#Du Fu is also very busy

[hunxi-guilai]

can you please tell us more about du fu being a loser? I would love to hear more about this :)

(blink and you’ll miss it from this post)

Seemed like a good time go finally get around to these asks (especially @anon – I’m so sorry, I’ve been sitting on this for like, a month) since I finally wrote that long-ass post about poetry in CQL.

Okay, confession time, here’s what I got: I’ve been slandering Du Fu’s good name. He’s not really a loser. But when you read his poetry and only his poetry for a solid semester, track his life through the vast historical upheaval in the Tang Dynasty, you start to feel like you’re too familiar with him as a person and can no longer respect him for the Towering Literary Figure that he is.

Okay but who is Du Fu?

I keep making references in various posts to 李杜白 LiDuBai, the poetic triumvirate of 李白 Li Bai, 杜甫 Du Fu, and 白居易 Bai Juyi, who are certainly the three most famous poets of the Tang Dynasty if not also the best. Li Bai and Du Fu usually trade the position of ‘best poet in Chinese history,’ depending on the personal tastes of whoever you ask.

Of the trio, 杜甫 Du Fu, courtesy name 杜子美 Du Zimei is the one known alternately as the 诗圣 shisheng / the poet-sage for the strong moral valences in his poems, and the 诗史 shishi / the poet-historian for his exhaustive (and I do mean, exhaustive – we have close to 1,500 of his poems extant, which is wild considering that he lived during the 8th century CE. How many texts from Europe can you think of from 700?? Had history even been invented then???). Like 99% of the literati in imperial China, he sought employment in the imperial bureaucracy, and had even landed himself a decent starting place for his career when the An Lushan Rebellion burst onto the scene and ruined everyone’s lives (and also the Tang Dynasty, which was never the same afterwards). The civil and social unrest for the following years disrupted everything – his future aspirations, his income – and his poetry (which he was already pretty dedicated to before) became his sole outlet for expressing his frustrations and worries.

The thing to know about Du Fu is that the man writes like it’s a reflex, like it’s the exhale to every inhale he takes (insert obligatory Hamilton shout-out here); he writes poems about his journeys, his escapes, his exiles; about his family, his longing for them, his homecoming to them; about hawks, paintings, paintings of hawks; about trees, withered cypresses, towering nanmus, and their metaphors for the stability of the state; about boats, his garden, the broken thatched roof of his cottage; about scenery, natural landscapes, terraces; about a bowl of cold noodles, his adorable, senpai-notice-me admiration for Li Bai (the two were contemporaries and had met, but Li Bai wrote Du Fu maybe one poem whereas Du Fu wrote him like, a dozen), about distant friends… the man wrote so much that our biographies of him are based primarily on his poetry (and, unlike Qu Yuan, we actually think said biographies are decently reliable). He wrote poetry like diary entries, as if he had been told that his life’s work would be the only surviving historical record of the entire Tang Dynasty (it’s not, but you can write a pretty decent account of what was going on at the time just by close-reading his poetry).

Du Fu is an undisputed master of the regulated-verse form, in which each line must contain the same number of characters (along with all sorts of other rules about the tonality of characters in certain positions and parallelism – it honestly gives me a headache, and I survived the Chuci). Li Bai may get a fun little chengyu about his diligence (铁杵磨针 tiechumozhen, lit. “grinding a metal bar into a needle” –story goes that young Li Bai was rambunctious and playful and didn’t want to study hard, but he ran into an old lady sitting in her yard who was dutifully grinding a metal bar with the purpose of eventually grinding it down to a fine needle, and was so impressed by that dedication that he immediately ran back home to study), but Du Fu was the one who really knuckled down and put hours into the grind. Regulated verse is hard to do well – you get poets contorting their language in all sorts of awkward ways to adhere to the rigidity of the form, but Du Fu writes it like – well, like breathing, like thought, because he lives and breathes his thoughts in poetry.

Okay, so, why is he a loser?

Because he loses – one of his infant sons, his dreams, his future; his opportunities, his naivety, his dreams. He’s harried on all sides by corruption, famine, and war; he struggles to reconcile the ordered world promised to him in the classics he grew up memorizing with the chaos and struggle that surrounds him now. His life is a long, unending string of failures, but his beliefs and his personality compel him to keep on trying.

He never stops writing poems.

I call Du Fu a loser with great fondness because he feels so uncomfortably real: here is a man of not inconsiderable talent (though how can you know this, in your own life? Du Fu’s celebrity today is 100% posthumous), who tries and tries and tries to succeed in the ways that society has told him to, but it just never works out; he tries to leverage the privilege of his literacy to give voice to the downtrodden common folk, but is shouted down and ignored; he hopes so bitterly and painfully, first for grand things like the trust of the emperor and widespread fame, and then for smaller and smaller things as the world breaks him down: a worthwhile job, to make it home, a roof that doesn’t leak, enough money to get him through the next month, for others to listen to him, to recognize him, to know him – and so very few do. He tries to rationalize this to himself, to embrace the aspects of Daoism that would let him cut loose from the world a bit more and not to hold these failures too closely to his heart, but in the end, can’t quite let go of that Confucian/Ruist compulsion to do something, to be of service.

I call Du Fu a loser because he is a loser – seriously, who writes so much poetry? Get a life my dude – but also because I’m even more of a loser. I’m not even a minor civil servant in vast and sprawling imperial bureaucracy – I’m less than a year out of college without a real job to my name – so for me to read Du Fu, this poet-historian, this colossus of the Chinese literary tradition, this absolute loser of a man who writes odes to his noodles and gets emotional about trees…

…yeah, it gets me on a level that I’m not quite ready to unpack, so for now, I’ll just fondly call him a loser on the internet.

[cnovel-readalong]

TGCF Character List: Non-Spoiler Edition

The Mains

Xie Lian:: The Crown Prince of Xian Le. A thrice ascended (twice banished) god who now wears the mantle of the God of Misfortune and God of Scrap-Collecting. Other Heavenly Officials look down on him.

Ruoye:: Xie Lian’s spiritual device. It has the appearance of a bandage that is wrapped around his arm, but he can command it and use it as a weapon or tool. Ruoye is shown to have emotions and attitudes.

San Lang:: A young man Xie Lian meets on the road. San Lang is highly intelligent and talented at all things. He knows a bit of everything and has a very cynical view of the world.

Hua Cheng:: A Devastation-level (high ranking) demonic Ghost King also known as the Crimson Rain-Sought Flower or Scourge of Heaven. He is the most powerful and dangerous of the group known as the Four Great Calamities.

E-Ming:: Hua Cheng’s blade. A long, curved silver scimitar with a decorative pommel that contains a glowing red eye. E-Ming has a psychic connection to Hua Cheng, and he can sense its moods and emotions.

The Heavenly Host

Mu Qing // Xuan Zhen:: The Southwest Martial God. A former servant of Xie Lian’s in their mortal life who earned the rank of a full god after Xie Lian’s second banishment. Has a volatile relationship with Feng Xin // Nan Yang.

Fu Yao:: A junior disciple under Mu Qing // Xuan Zhen. Despite his master’s hatred of Xie Lian, Fu Yao occasionally sneaks off to help Xie Lian on his adventures.

Feng Xin // Nan Yang:: The Southeast Martial God. Xie Lian’s former bodyguard, he was also brought to the heavens by Xie Lian initially and earned the rank of a full god after Xie Lian’s banishment. Has a volatile relationship with Mu Qing // Xuan Zhen.

Nan Feng:: A junior disciple of the god Feng Xin // Nan Yang. Despite his master’s hatred of Xie Lian, Nan Feng occasionally sneaks off to help Xie Lian on his adventures.

Ling Wen:: A literary goddess and friend of Xie Lian. Only Ling Wen greets Xie Lian upon his third ascension, and she often helps him research things. Ling Wen is the linchpin of most Heavenly business. Known as one of the Divine Tumors.

Shi Qing Xuan // The Wind Master:: One of the Five Elemental Lords, Qing Xuan often takes the form of a woman. With their stunning looks (in any gender) and eager personality, they make fast friends wherever they go.

Shi Wu Du // The Water Master:: Dubbed “Tyrannical Waters” by San Lang due to the practice of demanding tribue from those who sail upon the seas and oceans. Elder brother to Shi Qing Xuan // The Water Master. Known as one of the Divine Tumors.

Ming Yi // The Earth Master:: A frequent companion of Shi Qing Xuan // The Water Master. Not much is known about the Earth Master because he likes to keep a low profile.

General Pei Ming // Ming Guang:: Northern Martial God. Pei Ming is a legendary womanizer. He makes sure his statues look handsome and has frequent dalliances with worshippers. Known as one of the Divine Tumors. 

General Pei Su:: A junior official in General Pei Ming’s household. He acts as an underling and errand boy of Ming Guang.

Quan Yi Zhen // Qi Ying:: Martial God of the West. A young god who has no cares for his position. He ignores Heavenly summons, frequently beats up his worshippers, and does nothing but eat and sleep. Despite this, his popularity and power keep growing.

Lang Qian Qiu // Tai Hua:: The Martial God of the East, born the Crown Prince of Yong An- the kingdom that grew upon the ashes of Xie Lian’s own. He enjoys throwing himself headfirst at any situation he thinks makes him look heroic.

Jun Wu:: The Heavenly Emperor. Despite banishing Xie Lian from heaven twice before, he has a certain fondness for the god and often sends him on special missions in the mortal realm and helps him build his reputation among the other gods.

Ghosts and Demons

Night-Touring Green Lantern Qi Rong:: Though only a Wraith-level demon he is counted among the Four Great Calamities. He mainly creates disgusting and cheap imitations of the other Great Calamities biggest achievements. Has a particular hatred for Xie Lian.

White No-Face Bai Wu Xiang:: The eldest of the Four Great Calamities and first to reach Devastation-rank. He is the one who destroys Xie Lian’s kingdom before vanishing himself.

Black Water Demon He Xuan:: One of the Four Great Galamities. He keeps to himself. Though Hua Cheng is the Demon King of the Land, He Xuan is the Demon King of the Seas. The two mainly keep to themselves and avoid one another’s turf.

Lang Ying:: A peaceful ghost spirit of a young boy infected with the Human Face Disease- the very plague that destroyed Xie Lian’s kingdom. Lang Ying was traumatized and lives with Xie Lian in Puqi Shrine as a form of therapy.

Ban Yue:: The former High Priestess of the Ban Yue peoples. Though the Ban Yue kingdom died out long ago, an ancient grudge between Ban Yue and her general Ke Mo turned them both into active ghosts.

Ke Mo:: Former general of the Ban Yue kingdom, Ke Mo was a father figure to the young priestess Ban Yue before she betrayed the kingdom to slaughter. His grudge against her turned them both into active ghosts.

Lan Chang // Jian Lan:: A prostitue in the Ghost City. Known for wearing layers of makeup so thick that it literally flakes and chips off her face as she speaks. Lan Chang finds herself in the center of a Heavenly fight.

Cuo Cuo:: A demonic fetus spirit who devours the body and soul of babies still in their mother’s womb. Before Cuo Cuo was violently cut from its mother’s womb and murdered it was likely the child of an unknown Heavenly Official.

Humans of Note

Gu Zi:: A child who comes to live in Puqi Shrine, the main residence of Xie Lian, after his father is possessed by a demon. Gu Zi is too young to understand possession, and so he follows the demon as if it were his real father.

[pixiebuggiewrites]

A spilled coffee and a chance encounter

Valentines drabble exchange piece for @zorua-adorable you put that you liked soulmate au, meet-cutes, and coffee shop au’s so i kinda did a sort of hybrid of the 3 hope you like it!!

Big thanks to @eat0crow for setting this whole thing up!!

Wordcount:1103

Marinette was running on 2 hours of sleep. Again.

She had a busy schedule okay? Balancing ESMOD classes, commission work, and searching for Lila Rossi aka Hawkmoth 2.0 took up a lot of time. So sometimes she just had to make up the sleep deficit with caffeine.

Ah yes, whether she was knee deep in fabric or dealing with an akuma at 2 am, coffee was always there to help her through. And after pulling such a late night finishing assignments, she needed some desperately.

Too bad her roommate hid all of her coffee. 

Adrien had claimed that it was "for her own good" and that he was "saving her from an early grave" like the both of them weren't basically demigods after so many years of miraculous exposure. Well, she had been wanting to try the small café she always passed by anyways. This just the perfect opportunity.

Doesn't mean she's not getting back at Adrien though.

                                                          ----------

Marinette stepped into the café and took a deep inhale at the pleasant aromas of coffee beans and fresh pastries.

Despite the small shops location and the time of day, coupe du destin was fairly uncrowded. There was a very inviting aura about the place, reminding her of the many days spent at Fu's old tea shop as a teen. While someone had been leaving as she entered, besides that there was only one other customer in the café.

She was thankful that she wouldn't have to deal with the usual morning rush line, especially since there only seemed to be one person working. It was a girl who seemed to be a couple years younger than Marinette with a smile that put the sun to shame, and she was saying that as someone who knew Adrien Agreste.

The young lady at the counter, Felicity according to her name tag, smiled at her. 

"Welcome to coupe du destin! What can I get for you today?" She greeted with enthusiasm

After ordering herself a caffe mocha, Marinette watched as the lively barista flew between machines and equipment creating her beverage, she honestly wasn't sure if the girl knew what she was doing, maybe it was her first day? Eventually the barista came back over to the counter with the finished drink.

Of course though that's when things got just a touch odd

After paying for her drink, the barista looked to be analyzing her. Though It was almost as if she was looking through her, straight into Marinette's soul.

Now if she were anyone else, she probably would have been more creeped out by something like that. But she was Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Guardian of the Miraculi and heroine of Paris. Honestly this didn't even make top three for weird things she's seen this week. It also helped that the girls analytic gaze reminded her of Luka. She still wasn't sure whether or not he was a meta of some sort or if he just like that, but this barista had the same look in her eyes as when Luka would figure out somebody's heartsong.

