutely no one. ai di is my specialist boy. i adore him so much, i want to hang out with him so bad. i wanna be best friends. i can't wait for my rainbow sweater to get here.

jack and his boobs are everything. he really stole the show for me (as all side romances tend to.) this is another show i could use a spin off or sequel of just them, give me everything, i love them - jack especially. give me jack's whole past, his pov up to meeting chao lian.

pisaeng counts, don't @ me. he was so feral in his own way for kali. absolutely unhinged behavior. wingmanning your own crush? winking and finger gunning at him on day one? PINING FOR HIM FOR YEARS? pisaeng something is deeply wrong with you and i love you for it.

tan is the epitome of "you're delicious as a concept, but as a real person i worry for you" - ESPECIALLY after reading the novel. i'm still laughing that according to personalities database we are the same personality. his flavor of feral is just soooo so sexy.

babygirl there is something so very wrong with you. this bad boy can fit so much repressed trauma in it. i think he should be allowed to bite people for fun. every fanfic i read exploring black's mental state makes me love him more and more. (also he's so difficult to write, i respect fanfic authors that explore black's pov so much)

ask me my top 5 anything BL!

[sapphicreadsdb]

Hi do you by chance have any sapphic fantasy recs? preferably adult fantasy but YA is fine too

sure! tho this could will get quite long... no links, sorry!, bc it was kicking up a fuss with those for some reason

+ = ya

pennyblade by j.l. worrad

lady hotspur by tessa gratton

sofi and the bone song by adrienne tooley (+)

she who became the sun by shelley parker chan

the scapegracers by h.a. clarke (+)

the third daughter by adrienne tooley (+)

the daughters of izdihar by hadeer elsbai

the malevolent seven by sebastien de castell

blackheart knights by laure eve

the warden by daniel m. ford

the unbroken by c.l. clark

dark earth by rebecca stott

witch king by martha wells

scorpica by g.r. macallister

the mirror empire by kameron hurley

now she is witch by kirsty logan

silverglass by j.f. rivkin

the woman who loved the moon and other stories by elizabeth a. lynn

...(this answer is how i discover there's a character limit per block so. doing this in chunks.)

fire logic by laurie j. marks

a restless truth by freya marske

when angels left the old country by sacha lamb (+)

the traitor baru cormorant by seth dickinson

an archive of brightness by kelsey socha

the bladed faith by david dalglish

the winged histories by sofia samatar

dragonoak by sam farren

the forever sea by joshua phillip johnson

into the broken lands by tanya huff

the jasmine throne by tasha suri

daughter of redwinter by ed mcdonald

the last magician by lisa maxwell (+)

the fire opal mechanism by fran wilde

...

the black coast by mike brooks

high times in the low parliament by kelly robson

foundryside by robert jackson bennett

the enterprise of death by jesse bullington

mamo by sas milledge (+)

from dust, a flame by rebecca podos (+)

uncommon charm by emily bergslien & kat weaver

wild and wicked things by francesca may

the unspoken name by a.k. larkwood

brother red by adrian selby

the final strife by saara el-arifi

way of the argosi by sebastien de castell (+)

the bone shard daughter by andrea stewart

ghost wood song by erica waters (+)

into the crooked place by alexandra christo (+)

ashes of the sun by django wexler

the midnight girls by alicia jasinska (+)

the midnight lie by marie rutkoski (+)

the never tilting world by rin chupeco (+)

water horse by melissa scott

...

a master of djinn by p. djeli clark

the good luck girls by charlotte nicole davis (+)

among thieves by m.j. kuhn

black water sister by zen cho

the velocity of revolution by marshall ryan maresca

sweet & bitter magic by adrienne tooley (+)

the dark tide by alicia jasinska (+)

the library of the unwritten by a.j. hackwith

a dark and hollow star by ashley shuttleworth (+)

the chosen and the beautiful by nghi vo

the councillor by e.j. beaton

these feathered flames by alexandra overy (+)

the factory witches of lowell by c.s. malerich

fireheart tiger by aliette de bodard

...

city of lies by sam hawke

bestiary by k-ming chang

the raven and the reindeer by t. kingfisher

the winter duke by claire eliza bartlett (+)

master of poisons by andrea hairston

the empress of salt and fortune by nghi vo

night flowers shirking from the light of the sun by li xing

down comes the night by allison saft (+)

wench by maxine kaplan (+)

girls made of snow and glass by melissa bashardoust (+)

girls of paper and fire by natasha ngan (+)

the impossible contract by k.a. doore

burning roses by s.l. huang

the house of shattered wings by aliette de bodard

not for use in navigation by iona datt sharma

weak heart by ban gilmartin

girl, serpent, thorn by melissa bashardoust (+)

the devil's blade by mark alder

...

we set the dark on fire by tehlor kay mejia (+)

the true queen by zen cho

moontangled by stephanie burgis

a portable shelter by kirsty logan

sing the four quarters by tanya huff

all the bad apples by moira fowley doyle (+)

the drowning eyes by emily foster

the priory of the orange tree by samantha shannon

miranda in milan by katharine duckett

the afterward by e.k. johnston (+)

thorn by anna burke

penhallow amid passing things by iona datt sharma

in the vanishers' palace by aliette de bodard

summer of salt by katrina leno (+)

the gracekeepers by kirsty logan

out of the blue by sophie cameron (+)

black wolves by kate elliott

the circle by sara b. elfgren & mats strandberg (+)

unspoken by sarah rees brennan (+)

thistlefoot by gennarose nethercott

passing strange by ellen klages

(and breathe)

[bengiyo]

5 moments from 2023 BL that felt new or different?

I feel so much pressure to do a good job with this one. You're an OG. You've been in this game longer than me. I'm pretty sure you've actually seen more than me.

