#also I SWEAR I LIKE ZHENG- but the part of me that sees her as a hollow Ed 'narrative mirror' finds her a bit boring until episode 7

[mysteriouslybluepirate]

Can't send asks from my sideblog, but this is @chewing-the-drywall

I feel like much of s2 fell into Frenchie's "we put it in the box and then lock it and don't open it again" in the sense that it set up A LOT that I was intrigued about how they would address it, but it either never was mentioned again or was handled poorly.

Examples range from light, like how I wish we saw more of the crew interacting with each other in ways that built on their characters from S1, where in S2 they didn't feel any more developed, or even regressed. (Example, Fang used the word Fingies 2-3 times through S2, and it felt like they were using it almost as a shorthand for his character, rather than making him feel more real and multidimensional as a character.)

100% @chewing-the-drywall. When I first heard that line I had I was so excited for the story to prove Frenchie wrong. Or show how important it can be to put aside problems to stay alive in the moment. But in the end, this one line summarized how the season handled everyone, besides Stede and Ed. Below, is an in depth discussion on where this season decided to spend it's limited amount of time. Instead of focusing on the characters and plotlines they'd already established.

This season had so MANY ideas it wanted to touch on.

Izzy trying to deal with his unrequited love and opening up to a new way of living. The traumatized 'Revenge' crew trying to adapt to a softer way of life again. The abandoned crew learning how to help their traumatized friends. Introducing new characters like Zheng, Auntie, and Archie into our main group. Setting up a conflict to resolve in season three. Along the way, referencing Pirates of history like Ned Low, Mary Reed, and Anne Bonny.

Notice, I've said all this and we're not even at our romantic leads.

Which is fine. Stories are fluid things. As long as the story knows how to flow from our leads to our side characters. Which leads us to how I feel this show took a lot of time away from establishing our central crew-

[Warning- this will be a controversial opinion- I want to know what y'all think about this] Zheng/Oluwande. This seasons habit of retreading old plotlines and referencing scenes from S1.

What S1 did so well was paralleling the side stories with what was going on with Ed/Stede. Usually, highlighting how well Stede/Ed worked by showing how much Ed/Izzy DIDN'T work. Or general hijinks that tied into the plot (Oluwande and Frenchie on the French ship).

Season 2 chose to parallel our main story with what was going on between Zheng/Oluwande as a budding romance and Izzy's slow recovery. The reason Zheng/Oluwande scenes felt like a waste for me in that the story was JUST a retelling the story we watched from S1.

A frustrated first mate(Auntie), and a legendary captain(Zheng) fighting over the captain falling in love with an idiot(Olu). In season 2, much like every callback for me, it felt like it slowed down the plot by pulling us out of the story. Like...yeah, you did the thing again, do you want me to applaud you for it?

I LIKE Zheng and Oluwande as a couple! I like that Oluwande was debating leaving Stede and taking Jim and Archie with him. But at the same time, I didn't care about Zheng until episode 7 when she beat up Stede, showing that yes. She's not just some all powerful woman taken down by a mix of love(the crew in ep3) and thinking that she was above it all (ep 7). She's fast on her feet, smart, and willing to stab someone who gets in her way. She's her own person. But.

Every other scene that established her was about her romance, felt like we could have put Rhys and Taika in there. It didn't feel...unique. It's as if the show only knows 1 way to write a romance between a badass and a bumbling idiot. Again. Oluwande in season 1 wasn't dumb in the same way everyone else was. He was protective of Jim, a bit nervous overall, but he was the person the crew chose to lead them. The season just dumbed everyone down a bit and called it a day.

This comes to the larger issue. When we only have eight episodes I don't want to rewatch the exact same plot beats with different characters. Time spent here ends up taking away from other stories we could have told about trauma and growing as a family and other forms of growing as a family. We didn't need another romance plot line. Imagine taking this time instead to show Lucius reaching out to Pete AND the crew for help. Or Frenchie finally feeling safe enough to play his lute. Or Roach helping Fang get over his thing with cakes-you get my point.

The fact we took all the found family stuff from season one, and pushed it onto only Izzy in S2 means when he dies, all the found family shit falls away. His death makes us realize we've been ignoring the central family we were supposed to care about. Because in so many words, their trauma was ignored.

[I even theorize if Izzy was alive and sailed away with them. Showing how he was taken in and loved by his crew, the ending wouldn't feel so hollow. This crew doesn't feel like a caring family. The person who protected them for months died, wasn't mourned, and then they threw a wedding the same day. Not even a full day to mourn. The 'New Revenge' feels like a heartless crew of characters we barely recognize because they aren't a family like they were at the end of S1. More like coworkers who sometimes fall in love with eachother.]

Trauma, Timelines, and Tonal issues when jumping from Episodes 1-3 to Episodes 4-5.

When the crews meet up, the story chooses to focus on the fun plot. Ed and Stede recovering their relationship, only dipping back into that serious tone when Izzy or Lucius come on screen to 'make things sad' again. I don't think the transition from 'serious' to 'comedy' was handled well.

I don't have an official timeline of the events of season two. But from what I remember, everything happens within 2 weeks.

In episode 4, Stede ignored the vote of his crew- to let the man who was torturing half his 'FAMILY' for at least 80 days- back aboard. This rubbed me the wrong way, as it showed Stede being a selfish prick in a way that could seriously harm his crew. That's when I started to see how not adding a *single* time-skip mid-season would hurt S2.

Imagine if we had a one-week off-screen time skip between episodes 4 and 5.

Maybe it's implied that they stay in that town for a bit. Izzy would a bit more time to learn to move on his new leg and start to open up to those he already trusts. Include a scene of Izzy WITH the crew, maybe laughing about something with the old traumatized crew, even if it's just a 30-second opener. Imply that the traumatized crew would have more time to settle in with the family they miss. Show that yeah, the traumatized crew needs more time to heal. Imply at the start of the 'Ed apology' that Ed and Stede have had more time to talk their issues out.

THEN have Ed apologize. You can even keep the bullshit corporate to show that Ed still has to work for this.

Healing takes time. Setting a series over the span of two weeks after half your cast was tortured by your lead love interest? After five of your main crew thought they would sail off into a storm and die after months of stress and life threatening battles? Why did that shit get shoved to the side so quickly?

Framing episode 5 as the START of Ed making amends with the crew, only to drop the plot by episode 7? Not a smart move. Because let's be honest, 'poison into positivity' in episode 6, referring to the fact that they sold all of Ed's loot to pay for the party, ignores the sacrifices the crew made to live that long. (The death of Ivan, and intense trauma they all need to work through). In a way, Ed throwing this party was him asking the crew to start putting everything away in that imaginary box.

It's Ed retroactively letting himself say 'hey, that time I spent torturing my captives was worth it because we got something good out of it' while still ignoring his own guilt. Ed needed to take accountability for his actions. No more 'I took 'a' mans leg' bullshit. The reason his arc feels so unsatisfying is that the plot easily forgives him. Fuck. I hate what they did for Ed's arc, but that's not the point.

Overall.

My issue with this season is not that it chose to do these topics, it's that it didn't think about the implications of what they were bringing up. It didn't dare to think 'maybe it's fucked if we quickly brush off a trauma like this'. Again. I know we have to blame MAX for cutting off two episodes. But I don't think 2 additional episodes would fix a tone problem seen going from episodes 3-4.

Fucking hell. Each member of the revenge had the potential for their own arc, so it's baffling to see them all reduced to 'well meaning idiot' when they all felt so fleshed out in S1.

When izzy gives his speech about belonging, there's a reason the only image in the show of the crew all together was from S1.

At the end of the day, Season 2 didn't let our surviving side characters grow. This is a mean spirited bit on how I feel the writers see the their own characters.

Stede and Ed are our leads. They won't die, not in this genera. Their shitty actions will be forgiven because it's a comedy, and as long as it's joked about, it holds no weight. They won't die. They won't get fatally hurt. Their trauma will be taken seriously, but it's a 50/50 on if they'll talk about it before breaking up again. They will eventually get a happy ending, their trauma looked at head on, because duh.

Jim, Olu, Lucius, Pete? Characters who used to have defined personalities in S1, but haven't been defined much beyond their relationships with their partners? Whose trauma might be mentioned, but will quickly be 'resolved' in one scene? Shame. Seems like they're only useful as set dressing, But we might make you useful as interchangeable side characters to riff against. Oh, and you're in love! Isn't that cool!

Izzy? I'll just quote Jenkins here. "To have him become a father figure to Blackbeard, and on some level to the rest of the crew, and to see him become the heart of why we’re giving pirates the chance to stand for being able to live how you choose. In reality, they’re thieves and criminals, but what our pirates stand for is a life of belonging to something larger than they are in the face of a crushing, slightly fascist normalcy." So...Is Izzy a pirate and accepted into the Revenge family? Or is he still an outsider? Jenkins gave us a romcom but still defines Izzy's character as that of one stuck in a drama/tragedy. Point and laugh, because tonally these two things clash HARD and will make an audience lose trust in it's writers unless well established. Leading us to the entire issue we've pointed out of not letting your characters actions hold in dramatic weight in your story.

Frenchie, Wee John, Roach, and Fang- Ah. No love interests again...shit. Well. Background actors it is... for now. We'll see. But we need 2 more scenes of the couple breaking up, so MAYBE you'll get some backstory hinted at in dialogue. You all have 1 thing your good at, so that's easy enough to put you where you belong.

Buttons and Swede? Well. They're still alive!! Don't be sad, fans :) The actors just couldn't show up anymore. We don't want our silly happy queer pirate rom com to not end on a happy ending! (Closes the lid of the trash can where they're keep Con O'Neill a bit tighter, thanking God Con was silenced by a strike this entire season from social media)

Do you agree, or disagree? Leave any lingering thoughts down below!

I'd love to chat down below.

[chaostroberry1]

Qin Shi Huang absolutely wrecked

⚠️btw, no hate to any of these characters! I just wanted to make another story. Please don't come at me alvitr and ying Zheng fans, I really like them I swear 🥲⚠️

Part 2 here!

⚠️Cheater QSH × reader angst where he can't really understand what he's feeling. I haven't continued reading the manga so I don't know when he'll wake up after recovering, so the part where he does wake up is made up by me.⚠️

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Imagine being his wife, is empress, and his supporter. Yet, he still has the audacity to do this to you?

You watch on the edge of your seat, excited for your darling's entrance, hope and excitiment running down your veins.

But, there was no denying the sadness it brought you to think of what would happen to him if he were to lose the fight. But you decided to have hope, because he was your dear husband.

Any negative thoughts like that would be bringing dishonor to him.

Happiness bursted through you when you saw him make his big entrance, not even noticing the big funny looking smile you had on, just for him. When he walked, he looked towards you, before slightly raising his blindfold upwards, Giving you a wink.

