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noonecaresaboutmyreview · 4 months ago

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The Double - Cdrama Review

Hi everyone! I am back again with another historical chinese drama review! I first saw The Double on Netflix with only 12 episodes released. After binge watching all 12 episodes in 1 day, I was hooked and immediately re-subscribe to Youku for the full 40 episodes. Personally, no regrets there.

My all time favourite drama will always be Love Like the Galaxy and The Double have come close to being second. There are a lot of similarities between the two dramas that I am not mad about.

The Double is about Xue Fang Fei (Wu Jin Yan) who was betrayed by her husband Shen Yu Rong (Liang Yong Qi). He, along with the eldest princess, Princess Wanning, plotted to annihilate the Xue family (her father and younger brother). She was saved by the daughter of the Secretariat Director, Jiang Li would was sent away in the mountains due to a false accusation. There original Jiang Li died and Xue Fang Fei took over her identity for her own revenge and to avenge original Jiang Li's death. She meets Duke Su (Wang Xing Yue) who took her as his pawn to fight against the corruption in the imperial court and defeat a potential rebellion that was bound to happen.

This review is going to be a long one, with spoilers.

Story: I love that there was no boring episodes. Each episode moved quickly and the revenge plot remained the main plot. I have a habit of fast-forwarding scenes especially for cdramas but I barely did it here. Each episode kept me at the edge of my seat. I love how each scheme, both from the good and bad side of the drama is cleverly plotted. No lazy plots here.

The romance in this one is slow-burn but not boring. Each interacting Xue Fang Fei had with Duke Su was intense. I am impress by how we could see their chemistry without them even physically touching or using romantic words. The drama is also good at showing us stories about the villains. They all have back stories and reasons to why they turn out that way. Of course, it didn't evoke sympathy when they finally got their retribution but it is good to know that no one was born evil.

Characters:

My favourite character in this drama is Xue Fang Fei. She was a good wife to her husband until he decides to murder her. When she came back with a vengeance, she did not hesitate to scheme and take opportunities. She is not too proud to ask help from Duke Su as she knows that she alone is not influential enough to carry out her plan. Every action she makes serves a purpose, but she always make sure that she doesn't hurt the innocent.

Wu Jin Yan was the perfect Xue Fang Fei. It was my first time watching her and she impressed me. Her eyes showed a lot of anger and pain yet her demeanour is always calm. She is eloquent and has a sharp tongue. I love that she is not so blinded by her revenge that she becomes reckless.

Oh Duke Su, Duke Su. He reminds me so much of Ling Bu Yi from Love Like the Galaxy. He is a loyal servant of the Emperor whom he's friends with since childhood. He is ruthless and always alone with his two trusted guards. He always carry this ice cold stern expression. Nothing seems to amuse him other than his own play that he orchestrate with his own pawns.

Wang Xing Yue as Duke Su is the perfect casting. I watched him in Story of Kunning Place and wasn't too wow-ed by him there. But here, his acting is so mature and strong; I am surprised by how young he really is. And thank you to whomever who thought his character needed eyeliner cause it make him look more vicious and charming.

Their relationship and how it developed was everything. They didn't even kiss till the last episode but I could feel the love and trust they had for each other. Their conversation turns from a push and pull to full on flirting. They never hide their attraction and worry for each other. Duke Su never tried to "baby" Xue Fang Fei in the name of protection. He trust that she is capable enough. When there are scenes of jealousy, Duke Su was never aggressive nor blame Xue Fang Fei. He was her safe place where she knows she could go to. Duke Su was a whole green forest.

Just simple gestures like this was enough to make my own heart flutter. Ah the chemistry.

Xue Fang Fei + Duke Su love story is very much on par with Cheng Shao Shang + Ling Bu Yi to me.

Special mentions to Princess Wanning and Shen Yu Rong. Their scenes together make me so uncomfortable, like I am watching a man cheating on his dead wife.

Princess Wanning as a character was complex. She was a hostage princess before she was rescued. When she was a hostage, she was tortured and beaten to the point where she cannot bear children anymore. When she is finally free, she feels the need to overpower everyone. She will get rid of anyone that gets in her way. She would make the perfect evil princess, except, she fell in love.

Out of all the villains in this drama, the one I hate the most and have zero sympathy for is Shen Yu Rong. He was a poor scholar who wanted to work for the imperial court. He had to work really hard to get to his position and he always blamed his poor background for the disadvantage he faces. When Princess Wanning took a liking towards him and ordered his family to kill his wife, he did it with the excuse that he is powerless to go against the royal family. When Xue Fang Fei came back as Jiang Li, he kept his head down and went with it because he doesn't want to face the guilt of killing his own wife.

To me, where he lost it all was when he got angry that Xue Fang Fei likes Duke Su. He started to plan and scheme and kill, with the excuse to protect Xue Fang Fei. He truly lost his way and had a terrible case of victim mentally.

But I got to praise Liang Yong Qi. He acted very well as Shen Yu Rong. It was very hard to tell how he truly feels. It was hard to tell if he truly cares about Xue Fang Fei, if he did like Princess Wanning or he was just became a terrible person. Shen Yu Rong always had this dead eyes with no emotions, it was creepy. Amazing.

Overall, this drama was surprisingly impressive. The costumes, make-up and accessories were all so charming. The scenes are shot beautifully. With a good script, plot and good acting, The Double is a good drama to watch.

Rating: 4.9/5

-- Fary

#the double #wu jinyan #wang xingyue #duke su #xue fangfei #jiang li #cdrama #chinese drama #review #fary

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prbni · 2 years ago

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My controversial Kdrama opinions

1. Ko Moon Young was just a psychologically messed up girl. She isn't the 'girlpower' or 'badass' that the Kdrama fandom likes to dub her into.

2. In 'Hotel del Luna', they could've just chucked the entire character of Gu Chansung out of the window and gave Chang Myung a rebirth/rebirths,make him go through various trials and tribulations to repent and earn Man Wol's forgiveness. Didn't have to make it unnecessarily tragic.

3. Unnecessarily tragic reminds me, the 'realistic' ending of 2521 was a JOKE. There was NO point of developing such a power couple if they were to break up for such a mundane reason.

4. Romance genre isn't Song Kang's 'thing'. He shines better as an actor in non-romance genres.

5. Had they focused on developing Ju Kyung as an individual character who finally learns how to completely take a stand for herself instead of dangling her between Suho and Seojun, 'True Beauty' would've become a more popular and appreciated drama.

6. The love line between Hwang InYeop and Seo Hyun Jin's character in 'Why her: Oh Soo Jae' was absolutely unnecessary and awkward.

7. Jo Bo Ah and Ahn Bo Hyun and an amazing chemistry in 'Military Prosecutor: Do Bae Man'. However, they could've developed a slowburn romance between them instead of abruptly putting a kiss sequence in the last episode out of nowhere.

8. In 'Snowdrop', Eun Young Ro forgiving Soo Ho later on didn't make sense. Their kiss sequence was purely fan service,nothing else.

9. Individual acting aside,Kim Hye Yoon had more chemistry with Lee Jae Wook(2nd lead) than Rowoon(main lead) in 'Extraordinary You'.

10. Writers are overusing 'Let's kill off the main character and make the show tragically memorable' trope wayyy too much.

11. As much as it physically hurts me given the chemistry of the actors,Choi Do Il and Oh In Joo not having any proper romantic sequence till the end of 'Little Women' makes sense to the storyline(the shipper me might've wanted a hug though).

12. Also the writers should stop doing the 'lets make the second lead better than the main lead'. Its annoying to see one person actually making sincere effort for the girl but the girl ends up totally ignoring their effort and like the ML. Not in just Kdramas but in all sorts of dramas. I actually saw a Chinese drama where the second lead finally turned into a villain. I LITERALLY commented 'good for him' lmao.

13. Sunho in 'Cheer Up' is problematic. Neither his sad backstory nor his sincere feelings for Haeyi changes that fact.

14. The Heirs(2013) drama wasted an opportunity to pair Young Do(Kim Woobin) with Yoo Rachel(Kim Jiwon). No, they didn't need to be 'siblings'. I'd have chosen the two heartbroken yet sassy and tough people romance over the sappy romance of the main couple in a heartbeat. And the actors would've NAILED it.

15. Jojo not ending up with Sunho in 'Love Alarm' finally broke the 'Cinderella and Prince Charming' fairytale trope of Kdramas. That girl was too messed up in the head . She didn't need the rich,fierce and impulsive lover, but the quite,patient and thoughtful one. So don't go ahead and say the ending sucked. Maybe they could've made things more coherent, but no the ending didn't suck.

16. Moon Dong Eun should have remained single, with the last episode ending with him crossing paths with Do Yeong, with Yeonjin & gang & all the revenge agenda gone, she could hv offered him a smile and a game of Go, keeping an open ending for them. Lee Do Hyun was fabulous in playing Yeojeong and their chemistry was amazing. But they could hv just been partners in crime with their teamwork without the romantic plot between them.

17. No. Ryu Shi Oh doesn't give second lead syndrome. Byun Woo Seok is a very good actor but he plays the villain in 'Strong Woman Kang Nam Soon' and not anti-hero. Lee Yoo Mi and him should be paired opposite to e/o in some other project in the future but Shi Oh and Nam Soon ain't the 'enemies to lovers' you think it is.

18. After Byun Woo Seok's popularity skyrocketed with 'Lovely Runner', many people dug up his previous works & lamented over not noticing him earlier. People even felt sad that he got his recognition late. But honestly, he wasn't very noticeable as an actor in his earlier stages imo. He kept working hard on his acting skills to get to where he is now. What I applaud about him is not giving up & putting the efforts in all right places but he didn't start from a 100.

19. I'm actually glad they brought back the fresh romcoms in 2024. Got tired of consistently watching crime thrillers,school violence,zombie apocalypse and stuff. I mean, of course they're good. But the key ingredient for Kdramas will always be those cringey classic slightly over-the-top romcoms.

20. Cha Eunwoo's acting in 'My ID is Gangnam Beauty' isn't as bad as people try to make it. His character actually demanded those stank cold expressions that he delivered. In fact, I'd say his character Do Kyeong Seok was one of the first Kdrama male leads that actually understood and empathised with the FL's situation and protected her in his own way without going over-the-top cliche "she is my yeoja and only I can bother her" about it.

21. In the 'No Gain, No Love' Kdrama, the romantic pairing of Ja Yeon and Gyu Hyun felt very forced to me. I was actually hoping for Hajun to shine instead of reducing him into just a 'former crush'. I'd rather have Hajun regretting looking down on an erotica novelist and leaving mean comment, sort things up with Ja Yeon and actually catch feelings for her respecting her as a person than this mishmash of 'Richman poor woman plus marrying my antifan' trope. The actors individually were great with their parts but I see them as in laws of the main couple ending on good terms rather than a romantic pairing itself. Ironically, this is the only second lead pairing that gets their own spinoff as leads.

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translations-by-aiimee · 4 years ago

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Mistakenly Saving the Villain - Chapter 2

Original Title: 论救错反派的下场

Genres: Drama, Romance, Xianxia, Yaoi

TW for this chapter: Brief description of suicide

This translation is based on multiple MTLs and my own limited knowledge of Chinese characters. If I have made any egregious mistakes, please let me know.

Chapter 2 - Problem-Solving by Elimination

Scholar-Tyrant Song sat in the examination room, his mind blank.

The types of questions at the Banquet of Beauties were more terrifying than Goldbach’s conjecture. At least he would not panic if being questioned by his professor on Goldbach's conjecture.

The Langgan Terrace of the Golden Pheonix Manor was extremely luxurious and beautiful. There are countless cultivators and beautiful women flying in the depths of the clouds. Every guest was more beautiful than the last, and carefree laughter and obscene words were thrown around.

Song Qingshi silently recited his lectures on the human body structure, physiological hygiene, mouse breeding and other courses twice in his heart, finally recovering the calmness of a high-ranking medical student. Thinking about the lab mice he had bred for three years dying off, the scene in front of him no longer meant much.

There are two kinds of divine fires in the original person's body. The first was the Red Lotus Fire used for refining his alchemy, and the other was the Underworld Ghost Fire used for killing people.

Song Qingshi's expression became one that could repel others from thousands of miles away. He released the Underworld Ghost Fire from the palms of his hands, causing the flames to continuously jump at his fingertips and change into different shapes.