La Pluie Episode 6

Sure, we've had a lot of sex in BL in recent years. What's special about La Pluie is its willingness to release the sexual tension and explore the emotional space on the other side of that. Tai and Phat actually started making out on the goddamned floor, we got a sneak peak of Saengtai's bulge, and we mentioned that he was still aroused while they were sitting on the couch later. They also talked about what was going on between them and some of Tai's hangups. Usually these shows love to interrupt these moments because they don't know what to do with the characters once they bone. Not this show!

Jong Chan Adapting to Seung Hyun in The New Employee

This wasn't my favorite show of the year, but my man Jon Chan is one of my favorites of the year! I like that he was solidly in his 30s and looking for a partner. I like that he didn't exactly understand all of Seung Hyun's hang-ups about the ex, but decided to let that go and focus on building their future. His exasperation about this felt distinctly gay.

Jim and Li Ming's Relationship in Moonlight Chicken

I like calling Moonlight Chicken a gay family drama more than a BL because I don't think romance is the central driving factor of the show, but it feels like splitting hairs. What is my favorite part of this show is that the only "I love you" said in the show is between Jim and Li Ming. I love that the relationship between a gay man and his gay nephew feels like the heart of the show.

Seo Lee Joon being a Terrible Gay in Love Mate

I know a lot of y'all got your knickers in a knot over the way Ha Ram determinedly pursued Lee Joon, but I feel like we ignored how fucking rude Lee Joon was in this show. This man goes on the apps to flirt with people without making it clear he's only going to date them once before abruptly cutting them off and blocking them. This is mean! We are fucking gay! We have a hookup culture with its own language! This thing where he wants the flavor of first dates and sets up his dates for extreme disappointment is so mean. He was going to make a whole dating app about how bitter he was about his own breakup. This man needed to face his own issues, and I'm glad a stern dicking turned him around.

The Sex Scene in Candy Color Paradox

This is a show that tried and failed to punch above its weight. The leads were too inexperienced to carry a kinda dense script, and they got blown out of the water by the talented Izuka Kenta for about three episodes. It's really unfortunate because I think Kimura Keito and Yamanaka Jyutaro put in real work in this show. Their bed scene was probably the most stylish of the entire year. It is worth watching just that scene because it really stands out. Also, they discuss m/m acts the morning after in a way that felt refreshing.

Ask me Top 5 BL 2023 Anything

[zuko-always-lies]

ATLA Book 3 Character Stats

One thing I have been wondering for a while is how many lines of dialogue each character has in ATLA. I recently figured out an easy way to calculate it, so here are the stats for Book 3. You can look at the stats for Book 1 and Book 2 at those links.

There are 3309 total lines of dialogue in the season. They are divided up as follows:

Sokka 526 lines, 15.90% Aang 486 lines, 14.69% Zuko 433 lines, 13.09% Katara 388 lines, 11.73% Toph 266 lines, 8.04% Azula 119 lines, 3.60% Hakoda 65 lines, 1.96% Suki 58 lines, 1.75% Mai 54 lines, 1.63% Hama 49 lines, 1.48% Roku 47 lines, 1.42% Ozai 46 lines, 1.39% Piandao 43 lines, 1.30% Ty Lee 35 lines, 1.06% Warden 33 lines, 1.00% Iroh 27 lines, 0.82% Chit Sang 26 lines, 0.79% Sozin 26 lines, 0.79%

More obscure characters have their stats below:

