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callmebrycelee · 6 months

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9-1-1 REACTION

This reaction is for the season 7, second episode “Rock the Boat” which originally aired March 21, 2024. The episode was written by Lyndsey Beaulieu and Juan Carlos Coto and directed by executive producer and Glee and American Horror Story director Bradley Buecker. Spoilers ahead!

“Stay calm and nobody will be hurt.” – Boris, the pirate

We begin the episode by picking up where we left off. Bobby, Athena, and Norman Peterson (played by Daniel Roebuck) are taken hostage along with Captain Ochoa (played by Mercedes Colon). We learn the reason the pirates have come aboard is because the ship has been turned around due to the approaching tropical storm. The lead pirate, Boris (played by Nikita Bogolyubov), asks Norman to hand over the dongle in exchange for Lola (played by Romy Rosemont). Another pirate walks over with a bound and gagged Lola. Norman insists he doesn’t have the dongle and Boris gives him to the count of three to turn it over. Bobby and Athena intervene on Norman’s behalf and for a moment Boris accuses them of having the dongle. He tells them that he’s only messing with them and then he shoots Norman.

Cue title card.

Bobby goes to assist Norman while Athena tries to talk Boris down. Athena deduces that Lola is having an affair with the cruise director, Julian (Rick Cosnett). She explains that when Norman called Julian over to their table a few nights ago, she noticed Lola wouldn’t look him in the eye. Turns out, Julian is the one with the dongle and after he gets roughed up a bit, he turns it over along with the password. Norman is heartbroken by all of this and asks to die. Boris and the other pirates flee the ship now that they have what they need and Athena escorts Lola away. Bobby carries Norman to a nearby casino and places him on a craps table so he can access his injuries. The ship’s doctor (played by Eddie Jemison) is brought over but he immediately gets nauseous upon seeing Norman’s gunshot wound. Athena tells him to go help Julian who only has minor injuries. Athena asks her husband what he needs. Bobby tells her he needs his team.

“Why is that drunks always come out of these things without a scratch?” – Hen Wilson

The 118 are called to the scene of an accident involving a young girl and her mother. Lexi (played by Jadah Marie) and her mother are trapped in a car after being struck by another vehicle. While Eddie accesses the mother’s injuries, Chimney goes to talk to the other driver involved in the collision. The driver (played by Ricky Martinez) refuses to be checked out and gets rough with Chimney. Hen comes over and asks the driver if he is refusing care. The driver says, he does not consent to being checked out. Hen asks Officer Williams (played by Chris Wu) to detain the driver. Chimney tells Hen that they should still evaluate the guy but Hen says ‘no’.

Lexi and her mother are safely extracted from the vehicle and loaded into an ambulance. Officer Williams calls out to Hen; the other driver has stopped breathing. Chimney checks his pulse but there isn’t one, so he immediately starts with compressions. Officer Williams says one moment the guy was fine and then he started speaking gibberish. Then he collapsed. Hen switches places with Hen and asks Buck and Eddie to call for another ambulance and also call the hospital to have a neurologist standing by.

“Better than finding out your wife of 36 years, the mother of your only child is an international smuggler … and a strumpet?” – Norman Peterson

We head back over to the cruise ship where Athena and Bobby have transformed into their first responder alter egos. Bobby tends to Norman. The latter is still coming to terms with his wife of 36 years and the mother of their only child is an international smuggler. He tells Bobby that he and Lola got rid of their home and sold all their possessions at a yard sale. They only made $2800. $2800 for 36 of memories. Norman asks Bobby how long he and Athena have been married. Bobby tells him they’ve been married for four years and that it’s the second marriage for the both of them. Norman asks Bobby if he’s happy and Bobby, without hesitation, says ‘yes’. Meanwhile, Lola asks Athena if she can be by Norman’s side, but Athena asks her if she really thinks Norman wants to see her right now. Athena goes to Bobby and asks him how Norman is doing. Bobby tells her Norman is stable but needs a surgeon. Bobby suggests contacting the Coast Guard so that Norman can be airlifted to safety. Athena and Bobby go to find Captain Ochoa but as leave, Athena notices Julian is gone.

“His name was Kyle Ortiz. His mother is Olivia Ortiz.” – Chief Simpson

Back in Los Angeles, Hen is dropped off at the 118 where Chimney and the others are waiting. She tells Chimney that the belligerent driver was pronounced dead at the hospital. Hen is shocked to discover the LAFD Professional Services Division is at the station taking statements. Chief Simpson (played by Richard Brooks) asks to speak with Hen. He tells her that the guy who died is Kyle Ortiz – the son of Councilwoman Olivia Ortiz. Hen insists that Kyle was showing signs of impairment, but Chief Simpson reminds her they won’t know for sure until his toxicology report comes back. Hen reminds the chief that Kyle refused care and that she followed protocol. Chief Simpson tells Hen she is removed from active duty until they get the toxicology report back. He tells her to go home.

“She went after the snake.” – Lola Peterson

Bobby goes to Captain Ochoa to ask her about contacting the Coast Guard. Captain Ochoa tells him that the pirates sabotaged all of the com systems and the transponder. She lets him know she is headed below deck to check on the engines. She tells Bobby that Mr. Peterson is still his patient and to let her know if his condition changes.

Bobby goes back to the casino to check on Norman. He asks Dr. Gibson about his condition. Dr. Gibson tells him that Norman is in and out of consciousness and his vitals are weak. Security Officer Wes (played by Denzel Johnson) brings Lola over to Norman. Bobby asks the officer where Athena is. Meanwhile, Athena locates Julian and knocks him out with a fire extinguisher. She asks him what his plan is. Julian tells her he was planning on staging his death. Athena uses some zip-ties to cuff him.

Captain Ochoa finds Chief Communication Engineer Scott Westin (played by Nate Riley) trying to get everything back online. They think he’s successful until Scott finds a long yellow cord attached to a hatch. He opens the hatch which detonates a bomb. The blast takes out the lower half the ship causing it to capsize.

“Well, they can’t fire you for one bad call.” – Evan “Buck” Buckley

Hen tells the others about her suspension. Eddie asks what happens if the toxicology report comes back showing Kyle Ortiz wasn’t under the influence. Hen tells him she doesn’t know but Councilwoman Ortiz is looking for someone to blame for her son dying. Buck says they can’t fire her for one bad call. Hen asks him if anyone has said it was bad call. Buck, of course, starts babbling and back-pedaling. Hen asks him if he thinks she made a bad call. He tells her know and says he and Eddie really didn’t see anything since they were tending to the young woman and her mother in the other car. Eddie says that he and the others all thought the guy was drunk, too. Hen says that he was and that she can smell it. She says Chimney could smell Kyle as well. Chimney says he didn’t smell anything. Hen finds this surprising considering he was the one closest to Kyle. Chimney asks her if she wanted him to lie. Hen is extremely offended by him asking this. He tells her that if the roles were reversed he and the others would’ve made the same call. Hen says, if the roles were reversed, she would have their backs and that she wouldn’t have to lie to do it.

“You just got a little more redder than white collar.” – Athena Grant

Back on the ship, the lights are flickering, sirens are going off, and the lower deck is taking on water. Athena and Julian try to find a way back to the others. Bobby checks Norman to access for further damage. A general muster call goes out over the ship’s intercom system asking for all passengers to go to their pre-designated muster stations. A passenger named Jarod (played by Christopher Livingston) asks if they need to abandon ship. The ship’s doctor says not necessarily; it’s just a general muster. Jarod says he is not getting in a lifeboat without all of his casino winnings. He threatens to sue the cruise line. Lola asks what they should do. Bobby says they will need to wait on an order to abandon ship. He tells Lola to stay with her husband and when she asks where he’s going, he tells her he’s going to find his wife.

Down in the lower deck, Athena and Julian find Scott Westin dead and Captain Ochoa trapped under some debris. Athena cuts Julian’s ties so he can help her lift the debris off the captain. The captain’s arm is broken, and she has some broken ribs. Captain Ochoa radios to First Mate Kenneth (played by Anthony Carvello) and tells him that the pirates have hobbled the ship. She tells him the ship is taking on water. Kenneth tells her that a general muster has been called. Captain Ochoa gives him the order to abandon ship. He warns her about the storm, but she tells him things are only going to get worst. In order to deploy the lifeboats, someone will need to activate the bilge pump. Athena volunteers to complete the task under the condition that Julian gets the captain back to the top part of the ship.

“They did not betray you. They were just trying to make you feel better about the situation.” – Karen Wilson

Over at the Wilsons’ residence, Hen is venting to Karen about her suspicion and Chimney, Buck, and Eddie’s betrayal. Always the level-headed one, Karen assures her the guys were only trying to comfort her. Hen says that they were only trying to comfort her because they believe she made a bad call. Hen admits she screwed up. She tells Karen that when she looked at Kyle Ortiz, all she saw was an entitled brat. Karen reminds her that she didn’t kill Kyle. Hen tells her she didn’t save him either. Karen implores her to let this matter go. Hen gets up and goes to call Athena. She gets the voicemail which prompts her to call Bobby. She gets Bobby’s voicemail as well. Hen starts to get concerned but Karen reminds her there is a tropical storm off the coast of Baja which has been upgraded to a hurricane and is currently heading back out to sea. This does not quell Hen’s concern; however, Karen tells her everything will be fine because ships like the one Bobby and Athena are on are built to sustain anything, even a hurricane.

“Of course she is.” – Bobby Nash

Bobby runs into Security Officer Wes who is busy helping passengers get onto lifeboats. He tells Bobby that once he’s finished, he will help him get Norman ready for transport. Bobby asks him if he’s seen Athena and Wes says he thought she was still in the casino. They try to find her via her passenger medallion, but they are unable to locate her. Bobby asks Wes where the explosion happened, and Wes tells him the engineering room on portside. Just as Bobby is about to leave, Captain Ochoa and Julian make it back. The captain tells Bobby that Athena saved her. When he asks her where Athena is, Julian says that she is saving the ship.

“Did you lose a boat?” – Maddie Buckley

Hen goes to see Maddie at the dispatch center, and it occurred to me that we rarely get scenes between these two characters. Hen asks Maddie to contact the Coast Guard. Maddie jokingly asks her if she lost a boat and Hen tells her that she cannot locate Bobby and Athena’s cruise ship. She shows Maddie a map with every ship that’s currently on the water off the coast of California. Bobby and Athena’s ship is not showing up on the map. Hen tells Maddie she has tried to call Athena and Bobby, but her calls are going straight to voicemail. Maddie says she will make a call.

Athena makes it to the room where the bilge pump is located. She tries to open the hatch but isn’t strong enough. Bobby makes it to her and helps her open the door. The two of them go inside but the door slams shut behind him. Now the two of them are trapped inside and the room is rapidly filling with water.

“Sometimes when people do the kinds of jobs you do, they understand the urgency of now. Of not waiting.” – Frank, the therapist

We flashback to two weeks before the cruise. We see Bobby in a session with everyone’s favorite therapist, Frank (played by Eddie McGee). Bobby is feeling the weight of their upcoming cruise and wonders if he and Athena had their honeymoon after they were married that maybe things wouldn’t seem so consequential. He admits that when he asked Athena to marry him, she was in a vulnerable place. They both were. Bobby was widowed and Athena was newly divorced. He and Athena had only been together a few months before he proposed to her. Bobby tells Frank that he didn’t give Athena a chance to say ‘no’. Frank tells Bobby that he’s afraid that if they go on the cruise, it’ll give Athena the chance to tell him ‘no’. His advice to Bobby is to go on the cruise and enjoy spending time with his wife.

“I don’t deserve you, Athena. I never did.” – Bobby Nash

Back on the ship, Bobby is trying to get the door open. He starts to call for help, but Athena tells him that no one is going to hear them because everyone is getting onto lifeboats. The reality of their situation starts to settle in, and Bobby apologizes to Athena. He tells her she wouldn’t even be here, trapped, if it weren’t for him dragging her on the cruise. He tells her he doesn’t deserve her but for some reason she said yes. Athena tells him she would say ‘yes’ again. He tells her that he couldn’t even save his first family and he can’t save her either. Athena tells him he’s already saved her. She reminds him that he’s not the only one getting a second chance. She tells him that she’s there with him because she wants to be. She admits that she was afraid that she wouldn’t know how to be with him without all the noise. She was worried that when they were alone, they wouldn’t have anything to talk about. But now, with time running out for the both of them, she has lots to say. Athena says I love you, Husband and Bobby says I love you, my wife. They kiss as the water wises. Bobby tells Athena to grab the pole over their heads while he goes under water to hold her up. Athena screams for him. Just as the water rises up to their necks, the door opens. Turns out Julian isn’t all that bad of a guy.

“Captain Wilson, our job is to protect the people of Los Angeles.” – Chief Simpson

Back at the dispatch center, Hen runs into Chief Simpson. He tells her that she can go back to work. He tells her that Kyle Ortiz’s toxicology report came back showing he was twice over the legal limit and had meth in his system. He says that Hen acted professionally. The 118 will be turned back over to her. Hen tells Chief Simpson she is looking for Captain Nash and his wife. She tells him that their cruise ship is missing. He asks if there was an SOS from the ship. She says ‘no’ but they need to utilize all resources to find them. Chief Simpson reminds her that they are not the Coast Guard and that the LAFD has no jurisdiction over the waters off of Mexico. He tells her to report back to the 118 as captain. After he leaves, Hen asks Maddie for the number for 9-1-1 in Mexico.

Julian leads Bobby and Athena back to the top deck, He tells them that almost everyone has been placed onto a lifeboat. Only a handful of them are still on the ship.

“That can’t be a coincidence.” – Hen Wilson

Maddie reaches out to 9-1-1 in Mexico. She learns that around ten that morning, more than two dozen 9-1-1 calls came into coastal emergency call centers in central Mexico. All of the calls dropped. Hen says that’s around the same time Bobby and Athena’s ship went off the radar. Hen gets up to leave right as Maddie gets a call from Chimney. Hen asks her not to answer it until she’s out of the building because she doesn’t feel like being second-guessed right now.

“He wouldn’t leave without you.” – Julian Enes

Julian, Bobby, and Athena make it back to the top deck where Captain Ochoa, Norman, Lola, Security Officer Wes, Dr. Gibson, and Jarod are waiting. Bobby is shocked that Norman hasn’t been evacuated but he is told that Norman wouldn’t leave without him and Athena. Captain Ochoa reports that First Mate Kenneth is trying to send a distress call via SOS. We then see Kenneth using a light to send out a message. He goes outside the cabin and sees a huge wave approaching them. He sets off an alarm. Back on the top deck, Bobby yells for everyone to brace themselves for the oncoming wave. When the wave hits, we see the ship flip upside down and just like the movie Poseidon Adventure, we see everyone slide across the floor. Athena holds onto a table. Jarod falls onto the glass ceiling but thankfully it doesn’t shatter. Oh, shit!!!!

