#chu CHUNK chu CHUNK

[define-fluorescent]

Sigh. I just took my ADHD pills and now want to go out and take pictures of some bugs but I cannot,,, because of personal responsibilities,,, that I take the ADHD meds to perform

[vulpiximisa]

fight or flight instincts are telling me to run

[shrikeseams]

I will see your headcanon and raise you-- a chunk of soul is what makes it possible to co tain or replicate the ~light~, because every Eru-created being contains a fragment of the imperishable flame that is the common point of origin for that light. Like the imperishable flame is a bonfire, and elves and etc are like candles lit from that common flame- a shared origin but each is complete unto itself because that's how fire works. And the silmarils are another fire lit from Feanor's own flame.

So the silmarils not only contain a chunk of Feanor's soul, but are not actually derivative from the Trees except in the sense that Feanor wouldn't have thought about making something like them if he hadn't witnessed the trees, and they share a point of origin at a higher level. So instead of the silmarils descending from the Trees, they'd more like second cousins.

The corollary here is that similarly, Galadriel's Phial does not contain the light of a silmaril! It's actually made of her own portion of the flame, and soul, and possibly her memories of Treelight. Up to you whether she knows this or not.

Hc: feanor accidentally (?) incorporated pieces of his fëa into the Silmarils

Think about it for a moment.

What would it contribute to? His descent into madness? His fierce and dangerous love for the Silmarils?

Did being parted from them make feanor less somehow, much like how sauron in the third age was less without the ring?

Feanor’s sons of born of his fëa; parts of him are inadvertently within them as well, so would feanor (alone) swearing the oath have somewhat bound them to it as well? Even if they had not also sworn? Wouldn’t they still have felt that same pull?

[theocddiaries]

Clark [V.O.]: Family milestones always throw Bruce for a loop. He holds it in, and then the next day he has a total meltdown and I have to pick up the pieces. The problem is tomorrow I'm supposed to go to Vegas with my buds… so I need him to melt down today. Trust me, that is not a phone call you wanna make to a bunch of ex-college male cheerleaders. They will mock you with a hurtful rhythmic taunt. [AT THE GARAGE OF AN APARTMENT BUILDING]. Bruce: Why isn't the gate opening? Lois: Aw, geez. Not now! Bruce: What? What's happening? Lois: It's stuck again. Bruce: What do you mean it's stuck? You can't open it? Lois: What do you think "stuck" means? Bruce: We have to do something. Can't you push it open or something? Lois: I don't know. Bruce: We are trapped in your building and you don't know? As one of this gate owner, Lois, you have a certain responsibility. See, my daughter is gonna get up on that stage and give a speech and graduate from middle school, and if I am not there I am going to freak out. I am going to freak out! Do you have any idea how important it is-- Diana: Why are you smiling? Clark: I'm not. I'm not smiling. [V.O.] Clark [Imitates a slot machine]. Chu-chunk. Hysterical partner, hysterical partner, hysterical partner. Jackpot!

[dangermousie]

Pre-Joseon Sageuks: a Biased and Incomplete List

So, as promised way earlier, a post on pre-Joseon sageuks that I’ve either watched or plan to watch so am aware of them. I am sure there are others but here is what I got. Obviously my takes on them are subjective blah blah blah.

Jumong - arguably the Daddy of all Traditional Sageuks, this one ran for over 80 episodes and had insane ratings. It follows the rise of the mythical founder of Gogureyo tho it takes fantastical elements of his story and changes them for historically plausible ones. It’s very long and very meaty and politics/battle heavy and has a large cast of complex characters (including pretty nifty women and a LGBTQ supporting OTP) but it is anchored by the incredible performance of Song Il Gook as the titular character as he slowly but believably grows from nothing to a hero if at the cost of losing his marriage.

The King of Tears Lee Bang Won - this is basically a half and half beast as (you can tell by the title), it’s set in the last days of Goryeo and early days of Joseon. The time period covered is the same as in My Country and Six Flying Dragons, but this is the most traditional take of them all, even more so than 6FD. Not a single pretty face in the cast (tho Joo Sang Wook is a mighty fine man, emphasis on “man”), this is for the real fans of traditional sageuks. I enjoyed it a lot but if you want to check out pre-Joseon sageuks but have mainly watched youth sageuk stuff before, you should probably start with another drama on this list.

The Great Seer - set in the reign of King Gongmin, the last proper king of Goryeo (his son King U is technically the very last but there are questions as to his status), this is for those of you who want to watch Ji Sang in a sageuk. It’s centered around seers but don’t expect mysticism, this knuckles down to politics.

Shin Don - hi there, another story set in the reign of King Gongmin! From the title, you can tel it centers heavily on the powerful monk who ruled for the King at one point. This has been on my to-watch list forever because this appears to devote a decent chunk of its time to Gongmin X Noguk and I am dying for a proper drama for those two. This is from 2005 so if you do watch, keep that in mind in terms of visuals etc. That cast is lit!

Bicheonmu - this is sort of cheating because it’s pretty much set in China but it involves Koreans so. It’s a drama take on the same story told in a pretty awesome movie. Tragic love, battles, young Joo Jin Moo etc. i am very fond of it. This said, find and watch the Chinese version, Korean one was shredded.

The Iron Empress/Empress Cheon Chu - set in Goryeo, this was another of women ruler centric dramas that had a mini popularity peak in late 00s/early 10s (a trend I wish continued.) it got overshadowed by Queen Seonduk but by all accounts is a solid drama. It’s on my list but I haven’t watched it yet.

The King’s Daughter, Soo Baek Hyang - by the writer of The Rebel and My Dearest. Have I got your attention? Another woman centric ruler tale set in Baekje. Yes, there is a love story. That cast is great, to boot. I have started and liked what I’ve seen but got sidetracked. Need to get back to it. Before you look at the ep number and faint seeing the number 108, keep in mind that the eps are half an hour long so it’s an equivalent of a normal 54 ep sageuk so if you can watch eg Empress Ki, you are good with this.

My Country: The New Age - Lee Bang Won but make it gay. OK, I kid, sort of (not really) but this is smart and passionate and heartbreaking. If you want a wide scope or lots of politics, probably not a take for you (Six Flying Dragons is RIGHT there), but if you want an intense, emotional tale, come right in!

Six Flying Dragons - to me, this is THE drama about Lee Bang Won. It’s smart and emotional, deals with politics and has heart. It has a large cast of characters I got invested in, OTPs that will blow your mind etc etc.

Faith/The Great Doctor - if you are a fan of old school shoujo like Red River, Basara or Fushigi Yuugi, this or Moon Lovers are your best bet on this list. A time traveling tale with other fantasy elements about a modern day plastic surgeon who ends up being kidnapped into Goryeo during the early days of King Gongmin’s (hi!) reign by a tormented, oath bound warrior played by Lee Min Ho at his hottest (and playing historical General Choi Young. Do RPS at your pleasure), this one is one of my all time favorites.

Seodonyo/Ballad of Seo Dong - I am actually currently watching this one tho I haven’t been posting about it. Set in both Baekje and Silla, this is an angsty love story with a side of politics. It’s filmed in 2005 and looks accordingly but if you don’t mind dated visuals, this is pretty great!

Emperor of the Sea - set in Silla and Tang, this was a huge hit and deservedly so. Our protag is a slave and gladiator and a great naval hero. This is grim and smart and epic. It’s from 2004 so once again, if dated visuals are no-go, skip, but if you want a great story and performances, this has your name on it.

The Kingdom of the Winds - an epic cursed prince narrative, our ML (Song Il Gook at his sexiest) rises from abandoned prince and slave and abused assassin to general, royal and king, sparing time for an angsty delicious love story with an enemy princess. This has serious sageuk bits AND the best shoujo tropes in the business, plus enough whump to keep anyone happy.

Gye Baek - Lee Seo Jin, another sageuk stalwart, stars as the title character in this tale of a Baekje commoner, war slave and general. This is grim but glorious.

Soldier/God of War - this is a traditional war-centric sageuk and grim as hell. Another slave to general tale.

King Geun Chu Go - this is on my watch list; it’s about a warrior king of Baekje. Haven’t seen it but heard good things.

Ja Myung Go - smart and unrelentingly tragic, featuring Jang Ryeo Won and Jung Kyung Ho as doomed lovers and Park Min Young in an evil role, this is great and has deeply flawed characters in the very definition of doomed by the narrative tale.

Arthdal Chronicles - this is obviously a fantasy but the tale of prophesied twins, magical priestess, wars and mysticism is clearly set in a pre-Joseon in terms of aesthetics world.

Alchemy of Souls - like Arthdal this is pure fantasy but also like Arthdal, a lot of its styling is pre-Joseon so on this list it goes.