Actress Aang 19 lines, 0.57% Sun Warrior chief 18 lines, 0.54% Actor Sokka 16 lines, 0.48% Actress Katara 16 lines, 0.483% Yon Rha 16 lines, 0.48% Bully guard 15 lines, 0.453309157% Actor Zuko 14 lines, 0.423088546% Male guard 14 lines, 0.423088546% Chan 13 lines, 0.392867936% Dock 13 lines, 0.392867936% Li 13 lines, 0.392867936% Female guard 11, 0.332426715% June 10, 0.302206105% Actress Azula 10, 0.302206105% Bumi 10, 0.302206105% Headmaster 10, 0.302206105 Lo and Li 10, 0.302206105 Lo 9, 0.271985494 Xu 9, 0.271985494 Bato 8, 0.241764884 Kwan 8, 0.241764884 Mechanist 7, 0.211544273 Warden Poon 7, 0.211544273 Dealer 6, 0.181323663 Haru 6, 0.181323663 Kya 6, 0.181323663 Pakku 6 ,0.181323663 Ruon-Jian, 6 0.181323663 Shoji 6, 0.181323663 Teo 6, 0.181323663 The Duke 6, 0.181323663 Young Katara 6, 0.181323663 Actor Iroh 5, 0.151103052 Actor Ozai 5, 0.151103052 Banished servant 5, 0.151103052 Head of Dai Li 5, 0.151103052 Hide 5 ,0.151103052 Little boy 5, 0.151103052 Ming 5, 0.151103052 Mung 5, 0.151103052 On Ji 5, 0.151103052 Tyro 5 ,0.151103052 Avatar Roku 4, 0.120882442 Dream Ozai 4, 0.120882442 Ember Island teenager #1 4, 0.120882442 Fat 4, 0.120882442 Fire Navy officer 4, 0.120882442 Guard 4, 0.120882442 Ham Ghao 4, 0.120882442 Lion turtle 4, 0.120882442 Momo 4, 0.120882442 Music teacher 4, 0.120882442 Pipsqueak 4, 0.120882442 Servant 4, 0.120882442 Servant #1 4, 0.120882442 Southern Raiders commander 4, 0.120882442 Town authority 4, 0.120882442 Ursa 4, 0.120882442 Yangchen 4, 0.120882442 Actor Toph 3, 0.090661831 Appa 3, 0.090661831 Ding 3, 0.090661831 Door guard 3, 0.090661831 Due 3, 0.090661831 Ember Island teenager #2 3, 0.090661831 Engineer 3, 0.090661831 Female Fire Nation soldier 3, 0.090661831 Fire Sage 3, 0.090661831 Gondola guard 3, 0.090661831 Male Fire Nation soldier 3, 0.090661831 Male guard #2 3, 0.090661831 Male prisoner #1 3, 0.090661831 Male student #1 3, 0.090661831 Shinu 3, 0.090661831 Tho 3, 0.090661831 Tough prisoner 3, 0.090661831 Villager 3, 0.090661831 Yon Rha's mother 3, 0.090661831 Actor Jet 2, 0.060441221 Bodyguard #2 2, 0.060441221 Class 2, 0.060441221 Dock/Xu 2, 0.060441221 Ember Island teenager #3 2, 0.060441221 Female prisoner 2, 0.060441221 Female student #1 2, 0.060441221 Fire Nation soldier 2, 0.060441221 Fire Nation watchman #1 2, 0.060441221 Huu 2, 0.060441221 Jeong Jeong 2, 0.060441221 Koala sheep 2, 0.060441221 Kyoshi 2, 0.060441221 Male soldier 2, 0.060441221 Male student #2 2, 0.060441221 Qin Lee 2, 0.060441221 Servant #2 2, 0.060441221 Shop owner 2, 0.060441221 The Boulder 2, 0.060441221 Yue 2, 0.060441221 Aang and Sokka 1, 0.03022061 Aang and Zuko 1, 0.03022061 Actor Bumi 1, 0.03022061 Actress Yue 1, 0.03022061 Big Bad Hippo 1, 0.03022061 Blue Spirit 1, 0.03022061 Bodyguard 1, 0.03022061 Bogyguard #2 1, 0.03022061 Crew member 1, 0.03022061 Crowd 1, 0.03022061 Fire Nation Captain 1, 0.03022061 Fire Nation man 1, 0.03022061 Fire Nation watchman #2 1, 0.03022061 Firebender 1, 0.03022061 Gondola guard #2 1, 0.03022061 Gondola guard #3 1, 0.03022061 Gondola guard #4 1, 0.03022061 Gyatso 1, 0.03022061 Katara and Sokka 1, 0.03022061 Kuruk 1, 0.03022061 Male prisoner #2 1, 0.03022061 Male soldier #1 1, 0.03022061 Painted Lady 1, 0.03022061 Pathik 1, 0.03022061 Qin 1, 0.03022061 Soldier 1, 0.03022061 Student 1, 0.03022061 Sun Warrior 1, 0.03022061 Ta Min 1, 0.03022061 Team Avatar 1, 0.03022061 Toph and Sokka 1, 0.03022061 Villager #1 1, 0.03022061 Villager #2 1, 0.03022061 Villager #3 1, 0.03022061 Villager #4 1, 0.03022061 Weapons store shopkeeper 1, 0.03022061 Young boy 1, 0.03022061

[kittykat-25]

One Of The Guys Part 3

Pairings: Hongjoong x f! Reader, Chan x f! Reader

Genre: idol au, friends to lovers, angst,

Summary: You tried really hard not to be a cliché, falling love with your best friend. How unoriginal. But when your best friend is Kim Hongjoong what are you supposed to do?

Warnings: mentions of anxiety, Feminine pet names(doll, bubs(?), cupcake)

Now playing: One Of The Guys- Jessia

As you leave work, stepping onto the bus you scroll through your contacts until you find Joong; hitting the call button you wait. It goes to voicemail, and honestly with a comeback you expected as much. You left a quick message reminding him to eat and take breaks. You scroll down finding Wooyoungs name, you pressed dial and waiting. Woo picked up after the first ring “hey what are you wearing tonight? Do you know?” He says as soon as it connects. “Hi Woo, yeah I had a great day at work! How are you?” You said dryly. “It’s not the outfit on your bed is it?” You heard Mingi yell from the other end. “Yeah it is-wait why are you in my house?!” You whisper yell into the phone. You were already getting looks due to the boys loud yelling. “Hurry home.” Wooyoung sings into the phone. “Jung Woo-“ the call ends as he hangs up and you sit the whole way home contemplating which one to kill first.

You unlock the door to your apartment and find Mingi, Wooyoung and Yunho sprawled out on your couches. You slam the door shut, “don’t mind me, please stay and relax.” Yunho flinched, “I only drove them. I didn’t know we’d be breaking into your place. I’m sorry Tiny.” You gave him an apologetic look and turned towards Mingi and Wooyoung. The latter hiding behind his taller friend. “It’s not really breaking in when Woo has a key.” Mingi said happily. Wooyoung punches him in the arm, you glare at the two of them. “You made a key to my apartment?!” You said throwing a pillow. “For emergencies!!” Woo said dodging them. “Where’s the emergency?!” You said picking up another pillow to launch.

Yunho grabs the pillow from you and hugs you from behind. Effectively pinning your arms to your side. “Your date tonight is apparently the emergency.” He says quietly. Wooyoung walks out from behind Mingi and throws his arm around you. Leading you to your bedroom. “Bubs you are not wearing this on your date.” He says motioning to the outfit you had laid out. “Why not? We’re going to get dinner? It’s nothing fancy?” You said while taking touching up your makeup. “Designer sweatpants are still sweats my dear, no matter how fitted.” He says digging through your closet.

You sat on the bed a vetoed every item of clothing Woo grabbed until Mingi who was sitting on the floor jumped up, catching everyone’s attention, “why have we never seen you in this?!?” He yells holding up a black leather mini skirt you bought years ago. “Oh I forgot I had that. Cool. Put it back.” You said waving your hand. “I’m not wearing it Mings. It’s too cold.” You and Wooyoung finally agreed on a fun pair of jeans and fitted sweater. Casual but nice. You touched up your makeup and hair while the boys cleaned up the mess they made in your closet. “Have any of you heard from Joong today?” You called out. Yunho leaned against the door frame, “Eden Hyung says he hasn’t left the studio since lunch. But he made he ate something.” You nodded, “don’t worry about captain while on your date.” Mingi called from your bedroom.