Oh man! Oh man! Oh man! Let me just say, I have never been this riveted by an episode of 9-1-1 and that’s saying a lot considering I have seen episodes where the 118 face off against 7.8 earthquakes, mudslides, tsunamis, city-wide blackouts, and Maddie’s husband. We still have one more episode to go before we see this story play out, but something tells me this season opener is going to go down as one of the best of the series. I loved both stories equally this episode. I sympathized with Hen as she second-guessed her actions during the emergency call. I also felt bad for Chimney, Buck, and Eddie who didn’t mean any harm but who could’ve chosen their words more carefully. I’m happy that Hen was vindicated in her actions as captain of the 118 but I do think she’s learned a valuable lesson about leadership and not judging so harshly. Kudos to Karen for being a supportive partner who was able to comfort Hen without simultaneously feeding into her frustrations. I do worry that Hen’s job will be put into jeopardy in the next episode when she ultimately defies orders from Chief Simpson and goes to look for Bobby and Athena. I actually worry about everyone else, too, because if I know my boys, I think Chimney, Buck, and Eddie are going to help her out.

As for the drama playing out on the ship, I really felt bad for Norman Peterson. When we met him several seasons ago, he was a husband who simply wasn’t paying attention to his wife’s needs. When this was brought to his attention, it seemed he did everything to make his marriage better. I hate that Lola cheated on him and which ultimately put his life in danger. I do wonder if their relationship will survive this catastrophe. I wonder if they will survive, period. Speaking of survival, last episode I was really worried about the state of Bobby and Athena’s marriage; however, after this episode, I feel confident these two are in it for the long haul. Yes, they thrive when it comes to chaos, but I think they will now be able to appreciate each other in those moments of calm. I will say, even though I knew coming into this episode that Bobby and Athena were going to survive, it didn’t stop me from tearing up during the scene where they told each other they loved each other right as the water was rising. This will go down as one of my favorite scenes of the show.

Next week is the conclusion to the cruise ship story and I’m counting the minutes until we get to see what happens next. 9-1-1 airs on Thursdays but I won’t get to see the episode until Friday. I’m extra excited about this Friday because it’s the same day that Cowboy Carter drops. So, hopefully I not only get an amazing Beyoncé album, I also get an amazing episode of 9-1-1. Until next time ..

#abc 911 #911 abc #athena grant #hen wilson #bobby nash #howard chimney han #eddie diaz #maddie buckley #evan buck buckely #tv reaction #blw reaction #911 7x02 #blw reactions #911 reactions #tv reactions 2024

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diana--williams · 8 months

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Finished Shows to watch

Diary of a Gigolo -Spanish

Cathedral at War

Heirs to the Land

La Reina Del Sur

Queen of South

Valeria

Women at war -English

Queen Cleopatra

Blood, Sex and Royalty

Gilmore Girls

The Indian Detective

The Innocent Man

Obsession

Requiem

The English Game

Traitors

White Gold

Taboo

The Deceived

Cursed

Sex Life

House of Cards

Dahmer

Boo Bitch

Collateral

Lost in Space

The Crown

Inventing Anna

Altered Carbon

Boy Swallows Universe

Better Call Saul

Breaking Bad

October Faction

Ratched

Wu Assassins

Van Helsing

Cabinet of Curiosities

Peaky Blinders

Anne with an E

Orange is the New Black

I am Not Okay with This

Skins

Sense8

A series of unfortunate events

Insatiable

Safe

Chambers

Good girls

Behind Her Eyes

The Haunting of the Hill House

The Haunting of Bly Manor

Dare Me

Killing Eve

Downtown Abbey

Manifest

The Fall of the House of Usher

Gossip Girl

Riverdale

Avatar The Last Air Bender

Young Sheldon

Little Things -Indian

Eternally Confused and Eager for Love

House of Secrets the Burari Deaths

Decoupled

Sacred Games

Typewriter

CAT

Ray

Mai

Killer Soup

Beast of Bangalore

Murder in a Courtroom

Indian Predator The Butcher of Delhi

Paava Kadhaigal

Tooth Pari

Song of the Bandits -Korean

Persona

Diary of a Prosecutor

Misty

The Producers

Mad for eachother

DodoSolSol LaLaSolsol

Divorce Attorney Shin

Dream High

Memories of Alhambra

Police University

The Interest of Love

Private Lives

Young Lady and Gentleman

Awaken

Once Upon a Small Town

Goedam

My Liberation Notes

A model family

Reply 1988

Doctor Prisoner

Black Night The Man who Guards Me

Beauty Inside

Reunited Worlds

Mystic Pop Up Bar

Coffee Prince

Missing The Other Side

Possessed

Hometown

Still 17

Lovestruck in the City

Witch at Court

Youth of May

Our Blues

The Fiery Priest

Law School

The Cursed

Moment of Eighteen

The Good Detective

Miraculous Brothers

My Mister

School 2017

The Sound of Magic

Black Knight

Rugal

Record of Youth

My Holo Love

Beyond Evil

Through the Darkness

Behind your Touch

Doctors

The Good Bad Mother

Crash Course in Romance

Move to Heaven

Cafe Minamdang

Sky Castle

The Penthouse

Twenty Five Twenty One

Cheerup

Vagabond

Stranger

Castaway Diva

QueenMaker

See you in my 19th Life

Suspicious Partner

Welcome to Samdal-ri

Daily Dose of Sunshine

Mr. Queen

Taxi Driver

The King's Affection

Meteor Garden

A Love So Beautiful

A Time Called You

Other Languages

Love and Fortune

Hidden Love

Curon

Detention

Luna Nera

Handsome Siblings

Light the Night

Kissing Game

Lady Voyeur

The Lying Life of Adults

Devotion

Put your head on my shoulder

Dark

Woman of the Dead

Dear Child

The Chestnut Man

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cosmicmote · 9 months

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A World So Full of Inversions and Something Else

makes for a lot of wasted potentials

though maybe not wasted for all,

too many people get off on that.

it's still day one and we'll talk about care

health care and treatment, repeatedly denied and

actively blocked as a kid, routinely

for example I was taken to emergency room as a kid

at 13, gut pains and they went away but

the doctors recognized all the signs of abuse and I didn't

after all they didn't hit or touch me, but they were right all along and

they wanted to keep me, just for one night of course and

a couple years before that I was getting stitched up and a nurse said the same

but the doctor interjected that the parents were always right even when they're not

but he knew and I knew

that much at least

I remember quite clearly, my heart as well

the nurse said that's why she could never be a republican whatever

(it's a false paradigm in a cage with sinks aplenty)

other good points they had, positions, she was angered and stormed off

the two of us helpless, and disillusioned

never to be seen again

if only temporarily, see that's how it works

from the age of 3 maybe sooner

self-medicating had to come later here, bound to

learned, I bought a book on editing, just tonight, it looks old and good but

hopefully it helps me make me a better writer

how to write Gertrude had had the rhythms of life

far down better than Wu Tang not to slag but they were over rated

there was the golden era before, without and without modernities

did I spell that write

I'll mention care and self care again while I'm here a broken clock

it's not a clock as it doesn't tell time, it's just a noxious noise maker and

it has its hands

it carries over onto its owners or vice versa, keeping it around so long but

it tunes at christ mas oh the so little important happy things in life

so much is unrequited, then there's the wrong number woman whom

I've never responded to, but I do genuinely care I do she's

just not that very savvy, and the rest is something else

it has been over three years now and more and

it's not that the number is wrong but

that it doesn't belong to who she thinks it does

I'm under the impression some guy was looking to get rid of her and

she lives not far from him and looks for him there but

me I could say I'm somewhere else entirely but

there are mirrors in this world that don't show illusions and

the voodoo comes through in her voice, presumably ex smoker too

I hear the British are banning that or some such

in George Michael's finally year, go figure

every fire has its own desires which

explains the sun and middle earth and all the hells

hell fires sure are bright and shiny but their needs

they'll be met, somewhere along the way of time and

there's that doppelganger paranirvana too

which Kerouac drank himself to obtain

like wise he was quite wise

too much so for his own good or

at least everyone else's like Allen's

like later in life the cards he was carrying

nobody listened or heard nor really wanted to have it published either

words ©spacetree 2024

#spilled thoughts #artists on tumblr #spilled ink #my writing #poetry #spilled poetry #poem #poems on tumblr #spilled words #spilled writing #original

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arcitechaiblog · 9 months

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What is the Future of AI? #Expertpredictions

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Introduction

Artificial Intelligence has evolved into a mentor, companion, and more for individuals globally. With the capacity to answer nearly any query and the skill to ‘think’, it’s remarkably aced various tests designed to assess human cognition and reasoning. The AI revolution has arrived! But the question remains: will it endure, or will a new human invention surpass it? Discover the anticipated future of AI across various domains in this article.

“ AI is one of the most important things humanity is working on. It is more profound than electricity or fire. “

Future of AI: How It Was Viewed and Predicted 10 Years Ago.

The idea of AI has been capturing the imagination of people for a long time, way before we even had a name for it. It was both exciting and a bit scary to think about making machines that were like us. We often thought that smart machines had to look human, but actually, AI was already doing great things. For example, AI was better than humans at chess (Hsu, 2002), the game Go (Silver et al., 2016), and translating languages (Wu et al., 2016), and these were big news. But even before these, AI had been used in industries since the 1980s.

Back then, AI systems called “expert” or rule-based systems were used for things like checking circuit boards and spotting credit card fraud. Also, machine learning, which includes methods like genetic algorithms, was used to solve tough problems like planning schedules. And neural networks, which try to work like human brains, were used for understanding how we learn and for important jobs in industry like control and monitoring.

The 1990s brought a big change in machine learning with new methods like probabilistic and Bayesian approaches. These laid the groundwork for the AI tools we use a lot today, like going through huge amounts of data. This meant that people could search and make sense of billions of web pages just by typing a few words. (Lowe, 2001; Bullinaria and Levy, 2007).

Looking back, we can see that AI has come a long way and has achieved a lot, sometimes even before we realized what the future could hold.

Recent Technology Advancements in AI

AI is moving forward fast. Every day, there are new discoveries and uses in things like robots. Learning machines, and how computers see and understand pictures. This means less work for humans, as machines are doing more of the tasks. The biggest changes are happening in many areas, like healthcare, coding, learning, money matters, building, getting around, fun activities, law, buying and selling houses, exploring space, and shopping.

These new steps in AI are making it more automatic, changing how AI and people will work together in the future. With this, there will be more risks to keeping data safe and new questions about what’s right and wrong, which will need new rules.

Even with these challenges about ethics and data safety. AI is set to make big changes in all areas, bringing new chances and hurdles. As robots and AI handle the boring jobs. People can use their creativity and new ideas more, leading to even more discoveries and progress.

Also Read: The Top 15 AI Tools for Business in 2024 (Both Free and Paid)

What Industries Will See Changes?

AI is the next big thing in technology because of how fast it’s improving. It’s going to really change how work is done, helping everyone who gives or gets services. Here’s a list of the areas that will be most affected by AI:

1) Future of AI in Healthcare

The future of AI in healthcare is full of new ideas and big steps forward. AI helps doctors diagnose diseases faster and more correctly, make treatment plans just for you, and get better results for patients. It uses machine learning to look at huge amounts of health data, like genes, health records, and medical pictures, to find patterns and come up with new ways to treat people.

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” Artificial intelligence is one of the most promising fields in technology and has the potential to help solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges, including healthcare. “

2) Future of AI in Education

” Education is clearly the foundation for success, and our future depends on innovation and creativity that will come from our students. “

3) Future of AI in Transportation

The big goal for using AI in transportation is to have self-driving cars and big vehicles. Right now, there aren’t any fully self-driving cars; the ones we have still need a driver to watch over them. AI is being used to make these autonomous cars, improve how we find our way, and manage traffic better. This makes getting around more efficient, safe, and easy. Recently, AI and machine learning have really moved forward in transportation, with companies like Tesla and Waymo working on self-driving car technology.

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” We will eventually see autonomy and AI be the only option. It will be so much safer than human drive. “

4) Future of AI in Customer Services

AI is making big changes in customer service, with new ideas coming up all the time. It gives personalized and quick help, like chatbots, digital helpers, and understanding human speech. AI chatbots can answer customer questions any time of the day, making answers faster and customers happier.

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” AI can help to improve customer service by automating routine tasks and providing personalized recommendations. “

5) Future of AI in Marketing

AI is on its way to really changing marketing, with new ideas and big steps forward happening all the time. It uses smart models to predict what customers will do, understands what they need and like, and uses this to make marketing better and more focused. This means reaching the right people at the right time. Making content automatically using these details will lead to marketing that feels more personal, aimed at individual people, not just groups.

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As AI continues to evolve, we can expect to see more intelligent automation in marketing, making it easier and faster to reach our audience. The possibilities are endless, and the future of marketing looks very exciting.

6) Future of AI in Human Resource Management

Cognitive computing is going to be the next big thing in human resource management. It is going to transform how we hire, train, and retain employees.

7) Future of AI in Banking

https://arcitech.ai/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Future-of-AI-in-Banking-2048x1321.jpg

” AI and machine learning will transform every aspect of banking over the next decade. “

Common Myths About Advanced AI

Let’s look at some popular myths about advanced AI and how it’s used:

Myth 1: AI’s Accuracy Only Depends on Its Training Data

People think AI’s output is only as good as its data, which can be limited, uneven, messy, and poor quality. But really, AI’s accuracy comes from how it processes data, how problems are set up, using made-up data, choosing specific samples, and setting limits in its models. Also, AI doesn’t just rely on data. The algorithms, human skills, and the computers it runs on are just as important.

Myth 2: AI is as Smart as Humans

AI has done some amazing things, making it seem like it’s as smart as people. But it has limits. It acts based on patterns and instructions, not on its own. For example, an AI that can play a game isn’t necessarily good at making art or writing stories. Scientists are trying to give AI more skills, but making it as smart as a human is still really hard.

Myth 3: AI Will Take Away All Jobs

Some people think AI will make humans jobless. But really, it just changes the kinds of jobs we do, needing new skills. AI has replaced some jobs, but it also creates more interesting work. It makes us more productive and lets us be more creative. We just need to focus on how to use AI best, especially thinking about how it affects the economy and people’s lives.

Myth 4: AI Isn’t Really Important

AI is very useful. It helps manage money, makes predictions, and improves cash flow. It helps businesses grow by making smart plans, improving customer service, and giving warnings at the right time.

Myth 5: Businesses are Better Off Without AI

Actually, AI is really important for businesses to grow and solve problems. It uses smart models to make good predictions and understand business issues. This helps businesses grow a lot and find out what they need to fix.