Moon Lovers/Scarlet Heart Ryeo - ok I think if people have heard of only one drama on this very long list, it’s probably this one. Modern time traveling heroine ending up during the reign of Goryeo’s King Taejo, in the middle of his sons’ fight for the throne, having an epic but doomed romance with shoujo catnip tortured bad boy Lee Jun Ki.

Shine or Go Crazy - if you want a more historical take on Moon Lovers succession fight but still with plenty of hotness, angst and doomed romance, come right in. This baby stars Jang Hyuk, so you know it’s bound to be good. I actually started it and enjoyed it but got sidetracked. Need to get back to it. Fun fact: while Moon Lovers was hugely popular internationally, domestically Shine or Go Crazy (they aired around the same time), did much better.

The Legend/The First King’s Four Gods - for a long time this was my favorite kdrama of all time and is still probably in my top 10. Ignore the odd first episode, the rest is perfection. Expensive and wonderfully written, this was Bae Yong Joon’s last drama before he retired to rest on his pile of money (if you are young, you probably don’t remember what a big deal he was, bigger than all the Hallyu stars nowadays put together. He basically was singlehandedly supporting the kdrama industry at one point), but what a worthy way to go out. It’s an epic Goguryeo fantasy tale of a prophesied prince coming into his own, with such amazing characters and relationships and OTPs and battles and points about destiny versus free will. It is everything and I kinda want to rewatch now.

The Blade and The Petal/Sword and Flower - ostensibly a star-crossed Gogureyo love story, this really is more about politics. It’s a mixed bag. The visuals are insane but Uhm Tae Woong, while always solid in modern dramas, is out of place in a sageuk (in QSD Kim Nam Gil stole his thunder; there is nobody to do so here but that doesn’t help him.)

Queen Seon Duk - probably the most famous entrant into female power sageuks, this was a mad hit and centered on the titular character’s rise to power and fight for the same with her female nemesis Mishil. If you want love stories, angsty fighter Bidam propelled Kim Nam Gil to stardom as he stole the leading man mantle from Uhm Tae Woong.

Empress Ki - currently rewatching this. It’s set in the waning days of Goryeo but takes place mainly in Yuan. Still, the FL is Korean and a lot of the story revolves around one of her suitors’, a deposed Korean king, attempts to get his land back. As you can tell by my rabid posts, this is a great drama - politics, romance (I ship FL and the Yuan emperor like mad), murder, dysfunction and everything good.

Hwarang - it’s so brain dead it might as well be a brain-eating amoeba in drama form but it did give us both Park Hyung Sik and Park Seo Joon before they made it big in drama world. It’s terrible tho, stay away.

River where the Moon Rises - I have such a love/hate relationship with this drama - I loved the beginning, with our tormented assassin heroine slowly being warmed by the loyal rustic ML with his own trauma. And then Ji Soo’s bullying scandal happened and he was replaced by Na In Woo, aka the actor I like least from any country in all my close to two decades of watching dramas. I tried but I simply couldn’t and I am still mad. This said, if you don’t share my NIW allergy, it’s probably worth a watch.

The Great King’s Dream - if you liked QSD and can’t get enough of the period but want an even more traditional tale, you can do worse than this drama. I liked what I saw but this baby is 70 eps and lacks Bidam so I peaced out. Maybe I will get back to it sometime, but probably not.

Jeong Do Jeon - as you can tell by the title, centers on JDJ and the last days of Goryeo. Not really my bag (time period been done plenty in other dramas and I don’t have that much interest in JDJ) but supposed to be solid.

My Only Love Song - a short silly mess but still probably better than River (which tells the same story) because it doesn’t have NIW.

King Gwanggaeto the Great - 92 eps. I can’t!

The King Loves - delicious love triangle (that goes ALL ways), angst, prettiness, a side of bodyguard romance. What’s not to love in this Goryeo tale?

ETA: this post was so long that when I tried to tag every drama I mentioned, tumblr told me you hit the tag limit of 30 tags no more tags for you. Oh well, sorry dramas that ended up I tagged!

[gizkasparadise]

final leg of a journey to love thoughts!! (eps 35-40). this got so gd long so under a cut it goes. spoilers, of course:

PLOT STUFF/PACING

pacing for the plot definitely got shredded in the last chunk, which is a damn shame because otherwise i've been finding the pacing pretty much perfect. eps 35-37 in particular felt like they could have been like a 10 episode arc. ep 38, which mostly dealt with wu palace politics, should have been cut or streamlined imo and more time given to the characters we've actually been riding along with the whole story. by the time we get back to the pregnant empress, prince danyang, the first prince whose name i dont even remember, and the prime minister, i do not care about any of them and i think this subplot was simply just trying to fit too much shit into one bag

that said, this show still let the emotional moments hit and breathe and linger. i love the grief for the fallen liudao comrades as we go, as well as the less heavy but still emotionally important moments like yang ying and tongguan bonding over their upbringing. and we got a wedding /;3;/!!! for this show, the relationships and characters matter more than the storyline so im not mad about anything at all

side note: it's so gd millennial to have a story about a bunch of 30 something year olds who want to fake their deaths and retire into obscurity but instead they go and die for a boss they hate

CHARACTER STUFF

this show consistently brought a lot of depth to its side characters (and side side characters!!). i said it in an earlier post, but it bears repeating that even someone like deng hui i didnt expect anything from, but he got such good development and writing that he became a stealth fave. his dying words essentially being "dude, quit fucking around" ? iconic.

i didnt like tongguan as much as everyone else, so im pretty meh about everything regarding him. the attempt to force-wed ruyi was tonally really weird and didnt make sense (i assume there was some cuts made surrounding it). but LOL at him reusing all the outfits and decor immediately for his wedding to yang ying. baby duke, you tacky motherfucker. i ultimately think yang ying deserves better than him, but the good thing is that she knows this, so she'll be able to hold her own and then some entering into this partnership

shisan really was the heart in a lot of ways--the mom to yuanzhou's dad for the liudao. i was not expecting him to break my heart the way he did, but the fact that he held both qian zhao and sun lang as they died and then tried his best to remove yuan lu from harm and saved chu yue and was just very much a nurturer all the way through got me. his character couldve been cheap comic relief but the writing + performance really elevated him into one of the (imo) most memorable wuxia characters. his line wondering who would get to behead his beautiful skull!!! and how his mantra was always that he was going to drink the best wine, see the most beautiful women, and make the best of friends and he dies having lost the ability to see and having just had wine in memory of qian zhao, yuan lu, and sun lang. like. shut up!!

ruyi and yuanzhou were both so great and they're gonna be the drama OTP to beat forever. i loved the gender reversals, that they both were so respectful of each other, and that they also felt very mature in how they handled things and communicated. they were really interesting characters both together and apart and that's always a win-win. they had a schroedinger's ending where it's not super clear if they're alive or dead (i interpreted it as the latter), but what's kind of beautiful is that either option is satisfying to me. if they both died, they're reunited and with their comrades and the story is truly about the journey and the meaningful short connections we have. if they both survived, it's a bookend with the beginning where they each faked their deaths to escape. A+

COSTUMING

i gotta just separately mention the costuming for this show because it was 15/10. the textures, shisan's accessories, the way red became integrated with yuanzhou's wardrobe and blue with ruyi's. the details on the liudao name amulets!! SO GOOD. i love when characters' clothes tell a story on their own

overall i just really loved this drama it is probably my favorite wuxia ive seen so far! it's gonna be in my brain for awhile lol feel free to send fic prompts if you've made it this far :'D

[chuluoyi]

Hello Miss Chu! 🌸 How are youu!? Hope your hectic work time goes smoothly and you have a nice time to relax later on!

It’s okay that you’re taking a break from writing JJK! I want you to know that I appreciate your writing, no matter what fandom you write for and which ever character you write for! You are an amazing writer! ♥️

I loved reading your Love and Deepspace works! 🤩 I used to play the game on my sister’s IPAD because I don’t have space on my phone🫣 and she just moved to a different country for her job and I’m deprived of the game🥲😭 I don’t know where can I play the game nowww☹️

- 🌻

hiii sunflower nonniee!🫶🏻 aww thank you for the wishes bc i really need my work to be smooth this week ahaha :’)

and thank you for saying so!! tbh i think i might hit writer’s block lately too for jjk :’) i think i might be inactive too this week🤧

ahhh so you played it too!!🥹 i played it on phone but so true :’) it takes up a chunk of my memory sobs…

[edupunkn00b]

Roomies, Chapter 1: My Best Friend's Brother

Mash-up of edited public domain photos.

