#only for yifan

[murasaki-cha]

THEY ARE NEVER ESCAPING THE HOMOSEXUAL ALLEGATIONS!!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

What's funnier is that Wen Yifan genuinely considered Duan Jiaxu her biggest rival when it came to Sang Yan.

Also these two got told by both girls to "Stop flirting like a married couple because you're embarrassing us" while grocery shopping🤣🤣

[sweet-shinobi-fangirl]

Nooo when Yifan said Chong zi is not his disciple anymore it broke my heart! How am I suppose to sleep tonight ?! 😭

[ms-hells-bells]

one thing i haven't seen many people point out in regards to the chess thing. the levels of master for chess require different ratings for men and women. the women's titles require a full 200 rating points less to reach the next level of mastery.

for casual or lower level players, say 1500 or below, this gap doesn't matter that much. for the most elite players, 200 lower rating is a massive gap. in the highest level tournaments, if someone is against a player that has a rating 200 points higher than them, they are unambiguously recognised as having a significant disadvantage. the only exception is when they are a relatively new player that has rapidly risen in the ranks, and their current rating may not be representative of their current skill level.

the current highest rated female chess player in the world is hou yifan. she actually retired recently to go to university, i believe, but no one is close to surpassing her score of 2628. incredible.

the male players with a rating of 2628 are the 130th best male players in the world.

this means that a man could not even be in the top 100 best male players in the world, meaning near zero income to be made from the sport (anything they'd make from winning regional or national championships would have to go towards paying travel and accommodation), and if he decided to transition to a woman, he would be the best in the world and make great bank, especially with the women's tournament and sponsorship initiatives, and the 'representation' he would be.

in a way, it's even more blatant that running or swimming or any of that. because you can see their ratings stay the same, but a change in pronouns can change them from a master to an international master, or even from an international master to a grandmaster.

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

Dark matter could have helped make supermassive black holes in the early universe

It takes a long time for supermassive black holes, like the one at the center of our Milky Way galaxy, to form. Typically, the birth of a black hole requires a giant star with the mass of at least 50 of our suns to burn out—a process that can take a billion years—and its core to collapse in on itself.

Even so, at only about 10 solar masses, the resulting black hole is a far cry from the 4 million-solar-masses black hole, Sagittarius A*, found in our Milky Way galaxy, or the billion-solar-mass supermassive black holes found in other galaxies. Such gigantic black holes can form from smaller black holes by accretion of gas and stars, and by mergers with other black holes, which take billions of years.

Why, then, is the James Webb Space Telescope discovering supermassive black holes near the beginning of time itself, eons before they should have been able to form? UCLA astrophysicists have an answer as mysterious as the black holes themselves: Dark matter kept hydrogen from cooling long enough for gravity to condense it into clouds big and dense enough to turn into black holes instead of stars. The finding is published in the journal Physical Review Letters.

"How surprising it has been to find a supermassive black hole with a billion solar mass when the universe itself is only half a billion years old," said senior author Alexander Kusenko, a professor of physics and astronomy at UCLA. "It's like finding a modern car among dinosaur bones and wondering who built that car in the prehistoric times."

Some astrophysicists have posited that a large cloud of gas could collapse to make a supermassive black hole directly, bypassing the long history of stellar burning, accretion and mergers. But there's a catch: Gravity will, indeed, pull a large cloud of gas together, but not into one large cloud. Instead, it gathers sections of the gas into little halos that float near each other but don't form a black hole.

The reason is that the gas cloud cools too quickly. As long as the gas is hot, its pressure can counter gravity. However, if the gas cools, pressure decreases, and gravity can prevail in many small regions, which collapse into dense objects before gravity has a chance to pull the entire cloud into a single black hole.

"How quickly the gas cools has a lot to do with the amount of molecular hydrogen," said first author and doctoral student Yifan Lu. "Hydrogen atoms bonded together in a molecule dissipate energy when they encounter a loose hydrogen atom. The hydrogen molecules become cooling agents as they absorb thermal energy and radiate it away. Hydrogen clouds in the early universe had too much molecular hydrogen, and the gas cooled quickly and formed small halos instead of large clouds."

Lu and postdoctoral researcher Zachary Picker wrote code to calculate all possible processes of this scenario and discovered that additional radiation can heat the gas and dissociate the hydrogen molecules, altering how the gas cools.

"If you add radiation in a certain energy range, it destroys molecular hydrogen and creates conditions that prevent fragmentation of large clouds," Lu said.

But where does the radiation come from?

Only a very tiny portion of matter in the universe is the kind that makes up our bodies, our planet, the stars and everything else we can observe. The vast majority of matter, detected by its gravitational effects on stellar objects and by the bending of light rays from distant sources, is made of some new particles, which scientists have not yet identified.

The forms and properties of dark matter are therefore a mystery that remains to be solved. While we don't know what dark matter is, particle theorists have long speculated that it could contain unstable particles which can decay into photons, the particles of light. Including such dark matter in the simulations provided the radiation needed for the gas to remain in a large cloud while it is collapsing into a black hole.

Dark matter could be made of particles that slowly decay, or it could be made of more than one particle species: some stable and some that decay at early times. In either case, the product of decay could be radiation in the form of photons, which break up molecular hydrogen and prevent hydrogen clouds from cooling too quickly. Even very mild decay of dark matter yielded enough radiation to prevent cooling, forming large clouds and, eventually, supermassive black holes.

"This could be the solution to why supermassive black holes are found very early on," Picker said. "If you're optimistic, you could also read this as positive evidence for one kind of dark matter. If these supermassive black holes formed by the collapse of a gas cloud, maybe the additional radiation required would have to come from the unknown physics of the dark sector."