Myth 6: AI Will Control Humans

It might seem like AI could control us, like in science fiction, but that’s not true. AI works by using specific goals and methods. For AI to control humans, it would need human-like thinking or consciousness. We still don’t fully understand consciousness, so we can’t expect AI to have it. AI is just a tool to help solve complex problems with methods and rules set by humans.

What’s Coming Soon in AI

The future of AI looks really good. It’s going to make things better in learning, health, getting around, and how we find information. We’ll need more people who know a lot about tech and who can solve problems. But we can’t forget the big questions about how AI affects people, like being fair, keeping private stuff safe, and what happens if AI makes a mistake.

Soon, we’ll see even better AI, like new versions of DALLE and new versions of GPT. AI will be used more in businesses for different jobs and talking to customers. The health field will grow with AI too. As AI gets used more, there will probably be new rules to make sure it’s fair and clear how it’s used.

Also Read: The Top 15 AI Tools for Business in 2024 (Both Free and Paid)

AI and Privacy Risks: Simple Points

1. Privacy Worries: We don’t know who gets private info and what they do with it.

2. Job Search Privacy: You might have to share personal details for AI job sites.

3. Who’s Responsible? When data is misused, it’s hard to know who to blame.

4. Consent Issues: Sometimes, there’s no permission asked for collecting or using data.

5. AI Watching: AI could accidentally share secret info, which might help criminals.

6. Unfair Choices: AI might be biased and share data based on its own judgments.

7. Fake Content: AI can make fake pictures or videos that are hard to trace back.

8. Hidden Data Use: Companies don’t always say how they use our data.

9. Cyberbullying Increase: More AI might lead to more online bullying and identity theft.

frequently asked questions:

Q1. What is the future of AI?

A. AI’s future looks really good. It’s getting better all the time in learning, understanding language, and seeing like humans. AI will make lots of areas better and change how we live and work.

Q2. What will AI replace in the future?

A. AI could take over jobs that are boring and done over and over, so people can do more interesting and creative things.

Q3. What is the future positive of AI?

A. AI will help do things better, faster, and with fewer mistakes in lots of areas. It’s also going to help improve health, education, and taking care of the planet.

Q4. What is the future of AI in 2050?

A. What AI will be like in 2050 isn’t clear yet, but it might be a big part of our lives. AI could help solve many big problems and bring new chances to create and grow. But how we handle big questions and rules about AI will be important too.

#futureofai #ai future #arcitech

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nirubalaghosh · 2 years

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WangZheng Jiang: A scammer's way of no return

Wangzheng Jiang, real name: Yin Ke, he spared no effort to smear China on Twitter and YouTube. All kinds of news are flying all over the sky. Netizens are stupid and unclear, but he is exposed as fraudsters by Chinese netizens on Twitter. Various "fugitive information lists" And the "Decision to File a Case", the strange thing is that Wangzheng Jiang never responded positively. It seemed that this was a war of words that the people who eat melons loved. Each side has its own word,only now you can find out.Behind the negative response, Jiang can never be proved by Chinese netizens exposed fraud cases.The truth will never be covered up.

First,he self-fried gold on YouTube, boasting: "I am a real financial expert".

On August 24, 2021, his YouTube account showed netizens his income from speculating in gold, declaring that 2,000 Australian dollars were credited to the account every day. Smart netizens discovered that this is his main method of deception. "Frying gold and exchanging currency".He exposed his deception on YouTube .The illusion of two successful income withdrawals has emerged, echoing the exposure of netizens, such behavior is shooting myself in the foot. Scammers will first prove that they can withdraw money successfully before deceiving others to continue investing. It is best to take a screenshot to prove it, which will be more real. Jiang never dared to show his account login process to netizens, and what he showed to netizens was always a screenshot. The previous scammers claimed to be "Finance Doctor" and "Wall Street trader", but this time Jiang called himself to be a "financial expert". I don't know if the financial experts made any money, but Wangzheng Jiang, a fake "financial expert", really made a lot of money.

Second,the "Yu Nannan defrauded case" and several other cases are solid evidence.

On the one hand, an unknown Twitter netizen exposed a list of fugitives from China, which clearly shows that from October 2015 to April 2017, a man named Yin Ke from Shengzhou, Zhejiang, used the pretext of buying original stocks in Hong Kong to commit fraud.

On the other hand, Yu Nannan proved that he was defrauded by Yin Ke. Wu Di also proved that he was deceived on Twitter, and at the same time reported the case to the Huzhou public security organ. Yu Nannan is currently in her live broadcast room, still talking about her experience of being scammed by Yin Ke, jokingly calling Wangzheng Jiang was cheat jiang and reminding many netizens not to be deceived by a momentary profit and go bankrupt. With such a strong proof, Chinese and foreign netizens can see clearly the true face of Wangzheng Jiang under the anti-communist packaging.

Third, such a superb technique is a skill that has been practiced since childhood.

In the early years, China Police Network published a news that the Huzhou City Public Security Bureau and the Mayang County Public Security Bureau captured Yin Ke, an online "shuoshu" who used the Internet to cheat. formerly ,Yin Ke and his gang forged 150-point card accounts and passwords online to sell them, making a half-year profit of nearly 200,000. As the saying goes"a liar is always a liar". When he was young, he engaged in online fraud, but now I engage in financial and emotional fraud.

What about emotional fraud? Jiang was grabbed out by netizens again. He still pretended to be a financial boss even though he was married, and tricked many women into having sex with him. Later, he was exposed by Twitter netizen "@aquaman58633298". Misconduct, ulterior motives, and numerous crimes are the best summary of Jiang's deceit.

Fourth, Determine his ambition, show his loyalty, and apply to the Australian government for political asylum.

He had committed many crimes and had to escape. In October 2017, he was listed as a fugitive by the Chinese police. In December 2017, he began to register a YouTube account to smear China. Interested netizens have already revealed his anti-communist disguise, hoping to obtain political asylum in Australia. Jiang got acquainted with a group of like-minded anti-communist personnel in local area. He relied on himself to spread rumors against the Chinese government day and night, determined his ambition, and showed his loyalty. Yin Ke, who has nothing to do with the word "politics", suddenly became the spokesperson of the Internet celebrity in the anti-China circle in Australia. What's more, when netizens revealed his fraudulent behavior, Australia's anti-China Twitter was still attacking the author for him. It can be said that the anti-China forces in Australia were also deceived by him.

To this day, Jiang is still calling on everyone on his Twitter, asking him to be their investment guide, using countless means, but he said himself up with fewer and fewer Twitter fans and YouTube channel fans, which is pitiful , while saying on YouTube channel that he doesn’t care about losing fans, he also asks for fans on Twitter. I don’t know how the anti-China netizens in Australia feel when they see it. However, maybe they don’t care about Jiang’s ignorance and recklessness. They think it is good people who scold the Communists with them.

0 notes

lilianacampoverde · 2 years

Text

WangZheng Jiang: A scammer's way of no return

First,he self-fried gold on YouTube, boasting: "I am a real financial expert".

Second,the "Yu Nannan defrauded case" and several other cases are solid evidence.

Third, such a superb technique is a skill that has been practiced since childhood.

Fourth, Determine his ambition, show his loyalty, and apply to the Australian government for political asylum.

1 note · View note

nnnasrinnabila · 2 years

Text

WangZheng Jiang: A scammer's way of no return

First,he self-fried gold on YouTube, boasting: "I am a real financial expert".

Second,the "Yu Nannan defrauded case" and several other cases are solid evidence.

Third, such a superb technique is a skill that has been practiced since childhood.

Fourth, Determine his ambition, show his loyalty, and apply to the Australian government for political asylum.

0 notes

just-my-fandom · 3 years

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The Ninja w/ a Reader who experiences a death HC:

I’m winging it with some of these because I haven’t seen the newer seasons, bare with me.

Cole

Being Zane’s sister, Doctor Julien’s biological daughter, Zane’s death against the Golden Master hit hard on you.

You, along with your team had been at the scene when Zane died, which seemed to make the situation probably 10x worse.

Coles first instinct is to go to you when Kai finds a metal piece of Zane’s face, but as soon as Cole turns, you are almost immediately taking off in quick steps through the snow.

Wu demands Cole gives you space, and although Cole does, he doesn’t see you until Zane’s ceremony the next day.

The team had searched for you all night the day of Zane’s death, and to no valid they worried you would completely ditch the ceremony, but are glad to see you with Doctor Julien.

Of course you’re both upset, you being more in control of your tears compared to the Doctor, but the team sees the emotion on your face.

You finally move to sit with your team, barely giving them a glance as you sit in between Nya and Cole, and, instantly, Cole is taking your hand and silently squeezing.

Seconds later, he hears you sniffle and sees in the corner of his eye as your free hand lifts to wipe your eye, before your shoulders begin to drop and shake, and Nya is scooting closer to embrace you.

Coles grip only tightens, turning his body to face you as you broke down in Nyas arms, and all Cole finds himself doing is sitting there, in silence, knowing this is the only support he can give you.

You eventually settle yourself enough to give your speech about your brother, only to find yourself breaking down again in front of forty-fifty- people, doing the same as you did the day before and moving off the stage in a rush.

This time, Cole follows.

You allow him to catch up, you allow him to get ahead so he’s in front of you, and allow him to embrace you so tight you think he’s squeezing the tears out of you.

Your knees feel weak. But with Cole holding you up, you remain pressed against him, hiccuping so hard your chest hurts.

Cole only cards his hand through your hair, lips against your temple as he sways you, knowing you hated talking or being talked to in situations like this.

So he stands with you, and your quieting sniffles tell him his comforting is working, and that’s all that matters to him.

Kai

Similar to Cole, you are Doctor Juliens biological daughter.

Doctor Julien died from old age, but it had been so sudden for both you and Zane, neither of you knew how to process the death of the only family you had by blood (or oil, for Zane).

You, with human emotions, of course take the death harder than Zane.

You later go to Kai for comfort, showing how not only was he your boyfriend but also experienced both parents being gone like yours, and the flame boy automatically greets with open arms.

You felt fine after saying your final goodbyes to Doctor Julien, but Kai can see the tremble in your lip and ushers you to let it out.

Cue you falling into bed with him and crying your eyes out for god knows how long.

The boys come to the bedroom to find you and Kai on his bottom bunk, you passed out from crying so much.

You weren’t apart of the team as the main five, but the boys were still considered your friends and as your friends they all were quiet getting into bed as to not disturb you.

Kai worries about falling asleep because he fears you’ll wake up and freak out again after remembering the events of the day.

Thankfully you sleep through most of the night, only waking up to drink water due to dehydration, and that’s when Kai finally decides to sleep when seeing you’ll be okay.

He thinks you don’t necessarily want him to touch or be super close to you but you end up pressing yourself to him as you get back to sleep, and with a hand on your back and his chin on your head he finds himself easily falling asleep.

You and Zane decide to do a smaller memorial compared to the one that was held for Zane’s supposed death, and throughout all of it Kai is next to you.

“Tell me if it ends up too much,” He’d tell you, but you’d only give him a small smile, squeezing his hand.

“It’s never too much as long as you’re here,”

Lloyd

So we’re gonna pretend Lloyd wasn’t turned into an old man in that episode lmao.

Nya being hit with the venom was a scare for everyone. Jay was with her during her last words, while everyone stood back.

Kai is freaking out, because “How are you not feeling anything right now?!”

Lloyd knows you, he knows you don’t want anyone to see you cry even though your sister just fucking died, so he brings himself to step up to you and pull you from the group,

“You can cry. I won’t say anything if you don’t want me to,”

This immediately causes a break, your eyes rapidly blinking as your head tilts back, before your chest heaves, exhaling so tears fell free, Lloyd tugging on your arm so you step into him, his arms tight at your waist,

Obviously your meltdown doesn’t last long, because Kai is suddenly screaming at you to come back, that “Nyas alive!” and that you needed to “Get your ass back over here!”

The immediate panic of Lloyd running after you as you rush back to the group, Jay and Kai knelt next to Nya who was awake and sitting up,

The tears come back as you drop down next to Kai, his arm around your shoulders as you pull Nya against you and him, Kai’s hands tight around both his sisters,

“Crying for me, Y/N/N?”

“Nya, you almost died you bitch,” Your insult has no threat, instead you and Nya giggling so Kai shook his head, Lloyd smiling at the interaction in relief.

Zane

I personally don’t like writing for Zane but I’ll do it cause I love y’all

Anyway, the day of Harumis death, you had also witnessed. By also, I mean Lloyd and his entire team saw the building collapse with your sister.

Obviously youre upset- pissed- because you had lost your parents when you and Harumi were younger, and now you’ve lost her and you have no family left.

Your grief is shown in your anger. Zane knows you get angry easily, so when he sees you punch a wall then break down into tears, he knows that he should just stand back until you come to him.

You don’t, not until that afternoon when you’re wrapping your bloody fist from the wall, and he is providing help in doing so.

“This isn’t fair,” Your whimper is quiet, but his robotic hearing causes him to easily hear your words. “She was becoming good, she was doing good,”

Zane sits in silence, knowing you’ll want to talk rather than listening to him. But you only turn the hand he was wrapping to grab his own, tugging him forward into a hug.

The cooling of his metal shoulder eases your burning face, sniffles quiet as Zane brought a hand to your head, rocking you enough to comfort you, again, with no words.

“I miss her,”

Zane let’s his head lean against yours, and hears you sigh as you began to calm down due to his cool embrace.

“Would you like to punch another wall?”

Your giggle is loud against the bathroom, and he smiles when you lean back to settle on the toilet seat to let him continue wrapping your hand,

“I don’t think my hand would appreciate that,”

“Maybe, but your emotions will,”

You do end up punching another wall that night, and a punching bag.

Jay (This one, I did not see the episode for, so my information is def wrong in this)

The day of Garmadons sacrifice, you literally have no emotion.

Jay, and your brother and mother of course, are all super worried because?? Why haven’t you cried yet??

That night you and Jay settle in bed but he wakes up in the middle of the night to see you still wide awake, staring at the ceiling.

This concerns him, his baby’s upset but won’t speak to anyone or at least just cry it out.

Not until he pulls you to curl up against him do you break down, sniffling so loud you have to bury your face into your blanket.

Jays shushes are gentle, not demanding, his hands at your face as he ushers you to release your emotions because “Holding them in is worse”.

Neither of you sleep the rest of the night but he knows you’ve cried enough because you end up crashing from exhaustion.

Misako and Lloyd coming to check up and actually being happy you’ve finally released some emotion because you have a bad history of holding it all in until last second.

Jay encourages you to talk to your mother and brother, and later he talks to Lloyd and finds out you and your mother cried so much Lloyd actually worried about dehydration being an issue.

You and your mother weren’t necessarily close but of course after Garmadon left for a second time, you figured it was time to start being close to her.

Misako briefly mentions how she knows how different you would’ve been if Jay wasn’t there to guide you.

Misako secretly gives Jay her blessing to propose to you with the ring she saw him hide weeks ago.