My Best Friend's Brother - Next - Masterpost - [ AO3 ]

WC: 3098 - Rated: T - CW: references of parental homophobia Written for @intrualityweek 2024

Patton and Roman have known each other forever. They were each other’s best friend, favorite neighbor, closest classmates all through school. They were even each other’s first crush. Roman’s crush had faded with time. Patton’s had not. Oh, yeah, and Roman’s weird twin brother Remus was there, too. Now Roman and Patton are all set to be roommates their freshman year of college and everything’s going to be great. Right?

Faded with sun and age, the little green You Are Here flag was hard to find but when it finally popped out on the giant campus map, Patton grinned. He was on the right path. One more left turn and then up the trail between the fountain and a big field and he'd be at his new home for the next year. Nodding, he took one more deep breath and hitched up on the thinning straps of his duffel bag and marched on.

He'd made it.

The line outside the Resident Advisor office spilled out down the stairs of Carrefour Hall. Patton—and the rhythmic chu-chunk of his cracked suitcase wheels—slowed as he approached it. He hesitated, eyeing the line of students waiting for their dorm room keycodes as his backpack and duffle bag straps dug into his shoulders.

With a little grin, Patton shook his head and bypassed the line, walking right through the side door. Patting his pocket, he didn’t need to take out the dorm assignment letter he’d had memorized since June of their senior year. 

Carrefour Hall, Room 604 Dormmate: Reyes, Roman

After a much shorter wait for the elevator, Patton squeezed inside with his bags, bouncing on his toes as the elevator emptied a bit more at each floor until it was just him and a bored-looking RA-a senior, maybe?-when the elevator doors stuttered open on the sixth floor.

Patton spilled out, barely noticing his bag bonk the backs of his own heels. Eyes on the door labels, all the troubles of the day, all the troubles of the entire flippin’ summer melted away. A heady mix of relief and excitement and nervousness propelled him forward until he practically skipped down the hall.

600… 601… 602… 603…

“Ready for college, Roomie?” Patton laughed after tapping quietly on the open door of room 604. “Or would it be Rome-y? ‘Cause we’re Rome-mates?” He danced his shoulders back and forth, smile only faltering when Roman turned around with his forehead crinkled in confusion. Behind him were the dorm’s standard twin-sized frames, shoved together and made up to form one full-size bed.

Sitting on the edge of that bed, folding one of Roman’s old tee shirts was a guy from their old high school. Floppy dark hair, longer than Patton remembered, and square black glasses. Was Landon his name?

“Pat!” Patton melted into Roman's arms when he pulled him into one of his patented—ha, Pattoned—crushing hugs. “It’s so good to see you! But…”  Roman pulled back, shaking his head and shooting a confused look at the other guy. “What—what are you doing here, Pat? I don’t…”

“Whaddya mean?” Patton tried to laugh but his throat had grown tight and it came out a little broken sounding. But Roman and the other guy—Llewellyn?—were too busy looking at each other to notice. “We’re… we’re rooming together, Ro.”

Roman’s eyes widened when he finally seemed to register Patton’s bags.

“The Housing Office didn’t call you?” Roman asked. “I—I texted you but when you never replied, I…” He looked down at his bare feet and the other guy stood and moved next to him. “I thought maybe you were just, y’know… a little mad and needed some space.”

Mad? Patton forced his smile to stay bright.

“New number, who ‘dis,” Patton said, waggling an older gen iPhone. The late afternoon sun glinted against the cracks in the screen. “Just got it yesterday. Um… can you put your number in…” Roman nodded and tapped at the device. “Sorry, all my contacts were on the old sim card.”

“No sorries needed, Pat! I’d be lost without my phone. I…” He nodded when his own phone buzzed with the message he sent and passed Patton back the device.

Patton couldn’t not chuckle when he read the contact name Roman had created, Really Obviously Muscular And Nice 👑.

“But, I don’t understand…” He looked up at Roman as he slid his phone back in his pocket. “Why would I be mad at you?”

“I… I, well, my parents got the Housing Office to switch our rooms. They said they'd call you," he said, shaking his head. The other guy raised his eyebrows at him and Roman shook himself, presenting him with a bowed head. "Um, do you remember Logan?”

The man with big square glasses nodded and offered his hand. “Logan Sanders… We had Bio together sophomore year.”

“Patton Hart,” he nodded, shaking his hand and ignoring the sinking feeling in his belly. “I—I remember. You talked back to Mr. Saxby when he said Watson and Crick discovered the double helix.”

Logan dropped his hand and glanced at Roman before staring down at the floor, jaw clenched.

“You were right! He was a teacher—he shouldn't've ignore Rosalind Franklin!” Patton added quickly, turning his head to smile at him. “You got in trouble for that, didn’t you?”

He rubbed his arm and nodded once. “And I’d do it again.”

Roman curled a muscular arm over Logan shoulders and grinned proudly. “Logan tutored me in summer school so I could start this semester without having to make anything up and, well…” Uncharacteristically quiet, Roman looked to Logan, a question in his eyes.

Logan cleared his throat, eyes glossy. “We started dating and…” He let out a slow breath and nodded again. “And my parents didn’t like that and, well…” The sinking sensation turned into a cold rock in the pit of Patton’s stomach. “They… they threw me out.”

Nodding, Patton shifted the pack still slung on his shoulder. Pins and needles, like after you foot fell asleep, crawled down Patton's limbs and he reminded himself to breathe. “Oh, Logan, I’m so sorry. That’s horrible.”

“Exactly,” Roman said, pulling Logan a little closer. “Logan’s been staying at my house since that all happened. My parents have kinda taken him in."

“Your family has been more than generous,” Logan murmured, eyes on his feet. “And very gracious.”

“Hey, after surviving eighteen years of Remus running around the house, you’re nothing.”

Patton swallowed. The last time he’d seen Remus had been right after graduation. He’d run up to him and Ro and unzipped his gown to reveal his brand new tattoo—and that he’d been wearing Speedos and nothing else underneath during the ceremony. He looked carefully at Logan. “Has he been… okay with you?” 

Remus had never directly bothered him—Patton had no doubt Roman would’ve put a stop to it in a heartbeat if he’d so much as said one mean word. But as early as second grade, Remus had been suspended three times for fighting. He was tough and fought dirty, brutal enough to make even Patton’s biggest bullies cry. 

Patton was still grateful Roman really never left them alone together.

Logan tilted his head, brow furrowed. “He’s been Remus but, yes… Once I informed him I did not find his references to ‘Little Orphan Annie’ as humorous as he did, we’ve been getting along acceptably well.”

“You know if that ever changes,” Roman began in a soft voice, lips close to Logan’s ear. Patton looked away and tried harder not to listen. The room was just so small.

“If that ever changes, you’ll be the first to know,” Logan replied just as quietly. “Remus will need you to drive him to the emergency room.”

Roman chuckled, low and quiet and rich. Not at all like his best friend’s typical laugh. Patton risked a glance up.

Roman was smiling down at Logan, eyes bright and cheeks a gentle pink even through his summer tan. He absolutely glowed. Suddenly seeming to remember Patton’s presence, Roman faced him, fingers still laced together with Logan’s. They’d painted their nails matching colors, every other nail Roman’s favorite red and a deep blue that matched Logan’s shirt.

“Right, I was explaining.” Roman’s voice dragged his attention away from their interlocked hands and Patton nodded. “Logan’s parents withdrew the dorm deposit they’d paid and he lost his room. I convinced my parents to switch me to a “single” so he’d have a place to live this year.” 

Patton looked around the room. They’d already moved the dorm-issue twin beds side-by-side, with a big red quilt stretched over them. Two dressers were tucked into the corner by one closet, leaving just enough space to set the desks face-to-face on the other side of the room. Patton imagined them studying together, holding hands over the desk, stealing little glances between readings. Quizzing each other like he and Roman used to when he’d study at his place after school.

Roman suddenly stepped closer and Patton looked up at him, pushing on another smile. “Have no fear, my dear Pattington Bear.” He booped Patton’s nose and, for a moment, everything was as it should be. “The Housing Office assigned you a room in the new dorms. It’s over by the Art Building. We saw them—they’re really nice and…”

“You probably want to get settled in,” Logan added, taking out a folded slip of paper from his pocket. “Dormitory orientations start in an hour, then dinner, and an evening program on ‘Health and Safety.’”

“Ha,” Patton forced a laugh, craning his neck to peek at the printout. His eyes widened when he saw the number of activities and information sessions they’d be expected to attend over the next few days. The list was a lot longer than the one he’d seen at the start of summer. “Sounds like camp!” 

“I sincerely hope your summer camp did not distribute prophylactics on the first night,” Logan frowned and put away the list. “Well,” he looked up at Roman  who winked back, blushing. “We have a bit more to tackle before Orientation.”