She could only hope that the girl wasn't about to pull a guitar out from under the counter.

After the peculiar girl had been studying her for a minute she stopped and broke into another wide grin with a newfound gleam in her eye.

Thankfully the barista did not at this point pull out a guitar, instead having grabbed a red pen from a mason jar next to the register and quickly drawing something on something on the cup before handing it to Marinette.

The drawing was of a robin.

After paying, Marinette finally got to try her coffee. Marinette took a sip and... it was the best coffee she had ever had. She was definitely making this her go-to café from now on. And if Adrien kept hiding her home supply, she would likely soon be a regular.

She wouldn't get to finish her heavenly coffee though, apparently being a superhero for nearly a decade had not made her any less accident-prone. As she turned around to leave the shop, she walked right into a man who was getting up from his seat and spilled her coffee all over both of them.

Only one other customer in the café, and she somehow managed to run right into the guy. So much for having the goddess of luck in her purse.

She finally got a good look at the guy. He was about her age, maybe a year or two older, but that could just be how tired he looked, somehow he seemed even more exhausted than her which was quite the feat. Other than looking like he was gonna pass out any minute, he was quite attractive. Like her, he had black hair and blue eyes, Though his eyes were more of a gunmetal than her shade of bluebell. Average height, and very well built. And his suit…

Oh sweet Tikki she was so dead. That suit was designer, it can't have cost less than somewhere in the quadruple digits. And she spilled coffee all over it. She was so screwed.

This guy was probably loaded and she ruined his suit and now he's gonna ruin her. He was gonna sue her for all she's worth and she'll have to fake her death and go live all alone in Tibet and her only company will be Tikki and a hamster named-

"Are you okay?" The man before her asked, with a concerned look that managed to break her out of her catastrophizing. While her spirals had gotten better as she got older (and a therapist), evidently the lack of sleep was bringing them out in full force today.

"I'm so sorry! I should have been paying better attention to where I was going." Her mouth finally caught up with her brain as she began apologizing.

The man began to reassure her "Don't worry about it, it was just as much my fault. I am sorry about your coffee though, could I buy you a new one?"

Oh yeah her coffee, about half the cup was lost in the collision. "Oh no it's fine, if anything I should be offering to pay for your dry cleaning considering I totally ruined your suit."

"Really it's fine, plus I'm getting myself another anyways."

Well if a cute guy was gonna offer her free coffee who was she to refuse?

"You know in that case I might just take you up on that offer…"

"Tim."

"Nice to meet you Tim, my name's Marinette."

Neither of them noticed the ladybug drawn on Tim's empty cup.

[lonelyloneliness]

[ID: 4 extracts of the Tian Guan Ci Fu novel.

First extract:  Ling Wen Zhenjun stood tall, with her hands folded behind her back. « Congratulations, you have won first place on the chart of ‘Heavenly Official Most Hoped to be Banished Down to the Mortal Realm’ of this term. » End of the first extract.

Second extract: He looked for a good while, then asked, « Did you perhaps point in the wrong direction? There’s no bell anywhere? »

« I didn’t, » Ling Wen said. « It’s right there, don’t you see it? »

Xie Lian looked again seriously, then answered honestly, « I don’t. »

Ling Wen replied, « It’s right if you don’t. There used to be a bell there, but when you ascended, it fell off because of the quakes. » End of the second extract.

Third extract: Ling Wen crossed her arms and shook her head. « Your Highness, someone like you, sometimes you’re smart, but sometimes you’re also not very smart; sometimes you’re soft-hearted, but sometimes you’re cold hearted, too. » End of the third extract.

Fourth extract: « No. There’s nothing wrong with him, » Ling Wen said. « It’s just, there seems to be a weird smell coming from the kitchen. Is Your Highness cooking something? »

Xie Lian quickly replied, « Oh, I am. I’m cooking. »

After some thought, Ling Wen used a courteous tone to say very discourteously, « Please clean it away, Your Highness. Whatever you’re cooking, it’s probably ruined by now. » End of the fourth extract.

End ID.]

So I wanted to talk about how Ling Wen loves to bully Xie Lian, but then I remembered this:

[ID: an extract of the Tian Guan Ci Fu novel, it reads:

After a pause, she said, « Maybe it’s just my bad luck that this mission was given to you. Although there’s only the two of us here in Ling Wen Hall today, and we’ve got centuries of friendship between us... I think if I pleaded for you to keep your eyes closed on this based on our years of friendship you probably wouldn’t agree to it. You would instead encourage me to turn myself in to the Great Martial Hall, am I right? »

Xie Lian sighed, too. Although he and Ling Wen had known each other for centuries, it had always been pure business, and they had never become closer.

End ID.]

Where she says that she and XL share centuries of friendship. At first it seemed like she was just desperately trying to find ways to get XL to let her go. But after thinking about it some more, I think that she genuinely saw him as her friend.

Think about it, Ling Wen only cares about work and she treats everyone with cold respect and indifference. But there are people (3 at least) that she likes to bully. For example :

[ID: an extract of the Tian Guan CI Fu novel, it reads:

Unexpectedly, Lan Chang suddenly spoke up, « It’s not him. »

Xie Lian was taken aback and turned to her.

Lan Chang repeated, « It’s not him. »

Ling Wen commented coolly, « What, so it’s not? »

Shi Wudu also politely commented, « So it actually isn’t? »

End ID.]

Who are those people? Pei Ming, Shi Wu Du and .... Xie Lian. Those are the only one that Ling Wen doesn’t bother to be nice to. (However, it’s true that XL and LW are far from being close and that the sentiment was not mutual, but I feel like LW genuinely saw Xl as a person she wouldn’t mind befriending and was comfortable enough to talk to him without putting on a front)

In conclusion, I think that part of Ling Wen wanted to be friend with Xie Lian, but Xie Lian was too busy playing house with a demon to notice.

[minmotl]

Chapter 44: Sui Zhou,“If You are Willing, This Will Be Your Home From Now On.”

Context: A continuation of Chapter 43.

Introduction Post | Masterpost

—

Highlights under the cut

Tang Fan’s bout of illness lasts for half a month.

Due to this, Sui Zhou is also able to see Tang Fan’s relationship with others.

He is not even referring to the scholars who passed the exam the year that Tang Fan did, amongst them, a majority has already been released and then the handful that made up the creme of the crop of the cohort and now still remain in the Imperial Academy to build up their experience — To be able to stay in such a department to train themselves is an honour, and not every single person is like Tang Fan, who was ‘silly’ enough to be transferred out of the academy.

Just in these two weeks, four to five of Tang Fan’s cohort mates have already come to visit him, one after the other, and this includes that year’s top scholars Xie Qian and others.

This number is considered rather significant. After all, Tang Fan is not someone who is charming enough to have charmed the pants off of everyone he meets, earning their love and affection immediately. Moreover, officials in Jing city are both simple and poor, and for those who aren’t very familiar with Tang Fan, they still have to turn up with gifts should they visit in person, and so if they cannot afford to buy a gift, they naturally decide not to turn up at all. Instead, they have sent notes asking after him and Tang Fan received their well wishes and thoughts gratefully.

For Shun Tian Prefecture that Tang Fan works in, both Wei Yu and Du Jiang also visited him for a short while, sitting down and also bringing Yin-daren, Lao Wang and more with them to greet Tang Fan. From the Northern Administrative Court, Xue Bing who is familiar with Tang Fan also turned up, bringing with him Pang Qi.

Of course, these two individuals most probably considered the good relationship between Tang Fan and Sui Zhou, and being nice to their boss’ good friend means they can score some points with him, so this connection is understandable as well.

Lao Xue is a rather humorous person and chatters a lot, a far cry from his direct supervisor. He sat in Tang Fan’s room for half a day and the laughter in Tang Fan’s house did not stop for even a moment. The only thing was that Tang-daren’s voice has gone because of his illness, so he ended up coughing as he laughed, and ended up sounding just like a duck quacking. This was honestly ruining his image. Moreover, Sui Zhou was staring at them coldly from the side, as if Xue Bing and Pang Qi were a hindrance to Tang Fan’s recovery, and finally, Xue Bing was unable to sit tight anymore, running off with Pang Qi after dumping his gift at Tang Fan.

And of course, they cannot leave out the Western Depot’s Eunuch Wang.

Wang-gonggong has probably been busy arguing with other officials in court over the war in the North, and he still has to follow up on the East Palace case’s investigation, finding out who is the mastermind who collaborated with Fu Jia. He truly cannot get away, but that does not stop him from frequently sending his own men over.

If Tang Fan was now a Shang Shu from the Six Departments or an elder of the Inner Court, or perhaps has the Emperor’s favour currently, it is not such a strange thing for him to have a continuous stream of visitors, but the problem is that he’s simply a Sixth Rank prefectural judge, so everyone who visits him is trying to maintain a good relationship or touch base with him, to do what a friend would do, and not because they want to gain something from him.

From this, it is easy to see that Tang Fan has good relationships with others.

The men from the Western Depot who are visiting Tang Fan on behalf of Wang Zhi also turn up with gifts every time without fail, but from Sui Zhou’s extremely cold expression, Tang Fan feels as if Eunuch Wang is doing this to purposely rile Sui Zhou up. But no matter how much he thinks about it, it doesn’t seem as if the both of them are harbouring any old grudges towards each other, unless it’s due to some enmity between the Western Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guards?

Tang Fan takes notes of this and once he has the opportunity, he says to Sui Zhou, “How about when I’ve recovered, I’ll find a house and move out?”

Sui Zhou is clearly not expecting this, and he frowns, “Why?”

“Although we’re both good friends and you’ve also let me and Ah Dong stay free of charge, at the end of the day, it’s still your house and my friends and acquaintances constantly coming and going, it’s not very good and I’ve bothered you and your rest…” Tang Fan says.

“I’m not bothered,” Sui Zhou returns.

Tang Fan is about to continue but Sui Zhou stops him by asking a totally unrelated question, “To you, is Wang Zhi a friend or an acquaintance?”

Tang Fan pauses, stunned, “He’s probably neither?”

At that, Sui Zhou is surprised, “Why is that so?”

Tang Fan laughs, “As friends, we must be honest with each other, take care of one another without reserve and help each other out. Between Wang Zhi and I, if I say we are friends, then there is the lack of some warmth. Look at me, I’m now staying here and I’ve almost taken over your entire house, and if you ask me to try that at Wang Zhi’s house? I definitely will not go.”

It’s nothing novel for major officials and eunuchs to interact, but they have to be aware of the possible effects. If it’s with someone like Huai En, that’s one thing, but with Wang Zhi who’s morally ambivalent, it is easy for him to influence the reputation of the person he’s interacting with. When one’s reputation is ruined, his future career as an official is ruined as well. It is because Sui Zhou saw them both in such an intimate manner previously that he is asking this question now.

Seeing that Tang Fan is showing so much clarity in his thoughts and is well aware of the intricacies of this issue, Sui Zhou nods in satisfaction, “Then do not mention moving out again, not even in the future.”

Tang Fan hesitates, “But…”

“If you are willing, this will be your home from now on.”

Tang Fan wavers a little.

Sui Zhou pats at his shoulder, “Although you and I have not known each other for long, the depth of friendship is not something that can be measured by time. It is because we understand each other that we are friends. You are supposed to accomplish great things in life, so you should not care about these little details. Even if you moved out, who knows if you will be troubled by rent or some other issues in the future, so you might as well stay here without any worries. Within the next few years, I will not be marrying, so you don’t have to concern yourself with this. Moreover, considering my position, no one will dare to intrude, so if you’re staying here, I will feel more at ease as well.”

Sui-baihu is actually not one bit terrible with words, he is just not willing to speak in excess on a usual day, but once he really speaks, the effect is a hundred times stronger than people with the most glib of tongues.

Indeed, Tang-daren is so touched that he’s totally out of it, and for someone as articulate as he, Tang Fan finds himself entirely speechless.

Taking opportunity of this, Sui Zhou hands him the medicine in his hands. Tang-daren is still filled with a spirit of heroism, of brotherhood, and takes the bowl without another thought, raising his head as he swallows the medicine down as if it is water.

His expression becomes twisted as a result.

What the hell is this… Sui Guang Chuang you’re taking advantage of someone’s moment of crisis!

Seeing his expression of complaint, a tinge of humour appears in Sui Zhou’s eyes. He picks up the bowl and then feeds Tang Fan an osmanthus candy, as if he’s soothing a small, little animal.

Tang-daren huffs and turns his head away, rejecting the offering.

Sui Zhou does not mind and directly lifts his hand, sending the candy into his own mouth.

Tang Fan, “…”

===

Notes:

*六部尚书 liu bu shang shu

尚书 (shang shu) is an official rank and title, but I’ve not been able to find what exactly the ranking is, but we can assume it’s pretty high up in the hierarchy. 六部 (liu bu) is translated as the Six Departments and refers to:

1. Ministry of Officials 2. Ministry of Households 3. Ministry of Rites 4. Ministry of War/Military 5. Ministry of Criminal Affairs 6. Ministry of Manpower/Industry

[2manyfandoms2count]

Dear Chat Noir

Sigh... I really wanted this to be a one-shot. Desperately so. And then I wanted the premise to fit into one chapter. I really did. And then for both premise chapters to be ready before @auyeahaugust was over. Oh well.

Here’s chapter 1 of Dear Chat Noir, my ML Penpal AU (day 25 of AU Yeah August). Chapter 2 should be up soon!

Read on AO3

---

Chapter 1: Of mysterious findings

If you asked Adrien Agreste to describe himself, he would have said he was a somewhat normal child. Should you ask anyone else, their answers would range from “who?” to “a child prodigy”. 