IMAGE: A James Webb Telescope image shows the J0148 quasar circled in red. Two insets show, on top, the central black hole, and on bottom, the stellar emission from the host galaxy. Credit: MIT/NASA

[inappropriate-dance-breaks]

BEAM AND FLOOR FINALS LEOTARD REVIEW

Okay these are getting put together because there’s a lot of overlap. Last one! I’ll be doing a final review with best and worst, most consistent, etc…

Beam

Simone Biles- USA

This is so pretty. I love the dark blue going into the white and the design on the sleeves. The design on the chest looks a bit like a superman logo which isn’t my favourite but overall super solid. 7/10

Julia Soares and Rebeca Andrade- Brazil

Wow. Just wow. The mauve/burgundy colour is everything to me and the mesh creates the illusion of a beautiful off the shoulder neckline. The stones were so bright that they just sparkled with every movement. The blue stones on the chest really pop and the lines around the waist looked like they were dripping in gems. 9/10

Suni Lee- USA

I don’t know how to score this. From afar it’s super bland and doesn’t stand out at all but up close it’s absolutely stunning. You can just see a touch of the ribbons that were criss-crossed on the back. I’ll cover details later where they are clearer. For now it’s simultaneously a 3/10 and a 9/10

Zhou Yifan- China

This is a green edition of what we saw on her teammate in the bar final yesterday and it’s still gorgeous. The colours are stunning and I am in love with the brushstroke look. 8/10

Carryovers (gymnasts who did both and kept the same leo on)

Alice D’Amato and Manila Esposito- Italy

I know I joked yesterday that more contrast would help Alice get on the podium but this is the most contrast we’ve seen yet and they both took home medals. I’m not saying this is why but I’m also not saying it’s not. I still don’t love the design but they used several different beautiful shades of purple and it’s an improvement on their other looks. 6/10

Sabrina Maneca-Voinea- Romania

This is so simple but so pretty. She looks like a clear sky with a few whisps of clouds floating across. I wish they’d kept the same design going below the waist instead of the shiny fabric though. 7/10

Floor

Kishi Rina- Japan

Apparently Japan only have two leotards for this entire Olympic Games. This is a repeat from the team final. It wasn’t exciting the first time I saw it and it still isn’t now. 2/10

Simone Biles- USA

She’s gone with the same that Suni Lee wore during the all-around and wore it beautifully. Still an 8/10

Rebeca Andrade- Brazil

This is not my favourite of the Brazil looks but it’s still so good. The colours are gorgeous and I like the designs in the stones a lot. Not a huge fan of the teardrop in the middle but otherwise it’s fantastic. 7/10

Ou Yushan- China

We saw this yesterday and it’s still perfection. 10/10

Jordan Chiles- USA

This is the same as Suni was wearing in the beam final and this photo really shows off the details. The darker flowers in the mesh sleeves are nice, I like the checker patterns on the chest and sleeve and the lines across the chest, all in blue and red stones. The pearls bordering the strapless illusion and splitting the lines on the chest??? Are you kidding me?? I’ve never seen pearls on a gymnastics leotard but now it’s all that I want. It’s so classy and beautiful, although I still struggle with how plain it looks from afar. 3/10 from afar, 9/10 up close

Ana Barbosu- Romania

The colour is nice and I like the ribbon across the chest and arms but it’s a bit plain. Could’ve used more sparkle. 5/10

[joyouslee]

MLC King's Avatar (e-sports) AU

just thinking about an MLC King's Avatar AU - LXY is Ye Qiu/ One Autumn Leaf, the fallen prodigy betrayed by the team he built up. LLH is Ye Xiu/ Lord Grim, wanting to live his own life just playing around in the new server (and being an absolute gremlin about it) but then accidentally building a challenger's team to take back his title (then retire). DFS is Han Wenqing, the rival who has fought LXY for 10 years and just wants one more fight against LXY. FDB is... a mishmash of Qiao Yifan and Chen Guo (with Huang Shaotian's ability to insult everyone he plays against) - a certified LXY fanboy that got a pointer from LXY one time and now follows LLH around and eventually bankrolls the challenger team.

just thinking of LLH frustrating everyone he meets and stealing wild bosses, the unknown "a-Fei" who joins them for boss fights and tries constantly to get LLH, a healer, to pvp (to FDB's bewilderment), and FDB following LLH around the map talking up his mentor LXY, not realizing that LLH's healer character is not his only account, but that he has an alt that is the mysterious while-robed swordsman racking up all the records in the new server.

I just want DFS telling a defeated XZJ that LXY wouldn't have lost :D And FDB recognizing LLH when he uses LXY's signature move to avenge FDB.

[rose-tinted-vision]

“你既入了我的门下，那就不论身，不论出处，都是我的徒弟。是我第一个弟子，也是唯一的弟子。无论发生任何事，都有为师替你担着。”

Since I have accepted you as my disciple, then regardless of your identity or your background, you will still be my disciple. You're my first disciple, and my only disciple. No matter what happens, I'll take care of everything.