You walked out into the living area to grab your shoes when the buzzer for the apartment went off, “miss Y/Ln someone is here for you?” The doorman called. “Thank you, send him up.” You said. You turned towards the men, “do not say a word other than hello. And be honest by the time I get back.” Wooyoung snorted, “we can be civil.” “I’ve never seen it.” you retort as you adjust your jewelry one last time. A knock sounds at the door and Wooyoung all but shoves you down to answer it.

Wooyoung opened the door as Mingi helps you stand. “Hello Chan Hyung!” Wooyoung says as Chan takes in who answered the door “Wooyoung good to see you!” You shove Wooyoung away from the door and smile at Chan. “Hey! Sorry about my guard dog.” You said with a laugh, glaring at Wooyoung. Mingi drapes his arm around Wooyoung and waves goodbye, “have fun Cupcake! Call us when you get home.” You lock eyes with Yunho as Wooyoung shoves you out the door,”YuYu make sure they are out of my apartment and none of my snack are eaten!” You called as the door shuts. You laugh leading Chan to the stairs, “I’m so sorry, they were there when I got home.” He smiled at you, holding open the door, “I would expect nothing less from Wooyoung.” You smiled up at him, “you ready?” He asked as he took your hand and lead you into the busy Seoul nightlife.

Walking down the sidewalk after dinner, you hand comfortably in Chan’s you think of the last time you were this content. “What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” He ask, making your cheeks heat up. You dip your head trying to hide it, “nothing, just thinking about how fun this has been.” Chan smiled and it lit up his entire face, his dimples appearing, making you smile more. “Well what do you think about an arcade? Or we can keep walking?” He asked as he gently guided you through the crowds of people. “We can do the arcade as long as you don’t think less of me for my over competitiveness.” You said with a cheeky grin. His eyes lit up at the challenge.

You entered the arcade and bought tokens for the games; as you walked towards the tables Chan spoke up from behind you, “ So what should I beat you at first?” You set your bag on the table and turned, coming face to face with his chest. You looked up, hoping he couldn’t see the flush of your face. Judging by the smirk he wore he definitely saw how the close proximity affected you. You smirked back, “let’s see how good the infamous Bang Chan is at pool? Shall we?” He grabbed your bag and lead you over to the table.

Lining up the shot, you tried to calm your racing heart down. You were good at pool, this was no big deal. And yet this man had your hands shaking so bad you couldn’t hold the cue straight. Chan squeaked down to the side of the table, right at your side. You felt his breath on your ear when you leaned down to make the shot. “Nervous y/n?” You glanced at him before focusing back on the shot, “not at all!” You said, your voice higher pitched than normal. He turned towards you fully, his lips brushing the shell of your ear, “then why are you shaking baby?” You shot and completely missed the ball. You heard Chan laughing, turning around he was still crouched beside the table holding on for support.

You shook your head, laughing “I’m calling unsportsmanlike conduct on that.” He looked up at you and smiled, dimples drawing you in. “Your shot.” You said as you turned around to grab a drink. You heard the ball connect and fall into a pocket. You twisted the lid back onto the bottle as a hand came down to your waist. “I’ll play fair, it’s just cute how nervous you are.” He said with a smile. Resting his chin on your shoulder. You scan his face, a smile tugging at the corners of your mouth, “you’re lucky your cute Bang.” As you nudge his head off your shoulder.

You continue going around the arcade, playing different games and winning prizes. You stayed until your legs were sore and arms tired from all the games. You looked down at your watch noticing it was almost 12am. “Have we been out for six hours already!” You asked as you left the arcade. Chan walked to your side, an arm around you while you carry the giant dog plushie he won. “The kids are going to harass me when I get home.” He said with a groan. You hadn’t even checked your phone since you left your apartment. “There’s no telling how many text Mingi and Wooyoung have sent by now.” You said cringing at the thought of reading through them all.

He looks at you then faces ahead again, “did you know Wooyoung before the others?” You shook your head, “I met Hongjoong first, predebut at a fashion outlet. We became friends and then I was introduced to the others.” Chan smiled, “you’ve seen them grow into the world wide Ateez.” You smiled, pride bursting through at the boys. “They work so hard, I know you understand that. But it’s been wild watching them grow.” You stop to adjust the dog and Chan takes the chance to pull you closer to him, once you’re nestled safely in his side you keep walking.

“Tell me about your children as you so fondly call them. I know Bin and have heard stories but not from the leader prospective.” You said nudging him slightly. You can see the love fill his eyes as he talks about each member, how they’ve grown and the crazy stories about them. As you get closer to your apartment you realize how you don’t want it to end.

He walks you to your door, hand still in his. “Did I hurt your pride enough to ruin my chance at a second date?” He ask shyly. “I think I can get over it.” You laugh, squeezing his hand gently. You set the dog down and turn, unlocking your door, “I had a lot of fun tonight Chan.” He smiles at you widely, “I did too Y/n.” He takes a step closer to you, and you feel your heartbeat start to race. He leans in, your face flushed and your heartbeat is in your ears, “call me tomorrow.” He whispers into your ear before taking a step back and winking at you.

You shut the door behind you and lean against it, trying to calm your racing heart. “Well we’ll look who’s home.” You start to scream before you notice the 4 men sitting around your living room. Wooyoung with a massive grin on his face. “What’s got you so worked up sweetheart?” He asked as you throw your keys in the bowl beside the door and slip out of your shoes. “Be gone by the time I’m out of the shower.” You call as you walk by the men and shut your bedroom door behind you. You hear them laughing as they exit your apartment. You were never going to live this down.

Taglist🥰 if you want to be included in the taglist message me!