Adrien lived a secluded life in his family’s mansion, away from any distractions, as his father called anything that wasn’t piano practise or fencing training. Every school was considered a waste of time for his son’s intelligence, leading to private tutors to be taken on to satisfy Gabriel Agreste’s education standards. Adrien’s experience of the outside world was limited to being driven to these activities, if they couldn’t take place within the four walls that surrounded the Agreste Hôtel Particulier, and a weekly Sunday evening walk at the Jardin du Luxembourg with his bodyguard. The latter was the only tradition he’d managed to maintain after his mother’s passing. It wasn’t the same without her, but he did enjoy the fresh air. 

He’d also had a brief time in the spotlight as a model for his father’s fashion brand, but Gabriel Agreste had not looked on his son’s increased freedom and contacts with people his age with a favourable eye, and had restricted any unnecessary interactions.

Adrien was therefore left alone with his thoughts most of the time. Part of him wished he could go out more and meet other children, but he knew from his father he was very lucky to be living the life he was. And it was true he couldn’t really complain: he lived in a palace, by Parisian standards, was well fed, well dressed, and was receiving the best education he could ever hope for. Some people had it a lot worse than he did.

Still, he found himself dreaming that one day, maybe, he’d have a little more freedom. With no one to talk about it with, his father’s assistants all siding with the man who held the money if he tried to confide in them, Adrien had taken the habit of putting his thoughts to paper. It had been sporadic at first, but had soon evolved into a daily exercise. He sat in his bed at night, his gigantic room only lit by a little flashlight, and poured out his emotions.

Dear Plagg, the boy wrote that night. He had started addressing his letters to a fictional friend to make himself feel better. Once upon a time, he had tried journaling, but had soon discovered his inner thoughts were not as safe as he’d thought they’d be in the little notebook he kept in one of his fencing trophies; he’d noticed pages had been torn from flicking through them too fast, some had been cornered to mark certain parts, clearly indicating he wasn’t the book’s only reader. He’d therefore moved on to writing his entries on loose paper, which he hid in a little tin box next to a fountain in the Jardin du Luxembourg. He’d soon taken to the game of writing the letters, even enclosing them in envelopes. Between two visits to the park, he would stash them in various locations in his room, making sure the seals stayed intact.

Adrien tried to vary the contents of his letters, even though no one would read them, and nothing particularly exciting happened to him on a day to day basis. He found it kept him focused on the small joys of his life, like when the cook smuggled him an extra croissant, a fragrant flower bloomed in the garden, or he spotted a ladybug on the window while studying. 

He signed the letter the usual way: Until next time, Chat Noir. He read through the letter again, satisfied with the result. Journaling really did wonders to improve his mood. Even if the negative feelings did remain somewhat, it felt good to “share” a little, even though his letters had yet to be found by anyone, or anything. The letter would join the others the next Sunday, and he wouldn’t think twice about it. 

Or so he thought.

--- 

“Tikki!” Marinette Dupain-Cheng chased after the turbulent dog, whose leash had once again escaped her hands while she admired one the Luxembourg statues. She wasn’t very good with dogs, but when her old neighbour Mr Fu had fallen ill, she’d bravely accepted to walk Tikki until he felt better. She’d figured it wouldn’t be very hard, given how calm the dog was. 

Apparently Mr Fu was an animal whisperer, though, because the dog had been nothing but excited since she’d taken custody of her. It was cute, but Marinette was also tired of running around, Tikki being particularly good at losing her in the park’s alleys. 

The young girl sighed as she saw the leash drag around a corner, and slowed her pace. She knew the Jardin du Luxembourg quite well thanks to its central location in Paris, making it a prime spot to meet up with friends. Tikki had just dashed into a dead end; the worst that could happen was her jumping into the Medicis Fountain, but she hoped the barriers that surrounded it would prevent that. 

Turning into the alley, Marinette saw her prayers had seemingly been answered, as Tikki was busy sniffing at something under a stone bench. The Parisian walked up to her, marvelling at the fountain as she did so. The leafy trees surrounding it provided a nice dappled lighting and welcome shade on the hot summer Saturday. The babbling of the water and its gentle sprays only accentuated the cool atmosphere. 

Marinette sat on the bench, picked up Tikki’s leash and gently tried to pull her out from under her seat, but encountered a great resistance.

“What have you found there, girl?” Marinette asked, slightly concerned by the dog’s pining. She leaned over and tried to determine what had caught Tikki’s attention, hoping it would be a lost ball. She had seen rats scuttle around the park a couple of times, and had no interest in coming face to face with one, whether alive or dead.

She looked down and saw Tikki was pawing at a tin biscuit box, pushed deep under the bench, almost in the little hedge that stood behind it. Marinette smiled and shook her head, reading the inscription from afar: Macarons. That dog really did only think with her stomach.

“You know you’re not supposed to eat those, they’re not for you.” Marinette scratched the dog’s neck. Seeing that it didn’t divert her attention, she sighed and kneeled down next to the bench, reaching for the box herself. “You know, I’m sure you’re going to be disappointed, I don’t know if you’re aware but most tin boxes these days don’t actually contain food.” She explained, although she wasn’t sure her audience was very receptive to her words. 

Marinette pulled out the box, which was a lot lighter than she’d expected. She shook it gently next to Tikki’s ear to prove it did not contain treats, and was surprised to hear a soft ruffle, like paper. She sat on the bench again and laid the box on her lap. Her hands hovered over it, hesitant to open it. 

She looked around suspiciously, watching out for anyone trying to pull a prank on her, or just its innocent owner, but the area was empty. 

I really shouldn’t open it, she thought to herself. The box looked quite clean for something that was hidden. It was probably used often, or had been dropped off recently. Had it been hers, she probably wouldn’t have liked to know someone had gone through it. Tikki licked the box gently, which Marinette interpreted as “no one has to know”.

“Okay, fine, I’m doing it for you. It’ll be our secret.” She nodded gravely at the dog and lifted the edges of the lid.

She didn’t know what she’d expected to find. Maybe a bunch of little trinkets, like in the movie Amélie. Perhaps a badly hidden stash of money. Whatever it had been, it definitely wasn’t a collection of letters, all sporting the same handwriting on the envelopes. Tikki looked into the box curiously.

“See, I told you so.” Marinette tilted the box towards the dog. “Nothing in there for you.”

She carefully picked the first envelope. It had the previous Sunday’s date on it. Nothing else.

She was about to look at the next one when her phone rang. She jumped at the sound, almost spilling the box’s contents as she did so, and fished the device out of her handbag. A picture of her parents appeared on the lit screen. Marinette looked at the time and swore internally. She’d been out for over an hour, when she’d said she was only going to be half an hour. She hastily put the letters back in the tin, and slid the latter back under the bench.

“Come on Tikki, time to go home.”

--- 

As she lay in bed that night, Marinette couldn’t stop thinking about the box and its contents. It had just been so odd for it to be there. Who, in their right mind, stored their letters in a public garden? Surely there were better hiding places in an apartment, or wherever the author lived.

Speaking of the author, she found it weird that there’d only seemed to be one, if she could tell from the neatly traced dates on the envelopes she’d seen. It therefore didn’t seem like a makeshift postbox, like the one in Little Women. 

She’d definitely have to investigate the matter the next day.

[christophcalledbingo]

The Guessing Game (Dr. King Schultz fic)

I’m not a native speaker of English (I am in fact Spanish), but I do try my best, so forgive me if there is any mistake. I’m also learning German because procrastinating by doing other things rather than college stuff is my jam. I think I’m going to do a second part of this, so I hope you like the first one!

Dr. King Schultz x original female character. 

Warnings: hints of depression, some verbal abuse and attempt of physical abuse and a lot of swearing.

Translations: 

Gute Nacht Fraulein - Good night darling

Sprichst du Deutsch? - Do you speak German?

Bitte - Please

Ja - Yes

Danke - Thank you

Dr. King Schultz is not mine (I wish, duh!)

Another night of pouring drinks for a living. I could not imagine that my life would turn out like this when first I arrived to America with my parents when I was a child. Now I’m completely alone and in a very urgent need of money, so I thought I could handle two jobs… I’m not going to lie, it’s actually pretty difficult being a teacher by day and bartender by night. You might be wondering how I ended up being a bartender, me, a woman. Well, nobody else wanted to do it so there was no objection for me take the part. It is very tiring job and most customers behave like pigs. Some nights I can handle it, other nights I just cry myself to sleep. It’s ok though, I do it for the kids. 

It is a lively Friday night, everybody is out. Being the only tavern open in such a small town is both convenient and a mess. A few bottles are thrown, many spits are being missed and a few tables are being turned in angry poker disputes. Being surrounded by so much uncontrolled testosterone gives me massive headaches, I wish I could go out for a smoke, but today there is nobody than can cover me at the bar. Suddenly someone catches my eye, a stranger enters through the door. I remember every face in this town and no many outsiders come here, but he is in fact a stranger, and quite handsome if I say so myself. He catches me looking at him and I blush slightly. He gets closer to the bar and I can see him clearly now. He looks physically mature but in his eyes look very young, and with a hint of trouble. Blue, brown and green. As if his eyes were a cup of green tea that had been sweetened with brown sugar, and in their reflection I could see a very blue and beautiful sky. He has a very well trimmed greyish beard and mustache, which actually frames his face in a very nice way. I think he is not American and when he opens his mouth my doubts are solved. 

“Gute Nacht, Fraulein.” German, huh. It’s been years since I’ve talked to another European, this is going to be interesting. 

“Good evening to you too, what can I get you?” I say, trying to make him notice that I understood him. 

“Oh! Sprichst du Deutsch?”

“A bit, I can understand it better than I can speak it though.” I feel like I just made a fool of myself, but at least it was a nice icebreaker. 

“So, you are not German, but I can tell than you are not American either.” He is very charming...

“What gave it away?”

“Not many Americans know German, I just took a wild guess.” He is very charming indeed. “From where in Europe are you from?”

“Try to guess” I say with a grin in my face, trying not to laugh. “Oh, wait…”

“Yes?” He says, looking directly at my eyes.

“You didn’t tell me what do you wanted to drink, let me fix it up for you while you guess.” He smiles warmly. 

“Pale ale, bitte.” That hint of German in the end makes my legs shake. 

“Right up!” I say, trying to hide the fact that I’m actually shaking. 

“So, you don’t have an American accent, that’s for sure. You are more like from the south, from the Mediterranean?” 

“Ja!” 

“You’re way of moving is quite rhythmical, not like an Italian though…”

“Nein.” As I say this, a drunk guy comes right at me, right when I’m in the middle of serving the ale, and grabs my hand from the other side of the counter. 

“DaMN! YoU are BEautifuL!” He is grabbing tighter, fingernails and all. I drop the glass, half full of bear, due to the pain.

“Please, let me go…” I say, trying to hold back my tears from the pain, my wrist is starting to bleed. 

Before I can say anything else, the handsome stranger grabs the drunk from the neck, but the latter is not letting me go, in fact he is grabbing tighter, and the wound gets deeper. 

“Let her go.”  Says the stranger with a very deep voice. 

“HeY HoN, Do YOu WanT to Go TO thE BAck aNd SuCk mY-”

Before he finishes that sentence, the stranger grabs the arm that was around my wrist and twists it, I hear a pop and then I’m free.

“MOTHERFUCKER! YOU BROKE MY ARM!” The pain must have made him sober all of a sudden.

“Next it’s going to be your nose if you don’t shut your mouth. I don’t tolerate the rude, even less when it involves hurting others.” He looks at me while I’m trying to stop the bleeding from my wrist. 

Everybody in the tavern is looking at us, not as if they want to start a fight, but as if they were amazed by the stranger, myself included. 

“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!” My boss shouts as he appears from the other side of the room. 

“Sir, she has been hurt, I’m taking her to her home.” The stranger said, while helping me to get up.

“No way, I don’t have-” He shuts in an instant when he sees the other guy’s arm.

“What did you do to him?! Are you insane?! He is a client!”

“And she is your employee.”

“I’m going to call the sheriff!”

“Do it, call him…” I don’t know why, but the stranger is smiling. 

“Tom, go tell Sheriff Cooper that we need him, immediately.” And there goes Tom.

“I just got one question for you.” Says the stranger. 

“Huh? The fuck are you saying?”

“Are you Mr. Frank Last?” Why is he-

“Yes, I am. Why are you asking, old man?” Then, the handsome stranger looks at me, smiling.

“Let me introduce myself. I’m Dr. King Schultz, travelling dentist and bounty hunter. And you, my friend, have a price for your head: for breaking, entering and stealing on multiple houses, north of the river.”

“Wait, how the fu-”  He cannot finish his sentence. The strange- the doctor is so quick that I didn’t even notice that he had his gun out. He puts a bullet on my boss's right leg, making him fall to his knees.  

“AAAAAAAAAHHHH!!! SON OF A BITCH! YOU FUCKING SHOT ME!” There is blood all over the floor.

“WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE!!!!!” Sheriff Cooper is at the door, looking at all the mess. The doctor helps me to get to the sheriff, but he looks very calmed, which is a very huge contrast if we take into consideration the ambiance of the bar: tense as fuck. 

“Ah! You must be Sheriff Cooper. My name is King Schultz and I’m here to recover the bounty for Mr. Frank Last, a delinquent that has 500$ on his head.”

“What?!” The sheriff looks genuinely puzzled. 

“He is a criminal.” He hands a wanted poster of my boss’s face to the sheriff. “And also, that guy over there was trying to hurt this lovely lady.” With tears still in my eyes I look at the sheriff and nod. The sheriff sighs.

“Ok people, this establishment is closed until further notice.” Everybody shouts and screams, but there is nothing they can do about it. 

...

The handsome doctor asks me where I live, and I just tell him, no doubts or hesitations, I just want to get home. We enter my cold and tiny home and he asks me for a first aid kit or any supplies that may help to cure my wounds. I tell him that everything he might need is in the bathroom, and so he leaves me alone in my kitchen. 