-Dashing Youth, Episode 17

The way Liu Yue knew but didn't care about Yue Yao's background and was ready to help her because she was his first and only disciple aaaaaa excuse me for a moment-

also a lil unrelated but I really liked his voice so i did some digging (i.e. played the end credits at 0.5x speed to see who's the va) and found out that its Su Shangqing who apparently voiced:

Qiao Yifan in The King's Avatar (donghua)

Jin Ling in Mo dao zu shi (donghua)

Cao Weining in Word of Honor

Cheng Xiaoshi in Link Click (donghua)

Baili Dongjun in Dashing Youth (donghua)

[audriel]

hi audriel! Didnt know you had tumblr and had to double-check. I really love your fangrui fics on ao3! I noticed some were taken down? And thank you so much for always posting fangrui pics on discord!! Really appreciate it. Really like how approachable and friendly you are on discord, feels like talking to a friend who you can gush about fandom stuffs with, hope you have a good day ahead!

questions, when did you first started to like qzgs, and what made you do it? What are your top 3 fav chars? Did it ever change? What do you like about them?

hi anon! actually, i made my ao3 and tumblr account almost at the same time, so you're safe! i joined discord pretty recently, that's why i unfortunately lost my chance to use the name audriel there >_<

another fang rui lover! thank you! i'm glad you like them! <333

i'm just so happy that i found people who loves qzgs to gush over together. and to spread all the fang rui love. so thank you for being so kind and welcoming! it took quite a lot of courage for me to finally ask to join the server, and participate actively. it's thanks to everyone in the discord.

are you asking the moon in autumn? it's still there, but only accessible for ao3 users since it's a long fic, and i do have concerns for data scraping for fanfictions. if let's start thinkin' bout it gets long enough, i might end up doing the same. i might only unlock them for few days when there's a new update.

now onto your questions!

i'm pretty sure it's due to the pandemic. since i started to read a lot of korean webtoons/manhwa that's almost always adapted from webnovels, i ended up reading a lot of them during that time (there was not much to do but stay at home after all). however, they were very rarely completed. oh the horror. so i looked for recommendations and there was quan zhi gao shou/the king's avatar on the list. it's highly rated and reviewed, and it's completed! even though it's chinese webnovel and not the genre i usually read (online games, more so professional gaming), so i gave it a try, and boy i'm so very glad i do. i'm hooked.

it has everything i love to read in a story: a smart, powerful protagonist; rich, complex characters and world; and a wonderful storytelling.

the only downside? i'm late to the the fandom. QAQ

i think we all love ye xiu, it's no brainer right? he's perfect but also imperfect at the same time. his strength in character and in his belief is so admirable that i sorely wish i had a fraction of it. but at the same time as a protag, we didn't see much from his perspective. so he's not the character i resonate with the most. definitely top three, but not the top. qiao yifan was my best boi then. i can relate with his struggle the most. and i love seeing him learning and growing under ye xiu's wings. from the transparent tiny herb player to the most stable, reliable happy rookie. i'm so looking forward to the person he'll be in the future.

then there's fang rui. he's overshadowed by huang shaotian at first. huang shaotian is so lively, so distinctive, so difficult to look away from. so at the beginning my top three was qiao yifan, ye xiu and huang shaotian.

only on my reread that fang rui finally caught my eye. at first, he and huang shaotian look so similar and differ greatly with other oh so serious captains and god-level players in that they are bright and lively, and they are open with their emotions. but i end up thinking twice at the latter. huang shaotian is an open book, fang rui is not.

wait, wait are we reading the same novel?

fang rui feels like an open book, because we have seen his own perspective, we've seen his thoughts and emotions. but whenever we've got outsiders' perspective on him, fang rui is always playful even he performs badly. if anything, he acts out, hams it up, just like when he miscommunicated with mo fan or when he lost so badly that he sat in the corner to reflect. when he's troubled, most often he closes up, just like when lin jingyan approached him when tyranny dropped by or when he was so tired after beating xu boyuan.

meanwhile, huang shaotian can put up a public persona like the celebrity he is, but overall he doesn't really bother to hide how he feels, just like when he didn't want to talk after he lost in the finals and when he questioned yu feng after he went to hundred blossoms (even he got the first turn in beating up liu hao lol). in summary, huang shaotian is the real open book. we can count on him for being honest, and also being loyal. while at the same time, he's such an stealthy assassin and deadly opportunist on stage. it makes him such an appealing character and a favorite among the fandom.

but for me, the complexity and contrast of fang rui really caught my eye. that there's more to him that it meets the eye. which is admittedly my favorite type of character. it shows that he has an exceptional emotional intelligence, he understands emotions, his own and others, and he doesn't shy away from it, more so, he owns it. i have admiration for calm and composed characters, but i admire more those who obviously struggling with his emotions but still retain their calm and composure. and that fits fang rui to the t.

because damn, when we put it into context, fang rui has the hardest time in season 10. ye xiu (and qiao yifan) did have a hard time with their previous team, ye xiu can be also said as the reason for excellent era, his beloved team's demise. but the fans and later qiu fei gave him hope for the team to be reborn, then su mucheng joined him in happy, all he needs is to focus on the championship that he's back in the alliance. fang rui?

he has to leave his beloved team and account, then he transforms to a completely different class with a wholly new account, at the huge risk to himself, then he has to fight his former partner/mentor repeatedly until being the one to end lin jingyan's career. the latter feels dramatic, but considering how fang rui's performance is visibly affected by lin jingyan's decline, i'm not surprised if that's how it feels from his perspective. and yet... he gives himself the hardest time when he performs badly in the finals, for not giving his best for happy. he just wanted to return the trust given to him. even though he was exhausted, he still did his best to assure the team. i just... the moment i put things into perspective, i think fall in love right then and there, and there's no coming back from it.

so my current top three: fang rui, qiao yifan, and ye xiu.

i think there's a pattern right there. all three are happy. all three have transformed. all three have left their teams, not by choice. all have suffered rejections and come up victorious.

thank you for the wonderful ask! i don't mind if you have more questions! i enjoy it very much! i can do the same for you if you wish. just let me know!

[blueberry-ash]

Writer’s Month 2024, Day 7 (‘tattoo parlor’)

TKA Live Action, AnQiao, with (very unsubtly) implied future An Wenyi/Qiao Yifan/Wei Chen. T-rated, but, y'know, implied themes. Also, mild (presumably off-season) drunkenness.

.

‘Wait,’ says Qiao Yifan, trying really very hard to hold it together, ‘so you’re saying you went to a tattoo parlour, but they—they slapped a temporary tattoo on you instead—? For—for real?’