“Right,” Patton nodded. “Of course. Maybe we can meet up for dinner at the dining hall?” he asked, hoping neither caught his stomach grumble.

“Well, um…” Roman drew Logan a little closer. “Lo and I were going to drive into town for dinner together and…”

“Oh! Oh, yes, right… Celebrate with a date.” The yawning pit in his stomach turned into an a ball of ice. “Of course,” he said again. “Let me, um, let me get out of your hair, then and, uh…”

“Here, Pat, I’ll help you.” He lifted Logan’s hand to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss against each knuckle before releasing his grip and following Patton into the hall. “Jeez, Pat!” Roman exclaimed, eyes widening when he took in Patton’s overstuffed duffel bag, another backpack, and his beat up old wheelie suitcase in the hall. “Did you bring enough?”

“Oh, you know me,” he laughed, his voice strained as he tightened the straps on the larger backpack pulling down his shoulders. “It’s just a little of everything.” Roman hefted the duffel bag, his hand scraping over a crumpled tagboard label.

“Ha! Speaking of camp, I think you left your bunk tags on from last summer,” he laughed, turning it over and reading the bunk information. His eyes widened. “I can’t believe you went back!”

“You went to summer camp before college?” Logan asked, adjusting his glasses and peering at him through narrowed eyes from the doorway.

Patton shrugged, a flush crawling up the back of his neck. “Yeah, I was a counselor. Good money for a summer’s worth of work and no expenses… You’re living where you work, so…”

“Ah, Pat, I figured you’d take the summer off!” Roman clapped his shoulder then helped him hook his other backpack over the handle of the wheelie bag. “You worked your ass off to get a full ride here. Your parents were so proud at graduation, I bet they’d send you anything you’d need.”

“Mm-hm,” Patton nodded and didn’t look away fast enough to miss the stiff look Logan gave him. 

“Oh, mi amor,” Roman murmured, stepping back into their room and cupping his boyfriend’s cheek. Patton ducked his head and tilted back the suitcase to drag it back to the elevators, making just enough noise to cover their whispers. “I’ll be back before you know it, love,” he promised in his regular voice before stepping back into the hall with Patton.

“You know, Ro… I’m being selfish,” he said quietly to Roman when he joined him with the duffel bag. “You should stay here and help Logan get settled. I just need to head down to the RA’s office and get my new room and keycode.” Patton smiled brightly up at his oldest friend.

“Are—” Roman’s hand twitched on the duffel strap, already shifting his weight to set it down. “Are you sure?”

Patton looked up at him. Hope had brightened his already brilliant green eyes, and his usual crooked smile now bloomed over his face. “Yeah, Ro, of course I’m sure. I got it all here, didn’t I?” He nodded and looped the duffel bag over one shoulder.  “Besides, you know me…” He grinned brightly and mimed flexing his muscles. “I’m stronger than I look. Logan needs you,” he murmured.

“Pat, you’re the best friend a guy could ask for!” Roman pulled him into a long hug. Breath caught in his throat, Patton squeezed back, the familiar scent of strawberry shampoo and a new floral cologne pleasantly tickled his nose. “I’m not just saying that, either,” Roman murmured, bent over his head. “Thank you for being so understanding. Logan doesn’t have anyone right now. His whole family disowned him when he came out. They wouldn’t even let him take his computer or his clothes or anything.”

Burning eyes squeezed shut, Patton nodded silently against his shoulder, throat too tight to even try to speak. The weight of everything he carried in his backpack cut into his shoulders and he hugged Roman a little tighter. 

“He just really needs me right now,” Roman whispered. “I’m the one who encouraged him to come out. It wouldn’t be right to just abandon him now.”

“Of course,” Patton managed when Roman pulled back and smiled down at him. 

“You’re a good friend, Pat. The best.” He gave his shoulders one more squeeze before turning back to his room with a little wave. Just before he closed the door, he poked his head back into the hallway. “Hey, we should meet up at the dining hall… uh, maybe sometime tomorrow? Or maybe Monday?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “Yeah, Ro, that sounds great! You have my new number!” He called just as the door closed. Alone again, Patton pushed up the corners of his mouth until it felt something like a smile and walked back down the hall toward the elevators.

~

The line for the RA’s office wrapped around the hallway. He watched the time tick down on his phone, the wait stretching even as his battery slowly died. Still, he cheered when he reached the head of the line and grinned at the harried volunteer flipping through a clipboard of dog eared papers.

“A313,” she said and handed him his new door code in a tiny envelope.

“Does it say who my roommate will be?” Patton bit his lip. He and Roman had spent the last four months of school planning on rooming together, sketching plans and making up stories about who else they might meet in the dorms. Patton hadn’t even considered not sharing a room with him. The thought of living with a total stranger sent a cold child down his spine.

The volunteer scanned the sheet but shrugged. “Sorry, doesn’t say on my copy, just that he’s a senior. It would’ve been on the copy mailed to your permanent address.”

Nodding, Patton caught his bag as it began to slip off his shoulder. She smiled, briefly, and glanced up at the line behind him. “Here—” she said, plucking a parking sticker from a thick envelope. “You’ll need to switch out your pass when you move your car to the other lot.”

“Yeah,” Patton nodded again and tucked the decal into his pocket along with the old one. Don’t need a pass if you don’t have a car. He gathered up his bags. “Um, thank you!” he added, remembering to smile. The volunteer had already moved on to the student waiting behind him, crumpled check in-hand.

The Art Dorm was on the opposite side of the quad, tucked into a corner behind Greek Row. A raucous party had already started at the largest fraternity house and Patton hitched his bag a little higher. He’d dodged a bullet there, at least.

He skittered around a pocket of laughing students making their way back across the quad toward the dining hall, then another as he waited for the elevator. One of them shoved a thick Orientation folder into the recycling bin. He waited until they’d passed and fished it out again. He'd missed the session, but at least he could catch up with the handouts. And if he hurried, he could still make the tail end of dinner and figure out what else he'd missed later. Who knew, maybe his new roomie would be nice and they could get to know each other a little before bed.

The elevator doors opened and Green Day played at too a high a volume poured into the tiny elevator. Patton dragged his bags out and into the hall. The music came from the only open door on the floor, about half-way down from the elevator. He re-read his dorm assignment and checked each door. His footsteps slowed with each tread, his bags growing steadily heavier.

301, 303, 305…

Patton stopped just outside room 313. A mostly empty suitcase sat open on the bed nearest the hallway and a stack of clothes still on hangers were draped haphazardly over the back of a chair. Teetering stacks of books and art supplies covered one desk and music—now Queen—blared from a flashing bluetooth speaker by the window.

In the other corner of the room, a very tall and very familiar guy with neon green hair and a cropped tank top was inside. Back to the door, he danced as he shoved an armful of clothes into a dresser drawer. A shiny tattoo, still red around the edges, covered his left shoulder and the safety pins adorning his ripped jeans swayed with his movements. 

Maybe it wasn’t him. Maybe… Patton held his breath and knocked. Loudly. 

He spun around, tapping his wrist, and the music cut out. A too-broad grin slashed across his face, topped with a thick mustache. Green eyes two shades darker than Roman’s stared back at him, wide and wild. Remus dropped his clothes and opened his arms wide.

“Roomie!”

[lullabytaeyong]

Yeonjun’s Salon ✂️

Little Yeonjun short :)

-

“Ow!” Beomgyu yelped for the third time in five minutes.

“You gotta stay still!” Yeonjun instructed. He sat on a pillow behind Beomgyu with a small hair brush in his right hand and a chunk of Beomgyu’s hair in the other.

Yeonjun was trying to give him a brand new hair style, pretending to be hair dresser at a salon, with Beomgyu as his client. Most six year olds wouldn’t be trusted with such a task, but Yeonjun wasn’t six…well kind of. He felt six, but looked twenty four, and all his “tools” were made of plastic. Soobin made sure to make all of the household scissors out of reach at all times after Yeonjun decided to give himself a haircut one night. Luckily, he only made two snips, so the damage was minimal.

He loved to make his hair look pretty when he was little. There were so many things he could do! Beomgyu had the longest hair out of all of them, so he often fell victim to his clumsily attempted braids and pigtails. He let Yeonjun tug tiny doll combs through his hair and spray it with water.

“Chu-cha-chu.” Yeonjun mimicked the spritz sound the bottle made as he misted Beomgyu’s head. He dragged the comb through a few more times and turned to sift through his plastic jewelry box full of clips and bows.

“This one…this, that one, oh this one!”

Beomgyu took a sneaky peek to the side to see what Yeonjun was picking out. He saw a glimpse of rainbow colors and was scolded to look away. Yeonjun tsked and started to gather a bunch of hair on the very top of Beomgyu’s head. He tied it up with a purple elastic and placed a pink barrette in front where a piece of hair bumped up to flatten it out. Then he shuffled to sit in front of Beomgyu and swiped a small amount of his bangs to the side and clipped it back with another barrette, this time a yellow one with a pink butterfly.