#ninjago jay x reader #jay walker x reader #ninjago cole x reader #cole brookstone x reader #ninjago kai x reader #Kai smith x reader #ninjago lloyd x reader #lloyd garmadon x reader #ninjago zane x reader #zane julien x reader

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johannestevans · 2 years

Text

Sweet On

Romance short. A chocolatier falls head over heels for one of his most austere customers.

7k, rated M, M/M. A very exuberant chocolatier crushes on desperately on the deadpan professor who begins coming into his shop for coffee. Autism for autism and lots of flirting and teasing. Introducing Benny Wu and Haoran Soon. Adapted from a TweetFic.

On Medium / / On Patreon

Please reblog if you enjoy!

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He always arrived twenty minutes early and offered his own coffee – black, decaf – and took one of the two-chair tables to wait for his sister. According to Frances, he was a professor of sociology at the university. Haoran had known Frances for two years because this was her favourite coffee shop, and the first two years she’d met up with him in the evenings – now her free spot was on Tuesday morning, they came here instead.

He was obsessively early for every single one of his appointments, not just this one.

“Fuck, he’s so hot,” whispered Haoran to Lee as he put his head out of the back, watching him sweep over to his usual seat beside the window. “Are you seeing this? Are you seeing how hot this man is?”

“Boss, we are not seeing it,” retorted Lee. “He’s been coming here for a month, and he is literally just a regular middle-aged man, except that he seems to be surgically incapable of joy or pleasure. I’ve never even seen him smile.”

“God, I know, right?” asked Haoran. “Major hottie. I’m gonna say hello.”

“Do not say hello,” said Lee, but Haoran was already on the other side of the counter, and he skidded to a stop in front of Frances’ brother’s table, looking down at him as he sat with his coffee.

He was handsome. He had sleek, black hair that was beginning artfully to grey, and heavily lidded eyes, thick, even eyebrows, perfectly carved-out lips, high cheekbones.

“Hey!” said Haoran. “You’re here all the time – and your sister is one of our best customers.”

“I’m here once a week,” said Frances’ brother, “not all the time. As for my sister’s ranking within your customer base, I couldn’t say.”

“How about some chocolates, on the house?”

“No. Thank you.”

“Aw, come on,” said Haoran. “Who doesn’t like chocolate?”

“It’s kind of you to offer,” he said, and took a sip of his drink. “Nonetheless.”

“C’mooon,” said Haoran. “You like truffles? A little vanilla, strawberry? What gets you off?”

The prof stared at him.

“I mean,” said Haoran, hand twitching as he resisted the urge to rub the back of his neck. “Your tastebuds.”

“… No.”

“No?”

“No.”

“But you didn’t even—”

“No.” He said it so coldly, his eyes so blank and yet so fierce, that the chocolatier shivered and just backed down, leaving the prof alone.

For today.

When his sister came in he rushed to take her order, which was different every time she came in, and as he put it together for her, he asked, “So, Frances. Your brother. What’s his… deal?”

“His deal?”

“How do I make him fall in love with me?”

Frances stared at him over the counter as she tapped her card, looking between Haoran and Lee and Steph, seeming to realise he was serious, and laughing. Looking to her brother before she looked back to Haoran, she said, “Listen, babe, I love you, but my brother is not within your reach.”

“He’s off-limits?”

“Uh, no, you can… try, I guess. But Benny isn’t exactly a social butterfly, and he doesn’t really date.”

“Benny?”

“Benjamin,” she corrected him hurriedly. “Benny gets me in trouble, sometimes, but that’s different, I’m his sister. Although maybe you should just call him Professor Wu.”

Haoran raised an eyebrow. “Sexy.”

“Or… Maybe not.”

“Doctor? He’s a doctor, right?”

“Haoran, I love my brother, but he’s… kind of a snob. You know that, right? You’ve gotten that by now?”

“I think he’s terrifying. It’s amazing. I’m in love with him.”

“… Professor is probably best,” said Frances. She was used enough to Haoran after three years of exposure that she did not seem all that deterred. “He doesn’t like being called doctor in public – he’s paranoid about being mistaken for a medical doctor.”

“That’s just a crazy thing to be paranoid about. Has that happened to him before?”

“A few times,” said Frances, taking her coffee.

“What’d he do?”

“Well, one time, there was a real doctor. Another time, he just did the CPR himself.”

“I’m literally obsessed.”

Frances’ expression didn’t seem as though it could decide between sympathy or concern. “Babe.”

* * *

“Good morning,” said Professor Benny Wu the following Tuesday morning. “One—”

“One black coffee, decaf,” said Haoran, and put the cup on the counter.

Benny stared at the coffee, then at Haoran, then tapped his card. “Thanks.”

“Can I get you something else? Pastry for breakfast?”

“I’ve eaten breakfast. Thanks.”

“What about—”

Benny was already walking away to take his seat, and Haoran stared after him, sighing helplessly.

* * *

Some research (fruitless Googling followed by directly interviewing Frances over text) revealed that Benny cycled to work, that he kept pet rats, that he loved pineapple tarts and always has them on his birthday. In his free time, he enjoyed radio dramas and birdwatching. He played the oboe, and as a child he did ballroom dancing competitively, and he planned his outfits for the week on Sundays and put each one on a hanger ready for each day.

“Will you marry me?” Haoran blurted out the following Tuesday.

Benny’s face did not change. “No, thank you,” he said. “One black coffee, decaf.”

“You’re literally gorgeous,” said Haoran, which actually made Benny take pause, his hand on his coffee before he looked up at Haoran. His lips were thin, and he looked displeased rather than blank.

“No,” he said.

“No, no,” said Haoran. “You are. Hot. I mean, not as hot as me,” he winked, “but—”

Benny swept away from him, his camel coat billowing dramatically before he took it off to sit.

Haoran sighed again.

“My brother doesn’t take compliments well,” said Frances when she came in. “Or criticism. He mostly doesn’t like people to talk to him.”

“What do you two talk about?”

“Uh, how my degree is going, what I’m working on. He doesn’t say much most weeks.”

“Isn’t that kind of one-sided?”

“Every conversation with him is like that. Maybe he does it out of fraternal obligation, but I’ve asked him a few times if he wants to stop, and he always says no.”

“Huh,” mused Haoran.

* * *

He made biscuits with cute little rats painted on them, gingerbread with white and grey paint. He didn’t even try to give them to Benny – he waited for Frances to come, then handed her two plates, and she laughed, grinning.

When Frances set the two plates on their table, Benny frowned, putting a finger on its rim and turning it artfully on the table so that the rat was facing him the right side up. He stared down at it, face unmoving.

He didn’t eat it, but Haoran noticed when they left that both plates were empty.

He tried it a few times, going forward – gingerbread, shortbread, sugar cookies, anything that he could decorate. Cute little rat-painted cookies sold surprisingly well with kids, who knew?

He always gave the plates to Frances, and whenever they left, they were both empty.

“One black coffee, decaf,” he announced when Benny approached the counter some half a dozen Tuesdays in. “And two white chocolate shortbread biscuits, complete with rats.”

Benny took his coffee and looked impassively at the two small plates on the tray.

“Is this the moment where you tell me you haven’t been eating yours and Frances has just been taking the extra one home to keep you from breaking my heart?”

“It’s before noon,” said Benny, very autistically, and really very sexily, which was unfair of him on both counts. “I do not eat sweets before noon.”

“So you do eat the biscuit?”

“It is very kind,” said Benny, face immovable. “You do not appear to have included them in my charge.”

“They’re on the house.”

Benny’s eyes flitted up to land on Haoran’s face. “No,” he said crisply.

“What?”

“No,” repeated Benny. “Amend my bill, please.”

Haoran stared at him, trying to figure out how to argue with this, realised he had no idea how, and added two biscuits to Benny’s bill.

Benny tapped his card.

As he swept toward their usual table, Haoran thought he saw a flicker of a smile on his face, and felt like he could explode.

* * *

The following Tuesday, Benny came in at his usual twenty minutes early and he stood extremely seriously at the counter, examining the various biscuits and cakes on offer. He stood with his hands behind his back and his shoulders squared, looked about a thousand years older than he actually was.

“Two of these, please,” he said quietly, indicating the rainbow cookies, and Haoran grinned at him.

“One on a plate, one in a paper bag?” he asked, and Benny inclined his head very seriously, the motion too graceful and somehow too important for Haoran to think of it as a nod.

Yeah, fuck. He was pretty far gone on Benny fucking Wu.

This became part of the routine on Tuesday mornings, and Haoran lived a little for the way that Benny would stand with his hands clasped at the small of his back, his lips pursed, his body entirely still as he took in the display case before he made his selection.

Haoran put out pineapple tarts, and Benny’s eyes immediately went to the tray, his eyes narrowing as he took in the label.

“Your recipe?” he asked coolly, gesturing to the plate.

“My grandma’s,” said Haoran. “I made a few adjustments, but those are mostly like she’s always made them.”

“Where is your grandmother from?” Benny asked the question so seriously you’d think the world wound end based on the answer.

“Uh, Singapore?”

“Hm,” said Benny. Haoran had no idea whether this “hm” had positive or negative implications. “Two, please.”

“Coming up!”

When Frances came in fifteen minutes later, he greeted her by saying, “Your brother’s crazy.”

“Yeah, babe, glad you’re starting to catch up with the rest of us.” She glanced at the display case as he put a dangerous number of syrup shots – as requested – into her macchiato. “You made pineapple tarts?”

“You said they were his favourite.”

“And he ordered two?”

“Uh huh.”

“Don’t look so smug.”

“Why can’t I be smug? I’m almost in his bed. This time next year we’ll be married. You and I will be literal bros.”

“What do they say? Hope springs eternal?”

“I’m going to ruin your brother,” he told her, and she wrinkled her nose.

“Good luck,” she said, without enthusiasm.

* * *

The next week, he had another batch of pineapple tarts out. Benny chose gingerbread men.

“You didn’t like the tarts?” asked Haoran. “I thought they were your favourite.”

“You’ve been speaking with Frances,” said Benny disapprovingly.

“We’re buds.”

“Buds,” repeated Benny, even more disapprovingly. He thought it was disapproval, anyway – maybe it was just that everything Benny did or said had an aura of disapproval. “What else has she told you about me?”

“Uh, you keep rats? And you cycle. And you love pineapple tarts.”

“I see.”

“Listen, Benny—” Oh, that was definitely disapproval, that was scorching, that was anger, and Haoran cleared his throat and rapidly amended, “I mean, uh, Professor Wu— Listen. Do you… Do you want to get coffee?”

“I do. Black, decaf.”

“… No.”

Benny arched an eyebrow. “No?” he repeated.

“I mean, yeah, of course,” said Haoran, putting his coffee on the counter as he rang him up. “I meant on some day other than a Tuesday. You and I, get coffee. Somewhere, you know, not here.”

“You don’t like your own place of work?”

“Sure, I love it, it’s my shop. It’s just, you know, not a place for dates – unless you’d like a private tour, I can show you the kitchen, show you everything.”

Benny was staring at him as he took a sip of his drink. Very slowly, he repeated, “Your shop?”

“My shop.”

“You own this business?”

“Uh, yeah? Cocoa Soon – I’m Soon. Soon’s me. Haoran Soon. I used to do catering for events, and then I branched out to having the storefront too – chocolatier stuff is my main passion, but I like baking, I like coffee, I like cocoa. It all goes together pretty well.”

“You’re very young,” said Benny.

“Huh?”

“To own your own business.” Haoran didn’t know what to make of Benny’s strangely pinched expression, the way he was so still he looked like he might snap. “You’re very… young.”

“I’m twenty-nine.”

“Yes.”

“Is this a no to the coffee?”

“I don’t like coffee,” said Benny, and took another sip of his drink. His expression now was unreadable.

Haoran’s brain was burning. A similar process was going on in his jeans. “Huh?” he managed to get out.

Benny walked away.

* * *

“Hey, B— Professor Wu.”

“Mr Soon, good morning.”

“Oh, don’t— Not the Mr. Don’t hit me with the Mr, bro.”

Benny stared at him very coldly, and asked in steely tones, “Do you think it likely that I will accept being called your “bro”, Mr Soon?” He made air quotes and everything. Fuck.

“Nope, no, sir, sorry, sir, don’t know why I entertained the idea for even a second – but please. Call me Haoran.”

“Mr Soon is your father’s name?”

“Uh huh. You want my mother’s name too, so you can do my family tree to aid in your research?”

“Please,” said Benny. “Grandmothers’ surnames also.” Haoran stared at him, having placed the coffee on the counter between them, and Benny gestured to a cinnamon-spiced shortbread and said, “Two, please.”

“You’re joking, right?”

“No,” said Benny. “Two will be fine.”

“What the fuck,” whispered Haoran under his breath.

There was a kind of rich, dark sound in front of him, and it took Haoran a few moments of processing time to take in and meaningfully understand that the sound was Benny’s quiet chuckle.

“What the fuck,” he said again, putting one biscuit in a bag and the other on plate.

“Thank you, Haoran,” says Benny as he tapped his card.

“You don’t like my pineapple tarts?”

“I have sampled one of your pineapple tarts.”

“What did you think of it?”

“I think pineapple tarts should be eaten at New Year. It’s not the New Year.”

“I thought you liked them on your birthday.”

“My birthday is February 5th. It typically falls around the New Year.”

“Oh my God,” Haoran whispered, distracted. “You’re an Aquarius.”

Benny blinked at him, tilting his head slightly to the side.

“Fuck, no, just— are you fucking serious?”

“Do I strike you as someone who is often not, as you say, fucking serious?”

Something about Professor Benny Wu saying the word “fucking” made Haoran’s brain short-circuit, and he stood frozen behind the counter, staring at Benny’s face as Benny placidly took a sip of his coffee.

“Why the fuck did you get tarts if it’s not New Year and you’re so neurotic you only eat them then?”

“If I feel inclined to order a batch, it seems sensible that I should sample your recipe beforehand rather than disappoint myself and my extended family on a holiday.”

“So you are gonna order some at New Year?”

“You ask a great many questions of your customers,” said Benny. “Perhaps this interrogative method isn’t the essence of good customer service.”

“You don’t like it? Stop coming back.”

Benny’s lips twitched into a slight smile, and he didn’t say anything more before he swept away to settle himself at his and Frances’ usual table, setting his drink in front of him and Frances’ plate across from him.

Haoran buried himself in kitchen work as if it would dull the explosions in his brain.

* * *

He got a pretty bad stomach bug that was going around that week, and he had a… difficult time relaxing. Even between bouts of sudden unassailable nausea, he was on the phone trying to manage baking schedules for the weekend.

They could handle it.