Fen Shen and He Ti ancestors are the treasures of all the cultivation sects. They did not usually involve themselves with the mortal world. The Nascent Soul cultivators are all big shots walking carefree in the immortal world. Not to mention the danger of the cutivating path; no one could guarantee that they wouldn't need to ask a doctor for help. Neither righteous cultivators or demonic cultivators were not willing to offend the Medicine Master Xianzun easily, let alone mock his perverse character.

When the cultivators saw the Underworld Ghost Fire, they knew that he was in a bad mood and kept their distance.

Song Qingshi was able to keep a clear area around him. He cut off the cultivators who approached him to make friendships. Then he released the powerful spiritual thoughts of a Nascent Soul cultivator and quickly took in all the beauties at the banquet. He looked carefully and tried to find the protagonist in the crowd.

However, Yang Yuhuan was thicker, and Zhao Feiyan was slender. Everyone had different standards of beauty. Song Qingshi was of the kind of person that was not very reliable. His eyes were quickly dazzled, only able to think that all of them were beautiful during the dinner. Even the maid who poured the water was graceful and beautiful. She was more beautiful than the stars on TV. He couldn't tell who was better looking.

But this stubborn scholar will never admit defeat!

Song Qingshi tried to use the process of elimination to solve the problem. First, he determined that the protagonist was a man, excluded all the maidens during the banquet. Then he needed to make a list of key observations, verifying claims, making careful assumptions, and removing the beauties that did not meet the standards one by one.

The twin brothers brought by the Sect Master of the Blood Demon Sect were extremely beautiful. Jade-like skin, fragrant, and passionately devoted, just like two identical lotus flowers on one stalk.

There can't be two protagonists, cross it out.

The young man brought by the immortal master Longhu Sect is also super cute. He is so childish and adorable, holding his immortal master in his arms and acting like a baby. The immortal master loved him very much, doted on him, and he even hand-fed this junior immortal his food during the banquet. He kept calling him "baby".

The protagonist is supposed to suffer a miserable fate. Cross it out.

The foreign monk from Beizhou used a mysterious iron chain to lead along a handsome man covered in wounds. He stumbled and followed the foreign monk obediently. But underneath, his body revealed a rebellious aura, like being an eagle with his wings tied but still wanting to break free and fly away.

The protagonist is a beauty, so he wouldn't be so heartless, cross him out.

. . .

Into the depth of the night, the whistful music of the Banquet of Beauties had long been replaced by debauchery. Many people took the beauties away from the tables, and the scene became more and more unbearable.

Song Qingshi did not want to peep into other people's private affairs, for fear of seeing something provocative and getting an eye stye. He kept his thoughts away from extra events and kept it focused during the dinner. Then he heard the foreign monk show off the man he had brought with him to the young master of the Hidden Moon Sect: "He was even a famous general in the human world. After he was defeated and captured, he was sold to me. He's an arrogant person, who resists even under the threat of death. He is very exciting to play with."

The Young Master of the Hidden Moon Sect introduced a soft and coquettish young man, and smiled: "A proud person has the taste of being proud, but there is also the taste of being well-behaved. Let's switch and try it out?"

The foreign monk hesitated. The Young Master of the Hidden Moon Sect cast a wink at the slave.

The charming young man immediately snuggled up on the monk’s chest and begged coquettishly: "I truly like majestic bodies of strong masters, please love this slave well."

Fan Seng was ignited by the tender words of this young man, and he readily threw the chain in his hand to the Young Master of the Hidden Moon Sect, and took the young man to the side hall. The Young Master dragged the chain fiercely, and forced the gray-faced man toward the secluded part of the garden.

There were many scenes like this during the dinner, and no one had pity for these tragic beauties.

. . .

Song Qingshi had already learned from the memory of the original body that the spiritual energy of the human world was thin. The lifespan of mortals was short, and the spiritual roots were occasionally weak. Just having a base foundation was like reaching the heavens. Some kind-hearted cultivators will accept mortals as disciples and give them the opportunity to ascend to immortals. Ten thousand years ago, there was a mortal named Mo Yuan who was extremely talented. He just relied on swordsmanship to become a Nascent Soul cultivator. His techniques rivaled the Fen Shen ancestors, and was thus called the Sword Sovereign.

However, the road to immortality was to fight for one's life with the heavens. It had difficult steps and repeated failure was common. Killing someone for their treasures occured from time to time. It was difficult to restrain their behavior with morality.

Weakness is the original sin. Mortals were like ants.

Even if it was the Sword Master Mo Yuan who took care of him, he could only lay down the rules among the elites of the immortal world. He ensured that the mortals who successfully built a foundation base were treated as cultivators and no longer playthings and slaves. But demonic sects and cultivators never cared about the rules. Not even just the mortal cultivators, the immortal monks also suffered in their hands. Their evil deeds were too numerous to count.

Golden Phoenix Manor was regarded as a famous sect in the immortal world, and all the cultivation furnaces in the Manor are of made and purchased in the mortal world.

So even if Song Qingshi couldn't tolerate what happened here, he couldn't interfere. He was slightly grateful that the identity that the system arranged for him was not a mortal, otherwise he would never survive two chapters, let alone save the protagonist.

Fortunately, it was just a virtual world. . .

Novels were all evil works; textbooks were the righteous materials in the world! The professor was correct in confiscating the novels of all the girls in class! If he had the opportunity to become a professor, he will not allow students to read novels! Help them to avoid their Three Views being poisoned!

Song Qingshi sighed silently.

Suddenly, a curse came from the garden. It was the Young Master of Hidden Moon Sect who dragged the stubborn man's corpse and returned with a disappointed face. The man's shirt was torn open, revealing his bruised body. His body was riddled with scars. He had taken a stolen silver chopstick, pierced his throat deeply and killed himself.

The silver chopsticks were very blunt, and it would be extremely difficult to kill yourself with one of them. You couldn't stab yourself with one without exhausting all your energy, which shows his determination.

Seeing this, everyone in the banquet joked. They laughed that the Young Master couldn't even take care of a mortal.

Hearing the disturbance, the monk left the charming young man and hurried back out of the side hall. He saw that the person he had brought was dead. His brows furrowed and his face was full of anger. The young master of the Hidden Moon Sect was even more angry than him. He turned the dead man over, revealing his back covered with lashes, and questioned the monk: "Why didn't you mark this little slave of yours with an Acacia Seal? How could you let him die?"

The foreign monk was stunned by his question: "What is the Acacia Seal? Some new thing from the Central continent?"

Seeing his ignorance, the cultivators couldn't help but mumble that Beizhou must really be a barren land considering that they didn't even know that an Acacia Seal is a well-known thing in the world. The monk was lost during this whole conversation and the Young Master was discouraged. He pulled the monk, hating iron for not making seal, explained the beauty of the Acacia Seal: "The Acacia Seal is a method created by Huanxi Xianzun. The owner can print it on the back of the furnace, and the body and soul of the furnace transfer into the hands of the owner. No orders are needed and it cannot die without permission."

Song Qingshi had found important information. He swiftly concentrated on this discussion and listened carefully.

Hidden Moon Sect's Young Master took out a red bead from his space bag. An idea sparked in his mind. He turned the bead in his hand. The charming young man who was standing next to the monk immediately knelt down and started to bark.

The monk waved his hand, disgusted and said: "It's so obedient, even if you try something new once in a while. If I raise them like this, I would get tired after playing with it for a few days."

"There are a lot of usages in it. You would know if you had used them yourself. This Young Master isn't going to list them all for you." The Young Master withdrew from spiritual mind he had put into the bead, and the young man crouching on the ground stood up. He was used to being humiliated in front of a crowd and blushed. After a while, he faded from his shame and stood behind his master with his head down.

Seeing that the monk still didn’t understand, the young master of the Hidden Moon Sect still educates patiently: “The most important thing is that unless you let the cultivation furnace die, the cultivation furnace will never die against your will. If you brand this little slave with the Acacia Seal, wouldn't it be more fun to make him unable to kill himself and then slowly break down his pride?"

The foreign monk had an epiphany. He nodded and agreed.

The young master of the Hidden Moon Sect erased the spiritual mind of the cultivation furnace's bead in his hand. He threw it to the monk, and said graciously: "Since the young master killed your beauty, I will will compensate you for it. You can take it and study the beauty of the Acacia Seal. Once you start, you won't be able to start."

The monk was overjoyed, and even boasted: "The Central continent people are really bold, this Black Vulture has made you a friend!"

The charming young man's face instantly turned pale. He looked at the original master desperately, looking like he had something to say, as if he wanted to beg, but in the end he didn't say anything, and went with the monk in tears.

The jewels were corrupted and it was like broken jade.

This extravagant feast had finally reached its climax.

The disciples of Golden Phoenix Manor concealed the radiance of the luminous beads above the temple, and let the darkness envelop the entire Langgan Terrace.

The guests raised their heads in amazement. They saw fireworks from several spells across the darkness, blooming in the air into a radiant golden phoenix, dancing lightly, announcing that the performances of the feast were about to begin. Jin FeiRen raised his wine glass and invited guests to share in the festivities again.

Song Qingshi marveled at the beauty of the Phoenix Dance, and admired it for a long while. Then he discovered that a young man in white clothes appeared next to Jin FeiRen. The young man had very clean and beautiful features, like green bamboo in the mountains, a bright moon in the sky. A layer of cold frost covered in his low eyebrows, his hair falling like a waterfall around his face. It was tied back with a ribbon. There were no other notable features on his whole body, but he still easily retained everyone's lingering gazes.

The tall and handsome owner was smiling and gently scratching the young man's palm with his fingers, praising his treasure in a gentle and soft voice, trying to get him to smile.

The young man turned his head away, despite the teasing. He didn't even want to spare him a glance.

Jin FeiRen twisted his head forcefully, and forced his hands behind his back with only one hand. He held him close in an embrace and kissed his forehead and the bridge of his nose carefully. Then he bit his lips hard, as if to he wanted to swallow him whole. The teenager struggled with pain, Jin FeiRen smiled and released him, leaning close to the youth's ear, and asked softly: "Do you want to learn the rules again?"

The young man froze for a moment. He stopped struggling, and sat obediently into Jin FeiRen's arms.

Was this the protagonist?

Song Qingshi secretly watched for a long time. He finally suppressed his social anxiety, ready to speak, and then LingBao Xianzun who had a good relationship with Jin FeiRen walked over and asked with a smile: "This is the new treasure of the Manor Lord? Is he pure? Does he have a good Yin constitution, a single spirit root of the water system? How about giving him to me to taste tonight?

Jin FeiRen glanced at the embarrassed and angry expression of the youth in his arms, gave him a squeeze, and refused with a smile: "Although he is just a toy, he suits my heart and it would be inconvenient to give him to you. Later, I will give my friends some top-quality products, all of them newly branded with excellent physiques and very clean."

LingBao Xianzun carefully looked at him. "Is your furnace still a virgin?"

Jin FeiRen said: "I don't want to treat him like an ordinary furnace."

Song Qingshi had already heard more obscene words tonight than he had in his lifetime. He understood everything that should be understood or even things that shouldn't be understood. He also understood clearly what a furnace was.

He watched as Jin FeiRen was pouring wine for the young man during the banquet, and he was a little unsure whether this was the protagonist. Although the white-clothed boy seemed to be more attractive than the other beauties present, the system had explained that the protagonist needs to be rescued from his miserable fate. Now Jin FeiRen was quite fond of the boy, and every beauty in the Banquet of Beauties was many times worse off than him. . .

Song Qingshi was anxious pondering these questions. . .

At this time, the phoenix finished its dance in the air, and fell into the crowd with a stream of light.

The light faded away, and a huge golden, carved bird appeared on the Langgan Terrace. On this bird frame was a beauty beautiful enough to destroy a city.

The gold fetters inlaid with jewels encircled his pure white ankles, and were tied to both sides of the bird frame with long thin golden chains. His upper body was caged with almost transparent thin fabric, and he could vaguely see the magnificent scenery decorated with gold jewels and jade underneath. On his lower body was a long dress in the shape of phoenix tail feathers made of gold and red feathers. His hair was adorned with pearls resembling mermaid's tears, the enchanting Acacia Seal on his back hidden by his long hair, flowing in the breeze. It was as beautiful as a phoenix with rich colors, the human peony in the world.

He held a jade flute in his hand, his thin lips slightly open, his beauty almost unnatural. The dark golden phoenix eyes seemed to be smiling but held no emotion, and he greeted the audience. Song Qingshi sat up straight. He recognized that this was the beauty in red that he had seen by the river bank.