“Almost done!” Yeonjun chirped.

“If I’m not beautiful when I look in the mirror you are not getting tipped.” Beomgyu played along.

Yeonjun sprayed his head with more water and brushed through the mini ponytail. Then he grabbed a small pink bow and stuck it on the back. He giggled, proud of his incredible styling skills and picked up his yellow Belle mirror to hand to Beomgyu.

“Alright, let’s see…Wow! Very unique, Yeonjunnie! Definitely about to be a trend setter.” Beomgyu smiled, holding back his laughter and viewing the hair-do in the mirror.

“There’s a butterfly here, and a bow back here.” Yeonjun explained pleasantly, tapping each spot for show.

“Mhm, very good choices!”

“Money please! You can’t leave ‘til you pay.” Yeonjun said with a hint of mischief.

Beomgyu set down the mirror and pretended to pull a wallet from his pocket, counting invisible bills of money and handing it off to Yeonjun. He offered to do Yeonjun’s hair in return, but was waved off.

“Nope. Binnie’s next! He needs a trim.” Yeonjun held up his red plastic scissors and prepared his tiny salon for the next customer. Beomgyu went to fetch Soobin for him and found him lounging in his room.

“You’re next at Yeonjun’s Salon.” He stated to get his attention.

“What?” Soobin rolled over and snorted. Another 10/10 style from Yeonjun.

“You heard me. It’s your turn.” Beomgyu repeated, his face heating up in embarrassment.

“I don’t know if he can top that.”

“Well, he says you’re getting-”

“Soobin!! My scissors are getting impatient! They will snip you in your sleep if you don’t get over here!” Yeonjun called matter-of-factly.

Soobin face fell.

“Did he find the real scissors??” He asked, concerned. It was Beomgyu’s turn to laugh.

“No dummy, they’re plastic. Now, off you go.” Beomgyu chuckled and dragged Soobin out of his bed and pushed him lightly out of the room.

“Don’t forget to tip!” He added brightly.

Soobin ended up with a dramatic side part and several bug themed clips in his hair.

[sumtheamazinglysickauthor]

Awake - A Xyx Fanfic

“Doll, you awake yet?” You hear your husband call out, groaning in response. You slept a bit late due to reading another romance visual novel and was now tired as hell. A chuckle comes out of the mouth of the man you were now wanting to strangle as you felt him climb on the bed.

“Xyx, let me sleep” you whined.

“Love, as adorable as you are sleeping, I made us brekkie. I reckon it’s gonna get cold if we don’t go eat.”

“We can warm it up later”

“We can…” he whispers, his breath on your ear, “But I worked oh so very hard and it would be such a shame to let it go to waste. How about we make a deal, hm?”

You smile, eyes still closed, “What is it this time? You want my money?”

“Hm… Close but no, doll. Not this time." He pauses for a moment, and you can tell he has a smirk on his face as he asks, his voice deeper, "Remind me, how good are you with your tongue?”

You get flustered for a moment, before letting out a giggle and finally opening your eyes to look at him. “Pretty good, actually. You should know.”

“Oh love, trust me I do. Just wanted to know if you’ve been practicing.”

“Yeah, I have someone helping me.”

Xyx smirks, looking into your eyes. “Do you now? Is he handsome?”

“Let’s just say he looks like a model. He’s great with his tongue, too. Best partner I’ve ever been paired with.” Though you sound confident, you feel yourself turning red.

“Oh? Is that so? Very… good to know. I’ll have you know I was hoping to have a friendly competition of…”

You wait.

“That was your cue for a drumroll, doll.”

“Was it? I had no idea.” A lie, of course. You had gone through a similar conversation before back when you did video calls in the server. You’d never forget them. You’re not sure you’d forget any moment if Xyx was there. He always did have a way to make things memorable.

“Oh, you little troll.” He tickles you for a bit.

“H-Hey! Cut it o-out.” you laugh out, “I cede! I cede!”

“Good.” he stops, “Anyway. Tongue Twisters! Let’s see if you’ve improved, yeah?”

“Sure thing. I’ll win this time. Ready to be defeated?”

“Oh we’ll see… You know the rules, don’t ya?” he asks the question like the two of you haven’t been playing this very game for years. Little does this stupidly gorgeous man know, you remember every single conversation the two of you have had.

“Hm… Why would I? Not like we’ve been doing this for years or anything.”

He lets out a chuckle, “Let’s see if you can still be sly after this.”

“The student might’ve become the master, you never know.”

“Mhm." His tone was sarcastic, "Let’s start off easy. How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? He would chuck, he would, as much as he could, and chuck as much as a woodchuck would if a woodchuck could chuck wood.”

“You’re going fast again. I’m gonna need you to go a bit slower."

“Oh? But I thought the student became the master? What happened to defeating me?”

“Fine then.” You reply a bit too stubbornly. You clear your throat before trying to repeat after him, “How much wood could a woodchuck chunk- chu- Damn it!”

“What’s wrong, doll, cat got your tongue?”

“No, Cat’s too busy sleeping and they love me too much to do something like that.”

Xyx shakes his head, letting out a snicker before responding with, “Hm… I suppose you’re right. Let’s try another one” He takes your hand in his.

“T-The one with the imaginary manager?” “That’s the one, doll. So you remember, I see. Good. You might make it farther than last time then.” He gives your hand a little squeeze, “Can you imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie?”

You tried listening closely, but the feeling of his warm hand in yours was enough to make you lose your concentration. You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding and somehow reply, “Can you imagine an imaginary men-menagerie manager- manager imagining menaging- managing an imaginary menagerie? Dammit!”

“Pfft-” he lets out a laugh, slightly blushing, “Oh, you’re adorable as always, love. How about this one? Mr. See owned a saw, and Mr. Soar owned a seesaw. Had Soar seen See’s saw before See sawed Soar’s seesaw, See’s saw would not have sawed.”

“Mr. See owned a saw, and Mr. Saw owned a see... God!”

Xyx smiles cheekily, “Oh. Baby. Not even close. Listen up, yeah?”

You start realizing something, before concentrating on his words.

“Mr. See owned a saw, and Mr. Saw owned a seesaw.”

You clear your throat, repeating after him, “Mr. See owned a saw, and Mr. Saw owned a seesaw”

“Had Soar seen See’s saw before See sawed Soar’s seesaw, See’s saw would not have sawed.” he smirks

“Hey! Ugh!’ You fight back a smile as he waits for you to respond, “Had Soar– Ugh… No!”

“Did you really mess up again? I’ll go ahead and declare myself the winner. However, for your efforts, I will name you runner-up.” You can't help but get the feeling of deja vu at his words.

“Gee thanks. Can we go get breakfast now?” You say, rolling your eyes, a bit salty.

"What, mad you lost?" he raises a brow, "Doesn’t seem like you’ve practiced considering that is exactly what you replied with the first time we did this.”

You look back at him in shock, “You… remember?”

“Hard to forget some of the best moments of my life.” He says so casually, as if he hadn’t just confessed to the time spent with you being the best moments of his life. As if he isn’t making your heart beat fast. As if his words wouldn’t make you internally scream and blush so hard, which is what you were doing right now. Blushing. Hard. How could this man say such beautiful things in such a cool manner? You’d never know.

“They were… some of the best of mine too, actually. Hadn’t forgotten a single detail of our chats, video calls, late night bike rides… You could quiz me on any detail actually, and I’d probably get it right.”

Xyx stares at you, slowly moving your hand to intertwine his fingers with yours as he gently gives it another squeeze. “N-Now doll… If this is your way of distracting me from celebrating my trillionth victory, you are rather cheeky.” he jokes, “Know you won’t get away with it.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it” you smile, before looking deep into him. Sometimes, it was hard to believe that this man was your husband. He seemed like something out of a novel, sometimes. “Xyx…”

“Yes… love?”

“I love you.” You blush. The two of you were married, so you had said it before. You could never say it in a normal manner, though.

“I love you too, doll.” His beautiful emerald eyes had softened. You used your free hand to slowly touch his hair as the two of you just stared at each other. He brings the hand intertwined with his to his lips, giving it a soft kiss before he pulled you in, kissing your lips.

A soft meow startled the two of you, as you sat up straight, looking at the direction of the sound. Cat had woken up and was now sitting on the floor. “Really, ya little freeloader? Decided to interrupt our little moment, did ya?”

You giggle. Xyx cares for Cat, the two of you had spoiled them so much when they were sick. Though, your husband does get annoyed whenever Cat shows up to interrupt a special moment. Like now. You didn’t mind too much, though. How can anyone get mad at this cute little furball?