@vampzity @sanslovesblog @sundaybossanova @skzline @edenesth @owmoiralover @scarfac3 @blackb3ll @ateezswonderland @amuromio

[bonesandthebees]

hi bee :) semi-new anon here just hoping that you’ve been doing okay <3 i wanted to say that i absolutely adore your writing, and will happily read it, no matter what fandom it is you’re writing for, or if you’re just writing original works /gen!! your writing has always inspired me heavily hehe, it’s wonderful.

also, on the topic of original works, do you have any good novel recommendations? i’ve recently gotten back into reading and have been super into fiction, but i’m down for any sort of recs. one of my favourites at the moment is good omens :)

here’s your daily message to go have some water or tea and take care of yourself !! 🌷

hello hello!! I'm doing pretty alright now, feeling a lot better than I was this past week :) and that's so sweet of you to say, it's so reassuring knowing I have so many of you guys willing to read my silly stories no matter which fandom they're about (or even if they're original)

and yes I do have some recs!

I made a post about two months ago now talking about books I'd read that I really enjoyed so there'll be some crossover here but also some new ones I've read since then

one of my new favorite novels is The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon. it's a heavy fantasy story following 4 different intertwining POVs. the fantasy world itself is made up of several different countries all inspired by various real world cultures that's not just limited to western europe which is incredibly refreshing. the world itself is incredibly fleshed out and interesting, the characters are all very diverse and have so much depth, and there's also a very beautiful sapphic romance <3 I'm reading the prequel to priory right now and I'm also loving it so far

another book I really enjoyed is actually a duology—The Radiant Emperor series by Shelley Parker-Chan. the first book in the series is She Who Became the Sun which I really enjoyed, however the sequel book He Who Drowned the World is the one that absolutely blew me away. just letting you know in case you're not comfortable with it, both books contain sex and some graphic violence. the story is set in 14th century China when it was ruled by the Mongols, and it's an incredibly well done queer retelling/fictionalization of the rise of Zhu Yuanzhang, the Emperor who ushered in the Ming dynasty. the text engages with so many themes of the expectations of masculinity and femininity and how they restrict people, and really dives into gender expression and how it can be wielded in different ways. again the first one was really enjoyable, but the second one was on a whole other level and I'm still reeling over how good it was and how much it emotionally hurt me.

ok and then last one for now

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone - I know we all heard about this one thanks to the iconic bigolas dickolas wolfwood on twitter but also they were so right about this book. it's gorgeously written. the book itself is mostly written as letters exchanged between two women who are time traveling agents on opposing sides of a war for who controls the timelines. it's a beautiful love story, it's sci fi but with a heavy bend towards spec fic which I personally really like, the world concepts are incredibly fascinating, and it plays around with time travel in a very intriguing way. it's a very short book so it's an easy one to burn through. I checked this one out from my library but I'm highkey tempted to go to a bookstore and actually buy a physical copy for myself just because there were so many gorgeous lines I want to highlight

hope this helps!! my taste in books is usually: sci fi/fantasy/spec fic with sapphic women so hopefully that's something you enjoy as well lmao

[bitacrytic]

Okay okay okay. So remember the book spoiler?

Just saw someone saying this.

https://www.tumblr.com/thefreeblog/750989174309535744/ha-ha-this-made-me-laugh-but-technically-the?source=share

It looks like I might spend the rest of my life arguing about this, but no one will convince me that in-universe, it makes any sense.

Two regular people fighting will cause damage to each other.

When one of those men spends his days training to fight and working out to keep his body fit, he will most likely cause more damage than the other regular man.

Whether or not you are trained to hold back your punches, if someone accosts you on the street, your punches will land.

If someone throws you against the wall, it's no longer about punches.

It's about the built strength you've garnered from workouts that allows you to push the man back. No one is expecting Joe to flip upside down like Jackie Chan.

It just doesn't make sense that he couldn't pull his wrist out from Ming's grasp.

What?

Ming suddenly has the grip of a vice that he's stapled to the wall and NOTHING in Joe can free it?

Even if he was a stuntman who sold his soul to never be able to throw a real punch, the situation with Ming didn't call for punches.

All he had to do was free himself.

Look, I LOVE THIS SHOW. It's all I talk about and my family is worried about me now.

But no one on this planet will convince that based on the infornat8on we've been given about both characters, that it was possible for that scene to play out the way it did.

No one.

[finallydelight]

My Only One | Ming Chapter

January 19, 2023

Ming stared at her phone, her chat with Mark open on her screen. She had been excited to see that the young man had sent her a voice message, it wasn't something he did much, only if he was too tired to type his thoughts.

So, when he started his message with that he didn't want to talk to her anymore, her mind went blank and she had to restart the message several times. His words weren't the best thing to wake up to in the morning.

Mark's voice broke her heart, it was scratchy like he had been crying for a while before recording it. She didn't know where all of that was coming from. Just the day before they had been sharing songs with one another to add to their playlists.

''Hey, Yer! Do you want pancakes or eggs- Oh my god, are you okay?''

Soomin ran up to her best friend, who hadn't realized tears were running down her cheeks. She sat down next to her on the bed and put her arms around Ming, rubbing her hands up and down Ming's arms.

Ming didn't say anything, she simply pressed play and Mark's voice was heard through the room. Soomin frowned throughout listening to the entire message, just as confused as Ming. ''What does he mean 'someone else'? You don't have a boyfriend.'' She noted.

''He doesn't want to talk with me anymore, Min-ah.'' With her teary eyes she looked at Soomin, not believing that it was Mark who was saying all this.

Soomin pouted at her words, giving her a big hug. ''Oh, Yerimie… I don't know what to say.'' They remained like that for a few minutes, Ming silently sobbing in her best friend's arms.

A thought suddenly came into her mind. ''What if he's talking about Yeonjun?'' Ming said, pulling away from the embrace. ''What if he knows we kissed?''

''Did you tell anyone?'' Soomin asked her.

Ming shook her head, the only person who she had told was sitting next to her. ''No, only you.''

''Well, maybe Yeonjun told someone and they told Mark.'' She nodded at Soomin's words, that was the only explanation for the entire situation. ''I'm gonna call him.''