When the red beauty glanced over at Song Qingshi, his eyes stayed for a while, then slid over as if he didn't recognize him.

Song Qingshi looked at the young man in white clothes on the left, who looked like a bright moon, and the beauty in red clothes on the right, who looked like peony in his prime. He was panicking; he couldn't tell who was more beautiful and more like the main character!

The exam questions of the system teacher were too difficult. . .　

Is Scholar-Tyrant Song going to fail his course?

#mistakenly saving the villain #chinese novel #chinese bl #english translation #song qingshi #mistakenly saving the villain translation

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every1studio · 4 years ago

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“heartstrings series: intro” [wayv]

genre: fluff + LONG

ficstyle: bulletpoints + series [INTRO]

summary: everyone knew you were in love with an oblivious boy but you didn’t know that others were in love with you

songs to listen to while reading this: you call it romance - k.will ft davichi + day 1 - k.will

note: (I’M SORRY I’M JUST WRITING MY OWN STUFF RIGHT NOW, BUT I’LL TRY TO GET TO MY REQUESTS ASAP)

you were a hopeless romantic

maybe you watched too many shoujo animes and read too many romance mangas

but it made you a sentimental person; one who stay up at night to look at the stars

a forgiving person; one who believe in second chances

an observant person; one who’s always in the background

if you were a character in a romcom drama, you would be the best friend of one of the most popular girls in the school

the one that’s just there to fill in space and have a couple lines to add onto the plot

the one that all the guys overlook because the one that they are looking at is the pretty girl that’s sitting next to you

and if guys did talk to you, they treated you like you were just one of the boys

you were used to it

but you always had a feeling that there will be someone for you

so you didn’t mind waiting

also because how can any regular guy compete with your 2D boyfriends

that was until you met Lucas

he was the new transfer student; and boy, oh boy, he was STUNNING

all the girls swooned for him in an instance

even you fell victim to the boy’s visuals

you heard he had a brother that was pretty good looking too but you were too busy admiring Lucas to see what he looked like

you could say he was your first, real crush

you were playing so many scenarios in your head that you didn’t see the tall boy exiting the bathroom

you were about fall on your butt but you felt his arms wrap around you

“are you okay?”

you looked up and saw someone you didn’t recognized

but he was pretty handsome, he looked like a prince

“y-yeah.. yeah I’m okay..” you muttered as he helped you up

“hey bro, you ready for basketball tryouts!” you recognized his voice, that was Lucas

your face got more and more red, the closer and closer he got

“oh hey you..” Lucas smiled as he offered a high five

your eyes widened as you received his high five, “you know me?”

“yeah~ you’re in my class! you know Hendery?” he points to the guy who’s still standing there

“no.. I just.. bumped into him..” you muttered, you had a hard time keeping eye contact with him

Hendery saw how flustered you were, but he knew you weren’t flustered over him

“hey.. I’m Hendery, Luca’s brother..”

your jaws slightly dropped, eyes shifted back and forth between the two handsome guys, “oh.. Oh...OH....”

“yeah, we gotta go to tryouts.. see ya later Y/N” Lucas waves at you before dragging Hendery

Hendery kept looking behind his shoulder at you, “you know she likes you right?”

“huh? her? nah, man.. I mean with MY face, I can see how she can be starstruck but I don’t think she’s like INTO ME, into me... hmm.. no yeah.. I don’t think so” Lucas babbles as he tries to play it off

Hendery face drops in disappointment, he can’t believe that his brother is so oblivious

he can’t believe that his brother can’t see that this beautiful girl has completely fallen for him.. like he fell for her

Hendery shoved his feelings aside for his brother

why?

because he was never strong enough show his feelings; that’s his weakness

you were looking for after school clubs that ended at the same time basketball practice

this is your last year of high school, maybe you should join a low effort club

so you thought it was a good chance to wait for Lucas; a confession would be too much but just talking would be fine, right?

you came across an empty music room; empty meaning there wasn’t anyone around but there was an abundance of instruments

you sat down with the guitar and started to strum and hum

you were so into it that you didn’t notice the quiet boy standing by the door

“hey do you wanna join our band?!” he was sounded so excited, he probably forgot that the room echoed

you almost dropped the guitar, “WHO ARE YOU?”

he puts his arms up to show that he’s innocent, “I-I’m Xiaojun from class 2-B..”

“oh you’re an underclassman... you’re in a band?” you asked as you relaxed

“yeah.. we need a vocalist and you got a great voice.. a sub guitarist wouldn’t be too bad ei..ther...”

Xiaojun’s sentence draws out as he sees your face clearly

you were so pretty in his eyes and your voice was the cherry on top

you placed the guitar down and smiled at him, “what makes you think I can’t be the main guitarist?”

he shook his daydreams away and smiled back at you, “because I’M the main guitarist..so you’re gonna have to fight me for it”

he’s just thinking how he’s finally talking to his crush since his 1st year of high school

BUT making sure that you didn’t know about his feelings because he wouldn’t know how to act or what to say

“hey Y/N, ready to go home?”

you turned to see your childhood friend and your neighbor; your surprised face melted into a warm smile

which worried Xiaojun

“hey Kun~”

“oh hey Xiaojun!” Kun goes over to pat Xiaojun on the back

“you know Xiaojun?”

“yeah we’re in a band!”

you frowned at your friend, “you never told me you were in a band!”

Kun pinches your cheeks, noting how cute you look when you pout, “yeah because if I did, I would have to introduce you to my good-looking band mates..”

you swatted his hands away

“yeah yeah whatever... now I know that you’re not in that weird cooking club..”

“he’s actually in that club..” Xiaojun said with a slip of the tongue which got Kun glaring at him

“it’s not weird...” Kun murmured

“hmm what is this aroma, is it oregano? mixed with rosemary? oh it has to be rosemary,” you clowned Kun for a conversation he had with a member from the cooking club back when you two were 1st years

Kun yells through his embarrassment and tries cover your mouth

Xiaojun kind of saw this moment in slow motion; it was like a cheesy scene out of a k-drama

“you guys dating?” he thought he said it in his head but he said it

out loud

for you and Kun to hear

“WHAT?” Kun’s ears started to get red

“NO!” you said at the same time

no one could see how Kun was slightly upset by your quick rejection tinged with a little bit of disgust

“Kun is like my brother! I’ve known him since I was a baby, that would be weird to date him..” you shuddered

Xiaojun nodded in relief and started to set up the room

“wow, you’re not gonna tell him that you used to call me “my prince charming” up until middle school?”

Kun tried to brush off his disappointment by making fun of you, he ruffled your hair

before you could say anything, he started to shove you out the door, “think about joining the band, but for now you gotta go.. we got practice!”

he shut the door on your way out

you stuck your tongue out at him

you looked at your phone to look at your time

“I need to go now or I’ll miss Lucas..”

you started to dash through the empty halls

you passed another guy but you didn’t pay too much attention to him

his hair grazed his lashes, he was adorned with lots of ear piercings, airpods in his ears, phone in his hands and had a pair of drumsticks not chicken in his tote

you made eye contact with him and he gave you a smirk of a smile

which made you look away so fast and suddenly you were thinking if you were running weird and started to fast walk instead

as you made it to the end of the hall, the boy had entered the music room

“hey Ten!” the two boys greeted him

“hey..”

you continued turned to see if the boy was gone before you started to run again

you didn’t want anyone to judge the way you ran or thought of you as the weird 3rd year student who spends her time after school running halls of the school

you cursed the school for being so big

you estimated that if would talk you a whole 3 minutes, if you ran, you would make it to the basketball courthouse that was separated from the gym

being as non-athletic as you were, you were having second thoughts if this boy was really more important than your lack of air

in those second thoughts, you ran into something

Newton’s first law of motion came into play

and the external force?

was brighter than the sun itself

AND?

you were laying, in pain, on that sun

“are you hurt?” the sun said with a smile

“what? no.. are YOU hurt? I’m SO sorry!!” you frantically got off him and offered your hand to help him up

he took it as he kept on smiling

“I have to go... I’m running late..once again, I’m sorry!!” you apologized as you fast walked

he smiled as he rubbed his chest, “that kinda hurt.. but for some reason.. I don’t mind it..”

“hey YangYang! are you gonna start the meeting or what?” the student council VP said through the doors down the opposite side of the hall

“yeah yeah.. coming!”

you finally made it to the gym so the basketball courthouse would only be around the corner

you spotted a tall guy with a bag similar to Lucas so you ran up to him

“hey Lucas!” you tried not to sound out of breath

when the guy turned around, you immediately started to apologize which you have doing a lot more today

“I’m sorry, I thought you were a friend of mine-”

“you’re Kun’s friend right?” he interrupted you

your brows knitted together in confusion, “you know me?”

“yeah.. Kun talks about you all the time.. I’m WinWin, I play the bass for same band as him..” he stuck his hand out for you to shake

you shook his hand as you saw a couple of girls you recognized from the Traditional Chinese Dance team giggle as they came up to WinWin, “good luck on your solo performance, WinWin..”

he nods at them and put his hand up to acknowledge them

“you have a solo performance? how do you have time to do both dancing and being in a band?”

he smiles at you as he hoists his bass case, “when you find things you love to do, you make time for them..”

and with that he left

“Y/N?”

you turned to see Lucas waving at you with Hendery by his side

you ran all this way and Lucas was the one to find you first

“hey Lucas... Hendery..” you gave them a small smile, mind was clouded with Winwin’s words

“you okay?” Lucas asked, Hendery looked just as worried

“yeah..” you were happy that Lucas seemed worried about you but you didn’t want him to, “are you free?”

“hmm? yeah I am now.. just gonna head to get something to eat with Hendery!”

Hendery read the lines of the situation and said, “you go with Y/N, I need to go home first. I got LOTS of homework and I can scavenge the something in the fridge..”

he was getting the keys to unlock his bike out from his bag

before either you or Lucas could put in a word, Hendery waved at you too, “see you when you get home! and get me something to-go! bye Y/N!”

and with that, he took off on his bike

Lucas rubbed the back of his neck; kind of confused by the situation and nervous because this is the first time he’s talking to you, by himself

he didn’t keep anything that Hendery told him before about you in his mind

“so.. are you okay with the diner on 7th Avenue? that’s where Hendery and I were gonna go, you know... we were craving burgers... and like, saw that that place had good reviews...so.. uh, you down?”

you smiled as you tucked the hairs in your face behind your ear, “yeah.. I’m down..”

you and Lucas made small talk on your way to the diner as he dragged his bike along

your shadows slightly touching each other even though there’s some distance between you and Lucas

the golden hour made his golden skin glow even more and you never thought that you could ever fall for anyone so effortlessly

he opened the door for you as he excitedly talk about his favorite combo of sweet and salty, “Y/N! Y/N! you HAVE to try the milkshake and fries together, it’s my guilty pleasure!!”

you couldn’t help but smile over his excitement of milkshakes and fries

and you couldn’t help but fall hopelessly more and more in love with him

is it possible to fall in love with him in only a day?

and is it possible for him to fall in love with someone like you?

only time will tell

will you be the one to pluck his heartstrings?

or will it be someone else..

or, will someone unexpected pluck your heart?

Are you still watching “The Heartstrings Series?” -Continue watching? -Exit

[ masterlist + guidelines ]

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unexpectedreylo · 4 years ago

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Yes, It’s Been Half A Decade Since TFA Was Released

Five years already? Geez!

If you’ve been following my humble Tumblr blog since the beginning, you’ll know I was not truly a Reylo until I saw TLJ. Before then, I was dealing with a movie that left me with a lot of mixed feelings. Why? I missed George Lucas for one thing. He has an indelible style that few can match and few really cared about that universe and its characters as much as he did. I was very unhappy to hear a month before TFA’s release that Disney tossed out his story and came up with something he didn’t really like very much (as later confirmed in Bob Iger’s memoir). As a long-suffering prequels fan I didn’t like either the vaguely anti-prequel tone the pre-release hype took. Whatever you do in life, don’t disrespect the man who created the GFFA.

The post-release hype probably annoyed me even more. Remember the doofuses screeching on t.v. that it was the best SW movie since TESB? LOL. (No, that would be ROTS and the only thing that came close since was TLJ.) I hated that a movie I felt was flawed not only got passes from the media that really trashed Lucas and everybody who worked on the prequels, but also got lavish Best 10 lists and award nominations. I was one bitter chickie for a while and later got a good laugh out of the backlash.