Your face flushed in embarrassment, before you quickly redeemed yourself.

Nows not the time to be playing around, especially when his life and the sake of humanity, was on the line. So you give yourself a nervous smile, a small little prayer mumbled from your lips in hopes of guiding your darling through the fight.

You suddenly snap out of it when you hear a yell from below. Seeing that it came from a pretty looking girl, who looked gravely upset.

"who's she?" Your eyes trailed off to where she was looking, before seeing that her grumpy little comment was towards your husband.

You couldn't hear much due to all the talking and whispering amongst watchers, but you could make up a few words— Like how Zheng didn't practice völundr with her, and other stuff. Not that it really mattered right now.

You giggle to yourself. Of course, that was so like him; one of the many things that made you love him so much. Such a charming man he was, indeed.

Before you could happily ascend into cloud nine with all the lovey dovey memories, your thoughts were quickly disrupted when you saw your dear beloved husband, pick her up with little effort.

Your heart dropped, a little feeling of sadness clouding your emotions. Why was he picking her up like that? And Why's she blushing so much?

You shook your head a little, shaking off those negative feelings, knowing your darling would never do anything to betray your trust.

Right?

You were immediately proved wrong when he pulled her closer, as her face heated up even more. Before there was a flash of light, along with her loud whine of how it was "unfair" or something.

Something in you felt like it was going to crack. Him? Her? YOUR HUSBAND, and, HER?

When the transformation of völundr was set in place, Huang felt a strike of energy hit him like an arrow through the head.

Yes, the man had an upset wife sensor 🙂

He quickly looked over to where you were sitting. A hint of worry plastered on his face which you couldn't really make out because of his blindfold.

But both of you exchanged sweet smiles, before the fight soon started.

...

As Huang was announced the winner, you watched as he fell down after a brief exchange of conversation with the Valkyrie girl.

You were horribly worried for your husband, but you were also very happy that he was the winner.

Things could have ended worse. This was basically a miracle which you were very grateful for.

Somehow, in some way—you couldn't get rid of the weird feeling swelling up in your chest. Especially whenever you saw him and that Valkyrie together. You just couldn't understand, why did you feel so negative even though he ended up winning? You already got the miracle that you wanted, so what else could have possibly been missing?

Everytime you saw them speak to one another, you'd see so much adoration in your beloved's eyes.

No, actually, Both of them had that look. One that could only be described as love.

You knew it was selfish to think that way, especially when they were just trying to help each other survive..

But, when you saw how he held her so gently when she was about to fall, even when he was literally MISSING an arm...

that was it.

Jealousy

...

A little while passed, and you went to a different Valkyrie girl, who went by the name of Brunhilde, who led you to your husband.

He was recovering from his injuries , so you figured you'd just come back later. Maybe you can just get some food and breathe up some fresh air.

Finally, when he did wake up, you find him staring down at the Valkyrie—who you heard from Brunhilde, was a girl who went by alvitr.

They stared into each other's eyes, her face flushed with a soft pink, a puffy angry face while his gaze lingered on her smaller figure.

You quickly hid, wanting to see where it would lead to.

"I have..feelings..."

"you...huh?- wh-What are you on about?!"

"I know it's wrong...but..seeing how much you were willing to go down with me through such events...I liked it very much"

"...."

"I'd like you to be...my..new bride. If that's alright with you."

He gave her a charming smile, as she was left with her brows knitted and cheeks flushed red from the embarrassment it brought her.

And with that, he gave her a small kiss, retreating his face, giving a little "Hao!" Afterwards

....

*CLANK*

You drop the tray of food you carried with you, your eyes wide with fury and betrayal, as the two turned their heads towards the noise that came from a distance.

Huang's eyes widened, and alvitr looked at you and him back and forth, a feeling of panic and worry quickly taking over her senses.

"Zheng....?" You mumbled, as he stood there, speechless, quickly opening his mouth to respond while the Valkyrie near him stood frozen.

"my empress! I-i didn't think you'd come looking for me-"

"save it.."

Your face contorted into one of sadness, as you looked at the face of your dear beloved husband, which was full of dread and nervousness. The Valkyrie also had a similar look, but you couldn't think well enough to process everything.

You storm off as your husband shouted your name, trying to reason with your now angry state, but was quickly stopped by alvitr, who knew that it would put him in danger to walk around in a place swarmed by angry gods.

So now you were left crying, deciding to go to a waiting room to dry your tears, just hoping for the best.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

[lunalovegood00]

Kind of regretting delving into Legend Of Dugu suddenly. By episode 16, 17, and 18 it's kind of dragging bcs of that stupid shitty nasty emperor. Die you mean spirited person. Now I get why it was rated 7.9 on MyDramaList.

On ep 20: Just want to say what a fkg mess!! Ofc Yuwen Yu became hot tempered when he ascended the throne when Yuwen Hu treated him like that in the first day.

Ep23: I don't like to see how the children of the concubines bad to watch their mothers being punished. I guess it was the hierarchy. I also don't like the superficial relationship mantuo had to maintain with those children under her care. It just so unjustly. How her room can be seen from the outside, ewww. Finally I got to see the scenes that made me watch this drama, it was when banruo discovered her daughter had one blue eye.

Ep24: watching this drama is like reading bad manga. What was the use of you losing your cool in front of your servants and told them all of your plans?? It was obvious that Yuwen Yu was weak in front of Yuwen Hu. One was a feeble man and the other man was a cruel man. Yuwen Hu only cared about banruo, other than that he didn't really care about other ppl.

Ep25: don't blame yuwen Hu at all for being mad that his son got killed just bcs yuwen yu was insecure and wanted to kill him. I want to slap Yuwen Yu face so bad. The gall of him to smile after his disastrous plan but myb Kang Yuchi did divert from the original plan??

Ep27: OK dominant jialuo. We stan! Well banruo you should put the blame on Yuwen Yu too. If he didn't plot to kill Yuwen Hu, this wldn't happen.

Ep28: Although I'm annoyed by banruo mentioning Yuwen Hu, I do think her suggestion to make him gives up the military power makes sense. He was crazy and shld not hv that kind of power. But she shld stop at that. Yuwen Hu was valid to be mad that Yuwen Yu's plot had sacrificed his son. And the blame also shld be pointed toward Yuwen Yu for his false confidence and his shitty plan. Ptooih! good that Jialuo and YWY tried to dissuade banruo but yeah she had a rock head. Let's take a break, just want to remind that Yg Jian definitely had a soft spot for Jialuo until Mantuo framed her. Sksksks the way YWY parted and carried his crown curtains beads when banruo appeared was so funny. So cringe to watch the flashback of Yg Jian swearing that he wld wait for mantuo... Can't wait for him to know the truth and see what a snake she is.

Ep29 - I support what Yg Jian's personal servant said skskskskks mantuo at least has a husband who loved her so poor Jialuo to get this treatment from Yg Jian. Exactly! He thought both of them had chemistry just like what I said before. OK I know his name now, Zheng Rong. That soft look on YJ face... He did like her a bit. And bonus that she was pretty too. Skskskkskskw Zheng Rong I am now you fan. You were amazing giving yang jian a piece of your mind 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽. Mantuo was such a bitch that I hate to watch her parts, it's different if she was a good person. Before Officer Wang came to guide her, she was so immature with the tantrums, being coy that it was such annoying sight to see and now she just upgraded to be even more skilled two-faced btch. Ughh

Ep30 - I want to say poor geshu that his plans always foiled by his own master love to banruo but he can stuff it! so cruel to do that to pregnant woman. Idk he always cruel. I begin don't like this Officer Wang anymore. Sinister of her to involve children in this. Jialuo look so cool slicing that uhh sitar(?) with her sword. Zheng Rong! Zheng Rong! *chanting*

Ep31: tbh when I watched the blood paternity test idk whether it was true or it was something mantuo plot to make jinniang lost the Duke's trust. I KNEW IT!!! THAT VICIOUS BTCH. I don't mind if she just targeted jinniang but she also targeted innocent child in this... Wtf. Poor that boy. Prince Fucheng shld move on and just wish for Jialuo happiness coz why did he try to wreck her relationship with Yang Jian?? He was so annoying.

Ep32: Good that Yg Jian took initiative to apologise to Jialuo but I wonder why Jialuo didn't explain to him what happened with the dress that he gifted her?? Prince Fucheng was such a loser. Why Jialuo?? You know it is sensitive matter when it came to Prince Fucheng... You didn't even try to save your husband's face. Jialuo was in the fault this time.

[toomanymessythoughts]

I finished reading Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao a few days ago and here are some of my thoughts

First off, this book was an amazing read. Xiran Jay Zhao’s writing is immersive and engaging and the fast pace of the story had me in tight grip at all times. I was always curious of what the next paragraph, the next page, the next chapter would reveal to me. Huaxia feels like a fascinating world that still has many secrets to unravel and I’m looking forward to finding out about them in the sequel. Wu Zetian is an interesting main character and while she is ruthless, stubborn and harsh at times she remained a character that I rooted for. I still remember to pure satisfaction I felt when she overpowered Yang Guang and drained the life from him and “Welcome to your nightmare” is just iconic. I like that she is this unhinged and extremely powerful character but it doesn’t come across as forced, because you can see that the reason, she is so powerful is not because she has main character privileges, but because she has this unwavering willpower which lies at the source of her insanely powerful qi. She has made me want to be just a little bit more unhinged myself. The other characters also really grew on me especially Li Shimin (I swear if he doesn’t come back in Heavenly Tyrant my soul will straight up evaporate.) I love myself a morally grey, intimidating giant with a heart of gold and his character ark was really moving and I don’t think I can describe how low my heart sank when he met his tragic fate. I will now forever despise the number 0… (how could they do this to him?! my poor baby, bring him back, now, I’m begging.) Gao Yizhi is just a gem, the ultimate supportive best friend/boyfriend that is needed when you need to overthrow a government. He is so sweet yet can be just as ruthless as Zetian which is a duality that I live for. I will also never get enough of his nerdy fanboying over Shimin and his calligraphy.

On to the magic system. I love it. I loved learning more and more about qi, how it’s connected to the five elements and how it can be used as the story went on and the scenes where the pilots let it power through their meridians so that they start glowing were just so, so cool. My favourite one was probably the one that reveals that Qin Zheng has access to all five of his elemental qis and I wouldn’t be surprised if Zetian also acquires this power in the future given that she already has metal, water and fire at her disposal, that would be so badass.

The writing style was very enjoyable for me. It gives the book a straightforward tone and while some might view this as it being blunt, it was extremely refreshing for me to read something that is clear and concise after having to tediously pry the meaning from the pages of the books I had to read for school. Don’t get me wrong, some of there books were really good, but my brain really needed this change of pace and tone. Something that I particularly liked about this style is that while it is pretty straightforward, it never feels simplistic or rushed. Xiran Jay Zhao says what they need to say in a short and effective way which in my opinion adds extra weight and punch to the messages they packed into their story.