“Got it!” He shouts in the distance after a couple of minutes. 

As he examines my wound, I look at his face, which is truly focused on my hand. I see his eyes flickering with excited concentration.

“That detestable man had dirt on his nails and now the wound is infected.” Of course it is, all the bad stuff happens to me.

“You said you were a dentist, right?”

“Ja”

“Isn’t curing wounds more of a ‘doctor doctor’ thing?” He bursts into laughter. 

“Of course, but you do not start working in the bounty hunter business if you don’t know how to cure a basic wound.” I just made a fool of myself, again. “And also, dentists also need to know how to cure wounds. If you saw the kind of mouths I’ve seen, truly disgusting.” As he says this, he starts to disinfect, and I try my best to hold the pain.

“...Spanish”

“Huh?”

“I’m from Spain, but I moved here with my family when I was very young.”

“How interesting, I’ve never been to Spain… Is it nice there?”

“I don’t remember much, but I do remember the nature, the sun and the breeze. Much more steady than here, that’s for sure.”

“It sounds lovely.” He has finished to cure my wound and has putted a bandage on my wrist to protect it from further infection.

“By the way, the name is Clara, Clara Valle. However, everybody is so funny around here that they call me ‘Claire of the Valley’.”

“But… we are on a mountain?”

“It makes no sense, I know. It’s just the literal translation of my surname”

“Well, Clara, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” He grabs the hand that is not injured and kisses my palm, I blush a lot. No one has never been such a gentleman to me, I quite like it. 

“The pleasure is mine. How should I call you? Is Dr. Schultz ok?”

“Just call me King, if you want of course.”

“Danke, King.” He turns away as if is looking for something, when in truth he is hiding the fact that he is blushing. I can see it in his ears, they are completely red.

“For what?”

“Saving me? Curing the wound? I don’t know, you name it. Most of the times working at the tavern is bearable, but it’s nice to know that someone has your back.” I say, looking at the ground. Half ashamed that I needed help today, half happy that it was him who came to the rescue. 

“You don’t have to thank me, it was the least I could do. They were behaving like neanderthals, absolutely detestable.”

“I couldn’t even serve you your drink!”

“That is the least of your worries. Being completely honest, I just wanted an excuse to talk to you.” Oh my Lord, is he flirting with me? I just stay in silence, I don’t know what to say… If I open my mouth it would be to press it against his, but that is a very bold move. I just met him! I don’t know if he finds me attractive enough, no one ever does... “Well, I should get going then.”

“Wait! You could sleep here if you don’t have anywhere to do it. My sofa is quite comfortable. I could sleep in it and you could sleep in my bed. It’s the least I can do…” I stop talking when I realise that he is smiling, a very wide smile, and that he is looking at me in the eyes. “I’m so sorry if that was inappropriate! I was raised that way, I’m very direct!” I’m practically shouting because of the embarrassment. 

“I can see that, but don’t worry. I will go to the inn and stay there for a few nights, preparing for my next travel.”

“Oh…” It was obvious, but somewhere inside of me hoped that he would stay.

“Well, if there is nothing else you need help with-”

“Actually, I cannot move my hand very well as you can imagine. Could you help me untie my corset?” I say, while I grab my hair and show him my back.

He says nothing, he just gets close to me and starts to undo the knots of the corset. It is convenient that I’m no facing him, because my face is red once again. I can feel his breath in my neck. I also feel like fingers brushing my back intentionally, but I’m a bit scared of my own feelings, so I just ignore it. I do everything I can to hide my face and my intentions until he finishes.

“There you go, glad that I was able to provide some further assistance. Goodbye then, dear Clara.” He says, while looking at the floor.

“King, could we meet before you leave town?” He raises his head and he looks at me while I hold my loose corset to my chest.

“Of course. In fact, I can look for you tomorrow. We could go for a cup of coffee, if you want.”

“That would be truly delightful.”

[sasuhinasno1fan]

Skating with you- Lukadrien June day 22

So this is really description heavy and you can blame Cirque du Soleil for showing their ice shows, who of which I feel in love with and would kill to see and this book I read when I was really young that I always think about when I think recital about a girl learning how to skate and their first recital they did. The scene from Crystal is here and I could rewatch this part over and over and not get sick of it. I just kinda kept thinking of Adrien in Crystal’s position when I was watching the clips every now and then. Also, Luka lifting Marinette with complete ease during the Frozer episode? You can’t tell me I shouldn’t have him do that with Adrien. How could I not. So yes, Marinette and Adrien know who each other are, they’ve moved on and honestly, the poor girl needs a support system now that Fu is gone and if it has to be Adrien and they need to break the rules to do so, so be it. Besides, Marinette is the guardien now, is she really gonna take the Miraculous away because she knows who Adrien is? Anyway, hopefully you enjoy this, I know it’s pretty word heavy. @lukadrien-june Recital

Adrien focused as he was tugged on the leg to head to the person lifting him in the air. Usually when he pulled out the ice blue camembert and turned Plagg into Plagg Glacier, getting thrown in the air wasn’t an issue. He usually landed on his feet and even with skates on, he never felt unsteady. However, he was his normal self and the person lifting him up had dropped him more than enough times. He might have skated longer than Adrien, heck he was practically a professional, but he’d almost dropped Adrien pretty much in ever rehearsal.

Philippe, the owner of the skating rink, had a friend in the Crystal Cirque du Soleil show and he wanted to do a small tribute to them since their next show in France was going to be at his rink. Adrien hadn’t seen it, but he saw clips, his favourite being what he called the Family and Classmates act, where Crystal appeared in her family living room and students from her class appeared before everything went spinning at the arrival of the business men. Maybe it was the music or that last small showdown Crystal had with the businessmen as she tried to break free, but he could re-watch that clip over and over again. He was extremely excited when he heard that was the scene Philippe was going to do. There weren’t going to be any acrobatics or such, it was going to be replaced as much as possible by skating since he didn’t want to risk people hurting themselves. Adrien and his friends had come during free skate time only to realise Philippe was doing auditions. He told them to stay, since free skate would still happen after the auditions were over. So, he sat there, listening to everyone chatter about other things as he watched the skilled skaters perform. Philippe had a group of them doing the standoff part between Crystal and the business men and he could see they were having problems with where the person in the front of the line had to grab Crystal’s leg to pull her back and pick her up safely.

Adrien knew how to do that. After finding out Marinette was Ladybug not long after she became the new guardian, which had been mostly due to stress and Marinette blurting it out during a minor panic attack, (and also included a deep and heartfelt talk about moving on from each other and how it was better for them now that they weren’t putting each other on pedestals) there was an Akumatized skater with dreams of joining the French Olympic team, who’s sadness of not making the cut was taken advantage of. They pulled out their skater sides in order to dodge the girl whose main attacks where focused on her incredible spins as she came twirling towards you like a tornado. Adrien had been skating by, his back leg outstretched from a jump when Marinette grabbed his ankle and yanked hard to pull him out of the way when the Akuma made a sudden turn and almost knocked him over. She even used his tail to send him towards her with a Cataclysm, similar to how Crystal was sent to her partner who did a waist lift near the end of her standoff with the businessmen. To help them practice on any occasion where they needed to use the ice potion, they’d been using free skate and Adrien had gotten good at being pulled across the ice.

So, Adrien offered advice and showed the person how to do it. He made sure to point out he wasn’t a professional and he’d just been working on this in his free time. He did it with the group and when he got picked up, he just went with it. He might have been doing the lifts with Ladybug, but his body naturally just went to what he would feel Marinette do if he ever lifted her when they did the waist lift. He hadn’t expected after for Philippe to beg him to do the show with them. He tried rejecting the offer, but all his friends who’d watched him egged him on that he ended up saying yes. His dad didn’t even have an issue with it, which was surprising, so instead of going to fencing, he came to the ice rink to learn the skating choero. The other skaters were nice to him, helping him whenever he had questions but one skater, the guy doing the same waist lift, didn’t like Adrien.

Case in point, like right now. The guy grabbed Adrien’s waist and lifted leg, and Adrien put his hand on the guy’s shoulder. The minute he was lifted in the air however, he felt too unbalanced and it was either topple off and onto the ice or let himself fall into the guy’s arms. He chose the safer option.

“What the hell!” he yelled, dropping Adrien onto the ice on his feet. “You’re supposed to be up in the air, not falling on me!”

“You were going to drop me anyway. I was unbalanced and I took the safer descent.”

The guy scoffed. “You were fine. You keep doing this. Why are you even here if you’re not going to take this seriously?”

“Angel, easy.” One of the female skaters, Juliette said skating up to them. “Phillippe told you already not to lift him so fast so he can get his balance. You need to remember Adrien does this for fun and he’s a guy. They don’t usually get lifted into the air, so he’s not used to this.”

“Why the hell was he hired then?”

“Because he knows what he’s doing. We’re professionals and we couldn’t figure out how to do that move but he did.”

“Whatever. I still say pretty boy here shouldn’t even be involved. He has all the opportunities in life but if he messes this up, that’s it for us.”

Adrien rolled his eyes. People from Cirque du Soleil came to practise one day and after Adrien buttered them up a little, seemed very interested in the group who learned hard choreo with ease and changing adaptions. Even not so heavenly Angel was guaranteed a job with them. besides, his only opportunities were the ones his father picked out for him.

“You’re being ridiculous. You know what, I’m taking five until you get your head on straight. Come on Adrien.” Juliette pulled him away, muttering about how some people were pig headed. “Don’t listen to him. You’ve gotten good but you know you’re limits best and if messing up that drop just to save yourself from falling on the ice from a height is what’s best, then we’ll just have to go with it.”

“Thanks. It would help if I actually felt stable when he lifted me.”

“Well you’ve never done a lift like that before. It’s too bad Paul, the guy who lifted you during auditions couldn’t do the show. You’ll get it.”

Adrien skated to where his friends were sitting in the stands. Marinette, Nino, Alya, Kagami and Luka had showed up to show him support.

“That guy needs to take a chill pill. He does realise your dad might kill him if he drops you right?” Nino said, passing Adrien his water bottle.

“He just constantly seems to be in a bad mood. I’m surprised Hawk Moth hasn’t tried anything.” Alya said.

“Don’t give him ideas.”

“He should be focused on making sure you’re ok when he lifts you though.” Kagami said. She enjoyed getting away from fencing practise to get the chance to make friends. She had easily inserted herself into their friend group thanks to Marinette’s help. “that girl is right. You’ve never done something like this before.”

“Guess this is what I get for showing off.” Adrien said, sharing a look with Marinette. It was extra practise for when they fought on ice since he was a shield for Ladybug, but he’d rather go back to free skate if he was going to be putting up with the verbal abuse from Angel.

“Have you gotten any practise with him?” Luka asked.

“For a guy with a heavenly name, he’s kinda the devil. Refuses to even consider it. He just tells Philippe he can do it and because Philippe is so concerned with getting everything else right, he leaves us to our own devices.”

“That doesn’t seem very safe. I know it’s kinda a small performance to showcase a small thing from the show, but you’re not a professional at this. If you can’t get the chance to do it properly, you could hurt yourself.” Luka said.

“I know, but a lot of these skaters are working on other projects, so I don’t feel right asking them for help.”

Marinette perked up. “Wait a second. Adrien, you can practise with Luka! He can do lifts really well.”

That was actually true. According to the Couffaine siblings, they used to do pair ice skating when they were young to help Juleka’s confidence. They didn’t compete anymore but whenever they came to free skate the two would show off. And Luka had lifted Marinette easily that time they, Kagami and him had come skating that first time.

“I mean, if I was taught how to do the lift properly, I could probably do it. If that’s ok with you.” Luka said.

“Yes actually. That would be great. Juliette!” he called. When the silver haired skater came over, he asked, “Do you think you could teach my friend the lift I need to do with Angel? He offered to help me practise.”

“Of course. I’m actually free after practise if you don’t mind giving up your free skate time.”

“Sounds good to me.” Luka said.

“Perfect.”

When practise was over, Luka joined him on the ice and Juliette had him run with her the showdown part, so he knew how it went.

“So, Adrien has two lifts right next to each other. The first one is pretty simple. Same leg that’s used to pull him back is the leg that gonna stabilize him in that short lift. That same leg is gonna be the one you grab to lift him. He’s gonna straighten it when you lift him and that leg is going to be the thing that helps you keep him balanced until you feel like you can do it with just the hand on his waist and you let go. When you lift him, he’s going to keep his hand on your shoulder. The idea is that you both feel when you’re stable enough to spin with just your hand on his waist so you can let go together, preferably at the kinda climax of the part of the song. You two have to work together in this, think you can do that?”

Well Luka was Viperion and he and Chat Noir worked well together. He hoped it still went that way when they weren’t wearing their masks.

They went slow, Juliette gently pushing Adrien to Luka so he could get the timing of when to lift when he had Adrien and so Adrien knew when to push off. It wasn’t perfect first obviously. Sometimes Luka went to slow or too fast and Adrien wasn’t ready and took them both down in his panic. But Luka seemed to have loads of patience and was able to help Adrien figure out when to push off so Luka could lift him.

“Perfect!” Juliette said when they managed to do the lift with no mistakes. “Ok, don’t spin yet, find your balance first and I want you two to let go of each other.”

Adrien decided to take a leap of faith and trust Luka had him balanced and lifted his hand from his shoulder. He felt Luka let go of his leg and with minimal shaking, held Adrien up with one hand. Ok, Adrien knew he had some muscle from fencing and hero saving, but he didn’t realise just how strong Luka was. It was kinda hot.

Adrien told himself to control his bisexualness. It did not help that after his breakup with Kagami and the extra time he spent on the Liberty when skipping obligations, he was starting to notice how good looking Luka was. He seemed to have a type for strong, dark haired people with kind hearts.

“There you go. Ok, now let’s try it with spinning.”