After a few moments of Xyx and Cat playfully arguing, you get up. “C’mon, Xyx. I’m sure Cat has learnt their lesson. Let’s warm up the brekkie? A deal’s a deal.”

He looks at you, chuckling before getting up. “Guess you’re right. Let’s go now, yeah?”

You grab his hand as you guys leave for the dinner table with Cat following, interlocking your hands. While you didn't know where the rest of your life will take you, there was one thing you were sure of: You would always love this man and no obstacle would be able to keep you away from him.

[echoesofwisdomcountup]

28 Days until Tears of the Kingdom Release!!!!!!! I've spent hours talking with several of my friends about yesterday's trailer. I have so many theories and questions but since I can't have any of them answered until the game comes out, I'll share some of them with you. Instead of posting all of the analysis at once, however, I'll do it in smaller chunks over the next few days. Spoilers below if you wanna avoid trailer stuff.

I mean the first thing I noticed was the Chu-chu (my friend said they are called Slimes in German) fighting the construct. I find it fascinating that these constructs fight other mobs. Did the Zonai build them just to fight monsters or all intruders? What do they register Link as? An invader? I wonder if there is a game mechanic that convinces the constructs not to attack Link or maybe only sentry constructs attack Link and all other constructs must be triggered in a combat trial or something.

This robot is chopping down a tree. I noticed that some of the constructs in the gameplay trailer ignored Link. I'm guessing that these are specifically worker constructs. They remind me of the mining robots in Skyward Sword.

After this I enjoyed the music and Link's awesome dive through the air. I don't have much to say about that except my friend wondered why Link isn't constantly cold all the time if he's that high up. I'm chalking it up to Sky Island magic.

Mushrooms in Hateno. I think some of them are real and others are just decorations. Gives me Minish cap vibes. I wonder if their is a specific mushroom shop or maybe there is a festival going on? Idk maybe the towns people just wanted some color.

TENTS. The way I almost screamed because they are rebuilding. It makes me so emotional to see that the people of Hyrule were rebuilding from the Calamity. To see the Guardians and malice gone from the courtyard is just ugh my heart. My friend hopes that Nintendo lets us explore some of rebuilt Hyrule before things go to shit again and Ganondorf wrecks everything and I agree. However, I have a feeling that Nintendo will not let us explore the half built castle as part of a tutorial before waking up the angry mummy in the basement. I can dream though.

Another look at that spiral shrine thing. I really really want to know what those are. Also lmao looks like a sky island fell and got wedged sideways. I guess its something interesting to look at for the people in Kakariko.

Alright so this structure rising out of the ground in the desert is probably in the Arbiters ground area. I'm not gonna say dungeons confirmed but I've absolutely heard other people say it. I thought it might be related to the structures in Twilight Princess (cough maybe the Twili) but my friend suggested the dungeon in Skyward Sword which also rises from the ground. Either way I'm excited to explore it.

We've seen many shots of the castle rising but I really appreciate seeing the Sheikah here reacting to it as well. It makes the world feel more real and the trailer of course did a great job at including NPCs. I do still wonder what exactly the falling rocks are and why they continue to fall throughout the game.

This figure looks so much like Demise. It's tempting to think that this is Ganondorf considering we see him later in the trailer. However, I'm gonna stick to the idea that we might be seeing both characters. Although, maybe Demise will only be in flashbacks/visions of the past. It would be fun if Ganondorf in the final fight morphs into more of a Demise form.

This one was just cruel. Link is gonna be so devastated at having failed to catch/protect Zelda and he tried so hard. I hope he quickly learns that Zelda isn't dead because he's gonna be racked with guilt either way.

For as much as Nintendo loves showing that they dropped Zelda off a cliff, I'm glad that they showed the yellow glow. Since her hand is glowing I'm wondering if her triforce powers saved her which is certainly a possibility. However, there is another possibility. Zelda looks like she's holding something in her hand. I think that she found the little golden recall stone/tear and when she fell it activated. Time travel is looking very possible.

But that's it for today. Thank you for reading.

[acatbyanyothername9]

Hi @jellyfishesandart I'm gonna make a separate post so I can answer the question!

Starting with the easy part, my fave beside Mo Ran is def Xue Meng, I love this baby peacock so much. But more broadly I love his family, his mom and his dad are amazing too. All of them are just fundamentally good in such a crapsack world. They're honest and upfront and I love them. Xue Meng and Mo Ran bickering is top tier.

As for Chu Wanning, I had trouble at first because despite how good he is, he's stubborn to a fault and very prideful to the point where he will not tolerate any of Mo Ran's lapses.

When did I start liking him more? Short answer, the Xia Sini arc. It's one of my favouite, I adore small Chu Wanning.

Long answer, I started liking him more during the Jiancheng Lake arc where he really gets to shine I think.

What also made me appreciate him is all the moments we see him vulnerable (being unable to take care of himself when it comes to tending to his wounds, to kicking his blankets at night) or when we see him erect the barrier for the disciples on the bridge after they come back from Butterfly Town.

My biggest obstacle to liking Chu Wanning as a character was that it felt to me as if a whole chunk of character developpement was missing.

Also the man has one of the worst "cannot spit it out" syndrom i've ever come across and sometimes it got frustrating. Gestures of service are very nice and all. But sometimes I just wished Chu Wanning used his words a bit more.

In conlusion, I think the thing that makes CWN not entirely click for me is two fold 1. We get told over and over again that because he was powerful he's been put on a pedestal and thus he grew isolated and cold and blablabla, except we're only ever told, never shown how he goes from the traumatised student to this cold man. You'd think with the amount of flashback THIS would be thing that's developped but no and 2. most of his gestures of care are hidden (THOUGH HE GETS BETTER THANK GOODNESS)

Sorry for the massive walls of text 😂.

[zahri-melitor]

Poison Ivy: Circle of Life and Death

So you know how you can tell a writer reads and writes fanfic? Amy Chu clearly does.

This is some delightfully fanfic tropey Pamela Isley writing. And I know that she does tend that way, but the entire story feels like ‘greatest hits of Poison Ivy tropes’.

Poison kisses

New pheromone perfumes

Plant babies (both Pam calling her plants that and actually plant-human hybrids)

Giant carnivorous Venus flytraps that fly? Jump? Move, anyway.

Tying a guy she likes up in vines

Growing flowers in her costume based on her moods

I’m just saying, I’ve read a decent chunk of Ivy storylines, and they’re usually nowhere near this heavy on ALL the favourite fanfic moments.

[very-grownup]

Book 34, 2024

That's right, it's time for another edition of CHRIST WHY DID YOU TRANSLATE IT AS CHESS THERE IS SO MUCH REFERENCE TO CHESS PIECES AND WHEN YOU SAY 'CHESS PIECE' THE AVERAGE WESTERNER IS GOING TO THINK OF THE PAWN AND THE ROOK AND THE LITTLE HORSEY I mean I read Volume 5 of "The Husky and His White Cat Shizun".

God, I don't even know where I'm at in my relationship with Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou, because I'm not a committed to hate-reading an entire series kind of guy, and committing to eleven of these fuckers involves dropping some serious bucks. But here I am typing:

This volume was great because there was hardly any Mo Ran and Chu Wanning pining compared to the sad masturbation on opposite sides of the wall that was volume 4.

I loved this part of the book in a genre about dudes and their romantic feelings and boners where I hardly had to deal with their romantic feelings and boners!

Progress is being made on the Mo Ran and Chu Wanning front in this volume, for what it's worth, but most of it is beneath or after meaty chunks of mystery and plot and A GIANT RITUAL HUMAN SACRIFICE MIND CONTROL ARRAY WITH GO PIECES USED TO OPEN A PORTAL TO HELL AND A GIANT HOME DEPOT SKELETON WITH A CORPSE WHERE IT'S HEART SHOULD BE COMES OUT OF IT AND FUCKS SHIT UP AND THERE'S A CURSE WHERE A GUY'S SKIN IS CONSTANTLY BEING SLICED OPEN AND HEALED AND FILLED WITH AGONIZING PAIN AT NIGHT FOREVER WITH NO END IN SIGHT god it's rad.

AS PART OF A WEDDING.

THERE'S GIANT SPIRIT WOLVES.

Shit gets real at the wedding for Nangong Si (mysteriously disappeared/died in the original timeline) and Song Qiutong (Mo Ran's wife in the original timeline and a special race of being who can exponentially level up your cultivation if you fuck her), partially because Mo Ran is determined to sabotage it due to how Song Qiutong behaved as his wife in, again, the original timeline.