The only critique that comes to mind right now, is that there were parts that I wished had been a bit more fleshed out, but I understand that in order to keep the pace, sacrifices had to be made. I also recently stumbled upon a post of the author saying that they had to delete many scenes due to the strict word count so I guess this is a bone that I have to pick with the publisher.

But more than anything, I want to thank this book and the author. Because for the first time in I don’t know… probably somewhere close to 10 years that I’ve been able to pick up a book, take a liking to it and read it from start to finish without losing my momentum. Every time I opened Iron Widow, I was excited to reunite with Wu Zetian, Yizhi and Li Shimin and see what would happen next. I can’t describe how happy this made me and how much hope it gave me. Maybe one day I’ll be able to go back to being the bookworm I was when I was younger and when I do, it will be all thanks to this book. I loved reading it form the first page to the last and I can’t wait for the sequel.

[jokertrap-ran]

(光与夜之恋 Light and Night) Main Story Chapter 2-5: 时间针脚 The Patchwork of Time Translation

“What are you standing around in a stupor for? See a ghost?”

*Light and Night Master-list *Spoiler free: Translations will remain under cut *Join the Light & Night Discord (＾▽＾)~ ♪ *Main story tag will be #For Light and Night

Behind the glass wall were several blurry figures busying around.

MC: This should be Team A's area.

Mya had suddenly called a few minutes ago to give me directions to the place I was supposed to report to.

I ran what I was going to say to everyone, in the form of an introduction, through my head once more before gently clearing my throat and opening the door.

❖☆———————————★❖

MC: Hello everyone, I'm—

Thunk!

The sound of metal heavily hitting the floor cut my words short as the handle of the door completely fell off.

MC: !?

Did I break it? No way! I broke the office's door on my first day here!?

I didn't quite know what to do for a while. One of the figures closest to the door turned slightly around at the noise.

He had a head full of spiky hair, like that of a hedgehog. He didn't spare even a glance at the door handle; instead, his gaze fell directly upon my person. He shot up from the seat of his workstation.

??: Yoooooou!!

MC: Sorry! It wasn't on purpose, I swear!

??: You're the newcomer that's supposed to be coming in today, right? Sister Zheng Lin, we've got an extra hand!

He excitedly yelled at the other end of the office.

This isn't quite turning out like how I imagined it to be...

Summoned by his yell, a plump woman speed-walked towards us. Her smile was friendly, but there was a sort of unconcealable exhaustion marring her features.

Zheng Lin: Hello. Welcome to Team A. I'm the leader, Zheng Lin.

MC: Hello. Um… I accidentally broke your door handle just now… Sorry…

??: Aw, that thing's been dead half a month ago. We just didn't have time to call someone down to fix it. Don't mind it, yeah?

??: C'mere. I'll bring you to your workstation. Your stuff looks pretty heavy. I'll take it for you, yeah?

He enthusiastically takes the office appliances I'd brought in from my hands and continues walking straight ahead.

Zheng Lin: That works too. I'll leave you to bring her around to meet the others then, Brother Mao. I'll come over once I'm finished up here.

I nodded, following after "Brother Mao".

Brother Mao: I'm Mao Ge, but you can call me Brother Mao! The best rock singer among all Designers here!

He grinned, pulling out a chair and gesturing for me to sit. He then magicked out a rag from god-knows-where and quickly gave the table a wipedown.

Brother Mao: You were 2nd place in the contest, right? We all watched the broadcast; it was absolutely brilliant.

Brother Mao: Especially when you chose Director Qi of all people. Boy, that was a killer! How did you dare to pick him?

Brother Mao: Forget his face, even his breath alone is an icy sub-zero.

Brother Mao: Ever seen an iron tree bloom? I'd say even that's slightly more common than seeing Director Qi smile.

Brother Mao: I'm not talking about his cold smiles, of course. We see that way too often.

MC: Eh? … I just thought getting him to review my work was a rare chance that I couldn't pass up on.

Brother Mao: You go, girl! Looks like we've finally got a competent person in Team A! Feel free to ask me anything if you face any problems in the future! I've gotcha covered!

He grinned, patting himself on the chest to further emphasize his point. He'd already assembled and laid out all of my office appliances on the table at some point in our conversation.

Brother Mao: Alright, everyone! Put everything down. Let me introduce to you our new buddy, (Y/n)!

All the people around me nodded in greeting as Brother Mao introduced them to me one-by-one.

Brother Mao: The one dressed in a Cheongsam is Li Man'man. She came here a minute earlier than you and braved through 3 interviews just to enter Warson.

Li Man'man: Hi, nice to meet you.

Brother Mao: And that's Chen Che, our team's tailoring genius. He's been here for nearly 4 years and has just been promoted to a Senior Designer.

The guy named Chen Che raised his head from the multitude of fabric surrounding him. He adjusted his glasses and gave me a wary look.

Chen Che: Hello.

It was at this moment in time that a guy sporting a quiff hairdo walked past us. His head was haughtily raised and his expression was one of utter disdain.

Man With Quiff Hairstyle: Hmph.

MC: And he is…?

Brother Mao: Don't mind him. He's an annoyance. He just failed the promotion test and is being the green-eyed monster to everyone right now.

I only nodded, not knowing what to say.

Brother Mao: That one over there's Hao Shuai, the trendsetter of Team A and also the King of Werewolf games.

Hao Shuai: Wanna play Werewolf? I'll host one next time, but not now...

Hao Shuai buried his face with a sullen expression as Brother Mao quietly pulled me aside to a corner.

Brother Mao: He's not been in too jolly of a mood these few days. He didn't manage to get promoted to Senior Designer, so he's been pretty depressed about it.

MC: Sounds like it's very hard to get promoted up a rank...

Brother Mao: Precisely! Although Warson has a rank promotion system in place, the way things are being assessed in them makes it scarily hard! People normally have to do it five or six times before they manage to get themselves promoted.

Brother Mao: And, you might even get demoted a rank if the work you turn in doesn't make the cut!

MC: That strict!?

Brother Mao: I'm a Junior Designer like you. I've already taken the assessment around…

Zheng Lin: 10 times.

Brother Mao: You remember all so well, Sister Zheng Lin.

He gallantly retrieved another chair for Zheng Lin to sit on, seemingly paying no heed to the embarrassing number of tries he'd gone through.

Brother Mao: Don't they say that failure's the mother of success? I just have to get a couple more of those and it'll net me a great success!

I laughed at his joke along with Zheng Lin.

Zheng Lin: Our assessment system is just stricter than others.

Zheng Lin: Even though everyone is free to design whatever they like with their creativity as the limit, becoming an actual Fashion Designer is some serious business.

Zheng Lin: Those capable of joining us here in Warson are all talented individuals. Hence, what's really being tested in those assessments are your passion and perseverance.

Zheng Lin: I've welcomed hundreds upon hundreds of rookies during my 10 years here in Team A, but most of them drop out after failing the assessment 3-4 times.

MC: Eh?

Zheng Lin: Firstly, everyone who first comes here holds high self-esteem, so they're a bit more sensitive to criticism. And it is only natural for people to find it unbearable, especially after having been criticized a lot.

Zheng Lin: Secondly, there's a limit to the type of jobs that can be given to Assistants and Junior Designers, so things often end up being boring and repetitive

Zheng Lin: It's hard to go on like that if you don't have the right sort of determination.

MC: ……

Zheng Lin was about to say more when the door slammed open with a "bang!". Several people stood at the entrance, worry written all over their anxious faces.

Colleague A: Can someone consolidate all of Sliver's Autumn-Winter fabrics into a document?

Colleague A: I still have to go down to the mall and conduct surveys and research so I won't be able to do that in time!

Colleague B: Some trouble cropped up regarding the visas of the foreign models who're slated for a shoot next week, so we need another 18 new ones!

Colleague B: What should I do, Sister Zheng Lin!?

Zheng Lin gave a helpless sigh.

Zheng Lin: I'd originally wanted you to let you get used to things around here, but we have our hands full… Do you mind helping us?

MC: … Sure thing!

Zheng Lin: Then, could you first help us by going to the warehouse and picking up Silver's Autumn-Winter fabrics and consolidating them into a sample book after?

Zheng Lin: You can get Brother Mao to help you check it through once you're done.

I nodded and joined the fray.

Time went by. And finally, I finished my very first task after an hour. Brother Mao told me to take it up to the Team A representative who was in the meeting after checking through it.

❖☆———————————★❖

It was clearly noon soon, yet the doors of the meeting rooms on both sides of the corridor were still tightly shut, I could occasionally hear the sound of loud discussions coming from within.

❖☆———————————★❖

MC: Excuse me, I'm here to deliver the fabric samples.

Pushing the door open, I saw a Designer who was in the middle of loudly explaining his idea while Sariel held a pen, looking down at the document in his hand.

All the other Designers were either listening intently or hurriedly sketching out their new ideas, having been struck by a sudden wave of inspiration. It was almost as if the very air itself was crackling with ideas, going head to head with each other, gathering and merging into a brand new storm of ideas.

I’m going to be taking part in meetings with everyone in the future too… I couldn’t help but jump for joy at the exciting notion.

Placing the fabric catalogue book down, I couldn’t stop myself from taking one last glance at the meeting room before I left.

❖☆———————————★❖

Brother Mao: Oh, right. Don't forget to retrieve the catalogue book once the meeting upstairs is done.

MC: Okay.

❖☆———————————★❖

Everyone left after the meeting ended. I picked up the scattered pieces of fabric, stacking them neatly into a pile. It was only then that I noticed a pen lying on the ground.

The pitch-black pen was see-through, slender, and sturdy, with three gold-stamped petals at the very end.

MC: This is...

An image of Sariel wielding this pen with his head bowed in thought appeared in my mind.

MC: Is this pen his? It certainly suits that icy countenance of his...

❖☆———————————★❖

I bent down to pick it up, but the moment my fingers brushed against it… I suddenly felt an inexplicable sharp jolt of pain piercing my head.

My heart clenched violently, almost as if a nightmare that had been buried deep within its depths was about to be awakened. The stifling feeling of sadness and despair washed over me together with the odd feeling of my heart having been impaled by something.

What’s going on?

I pressed against my chest, trying to get through this sudden bout of pain that came out of seemingly nowhere.

Sariel: What's going on here?

There seems to be a faint voice ringing through my ears. The pen was taken away from me the next moment. Gone with it were the odd sensations.

I blearily looked at Sariel who had suddenly popped up from nowhere, still slightly woozy in the head.

Sariel: What are you standing around in a stupor for? See a ghost?