I thought it would be funny to post what I thought at the time, with added commentary:

Oh yes, the movie. My mother called it…it’s good, we all enjoyed it and were entertained, but Lucas’s touch is definitely missing. The romantic epic sweep of Eps I-VI, the goofy and whimsical touches, the feeling of being immersed in another galaxy, and Lucas’s gift for aesthetics aren’t there. The visuals don’t have that beauty and some of it is kinda ugly. The creature designs just aren’t as good. It’s not the kind of movie you watch dozens of times to catch little things. Even John Williams doesn’t have a knockout track like “Duel of the Fates” or “The Imperial March.” But it’s hard to think of how this was ever going to live up to any of it any more than I’d expect Suzanne Collins to write a Narnia book as good as C.S. Lewis. We lost those things when we lost Lucas.

I like the visuals a lot more now but TLJ’s cinematography rules the ST. Still feel the same about creature design; I see better aliens and creatures on The Mandalorian. One weird thing about the ST is how the filmmakers seemed to have avoided putting in anything at all that we’ve seen before. No Jawas, no Togrutas, no Twi’leks, no Zabraks, no Quarren, etc.. Just Chewbacca and Admiral Ackbar.

The music didn't leave much an impression on me at the time but now I love “Rey’s Theme,” “Kylo Ren’s Theme,” and “March of the Resistance.”

As long as we’re on that note, I’ll get to the film’s flaws first. The movie has a lot of snappy, arch, and funny dialogue but you can tell the script was cranked out in a hurry. It lacks the careful structure of its predecessors and cribs a little too much from ANH. Poe disappears and you are led to believe he’s dead then he suddenly shows up healthy and hale with no explanation. Abrams’s first Star Trek film was riddled with unbelievable coincidences and unfortunately this movie has some of those too, such as when Han and Chewie just happen upon the Falcon in space. The film does very little to set up what’s going on and why, such as why the hell is the Republic fighting the same a-holes after all of these years. Abrams prefers instead to keep the action going instead of doing much exposition, which is pretty much what he did with the Trek films. Those little moments in Lucas’s Star Wars films don’t happen much here. Things must always be occurring, which dumps all of the responsibility for character development and world building on Rian Johnson and Colin Trevorrow. I have no idea why they decided to be all teasy-weasy with who Rey’s parents are instead of just telling us. (I suspect Luke is her father.)

LOL! I guess the adoption by proxy thing at the very end of TROS proved me right or...did it? Yes, my first assumption after seeing TFA was that Rey and Kylo Ren were cousins.

As for the rest of it, I still feel the same. Rushed script, borrows too much from ANH, precious few explanations/set-up, not as good structure but still full of humor.

BB-8 is a charmer, Finn and Rey (who are so going to hook up) HA! But remember I thought Rey and Kylo were cousins! have some charm and potential growth as characters, and it was great seeing our old crew again even if not under ideal circumstances. (Personally I would’ve preferred NOT to have broken up Han and Leia.) Hux had some mustache-twirling moments and Abrams was at least smart enough not to kill off him, Ren, or Snoke just yet. Finn and Poe have a good rapport (maybe they’re going to hook up).

Stormpilot definitely pinged the slash-dar. It was completely unsurprising to find fans shipping them.

Abrams seemed to have avoided the mistake James Cameron made in “Avatar” when he killed off his most threatening villain while planning sequels. As you might have guessed, I was really shocked at Snoke’s death in TLJ. I wasn’t expecting that until IX. I was also really shocked at the casual, quick-get-rid-of-him ways both Hux and Ben were killed off in TROS.

The most compelling aspect of TFA for me was the Skywalker family drama, which made me wish it was more up front rather than a subplot. Ben Solo/Kylo Ren is a conflicted guy with a huge chip on his shoulder and it makes you wonder exactly what happened to him because I think he may have mental issues. Leia knows there’s still good in him but can a guy who commits patricide be saved? (RIP Han…I so knew this would happen because I figure it was the only way Ford would’ve done another film). Can his cousin/half-sister or whatever Rey save him? Would she want to? With Luke back in the picture and Artoo activated again, what will happen next? Even though they split up Han and Leia I liked the banter between them; it’s sad because they clearly still loved each other.

This is still true for me. A few days after posting this it struck me just how nihilistic TFA was because I found Han and Leia’s split unnecessary (had Han gone out for Chinese food or on a mission for the Resistance instead of just being a loser smuggler, it wouldn’t have changed anything that happened in the film) and what I thought was Kylo’s certain fate to be a narrative bummer. TLJ made me think they weren’t going on that direction only to be proven right in TROS (sadly).

I’ll dispense with the stupid Snoke is Plageuis theory and my dad wondering if Finn was Mace Windu’s lost son or something, though I’ll give him half a point for Finn turning out to be Force-sensitive after all.

I don’t know why people have said this takes them back to the ’70s because the film really is a 2015 movie made for an audience reared largely on the MCU, YA flicks, and other staples of contemporary geek culture. It is what it is and we aren’t going to get back the films of George Lucas and his influence. TFA might not be an awesome Star Wars movie but it is at least a good sci-fi action flick.

I still stand by most of this. Time and TLJ made TFA a better movie in my eyes.

#tfa #star wars #sequel trilogy #reylo #kylo ren #ben solo #rey #jj abrams

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woo-do-hwan · 5 years ago

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Eternal Love of Dream: episode 56

The final episode. Ah... here at last. This also includes my review about the drama as a whole... so if you want to check that out... you’re in the right place I guess?

Last time we’ll be seeing the opening credits. I don’t really tend to rewatch dramas unless there’s a strong compelling reason that draws me back to it. I would just also like to give a shout out to the staff or person behind these beautiful opening credits. The background and colours *chef’s kiss*

Some praise for the special effects one last time.

You sure do doubt Donghua a lot.

Very practical thinking here... like... is no one going to stop her? Did you forget about your child? Bai Gungun has not spent a day away from his mother until she came back up to the nine heavens, and yet, she’s willing to go die with the love of her life with not a single thought about her baby. I mean... I do get that there are people who would be willing to do this but when there’s a kid involved, I would also think about the kid too. Also I’ve always wondered whether Fengjiu would have told Donghua about Bai Gungun. Would she have told him in this situation or she left and Donghua didn’t have to succumb to his fate.

It is his fate after all.

The evil queen gave us an iconic eye roll. I’m so sorry I have to give it to her. Yes. Queen.

What a badass couple they are.

Ngl gonna miss her. She was iconic. But also props to the writing team, they had to make do with who they had actor wise. (In the novel, Ye Hua, Mo Yuan & Bai Qian are involved in this final fight as well)

I recently reread this scene in the novel and let me tell you, I teared up.

Will I ever get tired of the love confessions being told at the last minute? Probably not.

I felt this.

Is it just me or is Donghua an acoustically pleasing name to hear? Sounds weird I know but I love the pronunciations of some words in different languages.

The most upsetting part of this episode was not because the series is ending (well has already ended) but the last thought Fengjiu had before she fell unconscious was Donghua being potentially dead.

I’m still not on board with this couple... Yan Chiwu deserves so much more.

I dig this friendship though.

My bby is back.

Love this. Especially Xiao Yan’s reaction. I kind of wanted it to be dramatic and Xiao Yan would faint, I could imagine him doing that.

Finally they meet. This also marks the end of the novel.

Beautiful.

BEAUTIFUL.

Ahhhh... Bai Gungun gets the final line of the series. Too stinking cute.

I bid you all adieu... thank you for your patience, lovely comments and thoughts on this drama. But before I finish, let’s do an overall review.

Would I recommend this drama? Yes. Will I be rewatching? Maybe. Do I prefer the novel or the show? Novel. *I’m just a book person...*

Viewers who consumed the hit Chinese drama, Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms (Eternal Love) will also recognise cast returning to their respective roles. Dilraba Dilmurat, Gao Weiguang, Li Dongheng and Wang Xiao all return bringing a familiar essence to the show. However, there are fresh faces that each brings something new and exciting to the show: Huang Junjie, Baron Chen, Yuan Yu Xuan and Fang Zhi Xin.

The main focus of this drama is one couple navigating together - sometimes not - through three lifetimes. Our leads, Fengjiu (Dilraba Dilmurat) and Donghua (Gao Weiguang) are supposed to have no fate with one another. However, Fengjiu, the female lead, refuses to believe this and consistently follows the male lead. What little destiny they had together begins to form into one and probably considered to be an epic one at that, in its own way. A drama that you can easily be swept away in through its storytelling, chemistry or the moments that can easily make you laugh. It's relatively easy-going and watchable at either a binging rate or a relaxed pace. By the end, you'll find yourself to be charmed by the sweet and well deserved ending for the main leads.

There’s just a couple of things I want to nitpick briefly, (please remember just because they didn’t sit well with me you may find they were alright).

1. I felt there was a lack of relationship building between Fengjiu & Ye Qingti. When I look back on their scenes together, there hardly feels as if a friendship was formed between them. In the novel, it’s just mentioned Ye Qingti was Fengjiu’s husband and I think that aspect would have worked quite well. 2. I wish we saw more of Donghua’s despair, his heartbreak and his pain after Fengjiu disappeared. The search for Fengjiu was so extensive, he didn’t want to lose her, he assumed Fengjiu had gone to the mortal realm but didn’t check for her there because there was billions of realms. The scenes I wanted to see with Donghua were taken away and the brief search for Fengjiu was given to Cheng Yu and Lian Song. 3. I really hoped to have seen a scene between Donghua & Bai Qian (Donghua personally invites Bai Qian to view blooming lotuses however the subject changes to Fengjiu) The scene is included in the show however between Lian Song, Bai Zhen and Zhe Yan. 4. Some of the camera shots. For example, when Fengjiu discovers she is pregnant and the camera zooms in. I felt they were really out of place and slightly awkward.

Overall rating: 9/10

episodes 54 & 55

episode 1

#dilraba dilmurat #gao weiguang #huang junjie #baron chen #li dongheng #wang xiao #cdrama #chinese drama #cdrama review #review #three lives three worlds the pillow book #the pillow book #eternal love of dream #ep 56

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fal-carrington · 5 years ago

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Heyy!I love your writing very much!Could you please write a story where MC is jealous after Kamilah has been flirted by another girl?😙

I’m sorry for taking so long, anon. Thank you! Please don’t give up on me 😅🥰 jealous Mc that is!

It was a meeting. A stupid meeting that had lasted almost two fucking hours to end. I watched her intently from the other side of Raines Corp's boardroom, most of the time trying to avoid looking at her and keeping my eyes on anything other than the CEO who stood out among other executives in that room.

I should have been doing my job, — being damn professional for once in my life — But how can you think of being a professional when you fall in love with your boss's best friend, who happened to be a CEO of a multi-billion dollar company? I was fucked and miserably failing to accomplish that feat. Adrian had started a new partnership with Kamilah's company, and another Arizona company that was a pioneer in wind energy. He was excited to develop a new project that he had been working on for months.

It had been a while since I had seen that sparkle in his eyes. That pure joy and excitement. It was almost heartening to see him so happy, except… if it weren't for the scene before me. Kamilah was incredibly dapper in that white Armani suit, her Egyptian gold necklace bringing the expected attention, shining on her tanned skin. Her straight brown hair fixed in that perfect hairstyle, she was the definition of perfection. Sitting cross-legged at the other end of the table, with a calm yet authoritative look on her gorgeous face.

And I was drooling again like the proud dumbass that I am. Maybe I am the biggest dumbass who ever lived.

But even in my intoxicated state of drooling over my near-maybe-girlfriend (?) I could see the glances the CEO of Sunlight Co was giving to Kamilah. They were not discreet looks — they were curious, attentive looks... And behind that charismatic smile and bitchy face... was desire? Fuck me. I didn't spend months trying to get rid of Gaius and the risk he generated not only for me and my friends, but maybe for our possible-maybe-relationship (?) To get a newbie at this point of the competition so fast. I just killed that bastard for nothing?

The CEO who gave Kamilah curious looks was a woman — perhaps in her thirties — looking older than me. Her name was Carmen Olsen. She had black hair and dark skin with amber brown eyes. She was attractive. Way more attractive than I'd like to admit. Clearly a successful and older woman. Maybe Kamilah’s type?