Luka seamlessly let him fall into his arms before placing back onto the ice.

“Was that ok?”

“Yeah. I knew you wouldn’t drop me.” Adrien admitted.

“Well, not that hard when you’re so light.”

“I’m not that light.”

Luka shot him a smile. “You’re about as heavy as full-grown cat.”

Adrien fingered his ring. “Must be around cats often.”

“I’m fond of black ones and tend to find them around me a lot.”

Marinette mentioned she thought Luka knew. The fact that he was lightly poking at it but still made him feel safe probably said something.

They tried it again, this time with the spinning. They went slow at first, Luka looking up at him to see how he was before they picked up speed. By the end of it, they managed to get the lift down with minor stumbles.

“That was amazing! You two did so well. I’m very impressed.” Juliette complimented, their friends cheering by the stands.

“Well it helps when you have an amazing skater.” Adrien said, looking at Luka, who actually looked a bit embarrassed.

“Well, couldn’t leave you in a lurch.”

“It’s a shame you can’t do the show with Adrien. He’d probably feel a lot safer with you lifting him in the air.”

The two shared a smile before a scream broke out and an Akuma appeared.

“You think you can replace me pretty boy?”

Angel, of course. Adrien glanced at Luka, knowing Marinette would feel better if they split their potions between the Miraculous holders that were with them now. He hoped the same teamwork they just showed stayed with them in the battle.

                                              ________________

“You know, Chat Noir and Viperion have pretty amazing chemistry on ice.”

Adrien flinched as he heard Alya say that. Like Spider Man, Alya still managed to get footage of battles even when she was involved. During the fight with Angel, or Ice Demon as he was called then, they spilt into pairs to work together during attacks. He meant to stay with Ladybug, but they got separated early on and Viperion had caught him when he got knocked off his feet. Luka skated with the same ease as before and the two had managed to come up with a plan to keep Ice Demon distracted so Ladybug could use her Lucky Charm and get his item. Like they’d been practising earlier, the two worked together with ease.

“Like, I know Chat and Ladybug are really good together and Chat seems to work well with any of the other heroes but there’s something amazing about the way he and Viperion worked together.”

Marinette glanced at Adrien, shooting him a smirk. “Yeah, like they’re one.”

He rolled his eyes. With knowing each other identities, it was easier to talk during patrols and he let it slip how he thought Luka was cute. He expected Marinette to be uncomfortable with it seeing how she dated him, but Marinette jumped at the chance to tease him.

“Luka and I decided we were better as friends. Even after I got over you, it just felt like I couldn’t really fully be with him and it wasn’t fair. I’ll admit, I never would have thought to hear you call him cute. I wonder what he thinks of you?”

Marinette loved to tease him now that they were much more comfortable with each other.

“Adrien.” The blond looked up to see Phillippe coming over to him, looking upset. “Angel pulled out at the last minute. I’ve called other backups, but they all have other shows. I can’t even get my friend to lend us one of the people from the show to help. We might have to cancel the recital.”

Humbling as it was to call it a simple recital, Adrien knew that this was big for Phillipe. The performance was to showcase what would appear here with the Cirque du Soleil company and drum up business for Phillippe.

“What if someone took his place?” Adrien said, not even thinking. Actually, he was. He was just hoping it paid off. “Luka was practising the lift with me yesterday and we got it down. I think he could do it.”

“Yes, yes, call him!”

“Call who, where’s the fire?” Luka asked, his guitar case on his back. Adrien’s guess was he came from his delivery job. He always carried his guitar with him on his job.

“Ah Luka! Angel ended up dropping out and I’m short a performer.” Phillippe said.

“Did he now?” Luka asked, sharing a look with Adrien. Most Akuma victims didn’t give up on what they loved because they thought it’d be giving into what Hawk Moth wanted, but Angel had thrown a huge fit when he was saved and stormed off. Adrien hoped that he wouldn’t stop skating.

“Adrien said you learned how to do with the lift with him. Would it be possible for you to do the performance with us?”

Luka shrugged. “I don’t mind. If it helps.” Luka went stumbling back with how hard Philippe ran up and hugged him.

“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you.” Luka patted Phillippe’s back while sharing a look with Adrien.

The day of the recital, performance, showcase, whatever they wanted to call it, it was right before free skate began and €5 got spectators online access to get first in line to buy tickets for Crystal. Adrien could hear his extensive fan group screaming his name.

“Ready?” Luka asked, looking rather good in his suit. He had Marinette to blame for that.

“I guess. At least I know one person won’t drop me.”

“I try my best.”

And of course, he didn’t. they even managed to let go of each other on the music. He felt out of breath when he skid across the ice but he was sure people couldn’t tell with the huge smile on his face.

“Thank you everyone! What you saw today was an edited part of something you can see at Cirque du Soleil’s ice skating show Crystal, which will happen here. Your tickets today will give you access to early ticket sales. I am very lucky that my dear friend is part of the cast and I’m sure you can ask any of these performers about how much they enjoyed, including Paris’ very own Adrien Agreste.” He gave a small smile to the people. He then noticed Luka skating up to him and handing him a bouquet of flowers. “And Luka Couffaine. These two were our youngest performers. Please, a round of applause.”

He pulled Luka down, “Thanks. I’m sure they would have given us the flowers in the change rooms.”

“Who said they were from Phillippe?”

Oh. Damn it, with the smirk on Luka’s lips, Adrien was sure Luka was clued into his minor (it was minor, and he wouldn’t hear of it from Marinette, Plagg or even Tikki) crush. He hoped he wouldn’t have to deal with anymore ice type villains with Viperion soon. He had a feeling Luka would want to test something if it came to that.

[mermaidmafia-official]

{PART I: A COLLAR OF SPIKES}

Nessa has organised an underworld street race three towns over in Bay Haven, but an unbidden guest threatens to ruin her fun. @bebemoon​ @interluxetumbra​ @ayzrules @blubbingbeautifully​

[Smash Shit Up - The Dropkick Murphys]

…I wanna be a rebel / I wanna break some bones… The stranger had not expected a party. Her dervish dance bounced the tawny bar lights off her silver jewelry and into the rowdy sea of singers, like spellwork. Bacchanalia for middle-aged punk rockers and genre-savvy millenials. Leaning against a vintage Guinness poster with his arms crossed and a nonchalance wholly at odds with the energy of the room - an energy he had known in the ports of Nassau or the harvest festival in Naples - he watched her black hair fly, and frowned. …Maybe they'll be yours / They might be my own… Husky voices that may, in another decade, have bellowed sea shanties in shabby taverns now chanted celtic punk choruses in downtown bars with sticky floors. Their owners raised glasses to toast the enchantress on the bar counter as they might once have a siren of the sea... Was that why he got faint whiffs of withered oak and moonshine? His nostrils flared. No, there was a memory of salty breezes around her, but also that of blood on asphalt. For a moment, he indulged in imagining her enthroned on a stack of barrels filled with rum, wearing a pinstripe suit and an Al Capone hat… ‘New in town, eh?’, said a jovial voice next to him. A scrawny guy in black wearing a tweed flat cap - true vintage, 1940s perhaps - grinned up at him. Vintage-style sailor tattoos, the stranger noted, and smells of diesel oil on his hands. He said nothing. ‘Round here, we can always tell a fella’s new, ye know - by the way he looks at our Pixie.’ The guy nodded proudly at the girl-shaped creature on the bar counter. ‘Quite something, ain’t she? All kinds of trouble, that one, but never a dull moment.’ Quite something. Yes, the stranger thought. He had expected the damp chill of the grave, or the dry musk of something withered, not this - not warmth and sweat and cold smoke and beer. ‘You here for the race? Look like the type, ye know. Not for the faint-hearted, though, that’s for sure. If you’re going against her, you better have your things in order, my friend…’, his new friend chattered on. ‘Funny’, the stranger said, almost to himself. ‘She looks almost…’ ‘Wait- did you say something?’ ‘… alive.’

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

[Voodoo People - The Prodigy (Pendulum Remix)]

The smell of burning rubber, sharp and sweet, stung in her nostrils, and Nessa huffed. That dirty, shaggy flea-bag! When she had devised an underworld street race, she had not expected to be hounded - ha!- by an actual werewolf. And a fast one, no less. She hunkered down on her bike and took the corner sharper than was probably smart, gritting her teeth as the back tire slithered over the icy asphalt. His bike roared closely behind her. No dice. He was good. Three mortals had crashed in the fist third, defeated by back alleys or night time traffic. Four of the seven vampires who had turned up to race had bitten the dirt - get it? - at the scrap yards, and she, too had almost been catapulted off her ride by an unwieldy chevvy and narrowly escaped being impaled on a 90s’ satellite antenna. Not wood, but not pretty, either. But through the neon-lit city and the downtown alleyways, the wolf had prevailed, silently tracking her. Not once had he tried to overtake her. Not that she’d have let him. Not once had he lifted his mirrored helmet shield, but she had been a vampire long enough to sense a wolf. To hell with politics, she had thought back there at the starting line, high on anticipation and roaring motors, and had reared her head, declaring the race a neutral zone and beckoning her tattooed grand marshals to give the go. Apparently, the wolf had not got the memo. Ignoring a red light, Nessa zipped through between a pickup truck and a taxi, heading for the coast. It had been fun at first, the thrill of racing an enemy of the coven, knowing that Ysa would collapse in a dead faint if she knew, and imagining Yinmei levitating away muttering ancient curses. But here, with the cold, crisp air pushing sharply against her bike and the frozen Bay in view, Nessa started to wonder if she had just been really fucking stupid. Again. Somewhere behind her, shrieking brakes and a thunderous crash hailed the disqualification of yet another racer, but the wolf clung to her like a shadow. Always the same distance. Not pushing, but not relenting, either. Nessa bit her lip and tightened her grip on the brakes. No way she was gonna let politics ruin her race. Or her fun. Bracing for the serpentine road curving down to theBbay, she leaned into each curve, sinews straining as she fought to balance the weight of the bike with the momentum of the curves. Knees scraping gently over the ice. The thrill of being suspended right there, between pure motion and a brutal crash. Left - then right - and left again… But she was starting to get annoyed - at him, and at herself. What if he was here to kill her? And she was just serving herself to him on a silver - well, not quite, but still - platter? Sure, vampires were generally stronger than wolves, or so Ysa had told her. But then again, Nessa wasn’t a great listener, so she couldn’t be sure, and she was still young for a vampire. And a sheep separated form the herd, and all that… Fuck. Okay. Nessa made a decision, in the instantaneous, short-circuit brain-glitch sort of way she made decisions, and crushed the brakes in the last curve of the road. Screaming, her bike drifted over frozen snow and spun her around, drifting. For a split second she grinned manically, delighted to have surprised the pursuing wolf. And then, as he desperately tried to pull his bike around, his machine veered into hers with a booming crunch, catapulting them both off the road. They went flying. The hard ground hit her sharply - once, twice. And again. Pain blossomed through her limbs as they tumbled downward, machines crushing them with weight and piercing skin with shrapnel. She could hear bones break- were they hers? Then her head hit the ice with a wet crunch, and her vision went red as they slid over the smooth ice, seemingly forever. And then, there was silence.

When she came to, blinking and dizzy and tasting blood, they were alone on the ice under a vast black sky, the city noise damp and far away - or was that her head ringing? She pushed herself up and got to her feet, legs trembling softly with the remembrance of a life that may have been lost, if she had been human. The bikes had left a black smudge trailing behind them, like something crushed and crawling away. She grinned. She wanted blood. She felt very alive. ‘That’, said a deep voice behind the second bike, panting, ‘was entirely uncalled for.’ She could hear his broken bones reassemble painfully, and winced at the sounds, the slurping and cracking. But then, he must be used to that, she remembered. The wolf - man, at the moment - towered there, broad shoulders taut beneath a sadly torn leather jacket, and removed his helmet. Oh, fuck. She hadn’t counted on him being that handsome - square features, black hair, piercing, dark eyes... and bloodied. Ruddy wolves. She took her helmet off, and knew her own hair was all over the place. ‘I don’t like dogs yapping and biting at my ankles’ she said, with a shrug, playing it cool. Or trying to. Her adrenalin was through the roof. ‘I’m funny like that.’ ‘You’re an absolute raving lunatic, is what you are’, he countered, but not angrily. There was a soft melody in his speech, well-worn, but distinct. Mediterranean? And had she hit her head that badly or was there just the slightest hint of approval in his voice? ‘I do what I can.’ She grinned. ‘I hear that’s usually your job.’ He ignored the jab. ‘Did you really just do that… to annoy me?’ ‘You started it, you… bloodhound.’ She crossed her arms. Now, down to business. ‘So- are you here to kill me?’ He brushed dirt and snow off his sleeves. ‘I hadn’t quite made up my mind yet.’ Honesty. She could respect that. Nessa gestured at the vast expanse of ice around them. ‘Go ahead. Knock yourself out.’ For a moment, he said nothing, just tilted his head, as if thinking. Or seizing her up. Beneath them, the ice crinkled quietly. ‘What makes you think I won’t?’ he asked, eventually. She shrugged again. ‘Nothing. I mean, you’d think by now you’d have got out your funky werewolf kung fu stuff or-’ she waved her hands - she really should have listened to Ysa more - ‘or whatever you guys are using these days.’ ‘Fire, mostly.’ The corner of his - well-shaped, wow - mouth twitched with amusement or disdain, it was hard to tell. He seemed oddly calm for a mortal enemy. ‘Well, that ain’t gonna fly out here, obviously. Pity. I do enjoy an occasional brush with death. Makes you feel that more…. Well, you know - whatever it is we are.’ ‘Right. And that triple backflip you just pulled there like some crash and burn cirque du soleil shit- that was what?’ ‘That was me telling you not to mess with me. But, like, in a fun way. ‘Cause I’m nice.’ ‘…Nice.’ He picked the word up, perplexed, as if it had suddenly become strange. A sharp cracking sound interrupted them. Oops… ‘So -’ she said, ‘if we’re all done here I’ll be on my way. Race to win and all that.’ She could feel his gaze on her as she picked up her bike. Battered and missing a few parts, but it would carry her well enough. ‘Just like that. You don’t think I won’t follow you again? Or beat you?’ The last bit with the hint of a grin. She mounted her bike and tested the engine. Still good. Phew. ‘Not with that piece of junk you won’t.’ She nodded towards what was clearly a lost cause, at least for now. That soft crackle again. A rift, razor sharp and angry, appeared in the ice. Time to go. ‘Sorry!’ she said, merrily, ignoring his quiet curses in a foreign language. Italian. Of course. And then she was off. With the engines roaring beneath her and a vicious cracking sound just below, she sped across the frozen Bay, elated, heart fluttering with triumph. All that space in front and the dark emptiness above - receding, eternal. Nessa grinned. No time to ponder the meaning of time in a deathless existence- She was free.