MC: I don't know what happened to me earlier…

Sariel: That's what I'd like to ask you.

☆Light Choice: Explain what you felt earlier

I shook my head, trying to recall that odd sensation you felt earlier.

MC: I… My chest and head just suddenly started hurting.

MC: I know I’m in the meeting room right now, but it kind of felt as if I wasn’t here at the same time…

MC: Like a nightmare, you can never wake up from…

Sariel’s expression changed minuscule bit upon hearing the word “nightmare”.

Sariel: How about now?

MC: I'm fine now, and the uncomfortable feeling's also gone.

Sariel: Has this happened before?

MC: Once…?

★Night Choice: Conceal what you felt earlier

MC: I just felt a little light-headed… I'm okay now.

MC: Oh, right. I picked up your pen.

I pointed towards the pen that he'd already reclaimed, which was now in his hand. Sariel only frowned.

Sariel: You felt light-headed after picking up this pen?

It was only when he mentioned it that I realized that that seemed to be the case. But what would a pen have anything to do with a bout of dizziness?

Sariel coldly grabs my hand, making my heart stop cold in my chest. However, all he did was stare at it in silence for a few seconds before releasing me just as quickly.

MC: What are you looking at? Is there something wrong with my hand?

Sariel: Nothing. It's well and fine.

What's up with Sariel? Grabbing my hand out of nowhere like that and not even telling me the reason why...

So, I ended up giving my hand a thorough check as well. There was nothing off about it, but I couldn't help feeling a little worried.

I'd also experienced some "auditory hallucinations" back then at the rooftop…

MC: Maybe I should go get myself a check-up at the hospital just in case…

Sariel: You look pretty peppy on your feet to me. Doesn't seem like there's anything physically wrong about you.

His gaze smoothly slides up from my face to the top of my head as he spoke.

Sariel: Though, I can't say the same about the other parts of you.

MC: ……!

I was fuming, yet I didn't dare to express it with a vehement glare. Seeing how riled up I was at it, yet unable to do anything about it, a flicker of a smirk made its way up to a corner of his mouth.

This was my second time seeing him smile today… The iron tree has bloomed…

Sariel: Are there flowers growing on my face?

I shook my head.

Sariel: A ghost then?

I shook my head again.

Sariel: Then why are you looking at me as if you've just seen a monster?

MC: You just smiled. It's too rare of a sight.

Sariel: … How stupid.

He put on a straight face as he pocketed his pen and turned to head out.

Suddenly remembering something, I hurriedly pushed the door open and ran after him.

MC: Wait a minute, Director Qi! Are you free right now?

❖☆————— ⊹ For Light & Night⊹ —————★❖

Previous Part: (Chapter 2-3) | Next Part: (Chapter 2-8)

[shangyangjunzhu]

my thoughts on song of youth

now this show dropped out of absolutely nowhere and in good timing so far that +1

nevertheless, as i usually am, i am super critical of yu zheng and his works. my prejudice of his misogyny and plagiarism put aside, the only drama of his that i can actually rewatch of his without cringing is the story of yanxi palace, which says a lot about how much i dislike his dramas.

however, i regard most of the cast in high esteem. both of the main actors are very very talented and it is so apparent that they bring a great amount of quality to the work. though the premise is a bit icky for me (i.e the promise of revenge), their onscreen chemistry and just the characterization of their parts is very endearing and that is something very rare for me to find in a yu zheng drama (i swear to god i hated qianlong and yingluo together something about it was so so gross to me and i do not want to get started about the leads in the palace series).

another plus point is definitely the aesthetics and costumes which is a given for yu zheng dramas these days. i do like the fact that the drama isn’t going to be heavily reliant on palace drama and i am very much enjoying the morally grey third mistress xu and her interactions with her husband and i also long to see first mistress with her husband. the comedy aspect is good as i can see that they are not trying to over do it. 

i want to do a whole appreciation post for the main lead because gosh i love that awkward yet adorable himbo but i’ll save that for later...

the scary part about this drama is that is similar to the sword and the brocade at least in the premise and that is enough for me to honestly run far far away from this drama. i guess the only relief is that the pacing of the series makes it so much better as the repetition of the tropes in the sword and the brocade made me wanna yeet myself off a cliff because it was genuinely that tiresome to watch. the antagonists (we’ve only met one-two so far) are not one dimensional and i personally think this could turn out to be a decent watch...

[berrysphase]

Nirvana in Fire rewatch liveblog part 19

Ep. 42, off to camp

Ahh, it's painful to hear real emotion in Banruo's voice at last when she's talking to Prince Yu, to finally see that dimension of her, and to know it's there only because of his parentage. She is using her genuine emotions just as scientifically as MCS uses his. That sideways half smile when she pulls the pouch out; that is so great. It is so painful and so classically tragic watching Prince Yu step inevitably down to his own destruction, ah, this scene.

“I just wanted to choose the most virtuous candidate,” says the emperor. AUGH YOU GIANT BLIND HYPOCRITE

Man, one classical tragedy interleaved with one another -- the emperor goes on to say, wearily, “you reap what you sow” -- he means this about himself and not just Prince Yu, I suspect, but strictly with respect to his dubious decision to carry on an affair with Princess Linglong. But, in general: ow*. I am continuously amazed at how carefully the cuts between scenes are constructed. Side by side we get to see what the revelation of Yu's Hua heritage means for both Prince Yu and the emperor, and (1) this makes Prince Yu's family issues pop out in exquisitely painful bas-relief, and (2) the way it's done parallels the self-destructive arcs of these characters, letting Prince Yu's more obvious, action-y, onscreen arc pull out the Emperor's more subtle one; “everyone says Prince Yu, of all the princes, is the most like me,” the Emperor says here wearily, and yes, yes.

Aaaaa it is super interesting that Princess-Consort Yu is eavesdropping on this whole conversation

It is also super interesting that Princess Linglong's letter suggests that the Hua weren't actually conspiring with Da Yu. I would definitely, tragically, believe preemptive paranoia striking again, but this letter was also surely written with an agenda; I love the Rashomon aspect of all this.

That moment when Prince Yu bridles his emotions; that is so good. I mean, it's terrible, I weep for him, but it's so good.

MU QING there are never enough Mu siblings in this stretch :(

spffft the side eye from Meng when Wei Zheng assures Jingyan earnestly that he will answer his questions to the best of his knowledge, ha

I don't actually have anything to say about this scene, but, ahhhh, that look on MCS' face when Jingyan declares that his exalted rank is nothing and useless unless he can give justice to the 70,000 dead, <333

“It is already too late to want to stop” -- that is such a good line. Not, “it's too late to stop” -- “it's too late to WANT to stop.” So much implied with so little. showww

(Oh hey, the bow that the Emperor shoots, is that the one that Jingyan gave him? I bet it is)

Oh, it's odd to see MCS in browns and without his usual jade hairpiece. That and his easy smile really make the past seem closer to the surface than usual. I love that Yujin teases him now, in a way that betokens genuine respect; MCS  started the show as Jingrui's friend, but he's closer to Yujin now.

And again, with Consort Jing, he knows perfectly well that she knows who he is, and he still can't bring himself to admit it. Other Chiyan survivors -- no problem; but to anyone else? acknowledging that he's anything other than the combined breath of the wronged dead, that is very hard. Lin Shu is dead, Mei Changsu is a construct, so sorry to Lin Chen who thought he was a person, end of story, I said end of story, stop >:(

(and I love so much that, at the same time, he goes and drops massive hints to Yujin.  again.  I swear he wants Yujin to find out – Yujin, who is just close enough to him to be a bright surviving link to his past world, but just far enough away to not be personally devastated by everything MCS has lost (and will still lose); not to mention Yujin is now an ally and willing co-conspirator, and pretty much everyone else on team MCS either knows already or works directly for Jingyan.)

* tbf this sentence is a reasonable summary of the entire drama.

[drivingsideways]

Episodes 41 & 42

Lady Wang tries to persuade Ning Qi to go back to the border, but her son has other plans. In the last few episodes, Ning Yi has been notably cold to his father-refusing to pretend “filial piety”. The Emperor is annoyed by that- the fact that Ning Yi won’t tell him what he wants to hear- especially when he asks him to step down as Head of the Censorate- and into this breach steps Ning Qi, being filial, polite, saying exactly the things he knows the Emperor wishes to hear. 

The Emperor tasks him with finding a husband for Shaoning- a task that Ning Qi initially considers to be useless, but is then convinced by his wife that it is really an expression of trust on the part of the Emperor. 

Wei Zhi and Yan Huaishi approach the Emperor with the map of the Minhai pirates location. This reminds the Emperor that Chang Yuan really is a piece of shit, but instead of immediately announcing who will be the official sent to Minhai, he says he will decide later- mostly because he’s so annoyed with Ning Yi. 

Ning Yi and Wei Zhi talk about her desire to leave the capital: both of them are distressed by the thought of not seeing each other for a long while, perhaps never again, but neither can find the words to say what they really mean. 

well, luckily, Ning Yi knows just how to circumvent *that * problem. 

me: :O 

THIS SHOW HAS NO FILTERS DOES IT I’M BLUSHING HOW DID THEY LET THIS BE RATED “GEN” WHAT IS HAPPENING

ANYWAYS, APART FROM THE KINK FACTOR THIS ALSO ESTABLISHES A VERY GOOD POINT

MY MOTHER ALWAYS SAID MARRY A MAN WITH GOOD TEETH. 

OK FINE, it was very emotional and a bit sexy, we’re all ruined etc,  and i like to deflect my intense feelings with hysterical laughter, MOVING ON: 

Meanwhile, Ning Qi finds out that Shaoning would like to marry Wei Zhi, and promises to help her. He proposes three names to the Emperor, including Wei Zhi’s, but tells the Emperor that it is Wei Zhi that Shaoning favours. The Emperor is not averse to the idea, though he does not want to lose Wei Zhi at the Court- but Ning Qi convinces him that they can bend the rules a little in this case. However, the Emperor asks Ning Qi to find out how Wei Zhi feels about it.

Xin Ziyan tells Ning Yi about the impending disaster- but his feeling is that Wei Zhi should agree for now to marry the Princess, while they figure out how to get out of it. Ning Yi is furious- he knows that Wei Zhi will never agree to that deception and fears that her real identity will come to light, putting her life at risk, yet again. 

By a sheer stroke of luck, Ning Qi discovers that Wei Zhi is a woman and ponders how to take advantage of that revelation. As he says, removing Wei Zhi from the court will be like cutting off one of Ning Yi’s wings. YOU DON’T KNOW THE HALF OF IT, NING QI. 

Ning Qi arranges for Shaoning to be around while he and Ning Yi invite the three “candidates” to the House of Lanxiang, to find out how they feel about marrying the princess. Wei Zhi’s heated defense of one of the courtesans there (GOD I LOVE HER !) and Ning Yi’s support of Wei Zhi only confirms his suspicions. However, he is content to wait a little longer and see how events play out before he makes a move. 