Wei Chen makes one of his loudly incoherent-yet-obviously-emotional noises, like he might be mad or embarrassed or quite possibly some other third, considerably more complicated option.

An Wenyi looks like he’s struggling not to laugh.

Qiao Yifan falls apart into what can only be described as an actual fit of noisy giggles.

Perhaps that’s a final step too far for Wei Chen’s ego, because he lifts his soda and does his best to glower at them through it. ‘What,’ he grumps, ‘like either of you’d do any bett—’

An Wenyi sets down his beer and raises his shirt, fingers curling comfortably around the softly purple material as pulls it up to shows off a really rather lovely stretch of bare skin—and the delicate lines of black inked characters trailing very neatly along up side of his waist.

Qiao Yifan very manfully resists the urge to touch. He’s touched plenty already, he reminds himself. And there are rules, or something, about grabbing your boyfriend in company. Even—he’s pretty sure—when said company is really rather gratifyingly looking as though he’s struggling with the very same urge.

‘It’s a lot easier than you’d think,’ An Wenyi says kindly, although he’s still very much grinning. ‘Honestly, if you ever wanna give it another try, Yifan and I’d go along and hold your hands, wouldn’t we, Yifan? Besides, I know a guy. Amazingly steady hands, and banger designs. Definitely better than—’ He gazes off into the distance like he’s staring into an office camera, ‘Peppa-fucking-Pig.’

Qiao Yifan bursts into a second round of giggles. Wei Chen grunts out another of his ambiguously-emotional noises—although, if he’s being entirely honest, Qiao Yifan’s pretty sure he knows exactly what this one means, especially since Wei Chen follows it up by stealing Qiao Yifan’s pink drink with a huff and a glare, and just possibly another kinda-nicely-lingering look at An Wenyi’s still-bared midriff.

An Wenyi hums and glances knowingly in Qiao Yifan’s direction.

Qiao Yifan waggles his eyebrows and nods happily. He isn’t remotely bothered by the stolen drink or, for that matter, the ogling of his boyfriend; he’s far too busy giggling to want to drink and, anyway, he’s actually pretty open to sharing.

[hils79]

Writing patterns

Rules: List the first line of your last 10 (posted) fics and see if there's a pattern! Thank you @merinnan @killerandhealerqueen & @alxina for tagging me 💜

Terms and Conditions

Leaving Wu Xie at home while he heads into Beijing to conduct some business is a lot easier for Pangzi now that they’re retired.

2. Hard to Catch the Wind

There’s a subtle art to getting Hongjoong to take care of his own health and wellbeing.

3. Man, Interrupted

Retirement was never something Pangzi really thought about when he was younger.

4. Alone in the Dark

Deep down Pangzi has always known that one day a tomb he ventured into would end up becoming his own.

5. Here In My Arms

These are the moments Pangzi will cherish until his dying day.

6. Carry You Home

Zhang Qiling is slowly starting to accept that there are people in the world that he cares about, and who care about him in return.

7. Strength in Numbers

Qiao Yifan is still getting used to all this - this being surrounded by people who actually notice him and listen to what he has to say.

8. Any Port in a Storm

“Are you sure you’ll be okay without me?”

9. Life Through a Lens 

The nerves churn in Liu Sang’s stomach, burning up into his throat until he feels like they might choke him.

10. Xiao Xiaoge

“Tianzhen, don’t touch—”

The only real pattern that I can see is that they're all quite short and snappy opening lines. IDEK. I have no idea what I'm doing at the best of times.

Not sure who has already done this so no pressure if you don't want to play but tagging @leatherbookmark @strandedchesspiece @s1utspeare @morkofday @thesilversun @silver-colour @pangzi

[jinhogae]

watched tka ep 37 again last night and some of the greatest hits of the whole show were in it:

xiao shiqin remaining the only person who can handle sun xiang not to mention the tension between them… absolutely crazy every time

team blue rain duo infernale coming in as commentators for the finale was so iconic some of the best sound bites of the whole show

xiao shiqin vs tang rou the baddest bitches of glory facing off against each other and it was marvellous

tang rou and chen guo hand-holding thank you very much !!!!

the vets watching the finale in the team happy fan block but especially wang jiexi being there to watch qiao yifan

ye xiu and yu wenzhou being the only ones to detect what xiao shiqin is doing and understanding qiao yifan’s trick because they are the two best tacticians out of the four masters

su mucheng telling the team manager to go fuck himself before taking the team photo with excellent era

[murasaki-cha]

Wen Yifan come get your man, he's about to release all his frustration and pain due to the feelings of betrayal and hurt that he has been experiencing since your fight that caused him to leave the apartment because he felt he wasn't trustworthy enough for you to confide your pain in him, that are about to explote because the cherry on top betrayal of finding out his best friend has secretly been dating his little sister so now he feels like every single person in his life that he deeply cherishes has been keeping him in the dark, causing him to beat the everloving shit out of his best friend and also ruin his and his sister's movie date.

Come get your man girl.

[delphiealmond]

Chaos By A Rose Bush

Pairings ᯓ★ Lee Jeno x Park Jisung / Johnny Suh x Na Jaemin / Mark Lee x Na Jaemin / Johnny Suh x Xiaojun / Wong Yukhei x Wu Yifan / Kim Jungwoo x Lee Taemin / Ten Lee x Lee Taeyong

Synopsis ᯓ★ Ten Lee is a simple guy who moved to Korea to fulfill his dream job as a doctor. Lee Taeyong is trying to keep everyone safe as much as he can. Wong Yukhei is trying to take over the world. Neozone is well known for keeping the streets of Seoul, South Korea safe. though the people think otherwise. Neozone creates deals with other mafia groups that try to fight against them, and Neozone is known to take down other mafia groups that try to cross their path. Except for one. Lumidome is China's most wanted Mafia group. They are the most dangerous, with members who are strong, smart, independent and dangerous. They want Korean territory. Will Neozone be able to protect their home from invaders?