That thought made my stomach turn, if I still had something in my stomach and were human, maybe I'd throw up right here. I clenched my fists, and pressed them against the fabric of my skirt, keeping my eyes locked on the iPad in my hands. Trying to control my breathing, my fangs who stubbornly were threatening to surge. I have to make the red blood in my eyes disappear. Urgently. I knew perfectly well where my place was.

We were not in a relationship she’s free to see whoever she wants to see. Just like me. She’s my maker, my mentor, my friend... Fuck, why this hurts so damn bad?

Because you’re in love with her you dumbass.

Now Kamilah watched her closely, both of them exchanging words briefly, Kamilah's expression unreadable all the time, until the moment a small smile appeared on the curves of her red lips... making one of her dimples appear. Shit. She nodded at the woman's comment and the latter laughed back. Since when they’re such close friends?

When Adrian finished the meeting and shook hands with his fellow executives, they both lagged behind. I avoided looking at the scene, or at least tried. Trying to get busy at my desk and failing anyway. I could hear Carmen's comments, praising her from Kamilah's suit to her purse and the unnecessary touches she made on her arm.

I leaned over my desk, rolling my eyes at the comments I was unwilling to hear, scanning a stack of papers in the printer, trying to ignore the tightness and warmth in my chest. Stupid Carmen, damn company, damn time Adrian had to have this idea of a deal. So many companies in America and he had to choose just this one? Fuck me.

I looked up from the printer for just two seconds and found a pair of intense brown eyes staring back at me. Those eyes. Those gorgeous eyes I've spent nights trying to memorize every trace of them. I felt the flush on my cheeks come back, and my heart speed up at the look Kamilah was shooting at me. An intense and penetrating look.

Carmen keeps talking excitedly beside her, but Kamilah was looking at me. Before I could do anything, she winked at me. It was brief. Fast. And incredibly seductive. I was so completely distracted and in a trance that I barely noticed that the paper had stuck until the printer made a monstrous noise.

“Shit, shit,” I said hurriedly trying to save the rest of my work, and from the corner of my eyes, I saw the silent chuckle Kamilah gave when she saw the scene.

I sighed as I finally managed to fix the shit I'd done. I ripped the paper and threw it in the trash.

“I didn't realize you and the printer were on bad terms.” I heard Kamilah's familiar hoarse voice behind me, which made me jump with the sudden approach. I knew perfectly well that I was still in the process of enhancing my powers... But she could approach me so quietly. It was almost impossible not to notice.

"She hates me." I said shrugging and turning to look at her. Kamilah watched me curiously. "It's nothing new to me."

"Maybe next time you're not so distracted." She tilted her head slightly, I let out a laugh.

"I'll keep that in mind next time when you try to throw your charm on me." I said with the papers on my hands.

“I... I wasn’t.” Kamilah tried to argue, but she saw the smile on my face. “Oh, you’re teasing me. Well... it worked?” Kamilah asked, flashing a wide, slow smile that was dazzling and incredibly bright.

I opened my mouth to respond when I heard Carmen's annoying voice behind Kamilah.

"Shall we?" She asked, smiling and too excited for my taste.

"Yes," Kamilah said with her eyes still on me. I looked between them, feeling my throat close again and that tightness in my chest return. Where were they going? Going out together? Oh God...

"Tell Adrian I'll be in touch tomorrow, and I'm out for a drink with Carmen, right?"

"Uh... Right." I could barely tell by looking into her eyes. The sound of the elevator doors was enough to make me collapse in my chair and sigh, trying not to cry.

...

3 days later

“Hey! So, I'm already going on my date, and… ” Lily jumped excitedly toward the living room but stopped at her tracks. "Girl please tell me you're not watching dirty dance again." Lily alternated her eyes between me, lying on the couch and the television.

Lily watched in horror at the me, my blond hair was trapped in a disheveled bun, and I was wearing a knee-length sweatshirt of my old university, my eyes were probably red from crying as I sucked blood from a blood bag

"Shhh, I love that part." I gestured with my hand to get Lily out of the way. “It’s so beautiful.” I sobbed.

“Girl you watch this movie every time you're sad. Oh come on, you're doing drama for nothing, maybe they're just friends and they went out for a drink. We do it all the time. Does not mean anything."

“She was touching Kamilah nonstop, Lily!” I emerged from behind her blankets. “I never touched her like that all the time. I know she likes her space and I respect that. I know I’m not her girlfriend or anything, but...”

“You guys are so complicated. More complicated than the Kardashians, to say the least. I don’t know why you guys don’t make official already. Everybody knows about you two.”

"Well you know Kamilah, she has an image to keep, she's important and blahblah..." I hide under the blankets again.

"So this is your plan?" Lily crossed her arms. "Watching dirty dance for the fifteenth time and suffering under the blanket?"

"Yes, until I get old."

"Girl you dumb you're immortal," Lily pointed out.

“Uh, yeah. So until next week. And don't mind, I have footloose recorded on TV and it will be my next victim.” I said.

“You’re hopeless, do you know that? Well, I have a date to go. Don’t be dead at the time I go home, alright?” She said and I nodded sipping more blood watching her go.

I grabbed my cell phone from the coffee table. There were 5 messages. One from Adrian, one from Jax and three from Kamilah. I decided to ignore them and searched the contact list on my phone until I found the rest of the Chinese restaurant I wanted.

A few minutes had passed since Lily's departure, when the doorbell rang and I stumbled to answer it. Hoping it was the Chinese restaurant.

“Good night.” And there she was, like a vision exclusively from my personal hell, dazzling standing at my door, like my own demon coming to fetch my soul, which I would give gladly and spontaneously. Kamilah.

#choices you play #bloodbound #kamilah sayeed #bb #kamilah x mc

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ick25 · 4 years ago

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What I think about Inuyasha’s writing.

I used to be a huge Inuyasha fan because I watched it in my teen years (The Latin Spanish dub, not the English dub where I find their voices to be pretty annoying). I would stay awake until eleven o’ clock just to watch a new episode on Cartoon Network and sing along with the translated versions of the intros. My early submissions on Deviantart were fanarts of Inuyasha, I used to draw him like crazy, and the show is even one of my original comic’s main inspirations. So what happened?

I love Inuyasha’s character, but as I grew older, I started hating or not caring about the other characters of the show (Except for Sesshomaru, of course) and grew tired of the story because I felt it wasn’t going anywhere. Inuyasha has good writing, but the pacing and how sometimes you can’t really take it seriously ruins it for me.

I want to talk about this now since I just heard about the sequel that is gonna happen soon with Inuyasha’s Lina Inverse of a daughter and Sesshomaru’s very confused twin daughters, and I’m thinking to myself: “How is Rumiko gonna ruin this story even more”. Don’t get me wrong, the creator, Rumiko Takahashii, is a very talented manga artist and writer, and I respect her, at one point I even saw her as my heroine, but now I want to surpass her.

How can Inuyasha, a story about a half demon, who falls in love with the reincarnation of his ex-girlfriend who can travel through time whenever she feels like it, has a hot demon brother that tried to kill him several times, wields a powerful magical sword forged from the fang of his deceased yet very famous demon father who I want to know more about, a dead human mother who may or may not have been a princess... Where was I going with this? o_o

As an aspiring storyteller/ animator, I want to talk about the problems with Inuyasha’s story, the things I love about it, as well as the bad things in it, and see why Inuyasha isn’t the writing masterpiece everyone likes to believe it is. And by the end, talking about what I would do to improve the story.

This is how I analyze Inuyasha. I never read the manga, so I’m gonna focus on the anime.

1. Inuyasha is a romantic comedy?

Rumiko Takashii is a successful manga artist and considered “The queen of anime”, because her art Style and humor have inspired many of the anime cliches we know today such as the nose bleeds shots, the beach episodes with fan service, and good o’l scenes where the girl calls a boy a pervert before comically sending them flying. She is the creator of another famous work called Ranma 1/2, an anime I used to love as a kid, but now...

I studied how to draw and create mangas and I have learned how to make a good story. After returning to Ranma recently, I have figured out the problem with Inuyasha, Rumiko Takahashii’s style is repetitive. Rumiko is capable of writing a good plot and creating very good characters from time to time, but now many of her main characters feel very cliche. In her stories there is always gonna be a pervert, there is always gonna be a bad parent, a rivalry, crazy and or exaggerated situations, goofy looking characters, wise old men or women, beautiful female characters, Japanese or Chinese folklore, fighting, but most importantly, a girl with a love/hate relationship with a dumb, rowdy tsundere boy, where they argue so much that the girl ends up physically abusing the boy and the show passes it for something funny; and those are the ingredients for making a Rumiko Takahashii styled manga/anime.

Rumiko’s forte is in Romantic comedy, sometimes mixing different genres makes a story good and very realistic... If done right, which brings me to my next point.

2. Time travel just for fun.

What is Inuyasha about? It is about a half-demon teenage boy that has to partner with a teenage girl from the modern times, who accidentally travels through time via a magical well that has been in her family’s shinto shrine for generations, to find the shards of a powerful magical jewel that said girl accidentally shatters and scatters all over feudal Japan. This idea alone makes it a very interesting series, either for a book or a TV show.

What went wrong then? I believe the problem started around the third episode were it was shown that Kagome can easily go back to the present, have dinner with her family, take a bath, gather provisions, and even take her god damn bike with her to the past every time she wants without caring about creating a time paradox.

This is played for laughs because of the romantic comedy element, but if you do this in an show with action, deaths, and evil spirits wanting to take over the world, then that fact alone makes the entire story lose credibility, I mean, what is stopping Naraku or any other demon from finding a way to travel to the future through the well to take over a world where demons and magical powers are basically extinct? The fact that only Kagome AND Inuyasha are the only ones who can go through the well? How convenient!

If the time travel well was taken more seriously it could’ve lead to a much more interesting story, but apparently nobody cares about time travel and the effects it could have in the history of Japan. I think there were two instances that I recall from the anime (Before Inuyasha Second Act, because I already stopped caring about the show when it came out) where time travel was or could’ve been relevant; the episode about the man eating mask that had a Shikon shard for hundreds of years, and the second movie of Inuyasha where the whole group was immune to a time stopping spell because Kagome’s medical kit and necklace from the future created some kind of time barrier around them.

And nobody cared about any of those things afterwards! Not the fact that there could’ve been one extra shard, or that Naraku was present during the time barrier incident and never wondered about it. Both the episode and movie scene were just ways to have Inuyasha being the only one who can come to Kagome’s rescue because their love is the main focus. Speaking of love...

3. Frustrating love drama.

Part of Inuyasha’s tsundere personality comes from the fact that he had his heart broken by everyone’s favorite b***, Kikyo.

Kikyo was the young priestess who sealed Inuyasha in a tree for 50 years, at first it looked like the typical holy person trying to protect her village from a dangerous demon, but in reality, she was in a relationship with him and thought that Inuyasha tricked her so he could steal the Shikon jewel from her. This was because everyone’s favorite a**h*** , Naraku, shape-shifted into both of them to trick them into killing each other.

It’s easy to blame Naraku for this, but that actually shows how they didn’t really “love” each other because of how quickly they turned against the other.

I take this as a cautionary tale for first love. Inuyasha was just infatuated with Kikyo because of her beauty and kindness towards him, and when someone falls in love for the first time they don’t think straight, they don’t know what a real relationship entails, and not knowing that is exactly what happened to these two.

There was a special episode in the anime where we see how Inuyasha and Kikyo met and fell in love, in it we get a scene where Kikyo told Inuyasha that she was gonna give him a gift, which was gonna be the subduing necklace that Kagome tends to abuse a lot, however, Inuyasha decided to give her a gift as well, his mother’s lip balm she left him after dying. A very sweet gesture, right? How does Kikyo react to this?

That’s not a look of love, that’s a look of pity. RECIPROCATE, WOMAN! HE OPENED HIS HEART TO YOU AND YOU JUST FEEL SORRY FOR HIM?!

She does end up changing her mind about the subduing charm, but before this, she didn’t saw him as a person, and she was considered a saint by everyone in the village, but I guess that feeding the poor, nursing people, and playing with children is alright as long as they are humans, that’s almost racist. I hate Shippo, but I bet she wouldn’t be so caring about him or his dad if she saw them.