As it turns out, he doesn’t need to. Shaoning literally binds Wei Zhi hand-and-foot to take “him” to the Emperor and demand that he marry her. Wei Zhi continues refusing, giving various reasons. At which point Shaoning accuses him of being gay....and perhaps Ning Yi’s lover? 

Well, you’re not *wrong * but HOLY FUCK GIRL THEN WHY DO YOU WANT TO MARRY A MAN YOU THINK IS GAY???

ALSO WHERE DID THE LOVE GO

Man, this show’s treatment of queerness, in general, while completely unsurprising, is still a fucking insult. Played off as a joke between the characters (see: XZ and NY’s entirely non-brotherly flirting) or as a joke with the audience (see: early interactions between Shaoning and Wei Zhi) or as here, treated as contemptible. All, no doubt, under the all forgiving banner of “historical accuracy”. FUCK THAT. Just see if I don’t write all the queer fic for this show. 

*takes a deep, steadying breath *

Anyways, as Ning Yi feared, disaster strikes, despite Helian Zheng’s well meaning but useless interventions! (I’ll marry the Princess! I’ll marry Zhiwei! DUDE. Ning Yi almost kills him, I think, just to get him to shut up and stop making the situation worse ) 

Wei Zhi reveals her true identity, and though Ning Yi reaches just in time  to save her from being executed on the spot, it seems impossible that the Emperor would ever forgive her.  (GOD THE WAY HE RUNS TO SAVE HER AND HAS TO PRETEND TO BE CASUAL AND HE’S STILL OUT OF BREATH WHEN HE’S DOING HIS WHOLE ACT OF PRETENDING TO BE SURPRISED THAT WEI ZHI IS A WOMAN LIKE THE TENSION OF THAT SCENE CHEN KUN FUCKING MURDERED ME LIKE I COULD FEEL HOW HARD NING YI’S HEART WAS BEATING I SWEAR I COULD )

She’s arrested and put in prison, where Ning Yi comes to visit and offers TO RUIN HIS OWN LIFE SO SHE CAN ESCAPE, I CAN’T WITH THESE TWO, OH GOD. 

Weirdest Proposal of Fictional History: Let me be the father of your fake baby

like, honestly, Jane Austen is turning in her grave going WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THIS ONE 

THEN NING YI IS LIKE FINNNNNE, I HAVE A BETTER PLAN

but Zhiwei is having none of that

ME: *WILD SOBBING *

I HATE THIS YOUR HONOUR I HATE THEM WHY ARE THEY LIKE THIS WHY ARE THEIR FACES LIKE THIS.................!!!!!!!

[loading99percent]

Exclusive 2/3

Pairing: LYJ x OC (Melanie/Li Xiangjun) || CXK x OC (Serena/Jiang Yingyue) Genre: slice of life, college!au, fluff Word Count: 4,901 Summary: Lin Yanjun openly flirts with Melanie, yet she’s tired of his games and can’t take him seriously. Cai Xukun and Serena chill on a daily, but there’s gotta be more than that between them. Eventually enough, the boys just want the girls exclusively to themselves.

part one.part two.part three

Warning: matured content as in college related stuff. swear words. NOT MOBILE FRIENDLY! not sure why, but it has all the breaks and stuff while on a desktop. (teach me if mobile is different and it can be done!)

Part 2! Not sure if you guys enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it, but hey it is what it is. Sorry if you guys get confused with the usage of names here and there. I wrote it and am too lazy to go back and like change them and so it is what it is. LOL Anyways, so yeah, this is part 2 of 3 and happy reading! kthxbai, Admin Lia~

After helping Xukun complete practically almost everything on his list, Serena finally entered her second class of the day. She waited for the rest of her group mates to join her, but none of them showed up as the rest of the class filed in. Serena wondered if there was a memo about something and she missed it as everyone was gathered in their respective group.

The professor finally arrived and began recapping their last session two days ago shortly afterwards. Serena anxiously looked about her hoping that at least one of them would show up. After telling the class to continue with their group work, the professor went through his files before calling out Serena's name. Serena became alert and slowly made her way towards the front of class.

"Yes, Mr. Hung?" Serena asked once she was besides his desk.

"I'm sure you have noticed that your group members aren't here, correct?" Mr. Hung stated as Serena nodded. "Well, Miss Jiang, I'm sorry to inform you that Mr. Song Shuijiao, Mr. Wang Youchen, Mr. Zhang Jinming, Mr. Jiang Dahe, and Mr. Liang Hi have all been expelled from Langfang since yesterday."

Serena's eyes widened with disbelief at the fact that five of her group mates were expelled and would no longer be attending school.

Mr. Hung continue on. "As for Mr. Li Xinyan, he has been dismissed due to serious medical reasons." He shot Serena a sympathetic look. "I know that it wasn't easy being paired up with a group of males, but I knew you handled it well. It's just the concern that you're the only member of your group now."

"So, what's going to happen to my grade then? Do I continue it solo?" Serena asked a moment later.

"No, Miss Jiang. I have decided for you to team up with my other class where another group is also doing the same topic. You'll work with them to receive your final grade for your last group assignment for my course."

"Does that mean I'll have to attend that class instead of this one?"

"Yes, you will. I know we're already in the second semester of the school term year, but it's the only way you'll pass this class for attendance. It's a Tuesdays and Thursdays class and it's at two-forty. Will that clash with the rest of your schedule?" Mr. Hung asked as Serena tried to recall her weekly school schedule and shook her head afterwards. "No and it's fine. Thank you, Mr. Hung."

He smiled at her. "No problem, Miss Jiang. Anyways, I'll see you tomorrow instead."

"Yeah, tomorrow. Bye."

Serena bid the professor goodbye before returning to her seat to gathered her things and left the classroom soon after. She was planning on returning back to the Nu Chi Phi house to take a nap, but she felt the vibration of her phone and answerd the call after looking at the caller ID.

"Hey, BinBin?" Serena answered her friend, Zheng Ruibin.

"Aren't you supposed to be in class instead of answering my call?" Ruibin questioned instead.

"I was, but something happened." She answered while walking off in a random direction. "What do you want?"

"Well, NaNa, I have a favor or two to ask of you."

"Is it for the stupid scavenger hunt that I-P-T is doing?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"I just do. So what's the favors?"

"Well, we wanna use you in our photos."

"We as in...?"

"Jeffrey and I."

"Go figure." Serena rolled her eyes despite making her way towards a familiar direction. "I'll meet you guys at the basketball court at the park then."

"Thank you, NaNa!" Jeffrey thanked her from the background as Serena chuckled. "You're welcome. See ya."

"See you in a bit." Ruibin said before hanging up.

"Why am I being so nice today and it's not even noon yet?" Serena mumbled to herself after letting out a tired sigh as she headed towards Xinfan Park.

Melanie had just sat down in her seat when she was surrounded on both sides by her two friends, Qin Fen and Han Mubo.

"Guys, I just sat down. Can you give me a minute?"

"No." The duo answered as Melanie groaned. "You guys are so annoying. What do you want?"

"You already know what I want." Qin Fen answered with a smug look while wriggling his eyebrows as Melanie cast him a disgusted look. "Gosh you sound greasy and I knew you were secretly a little pervet. Don't do that again."

"If you give me what I want, then I'll leave you alone."

"Dude, you can practically ask any other girl to do what you're asking me to do. So go do it."

"It's not the same. They're expecting a date or something afterwards. You don't think of that of me."

"I wonder why, but that's not my problem. Besides, there are other Nu Chi Phi members who aren't like that. Hell, you could've asked Junyi, Zixuan, or Qiuyan to help you guys out instead of me."

"Qiuyan already helped me with three and both Junyi and Zixuan each helped me with two. All three said they wouldn't help me anymore than that." Mubo informed as Melanie rolled her eyes. "You guys seriously need to go find some more female friends. It wouldn't be that hard since you guys have quite a bunch of fangirls."

"Like I mentioned earlier in case you forgot-"

Melanie interrupted Qin Fen. "I didn't forget."

Qin Fen continued like he didn't get interrupted. "They don't want to be just friends, Jun." Qin Fen clarified as he cast her a look. "How many times do we have to keep reminding you this?"

"When you guys stop bothering me about stupid shit."

"That was uncalled for." Mubo stated with a look as Melanie shrugged while casting them an annoyed look. "It's whatever. I'll only help you guys two times, but that's it because I've done so much for you guys last time and I regret it." She glared at Qin Fen. "And you better have bought me a new bra already. Like forreals, Fen."

"I got you, JunJun. I got you." Qin Fen beamed as he set a white rectangular box onto the table. "You're welcome."

Melanie's eyes lit up as she inspected the present while slowly opening the gift. Melanie went to check the tag, but frown upon seeing the incorrect size while shutting the box and passing it back to her friend.

"What's wrong? You don't like the color?" Qin Fen asked worriedly as Melanie shot him a look. "The color's fine, but it's the wrong size, Fen."

"How can that be? I double checked."

"It's the same size as the one that you tried to give me that wasn't even mine. You're hopeless."

"Haha, I knew it." Mubo laughed while pointing a finger at Qin Fen. "I told you that wasn't her size."

"Shut up." He blankly stared at the box. "What should I do with it?"

"Give it to one of your fangirls." Melanie mused as Qin Fen elbowed her with a sheepish look. "Stop."

Jeffrey was currently serenading to Serena as they held hands, but her other free hand was slightly shielding her face from the camera's view. When it was over Serena quickly removed her hand from Jeffrey's and glared over at Ruibin who pulled Jeffrey's phone down to look at Serena amusingly.

"Are we done now?"

"Depends. Do you want to continue?" Ruibin smiled at her as Serena shook her head with a frown. "No. I basically did like fifteen of those on the list and even doubled them for the both of you. Took like two hours for some dumb reasons on your guys' part." She then placed a hand on her stomach while making a cute pout unconsciously. "Plus, I'm hungry and it's way passed lunch time."

"Then let's go get some late lunch then since our precious NaNa is hungry." Jeffrey suggested as he swung an arm around her shoulders with a playful smile as Serena slightly nudged him. "Didn't you want to try that 99 °C Bakery Cafe a block from here?"

"OMG, yes, Jeffy, but you're buying as the favor you owed me." Serena grinned as she looked at Ruibin. "And the favor from you, BinBin, is that you can owe me is getting that Totoro bedroom set."

"You live in a dorm room. You sure you want it?" Ruibin asked unsure as Serena nodded. "It's for my room back home. I ain't using that here."

"I mean, Jeffrey's richer than me, are you sure you don't want him to get that for you and I pay for lunch?"