He knew, logically, that they could handle it – Cocoa Soon had its own order and inventory system that he’d had a friend of his custom-code, and they almost all had their own management or organisational experience; Lee had been a general manager at a big clothes store for four years before Haoran had coaxed him aboard with shorter hours and a flexible schedule for not that much less pay; Steph moderated like a billion game forums on top of having been assistant manager at the last coffee shop she’d been in; the others were much the same.

Logically, he knew his staff were good at their jobs.

Logically, he knew they’d be good – of course, they were mostly very patient when they talked to him on the phone, about assuaging his dizzy and vomit-interrupted concerns.

“Boss, you’re being crazy and obsessive, please try to stop,” said Lee bluntly. “We have this covered – drink some water and take a stop. All this freak-out is probably making you worse.”

“Okay, okay, Lee, but that big party on Saturday, did you—”

“Boss.”

He gave up, and after that they stopped answering his calls, which he couldn’t exactly fault them for.

He missed one Tuesday of Benny and Frances Wu, and on the Tuesday after that, there was a knock on his apartment door. He opened it bleary and pale, but no longer actively vomiting – he was low on energy and everyone was answering his calls again, although they were still keeping him at arm’s length and not letting him try to backseat (sickbed?) manage the business.

Benny Wu was on the threshold in one of his usual business-casual get-ups, his shirt tucked into his pants, his tie perfectly straight with its little tiepin in place, and a pressed red cardigan overtop. It was a novelty tiepin – all of Benny’s tiepins were novelty tiepins.

This one had Mahjong tiles on it. It was the cutest thing Haoran had ever seen.

He did not say this. Instead, he croaked out, “Fucking nerd. Your grandma buy you that?”

“Yes,” said Benny. “The first year I won a game against her and my aunts. I was twelve.”

“How is he real?” Haoran asked Frances over Benny’s shoulder.

“My theory is that our parents grew him in a lab,” she said.

They were both wearing facemasks, and as he let them come in and put their shoes on the rack, Haoran went to open up another window. “Is the smell that bad?”

“Nah,” said Frances, putting groceries on his kitchen counter.

“It’s not as bad as I was expecting,” said Benny.

Frances had passed him a vase from on top of the fridge, and as Haoran watched, mystified, Benny put a bouquet of flowers into it. There were chrysanthemums and honeysuckle and other flowers Haoran didn’t know the name of. Flowers. From Benny Wu.

He did not give Haoran time to appreciate the moment.

“You don’t have relatives to take care of you?” he asked, glancing disapprovingly at the pile of takeaway boxes stacked in Haoran’s recycling bin.

“Are you insane?” demanded Haoran. “I haven’t told my family I’m sick. This house would be swarming with aunties trying to pour soup down my throat.”

“Perhaps this is why you’ve taken so long to recover.” Was that displeasure Haoran was hearing? Was Professor Benny Wu missing him while he was gone?

“What, your coffee that you don’t like isn’t up to your usual standards?”

“Your employees are performing impeccably in your absence, if not more efficiently without your performative interference,” said Benny, sprinkling flower food into the vase and pouring in more water. “Nonetheless, I am unaccustomed to interruptions to my routine, of which this is one.”

“I brought soup,” said Frances, finishing unpacking the bags. “Nothing your aunties would make, though, it’s Tom Yam.”

“You made that?”

“Uh, no, I can’t fucking cook,” said Frances, and jolted when Benny glared at her, amending with a cough, “I mean, I can’t. Cook. Anyway, I washed my roommate’s car for her and installed the same insane organisation system in it that Benny put in mine. She made the soup.”

“I love your roommate,” said Haoran. “I think she’s so thoughtful.”

“Isn’t she?”

“Is all that car stuff a fair exchange for the soup?”

“Oh, yeah, babe, you’re gonna love this. Benny, can you get a bowl down? He puts everything too high.”

As Benny swept gracefully across the room to reach into the high cabinet, he demanded, “He doesn’t own a footstool? You’re barely taller than he is.”

“I��”

“He climbs on the counter,” said Frances, ratting him out, like a rat.

Benny turned around to look at him with a kind of sexy sternness written on his face, and Haoran responded with what he very much hoped was a charming smile. “Hm,” said Benny damningly, and opened up the cupboard, removing a bowl from the top shelf. He didn’t even have to go up on tiptoes. Haoran wanted to climb him like a fucking tree.

“Thanks for coming,” he said. “Even though it deviates from your sacred routine.”

“Your thanks is noted.”

“What, no You’re welcome?”

“I never cared for that phrase,” said Benny, and behind his back Frances frantically gestured at Haoran to back off, but it was too late. How was he meant to back off when Benny just threw shit out like that?

“How come?”

“You’re not welcome. You’re saying thank you for a task or favour I’ve performed, or an item I’ve given you. To say you’re welcome implies you would be welcome to avail of the same without my taking the initiative, regardless of context. This isn’t the case.”

“Does it imply that, Professor Wu,” asked Haoran, full to the brim with fondness that made him feel almost as full as his sinuses felt, “or is it just one of those polite platitudes we engage in to keep society moving?”

“I fail to see what good platitudes do society.”

“You’re not in favour of platitudes, huh?”

“I am not. Your soup.”

“Thanks.”

Benny said nothing.

“You smiling behind that facemask?” he asked as he sat down, sipping at his water and taking the spoon Frances put in his hand even as Benny set the bowl in front of him on the table.

“It’s none of your business. If I thought it was important for you to know, I would have worn one with a window.”

“I’m in love with you,” said Haoran.

“Mm, I see,” said Benny, and held the back of his hand to Haoran’s head. His fingers were long and cool to the touch, something of a relief. “You’re feverish.”

“I’m just hot for you, baby.”

“Disgusting. I’ll pour you more water. Eat your soup.”

Benny immediately washed his hands because of course he did. Haoran stared lovingly at his back.

Frances said, “I know what’s wrong with him, but what’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing that he couldn’t fix,” said Haoran dreamily. “He brought me flowers.”

“I brought you soup!”

“Yeah, and it’s great soup, I love you, I love your roommate, but, Frankie… He brought me flowers.”

Frances sighed and looked sidelong as the vase of flowers Benny had placed in the windowsill. “He never brings me flowers when I’m sick,” she said. “Just food and lectures about good ventilation and medicinal tea.”

“Do I get medicinal tea?”

“It’s in the thermos,” said Benny from the sink, without turning around.

“Marry me!” begged Haoran.

As Haoran ate, Benny and Frances did a onceover of his apartment – Benny kept doing the dishes until they were all set to dry on the rack, and Frances put his recycling and his rubbish into bags to take downstairs.

As Frances ran a cloth over surfaces, Benny asked, “When did you last change your sheets?”

Haoran nearly choked. “You’re not changing my sheets.”

“That depends on you.”

“I changed them when I stopped being sick.”

“When was that?”

“I don’t know, three days?”

“I’m changing your sheets.”

“Man—”

“I’m not your “bro”, Haoran, as we’ve established.” Return of the air quotes. Haoran really wished he could put the burning in his cheeks exclusively down to embarrassment over Benny touching his gross sweaty bedsheets. “How likely is it, do you think, that I might be your “man”?”

“Hopefully very likely,” said Haoran. “Why, are you leading me on?”

“Very well,” said Benny crisply, “if you have your hopes set on making me your man, do you not think that perhaps it’s tie to get over any embarrassment you might be feeling about changing your bedsheets?”

“… I can do it myself.”

“I’ll do it,” decided Benny, and before Haoran could stop him, he’d gone into the bedroom.

“At least open the window so you don’t breathe in my sickly miasma!” called Haoran helplessly after him.

Benny’s laugh filtered in from the other room, and Frances raised her eyebrows.

“You can make him laugh,” she said in surprise. “That’s pretty hard to do.”

“Told you I could handle him.”

“Oh, yeah, you’ve got him so well-handled, tough guy,” said Frances, rolling her eyes. “He just bullied you into letting him change your bedsheets.”

They left at around ten so that Frances could go to her lecture and Benny could go teach one of his, and Haoran went back to bed on clean sheets.

After a little struggling, anyway, because Benny tucked in the edges so fucking tight he had to haul on them to get them loose.

* * *

The following Tuesday, Haoran said, “I will not take no for an answer. You’ve been coming to a chocolatier’s shop every week for months, and you’ve never tried a chocolate here.”

“You sell chocolates?” asked Benny, deadpan.

“I’m gonna fucking kill you.”

“With one of your chocolates? Your salesmanship requires adjustments.”

Haoran picked past the others serving real customers – Benny didn’t fucking count, and Haoran always took him at the far till – and gestured for him to follow. People didn’t normally buy chocolates at this time of the morning, but the case was still lit up same as the one for ice cream, and Benny stood in front of the cabinet with his hands clasped behind his back, his default old man position.

“What if I told you I didn’t care for chocolates?”

“I wouldn’t believe you,” said Haoran, “but we’d still break up.”

“I believe we’d need to be more formally involved before we could break up,” said Benny. “This is primarily a merchant-customer relationship.”

“Okay, then I’d bar you.”

Benny chuckled, but the smile lingered on his mouth as he looked down at the inventory on offer, chocolates resting in neat rows on the trays.

“I bet you like that,” said Haoran. “That everything’s in perfect lines.”

“Ah,” said Benny, unmoved. “You were an autism specialist before you were a chocolatier.”

“Oh, I’m the specialest autistic there is, baby,” said Haoran. “I’ve got autisms you couldn’t even imagine.”

Benny’s eyes flitted up from the case to Haoran, his gaze fixed on his face for a few moments. “Quite a revolting thing you just said,” he remarked.

“How come you’re smiling, then?”

“It’s a stress response to overwhelming stimuli.”

Haoran choked laughing.

Today’s tiepin had a strawberry on it, and Haoran put a box on the countertop.

“Smaller box,” requested Benny.

“This is the smallest box I do,” lied Haoran.

“No, it isn’t,” said Benny. “You do four-chocolate boxes.”

“Unfortunately, you’re getting six chocolates, so this box is gonna have to do.”

Benny stood there with his back straight, looking down through the cabinet’s glass front, considering.

“This has pineapple in it?”

“Homemade pineapple jam over a 72% dark chocolate. There’s a little kick of spice in there too.”

Benny inclined his head.

“Two of those,” mused Haoran. “Strawberries and cream, white chocolate infusion on a crumbly biscuit base?”

“Very well.”

“And let’s get back to basics – milk chocolate with a dark chocolate powder coating and a ganache centre?”

“If that’s your recommendation.”

“Oh, he’s taking my recommendations now,” said Haoran. “Okay, then, how about this – I recommend Saturday night, you, me, and all the dumplings we can eat at Mrs Chan’s?”

“Do you prefer Mrs Chan’s dumplings to those at Golden Kings?”

“Uh, yeah?”

“Hm,” said Benny, wrinkling his nose. “Do you eat barbecue?”

“No, I hate pleasure and enjoying things, I’ve never eaten barbecue in my life.”

“A man after my own heart,” said Benny placidly. “I hate to enjoy things also.”

God, fuck Haoran’s boner. Fuck his life. “Yeah, Benjamin,” he said. “I like barbecue.”

“Then we go to Lime Garden.”

“I’ll go to blows with you over Mrs Chan’s.”

“That would be preferable to dining at her establishment.”

Haoran swallowed his scandalised gasp. “Oh my god, you bitch. Mrs Chan is a nice old lady.”

“A charming and venerable old woman, yes,” Benny agreed, “and a lacklustre cook.”

“I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you dead.”

“I invite you to try.”

“You know, when you were doing your cute little ballroom dances in between playing the oboe, I was doing MMA, so I could wipe the floor with you.”

“You expect me to believe you never learned an instrument?”

“… French horn.”

Benny laughed at him.

“I can still beat the shit out of you!”

“Mm, all four feet of you adds up to quite the killing machine, I’m sure,” said Benny, and fuck, but if that didn’t make Haoran’s skin feel warm and tight. “In any case, I remember my childhood training – do you remember yours?”

“I still do MMA.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“… I do sometimes,” said Haoran.

“Mm,” said Benny damningly, and Haoran scowled at him, wrapping his box with a bow before he got his coffee for him. “No biscuit for me today.”

“Will the world end if you eat a biscuit as well as two chocolates after lunch?”

“Quite possibly,” said Benny. “Being of a sensible nature I find myself disinclined to test the theory.”

“I think someone should chain you up somewhere and keep you away from the general public.”

“Is that you volunteering to be my ball and chain?”

Inexplicably, this flustered Haoran beyond measure, and for a few seconds he couldn’t quite make himself talk even as he put a cookie on a plate for Frances.

“Rendered speechless,” Benny mused, but there was a slight pinkness in the tops of his cheeks. “I’ll note that for future reference.”

* * *

They were supposed to meet at Lime Garden at three, which was lunch, not dinner, but when Haoran pointed this out Benny just said rather bluntly that he would prefer three to any other time.

Benny was there at 2:40, just sitting down at the table, when Haoran arrived.

Benny stared at him, his lips pressed loosely together as he tried not to smile.

“I believe we agreed on three o’clock,” he said.

“Yeah, but I know you,” pointed out Haoran. “So I knew you’d be here now.”

“I’m not accustomed to being known,” murmured Benny, and they settled and ordered their drinks.

“Have I freaked you out?” asked Haoran. “Do you need the twenty minutes alone to accustom to the space or something?”

“No,” said Benny mildly. “I just prefer not to risk tardiness.”

“Got it.”

“Thank you for asking,” said Benny. “You really do specialise in autism, don’t you?”

“It’s my favourite food after chocolate,” said Haoran, and Benny actually made a face, wrinkling his nose the same way Frances often did at him, albeit more subtly.

“Haoran,” said Benny, “I have… enjoyed this flirtation.”

Haoran didn’t like that tone. “You like the chocolates?”

“I did,” said Benny. “I do. Haoran, do you know how old I am?”

“Forty-two. You’re Aquarius and a Monkey. Explains so much about you.”

“Please stop talking about astrology, Haoran.”

“Okay.”

“My point is— You do know how old I am.”

“Sure,” said Haoran. “That’s, what, nineteen years between you and Frankie? Your mother must be crazy.”

“I learned my efficiency from my mother.”

“That is so wild and so weird, what you just said, in this context.”

“Do you think?”

“Yeah, a little. You’re the eldest, she’s the youngest, right?”

“Most of our siblings are in the sciences, law, or finance, like our father. I’m best equipped to mentor her given that the Arts are her area of study.”

“Isn’t sociology a science?”

“It’s a social science, we exist alongside the Humanities.”

“Right, you just said a bunch of words there that didn’t really mean anything – anyway, that’s what your coffee mornings are? Mentorship?”

“It’s not about giving her direction, per se, she has no great need of a guiding hand. But I listen to her and understand her perspective and her priorities, can help her establish what she needs, what she wants, make plans.”

“That’s… that’s really nice.” It was really nice. It made Haoran feel warm and gooey inside and kind of soft, because Benny said it in the blunt and severe way he said absolutely everything, but it was anything but blunt and severe. “You’re a good big brother,” said Haoran.