Kikyo absolutely sucks as a romantic partner! She doesn’t express anything, she doesn’t talk about her feelings, she doesn’t show any emotion apart from anger and slight contentment, and based on what we saw after Naraku set them up, I believe she never told him ANYTHING about herself. Unlike Kagome who he got to know very well as a person, Inuyasha didn’t even questioned her motives for attacking him, he automatically assumed that she manipulated him the whole time, and ran to the village to get the Shikon Jewel.

Rumiko wanted to make Kikyo more relatable so we could feel sorry for her and pass Naraku as an evil monster who destroyed what could’ve been a beautiful relationship, by having Kikyo wanting to live life as a normal girl, but can’t because she is the only one who can keep the Shikon jewel from being corrupted, and ultimately falling in love with Inuyasha because he saw her as a normal person (Unlike her with him). Well, it didn’t work, at least not for me.

I did feel sympathy for Kikyo... When she was alive! The series had a witch bring her back to life in a body made out of clay and using part of Kagome’s soul because she is the reincarnation of Kikyo. Why do this? To create drama by adding a love triangle into this romantic comedy of a show.

Feels like Rumiko doesn’t understand how reincarnation works because I think Kagome would’ve died during that ritual, and I really doubt Kikyo would’ve become such a B just out of jealousy; she wanted to take Inuyasha to hell with her, and he was not even dead yet! If this Kikyo really loved him, she would’ve let him go on with his life instead of roaming Japan feeling sorry for herself, taking advantage of a situation to keep Kagome away from Inuyasha, and barely doing anything to stop Naraku which was supposed to be her main goal. All of this made Kikyo unlikable instead of a relatable character trying to fix her past mistakes before going back to the grave.

4. Inuyasha’s background.

Something I absolutely love from Inuyasha’s story is the fact that it is set during a historical time period in Japan but with magical elements incorporated since many of the Japanese myths and folklore originated during those dark times. I love the fact that since everything was so dark back then, people would often see things that weren’t really there and made up stories to explain certain phenomena or just to keep children from misbehaving.

Inuyasha is full of Japanese folktales and magical creatures, and it clearly took inspiration from “Journey to the west”, a classic Chinese novel that’s one of the best adventure/ fantasy stories of all time, and that’s also been the main inspiration for many mangas and animes; it’s one of my favorites too.

Inuyasha’s background is one of the most interesting ones I’ve ever seen, it’s something common in fairy tales and myths where a human falls in love with a being from a magical race, like fairies, mermaids, gods, or in Asian folklore’s case, spirits or demons. In Inuyasha’s case, his mother was a human named Izayoi who fell in love with a powerful dog demon named Toga who was known as Inu no taisho (Dog general), animal spirits or demons can take human form, and the dog spirits are very common in Japanese folklore.

The third movie of Inuyasha shows us what Toga looked like before and how he died, and I’m actually more interested in how Inuyasha’s parents met more than his love triangle drama. In fact, Toga’s story sounds much more interesting because he was built up as this great demon lord who fought countless enemies, he was a gigantic dog monster that stopped a demon invasion from China, he could destroy multiple armies with one swing of a sword he forged from one of his fangs, he had disciples and loyal subjects, but he ultimately lost his status, he let his reputation be destroyed because he fell in love with a woman from a race that was considered inferior, and had a half demon child with her.

One of Inuyasha’s motivation’s (the main one being killing Naraku) is proving that he is stronger than his father who was a full demon, while Inuyasha himself is considered a weak half human who is unworthy of the tittle of being a descendant of Inu no taisho. Every time Inuyasha hears about a demon that his father couldn’t defeat in the past, he gets excited because, with the powerful sword his dad left him, he now has a chance to prove to everyone that he is not weak and that he is stronger than his father was.

Inuyasha never met his father because Toga died the very day he was born, so he was raised by his mother who died when he was still a child. His older brother, Sesshomaru, is a full demon that never really forgave his father for throwing his reputation away because of a human woman, and leaving him a magical sword that can also resurrect the dead instead of the one that can destroy numerous souls in one blow.

I’m not really sure, but I think the Sesshomaru from the beginning of the third movie looked like he was around Inuyasha’s age when Toga died.

Before:

After:

I like to think that’s the case.

Inuyasha’s background alone can hold up the entire series, as well as his tense relationship with his only living relative, however, the main focus is something else, something that I personally find very repetitive, boring, and even lame.

5. Is Naraku really worth it?

Note that I am not defending Naraku, he is unlikable, mainly because of all the bad things he’s done to the main characters, but the truth is that I don’t really hate him as much as I should, granted, he is a manipulative b*st**d and I don’t like him, but he is just evil for the sake of being evil in the story. If anything, I see him as pathetic.

Let’s see his main crimes: He cursed Miroku’s family, for some reason, killed Sango’s entire family by using her inexperience demon slayer little brother as a puppet, he basically conned Sesshomaru in hopes of killing Inuyasha, but most importantly, he is the reason Inuyasha and Kikyo broke up! :0

To me, Naraku is just a coward that likes to manipulate others for his own personal gain, he was born from a bandit named Onigumo who was burned in a fire after betraying the leader of his group of thieves so he could take his place, and allowed his bodied to be consumed by demons in order to get... Kikyo! The gross part is that Kikyo was like 15 at the time while he could easily be in his 20′s or 30′s. Kikyo, being a “saint”, found Onigumo’s burned body and nursed him in a cave, this ultimately made the bandit fall in love with her and allowed his body to be devoured by evil spirits in exchange for power, he was then reborn as Naraku who is basically a half demon like Inuyasha.

I heard that the manga didn’t really mentioned Naraku’s past life, but I think that’s for the best. Naraku became Inuyasha’s group’s ( and other characters’s) main target, but every single time they find him and think they got him cornered, he manages to escape in some way because of how much of a coward he really is. Because this happens over and over and over and over again in every season, it get’s tiresome and frustrating, to the point where I even ask myself: “Is this MF even worth it?!” Anyone would’ve just given up a long time ago. I liked it when they focused on fighting other demons and enemies with different motives, but after a while it was just Naraku, Naraku, Naraku!

At some point I even forgot what started this adventure in the first place, the Shikon Jewel shards that were accidentally shattered and scattered through out Japan! One shard alone can power up a demon, this idea alone makes it an interesting story, collect the shards before Japan is destroyed by overpowered demons and evil spirits, but no, turns out Naraku is collecting the shards too to the point that he already has a nearly complete jewel, well, that saves a lot of time!

I know, killing Naraku will get rid of Miroku’s wind tunnel curse, free Sango’s undead brother from his control, and Sesshomaru and other demons wanting revenge because he tried to use them, but what’s really Inuyasha’s beef with Naraku? Is he just mad because Naraku showed him just how totally incompatible he was with Kikyo? That’s what pisses me the most, to be honest.

As for Kagome, she definitely has no reason to be there, Naraku is the main antagonist and yet, he is kinda indifferent to Kagome. I don’t remember seeing Naraku doing anything bad to her or her family living in modern times that can be accessed through a magical well where he could easily... You know what? I’m done here.

Conclusion.

Inuyasha’s story has so much potential and yet it doesn’t take itself too serious. As I mentioned before, Inuyasha is treated more as a romantic comedy than a fantastical adventure kind of story. there is so much dept to the world building, but when focusing only on Inuyasha and Kagome falling in love, nothing else seem to matter. This could’ve worked if it had better writing. A simple or silly premise for a story can work if it has clever writing, something that Inuyasha really needed at times.

I liked to be surprised with clever writing in movies and shows, but if it was up to me, I’d definitely change a few things.

1. If you want a serious story, make Kagome be stuck in feudal Japan until the shards of the Shikon Jewel are recovered, or if this has to stay, don’t make the the stakes in the adventure so dire, either its a fantastical journey with two teenagers falling in love as the main focus, or a very serious adventure where their love is the only thing that can save the day.

2. Make Inuyasha and kikyo just friends, the love drama is unnecessary, specially since kikyo has almost no personality what so ever, unless you re-write her entire character. Or make Inuyasha fall in love with Kikyo, but Kikyo doesn’t feel the same and just sees him as a good friend, that at least would create some drama instead of the jealous ex-girlfriend that wants to kill everyone because she lost her chance in life.

3. Get rid of Naraku, the ultimate villain troupe gets tired very quickly, specially in a very long show that takes like 8 seasons to end. Or at least write him better and not turn the show into an endless chase for just one guy, specially since the main goal is to collect the shards of the Shikon jewel to destroy it once and for all.

This is just my opinion of course, and if you like the show just the way it is, then that’s alright, but seeing things you like with a critical eye, makes you appreciate them even more.

#Inuyasha #anime #my review #ick25

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dramaclover · 5 years ago

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Ending & Thoughts: Brutally Young

This was a drama I’ve been looking forward to watch since it was announced. It had a uniquely fresh cast. An awesome sounding storyline and intriguing drama title. The Chinese title roughly translates into “Confession of Murder: 18 Years Later”. I wish the English title was similar to it.

Okay acting wise, it’s pretty good. Mostly solid actors in this drama. One thing I’m confused about was the amount of praised that went towards Shaun Tams portrayal of Sam. Sam was a character that always stayed calm and smart. So Shaun didn’t really show his emotions. It didn’t involve a lot of acting skills? His voice was monotone the whole time. His facial expressions weren’t that impressive. I honestly think his acting here is no different from when he was in “The Stunt”. His character there was also just calm. But I think why people think he was great is cause of the character he protrayed. Sam ultimately became the underdog you wanted to root for. He had a strong sense of justice despite what happened 18 years ago. He was severely loyal, one of the biggest reason he never turned himself in is cause he didn’t want to drag the others with him. And you just felt bad for his character, he’s just as much as a victim. And we saw how he spiraled out of control cause of his guilt. The character is what made the audience sympathize him and looked beyond Shauns acting. I’ve always said acting doesn’t matter, what matters is what character you get. If Michael Tse never gotten the role of “Laughing gor” he’d still be acting in supporting roles. Hugo Wong was casted as the charming Caesar in “Airport Strikers” and guess what? Everyone forgot about what a douchebag he is in real life from cheating with a married woman to impregnating a fan. And so this also falls under the category of “likeable character with mediocre acting”. I mean Shaun Tam wasn’t bad, but he’s not Best Actor material that everyone says he is. I still think he was very wooden, he was only good towards the end when he was going crazy with guilt.

Mandy Wong was highly praised by the staff, so I was waiting to see the powerful acting they were raving about. I didn’t see it. I kept watching every episode to see it, but I never did. When she lost her Mom and was upset about her Dad... I didn’t feel her pain. Like I felt bad but not enough that it effected me. And her character went from super confident to strong to just being blind to everything else. Was it cause of her love for Sam? Was it cause losing her Mom effected the way she thinks? I don’t know but I was very disappointed that her character didn’t do more, she just took a backseat during the rest of the last episodes.

I was shocked that Elvina Kong had such a small role. It wasn’t even a special character and she got killed off so quickly. Vivien Yeo, Griselda Yeung we’re pretty useless characters. They were literally there for the sake of mandatory love interests. As much as I loved Viviens portrayal of Ah Seen as a deaf woman, her character was a bore. Sometimes her story with Joel’s Ah Yat didn’t mesh well with the drama. In fact I’m still wondering when Ah Yat even fell for her. I thought I missed an episode. Ah Seen always had a crush on him but for Ah Yat it came out of nowhere. I wish they had just taken out the romance factors and just stuck with bromance instead.

The bromance was what made me continue to watch. It was so fun to see the friends meet up again. Especially when Chui Siu shows up. The mini flashbacks to when they were all at high school hanging out together, shooting basketballs, and eating out it shows what a tight knit group of friends they were. They were so tight that they were willing to bury the body together as to not let any one of their friends get in trouble. And it shows even though they haven’t seen each other in 18 years, they were able to pick up where they left off. It just sucks how haunted they are from the incident years ago. I wonder if that night, they had all just sat down and talked to each other about what just happened... what would change? If Ah Yat had said “No I did not murder him, when I got here he was already dead”. What would’ve happened? Would they believe Ah Yat and call the cops? Would they be afraid of each other since that means between the 7 of them one was a murderer that was willing to pin it on someone else? Ah Yat, was such an amazing character. He took the blame all these years, when he didn’t even know who actually did it. He just thought one of the 7 did it but was too scared to admit to it, so he helped him. The friendship dynamic was interesting and I had wished that all 7 had gotten back together before the killing started. It would’ve been horror movie-esque if one by one they died. Unfortunately the first friend was killed off before the 5 could successfully gather together. While the second friend was murdered before meeting the final friend Daan Taat. So technically it was the 4 of them that remained in touched and trying to solve the mystery form 18 years ago. The 4 of them would cover for each other not just cause they’re scared of getting exposed but because they genuinely don’t want to see one another go to jail. I was especially touched by how Ah Yat was willing to go through lengths for his friends. 100% loyalty even though his character got the tragic ending.