Warnings ᯓ★ 18+, Swearing, guns, shooting, Blood

MASTERLIST | Next

CHAPTER ONE (3.6k)

Wong Yukhei looked out at the shimmering stars above Sha Tin District. It was a late night as he stood on his complex balcony. His elbows rested against the railing as he looked among the city lights. It was going to be a long time before he saw Sha Tin District again. He was headed to Seoul in the next few hours. Even though he was infatuated with his position and where they were seated, it didn’t fit with his satisfaction of expanding globally.

Lumidome. One of the highest-ranking mafia groups in China, or even among the top ten in the world. People didn’t understand the position of the mafia. Tested their limits and only found out when it was too late of what they were capable of. They overthrew their rivals in a matter of hours in one single night. Their leader, Yukhei, was known to be cold, stone-faced. He had a temper if someone messed with him the wrong way. A person was lucky enough to see the day light at all if they pissed him off.

“Yifan, reports?”

Yukhei’s voice was emotionless as he turned to face the older man sitting on a red velvet couch, wine glass in hand. Yifan had been with Yukhei since they were in middle school. His demeanor didn’t faze Yifan, he was used to the younger being stone faced. He had promised to follow Yukhei in all his activities. Whether they be bad or good. And he just wound up to be part of the bad.

Yifan swirled the wine in his glass before he took a sip.

“Our position here in China will remain the same. Everything will run as per usual. A jet is ready to take off whenever you seize to be ready, boss. Passing through the Korean border shouldn’t be an issue, and if we leave soon, there’s a chance we could be there before midnight.” He replied professionally. His eyes glanced at the younger’s cold expression.

Yukhei hummed in response with a small nod. He expected nothing more and nothing less from the one he trusted most. He leaned against the railing, his arms crossing over his chest as he eyed the older.

“What’s on your mind?”

Yifan set the glass down on the table in front of the sofa before he leaned back, crossing his leg over his knee.

“What we’ll do once we arrive in Korea.” Yifan replied honestly. There was no need to tell a lie to the younger one whose eyes were glued to him.

“Well, we will do exactly what we did once we arrived here.” Yukhei pushed himself off of the railing and stepped inside. “Take over and rise to power. And with you by my side, it should be easy.” He ran a hand through the others blond locks. An act that Yifan grew accustomed to over the years.

“You will be by my side, right?” He muttered. Yifan gave a soft expression to the younger.

“Always by your side.”

“Good. Because I want you to be with me when I take over the world.” Yifan hummed.

“Who is our next target?”

“Simple. Neozone.”

~~

The sun was just setting as a perfect evening ended in a small little pet shop in the center of Seoul. The glow of the sunlight and the colours of the night settling in glimmered through the store windows as Ten went around, making sure to give the pets food for the evening. With the occasional pet to the puppies and to the kittens, Ten double checked that all animals were set for the night with clean cages, and fresh food.

There weren’t many people coming in around this time, so Ten decided to start closing up shop earlier than usual. He was the only person working the shift at this little pet shop, and before closing he wanted to make sure that he got everything done before heading home for the night.

Being raised in a poor family, Ten learned to never slack off during his tasks, and at the moment he needed all the money he could earn. Ten had moved from Thailand to Seoul to pursue his dream of becoming a general surgeon. Although his mother was against it, he still left home to be taught at the finest universities in Seoul. But as a medical student, his mother didn’t send him money due to his run off, so he had to earn every last penny he could.

He needed a way to fend for himself, as well as pay tuition and rent.

Ten honestly didn’t mind at all though. Aside from his studies and the lack of friends, he needed to find a way to keep his mind occupied otherwise. Working with animals always made him forget about his worries, so he figured that this job would be the best to work as he worked away on his studies. If people at the university told him to “try harder” or “work hard”, it wouldn’t matter to him. Ten’s goal was to make his mother happy, to get her approval of his career choice.

Ever since he moved to Korea, he hadn’t made many friends at all. Perhaps it was because he was a foreigner. Or maybe because he focused too much on class and didn’t bother with socializing. Perhaps it was even because he was too focused on his studies or even his job. But in the end, it didn’t matter what he did with his time besides study and work. He had a goal to reach, and if he could reach it, it would make his world seem better.

He was just about to turn off the OPEN LED lights, when a friendly face got his attention and made him smile.

“Taemin?” At the sight of the older man, Ten opened the door and gestured for him to come in.

“Hey, I-sorry to bother you, but I just wanted to check and make sure that you were okay?”

“oh, thank you. I’m okay, I was just making sure that the pets had fresh clean cages and fresh food to have for the night. Come in.”

So far, Taemin was probably Ten’s only friend in Korea since he arrived. Despite seeing the older man walking home from the windows of the pet shop, or sitting outside with him during his lunch break, Ten grew fond of the olders’ presence. Seeing him and spending time with him, Ten slowly stopped seeing Taemin as a casual visit, and more like an older brother he could count on.

“What are you doing out tonight?”

“Oh, just heading down to the café shop before it closes to get a coffee. I decided to stop in and make sure you were doing well.” Taemin stated, glancing at the clock to check if the café would still be open at this hour.

“I see. I hope you get there in time and get yourself a nice warm drink! It’s getting a bit cold out during nights now.”

Taemin gave a small nod and leaned against the counter of the shop, watching the younger clean up the last little bit of the mess.

“I hope so. But I want to make sure that you get back home safe tonight. It’s not safe during dark hours around here. There are bad people out there and I don’t want to see you get hurt.” Taemin announced, going to the shorter and giving him a small hug.