A thing that is frustrating about Mo Ran, now that he's stopped being the protagonist most in need of being thrown off a mountain, is that Mo Ran is now actively working towards being a better person and grasping at redemption for all the /murdering and raping and subjugating the entirety of the cultivation world/ and he's not willing to extend that grace to characters like Song Qiutong, a woman whose main fault seems to be jealousy and fear of being replaced by the man protecting her if she loses his sexual interest. Which seems kind of fair, considering she's a walking cultivation reservoir via dick insertion who was literally sold at a black market auction.

Mo Ran needs to work more on himself before deciding who's irredeemable, is what I'm saying. The hypocrisy with Song Qiutong sticks in my throat and reading a serialized novel in bits and pieces means I don't know if there's going to be further character or plot developments to grapple with that or if this is just a way Mo Ran is going to suck for the rest of the novel.

The wedding meddling leads to secrets being revealed, some of them decades old, and a huge chunk of the cultivation world having everything turned on its head in the ensuing chaos and the whole thing with the giant home depot skeleton. There's some weird gender stuff mixed in, bring your own feelings to the table on that, but everything with the Rufeng Sect and the wedding and Mo Ran's struggle to balance solving problems with not wanting to reveal all the forbidden knowledge he shouldn't have due to the crimes of his previous life make for meaty, juicy reading, like a really good burger.

And then there's pickles on the burger.

The pickles symbolize Mo Ran's dick.

Important clarifying information: I don't like pickles.

I've been told I should read "Legend of the Condor Heroes".

So I guess I continue my weird semi-antagonistic but thoroughly invested relationship with this series.

God the bit with the giant skeleton was cool.

[rigelmejo]

7/13/2024, some thoughts from this week.

The word 方 in japanese confuses me so much. I know its pronounced hou. It seems to be similar to koto こと/事. It seems to mean something different depending on the sentence. I'm guessing its like "this way, in this way, that thing, a person LIKE that, something" or some kind of meaning like that. But I see it all the time and just do Not clearly understand 方 when I see it and it is frsutrating.

I've seen some results this month of all the listening practice I've been doing! So I guess, at least for getting results for myself, I would say the strategy of listen to audio of stuff you could read, re-listen, and just do that a LOT does result in better listening comprehension (better at parsing word/phrase/sentence meanings quickly), learning some new words, and getting better at understanding Easier audio (audio with less unique words, more common words) as a side benefit.

Results of all the chinese audiobooks and audio dramas I've been listening to since June: I can follow 默读 chapter actions, dialogues, and some descriptives of new chapters I haven't recently read in chinese or english (but I have read them before). I can follow the main overall idea of most scenes in 魔道祖师 audiobook (which is an accomplishment since at the beginning of June it took a few listens to even parse what scene is vaguely what and re-learn a lot of chinese words I knew, whereas now I'm catching a lot of action clauses with verbs and some dialogue words and some key descriptive words so I am getting a vague picture of scenes). I can follow nearly every line of 默读 audio drama episode 1, there were only maybe 4-8 sentences with words I didn't know or couldn't immediately guess on the first listen. I can follow the main idea of scenes in the Cherry Magic chinese audio drama, despite not listening to that gersion before and noticing the therapist they added (???). However: I did notice less quick comprehension of business and job words, and I'd probably need more relistening to pick up better comprehension (the way multiple Modu chapter listens helped with words like 证据 证词). I also watched Hikaru No Go Qi Hun cdrama, first episode, and understood everything fully except for a few sentence explanations about how to play go and a few sayings Chu Ying said. Shi Guang's casual talking was a bit hard to get used to in the first few scenes.

And then, since grasping the main idea is great! It means I can just keep re-listening to learn more from that point on! But I did know at least the rough plot of the things listed above, so I had a crutch in understanding somewhat.

A big result for me was the improvement in understanding SCI audiobook, since I've never read it before and haven't seen the drama (I just know its murder investigation team with some bl - and I do plan to watch and read one day). I tried listening to it in June, on a drive for like 3 hours. I could catch some bits: theres a team talking, a boss/chief, some words about a case. At that point I was mostly just re-remembering a lot of words I used to know. Then I listened again to maybe 30 minutes, and caught something about an elevator and a fight, caught the main guys names better, caught that their chief told them to go handle a case and then one main person picked another guy up from their apartment (maybe?). I listened again a few days ago, just to the first chapter of the audiobook again. It was kind of cool and kind of disorienting? In that this time around I recognized a LOT of words, but ny brain was slow to piece them together into "so the sentence means X".

So Id grasp the meaning of a full phrase, or an action taken, or dialogue (which is probably the easiest to quickly comprehend since people talk in a more similar way, versus the broad differences in how different authors handle the rest of the text sentences), or bits of descriptives in small phrase chunks, and I was recognizing ALL character names this time around and some key details like how the office reacted to the elevator fight noises. But overall Id say, it was like I could follow the main idea in each scene but there'd be random chunks all over the place I didn't grasp either at all or fast enough. A huge improvement over when I listened a month ago, and probably the most difficult thing Ive managed to grasp the main idea of that I have not read before to help. Still a long ways away from full comprehension. Its really interesting to see the improvement though in just a month! If i keep this up, i might really be able to listen to new audiobooks for plot by the end of the year.

That's my goal: to follow the main idea, nearly all actions and dialogue, and at least key descriptives (so like where I am when listening to 默读 now) when I listen to NEW audiobooks or dramas. Since thats enough to enjoy the plot and feel i understood the important parts of the plot, while also still learning more if im listening to something i still need to learn more words from (which is most audio lets be real lol).

In terms of comprehension now, although this will be a really rough guess (since I'm not counting actual unknown words): modu audiobook 90-95% comprehension depending on which sentence (i understand the audio a BIT less well than the book, and i can read the book extensively mostly so book comprehension is like 92-98% depending on the chapter), modu audio drama is 95% or higher (i really did understand almost everything), modaozushi comprehension was like 80-85% maybe in that I think I can understand a lot of phrase chunks but theres also a lot of unknown words and guess work I have to do until I get more familiar with the writing style and specific vocabulary in it, Cherry Magic audiodrama is like 88-92% in that I am struggling to catch specific details but I know if I relistened 3 times I's know almost every word and it would be more like 95% or higher comprehension - but because i need to practice hearing the business words more, comprehension is low enough (like 88%) to feel i need to focus more intensely to catch more details. Hikaru No Go Qi Hun is easily 95-100% comprehension, im a little baffled its actually so easy, maybe i could watch The Bad Kids with no subs now... i assume maybe Shi Guang and kids/teenagers being the leads and the daily life setting helps keep the vocahulary mostly in the realm of more common words ive definitely already learned... hence why the go specific words and sayings from Chu Ying were the only unknown words (being more specific words and less common). SCI audiobook is like 85% comprehension in that... its easier to follow than modaozushi, and i think i could probably comprehend 90% if i relistened a few more times, but at present its just i am NOT adjusted to the author's word choices and preferred way of describing things so the non dialogue non action parts are just Hard for me to comprehend quickly as i listen.

So that's how chinese listening progress is going. I guess I proved to myself that I really am at a point where I just need to LISTEN TO STUFF A LOT, A LOT, AND LISTENING WILL SIMPLY IMPROVE. So yeah, lets see how listening comprehension progress is in another month.

If anyone's curious, while listening I would open google translate app up and type in a word here or there that I wanted to know the meaning of. Some words were words I actually knew in reading and didnt recognize in listening, some were brand new words. I probably would have been fine looking no words up, but it kept irritating me every time i heard a word like 证据 市局 事故 局 负责 否则 that I KNOW ive read before, that would clarify the whole phrase meaning of what I just heard, but i couldnt remember the meaning from just listening when im used to the word's visual appearance reminding me of word meanings.

So how has japanese been going?

Also interesting improvements. Honestly. A bit surprised at how much improvement. Because in glossika japanese app im only on sentence like 1700, and there isnt a new word every sentence so ive probably only reviewed 1200 common words so far (i used to know 2000+ japanese words last time i was properly into studying). Maybe theres a vague memory of the other words i knew once, in my head helping me comprehend stuff? But as far as like glossika materials, i didnt expect to Improve my japanese comprehension until id studied 3000 sentences (and was finally learning some truly NEW japanese words). Now... the glossika course has given me a few new words, and not some of the common words i expected it to already cover, but its just not enough new words to make a big impact yet in my opinion (maybe 200 brand new words for me tops).