The first 2 weeks were soooo gripping. They would show partial flashbacks of what happened that night. And on the side they’re trying to figure out why their friends are getting murdered. Absolutely what a thriller should be. But. But then they revealed the killer. Which I thought was too early, so I thought there would be a plot twist (there wasn’t any). I thought maybe Sam had a split personality disorder and was actually the murder. But that wasn’t it. It turned out to be a random schoolmate he invited to the bbq out of awkwardness. I got goosebumps when they suddenly remembered how there was an 8th person there that night. They were so caught up with the moment they completely forgot about him. After it was revealed he was the killer, the thriller factor was no longer there. It then shifted focus on to Sams murder and how he’s slowly going to the dark side. Which wasn’t that interesting to watch as we saw Mandys character getting more and more dumb. I really thought there would be more to the story from 18 years ago. Like maybe the person they buried wasn’t actually dead yet. Or it was actually an accidental death or something. But nope, there wasn’t any twists the mystery just got solved early. I also wished they had shown more flashbacks of the night. Like 7 different flashbacks to show the perspective of the 7 boys. It would’ve been thrilling to watch.

I knew from the beginning Ah Yat would die. He had all the characteristics in the making of someone who has to die in the end. Number 1, he’s in the triad. He’s never gonna make it out alive. Even if you quit and go into hiding, they will find you. You could never really “retire” from that life. Number 2, he’s that obligatory best friend of the lead that is fearlessly loyal. And number 3, he got his girlfriend preggo. In TVB world that means you’re public enemy number 1 and must die. I just didn’t calculate he would die from stopping Ah Yat from stabbing someone else. What good would that do? He still has to go to jail for stabbing you to death. Stabbing him or stabbing you it’s still murder. And if you think he’ll have “less regret” cause you’re the one that dies, is just wrong thinking. If anything it makes him even more regretful. He killed his best friend. You can’t even say “it’s cause of Ah Yats death he turned himself in” cause he didn’t. He got surrounded by cops and then got locked up. The end. He couldn’t spin his story. He had to tell the truth. So he didn’t “redeem” himself. They should’ve showed Ah Yat helping Sam get away and then succumb to his injuries. Let Sam go into hiding and have him think it through before coming out and surrendering instead. That would’ve been more impactful and redeeming.

I wonder if TVB ever decided to go down an alternative dark route. And when I say that, I mean Sam murders his girlfriend and her Dad because they now know the secret. His 3 friends arrive to see what he has done. What happens? The 4 of them buries the bodies, to defend his friend. That would’ve been full circle. First time, they did it cause they thought it happened. This time, they do it even after knowing what really happened. A testament of friendship and what they are willing to do for each other. But yeah. That ending would’ve been super controversial and might give some viewers nightmare. It would definitely be too dark but would’ve been such a compelling ending.

It actually ends with Sam going to jail for manslaughter, illegal disposal of body and forgery of documents. Even though he should be in jail for at least 40+ years he gets out after 25 years. Which is honestly realistic cause barely any criminals serve the full years they are given. When he gets out we learned his ex girlfriend resigned from her work and her father died. His friend Ah Fu was working at his Sushi restaurant but has retired and gotten married. Daan Taat passed away a year later after he went to jail. After Chiu Sui served his time in jail he moved to Thailand where he settled down and had a family. It ends with a wholesome alternate ending of what would’ve happened if back then they had called the cops instead. And in it they stayed friends all these years while also being alive and well instead of being overwhelmed with guilt. I love the statement Sam said which was “admitting to your mistakes lasts only a second, but having a guilty conscience lasts a lifetime”.

The 7 boys were so innocent. It was supposed to be a fun night out until Song Si came out of nowhere and started belittling them. Which lead to a fight and them splitting up in the woods. Seeing his dead body caused them to be so confused of what to do. Instead of figuring out what happened they just buried him. And the weight of the guilt followed them to the point they stopped being friends all these years. All this happened cause they didn’t want one of their friends to go to jail for murder. When the truth is none of them murdered Song Si. So it ended up with them being a victim too. In a way I’m glad TVB went down the route of a happy non-twisted ending instead. The 7 of them made a mistake back then and cause of that they suffered. At least the 3 still alive was able to serve their time and come back out to start over.

It’s not a drama filled with plot twists or backstabbing. But a human drama and the mistakes, the guilt, and the punishment that carries on you. The beginning was great, the ending episodes fell flat but it was still a great watch. And so far, this is the only good TVB drama this year. I wish this drama got more recognition it deserves.

#TVB #TVB drama #Brutally Young #HKdrama

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trishmilburn · 5 years ago

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An Exploration of The Untamed’s Romance & Mystery, Episode 3

Disclaimer: This post and others in this series will be filled with loads of spoilers if you haven’t seen The Untamed, the Chinese drama based on Mo Xiang Tong Xiu’s novel, Mo Dao Zu Shi (The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation). My chief interest in doing this series as I re-watch the drama is to chronicle the development of the romance between Wei Ying and Lan Zhan, but I also highlight the progression of the mystery that helps bring them together. Keep in mind that I’m writing these posts with the knowledge of what’s going to happen throughout the series and having read the novel.

On to Episode 3...

We’re still in the past, when our main characters are teens. Wei Ying and his adoptive brother and sister, Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli, are at an inn, wanting to rest for the night before proceeding onto the Cloud Recesses, where they are headed for a lecture series. But the inn’s owner is telling them that they can’t stay there because another lord has booked the entire place. When two young women, disciples of the Jin Clan, arrive to make sure all the arrangements have been made for their lord’s arrival, Yanli realizes who must have booked the inn – Jin Zixuan, the only legitimate child of Jin Guangshan, head of the Jin Clan. Zixuan is also Yanli’s fiancé, though we realize the relationship is strained because it’s a marriage arranged by their mothers, long-time friends, when Zixuan and Yanli were very young. But more on that later.

Determined to get a room for the Jiangs’ party, Wei Ying pulls out his charm and his adorable, mischievous smile and starts flirting with Mian Mian (remember that name), one of the two Jin disciples. Gradually, he convinces her to let him have a room. But that new arrangement quickly changes when the inn owner comes to the room and says they have to leave. When Wei Ying and the Jiangs step into the hallway and come face to face with Jin Zixuan and his entourage, there is a brief moment of truth on Zixuan’s face before he hides it. When he saw Yanli, it’s obvious he likes her. This is something that is more obvious to me on this second viewing, though easily missed when you’re still trying to figure out who everyone is and how they relate to each other.

As they are leaving, Jiang Cheng and Wei Ying note how sad their older sister is after the encounter with Zixuan, and Wei Ying wonders what Jiang Fengmian (Cheng and Yanli’s father and his adoptive uncle) was thinking to arrange a marriage between their sweet senior sister and that flowery peacock.

When we first see the Cloud Recesses from a distance, it looks cool and verdant, the exact kind of place you’d expect the Lan Clan to reside. I kind of want to live there, except for all those rules we’ll soon learn about. When Wei Ying and the Jiangs arrive at the gate, they realize they accidentally left their invitation to the lecture series at the inn during their hasty departure. Wei Ying is trying desperately to get the Lan at the gate to let them in because is a long trip back to town and it’s going to be dark soon. But the gatekeeper says they can’t enter without the invitation.

Cue the entry of Lan Wangji, aka Lan Zhan, the man who will eventually become the most important person in the world to Wei Ying, though he hasn’t the first clue about that yet. Neither of them do. But the look on Wei Ying’s face when he sees this incredibly handsome man with the cool, emotionless exterior reveals at least some interest. It’s just curiosity at this point, but I believe a little seed of attraction just sprouted somewhere inside Wei Ying, one that will grow and grow in the days and months and years ahead.

The Lans who are accompanying Lan Zhan carry in a man on a stretcher. Jiang Cheng wonders how the man died, but Wei Ying says he’s not dead, just possessed by evil sorcery. This observation draws Lan Zhan’s attention, seeming to surprise him, though he says nothing.

Wei Ying shifts his argument for allowing them entry to the Cloud Recesses to Lan Zhan, since he has the power to overrule the rule. But Lan Zhan maintains the whole no invitation, no entry stance. Frustrated, Wei Ying continues to argue until Lan Zhan puts a muting spell on him and walks away. The original Lan at the gate tells Wei Ying the spell can only be removed by a Lan Clan member but if he doesn’t struggle against it, it will dissipate on its own in five minutes. But Wei Ying, being Wei Ying, continues to try to talk. Lan Zhan, who is a bit up the path now, stops and partially looks back over his shoulder at the sound of Wei Ying’s struggles. That right there is his own curiosity planting the seed of something more within him. He will deny this…until he doesn’t.

After night falls, we see the Jiangs sitting around a campfire as they wait for Wei Ying to return from town with the lost invitation. Surprisingly, Lan Zhan arrives at the campsite and lets the group in despite their lack of an invitation. When Wei Ying returns to find his family gone and no one guarding the gate, he tries to enter only to find there is an invisible barrier. But Wei Ying easily passes through after drawing a spell/talisman in the air. He’s pleased with himself as he heads into the Cloud Recesses with not only the invitation but also two bottles of Emperor’s Smile, an alcoholic beverage famous far and wide for its taste. But he’s already started breaking several of the many, many Lan Clan rules. First, he broke the barrier to enter. Then he has alcohol. And finally, he climbs over the wall surrounding the Lan compound. And his entry does not go unnoticed. Once atop the wall with his alcohol, he notices Lan Zhan watching him emotionlessly from nearby. When Lan Zhan informs him of the rules he’s broken, Wei Ying replies that he’s never been to the Cloud Recesses before so how could he possibly know about those rules? And then he proceeds to break another by trying to bribe Lan Zhan with the Emperor’s Smile.

When Wei Ying tries to drop into the courtyard below, out comes Lan Zhan’s sword, Bichen, to stop him. Soon they are engaged in a sword fight on the rooftops under the moonlight as “WangXian” plays in the background. That’s their song, though we haven’t gotten to its creation yet. I mean, who doesn’t engage in a bit of swordfighting before falling in love, right?

In the midst of this, Lan Zhan thinks that Wei Ying is “impenetrably thickheaded,” while Wei Ying tells Lan Zhan that he’s “heartless, unreasonable, pedantic and old-fashioned.” This string of adjectives earns Wei Ying a second dose of the muting spell.

Next we see Lan Xichen, Lan Zhan’s older brother, examining the “dead guy” and telling their uncle, Lan Qiren, how strange the marks on the guy’s body are and how this situation is something they’ve never seen before. (Oh, but it’s not going to be the last, dear Xichen.) Xichen tells Qiren there have been reports of disappearing cultivators, and Lan Zhan was asked to investigate. When Xichen hears someone outside, he covers the guy with a cloth before Lan Zhan brings the misbehaving Wei Ying before his two elders. After hearing what happened, Lan Xichen tells Wei Ying that while it’s understandable that he didn’t know the rules yet, he’ll still be punished. Okay, not fair, but that’s the breaks in the Cloud Recesses. (But if the Lans are that strict and unyielding, this also gives us a hint of how out of the ordinary it was for Lan Zhan to let the Jiangs in without their invitation, and you have to wonder if he thought Wei Ying would be with them when he did so.) Xichen asks his younger brother what he thinks will be a suitable punishment for Wei Ying’s infractions, and Lan Zhan responds with copying the house rules 300 times. There are a LOT of rules for the Gusu Lan Sect – as in more than 3,000 of them. Imagine how unexcited Wei Ying is at the prospect of copying them 300 times. He struggles to say so though he’s still under the muting spell, at least until Xichen tells Lan Zhan to release him from the spell.

But after Wei Ying tells Xichen and Qiren about the whole disagreement at the front gate regarding the lost invitation, Xichen reveals to Wei Ying that not only has his family safely arrived in the Cloud Recesses but it also was Lan Zhan who allowed them to enter. Lan Zhan tries to prevent his brother from revealing that latter fact, likely not wanting Wei Ying to know he caved and that Wei Ying’s protests might have had something to do with him changing his mind, but it didn’t work. Wei Ying approaches Lan Zhan to apologize, but Lan Zhan grips Bichen tightly and backs away from him. At this point, Lan Zhan is not only cut off emotionally, he’s also uncomfortable with physical contact with other people. This boy is holding a lot inside, as we’ll see in the future.