"Oh, you right, you right." Serena nodded. "Jeffy pays Totoro and BinBin pays for lunch. Set and done. Let's go."

The trio began heading towards the bake shop.

"Off topic, but about NiNi," Jeffrey began, "How is she and Yanjun?"

"Nothing since NiNi just hates being involved with his dumb shit."

"Well, NaNa, a little birdie told us that Yanjun had NiNi become his pretend girlfriend again so that one of his crazy stalker fangirl could back off a few weeks ago." Ruibin explained with a small smile while placing a hand upon Serena's lower back to steer her out of the other people's way as they crossed the cross-walk.

"By little birdie, you mean your girlfriend, also known as Qi Yandi, also known as one of Nu Chi Phi's member gossiper, right?" Serena chuckled as Ruibin shyly laughed and nodded. "Yeah, something like that."

"Also, Ziyi told me that NiNi almost beat Yanjun up, but he prevented her from doing so." Jeffrey added upon remembering it.

"Yeah, she almost did. Actually, she's still pissed about it all because she was used three times for Yanjun's selfishness, but mainly she's just done with the other girls who were involved and wants to put out a restraining order on them."

"Dang, what did they do? Do you guys need protection?" Ruibin asked and offered as Serena shook her head. "Thanks. I'll ask her about it. But anyways, the girls keeps calling her names and what not, but when NiNi is about to confront them and shit, they run off scared."

"We can talk to Yanjun about it." Jeffrey offered. "Since we know him and he's definitey trying to stop using NiNi in those situations."

"I mean you could, but who knows how that will go since NiNi said she'll slap the shit out of Yanjun if he did it again. Anyways, these girls just talk a lot of shit, but won't do nothing. NiNi can handle that bit."

"I'm pretty sure it has to do with you guys being a part of Nu Chi Phi." Rubin stated with a knowing smile as Serena laughed. "Somewhat, but they're also part of Epsilon Nu Sigma."

"Ah, E-N-S, the crazy and party-goers sorority house." Jeffrey recalled as he affectionately patted her head. "Don't worry. They're all bark and no bite."

"I know. I've dealt with a lot of them without embarrassing my house, too."

"It's because you're a low-key N-C-P member and they don't know it." Ruibin remarked nudging her as she nudged him back. "It's because I do enough to stay under the radar from the public, but enough to get noticed by the sorority house to stay a member."

Serena then locked arms with her friends and hurried them along. "Anyways, guys, let's forget that. Let's get food instead because I'm hungry and I have a tutoring session in like an hour."

After bidding her two friends goodbye once they finally got what they wanted on the list, Melanie casually made her way to her next class. She settled herself towards the back of the classroom. She brought out her materials to review for the practice test on Monday. If she did super well on the test, then the teacher would allow for the practice test to help bump up their grades to replace a previous test that they scored poorly on.

Too focused on the reading material, Melanie didn't notice Zhangjing joining her and placing a dual boba cup near her. It wasn't until she felt a poke to her side and slowly turned to look at a smiling Zhangjing.

"I'm not talking to you." She stated while returning back to reading again as Zhangjing rolled his eyes. "Don't be so dramatic. My peace offering is your favorite drink."

Zhangjing pushed the drink closer to her and Melanie automatically took a hold of it to drink both flavors before putting it down again. "I'm still not gonna forgive you for your stupid antic with Yanjun this morning."

Before he could defend himself, Melanie shot him a look. "And don't try to say you couldn't come, because I saw your fast ass run off."

"You knew I was there?"

"Of course. Your broad back is so obvious."

"Wow, Xiangjun. Thanks for attacking my figure. You're a great friend."

"I never said we were friends, You. Zhang. Jing."

"Seriously, you're so rude, dude. I even pay for you whenever we eat hotpot together." Zhangjing scoffed as he angrily sipped on his own boba drink.

"Psh, it's because we made an agreement." Melanie reminded him while sipping on her own. "You pay for hotpot night and I pay for dinner hangout night." She then shot him a look. "Besides, Zhangjing, we do hotpot like three to five times a month while we do dinner hangout once or twice a every so well. Now think about that."

"Okay, fine. You win. My bad and I'm sorry."

"Gosh, you're such a little brat, I swear." Melanie commented with a smile as Zhangjing playfully stuck his tongue out at her.

The duo were later joined by Yanjun and another friend, Lin Chaoze, to who Melanie greeted the latter happily.

"Chaoze! Hi." She stood up to the hug the male as he returned the gesture and taking the seat on her other side. "Hi, Xiangjun. How are you today?"

"I'm good. You?" Melanie totally ignored Yanjun when he opened his arms ready for a hug from her, but she sat back down causing the male to slightly glare at her behavior towards him while he sat on the other side of Zhangjing.

"Lin Yanjun, zero. Li Xiangjun, nine thousand and one." Zhangjing muttered mischievously as Yanjun mocked laughed at him before glaring and reminding him of his little threat. "One eye open tonight, Zhangjing."

Zhangjing turned away to finish his boba. Yanjun glanced at Melanie to see that she was too busy talking to Chaoze about the upcoming test so he focused his attention on to the teacher who entered at that moment.

The tutoring sessions were being held on the first floor of the school's library in its own designated area. Today, along with two other tutors, Serena was tutoring seven of her fellow schoolmates in various topics.

"You write this word like this. That way the sentence flows better." Serena spoke in Thai to Huang Shuhao who was a Thai transfer student.

"Ah, okay. Thank you." Shuhao smiled at her as he erased his previous answer and replaced it with what Serena had told him.

"I mean, you can work with Sunnee a lot better since she's more fluent in Thai than I am."

"Oh, it's okay. I also don't want to disturb her."

Serena chuckled and patted him on the back. "I'm sure she would rather helped you with than deal with math right now. I'll go get her for you, Shuhao."

'Okay, thank you, Yingyue."

"You're welcome. Just wait a moment."

Serena made her way over to Sunnee who was teaching Sun Fanjie and Huang Ruohan an algebraic formula with no luck. The two girls switched places with Sunnee mouthing a quick 'thank you' before rushing to help Shuhao. Serena chuckled with a shake of her head before asking the two boys what they were exactly having issues with.

Once she helped them out she made her way over to Zhu Yiwen who beckoned her over.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Ying Zhiyue needs help with his academic schedule next year," Yiwen began to explain, "And since you've worked with him the most throughout our tutor sessions, you think you could help him sort it out for the next school term?"

"Oh, yeah that's fine with me." Serena agreed while looking around for Zhiyue, but didn't spot him. "Did he already go down to registration?"

"Yeah. He just left to go talk with an advisor. I'm not sure when he'll return, but I'll let him know you'll agree to help him."

"Okay, cool, Yiwen. I should be free Friday afternoon if he's available."

"Got it. I'll keep you posted, Yingyue."

Just then, Serena felt her phone vibrated. She ignored it at first since it was only a text message, but when it vibrated several more times she went on ahead to check it out. She received several messages from her sorority's president, Qiang Dongyue, and upon scanning the last one it was telling Serena to report to her right now.

Class was about to end in less than half an hour when Melanie received a message from Dongyue. Contemplating if she should leave now or wait a few more minutes when she realized that she had friends in the class and that they could fill her in later. Melanie patted Chaoze and Zhangjing on the shoulders while asking them to message her later if she missed something as she gathered up her things.

Yanjun held out a hand for a high-five him which Melanie high-fived him unconsciously after passing by him causing Yanjun to grin at her in satisfaction. Melanie rolled her eyes at him, but quickly left the classroom and made her way towards the Nu Chi Phi house.

When Melanie neared the house she ran into Serena as the two looked at one another curiously while pointing at one another.

"Don't you have tutoring right now?"

"Aren't you supposed to be in class at this time?"

"Dongyue messaged me." They chorused at the same time while entering the house and making their way to the conference room.

"Hello, ladies." Dongyue greeted them with a smile as she motioned for them to sit as the duo did so with the rest of the sorority council. "We apologized in advance if you're missing on anything academic-releated."

"Take a breath and slowly exhale. It's nothing bad or serious, so don't stress about that." Kimberley, the vice-president, chuckled as the treasurer, Lucia, smiled. "Yeah, it's only to discuss about attendance for the social gatherings this school term and we're doing it by roommates."

Both Serena and Melanie relaxed and looked at their fellow sisters calmly awaiting permission to speak when prompted to.

"Anyways, Melanie," The secretary, Yamy, began with a grin, "You've done well in attending all the events that Nu Chi Phi has hosted thus far and have been invited to as well. And for that, we're awarding you this set for doing an outstanding job."

Dongyue stood, walked around the table, placed the small box in front of Melanie, congratulated her, and then returned back to her seat. Melanie then opened the small box and her face lit up upon seeing the new bracelet and necklace insignia set of Nu Chi Phi's symbols for this year.

"Thank you!" Melanie beamed as she closed the gift and put it into her bag.

"Now, Serena," Yamy began with a gentle look in Serena's direction, "We know you wanna be low- key and we're okay with that."

"Yeah, like super low-key under the radar type." Kimberley added with a laugh before speaking again, "But we would appreciate it more if you attended one more event before the school term's over."

Lucia nodded in agreement. "We acknowledged the fact that you do do your part as a fellw sister of Nu Chi Phi and haven't caused us any scandals or embarrassment since being with us." She then cast a look at her fellow council members. "Still..." She trailed off as Dongyue continued instead.

"As president of Nu Chi Phi, I'm ordering you to attend one more social event as per socializing with those around you not in Nu Chi Phi. Plus, you will actually need to stay for more than an hour. Not just make appearances to several attendees and leave soon afterwards." Dongyue smiled as Serena made a face causing everyone else in the room to laugh. "You don't have to mingle much, just chill or relax and eat the good food. Just stay for a bit passed an hour and you're set."

Serena nodded. "Alright, will do, Dongyue."

"Think of it this way, Serena, by joining a sorority you're committing yourself to a lifetime of network connections." Melanie nudged her friend as Serena nudged her back. "I know. You've been telling me this since you made me pledged Nu Chi Phi."

The others laughed before dismissing the girls as the two roommates headed up to their shared room to relax since they didn't have any other classes to attend for the rest of today. Serena had dozed off and so missed the calls and text messages due to her phone being on vibrate. Melanie had just returned from the bathroom when she saw her phone light up and went to answer it.

"Yo, wassup, bro?" She answered coolly causing the other person on the other line to laugh. "Sup, Melanie. You and Serena busy?"

"Well, Ziyi, Serena just fell asleep, but I can wake her up if you want me to."

"Do it!" Melanie heard another voice yelled through the phone. "Is that Xiao Gui with you?"

"Yeah." Ziyi confirmed. "Anyways, I mean if you don't mind. Xiao Gui and I are on our way to the I See Darling amusement park if you guys are down."

"Hell yeah. Just the two of you?"