[zirroxas]

So I Found All the Characters With Unique Backstories

Spent some time rooting around in the files to figure out which characters the game actually gave unique background descriptions to. There’s 94 in total. There’s something around 750 historical characters in the game, but only these comes with unique backstories. 

Some of them are quite hilarious. 

cai mao  -- Competent Sailor  -- "Cai Mao is adept of naval combat, and a budding admiral." cao ang  -- Prince Min  -- "Cao Ang's fate is to one day be prince of the House of Cao, be it in life or in death." cao cao  -- Strategic Mastermind  -- "The wily Cao Cao sees opportunity in the hardships of others, skewing things to his advantage." cao pi  -- Political Animal  -- "In war, you can only be killed once, but in politics, many times.""""" cao ren  -- Brave Hunter  -- "The skills of a fearless outdoorsman --horse-riding, archery, and hunting --make Cao Ren a valued battlefield ally." chen gong  -- Master Magistrate  -- "Chen Gong knows that even great men are imperfect, and righteousness is often not immediately obvious." cheng pu  -- Bandit Killer  -- 'The General of the Household Who Defeats Bandits' is living proof that bravery can overcome adversity. dian wei  -- Brute of Unmatched Power  -- "Such prowess! This is old Elai again!""""" dong zhuo  -- Cruel Tyrant  -- "Consumed by his hunger for power, Dong Zhuo's despotism knows no bounds." fa zheng  -- Vindictive Strategist  -- "The intelligent and vengeful Fa Zheng should not be crossed, lest you become the target of his deadly schemes." gan ning  -- Pirate of the Bells  -- "Cao Cao may have Zhang Liao, but I have Gan Ning! Thus we are evenly matched.""""" gao gan  -- Loyal Nephew  -- "Ever the rebel, Gao Gan's true allegiances shall only die when he does." gong du  -- Master of the Land  -- "Far from being just a heartless bandit, Gong Du is a principled soldier of honour." gongsun du  -- the Warlike  -- "In war, Gongsun Du does what is required of him; he revels in bloodshed and conquest." gongsun zan  -- The Iron Fist General  -- "Defence of the frontiers requires more than just the resources of a warlord, but also a merciless attitude." guan yu  -- God of War  -- "A famed warrior and righteous slayer of all who dare oppose him, Guan Yu's deification is already assured." guo jia  -- Astute Advisor  -- Guo Jia is a confidant of unparalleled foresight --to ignore his counsel is to invite failure and defeat. han fu  -- Diligent Agriculturalist  -- "Using his ability to manage food supplies with tireless efficiency, Han Fu is a most valuable logistician." han sui  -- Tireless Insurgent  -- "Insurrection is in Han Sui's blood. To him, subservience cannot be permanent." he man  -- The Most Powerful  -- "I am He Man, the devil who shoots across the sky! Who dares challenge me\?""""" he yi  -- Leader of the People  -- "With unwavering faith, He Yi inspires others to follow in his righteous footsteps." hua xiong  -- Fierce Beast  -- "With a head shaped like a leopard's and ape-like shoulders, Hua Xiong's ferocity is matched by his appearance." huang gai  -- Unreadable Warrior  -- His outward demeanour belies his real allegiances --Huang Gai truly is the very definition of inscrutability. huang shao  -- Wielder of the Heavenly Way  -- "All uprisings, no matter how widespread, stand little chance of success without strong leadership." huang zhong  -- of the Ageless Strength  -- "The venerable Huang Zhong, to whom age is just a number, is frequently underestimated in battle." huang zu  -- Ranged Ambusher  -- "Huang Zu likes to start offensives on the front foot, from a safe distance and out of sight." huangfu song  -- Aged General  -- "In the brutal business of war, there is no better teacher than experience." jia long  -- Short-sighted Peacekeeper  -- "Jia Long may dedicate much time to forethought, yet still lacks caution now and then." jia xu  -- The Blade in the Dark  -- Decisions made in secret can have the deadliest outcomes. jiang wei  -- Budding Commander  -- "Known for being an expert general despite his inexperience, Jiang Wei has a precocious talent for war." kong rong  -- Master Scholar  -- "Kong Rong claims descent from the great Confucius himself, attested to by his remarkable wit and scholarly fame." kong zhou  -- Pure Conversationalist  -- "A master at the art of Qingtan, Kong Zhou utilises discussion and debate as a means of intellectual self-improvement." lady sun  -- The Rising Sun  -- "As surely as the sun rises, the Lady will always endeavour to get her way." li ru  -- Vicious Shadow  -- Behind every despot's schemes is the intellect of a consummate strategist. ling tong  -- Daring Errant  -- "For some men, war is a chance to prove one's self and seek adventure." liu bei  -- Virtuous Idealist  -- "Despite having come from modest beginnings, the blood of ancient Han emperors flows through Liu Bei's veins." liu biao  -- Gentleman of the Han  -- "A man seldom ruffled, Liu Biao demonstrates his aristocratic pedigree through stable officiality." liu dai  -- Generous Attendant  -- "In spite of the harsh realities of palace life, Liu Dai conducts himself according to his nature: with kindness and benevolence." liu xie  -- Former Emperor  -- "While no longer leading their people, they still strive to bring peace to the land." liu yan  -- Opportunistic Ruler  -- "Some men just want to watch the world burn, while others use the opportunities placed before them." liu yao  -- Welcoming Magistrate  -- "Liu Yao appears to be a 'yes' man, but is nevertheless known for his staunch incorruptibility." liu yu  -- Prosperous Trader  -- Liu Yu's rapport with foreigners and minorities has enabled him to amass considerable wealth from trade. liu zhang  -- Proponent of Peace  -- "A timid and suspicious noble, Liu Zhang displays a willingness to avoid war, even if that means surrender." lu bu  -- Warrior Without Equal  -- "With unpredictable loyalty and unsurpassed martial skill, Lü Bu is the most dangerous warrior beneath the heavens." lu fan  -- Go Master  -- Go is not just an abstract game of strategy --it is a measure of one's aptitude in tactical forethought. lu meng  -- Late Scholar  -- "Despite becoming literate late on in his career, Lü Meng has proved himself a most able scholar." lu su  -- Charitable Envoy  -- "Ever the philanthropic diplomat, Lu Su's affluence empowers his charitable nature." lu xun  -- Scholar General  -- "Equal parts brains and brawn, Lu Xun can oversee both civil and military matters." ma chao  -- Most-brilliant Warrior  -- "With a complexion like jade and eyes like shooting stars, Ma Chao is a warrior truly brilliant in appearance." ma dai  -- Fraternal Warrior  -- There are few things more important to Ma Dai than bloodline and family. ma teng  -- Protector of the West  -- "Ma Teng may treat his friends well, but he remains merciless with the Han's enemies." mi zhu  -- Dependable Administrator  -- "In these interesting times of fluctuating allegiances, the steadfast loyalty of Mi Zhu can always be relied upon." pang de  -- White Horse General  -- "Pang De is an unrelenting force, whose avowed enemies know they must face him sooner or later." pang tong  -- Fledgling Phoenix  -- "Having risen from the ashes of obscurity, the 'Crown of Learned Men' is an advisor of the highest esteem." pei yuanshao  -- Virtuous Outrider  -- "Whether in charge of brigands or soldiers, one must lead by example, always riding at the head of the host." shi xie  -- King Shi  -- "With his long and distinguished record of sophisticated service, Shi Xie is destined for stately eminence." sima yi  -- Silver Eminence  -- "If you cannot fight, defend. If you cannot defend, flee. If you cannot flee, surrender. If you cannot surrender, die!""""" sun ce  -- The Little Conqueror  -- "Sun Ce has been likened to the warrior-kings of old, with an aptitude for military leadership that belies his youth." sun jian  -- Tiger of Jiangdong  -- "Claiming ancestry with the renowned military strategist Sun Tzu, the fearless Sun Jian has war flowing through his veins." sun qian  -- Upstanding Loyalist  -- Sun Qian's word is an unwavering bond. sun quan  -- Emerald-eyed Administrator  -- "Striking looks and a sturdy frame betokens Sun Quan's great nobility, heroism and longevity." taishi ci  -- of Exceptional Dexterity  -- "From horse-riding to archery, Taishi Ci excels in all manner of physical pursuits." tao qian  -- of the Sincere Jurisdiction  -- "Tao Qian may be a highly influential and ambitious figure, but expansionism is not on his personal agenda." wang lang  -- Ardent Educator  -- "A keen imparter of knowledge, even when it is neither wanted nor welcome." wang xiu  -- The Righteous Hero  -- "Never can it be said that Wang Xiu was ever disloyal, dishonourable or unwilling to come to the aid of those he serves." wei yan  -- Disobedient Tiger  -- "For the distrustful Wei Yan, a violent betrayal always simmers below the surface." wen chou  -- Fierce Firebrand  -- "If only Wen Chou were here, I'd have nothing to fear!""""" xiahou dun  -- Hotheaded Officer  -- Those who know Xiahou Dun know not to get on his bad side. xiahou dun 2  -- The One-eyed Exile  -- "You really don't want to know what he did with his eye after losing it to that arrow...""""" xiahou yuan  -- Maker of Ways  -- "When it comes to military logistics, where there's a will, Xiahou Yuan has a way." xu chu  -- Tiger Fool  -- "Xu Chu is a man of simple thoughts and principles, but an impressive warrior who fights with a bestial rage." xu huang  -- Guardian of the Gates  -- "When assigned to guardianship, Xu Huang is an immovable sentinel, requiring a tremendous effort to bypass." xu shu  -- Disguised Diplomat  -- "His body may be in one place, but his heart is in quite another." xun you  -- Gentleman Attendant  -- "A member of the learned scholar-gentry, Xun You is a profound thinker of great insight." xun yu  -- Hegemon's Aide  -- "Here comes my Zifang!""""" yan liang  -- Valiant Vanguard  -- "A foremost general of considerable military prowess, the gutsy Yan Liang is unmatched among ordinary warriors." yu jin  -- Enforcer of the Law  -- "As an imperious, by-the-book disciplinarian, Yu Jin rules his subordinates with fear and drilled-in obedience." yuan shao  -- Preeminent Commander  -- "Yuan Shao's astuteness, dignity and arrogance are the mark of his ancestors, many of whom served emperors past." yuan shu  -- Ambitious Powermonger  -- Yuan Shu is an ambitious but overconfident individual --time will tell whether such qualities shall trip him or aid his desires. yue jin  -- The Lion of Yangping  -- "What Yue Jin lacks in stature he makes up for in fierceness, fearlessness, and deadliness with his bow." zhang chao  -- Flowing Calligrapher  -- Such graceful skills with ink and brush are the mark a man of great education and scholarly puissance. zhang fei  -- Drunken Brawler  -- "Hold my wine...""""" zhang he  -- Courageous General  -- Zhang He's fearlessness enables him to retain his composure when having to adapt to unfavourable situations. zhang kai  -- Slayer of Tyrants  -- "The unjust rulers of the old regime shall perish.""""" zhang liao  -- The Heavenly Dragon General  -- "The model of professionalism and organisation, Zhang Liao has heavenly leadership skills." zhang lu  -- Celestial Master  -- "Just as water penetrates mountains, Zhang Lu always seeks to overcome hardness by his own accord." zhang yan  -- King of Black Mountain  -- "With his scores of followers, the bandit leader known as 'Flying Swallow' wields the influence of a king." zhang yang  -- Ignored Warlord  -- What is the fate of he who is forsaken and unjustly distrusted by his fellow warlords\? Only heaven knows. zhao yun  -- Light in the Dark  -- "In the darkest times of war, the auras of the most resplendent warriors gleam brightest." zheng jiang  -- Bandit Queen  -- "Hell-bent on plunder, Zheng Jiang goes to unspeakable lengths to obtain her loot." zhou tai  -- Man of Many Scars  -- "His scar-riddled skin is a canvas of stories, telling of countless bloody battles past." zhou yu  -- Melodic Strategist  -- "If there is a mistake in the tune, Zhou Yu will look up.""""" zhuge jin  -- Bookish Scholar  -- "Having studied history and poetry in years past, Zhuge Jin is a man who appreciates scholarship." zhuge liang  -- Sleeping Dragon  -- "A peerless genius and insightful strategist, there are few situations that Zhuge Liang's astute intellect cannot overcome."

[40sandfabulousaf]

大家好! My new fans have arrived. The boxes they came in were taped together and boy, they were so heavy! Fingers crossed they cool my home enough from March to August next year so that I can limit AC usage and do my part for climate change. In the office, we turn the lights off in our section when there's enough natural sunlight streaming in through the windows and during lunch breaks to save energy (when we remember to do so).

酿豆腐 niang dou fu - yong tau fu soup eaten with rice $6.70

This week, we learnt that EC and AH won't be attending the D & D next month. This year has been much more stressful so a chance to relax and socialise is welcomed. I won't stay till the end but I fully intend to enjoy myself and have fun! The initial excitement has waned, so there haven't been many discussions about the event over lunch. I'll start digging in my closet for a suitable dress over the coming weekends.