Ten enjoying getting these small hugs from Taemin. It made it feel as if he wasn’t as alone as he was here in Seoul. He gave him a hug back, before smiling to him.

“Don’t worry. I’m closing up shop now and I’ll head straight back to my apartment. But you be careful out there as well okay?” Ten suggested, putting the broom and dustpan away.

Taemin gave a hum in response with a nod.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be alright,” Taemin headed back to the door and smiled to the younger. “I’ll see you later okay?”

Ten gave a smile back to the older and waved.

“I’ll see you later. Bye!” Taemin gave a small wave back before he left the small little pet shop.

As Ten watched the older walk off towards the café, he realized how late it was getting. The sun was no longer visible, but the colours of the sun set still lingered among the darkening sky. He flipped off the OPEN sign lights and grabbed his bag off the counter in one swift motion.

He grabbed the keys and left the shop, saying a small goodbye to the pets for the night. Locking up, he put the keys in his bag and headed on home. Although the walk through the darkening streets didn’t help his paranoia, what Taemin said earlier started to creep into his mind further. The silence of the walk back to his apartment was eerie as he sped walked his way back.

Once he finally made it back to his apartment, he fumbled with his keys a bit before he finally got inside. Leaning back against the door of the apartment, he closed his eyes and gave out a relieved sigh. He locked the door as soon as he could and placed his bag on the counter top.

The place wasn’t much, small, and not very crowded by furniture, but it was all he needed until he finished University. He could live off of ramen noodles and cheap looking wallpapers until he was able to move into a place more suited to his style.

~~

“Damn it Haechan! Stop it, I swear you're gonna blow our cover!!”

“Geez Mark, okay okay… I was just trying to make the mood a little less stressful.” The blue haired boy pouted, crossing his arms. He was clearly upset from the olders words about the fact of his humming.

“He’s right, Hae… Boss trusted us with this mission, no one else could do the task. That’s what he said.” Jaemin spoke up, reminding him of their situation at hand.

The Dreamies. Aka – the innocent but deadly members from Korea’s largest and deadliest mafia groups, Neozone. Neozone is known as one of the world's largest and toughest mafia groups and is black listed on each police station in the globe. Dreamies were the youngest sub unit of that mafia. Unlike most teens their age, these few were reckless and a physical danger to the streets of Seoul. If you mess with their brothers, their family, they’ll make a mess of you on the side of the street. Wide and open for the world to see.

But these few do have their own restrictions from their boss. Although they were minors, they weren’t allowed to do what some of the older members were able to. No clubbing, no overdosing, and no going out past midnight unless they had Mark or Sehun with them. And most definitely. No. Killing.

“Where’s Taemin? Wasn’t he supposed to be going with us tonight?” A red-haired boy announced from the back of the car, slightly annoyed that their hyung wasn’t present.

“Jeno… He’s with boss tonight, across town. We’re merely waiting for the call-in case they need our help as backup. That’s why we gotta keep an eye out the windows.” At the mere comment, all the boys in the car turned their eyes out of the window in panic of being yelled at.

“Wait… Wait! Where’s Jisung?!” Kai practically screeched, in search around the car for their maknae.

“Relax, he’s just in the trunk.” Sehun responded unfazed.

“Oh, okay. Wait what?!”

“Cool it. He has his phone, and there isn’t much space in here for him anyways. He’s fine.” Mark stifled a laugh behind his hand before he turned his attention back to the windows.

Kai at that very moment wanted to throw hands with Sehun. But he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, running a hand through his white locks.

“Okay.. fine, I guess we just wait then.”

~~

Meanwhile, in the quieter part of Seoul, Taeyong sat in the driver’s seat of his sleek black Mercedes-Benzes. His face was stoic, but his eyes glistened with hostility as he awaited the arrival of their rival.

“Boss, you usually don’t come out here… What’s the change?” Taemin and Taeyong were both sitting in the car for nearly over an hour and both men were becoming impatient. Because of Taeyong’s high rank within Neozone, he was usually never on the field. Most of the dealing jobs belonged to the Dreamies or the BLINKS. But apparently, this job was too risky and dangerous for those members to be out on the prowl.

“Somethings come up Tae. Rivals from China decided to slither their ways into the Korean borders. Someone’s gotta stay.” Taeyong stated, his voice blunt but firm, steady. But it couldn’t help Taemin’s curiosity build up in his chest.

“China?”

Taeyong tilted his head to look at the older member next to him. “Yeah. They’ve already started to wreak havoc in Lotto. Unit 127 is already there with some of our allies, defending that part of the town. These new guys most definitely didn’t come here to play nice.”

“But then why aren’t we there with 127 now?”

“Their leader wants to send us a message. I know it’s risky, but it’s better than having them enter our territory. At this point, we’re not quite sure who we’re dealing with.”

Taemin nodded in understanding. He didn’t want to push Taeyong’s boundaries any further, and especially now wasn’t a time to let their guard down. Despite being in the gang world, Taeyong being younger than him, Taemin saw Taeyong as a younger brother he didn’t get to have growing up. But while in gang speak, Taeyong was his boss.

As another 15 minutes passed the two by, finally a large black Lincoln pulled up from the depths of the darkness around them. Windows tinted all black. If it were anyone else in this position, they wouldn’t have minded the car with any suspicion. But Taeyong knew better than that. His grip on the steering wheel tightened, turning his knuckles white.

Taeyong felt something was wrong in his gut, but the moment a window rolled down and a barrel of a 22-calibre gun appeared in the window, he knew.

“Shit! It’s a tra-!”

Before the younger could even finish his sentence, the first bullet was blown out of the barrel and slammed into the windshield. Not enough to shatter it, but enough to give a message.