"Mhmm. Xiao Gui basically forced me."

"I did not!" Xiao Gui yelled through the phone again. "But come join us, Xiangjun, and bring Yingyue along, too!"

"Alright. We'll see you guys in a bit." Melanie agreed. "Just let me convince Serena to come."

"Gotcha. Just message me." Ziyi told her with a chuckle.

"Will do. Bye."

"Bye."

Serena found herself sitting in-between Xiao Gui and Ziyi on the viking ride so that she couldn't escape with Melanie sitting on Ziyi's other side. The quartet held onto one another for dear life as the ride went back and forth. Of course, Serena had wanted for them to sit on the edge since it would make the ride more thrilling, but Ziyi refused and they ended up in the center of the ride instead. Once the viking came to an end, they all got off of it with Xiao Gui holing onto Serena's shirt.

"Ugh, Xiao Gui, I'm not gonna run away." Serena stated for the nth time today. "You don't gotta worry."

"I dunno." Xiao Gui answered a bit wary. "I remember the last time you said that to me, you also ditched me to ride alone on the roller coaster."

"Because I had to pee."

"Yeah, that's what you said, but you came back with a big ass corn dog and didn't share it with me."

Serena rolled her eyes. "Because you weren't hungry."

"I was lying." Xiao Gui admitted as Serena shook her head. "Gosh, you're hopeless."

"Anyways, what do you guys wanna do now?" Ziyi asked trying to direct the conversation somewhere else.

"Let's eat. I'm hungry." Melanie suggested as she pointed to one of the food stalls. "A corn dog sounds really good right now."

"Xiao Gui's paying since his bitch ass forced us to come here." Serena declared with a laugh as Xiao Gui shot her a weird look. "Dafaq? You think I'm made of money or what, Yingyue?"

"Guys, I'll pay if it gets you two to stop fighting." Ziyi intervened as Serena shook her head vigorously. "Nah, bro. Don't do that. Make Xiao Gui pay for our meal for once since he's always freeloading and shit."

"This bitch. Fight me, Ying." Xiao Gui said as he annoyingly bumped his chest against Serena's side as she pushed him away with a roll of her eyes. "Ain't gonna fight you, dipshit. Calm down."

"Hey!" Melanie snapped her fingers together while clicking her tongue. "Stop fighting like little kids. Sheesh, can't take you two anywhere."

"Psh, I didn't want to come in the first place." Serena reminded her. "I wanted to sleep instead."

"Bro, you sleep like all the time. Be more productive, lazy ass." Xiao Gui stated as Serena elbowed him. "Get outta here before I throw your ass into the gold fish pool, you big-mouthed frog."

"These two." Ziyi shook his head at his friends' bickering while smiling as Melanie sighed beside him a bit annoyed. "Och, I swear these two act like they grew up together when they only met like last year."

Ziyi placed an arm around her shoulders as he led them towards one of the food stall. "Let them fight, Melanie. I'll buy you that corn dog."

"Oh, please and thank you. I only ate oatmeal and a grilled chicken sandwich today."

"Then I'ma buy you a whole meal. Can't let my home girl starve."

"Thanks. I'll get you next time, Ziyi."

Both Melanie and Serena were given piggy back rides from Ziyi and Xiao Gui, respectively, on their way back to their sorority house down Greek row.

"So why are we doing this again?" Serena asked as she wanted to walk on her own while feeling uncomfortable with stares from the others.

"For the scavenger hunt, dummy." Melanie answered reminding her friend. "Weren't you listening before we agreed to do this."

"No."

"What else is new?" Xiao Gui snorted with a laugh as Serena tightened her hold around his neck causing Xiao Gui to choke out his words. "Ack, loosen up your hold, girl."

"Stop talking shit then."

"I'll stop when you start being nicer to me."

"Isn't allowing you to piggy back me, nice enough, brat?"

"Are you two done arguing over there?" Ziyi asked the two as the duo replied in-synced in a playful manner. "No."

"You guys are so childish." Melanie stated with a laugh as both Xiao Gui and Serena blew her each a raspberry.

When they neared the Nu Chi Phi house that was when the girls got off of the boys' back.

"OMG, about time. It was starting to ache." Xiao Gui held his back making a face as Serena rolled her eyes and playfully pushed him away. "Shut up or I'll get Bu Fan to hit you in my place."

"Don't you dare, Yingyue." Xiao Gui's eyes became alert as he cautiously looked around him. "I've dealt with him too much today. I don't need more."

"Mmhmm."

"Seriously, you guys fight like siblings." Ziyi remarked with a chuckle. "You sure you guys weren't separated at birth?"

"Nah, bro." Melanie dismissed the topic. "Don't bring that up or they'll start arguing again."

"Ugh, whatever." Serena threw a hand in the air to dismiss the whole situation. "Forget y'all. I'ma sleep now. Bye."

Before she could actually make her escape, Ziyi took the hem of her shirt to prevent her from leaving.

"Just let me go." She whined as everyone laughed while Ziyi pulled her closer and locked her under his embrace. "Just hang out for a bit more."

"Why? You guys already got enough stuff for your list from me."

"It's about attending another event." Melanie informed Serena as Serena looked at her warily before shifting it to the two males. "What about it?"

"Saturday night we got a little karaoke thing going. You down?" Xiao Gui asked with a smirk. "Or nah?"

"Hell nah. I ain't down."

"Don't be like that. You'll get to witness me and Ziyi have a rap battle."

"And so?"

"Don't be so stubborn." Ziyi told her while squeezing Serena a bit as she made a face at him. "I feel like it's a trap."

"You think everything is a trap." Melanie remarked with a roll of her eyes as Serena glared at her. "Because it usually is whenever you're involved and it's not Dongyue or the others doing when it's concerning the sorority. For you it's plain entertainment of my misery."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Melanie feigned aloofness as Serena scoffed. "Sure you don't, but fine, whatever. I'll go. Just let me go, Ziyi."

Ziyi smiled as he playfully held onto her longer while squeezing her causing Serena to squirm within his grasp before letting her go.

"Ugh. I hate when you do that." Serena huffed as she fixed her shirt.

Ziyi smirked while ruffling her hair. "Don't lie. I know you secretly like it."

Serena stuck her tongue out at him in response.

"Anyways, just make sure to bring a plush doll on Saturday night for karaoke." Xiao Gui reminded the two females.

"Why?" Melanie asked with a questioning brow.

He shrugged. "Something about a raffle or something. I don't remember. Gotta ask Zhou Tengyang about that."

"Well, we gotta go." Ziyi informed them. "We still got stuff to do before the scavenger hunt ends in a few hours."

The quartet bid one another goodbye with the girls entering their house and the boys walking back in the direction to their house of Iota Phi Theta.

[spooksbot]

okay so i’ve played around with all of the XL characters in DW8 so i feel like i can tier them relative to each other, and i wanna talk a little about each one

this’ll probably get quite lengthy, so i’ll put it under a cut

5 - Zhu Ran

holy shit do i hate this kid so much. i’ve been waiting for him to debut in the series as a playable character for so long ‘cause he’s so instrumental in the latter Wu stages as part of their strategies

but fucking hell do i despise playing as him, or even having him around. his EX weapon in gimmicky as fuck and it’s another i can throw onto the pile of “ranged weapons that SUCK” alongside the crossbow and the standard bow

his design bothers me bc he just looks like Lu Xun’s edgier alter ego, and his personality began to grate on me immediately

fix this, KOEI

4 - Chen Gong 

another character i find to be annoying, but mostly just his voice, tbh. his design is pretty solid, and i find his personality to be interesting, and having an ambitious character join Lu Bu’s roster of battle hardened warriors is pretty damn cool

his EX weapon is interesting, and i enjoy using it, but it severely lacks in damage for the most part. i do enjoy the summon mechanic a lot though, and a hell of a lot more than how Cao Cao or Lu Xun’s shadow clone thingies function

he’s basically a punching bag that wants to rule the world and that’s fine

3 - Fa Zheng

arranging the top 3 was actually pretty difficult as i really like all three of them, but i’m gonna have to put Fa Zheng in 3rd

i really like the voice acting and personality for this guy. like, really really. he’s the sort of person who takes “eye for an eye” too seriously, and probably isn’t above dishing out incredibly disproportionate retribution, and honestly? Shu needs someone like this instead of everyone having Justice Boners™ and being compelled to do the right thing at every moment

it makes him stand out amongst a bland crowd, basically, and i appreciate that.

his EX weapon is very gimmicky and suffers from criminally low damage, but i do like it for what it is. with some tinkering in Ambition Mode with the Blacksmith, i could probably pull his damage up to par and have a lot of fun with his moveset, so i’m considering doing it just to try it out on some harder levels/difficulties

2 - Yu Jin

this guy. this guy.

voice acting and design? top notch. he really sells the whole “dedicated lawman” but with that cold and ruthless edge that makes him stand out compared to someone like say, Cao Ren

he also has a lot of appearances in various story mode battles as an NPC, which let me see a lot more of him than pretty much anyone else out of the new additions

his EX weapon is easily one of my favourites in the entire game, with it gaining the Slash element on Charge 1 after you play the attack chain minigame three times - which is a lot less tedious than it sounds, i swear 

i actually use it with pretty much every Whirlwind character, and will probably use it with more than just those once i unlock the War Trident skill and everyone gets access to the Whirlwind effect

all in all, great character and a great addition to Wei’s already exceptional roster

1 - Lu Lingqi

yeah yeah yeah i get it, the only girl out of the 5 is my favourite. call me biased or just a massive lesbian, whatever. Lingqi is fucking cool and she’s the best new addition to the roster. fight me.

giving Lu Bu’s daughter playable status was awesome, because i remember me and my friend used to talk about her being like, a “secret character” that you could unlock if you did some really specific stuff in DW4. i can’t remember where we even heard about her, but still.

she picks up Lu Bu’s old weapon from DW6 with an updated moveset as her EX weapon, and it’s one of my favourite weapons alongside the War Trident. i use it on pretty much everyone without impunity because i love it so much

her design is pretty great, even if she does suffer from the thigh high stiletto boots trap, but that’s my only real issue with it.

she’s portrayed as Lu Bu Lite™ - incredibly strong, but actually has a personality outside of her strength - and she adds an extra dimension to him as well, making him a retroactively better character

i’m kinda pissed that she’s basically nonexistent in the hypothetical Lu Bu route, especially when if you play her in those stages on Free Mode, she actually has specific dialogue that can’t be triggered by anyone else, but i made her my main officer in Ambition Mode to compensate so i’m over it

in short, delete Zhu Ran, the rest are at the very least alright

[renewedmotionforjudgment]

10 + 11 questions tag

Thank you @shenmeizhuang for tagging me!