砂煲咖喱鸡 sha bao ga li ji - claypot chicken curry $8, up from $6.30

Onto other stuff, the office has been freezing cold during this rainy season! I wear a thick jacket and have another covering my legs and even this doesn't keep me warm enough during downpours. We've been craving hot soups and local curries, especially the former. Many local and Asian food businesses serve their broths steaming hot and I especially appreciate this on very cold days. It helps that soups are my kinda comfort food.

猪肚鱼漂汤 zhu du yu piao tang - pork tripe and fish maw soup eaten with rice $9.50

There were 2 very stressful days this week. I'm just glad that they're over and done with. We'll have a short period of peace before those yucky stressful days arrive again. For now, I'll forget about them and revel in having some room to breathe! There's also the treat with Grace and Douglas coming up, and I'll share about it in a later post.

From next year onwards, our GST will increase by 1% and by another 1% in 2024. Since this comes on top of the current inflationary period, I've been planning a teensy switch, which will help to ensure I stay within my budget. Catch ups with Grace and Douglas will take place on Friday evening/night after work instead of over the weekend. This way, I save on to-and-fro trips on Saturday or Sunday and that saves me money every week! 下次见!

[friday1econlive]

I learned Econ 20A this quarter and I found that lots of things happened in daily life is related to economic concept. There are some examples:

Externality:

I found I am a international student who comes from China. When I lived in China, my neighbor owned a cute dog. They were kind and I loved them very much. I am a person who loved dogs very much. Thus I used to playing with them. After learning Econ 20A this quarter, I notice that this situation can called as externality. According to cambridge business dictionary, the definition of externality is damage caused by a company’s activities for which it does not pay, or something positive created by it for which it does not receive payment. Having fun with my neighbor’s dog is an positive externality. While I was playing with my neighbor’s dog, I felt happy and relax. This kind of feeling is something positive. And to receive this, I did not have to pay for it.

Opportunity cost:

As a college student, I need to work hard in order to earn higher grades. I can still remember a thing happened last quarter.

One day, I promised my roommate to go shopping with her in order to prepare for the Christmas. We have already prepared for shopping. Also, we have listed all of things we need to buy and things we need to decorate our house. However, I find that I have a writing due at 7 pm. This assignment is a 500 words essay.  I have totally forgot it. So, I need to write this essay in 4 hours. Meanwhile, I was afraid that i could not hang out with my roommate, and she has expected go shopping for a long time. However, I have to tell her that I have to work on my essay first. I could see the disappointment in her eyes, but she still said that she will wait for me. Moreover, I was afraid that after I finished the essay, the shopping will close. However, I have give up spending more time on hanging out with my friend.

I can say that this scene has happened frequently. Every time I want to hang out with my friend I need to finish my work first.

From economics’ view, the time I give up hang with my friend could be the opportunity cost for my homework.

The time I could play with my friends could be the opportunity cost for that I choose to do my homework.

Group member: 

Jialin Du / 25957139

Yangduo Fu / 95652872

[livyantonelli-blog]

With Hardin we sat on the couch, looking down on the picture he began to tell me his past. 

H: Liv, this woman you see here is my mother, in this picture I had to be 6 or 7 years old, it's the only picture I have left of her ... I only had her I never knew my father, I do not even know if I look like him ... My mother could never tell me who he was because ... my mother was a drug addict, who bought her cam while prostituting himself. A lot of guys have gone home, his guy more or less appointed beat it, she did not even react, I was very small at that time and I saw him getting banged by this brute! I had not even reached the age of understanding, I had to clean up behind her, I was barely 5 years old I saw her drink to no end, drink to vomit her guts, and c I was the one who cleaned all that, I was small it was my mother, it was the only parent I had, I was trying to be a good boy for her! But one day, so she had screwed up, and she was hovering on her bed, her guy got angry, because she did not react to his threats, I took it! I suffered the blows, the insults and she, she my mother did not even move to help me. I can tell you that I spent nights at her bedside cursing her for what she was, for making me have such a horrible childhood that I would not wish anyone. One autumn night while I was in my room, I heard screams from the living room, her boyfriend was back, I hid in my closet for fear of receiving another beating, but I did not I did not expect this man to kill my mother, practically before my eyes. I was far too scared to go out, I stayed almost three days without food in this closet, with the corpse of my mother rotting on the floor of the living room. It is the smell surely that alerted the neighbor, she called the police who find me scared. I was placed in foster care, no one wanted a problem child who was just fighting. So I was placed in an orphanage, I spent my day reading, the only thing I really liked, it's there that I also met a man, a businessman, a publisher, he managed his business, he taught me the guitar, this man I considered him as my father, I could even call him dad. Then the teenager came quickly, like my mother before, I put myself in the drug, I was without fear, brawler, a bad boys, who made the girls succumb, but none that I liked, it was pleasure nothing more, I refused to suffer and to be abandoned, my mother had abandoned me, she had stopped playing her role of mother the day the drug was read stronger than my own well being. In spite of everything it was my mother, and this picture Liv, it is all that remains to me forever of it, the only good memory which I keep preciously. Everything that Hardin said to me touched me a lot. But at the same time I understood my vision of the last time. I did not know if I had to tell him. But what I had just understood was too much for me and I had to tell him. Liv: Hardin ... .. do I have to tell you something? Hardin: What? Liv: When you last touched me on the terrace and I woke up in your arms. Do you remember ? Hardin Yes and? Liv: I saw your mother with a strange man. I would have said it was a vampire. And if I am a key of time as my father says. What I saw is the day of your conception. Hardin: ...... Liv: Hardin ... I ...... I think your father is a vampire. Hardin is up at once. And headed for the door. Liv: Where are you going? Hardin: I need to be alone and answer. Liv Hardin ......

*************************

Avec Hardin nous avons pris place sur le canapé, le regard baissé sur la photo il commença à me raconter son passé. 

Hardin: Liv, cette femme que tu vois là c'est ma mère, sur cette photo je devais avoir 6 ou 7ans, c'est la seule photo qu'il me reste d'elle... Je n'avais qu'elle, je n'ai jamais connu mon père, je ne sais même pas si je lui ressemble... Ma mère n'a jamais pu me dire qui il étais car ... ma mère était une droguée, qui s'achetait sa came en se prostituant. Pas mal de mec sont passé chez nous, son mec plus ou moins attitré la battait, elle ne réagissais meme pas, j'étais tout petit à cet époque et je la voyait se faire taper dessus par cet brute! Je n'avais meme pas encore atteint l'âge de comprendre, que je devais nettoyer derrière elle, je n'avais qu'à peine 5ans je la voyais boire a n'en plus finir, boire à en vomir ses tripes, et c’est moi qui nettoyait tout ca, j'étais petit c'était ma mère, c'était le seul parent que j’avais, j’essayais d'être un bon garçon pour elle! Mais un jour, alors elle s'était défoncé, et qu'elle planait sur son lit, son mec est arrivé en colère, vu qu'elle ne réagissait pas à ses menaces, c’est moi qui prenait! Je subissait les coups, les injures et elle , elle ma mère ne bougeait même pas pour me secourir. Je peux te dire que j'en ai passer des nuits à son chevet à la maudire de ce qu'elle était, de me faire passer une enfance si horrible que je ne le souhaiterais pas à personne. Un soir d'automne, alors que j'étais dans ma chambre, j'ai entendu des cris provenant du salon, son mec était de retour, je me suis caché dans mon armoire de peur de recevoir une autre raclée, mais je ne m'attendais pas à ce que cet homme tue ma mère, pratiquement devant mes yeux. J'avais beaucoup trop peur pour sortir, je suis restait presque trois jours sans nourriture dans cet armoire, avec le cadavre de ma mère pourrissant sur le sol du salon.C'est l'odeur surement qui a alerter la voisine, elle a appelé les services de police qui m'ont retrouver là apeuré. Je fus placer de foyer d'accueil en foyer d'accueil, personne ne voulait d'un enfant à problème qui ne faisait que se battre. Je fus donc placer en orphelinat, je passait mes journée à lire, la seule chose que j'aimais vraiment, c'est là-bas aussi que j'y ai rencontré un homme, un homme d'affaire, un éditeur, il gérait son entreprise, il m'a appris la guitare, cet homme je le considérait comme mon père, je pouvais même l'appeler papa. Puis l'adolescence est vite venu, comme ma mère avant, je me suis mis dans la drogue, j'étais sans peur, bagarreur, un bad boys, qui faisait succomber les nanas, mais aucune que j'aimais, c'était du plaisir rien de plus, je refusais de souffrir et d'être abandonné, ma mère m'avait abandonné, elle avait arrêter de jouer son rôle de mère le jour où la drogue était lus forte que mon propre bien être. Malgré tout c'était ma mère, et cette photo Liv, c'est tout ce qu'il me reste à jamais d'elle, le seul bon souvenir que je garde précieusement.

Tout ce que venait me dire Hardin me touchait énormément. Mais en même temps j'ai compris ma vision de la dernière fois. Je ne savais pas si je devais lui dire. Mais ce que je venais de comprendre était trop lourd pour moi et je devais lui dire.

Liv : Hardin ….. je dois te dire quelques chose ?

Hardin : Quoi ?

Liv : Lorsque tu m'a touchés la dernière fois sur la terrasse et que je me suis réveillé dans tes bras. Tu te souviens ?

Hardin Oui et ?

Liv : J'ai vu ta mère avec un homme étrange. J'aurais dis que c'était un vampire. Et si je suis une clè du temps comme dit mon père. Ce que j'ai vu est le jour de ta conception.

Hardin : ……

Liv : Hardin …. je …… je crois que ton père est un vampire.

Hardin c'est levé d'un coup. Et pris la direction de la porte.

Liv : Ou vas tu ?

Hardin : J'ai besoin d'être seul et de réponse.

Liv Hardin ……

[imthepunchlord]

RoM: what was the more complicated plan

So I’m working on RoM again, going to go back and make edits to fit the simpler idea, an idea that will strictly resolves around Chat, Mariposa, and Harlequin. For this reason, some (likely later) chapters will get taken down, some parts cut out chapters, and plan/hope to add some stuff in (like more bonding moments, like Mari and Nooroo having fun with horror games together, some more love square, more on Harlequin).

Because of this, the more complex plot is going to be shifted away from this fic. 

If any are curious to see what that plan was, here was what I was thinking/planning. Everything under cut won’t be happening in RoM for sure. 

Mariposa made Mireille a Champion and they won against Harlequin and her new power Invasion. Doing so lead to Mireille winning and Aurore is furious with Mariposa because of this, making her feel this win was unfair. 

Matheo (HM) has Harlequin attack Fu, Fu escapes with his miraculous, but the bee is left behind. Harlequin wanted to use the bee as well but Matheo convinces her that it’d be better to have a partner to help in battle.

He chose Aurore to give the bee, also hoping that she’d be easier to make a minion than Harlequin. Bee!Aurore would’ve rose up as Reine du Ciel (Queen of the Sky) and would’ve viewed Mariposa as her true rival, just as Harlequin largely viewed Chat as hers. 

Reine and Harley have a very rough partnership and Matheo is struggling to keep control over the two. But they’re both aggressive enough to make Chat and Mariposa unsteady. 

They almost steal a miraculous from our heroes, but are saved by Garde D’or (Guard of Gold), who is the mysterious fox hero. 

Garde shows fondness for the two and reassures that she’s a friend, but disappears after Harley and Reine flee the scene, leaving Mariposa and Chat unsure of her. 

Fu fled to the Agreste manor and Gabriel is quick to send a curious Adrien away. Fu pleads for the Peacock(L’ange at the time, meaning the angel) to join the fight, revealing that HM has returned. 

Gabriel agrees.

Next fight L’ange does join, and has a rough meeting with our heroes. 

Harlequin has a stroke of luck and the peacock miraculous is successfully taken from Gabriel and given to Matheo, who out of spite names himself Archange (archangel), and uses the peacock’s healing power to heal the old wound Gabriel gave him. 

Garde D’or saves Gabriel and the kids, and reveals herself to be Mama Agreste. 

Tearful family reunion. 

Then comes a big miraculous clash that would be the big climax.

Black Cat v Ladybug

Butterfly v Bee

Fox v Peacock

Fu likely joins as the Turtle hero, helps the heroes win and all miraculouses are reclaimed.

Lila has bad luck for her misuse.

Aurore will forever struggle in drawing people to her ever again. 

Matheo looses his persuasion skills, ability to connect to others, and a weaker immune system. For extra measure. Fu erases all three’s memory. 

Peacock, Butterfly, Fox, and Bee are returned to Fu, Marinette rightfully accepts the earrings, becoming Ladybug. 

That was the more complex idea for RoM, one that would be interesting to write, but a bit much over all, and would’ve taken away from the original idea of RoM and just be too busy for this fic. 

[afishtrap]

What were the organizational structures of China’s maritime trade with its eastern neighbours, and what was the relationship between government trade control mechanism and private business that engaged in this sector of the market economy? How important were in particular organizations such as huiguan 會館 and yahang 牙行? The present article addresses these issues by documenting in detail the cases of China’s Ming and Qing period trade relations with the Ryūkyūs and the Sino-Japanese copper trade during the high Qing. The article analyzes the complex relatedness and competition between government-controlled organizations like the broker houses that were operated on the human resources outside the bureaucracy and private enterprises of business firms as well as native-place guilds. The public policy of control over maritime trade on the China coast was implemented not in a context of zero-sum game between the interest of the state and that of the private sector. Rather, the policy ended up creating a structure where interests of both sides were compromised but served. The result was a favourable business environment for both the Fujian and the Jiangnan market economy, witnessed even in the more restricted sector of maritime trade under Qing rule.