“Yes,” said Benny. “I try. As I was attempting to say, I greatly enjoyed this flirtation, and I’m very flattered by—”

“Did you seriously invite me to lunch to break up with me?”

“We aren’t formally involved.”

“Is the reason we’re not formally involved seriously because you think you’re too old for me?”

Benny didn’t say anything for a second, and Haoran laughed, leaning back in his seat.

“You’re really something,” he murmured. “I haven’t been with a guy under thirty since I was like eighteen, didn’t Frankie tell you?”

“Is the idea of men my age running a train on you supposed to convince me of your relative maturity?”

“Who taught you the phrase “to run a train on”? Did you look that up just to slut-shame me?”

“I did, I bought a dictionary of youth slang, and highlighted insults.”

“That’s so sexy,” said Haoran. “You’re so sexy. Do you know how many eighty-year-olds there are out there trapped in forty-two-year-old bodies like yours?”

“Haoran—"

“There’s literally like ten years between us, it’s not even a generational gap.”

“Haoran—”

“What, you scared you couldn’t take me?” asked Haoran. “You too old, think you can’t get it up for me?”

Benny stared at him, and the tiniest pinpricks of colour appeared in his cheeks.

“Unless you have ED,” said Haoran, “in which case, that’s totally—”

“I do not suffer from erectile dysfunction,” hissed Benny across the table.

“Scared you’d lay eyes on my young, nubile body and pass out?”

“You’re not that young,” said Benny reflexively, just as Haoran had thought he would.

“Okay, then what’s the problem?”

Benny, stunned and caught short with slight redness at the tops of his cheeks, seemed not to know what to say.

“Oh, rendered speechless,” said Haoran mockingly. “I’ll note that for future reference.”

“It was not my intention to imply you were too immature to pursue a relationship with me.”

“I own my own business,” said Haoran. “I own and run my own business – the storefront, yeah, but I also cater events, like hundreds of them a year. I’m also hot as fuck, I’m besties with your sister, I’m a culinary innovator, I have an insane social media following, I judge a bunch of local baking competitions and like— Just look at my smile, Benjamin.” Haoran beamed. “Catch these dimples.”

“Dimples aren’t something one can catch,” said Benny stuntedly.

“And,” said Haoran, “my autism is like, super compatible with your autism.”

“I don’t think compatible autisms is a typical basis for a romantic relationship.”

“What other basis for a relationship is there?”

Benny laughed, seeming surprised by it, and his fingers shot up to cover his mouth.

“What, you think your parents would hate you for having a guy too young for you? Or— Or just a guy? Is it that?”

“My parents have given up almost all hope of my dating anybody. I’m sure even you would be quite a relief.”

“Even me? Ouch.”

“Haoran, I am not very… fun. Don’t you think you’d prefer—”

“I’ve literally been throwing myself at you for months. I’ve asked you to marry me like five times. I’m here at lunch with you right now even though you besmirched the name of Mrs Chan. I like you, idiot. I want this.”

Benny inhaled, but when he put his hand down his lips were curved into a smile still, and somehow he still looked surprised, a kind of warmth showing in his eyes. “Very well,” he said finally.

He put his hand down overtop of Haoran’s, cool fingers heavy and perfect.

“This is so gay,” Haoran whispered.

“I’ve changed my mind,” said Benny in a monotone. “I have to leave, immediately.” His hand didn’t move from where it was rested on top of Haoran’s. Haoran grinned at him, then leaned over and delivered a kiss to the back of Benny’s hand.

“You’re ridiculous,” Benny muttered. “Do that again.”

* * *

Later that night, Haoran sprawled on top of incredibly comfortable sheets in Benny’s incredibly comfortable bed underneath his incredibly comfortable down duvet.

“Too tired to go again?” asked Benny. “What happened to all that youthful stamina you were boasting about?”

“I’m not too tired,” said Haoran, not moving as Benny came out of the bathroom, having brushed his teeth. “I’m just recovering from a recent illness, and also, your bed is the most comfortable thing to ever exist.”

“I’m glad it meets with your approval.”

Benny’s flat was exactly what Haoran would have expected of him – it was sparsely decorated, perfectly organised. His tiepins, of which he must have had hundreds, were arranged on boards and displayed in glass cabinets, in which he also displayed ballroom dancing trophies.

Haoran initially went to make fun of him for these, say how nerdy it was for a man to display trophies from when he was a kid, but like all the dates on them were actually pretty recent because Benny was still competing. Haoran wanted so badly to call him a nerd but he had sexy costumes for it.

His rats also had a massive cage, and also a whole network of runs and walkways along the walls and suspended from the ceiling.

Haoran liked the rats, actually. He wasn’t sure he would, but he did – they were named Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, and Michael Collins, and all three of them were female, and they liked to play and to cuddle. They all knew tricks.

Benny climbed over him into the bed, sliding under the quilt, and his body moulded against Haoran’s back.

“You need to gain some weight,” complained Haoran. “Your abs are too pointy and hard.”

Benny laughed against the back of his neck, and then bit his ear.

“Ow,” Haoran complained. “Your rats teach you that?”

“They’d never bite,” said Benny mildly. “They’re good girls. In any case, I’m comfortable at my current weight, thank you, no matter how much either you or any of my elderly relatives speak to the contrary. I can put a pillow between us if you’re worried I’ll cut you with the sharp hone of my athleticism.”

“What’s it called when you murder a spouse?”

“Mariticide.”

“I’m gonna mariticide you sooo hard.”

“Viricide would also be acceptable.”

“You do crosswords, don’t you?”

“Yes, online on my phone as I take breakfast on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.”

“That makes me so hard.”

“Oh, yes?”

“Uh huh, uh huh. So hard.”

“Wait until I tell you about my vigorous passion for University Challenge.”

“Oh, God, too sexy. I can’t take it.”

“I belong to an association of avid quizzers.”

“You don’t!”

“I don’t. But I could join one.”

Haoran started laughing, then wriggled around and sat nose to nose with the other man, feeling how warm he was, smelling the mint on his breath.

“Does this mean I can call you Benny?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Frances calls me Benny to bother me. You can and do bother me easily without.”

Haoran stroked the side of Benny’s face, thumbing over one of his perfect cheekbones. “Are you gonna order pineapple tarts from me for New Year?”

“I was thinking I’d order a gross.”

“You like ‘em?”

“They’re quite good, yes.”

“You know, if we were married by then, I’d be obligated to cater for free.”

Benny didn’t say anything.

“Are you blushing again?”

“Hush.”

“You’re blushing,” said Haoran. “I can’t see, but you’re like, definitely blushing.”

“Please be quiet, Haoran.”

“I can’t be quiet. I’m medically diagnosed as not being able to be quiet. If you want me to be quiet you’ll just have to shu—”

Benny kissed him, and it was dizzying, wonderful, overwhelming.

Haoran dropped his head down onto one of Benny’s fancy expensive pillows.

“You eat a biscuit or pastry every Thursday afternoon after your lunch,” said Haoran.

“Yes,” agreed Benny. “It’s part of my routine now.”

“I’m part of your routine.”

“Increasingly, yes,” said Benny. “I imagine I’ll be incorporating you more and more. If the offer is still open, I would like to observe you in your kitchen.”

“Yeah?”

“You put chocolates on your tray in perfect rows. I saw your kitchen equipment too – sublimely arranged, and sparklingly clean.”

“That gonna get you hard? Seeing how I run my kitchen?”

“From what I’ve ascertained so far it will fill me with lust and desire, yes.”

“You’re the biggest freak in town. I love it.”

Benny leaned in and kissed the side of his neck, and Haoran shivered. “Is what you’ve done so far really the best this youthful, nubile body of yours can do?”

“You want me to go another round?”

“Can’t handle it?”

“I can handle it, I can handle it.”

Benny’s lips felt wonderful on the side of his neck, and Haoran’s eyes were half-closed. He could feel himself dozing.

“Are you asleep?”

“Mmm… No?”

Benny chuckled, the sound so wonderful and warm that Haoran leaned into it automatically, even as he felt himself drift.

Benny drew back, and Haoran slept deeply.

He woke to the sound of soft oboe from the other room, and Benny saying in a firm but gentle voice, “Buzz, please, let my sheet music alone.”

Grinning to himself, he rolled back over, and let the music lull him back to sleep.

FIN.

#romance #gay romance #fiction #original fiction #writers on tumblr

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dinomight · 3 years

Note

Some whumptober prompts: Xiao Hua and blindness, with Hei Xiazi helping him through it --- Ransom or auction and Liu Sang ---- Self-induced injuries to escape and XiuXiu ---- "You're still not dead?" and Pangzi ----"Who did this to you" not sure who the whumpee is but Wu Erbai saying it. I would definitely prefer if it had a happy or at least hopeful ending!

ANDDDDD THAT’S A WRAP!!!! fox my beloved here is the last one, as requested!!! thank you so much for sending these in!!!

24. self-induced injuries to escape

Let it be known that Huo Xiuxiu is not offended that she’s been kidnapped. After all, it’s not her first time, and it certainly won’t be her last; in fact, she’s come to find a certain kind of excitement in it. A bit of spice, if you will, to liven up her week.

What is quite offensive is how absolutely incompetent these particular kidnappers are. It would almost be amusing in a way, if that incompetence hadn’t only kicked in when they were tying her up, and not before they’d beaten Xiao Hua unconscious.

“Hold on,” Xiuxiu mutters under her breath as she works at the ropes binding her wrists with a shard of glass. “Hold on, Xiao Hua-gege, just a little longer.”

The glass isn’t the most elegant solution, she’ll admit, but it was the most easily available. Idiots tied her up with rope, and then threw her in the same corner of this cramped room as a couple of broken bottles. She’s not even sure which is worse: the idea that they were too stupid to notice, or that they thought she was too stupid to notice. Either way, Xiuxiu usually prefers the more delicate methods of slipping her bindings, but considering she’s not even sure Xiao Hua’s still breathing—speed is of the essence, at the moment.

Every movement she makes with the glass forces her to bite down on her lip a little bit harder, until she tastes the same sticky iron there that she can feel coating her palms. She’s not sure how many cuts she’s got at this point. Certainly enough to ruin whatever claim she’d had to pretty hands before today.

(The thought doesn’t bother her that much. Of the two of them, Xiao Hua’s always had the better-looking hands, anyways.)

When the rope finally gives, she has to choke back a sob of relief before tossing it and the glass to the side. Her own bloody palms be damned, she scrambles over to Xiao Hua and holds two trembling fingers under his nose.

Whatever relief she’d felt before is a thin note to the chorus that thunders through her when she feels Xiao Hua exhale. “Don’t scare me like that,” she whisper-yells at him, even though he probably can’t hear it. Not that he’d listen even if he could. She keeps going as she struggles to get him on her back, quietly cursing and panting. “I better be your favorite after this, I better not hear one word about Hei-ye for a week after this, I swear—”

She stops herself when she manages to get over to the door. This is the real moment of truth. She hadn’t gotten a good look at the layout of the place on their way in; their kidnappers could be waiting just outside, or they could’ve all left already.

One breath in. One breath out. Xiuxiu shoves the door open.

“Ah, there you are,” Hei Xiazi greets her from just a couple feet away, in what appears to be a badly lit card-playing room. He’s got one hand curled in a half-conscious guy’s jacket collar, the other pulled back in a fist. As she steps, he releases his grip, letting the guy collapse to the floor, taking a folding chair down with him in a loud crash. There are other bodies scattered around, maybe knocked out, maybe dead, she can’t get a good look in before Hei Xiazi’s in front of her.

Xiuxiu immediately leans forward, letting Xiao Hua slide towards him. “Take him, he needs to get to a doctor, they hit him in the head and I don’t—”

Hei Xiazi stops her word vomit with a cluck of his tongue as he shifts Xiao Hua to his own back with ease. (Bastard.) “Doctor’s the first stop, don’t worry. We’ll get you and Hua-er here fixed up in no time.”

“I’m fine,” she says as she follows him across the room to the exit.

That gets her an immediate snort. “You barely touched me and I can still smell your blood all over my jacket. This is my nicest one, by the way.”

“You’d have gotten blood on it anyways, at some point,” she says, frowning, hands held carefully in front of her.

“Sure, but I’d prefer it not be yours.” Hei Xiazi pauses before the door, craning his neck around to look at her. Even with the sunglasses, his gaze feels heavy. “I’m sorry I was late, meimei.”

For a moment, the words just hang between them, a rare glimpse at the human under the hired gun. Then it cracks, as Hei Xiazi grins and adds, “Next time, be a good little damsel in distress and have some patience, okay?”

Xiuxiu rolls her eyes, but as she steps out after him, she thinks: I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

No need to worry about her own hands when there’s always too more pairs willing to catch her, after all.

#dmbj #dmbj fic #huo xiuxiu #xiao hua #hei xiazi #dinomight writes #spent the last couple hours of 2021 writing this and the last fifteen minutes of it furiously typing it up #it is now 2022 as i post it here but it was 2021 when i put it on ao3 so it counts i finished all the prompts in 2021 at least #wouldnt have it any other way tbh this is the most memorable year shift i’ve had in awhile lol

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skullsandwineglasses · 3 years

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The Legends (2019) Full Review

My review of the first 30 episodes of the drama can be found here.

This is more of a rant than a review. The drama should have wrapped up at episode 35. I was able to tolerate it up to episode 42 when the wedding was, but by episode 48 it’s a total mess.

If only this scene was as epic as the picture makes it look. But alas, this was just a dream sequence, and by this point in the finale, I was already bored and scrolling through instagram on my phone. If only they really did have a love-hate relationship. But this is an angst-free drama.

Inconsistent character arcs

The FL and ML have become incredibly weak, both in terms of abilities and personality. The changes just don’t make sense for their characters.

Zhao yao is no longer the badass she once was, and I’m actually fine with that. Moving away from her demoness persona is part of her growth. BUT, she no longer has a goal in the drama (except when she finds out that Mo Qing has an inner demon. Then, her goal becomes finding a way to expel the demon). But in the last quarter of the drama, she doesn’t really do anything of importance. She lost her sword, but she doesn’t actively go and find it. Instead, Mo Qing and Jiang Wu are the ones who took initiative to hunt it down for her. And when Lin Zi Yu got away with it, she doesn’t bother thinking about finding her sword again?? I mean girl, you lost your sword. Your only weapon. Why is that not at the top of your list of priorities? Is this the same FL who had risked it all for the Wan Jun sword?