Just like Ming expected, it didn't take long for the man in question to pick up the phone. ''Yes, Yer?'' His voice beamed through the phone.

''Hey, uh, small question- did you tell anyone about, uh, well, when we were in the practice room and stuff?'' She stuttered, a bit embarrassed about directly mentioning the kiss.

Yeonjun chuckled. ''Did I tell anyone about us kissing?'' He seemingly wasn't as embarrassed as her.

''Yes, that.''

''I, uh, told Chan.''

Ming's eyes widened and her heart dropped to her stomach. ''You told Chan? Lee Chan? My member, Chan?''

''Yes…'' he trailed, ''was I not supposed to do that?'' Yeonjun got nervous at her words, suspecting he made a mistake by telling Chan.

''You only told him? No one else?''

''I only told Chan, I promise.''

She knew for a fact that Chan isn't close with any of the NCT members. However, other members are close with them. Which means that Chan told one of the members about her and Yeonjun, and that member spilled the beans to someone from NCT who then told Mark.

''Okay, thank you. Bye.'' Ming quickly hung up, not caring if it might come off as rude.

''The members know.''

Soomin' expression mirrored Ming's, disbelieving wide eyes. ''You think Chan told them?''

''He has to have told someone, how else would Mark know?'' Ming argued, not seeing any other way to how Mark would think she had someone else.

''Are you gonna send something to Mark?''

Ming shrugged her shoulders at Soomin's question. ''I don't know, he's probably not gonna respond so does it even matter what I send?''

''True.''

The female idol stood up from the bed. ''Well, I'm gonna go to the dorm and I'm gonna kill Chan.''

Soomin weakly laughed, still concerned about the situation. ''You know you can always come here, right? I'm never too busy for you.''

''I love you, Soo.'' After putting on her shoes, she approached her friend again and embraced her. They have known each other for 13 years, they practically grew up together. Soomin was that constant she could always fall back on, and she couldn't be more grateful for her.

''I love you… now go murder that dinosaur.''

Ming was probably going to receive a ticket for the way she was speeding down the streets of Seoul, but she was angry and ready to combust at any time. She sprinted up the stairs and instead of taking the normal route, and going to her own dorm, she went to the other one.

She typed in the code and didn't waste a second to storm inside, not even taking off her shoes or jacket.

''Lee Jung Chan!''

The eyes of Cheol, Joshua, Jun, Dokyeom, Seungkwan and Vernon looked up at her, most of them flinching by her sudden appearance.

''Is everything okay?''

''Where is that little bastard?'' She ignored Joshua's question, looking around the living room and not spotting her fellow member there.

The members glanced at each other, not knowing what to do. They hadn't seen the young woman that angry in years. Wonwoo was the one to bite the bullet. ''Kitchen.''

''Thank you!'' They were surprised she still held her manners and thanked the man for telling her where the maknae was.

Ming angrily stomped to the kitchen where she was met with Mingyu, Minghao and the culprit. She pointed her finger at the latter. ''You! I'm gonna kill you!''

Chan's eyes widened and alarms went off in his head telling him to run, so that's exactly what he did.

''Come here, you punk!'' Ming didn't waste a second and ran after him as he left the kitchen and took the other door to go back into the living room, hoping to use the other members as human shields. ''Yerim, leave me alone! I didn't do anything!''

At first, the others thought it was funny to see the two youngest play this cat-and-mouse game with each other as it brought back memories from when they were teenagers. However, it quickly became clear that Ming might actually wanted to hurt Chan.

Cheol stopped Dino's running by grabbing his shoulder, while Mingyu easily picked up Ming and lifted her feet off the ground to be sure she wouldn't run off again. ''Let me go!''

''What is this about? Why are you so angry?'' Their leader asked, looking at the woman in Mingyu's arms.

Ming rolled her eyes, her anger still not simmered down. ''Why am I angry?! Because of that little shit, Mark thinks I have a boyfriend and he doesn't want to talk to me anymore! That's why I'm fucking angry!''

''I didn't tell him anything! I don't even know what you're talking about!'' Chan yelled back, defending himself from her words.

''Stop acting innocent! I know you blabbed to the members about Yeonjun! You're the only one who knew!'' Ming continued, Chan's defense making her more frustrated.

Cheol pulled his hands from Chan's shoulders. ''He's the only one that knew what?''

''Yerim, I promise you, I swear on our friendship that I didn't say anything to anyone! I don't know how Mark found out!''

Ming shook her head. ''Don't swear anything on our friendship! How dare you! You're the only one who knows about Yeonjun, he told me himself! Just admit that you snitched!'' Tears welled up in her eyes, upset that Chan would swear those lies on their friendship.

''I didn't snitch! I'm sorry that Mark doesn't want to talk to you anymore, but it's not my fault, so stop yelling at me!'' Chan started getting emotional as well, they had never fought like this and he wanted it to end.

Ming struggled in Mingyu's arms, wanting to be let go. ''Why are you being like this! Just tell me the fucking truth!''

''Stop it!'' Cheol's voice boomed through the apartment, followed by a silence where a dropped pin could be heard.

Mingyu dropped Ming from his arms and she fixed her clothing, while Chan took a couple steps back, still not trusting she won't start chasing after him again.

''Both of you sit down now.'' The leader's voice had reduced in decibels, but the sternness was still there and the two youngest followed his demand right away. Ming took the seat next to Dokyeom, while Chan sat next to Wonwoo. A clueless Vernon in-between them.

Cheol pointed his finger at Ming. ''You have some explaining to do and you're gonna do it calmly, without raising your voice or attacking your brother. Physically or verbally.''

Ming looked down at the ground, feeling like a child being grounded by their parents. ''I got a voice message from Mark in which he said that he didn't want to talk to me anymore, because he thinks I have someone else.''

Joshua went to stand in front of her, next to Cheol. ''I thought you weren't talking to Mark anymore?'' He recalled their talk from a month ago where she said that she hadn't spoken to him since she went to his concert.