Taeyong became furious. He backed the vehicle up as fast as he could, as Taemin beside him loaded his gun.

“I guess that’s our message!”

“I’m calling the Dreamies!” Taemin snapped, the phone already pressed to his ear. “Sehun, get over here now! We’re on the other side of town, close to the university campus!”

As Taemin made the call, Taeyong’s knuckles were white from the tight grip on the steering wheel. He drove wickedly fast, tires screeching around every corner he whipped around. Passing through red lights, just skimming the chances of getting hit.

“Hey! That was a red light!!”

“Damn it Taemin, does it look like I care?! There are no red lights in a damn car chase!” Taeyong fumed. As they continued to speed down the streets of Seoul, going faster by the mile, so was their rival’s bullets. Closer and closer to breaking glass and popping holes in the tires. Taeyong had enough of it and was ready to hit back.

“Take the wheel.”

“What?!” Taemin shouted.

“Jesus-take the damn wheel Taemin!”

Taeyong jumped into the back seat while Taemin moved into the driver’s seat in one fell swoop. But he didn’t dare give a second to forget about his seat belt. The younger surged through the duffel bag stored away in the back seat and loaded a gun. Without a second thought, he leaned out the window, his red fiery hair flaming as fierce as the flames of rage in his eyes. He aimed and shot the driver and must’ve hit for the car swerved as they sped off, hitting a lamppost.

After a few minutes of silence and the hum of the car, Taemin finally broke the silence.

“I think… we lost them.”

“Shit! Look out!!” Neither of the members had time to react, as their rival hit their car head on, forcing the car to stop, crushed against the escalade.

When Taeyong finally deemed back to his senses, he saw three figures exit the escalade, and so he readied his gun and exited his own.

“Sup, assholes.”

“So sorry about that. You must be Taeyong. What my dearest pleasure to finally meet you! It’s such a shame we have to be on terrible terms.” A tall guy with blonde hair stated as a snake-like smile slid across his face.

“what do you want?” Taemin demanded. He stepped out of the car alongside Taeyong. Both of their barrels pointed to the tall blond.

“you’re boss.”

“And why do you want me?” Taeyong’s posture didn’t falter. His stance emanated dominance. If there was anything he valued more than his gang, it was his pride.

“how do I put this… Our leader wants to negotiate… some things with our so-called rivals, and that involves you and your gang Mr. Lee.” The blond stated.

“You’re going to have to go through me first.” Taemin loathed, taking a step forward, his entire body shaking his rage.

“So be it.”

One of the two didn’t hesitate to charge at Taemin as both of them aimed to rip each other apart. Despite Taemin’s height, his opponent was stronger and threw him against the window of the Mercedes, completely smashing it.

Going back to his own opponent, Taeyong turned around just in time to pin the taller one against the door of the Mercedes by the neck. The taller swallowed and smirked down to the shorter.

“oh, kinky.”

Taeyong rolled his eyes and pushed the man onto the ground, foot against his chest and gun aimed at his head. But before he could even pull the trigger, a sharp pain entered his torso. He groaned and dropped the gun, clutching his side which was turning crimson red. His hands clutched his shirt against a deep blade wound as he faltered down to his knees. Taeyong struggled to pull himself back to his feet but was met with stars and a rush of pain. He glanced back behind him to be met with a woman wearing a bandana.

She raised an eyebrow at him and held up a knife which was now covered in blood. She knelt down, wiping the blood off the knife on a bandana from her pocket.

“I like your eyes Mr. Taeyong. They’re beautiful…”

“Seulgri, no.” The blond stated, standing as he dusted off his pants. “Boss wants him alive.”

“I’d listen to your friend,” Taeyong wheezed. “He seems to be the smarter of the two.” Even though he was beginning to bleed out, Taeyong still found the strength to give an evil smirk.

This made Seulgri growl, as the other lady grabbed her gun and walked around the car to join sides with her.

Before either of them could lunge forward at Taeyong, a small car slammed into the three, sending them flying against the road.

“Are we late, boss?”

“Just on time, Mark.” Taeyong groaned, forcing himself up into a sitting position.

Taemin got up off the ground and touched the wound on his forehead. His hand was covered in blood before he noticed Taeyong’s injury was worse.

“oh my god, you’re bleeding!”

“No Shit Sherlock!” Haechan yelled from the back of the car.

“Boss, what do you want us to do?” Sehun then spoke up, even through the situation, his expression remained the same as his voice barely faltered.

“Take the Dreamies back to the zone. Get inside and lock up the building. No one goes in and no one goes out.” Taeyong slurred, feeling himself fall in and out of consciousness. There was no way he would be able to make it to the hospital in time, and never mind being arrested once he arrives.

“but what about you? We can’t just leave you here!”

“Jaemin, there is no time! It’s fine, I know where to go now, get back to the zone and lock up!” At this point, most members forget how aggressive and demanding the soft hearted Taemin could be.

He had already lifted Taeyong. An arm around his waist, keeping Taeyong close to him. He could only think of one place to take him.

“I’ll see you soon.”

“But-“

“Now Jaemin! Go!” Jaemin knew that there wasn’t time to fight with Taemin. He smacked Mark’s arm and Mark sped off.

Taemin gave a small nod before he pulled his attention back to Taeyong, whose eyes were closed as his skin was already turning pale. “Hey no! Open your eyes!” He demanded, worried that if the younger's eyes closed, they would never open again.

Taeyong could barely open his eyes, as he mumbled, “Taemin, I’m dying. You gotta get ou-“

“No! No Taeyong! I’m not leaving you! And you’re not leaving me! You promised me!” The guilt washed over Taeyong. He did promise. Both promised to stick by each other's side through thick and thin.