I think the main thing driving the improvement in japanese comprehension ive seen this month is:

1. Exposure, so much japanese exposure to refresh my memory and what i used to know, and to practice comprehending what i knew FASTER since im hearing japanese a Lot. 2. A lot of exposure in a short amount of time probably helped refresh my memory lol. 37 hours Ive listened to japanese this past month. 3. I do think one benefit of using glossika (although I think its overpriced for how many errors it has, and Clozemaster's radio mode or free anki sentence decks or watching shows/condensed audio/a lot of media exposure would have the SAME benefit) is that I'm getting a lot of exposure to japanese verbs and adjectives in MANY conjugations, particularly in conjugations that are very common in real life but in learning materials tend to be focused on later in learning and less for beginners. Ive run into a ton of verbs in glossika that are a. Compound verbs being used together b. Sareta form. C. Rareru form d. Te-imasu and te-iru form (and the negatives, past tense, etc versions of those verb forms). E. The ways of saying "must". F. The way soke japanese statements love using double negatives or negatives to express a positive (such as "would you like to go" being きみはいきませんか negative ikimasen). The wide variation in how I'm seeing verbs is helping me recognize verbs I know MUCH faster, regardless of the form they're showing up in.

I think it depends on personal opinion, or experts smarter than me, but theres an idea that each word you learn is really each form of a word. So for example, in chinese you just learn run once as 跑 and youre good! 跑 will always be that pronunciation, that hanzi, in any sentence. But learn run in english, and you actually need to learn multiple words to fully understand the word in Any sentence you see it in: run, running, ran. So with languages with a lot of conjugations, my thought is maybe you need to learn more forms of words to truly learn them to the level of recognizing them in multiple forms. So with a language like japanese, you want to get familiar with ALL the verb forms of each word youre learning, eventually. I feel that exposure to such a massive amount of varied verb forms is helping me fill in those gaps of "i know 来る 来ます 来ません well but i dont recognize these if i hear them fast 来られます 来られないんです etc". So the frequent exposure to lots of different verb forms helps to comprehend faster what verb im hearing and what that form of the verb is Communicating specifically.

Also though I just struggle a lot with japanese grammar so. For me I guess more exposure to varied grammar is always going to help me, over not doing it.

As my own test on myself lol, I did a lot of this glossika japanese app course just pressing play and letting lessons play in the background. I read a sentence when im curious? And ive played the review audio around 35% of the time (more than i usually would lol). But for the most part i just press play on the sentences audio, and work or read tumblr or whatever i was planning to do. I dont pay full attention. And im still seeing improvements so. The lesson for me i guess: better to do something imperfectly and with only some effort, rather than not doing anything at all. Even imperfect with inconsistent effort causes improvement and learning.

So now the fun part: progress I've seen in a month.

I found a link to some japanese condensed audio, so thats what I used. I listened to Final Fantasy X audio from the opening to about when Yuna and company leave Besaid. I've listened to that part of the game before in japanese, like watching lets plays. Listening to the audio this time around was wild: i could guess the word for high summoner (based on the braska conversation in the temple), i could understand Tidus saying he didnt know the prayer to wakka, wakka telling tidus he reminds him of Chappu, the crusaders explaining sin (roughly) to tidus, tidus dreaming underwater of his dad and in the cold temple wishing to not be lonely anymore, rikku introducing herself and saying she's al-bhed and asking tidus if hes prejudiced and tidus saying he plays in the zanarkand abes, her telling him zanarkand is gone but maybe he could find someone in luca and he got too close to sin, wakka saying you play blitzball, the villager who says stay away from the summoner, yuna saying thank you! I understood a LOT of the audio!

It was weird. In the past, id guess a lot of the japanese by the kanji in the cutscenes (and rough similarity to chinese meaning) and some japanese i knew. This time i Only listens to audio so no kanji to help me guess. And this time i didnt have to guess a lot, i just Understood. I had to guess wjen tidus dreamt of yuna and rikku since i didnt understand the lines but remembered the dream sound effects, and guess the part where tidus walked in on yuna finishing the temple, but the parts i described above? I just was able to follow because of the audio. Wild. Wild to me. It felt like listening to SCI in chinese: lots of individual words and phrases i understood, mostly action words or common noun objects, and dialogue is easier to follow (and since a game is all dialogue in its audio of course FFX had less descriptions id struggle with compared to SCI audiobook). Ive never understood the main idea of japanese audio, without japanese subtitles to help me (with guessing from hanzi knowledge) and without visual context (like watching a lets play i can guess based on lets players expression and the game cutscene and actions happening).

So yeah. That was a wild fucking success. Still a lot to learn and get better at, obviously. But i think i could learn new words (and re-remember some words i once knew) by listening to japanese more. With visuals too, like a lets play or show, i could probably grasp some additional details beyond just the main ideas. And have an easier time of it than i did a year ago. I feel very excited, and intimidated. But learned: okay listening to random sentences of japanese and english does seem to help me lol.

The other test was i listened to condensed audio of death note episode 1 and 2. Again, no visuals to help me. But also, again like with FFX, the benefit of me knowing the plot and that helping me place what scene i hear and guess at some of the words im hearing. It went? Bafflingly well? Not easy by any means. But not impossible. I followed the main idea of most scenes (the scenes of the shinigami in shinigami realm i couldnt get most of the dialogue, and the police ICP meeting i caught 警察 keisatsu and L and L mentioning Kira is probably japanese but a lot of the back and forth chatter i couldnt guess much of). I followed what was going on mainly with key words i know, phrase chunks i understood, and then using my prior plot knowledge to guess. Im frankly just surprised that doing this was possible - i expected almost no comprehension. Comprehension wasnt high, of course, but it was enough to learn new stuff by continuing to listen (thanks in part to plot familiarity), which i could not do with Death Note a year ago unless i watched it visually and used visuals to help/kanji to help guess/intense focus and pausing the screen a lot to look at japanese subtitles/and paused a lot (i did not have good listening skills AT ALL).

So i guess the biggest takeaway is that listening to japanese is doing what I hoped it would: improve my comprehension of Spoken Japanese (without using kanji for a crutch as much as i normally do), and improve my speed of comprehension of listening to japanese.

I still need to learn a LOT more words. But im happy that this study method does seem to be helping to fix the weak spots i knew i had.

[dangermousie]

And the winner of oldie but goodie rewatch context (conducted mainly in my head) is 2017 epic romance General and I, one of my Top 20 dramas and one they don’t make like any more. @aysekira​, @tomorrowsdrama​ wanna join?

I adore Wallace Chung and I am very fond of Angelababy (come at me! IDNGAF), their chemistry is fucking insane, it’s a big kingdoms in conflict epic (with one of my favorite antagonists, who goes on an arc from hero to antihero to monster and you get why every step of the way), and this is THE THE THE enemies while lovers romance!

He is the best general of one kingdom, she is loyal to a rival kingdom (and an excellent strategist) and for a decent chunk of the story their courtship involves her trying to murder him or destroy his forces as he swoons harder and she’s turned on. Eventually they throw their lot together and become a super couple. This is grey around the edges the way censors would not allow in 2023. Wallace’s Chu Bei Jie is not just a good warrior; he’s smart but also utterly ruthless; it is his own actions in the beginning that create the very antagonist he must fight at the end. Every royal ruler we meet is various degree of dumb or awful. Chu Bei Jie serves an unworthy king. The king of Ping Ting’s kingdom is a monster etc. The body count is nuts. There is a whole lot of backstabbing and GASP overthrow of dynasties. There is enough kissing and similar to make 2023 censors spit blood. I mean, the drama leaves you in no doubt those two FUCK A LOT AND HAVE A GREAT TIME. Ping Ting is not demure or giggly or naive but ruthless and murdery. He Xia, our antagonist, becomes more and more monstrous as he acquires more power but his choices are to do that or be dead and he is ultimately as sympathetic as tragic as horrific - you watch this shining chevalier fall from grace and by the end being put down is the kindest thing that could happen to him. His romance with Yao Tian, a princess he marries for power but genuinely falls in love with, just not enough to give up his quest, is honestly one of the most tragic things out there. (It’s GMP only if FL was smarter and tougher and still lost.)

Also, and why the caps above, it has literally my fave cdrama kiss scene of all time. Ping Ting has come to find Chu Bei Jie after he narrowly survived a battle and things look grim. Their loyalties are still complicated. But they’d die for each other.

And she starts taking care of his wounds without a word and he is in literal pain but is SO UTTERLY HUNGRY FOR HER!

These are the first words she says in the entire scene.

And he just pulls her to him.

Down goes the bloody towel.

And then he yanks her onto his lap, and these are the first words he says in the whole scene.

And he just pounces. These are two people who have previously stabbed each other. And no, I don’t mean a sexy euphemism, I mean with literal swords. Yet here they are.

And the camera cuts away.

I am sorry, they are from enemy kingdoms, he’s shirtless and bleeding and defeated in battle if I remember correctly, and she’s taking care of his wounds and they are sucking face like they need it for oxygen and they are on furs and like THIS IS MY ID MANIFEST.