''I lied.'' She mumbled, but still loud enough for everyone to hear.

The silence irked her, and she looked back up at the two men. Joshua seemed more disappointed than angry, while Cheol had an unreadable expression on his face.

''Just talking or also meeting him?'' The lack of emotion in the leader's voice scared her, her eyes hesitantly going to his.

Ming observed her feet again. ''Also seeing him outside of our schedules.'' She knew one day her lies would catch up to her, but she didn't care much at that moment. ''But that's not the point now-''

''Oh, is the fact that you've been lying to us for months inconvenient to you right now? I'm so sorry, Ming.'' Cheol's sarcastic tone resulted in a loud sigh from the woman in question.

Dokyeom briefly glimpsed at Joshua who was already looking at him, both having the same thought on their mind. ''That was you in the park, wasn't it? With Mark?'' The American asked, already knowing what the answer was gonna be.

Ming nodded, remembering how they had almost been caught by the two vocal team members when taking a stroll in the snow.

''Why did you lie to us, Yerimie?'' Mingyu joined in, feeling a bit hurt by Ming having lied to them for several months.

She scoffed, all her frustrations returning. ''You're actually asking me why? Did all of you suddenly forget how you admitted to not trusting the guy? Or getting mad that I went on a date with him? Or the time I invited him to our dorm and Joshua was blatantly rude to him? And I still want my explanation as to why he thinks I have someone else! I should be interrogating all of you, not the other way around!''

''Yerim, I didn't tell Mark anything.'' Chan spoke up after being quiet since they sat down.

Ming stared at him, unimpressed. ''Bullshit!'' The two went back and forth again with each other, arguing like two toddlers who are fighting over a stupid toy.

Meanwhile, a guilty Seungkwan watched them from behind. As soon as Ming started screaming about Mark thinking she has a boyfriend, his conversation with Jungwoo the day before came into his mind. He recalled singing to himself that she had a boyfriend, completely forgetting that the NCT member could still hear him.

Realizing it had gone too far, he interrupted the younger ones. ''It was me.''

At the confession, Chan and Ming stopped bickering and everyone in the room watched him. Seungkwan took the space in-between Joshua and Cheol. ''I was talking to Jungwoo on the phone yesterday, and he said something about that new restaurant by Han River that you went to with Soomin. I told him that you went there and I was gonna look for you to ask you about it, so I asked Chan where you were. He said you were on a date with Yeonjun, and I might have said something about you having a boyfriend. I said it jokingly, but Jungwoo must have heard it and told Mark about it. I'm so sorry, Yerimie.''

Ming attentively listened to Seungkwan, remaining quiet even after he was done. ''I'm sorry too, Ming-ah,'' Chan added, ''I shouldn't have said so carelessly that you were on a date with Yeonjun.'' He apologized.

''You're going out with Yeonjun as well? Were you planning on telling us that or not?'' Cheol interrupted, shocked at how much she actually had been hiding from them.

Ming stood up from the couch, she had enough of the interrogation she was being put through. ''I'm leaving, this is giving me a headache.''

''You can leave when you tell us the truth, Yerim.'' Cheol stared down at her, motioning for her to sit down again.

She groaned. ''The truth? Alright. While I was seeing Mark, I also started seeing Yeonjun. I felt conflicted about my feelings, because they're both great guys and I wasn't sure what to do. However, I made up my mind. That's why I wanted to talk to Yeonjun yesterday, but-''

''You've been going on dates with two guys and you didn't think once to mention it to us?'' Joshua interrupted this time, absolutely flabbergasted that she had been hiding this much from everyone.

She looked over at Joshua with wide eyes. ''Are you even listening to me?''

''Yah! Kim Yerim, don't talk like that.'' Cheol scolded her, not like the attitude that came with her words.

Ming rolled her eyes for what felt like the 100th time that day. ''Oh, yeah, defend him again! Like you always do!'' She argued with him.

''So, all those times you said you were with Soomin or with Chaeyoung, you were with either of those guys?'' Joshua demanded, the question coming out urgently.

She shook her head. ''No, not all those times, just a few times.''

''You said you were with Soomin yesterday, was that also a lie?'' Cheol asked her, his patience running out.

''I was with Soomin yesterday, that wasn't a lie.''

''But Yeonjun said-''

''Yeonjun canceled, he was too tired from his schedules and I went to Soomin's house instead.'' Ming interrupted Chan, who clearly hadn't been informed that Yeonjun had called her saying they should meet another time.

Vernon spoke up for the first time since Ming arrived. ''Is Yeonjun your boyfriend or not?'' He was confused as to why Mark would be upset about Yeonjun apparently being the girl’s boyfriend.

Ming shook her head. ''No, he's not my boyfriend.'' Since it was Vernon, she dropped her defensive behavior and calmly answered his question. The man simply nodded, having all the information he wanted to know.

''This entire situation is the reason why I don't involve you guys in my love life, or whatever is left of it. I get that some of you still think of me as that 11 year-old girl that always wanted to hug and hold hands with everyone, but I'm not, okay? I'm 24 years-old and I'm allowed to date whoever I want to date!'' Ming got all her frustrations off of her chest, she had been wanting to say those words for a long time.

Cheol looked down, before making eye-contact with Ming. ''I understand that, but we just want to look out for you and when you lie to us, we can't exactly do that.''

Ming made her way to the hallway, just wanting to be left alone. ''I don't need you to look out for me! I know it's hard for you to accept, but you're not my fucking father, Cheol! I don't need to share every single detail of my life with you.''

''Alright, I'll stop caring then! Do whatever you want to do, Kim Yerim! If you want to be an adult so bad, go be an adult! But don't come crying to me when those boys are gonna break your heart and you want to talk to me about it!''

Ming's words had broken something inside the man who had been taking care of the young woman since she was 11 years-old. According to her, she didn't need him anymore and that was the last thing he would ever want.