Taeyong had a family, and that was too much to lose. “Fine.”

After minutes of staggering around the alleyways of Seoul, Taemin turned the corner of run-down apartment buildings. At this point, the older member was practically dragging the younger. He struggled to contain his tears through the hallway, mumbling incoherent words through his quiet sobs.

Taemin finally made it to the last door, and desperately knocked on it. Over and over again. After a brief moment of silence, the door finally opened.

“Help.” 

Notes : Welcome to my creative little mind!! I've had this story under my belt for a few years now, and I really wanted to post this because of my dear bestie @hyuuukais! I hope you guys enjoy the story, I've worked really hard on it and spent a bunch of time on it! It's my baby!! The inspiration for this was literally a collection of nct music videos and I went "oh! I wanna write a mafia story!" and well here we are! It's gonna be a long one, so jump in for the ride! If you wanna be in a taglist for this story, don't be afraid to reply and ask (18+)!

[chinainstituteylc2024]

YLC 2024 Day 8,Monday, July 22

It is our big working day for the Youth Forum. All 37 students participated with their well-prepared presentations for 4 roundtable discussions: Tech+Future; Our Place, Our Home; People and Culturd; Action! Over 20 Chinese students and 8 students from Chicago also joined the forum for a morning of engaging discussions. Nothing is more meaningful than get the young people of both U.S. and China together and share their thoughts, concerns and understanding of each other face to face.

The students really made us proud!

Photo credit: CEAIE Text credit: Shenzhan Liao, China Institute in America

…Thinking back to the past few weeks, I would have never imagined that I would be standing up here in this hotel, with many friends around. But I’ve done so much. I’ve climbed the Great Wall even though I felt like quitting multiple times on my way up. It was from the support of my friends like Jayden and Rebecca who were alongside me that I was able to keep pushing myself to climb those steep stairs and brave through the large crowds of bugs. Moving on to Chengdu, I saw more the just the pandas. I also tasted the delicious Sichuan cuisine with my host family, Tommy here, showed me. Being here in China, I have only further realized the importance of cultural communication and connection, and the need for us all to work together to create a better future for all. It was wonderful hearing everyone’s performance today and the ideas to improve the world during the Youth Forum and I hope that we can make lasting change.

Photo credit: CEAIE

Text credit: Matthew Zhang, Brooklyn Technical High School

Hello I am Yifan, and I am writing to you from Chengdu, Kuan Zhai Xiang. As we walk down this small, but busy alley, we notice an array of snacks and foods in all shapes and sizes, colors and smells. One such odd shaped foods is 波斯糖or Persian sugar. They look like strands of tread, having been hand pulled carefully by skilled craftsman. Then the now fine sugar are wrapped in rolls and filled with sesame powder and other raw materials. Originally, 波斯糖 was founded in the Qing Dynasty, after Emperor Qian Long traveled down to Tianfu, Chengdu, and tasted the delicate candy that melts instantly in your mouth. He adored it so much that he made them tribute them presented to the imperial court. Ever since then, 波斯糖became a royal delicacy.

The shop really caught my attention, the giant pot of sesame powder and the sugar craftsman work tirelessly, pulling the sugar into fine treads. Each individual action of pulling and stretching the candy bringing the first clunky, hot sugar into the thin, dainty 波斯糖.

Text and photo credit：Yifan Zhang，High School for Environmental Studies

There are many features of a culture that connects people around the world; for example, the musical and artistic performances we experienced today. The performance included the usage of traditional Chinese dances, makeup style, and clothing. After the memorable performance, we all shown appreciation to the performer by applauding and taking pictures. It was an amazing day and I hope I may experience this again!

Text and photo credit：Calvin Zhou，Brooklyn Technical High School

[missharu-seven]

The love that Sang Yan had for Wen Yifan never

died, although there was time when he thought

that if Yifan didn't want him, he better granted

what she wanted. He tried. But he couldn't. Their threads of red strings kept coming in tangled.

And Wen Yifan, too. Despite her nonchalantly

self, the memories of her life with Sang Yan

always lingered. As if he was the only warmth

she could ever embrace.

For all those times, the ember of love inside them

never died. It had only ever been dimmed. It was

only waiting for one of them to ignite it once

more; afraid that if she passed it, she would regret it once more. Thus, Wen Yifan did it.

Through all the years they had been separated.

the hearts know their homes.

"After all these years, i still only like you."

[the-monkey-ruler]

Only You (2015) 囧西游

Director: Aoyama Jushi Screenwriter: Zhu Xuan Starring: Li Yilin / Dai Wenwen / Li Chuan / Li Dawei / An Jie / Yifan / Zhang Taiwei / Yao Zhiqi / Gu Feng / Guo Yunqi / Zhang Yuxuan / Zheng Kaiyu / Zheng Xiaofu / Yuan Yuan / Xu Jiyuan Genre: Comedy / Costume Country/Region of Production: Mainland China Language: Mandarin Chinese Date: 2015-02-17 (Mainland China) Number of episodes: 10 Single episode length: 8 minutes Type: Reimanging

Summary:

The story of "Embarrassing Journey to the West" focuses on the little goblin "Zhazha" mobilizing all the major demon kings to defeat Tang Monk. In each episode, Zhazha always works under a different demon king. After learning that Tang Seng and his party are about to pass by, he encourages his king to go up to catch Tang Seng and fight Wukong. This is by no means his conspiracy, but his true inner thoughts. He naively believed that as a goblin, he should eat Tang Monk and capture Sun Wukong. Being a goblin has no dreams. What is the difference between being a goblin and a salted fish? Youth is bleeding!

Source: https://tv-1.chinesemov.com/tv/2015/Only-You

Link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF7yYLgF6b0OoOEM32hw0URkRAVIcWzYD