Schottenhammer, Angela. 2010. “Brokers and ‘Guild’ (huiguan 會館) Organizations in China’s Maritime Trade with Her Eastern Neighbours During the Ming and Qing Dynasties.” Ed. Angela Schottenhammer. Crossroads : Studies on the History of Exchange Relations in the East Asian World 1-2: 99–150.

Many huiguan were obviously established with the specific aim of resisting the influence of brokers and agents for the sale of commodities on commission (yahang 牙行). The government issued a broker’s licence (yatie 牙帖) and expected the brokers to control trade on behalf of the government. This would of course imply contradictions with non-governmental private merchants, such as those organized into huiguan. A number of huiguan also organized their own markets on their grounds and built stores to sell the commodities of particular local or even foreign merchants. With increasing development of trade and commerce in particular in the south-eastern coastal regions, more and more merchants organized themselves according to business areas and fields, and the criteria for admission or exclusion became stricter. In addition, other economic groups, such as artisans, craftsmen etc., founded huiguan, too. In this context, also different names emerged, besides huiguan especially the term gongsuo 公所, which in Suzhou – in contrast to the merchants’ or trade huiguan – was primarily used by craftsmen and people who were in some respect integrated into the production process of commodities;3 in Shanghai, on the other hand, huiguan apparently were native-place organizations, gongsuo instead common-trade organizations.4

[...]

In places like Fujian, since Ming times authorized brokers were appointed by the government to manage foreign trade. As Fu Yiling has already noted, they were shop-keepers (pushang 舖商) from Haicheng, the maritime centre of the Ming period, and were selected from among the registered shop-keeper households (puhu 舖戶).8 By the Yongzheng reign (1723–1735), puhu households and hang households (hangjia 行家) existed side by side, hang merchants overshadowing puhu households without hang affiliation.9 These organizations thus had a clear relation to foreign trade. After the 1720s, as Ng Chin-keong has shown, specialization among merchants engaged in maritime trade became more complex.

Originally, the authorized firms dealing with foreign goods were called yang-huo hang [洋貨行]. They were both exporters of native products to Nanyang [the Southern Seas (Nanyang 南洋), A.S.] and importers of foreign goods for domestic trade, in other words they both domestic coastal and overseas trade. 10

In 1727, new rules placed overseas trade under the management of the ocean hang (yanghang 洋行) and coastal trade under the management of merchant hang (shanghang 商行). These organizations emerged in international ports like Guangzhou or Xiamen.11

Generally speaking, organizations managing foreign trade consequently rather seem to have developed from a cooperation of more or less official brokers than from a cooperation of various private merchants engaged in the same branch of business. But, as not only the case of Xiamen may show, private merchants were also involved. We will see this both in China’s organization of maritime trade with the Ryūkyūs and in the Sino-Japanese copper trade.

[...]

Some Chinese sources record that in 1393 the Ming Emperor Hongwu sent thirty-six Chinese families to the Ryūkyūs as officials to assist in the maintenance of the bilateral diplomatic and exchange relations and the establishment of a stable bureaucratic government on the islands.18 Arano Yasunori claims, however, that “(c)ontrary to the common assumption that the Ming Emperor sent them to the Ryūkyū Kingdom, (…) they spontaneously came from abroad, settled and formed their community”.19 The Ming shi speaks of “thirty-six households of ship-builders which were bestowed from among the people of Min, in order to ease the intercourse of tribute envoys” (ci Minzhong zhougong sanshiliu hu, yi bian gongshi wanglai 賜閩中舟工三十六户以便貢使往来).20 The Lidai bao’an speaks of thirty-six surnames from Min who entered the country (Minren sanshiliu xing ruguo 閩人三十六姓入國).21 Descendants of these thirty-six families later served as foreign interpreters (yi tongshi 夷通事) in bilateral relations.22 It would go far beyond the scope of the present paper to analyze the function of these interpreters in more detail. But it must be emphasized that their role and function comprised much more than merely the task of interpreting and that they were also directly involved in the management of Sino-Ryūkyūan diplomatic and trade relations.23 Generally speaking, we have to distinguish between local Chinese interpreters (tu tongshi 土通事) and foreign, that is Ryūkyūan, interpreters (yi tongshi 夷通事). Whereas the former served as interpreters for investiture missions (cefeng), the latter were part of Ryūkyū’s tribute missions to China. Also jiegong ships were usually provided with one chief or senior interpreter-clerk (du tongshi 都通事), selected to handle tributary and other public affairs of the district. In addition, two emissaries (shizhe 使者) and one temporary interpreter-clerk or residence attaché (cunliu tongshi 存留通事),24 on duty only at the Ryūkyūan hostel (Liuqiu guan 琉球館, see below) in Fujian dealing with tribute affairs, as well as their companions and shipmates, as a rule about eighty persons in total (equipped with some weapons), were part of the team. Regarding the trade aspect, the residence attaché (cunliu tongshi) played an important role.25

[...]

Rouyuan yi 柔逺驛 literally means the “office for being gracious to those afar”.27 The Rouyuan yi in Fuzhou was a kind of Reception Bureau especially designed for people from the Ryūkyūs. It handled the reception of Ryūkyū chieftains, collected their tribute goods, and issued gifts for presentation at the Ryūkyūan court. In addition to the shibo si, the Ming government had opened in 1405 (Yongle 3) “residences for foreigners” (yi 驛) that consequently formed part of the shibo si in Zhejiang, Fujian und Guangzhou and were meant to serve in particular for the lodging of envoys and foreign guests. The residence in Guangzhou (Guangdong) was called “Huaiyuan yi” 懷遠驛, the one in Quanzhou (Fujian) “Laiyuan yi”來遠驛 and the one in Ningbo (Zhejiang) “Anyuan yi”安遠驛.28 The Laiyuan yi in Quanzhou was especially established as a residence for merchants and envoys from the Ryūkyūs and served at the same time as a store-house for their goods. Most of the Ryūkyūan tribute ships first called at the port of Fuzhou though, because, when continuing their journey to the capital at Beijing, they sailed down the Min River from Fuzhou northwestwards.29 As it was consequently very inconvenient for them to be obliged to call at Quanzhou first to pass the official regulations, the shibo si of Quanzhou was eventually moved to Fuzhou and called “Huaiyuan yi”, and the office in Quanzhou was abolished.30 Because the respective institution in Guangzhou was also called “Huaiyuan yi”, the one in Fuzhou was eventually renamed “Rouyuan yi” 柔遠驛 during the Wanli (1573–1619) reign period. The term “Liuqiu guan”琉球館 (or Ryūkyūkan) that came to be used for this institution in Qing times is a popular designation, reflecting the fact that it was mostly people from the Ryūkyūs who resided there.

[...]

Another document in the Lidai bao’an 歷代寳案 refers to another occasion when a Ryūkyūan tribute delegation requested to trade for white silk (baisi 白絲) and mentions ten well-known local brokers (bendi shiya 本地識牙)34 who were in charge of managing the trade, the prices and the provision of interpreters, namely Liang Ji 梁跡, Zheng Xuan 鄭玄, Lu Feng 魯豐, He Yida 何益達, Zheng Bi 鄭碧, Wang Ye 王燁, Zhang Gong 張拱, Feng Sheng 馮升, Zheng Qi 鄭齊 and Liang Ying 梁英 (shiren shenjia 十人身家).35 Thus, already in the Ming period the Lidai bao’an speaks about so-called “ten names” (shijia 十家) of merchants or brokers responsible for the trade. The Ryūkyūan envoy Jin Yingyuan 金應元 mentions Zheng Xuan 鄭玄and Liang Ji 梁跡, in all ten people.36 In Fuzhou these merchants were called “shijiapai”十家排 (lit. “a row of ten families”).

We can thus conclude that already in Ming times some kind of brokers (ya 牙), be they private or official, were obviously generally in charge of managing and supervising trade with the Ryūkyūs – and apparently, in addition to interpreters, ten merchants in particular were vested with this responsibility. Since direct private trade with the Ryūkyūs was not permitted, trade relations had to rely on these merchants or “brokers” who, according to the Chouhai tubian, were obviously mostly official brokers (guanya 官牙). If they eventually also fulfilled their role as official brokers and managed the bilateral trade in the sense of the government is another question. The general picture suggests that the government first selected certain local merchants and then vested them with the responsibility of acting as brokers, in other words, it absorbed private brokers into the state bureaucracy and turned them into a kind of government agents. In this context, one should perhaps rather than considering this system a strict state monopolization by government officials, speak of a, if not cooperation with, so at least of a nomination of private traders to fulfil government purposes, rather than of strict state monopolization by government officials.

Based on the Ming shilu 明實錄 and the Lidai bao’an, Ryūkyūan tribute items can generally be divided into three categories:

a) Native local products: sulphur, horses, safflower dye, silk floss padding, linen, ramie, and banana-fibre cloth, fans, white paper, and whetstones.

b) Japanese products: swords of various kinds, spears, gloves, shoulder and leg covers, helmets and armour both for men and horses, saddles, bridles, shields, fans, fruit boxes, small horses, incense burners, gold and silver vessels, lacquer objects, gold, copper and so-called “jiumei” 酒梅, apparently a kind of plum pickled in wine;

c) Products imported from Southeast Asia: pepper, cloves, sapan wood, sandalwood, various kinds of incense, ivory, tin, aloe, rhinoceros horn, shark and otter skin.37

According to the Min shu 閩書, trade articles during the Ming and Qing included products made of gold, silver, copper and tin as well as agate, ivory, spices, traditional Chinese medicinal materials, knife sharpeners, sulphur, swords, different kinds of dried seafood and articles for daily use.38 No doubt, these articles did not all come from the Ryūkyūs – most of them were from Siam, Java, Malacca and Japan. This indicates that the Ryūkyūs played a role as an intermediary trader. In other words, this kind of trade can also indirectly be described as a trade between China and other countries with the Ryūkyūs as an intermediary.

[mastcomm]

Coronavirus Live Updates: Residents Flee as City is Locked Down

A city of 11 million is put on lockdown.

Chinese authorities on Thursday morning closed off Wuhan — a major port city of more than 11 million people and the center of a pneumonia-like virus that has spread halfway around the world — by canceling planes and trains leaving the city, and suspending buses, subways and ferries within it.

In Wuhan, residents said that a sense of fear was growing as the city went into lockdown.

The new virus, which first emerged at the end of December, has killed at least 17 people and sickened more than 570, including in Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, South Korea and the United States. It has raised the specter of a repeat of the SARS epidemic, which broke out in China in 2002 and 2003 and spread rapidly while officials obscured the seriousness of the crisis. That virus eventually killed more than 800 people worldwide.

Roughly 30,000 people fly out of Wuhan on an average day, according to air traffic data. Many more leave using ground transportation like trains and cars. The city is the hub of industry and commerce in central China, home to the region’s biggest airport and deepwater port.

The sudden restrictions could upend the travel plans of millions of Chinese citizens, who travel in huge numbers during the Lunar New Year holiday, which begins on Friday. The government said it would close Wuhan’s airport and train stations to departures, and it urged residents not to leave the city — a major transportation hub — unless they had an urgent reason to do so.

Residents in Wuhan are nervous. Some are also angry.

Some residents were directing their anger at the local authorities, accusing them of not doing enough to contain the crisis.

“The government did not fulfill its duty,” Du Hanrong, 56, a retiree, said by telephone. “They just are doing things hastily and carelessly.”

Others said they were going about business as usual, and that people were still going out to shop for the New Year. Still, many residents were taking precautions, such as canceling plans to have dinner with friends and relatives for the holiday.

“We are all quarantining ourselves at home voluntarily now,” said Tony Li, 39. “Cutting off the city is necessary. Wuhan is the center of the epidemic, after all.”

The outbreak is testing Wuhan’s health care system. Several Wuhan residents said on social media websites that they had gone from hospital to hospital, waiting in lines for hours, only to be sent home with medicine and instructions to seek further treatment later if symptoms persisted in a few days.

Doctors told some patients that there was a shortage of hospital beds as well as testing kits, according to posts on Chinese social media sites. According to Chinese news reports, a patient flew to Dalian to seek treatment at hospitals there after he was sent home from a hospital in Wuhan. In Dalian, he tested positive for the coronavirus.

Calls to local hospitals in Wuhan rang unanswered Wednesday.

Many residents tried to leave the city before the shutdown.

The announcement that the city of Wuhan would be temporarily sealed off from the outside world starting at 10 a.m. on Thursday came while most residents were asleep at 2 a.m.

Some decided to flee the city.

Residents were seen hauling their luggage to a train station in the early hours before the citywide lockdown took effect, the Chinese news outlet Caixin reported. Several people said they would buy tickets for any destination as long as they could leave Wuhan, the magazine reported.

Lines of passengers in masks and down jackets, lugging suitcases, formed outside the major Hankou railway station just 20 minutes before the cutoff time, a live video by media outlet The Paper showed.

What is a coronavirus and why is it so deadly?

Coronaviruses are named for the spikes that protrude from their membranes, which resemble the sun’s corona. They can infect both animals and people, and cause illnesses of the respiratory tract, ranging from the common cold to severe conditions like SARS, which sickened thousands of people around the world — and killed nearly 800 — during a 2003 outbreak.

Symptoms of infection include a high fever, difficulty breathing and lung lesions. Milder cases may resemble the flu or a bad cold, making detection very difficult. The incubation period — the time from exposure to the onset of symptoms — is believed to be about two weeks.

Little is known about who is most at risk. Some of the nine patients who have died also suffered other illnesses.

Reporting was contributed by Amy Qin, Vivian Wang, Russell Goldman, Christopher Buckley, Javier Hernández, Austin Ramzy, Steven Lee Myers, Tiffany May and Elaine Yu. Amber Wang, Albee Zhang, Claire Fu, Elsie Chen and Zoe Mou contributed research.

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