Hearing his ramble of anger, Ming threw one last dagger in his heart.

''I hate you, Choi Seungcheol!''

Taglist: @seolboba @cosmicwintr @mythicalamphitrite @billboard-singer @stopeatread @still-astray @sakuurra @multiplums @giverosespls @seongwhaffels @kimhyejin3108 @smoooore @smh-anon @cixrosie @allthings-fandoms

[jiangwanyinscatmom]

Hello!

"No honestly, they act like the only way to be able to engage with Chinese works is to comprehend it only by what western story arcs and thematics are! Like what the hell, it is audaciously xenophobic and racist to deny that these works do and can be on a separate sphere of what philosophy is in other cultures. And it's just demeaning especially with how forceful they are when they post things that say anything about "being sinful" when Buddhism doesn't even have a concept close to sin! Even what are considered crimes and a rejection of dharma is the concept of a rejection of refusing the natural law of the universe which in itself is not at all comparable to the idea of the guilt usually meant to be associated with sin."

I agreed with this.

So I want to ask, do you know where can I find more about types of Chinese story arcs and thematics in various genres?(not only wuxia/xianxia)

The sin comparisons are ODD. How to explain that WWX's YLLZ actions don't really contradict him being a moral ideal?(everyone says they do...)

I also read some comments about how WWX's story arc felt unsatisfying. For me it was perfectly satisfying,but I don't know how to explain WHY.

Hello anon.

So I want to ask, do you know where can I find more about types of Chinese story arcs and thematics in various genres?(not only wuxia/xianxia)

Mmmm, depends on what sort you may want, for outside of Wuxia/Xianxia that are translated main stream to English or English Diaspora I would recommend the following:

THE WEDDING PARTY BY LIU XINWU: Auntie Xue’s son, Jiyue, is getting married in December of 1982 after the Bei Jing Revolution. Takes place in several different points of view from the groom, bride, chef and party attendants.

TO LIVE BY YU HUA: The spoiled son of a landlord, Xu Fugui, squanders his family’s entire fortune. Xu Fugui lives throughout the years spanning the revolutionary changes and japanese-sino wars of 1930s-1960's.

HERO BORN BY JIN YONG: The very first book out of 12 for Legend of the Condors and from one of the most well known wuxia writers from when the genre took off in the 1950's

I LIVE IN THE SLUMS BY CAN XUE: Collection of short stories from different character perspectives about urban life that approaches chinese life and tradition from what is considered radical than the norm

THE RADIANT EMPEROR DUALOGY BY SHELLEY PARK-CHAN: Historical fantasy of 14th century China, the mandate of heaven is a literal flame granted to the next emperor. Two children, Zhu Chongba and Ouyang become embroiled within the political backdrop of the Ming dynasty and touches on heavy themes of gender identity and sexuality.

As for the idea Wei Wuxian's story arc was unsatisfying, don't know what to say, most xianxia and wuxia protagonists/heroes do get their happy ends unless it is meant to be tragic, but these usually as a genre are not meant to be tragic endings for the leads. It's kind of like expecting Lord of The Rings to be tragic in end for Frodo who was left to his own peace by leaving Middle Earth. Sometimes you'll be personally unhappy with a arc end. This does not mean execution of storytelling was lacking or weak on author part. If it cleanly and thematically reflects that end, it's a personal problem unfortunately and not a work or genre for you perhaps.

These are not written with the concept of sin or the traditional idea of redemption exposed to within western texts. Doaist Buddhism is not on the same philosophical standing as Christian redemption or tellings. Samsara are able to be a complete new start, Sin does not follow in after life or new life within samsara cycles, the point is that you can always remove the self from the suffering of human vice and obsession to ascend above what humanity is.

[recapitulation]

alright if I only had time to watch either sleuth of ming dynasty or mysterious lotus casebook which would you recommend and why 🎤

hehe hi shane. it's interesting that u compare these two bc they're both (mostly) short-form mystery based so in that way they feel similar. also they are equal levels of extremely hilarious too me <3 although both have some plot elements that are a bit darker, they both are generally pretty lighthearted and funny which I enjoy a lot.

tsomd

first of all it was produced by jackie chan and has really fantastic action choreography... I'm not really a great judge but I would say it's more impressive in that way than mlc (in my very humble opinion)

really food focused and has lots of great cooking montages

better cast of interesting women between these two

mlc

mlc is wuxia so if that's more of what you're interested in I would go here. so in other words mlc feels more like historical fantasy whereas tsomd feels more like historical fiction... although neither fit neatly into those boxes

I liked the score more in mlc than in tsomd, which I mention specifically bc I think you specifically would care <3

better writing as a whole I think... at least in the way where I was consistently engaged the entire time. honestly tsomd lost me a couple of times about 2/3 of the way through

so it depends on what you like but if you asked me for an answer straight up I would say mlc is more enjoyable than tsomd but I do really like them both... and since I recently finished mlc I'm biased <3

[zerogate]

Unlike other sects of Buddhism, Chan does not rely on sutras and scriptures for its theoretical conceptions, religious practice, and transmission to posterity. In many ways, Chan is not a religion but a way of spiritual cultivation like qigong and yoga, whose techniques are passed on from masters to disciples.

As a practice, it exemplifies the Greek concept “technē” (craft, art), which is material, concrete, variable, and situation-dependent. In its practices aimed at enlightenment, it employs such technical skills as zazen (zuochan in Chinese, meaning “seated meditation”), monda (wenda in Chinese, meaning “Chan interlocutions”), koan (gong’an in Chinese, meaning “Chan paradoxes”), and other spontaneous conversations and actions. Because of these features, Chan does not seem to need conceptualizations and theorizations, as the first two lines of the Chan formula indicate:

“Establishing no doctrine in words; special transmission without any master’s instruction; pointing to one’s innermost heart; and becoming a Buddha by seeing one’s original nature.”

-- Ming Dong Gu, The Nature and Rationale of Zen