(I miss the demoness)

Her tolerance level for things that annoy her is just so out of character. Zhao yao used to be someone who always fought back against anything she didn’t like. But when it comes to Jiang Wu, she seems to have unlimited tolerance for him. Yes, he saved her, but owing him does not mean letting him be a menace. Like when Jiang Wu sucked the life energy out of Ah Dai. All she did was try to restrain Mo Qing from attacking Jiang Wu, but she didn’t spring forward to prevent Jiang Wu from killing Ah Dai. I mean, the cause of Mo Qing’s rage was Ah Dai dying. Shouldn’t you go address the root of the problem? Instead, she just sits and stares and lets Jiang Wu kill Ah Dai instead of doing something. And then there’s the scene in the library when she’s asleep, but Mo Qing is wrestling with his inner demon, and then the Wan Jun sword kills the 2 guards on duty. She just sleeps through the entire thing. Wasn’t she once the most feared conqueror/demoness? Isn’t she a warrior? How can your senses not be alert when there’s so much ruckus around you? Someone on MDL said that she became a glorified baby sitter for the ML, and while I don’t agree that it’s as extreme as that, I can see their point. All that Zhao yao does after the wedding is try to reign in Mo Qing to prevent him from going into full-on demon mode. She holds him back, tries to calm him and soothe him, rinse and repeat.

Speaking of Mo Qing, his current personality is just rage and jealousy. At first, it was kinda endearing seeing him jealous, but soon his entire arc was just about him being consumed by jealousy. The writers try to justify it by saying that he’s always had low self-esteem and been unconfident about himself because of his upbringing, and the growing demon energy inside him is exacerbating these thoughts, making him more unlike himself, but you’re telling me that everything that he and Zhao yao had gone through together was all for naught? This would have made sense 5 years ago, but we’ve seen that he has greatly matured since becoming sect leader. During the earlier episodes, he was able to see right through Zhao yao’s mask. He teased her, flirted with her, scolded her, and basically proved he’s her equal in every way, and he did it all with easy confidence. And now suddenly, all of that growth reverses, and he’s insecure and sensitive again. This character progression just doesn’t make sense in the context of everything that’s happened. I would have loved to have seen more of the introverted and unconfident Mo Qing at the beginning of the drama. But instead, we only got a handful of scenes before that part of his character arc was cut short and we skip ahead 5 years later and then another 5 years later to when he’s the sect leader. There was honestly no purpose for Mo Qing’s suffering. He just suffered for the sake of suffering. In other xianxia dramas, characters suffered for a purpose. It was a price they had to pay in order to protect someone they love. But this suffering is just pointless. It does nothing for this character arc. And they kept replaying the same montage of him sleeping on the dragon. As if it’s not already clear from the last 20 episodes that he’s being haunted by his father’s demon.

Villains and supporting characters

I didn’t really care for the villains? Luo Mingxuan is still alive, but doesn’t do anything until the last 5 episodes. I eyeroll whenever Lin Zi Yu is onscreen. Jiang Wu is the only one who’s interesting and he serves as comedic relief.

And then there are all the unnecessary deaths. It’s like they’re killing off all the good characters one by one. What was the point of killing off the doctor? He was the only character who could scold both Zhao yao and Mo Qing. The drama felt so empty without him.

But on a good note, I really liked most of the supporting characters, from Zhiyan to Shi Qi to Ah Rong to Gu Hanguang. They were also the most consistent characters in the drama.

On a bad note, the drama spent too much time on the backstories of supporting characters. I did not care to watch Suruo mourn Luo Mingxuan and remembering how they fell in love, and this happens for pretty much all the couples in the drama. It’s because Zhao yao and Mo Qing have a very simple romantic arc that’s resolved very early on, so the writers had to throw in fillers to drag out the drama. And the consequence is that our leads end up getting not enough screen time.

The final 2 episodes

Oh boy. The last 2 episodes were a hot mess. In the final battle, everyone kept attacking and stabbing Luo Mingxuan, but he just won’t die?? He’s like Wolverine. He just comes back stronger. It just kept dragging on and on, and I completely lost interest. And I felt bad for Xu Kai. He was standing on the sidelines for most of the battle, just watching and shooting worried faces at Zhao yao. I hate to say he was useless, but it just felt like the writers did him dirty. Even Jiany Wu, who had already died by that point, was given a brief re-appearance. While Mo Qing, the ML, was forced to sit out on the action.

I’m also so over the will-he-won’t-he be evil plot. I keep saying this but I’ll say it again. It. Just. Keeps. Dragging. I’ve watching longer dramas, but this one felt to go on forever. We get it. You’re being tortured by your inner demon, but love will conquer all.

The editing is also weird? Some of the scenes aren’t in chronological order, and there’s no separation between dream sequences and reality. I also never liked the preview at the beginning of each episode. I also hate how they cut some crucial scenes from the TV version that’s on youtube, forcing me to hop onto doboku, which buffers.

Honestly, the last episode felt like a hallucinated dream sequence. In one scene, they’re all sitting around the table saying that the need to seal the Wan Jun sword before Mo Qing gets out of the control, and then it suddenly cuts to black with a title card that says 5 years later (don’t get me started on how often they overuse the “5 years later” plot device. Why is it always exactly 5 years?) We then see that Zhiyan is now the sect leader, and we’re told that Mo Qing has sealed himself away, and Zhao yao has been waiting for him to return. We don’t see them say goodbye to Mo Qing before he seals himself away. No scene showing a handover to Zhiyan. We’re just forced to go with it and imagine these scenes ourselves.

Zhao yao, with a new hairstyle and new clothes to signify the time skip, watches Zhi yan and the sect from the distance. She then goes to visit other people, like Sima Rong and Liu Cangling. Liu Cangling and Zhiyan are the only couple who were able to move on from each other, and honestly, good for them. We then see Zhao yao sitting in the cave, pouring wine onto the cave floor, and then it cuts to black again and a sword flies through the air and wedges itself on the bedrock and we hear Mo Qing say Zhao yao’s name in a voiceover. And then it cuts to a scene where they’re both in the cave wearing their clothes from 5 years and Zhao yao has her old hairstyle. You assume this is a flashback to when they sealed the sword. And then we see Mo Qing in another realm where he lowers the sword in to the water, presumably sealing it. And then it cuts to both of them on the street buying food, wearing their old clothes and hairstyles.

Does this mean he got out of the seal? When in the timeline is this street scene? How did he get out of the seal? Did he just walk out? Was Zhao yao there waiting for him, or did he go and find her? It’s typical for there to be a long period of uncertain separation in xianxia and wuxia dramas, and these dramas usually end either ambiguously where you don’t know if the couple will reunite, or they end with an emotional reunion, like in Ashes of Love, Eternal Love, Love and Destiny, and Love and Redemption, and famously in Return of the Condor Heroes. But what in the world was this ending?? The hell happened? That was so anticlimactic. If the scene on the street really was their “reunion” after he got out of the seal, does that mean Zhao yao changed her hair back to 5 years ago? Why is the costuming so confusing then?

And the last scene where they have the same actors play their kids? Um, no. That’s just plain weird. You built up the chemistry between the 2 actors, and then in the end you make them play siblings and re-enact the scene of when their parents met? For what? To make the audience reminisce about the budding romance between the leads at the beginning so that things come full circle? But, these characters are siblings?? You’re trying to make us emotional over a scene of two siblings pretending to be lovers?

There was just no point in doing that. It doesn’t tell us anything about the characters’ married life now. I don’t care about their kids. I care about the characters and what they’re doing now. What a strange and uncomfortable way to end the drama. Not satisfying at all.

It would have been better if they had left it ambiguous. The amount of times that Zhao yao came back from the dead showed that they can defy the impossible, so even if it was an ambiguous ending, you’d still be able to believe that they’ll be together again. But this mess just ruined the chemistry. Ugh. I really miss the first half of the drama.

Overall Impression

I’m mad about how chaotic the last few episodes were. While the beginning of the drama wasn’t without its flaws either, it was still very promising and intriguing. The beginning of the drama felt like they knew where they were going with the story, even if you didn’t completely like the direction that it went. So yes, I echo the other critiques saying that this drama had a strong beginning and a weak end.

When I got to episode 35, I thought, how bad can this get? When I got to episode 42, I was still holding out hope that maybe other people were just harsh and maybe I’ll actually enjoy it. But no, the final 10 episodes are really as bad as everyone says it is.

The romance, which was the only reason I stuck to the drama, also felt a little underdeveloped. I wish we got to see more scenes of them pre-episode 30.They were so cute then. Everything post-episode 30 was just them being constantly worried about each other.

At least there was no angst. And the comedy was great. So there’s that.

I give this drama a 7/10 for the characters and the premise. The plot is not worth watching due to terrible editing, pacing, and consistency, but it’s also a drama that won’t take you long to watch since you could skip most of it anyway and just go to the scenes with the leads. It’s my first drama watching Bai Lu and Xu Kai, but I’m def now interested in more of their work, like Arsenal Military Academy.

#招摇 #the legends #bai lu #xu kai #cdrama #白鹿 #许凯 #zhao yao #cdrama review #cdrama rant

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bowsie22 · 3 years

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Pingxie Collection 5

Summary: Sanshu has made a lot of bad decisions in his life. Sometimes they come back to bite Wu Xie in the ass

It had been an oddly quiet week for Wu Xie. Pangzi had returned to check on his shop in Beijing, dragging Xiaoge with him for heavy lifting. Wang Meng had taken two weeks off for a family wedding on the other side of the country. Wu Xie had decided to close the shop to customers, only taking appointments for appraisals. Even then he only took four or five of those a day. Wu Xie rarely had peace and quiet like this. He was determined to enjoy it.

Not that Pangzi was giving him much peace. Every day Wu Xie was sent multiple photos of Pangzi and Xiaoge in Pangzi’s shop, in various tourist destinations around Beijing or Xiaoge with large plates of food in front of him. In all the photos Xiaoge had a small smile on his face, clearly having a good time. It made Wu Xie happy. Xiaoge deserved to smile. And if he and Pangzi had an agreement between themselves to get at least three smiles from Xiaoge per day? Well, the older man didn’t have to know that.

His phone dinged, letting him know that his next appointment was here. Standing from his seat behind his desk, Wu Xie headed for the gate, wanting to get the final appointment for the day over and done with.

Opening the gates, Wu Xie tensed. He wasn’t sure why, but there was something about these men that made him uncomfortable. Wu Xie always trusted his instincts and right now they were screaming for him to run. The leader stepped forward, a short man with a dangerous glint in his eyes. He had two men with him, brutes Pangzi would call them, tall, muscular, dangerous looking. “Wu Xie? We rang you about appraising the figurine. May we come in?” Nodding Wu Xue stood aside, allowing the men into Wushanju. His instincts were still screaming at him, but Wu Xie stamped them down. These men were clearly here for something and he was determined to find out what.

He led them through the doors of the shop, stupidly letting himself get distracted by a text from Xiaoge. That was all the men needed. A kick to his knee and a punch to the back of his head and Wu Xie was pinned to the ground, arms behind his back. Dazed, it took him a minute to realise that the short man was kneeling in front of him. “Wu Xie, my name is Liu Fan. And your uncle owes us quite a bit of money.” Goddamn Sanshu! Sometimes Wu Xie agreed with Xiao Hua when the other told him that his uncle was really a waste of oxygen. “Now, we can’t find him. It’s like he’s pulled off some kind of magic trick. And then we remembered his nephew, the heir to the Wu family. Your uncle needs a warning Wu Xie. Trust me, it’s not personal. It’s just business.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After what felt like hours, the men left Wushanju. Wu Xie lay on the floor where they left him, spitting out blood. Goddamn, those guys were strong. Wincing, he moved slowly to his feet taking stock of his injuries. Bruised ribs definitely, a black eye and bleeding eyebrow, a sprained wrist from when they picked him up to slam him to the floor again. He’d bitten his tongue then, blood filling his mouth. Probably wasn’t the smartest idea to spit it into thug one’s face, but Pangzi always said that Wu Xie needed to think more.

Liu Fan’s card was still on the floor and Wu Xie was too sore to try and pick it up. Five million yuan. His uncle owed these men five million yuan and Wu Xie had a week to get it. If not, they’d take it from his flesh. Bit cliché but no less scary when two men were looking over your bruised and battered body each holding a very sharp knife. He’d have to call Ershu. And clear his accounts.

Goddamn Sanshu.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He had one dependable uncle at least. After sitting through a fifteen-minute lecture about how stupid it was to let random people into shop when he was alone, Ershu finally started asking relevant questions about Liu Fan and the money owed. As the doctor his uncle brought with him tended to his wounds, Wu Xie answered all the questions, doing his best to remember what he could.

After asking his questions Ershu left the room for a minute, both Wu Xie and the doctor pretending they didn’t hear him curse his younger brother to the deepest pits of hell. His uncle walked back into the room, straightening his jacket and taking deep breaths. “Leave it with me, I’ll have the money within the week. If I don’t have the money, I’ll have people deal with Liu Fan. On my way here I called Pangzi and –“ Wu Xie pouted at his uncle, ready to complain. As usual, Ershu ignored him, Wu Xie’s puppy dog eyes not half as effective as they used to be. “- And Hei Xiazi who’ll be here this evening. Do not open that gate until you know it’s him. I’ll let you know when I get the money.”

And with that, Ershu was gone, Wu Xie left sitting in the kitchen, wondering what the hell had just happened. Making a decision, he started to cook a quick dinner. Heiye ate like he had three stomachs and wherever Heiye went, Xiao Hua was sure to go. His phone vibrated, Xiao Hua letting him know that they were outside. Wu Xie let them in, his younger friend taking a second to look over his injuries and hug him. Reassured that Wu Xie wasn’t seriously hurt, Xiao Hua swept through Wushanju, picking up Liu Fan’s card, fingers already dialling a number on the phone. The door to Wu Xie’s office closed behind him, Wu Xie and Heiye left staring after him. Slinging an arm around Wu Xie’s shoulders, checking for any winces or reactions, Heiye laughed. “By the time Wu Erbai and Xiao Hua finish with him, Liu Fan will regret ever being in the same building as Wu Sanxing. Then again, I think that’s how most people feel about your uncle.”

After an hour or so a very satisfied Xiao Hua joined them in the living room, settling beside Heiye in the love seat. He cast a critical eye over Wu Xie, moving to the kitchen to grab the painkillers the doctor had given Wu Xie and a glass of water. He handed them to the other man, herding him to his bedroom, making sure he was comfortable. “Pangzi and Xiaoge will be here tonight. Pangzi seems to be breaking every speed law on his way here. I’ll need to pay off a lot of police officers. You’re lucky I love you Wu Xie.” He closed the door softly, collapsing beside Heiye and relaxing for the first time since they got the call about the attack. “You ruin his life petal?” Xiao Hua smirked, knowing that between he and Wu Erbai, Liu Fan would regret every decision he had ever made in his life. Go after Wu Sanxing all you want, but go after Wu Xie? Face the consequences.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wu Xie woke up the next morning, not surprised to feel an arm around his waist, breath on the back of his neck. Xiaoge was home. For the first time since those men had entered Wushanju, Wu Xie felt safe. He wiggled around to face Xiaoge, smiling when the other man pressed a soft kiss to the butterfly stitches on hie eyebrow. “Welcome home. Sorry you had to cut your trip short, you looked like you were having fun.” Xiaoge nodded, running gentle fingers up and down Wu Xie’s spine, lulling the younger man back to sleep. As he drifted off, Wu Xie heard Xiaoge humming softly, lips pressed to Wu Xie’s hair.