A. Always post the rules. Answer the questions then write (10 or 11?) new ones.

B. Tag 11 people and link them to the post. Tell the person who tagged you that you’ve answered their questions.

My questions:

Favorite heroine.

Favorite drama trope.

Name a character that you initially liked but came to dislike.

Least favorite drama trope.

What dramas do you think should be 20 episodes shorter?

Favorite example of trope dissection/dispellation. 

Favorite time travel drama.

What historical figure would you like to see a drama about?

What type of plot twist would you like to see more?

What is the worst plot twist you have seen in a drama?

Favorite villain or antagonist?

Hua Fei, from the Legend of Zhen Huan/后宫 甄嬛传.  For all of her bad traits -- callousness, selfishness, a tendency to want to murder her enemies -- you can’t help but to feel bad for her.  And at Yongzheng for treating her like he did.  And I think that’s what I truly loved about Zhen Huan -- even the antagonists were fleshed out and multi-dimensional.

A honorable mention would be Ulanara Yi Xiu/Huang Hou from Zhen Huan.  

Favorite character trope/archetype?

Interestingly, when it comes to female characters, I am willing to give any character trope a try if the storyline is good.  That said, I notice I do gravitates more towards dramas where it’s “carefree young woman getting entangled in political drama and then internalizes too much.”  Aka Bu Bu Jing Xin, Glory of the Tang Dynasty, Imperial Doctress, to some extent Singing All Along.

As for guys, because I inevitably end up watching palace dramas/court dramas, I am a sucker for “I am a prince/emperor with all the duties in the world including polygamy but I only have one true love” type of character  (see above dramas).  I swear this post will not become my rambling on Glory of the Tang Dynasty, Part 3.

Least favorite character trope/archetype?

The Evil Secondary Girl(TM) in modern dramas.  I give the trope a little bit more leeways in palace dramas because backstabbing and all are I guess historically accurate (maybe? lol) but the evil second girl trope in modern drama makes my eye twitch.  

The biggest example I can think of is Ha Jae Kyung from Boys Over Flowers.  I have many many issues with that drama (don’t get me started on what they did with Jun Pyo that even Lee Min Ho can’t save), but the drama never gave a reason for why she was the Evil Secondary Girl (TM).  Yes she’s betrothed to Jun Pyo, whichl from all indications was arranged by her parents.  The drama never gave an indication as to why she’s so attached to Jun Pyo, other than this supposed betrothal that was arranged by other people. 

Least favorite drama trope

Love stories where the jerk of the main character (always the dude) remains a jerk to everyone else but the Main Love Interest(TM). 

Blackmail stories, like Sealed with a Kiss.  It’s not as much romantic as just plain creepy.

Name a character that you initially disliked but came to love

Wei Zi Fu from The Virtuous Queen of Han.  It wasn’t even that I initially disliked her character -- I just found her character really boring and a little bit insufferable by how good she is as a human being.  But then by the end of the drama I was pretty much HURT ZI FU AND I CUT YOU, YES INCLUDING YOU LIU CHE.  

Favorite multi-season drama?

I don’t really watch a lot of multi-season drama that’s not in English, to be honest? I guess if you count Glory as multi-season.

That said, I have high hopes for the 2nd season of Dr. Qin Medical Examiner. 

Favorite example of trope dissection/dispellation.

Bu Bu Jing Xin.  It took the trope of “amazing heroine that everyone loves” and shred my heart to pieces.

Favorite time travel drama.

Bu Bu Jing Xin again.  I haven’t watched the Myth yet (honestly, I know that it ends up super angsty and I keep chickening out because of that), and while I enjoy Gong for the time traveling palace Boys Over Flower adaptation that Yu Zheng kept denying, Bu Bu Jing Xin is just so tightly and well written, well acted, beautiful, and dramatic but never over the top.   

Choose a period drama, sageuk, or wuxia that you would like to time travel to

Most of the period drama and wuxia that I watch end up with 90% of the cast dying so I am not sure if I actually want to time travel to any of them.  At this point, probably Glory of the Tang Dynasty so I can talk some sense into Li Chu and Zhen Zhu during certain plot points.  And also because I feel like Li Chu occasionally needs a Get A Grip Friend.

Historical event/time period/historical figure(s) that you want to see a show explore.

I am not sure, really.  I would love to see an epic political drama of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period that wasn’t overwrought with romantic melodrama a la Qing Shi Huang Fei.

Name a show with the best (most intensive yet reasonable/plausible) plot twists.

Bu Bu Jing Xin.  I guess it was not a plot twist because I knew history and what happened between the fourth and eighth prince, but the deterioration of their relationship throughout the drama was actually made in a way that was super reasonable and plausible even though it broke my heart.

I’m tagging @cdramaddict, @dangermousie, @shenmeizhuang.  I realize that I don’t talk with my mutuals a lot, but anyone who wants to answer can :) 

[drivingsideways]

Episode 65

EPIC BREAK UP Part 1/ 2 

Well, episode 65 brings fresh pain: Ziyan and Ning Yi are on entirely different trains now. 

Ning Yi is happy/relieved to be a commoner now, as long as he has his mother; Ziyan cannot bring himself to tell Ning Yi about what happened to his family that day. He seems to think that Ning Yi was “faking” the whole commoner stunt just to get his mother back and also deflate the Emperor’s suspicions. Uh, not an entirely unreasonable assumption since NY and he have not talked at all since before he ran off to Puyuan. He tries to get “Liulang” interested in what is going on with the so-called Huofeng Gang. He’s desperate to bring down Ning Qi, understandably. 

 But Ning Yi is not listening at all, and he repudiates all of Ziyan’s “plans” saying he has no wish to get back into the mess that is the fight for the throne. When Ziyan sees that Ning Yi is so happy with his mother, as “Liulang”, he leaves, without telling Ning Yi anything further about what had happened. 

Ziyan’s way of processing the trauma is to immediately get into revenge mode/ planning mode/ just DO SOMETHING that will help him re-establish control, but Ning Yi’s refusal is like a slap in the face. He has no place in this new life that Ning Yi is carving for himself, and at the time he needs him most, Ning Yi is abandoning him (or so it must feel like to him). 

Although Ning Yi wants Ziyan to be a part of his “new life”, Ziyan, at that moment just can’t. 

So of course, Ziyan has to monologue in the moonlight (very pretty, I approve)

Yep, the terrible thing that happens to him certainly brings out all his worst qualities- his vanity and entitlement curdling into self pity, and a desire for revenge. He swears he will bring Ning Qi down. Side note: Ziyan comes from a humble background, and I’m pretty sure schemed and clawed his way up- for such a person, being let down this way (”Heavens have been cruel to me!”)- naturally offends his sense of justice- as per him, he has always been on the side of the angels- so this cruel trick of Fate leaves him angry and lashing out. 

Ya Le attempts to tell Ning Yi that he should not give up his dreams- and also warns him that there will still be “enemies” around him who would destroy his happiness. She re-iterates what she’d written in the letter- that he must find his “mission’ in life. 

Meanwhile, while Ning Qi is happy to receive confirmation that the Emperor will shortly name him as heir, he is still vastly threatened by Ning Yi’s continued existence. Like XZ, he believes that the commoner thing is only a stunt- and he needs to use the time he has to make sure that Ning Yi is neutralized. Encouraged in this line of thinking by Zhangsun Hao, he has Ya Le kidnapped. 

In the kidnap attempt, Zong Cheng is killed by Ning Cheng- unfortunately this is witnessed by Gu Nanyi and further lies by Zhangsun Hao- that it was orchestrated by Ning Yi, who wants to destroy Dacheng- create more complications. Gu Nanyi reports the same to Feng Zhiwei, who resolves to go back to the Capital, to get to the bottom of it. Helian Zheng, upset, tells her he’s divorcing her. Zhiwei decides to return anyway. 

Ning Yi confronts Ning Qi about his mother’s kidnapping, but gets nowhere. 

The Emperor finds out about Ya Le’s kidnapping and naturally suspects Ning Qi- but doesn’t quite do anything about it. He wants to find a way to get Ning Yi and Ning Qi to resolve their differences. 

XZ finally tells Ning Yi about what happened with Erhua and Dahua, and when Ning Yi apologizes for not knowing, he says that he didn’t know about Ya Le’s kidnapping until the fight Ning Yi had with Ning Qi- both of them have kept a distance from each other, but it’s clear that XZ hopes they can reconcile and get back to their former state. XZ argues that Ning Yi being powerless is a worse off situation than before because he still has enemies, but no power to do anything about it. He urges “Liulang” to return to the palace and make good with his father-but Ning Yi is having none of it, refusing to risk his mother’s safety. 

Well, that pretty much puts a nail in the coffin of their relationship- except that Ning Yi doesn’t realize it yet. Like their entire relationship has been falling apart over some time- Ning Yi has no real clue about the shit that Ziyan went through during the Qiu Mingying/Feng Hao damage; he has no idea how Ziyan has been holding things together while he was away in Minhai and then Puyuan; conversely, Ziyan is not around for the traumatic revelations that Ning Yi has had re: his parents, the stress (and destruction) of Puyuan etc. They are just not on the same page anymore and basically...forgot to inform each other? And by the time they do have that conversation (like here), too much distance is between them for them to actually understand what’s going on with the other. GOD. And yet, they do care for each other (it wouldn’t hurt so much if they hadn’t) and as we’ll see, their lack of communication REALLY FUCKS THEM UP. 

Ning Yi has fought his Fate all his life; the accident of his birth into a royal family has been nothing but pain for him. BASICALLY HE’S LIKE I AM TIRED OF BEING THE HAMSTER I WANT TO GET OFF THIS WHEEL. 

Ziyan seems to operate under the assumption there is no getting off the wheel at all. There is a just order and balance to the universe, in Ziyan’s world, and rectifying any imbalances are your sacred duty. In Ziyan’s eyes, Ning Yi has to accept that he is an instrument of Fate as part of a larger purpose (as he, Ziyan also is) and that’s really the bottom line. Also, when it comes to power- Ning Yi was born to it, stripped of it, gets some, and finds himself rejecting it; Ziyan was born without any- and what power he has now is hard won-and so for him, the question of rejecting power is almost unthinkable. He’s secure enough (arrogant enough!) in his self-righteousness to believe that he cannot be “corrupted” by it. And you can see that when he commits a grave moral crime, by any standards, he just cannot deal with it; because to do that would be the end of his carefully constructed self image, it would bring his house of cards crashing. Ning Yi is so much more emotionally aware than Ziyan is; his weakness is that he’s incredibly navel-gazy about it all, and the emotionally abusive childhood leads to him internalizing blame all the time;  Ziyan’s just the opposite; his legendary compartmentalization means that the person he’s most dishonest with, is himself. 

me: I LOVE THEM YOUR HONOUR ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY ARE TERRIBLE WITH EACH OTHER.