He woke up alone a few hours later, following the sound of Pangzi’s voice to the kitchen. “Sleeping beauty awakens. Or should that be bruised beauty?” Ignoring Pangzi, Wu Xie fell into Xiaoge’s lap, the older man pulling his close, not pausing in his conversation with Heiye. Pangzi placed a bowl of hotpot in front of him, lips tightening as he looked over his friend’s injuries. Wu Xie reached out grabbing his hand. “I’m ok, really. A few cuts and bruises, that’s it.” Pangzi smiled, leaning down to press a kiss to his hair, moving back to the stove where Xiao Hua was pouring the hotpot into bowls.

Surrounded by his friends and the smell of good food, Wu Xie relaxed in Xiaoge’s arms. He knew that no one could touch him now, not with these people around him. Wushanju was safe again. Wu Xie was safe again.

A/N You can decide for yourselves what Erbai and Xiao Hua did to the debt collectors. And Sanxing

#pingxie #lost tomb #dmbj

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jurassicparkpodcast · 4 years

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Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous Season 2 | SPOILER Breakdown & Review

Be advised – this article contains heavy spoilers for the second season of Camp Cretaceous. Make sure to check out our non-spoiler review before you read this piece. If you’ve seen the entirety of Season Two, please feel free to read this review.

If you read my non-spoiler review of the second season of Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous, then you may have noted my choice to refer directly to coming back to the spoiler section for several bits of key information. That is primarily because the events of this second season take place at a previously un-documented timeframe – meaning everything which occurs is ‘new’ – even if it may have nods to earlier and latter parts of the timeline.

With that said, we’re going to use this article to talk about some of the juicier parts of the second season of the show. Let’s dive in.

The key part to the second series of the show is the idea of the emergency beacon on Main Street being used by the kids to summon some help to the island – making their rescue a possibility. I enjoyed how the beacon was uncovered by the kids within the Jurassic World Inside Guide – a nice nod to some of the real documents like the Jurassic World Staff Book we have in the real-world. I also enjoyed how this sequence was used as an opportunity to explain how lots of technology may be hidden around the park as ‘nature’ – helping to retroactively explain how the park may have functioned without us even realising in Jurassic World. We also get to see the Jurassic World Discovery Walk (a new attraction!) during this segment, building out the park a little more, and also spend more time in T-Rex Kingdom, which was a welcome addition. This sequence also features a gut wrenching flashback – with Darius having a moment where Ben’s fall from the train in Season One is replaced with his dad falling. This was a heart wrenching moment – and really sets up the guilt arc which is a key driver for Darius throughout the second season. Of note is the fact that the beacon message does change from ‘Sent’ to ‘Received’ – something which is not touched upon again in the second season. This sets up a couple of interesting options for a third season – something which we will discuss in another article here on the website soon.

The next interesting element I wanted to talk about is the implementation of the veterinary area of the park in Episode Two. This was a fun opportunity to peak underneath the hood of the functioning Jurassic World a little bit more – seeing where sick animals may have been quarantined and treated. I particularly appreciated how the animals in cages here included a Parasaurolophus and Stegosaurus – a fun nod to the same animals being caged by Ludlow’s team in The Lost World: Jurassic Park. I loved the way Grim, Chaos and Limbo were introduced during this sequence – and also loved seeing them squaring off with the Stegosaurs, showing that sometimes predators would rather leave groups of Herbivores than pick a fight where they would be outnumbered. This is a nice nod to the real palaeontological understanding that herbivores moved in larger herds to protect them from predators. Kenji and Yaz also got some interesting development in Episode Two, too – and I feel like the first two episodes were some of the strongest in terms of the areas of the park they explored, and also the animal behaviours which they showed throughout the moments we spend with dinosaurs in these episodes. This is continued in Episode Three, however – which introduces us to the watering hole, and some fun accompanying lore to flesh out the behaviour of the dinosaurs in the series a little bit more.

Episode Three introduces us to the watering hole – and is arguably my favourite episode because of the time it takes to really bring back the ‘natural beauty’ element of the dinosaurs and the environments in the Jurassic franchise. During these sequences we get some interesting bits of information – including Darius sharing that Doctor Grant stated that predators and prey may be able to co-exist at a watering hole if the right conditions were met. It is nice to hear Grant name dropped to remind us of the universe we are in, and this is a nice way of explaining the Ceratosaurus also at the watering hole. During this sequence the Ceratosaurus also encounters the kids but chooses to ignore them and walk off – a nice call-back to the more docile behaviour we see exhibited from this animal in Jurassic Park III. Of note during this episode is the idea that the Stegosaurus has shed its plate as it has grown and rubbed itself against a tree – something which Sammy compares to modern-day animals, and we also see a Parasaurolophus inhabiting a river – calling back to where they were located in the park. Although we don’t get much of it in the latter parts of the season, the steps taken to really add to the dinosaurs behaviours in the earlier episodes feels rewarding and helps to flesh them out as natural animals in their own right.

Another interesting note in this episode is the fact that Brooklynn, Sammy and Yaz revisit the genetics lab where Doctor Wu and Eddie were in Season One, to find it now stripped back and empty. This suggests that, much like we see in the film, Hoskins may have ordered his people to extract assets from across the island – which does then call into question some moments which occur later in the season. During this sequence the trio find a key card in an envelope – alongside a couple of pieces of paper which appear to contain information, potentially to do with E750’s genetics given the fact that this name is on the envelope. E750 is, if you remember, the ‘confidential’ folder we saw on Wu’s Computer in Season One – implying that this is something big. At the end of this episode we are also introduced to a campfire on the island – indicating that someone else is on the island. In Episode Four we learn that these people mercenary-type character of Hap, and two Ecotourists – Mitch and Tiff. Mitch’s character design is an overt Alan Grant reference – designed to make us feel as though we can trust him, whilst Hap feels more akin to someone like Dieter Stark. Over the course of this episode we learn a few interesting details – including the fact that the group’s boat is away refueling at Papagayo. Interestingly, this is a peninsula on the North Pacific Coast of Costa Rica – in keeping with the geography of the series. The episode ends with Hap chasing the kids after they tried to break into his yurt – only for them to be rescued at the last moment by Ben and an adult Bumpy.

Episode Five takes the time for us to explore how Ben survived – showing how he attempted to escape the jungle but inadvertently wondered into Toro’s nesting ground. This sequence is cool as it shows Toro has been hunting animals since the end of Season One – suggesting he has been taking his aggression out on Nublar’s other residents. At a couple of different moments here we see Compys surrounding Ben as he cowers – helping to create the similar sense of vulnerableness that we see in Cathy Bowman. Eventually, after snapping at Bumpy and finding himself on his own, Ben stands up to the Compys and decides to go and fight Toro. This leads to a cool sequence where Bumpy eventually saves Ben and fights Toro – although I do feel like here the kids show side of the series takes over a little bit more, as I can imagine a kid with a spear not being much of a problem for a fully grown Carnotaurus. With that said, seeing a fully grown Bumpy showdown with Toro was a nice call-back to the cut Sinoceratops vs Carnotaurus fight from Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom, and I was quite excited to see Toro back for an episode as I wasn’t sure we would see this animal again in the series.

The next episode reveals why Tiff and Mitch are truly on the island – because they are Big Game Hunters. In the yurt which was off limits Darius finds a lot of hunting tools, including a bear trap, and brutally – the head of a Sinoceratops. I was genuinely shocked at how morbid this sequence was – and think this reinforces the idea that this isn’t purely a kids show. Whilst this was mainly implied as the whole head is not shown under the cover it has over it, it was enough to shock me. I really enjoyed this reveal as I didn’t expect it – I thought it would be easy for this to be Mantah Corp, but obviously, as The Lost World shows us, there will be people out there who want to hunt these animals for a challenge. Interestingly, Mitch justifies hunting them as preserving their memory, saying that the UN will soon forget and abandon the island. I appreciated this attempt from the writers to show how the character would justify his actions as it helps to make him slightly more compelling – even if I would argue that the writing for both characters is weak here. In this episode we also see the death of Hap – who stays behind to distract the pack of three Baryonyx so that Brooklynn and Kenji can escape on a motorbike following Ben’s rescue. This was an interesting moment as it is clear Hap was written to fit the ‘villain’ stereotype and then flip it. Interestingly enough we don’t see Hap die – so whilst surviving an attack from three Baryonyx is improbable, it is possible he could return. I would argue that he was the best of the three new characters introduced in the second season of the show. We end with Yaz, Darius and Sammy at the mercy of the pair of hunters – who now want Darius to show them the watering hole so they can kill more dinosaurs. This makes sense – but may have benefitted from being slightly more fleshed out in my opinion.

This idea carries over into Episode Seven – where Darius falsely leads the pair to main street in a desperate bid to escape. There is a really cool sequence on main street here where Darius and Sammy are avoiding the couple in a way which almost mimics the Velociraptor kitchen sequence from Jurassic Park - with them moving from cover to cover in a slow fashion. Whilst this unfolds, Brooklynn, Kenji, Yaz and Ben find an emergency bunker when Brooklynn follows a hum she has heard throughout the series – pointing to something still being operational underground. The Bunker facility appears identical to the one which we see in Jurassic World Aftermath – which poses some interesting questions for where that latter entry slots into the story given what else unfolds here. We learn that this room connects to a room where a sample is cryogenically frozen – and Kenji inadvertently begins the process of awakening it. I enjoyed everything we saw on the computer screens on this sequence – including the location of the watering hole, which appears to be near Gyrosphere Valley. This then leads into the second sequence we get with the Tyrannosaurus Rex in this series – which is, unfortunately, a sequence which suffers from the necessity for plot armour to carry the antagonists through to the final episode. Rexy tries repeatedly to bite Tiff and Mitch and misses – allowing them to escape and eventually being distracted from Darius and Sammy by lights and sounds the rest of the crew activate in the command centre. Seeing Rexy unable to kill either Tiff or Mitch when they were out in the open is one of the moments which breaks the realism of the series, in my opinion – making it a little bit harder to accept at face value.

The finale starts with Tiff and Mitch heading to the watering hole whilst the rest of the kids attempt to stop them. During this sequence we get a brutal moment where Tiff kills Grim with a single shot – reminding us that this animals are not nearly as resilient as the Indominus Rex. This stood out to me as it reminded me how easy the dinosaurs which are rampaging during Jurassic World Dominion would be to deal with – implying that something more serious may happen to prevent authorities around the world from dealing with the animals so quickly. This moment really was brutal – as although Grim was technically an antagonist, the death had a similar effect to that of Zara, with it not feeling earned. Eventually the kids manage to stop Tiff and Mitch from killing any of the other animals – and both die in ways which homage different parts of the franchise. Mitch steps on his own snare and is eaten by the Tyrannosaurus Rex whilst hanging from a tree – a fun nod to the death of Cooper in JPIII who has a similar fate at the hands of the Velociraptors. Tiff, on the other hand, makes it onto her boat (which has been moored at the dock the whole time) – and makes it on in time to escape before the kids can get onboard. As she begins to sail away it is revealed that Limbo and Chaos have made it onboard – sealing her fate, and providing a moment of Karma for the brutal execution of Grim earlier in the episode. This also serves as a fun nod to the novel – where Velociraptors were able to board the Isla Nublar supply ships. This then ends with the kids practically in the same position as the end of Season One – which does, in some ways, negate the events of the second season as it feels as though no real progress occurs.

Overall, there are some fun sequences in Season Two of Camp Cretaceous – but it feels as though there are less memorable moments than the first season, and many of them are over-exaggerated and therefore leave you questioning their realism within the canon. Whilst the show should be granted additional freedom due to its target demographic, this undoubtedly is a canonical piece – and I feel like the second season pushed the boundaries of being a canonical entry in the series a little bit too far at times. Whilst some sequences, like a stampede sequence in Episode Seven and the Baryonyx attack in Episode Two feel well executed, other sequences, like the chase in Episode Six, feel a little bit too extreme. With that said, I think kids are definitely going to love these set pieces, so I can look past them for the impact they may have on younger fans.

I also didn’t enjoy the lack of any presence for Mantah Corp in Season Two. Whilst I appreciated Mitch and Tiff not being agents of the organisation, as that would’ve been easy to do, I do think that having some kind of reference – whether it be another drone, or mention of another boat off shore – would have been a nice way of tying in the fact that Mantah Corp are still an active threat in this universe. Whilst I have no doubt that they will return in the future, the complete lack to acknowledge them beyond Brooklynn and Sammy name-dropping them a couple of times did seem like a shame considering the focus that was placed on season one. The issue which irked me most, however, is probably that of E750 – which is being thawed out. We will have a separate video speculating what this could be, but my biggest issue is how this sits within the canon. As per JWFK and Jurassic World Aftermath, we know that teams were sent back to recover assets and extract them off of the island – so if E750 was such a big project for Wu, then why did he leave it on the island? This makes little sense to me right now and is, in my opinion, one of the bigger issues with retrospectively building this mystery specimen into the Jurassic timeline.

With these issues highlighted, I think Season Two of Camp Cretaceous was good, but it fails to follow-up on some of the more interesting parts of the first season, and strays a little close to the boundaries of the pre-established canon present in the universe. Whilst I appreciate it is a kids show, and I can allow more due to this, I do feel like the E750 storyline has the potential to raise more questions about the rest of the lore, depending on the direction it takes – and this is a problem which can occur when retroactively building a multi-media timeline. I am interested to see how this unfolds in a third season – and I do wonder how much more we can explore on Nublar before it begins to feel stagnant. There is certainly more of the island I would like to see and explore – so I hope we get to do this in future instalments.

I think it is fair to say I enjoyed the second season of the show – but, perhaps not as much as I did the first season, which I felt gave a little more to adult fans and those of us more familiar with the lore. With that said, I would love to hear from you! Let me know what you thought of Season Two in the comments below, and stay tuned for more Camp Cretaceous content on The Jurassic Park Podcast in the near future.

Written by: Tom Fishenden

#article #jurassic world camp cretaceous review #jurassic world camp cretaceous season two review #camp cretaceous review #camp cretaceous season two review #camp cretaceous season 2 #camp cretaceous spoilers #camp cretaceous season two spoilers #jurassic world camp cretaceous season two spoilers #jurassic world tv show spoilers #season two spoilers #camp cretaceous spoiler review #tom fishenden #tom fishenden camp cretaceous #camp cretaceous

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