Wei Ying spots the covered body and asks if he’s dead because he wasn’t earlier. All three of the Lans seem surprised when he says this.

Cut to the Heavenly Nightless City, home of the Qishan Wen Sect. I personally think this place is inappropriately named because it looks more like Mount Doom and tells the audience in no uncertain terms that these are the bad guys of our story. Wen Ruohan, head of the sect, is speaking to a pretty young woman named Wen Qing. He’s instructing her that she’ll be going to the Cloud Recesses the next day, accompanied by Wen Chao. Her task while there isn’t so much to learn but to find one of the shattered pieces of Yin Metal like the one found at Great Brahma Mountain (which is also sometimes translated as Dafan Mountain). This metal, if all the parts are brought together, is tremendously powerful. Wen Ruohan wants to use it to subdue and rule over all the other cultivational sects. Yes, he’s a very bad guy who has a very dark and uncomfortable looking throne. Wen Qing asks if she can take Wen Ning, her younger brother, who has been weak since he was young, with her. Wen Ruohan asks if she thinks he’ll be mistreated if she leaves him behind, and though she says she’d never presume to think such a thing, that’s exactly what she’s thinking. Must protect cinnamon roll Wen Ning at all costs! Wen Ruohan agrees, saying that Wen Ning’s unique body might actually help her. I didn’t realize this statement was a clue and foreshadowing when I watched The Untamed the first time.

After Wen Qing leaves, we see Wen Ruohan snap his fingers. Instead of it being a Thanos-type dusting, this snapping actually activates the dead-ish guy back in the Cloud Recesses. He opens his eyes to reveal pure white and he sits up. Wei Ying and the Lans come to the conclusion that he’s a ghost puppet. When Lan Xichen and Lan Zhan step outside, Xichen tells Lan Zhan that the person who is using evil sorcery to control the ghost puppet may have great ambitions and that the disappearing cultivators may be just the start of their evil actions.

Then we have a lovely moment of brotherly conversation in which Xichen tells Lan Zhan that he’s never had to worry about him, that he’s mature and dependable, but wonders if his expectations for him are too high. He then tells Lan Zhan that among the visiting cultivators are several who are Lan Zhan’s age and he should make some friends. When Xichen says that he thinks Young Lord Wei isn’t bad, Lan Zhan looks surprised – or as surprised as Lan Zhan ever looks. This early in the first viewing I hadn’t yet grasped how very good actor Wang Yibo was at conveying Lan Zhan’s feelings through microexpressions. He was, in fact, a perfect casting choice for this role, though early feedback from fans was reportedly less than enthusiastic. Well, he showed them. Ha ha! Wang Yibo IS Lan Zhan now. I’ll never be able to picture anyone else in that role.

Xichen continues, saying that though Wei Ying acts out of bounds, he is also clever, quick-witted and has a bright personality. He is likely thinking these qualities would be good influences on his quiet, serious and closed-off younger brother. He notices Lan Zhan is once again gripping his sword tightly. When he asks Lan Zhan if when he fought with Wei Ying if their skills were evenly matched, Lan Zhan doesn’t answer and simply walks away. Instead of thinking his brother rude, Xichen actually smiles in amusement. He likes seeing that someone has finally gotten under Lan Zhan’s skin and cool exterior, making him act out of character. We have just witnessed the first step in Xichen becoming WangXian’s biggest shipper.

Finally we see Xue Yang, a beautiful but deadly and kind of crazy dude, with several of the ghost puppets (the missing cultivators) at Mount Doom…oh, I mean Heavenly Nightless City. Seriously, this is the most colossally misnamed place ever. It literally looks like it’s night all the time and is about as heavenly as, oh yeah, Mount Doom. Wen Ruohan tells him to help him find the other pieces of Yin Metal so he can subdue the other sects, mwahahaha. Xue Yang has agreed on the condition that Wen Ruohan keep his promise to give him what he wants, something that at this point remains unrevealed.

And thus ends Episode 3. First steps toward true love have been unknowingly taken while the baddies are being bad.

If you’d like to read my examinations of the previous two episodes, you can find them here:

Episode 1

Episode 2

#the untamed #wei ying #wei wuxian #lan zhan #lan wangji #lan xichen #wen qing #xue yang #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #mo dao zu shi #mdzs

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its-freakinbats · 5 years ago

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Across the Multiverse 1/?

#quentin beck #quentin beck x oc #mysterio x oc #mysterio #spiderman: ffh #spiderman fanfiction #Quentin Beck x reader

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waywardnerd67 · 6 years ago

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Sealed With A Kiss

Summary: (Y/N) has her entire winter break planned out until her childhood best friend crashes her plans and changes her mind on the holiday season all together. Characters: Jensen Ackles, Reader Pairing: Jensen x Reader Warnings: Fluff/Seasonal Depression Word Count: 4102 (with lyrics) Prompt: My Only Wish (This Year) – Britney Spears (lyrics in bold) A/N #1: This is for @julesthequirky Winter Holiday Challenge. This is solely based off my own personal feelings of the holidays because I’m truly a Grinch with it comes to Christmas. A/N #2: As always this is unbeta so all mistakes are mine. Likes, comments and reblogs are splendid and I will love you doubly for them! Enjoy! Special Note: This is a work of FICTION and should be enjoyed as such. I mean absolutely no disrespect to the Ackles family as I truly adore and admire them.

(Y/N) kicked off her work shoes as soon as she walked through her front door. For the next five weeks she would be off work with no responsibilities, no deadlines and no one god awful holiday parties. She always saved up her vacation time to take off from Thanksgiving through the New Year. Everyone who did not know her well always asked what kind of fun holiday plans she had. Her answer was always the same.

“No plans. I don’t do holidays. Just five weeks off to stay home and sleep through until the New Year.” The look on people’s faces always made her chuckle. Pure and utter disbelief that someone would hate the holidays.

(Y/N) changed into her favorite pajama pants that were stolen from one of her best friends and her favorite band t-shirt. Curling up on her couch with the Chinese takeout she picked up on her way home and the bottle of whiskey, she hit play on the horror movie cued up on her Hulu account.

She smiled widely seeing her best friend on the screen. (Y/N) and Jensen Ackles have been friends since they were in grade school back in Dallas. She had been by his side throughout his entire career and watched with pride as he turned into a celebrity. Other than Dean Winchester on his hit show Supernatural, her favorite character was Tom Hanniger from the movie My Bloody Valentine.

Seeing him on the screen made her heart ache. His gorgeous olive eyes and charming smile never ceased to render her weak in the knees. What started as a school girl crush had turned into her falling head over heels for him. Never wanting to risk their friendship she kept her feelings bottled up deep within her. Being the support pal through every rocky relationship he had.

Seeing the credits rolling on her TV she shut everything off and snuggled onto her couch letting the sounds of the blistering wind outside lull her to sleep. She dreamed of the life she desperately desired with the man who held her heart. Being in his strong arms and warming her cold heart to loving the idea of spending the holidays with him. When she woke up, tears streamed down her face as her constant companion loneliness smothered her.

Last night I took a walk in the snow Couples holding hands places to go Seems like everyone but me is in love

The closer to Christmas it was getting the worst (Y/N)’s mood was becoming. It was now snowing which added to her aversion of the holidays. A seemingly quick walk to get dinner had her trapped in a god-awful snow globe of happy couples and holiday cheer. She made way to her lobby door where a black SUV was sitting outside of it. Not thinking twice, she hurriedly went inside and up to her apartment.

Turning the corner to her apartment, she stopped suddenly seeing someone standing outside her door. A wide smile spreading across her face replacing the scowl that had been there for the last couple of weeks.

“Jensen?” she asked as he turned around throwing his arms up in the air.

“About time, pretty girl! My god I thought maybe you were dead in there and I was about to kick the damn door down.” He said pulling her into a hug.

She unlocked the door setting her food down as Jensen walked in behind her, “What are you doing here?” She asked.

Jensen kicked off his boots and shrugged off his coat leaving him in a flannel with a t-shit underneath. She chuckled at him as she hung up their coats. “What are you chuckling at?”

“You, Dean. Did you fly here straight from set?” she said as he looked down at what he was wearing. With a slight change in tone and gruff expression he could easily be Dean Winchester, his character from his hit show.

Jensen rolled his eyes at her and started looking through her bag containing her dinner. “No, these are actually my clothes thank you very much. Except for the boots which are Dean’s, but I borrowed them to come out to the frozen tundra to see you. He doesn’t mind.”

“Jay, as much as I love seeing you shouldn’t you be on your way to Austin for Christmas? I’m sure everyone is going to miss you and your family hardly sees you.” She said grabbing her food out of his grasp.

“Well, that is part of the reason why I am here. I have a plane ticket for myself and for you to spend Christmas and New Years in Austin with the family. My mom and Kenzie have been talking about seeing you for weeks along with Jared, Gen and the boys being there. Stop making that face at me, (Y/N/N).” He said sighing.

(Y/N) was making a horrified expression as panic flooded her chest. The whole reason she took these weeks off were to be secluded and away from everyone possible. She did not always hate the holidays but for the last few years she vowed not to celebrate anything.

“Jensen, you know why I hate the holidays. You know what happened in every gory detail. I-I can’t fake happy around everyone for that long.” Her voice cracked from the overwhelming panic trying to spew out from her lips.

He stood in front of her placing his arms around her tightly. Kissing the top of her head he said, “You don’t have too. You can always go upstairs to my room when it becomes too much. I know I’m asking a lot of you, but I really want to have Christmas with everyone I love there. It won’t be right without you, (Y/N).”

Jensen’s hand rubbed her back as her panic and desire to make him happy fought inside her. She looked up at him sighing, “Okay Jay, I’ll go to Austin.” The breathtaking smile on his face was worth the anxiety threatening to paralyze her.

I want someone to love me And someone to hold Maybe, maybe (maybe maybe) He'll be all my own in a big red bow Santa can you hear me?

They stayed a few days at (Y/N)’s where they hung out and watched movies like the old days. They were flying into Austin on December 23rd the day before everyone was to arrive at Jensen’s house. Being back in Austin was disorienting for (Y/N). She had not been back at all in three years when life took a turn for the unexpected.

The moment she walked into Jensen’s house she looked around in horror, “Jay it looks like Christmas threw up on everything in your house.”

When she saw Jensen’s surprised reaction she knew something was not going according to his plan. That is when his mom and sister walked in from his kitchen. “Mom, Kenzie what are you two doing here a day early?”

The ladies who (Y/N) consider family hugged him quickly and then made a beeline to her. “(Y/N)! It’s been too long!” Kenzie said hugging her.

“Hey Kenzie, I missed you too.” She said trying to push down the urge to run upstairs and hide.

(Y/N) walked over to Mrs. Ackles who engulfed her into the biggest momma hug anyone could get. It took everything within her to keep the tears from falling down her face that welled up beneath her eyelids.

“Let me look at you,” Mrs. Ackles said clicking her tongue not approvingly, “Far too skinny (Y/N). That’s alright we will get you fatten up before you leave here.”

(Y/N) laughed softly looking over to Jensen with pleading eyes. “(Y/N), why don’t you go upstairs and get settled in while Mom and Kenzie help me with dinner.”

She nodded gratefully as the ladies followed Jensen into the kitchen. (Y/N) walked up the stairs to the second floor with all the bedrooms. She instinctively went to Jensen’s room, but then second guessed herself opting to go to the spare bedroom next to his. When he had bought his house, (Y/N) had helped him decorate it and the spare bedroom was specifically decorated for her though she had never slept in it.

After unpacking her bag, she sat on the bay window ledge looking out onto the lake behind Jensen’s house. It was much warm here than her city and people were out enjoying their boats on the lake. She watched all the families and happy couples with envy leaning her head against the window. There was a soft knock and then Jensen walked in.

“Mom and Kenzie are leaving now. I told them you would see them tomorrow and that you were tired on the way home from the flight.” Jensen explained as a weight felt like it was lifted from her chest.

She noticed he was nervously shuffling from one foot to the other, “What is it?” she asked getting up and walking towards him.

“It’s nothing.” He mumbled running his hand through his hair another tell that he had something to say but did not know if he should.

“Spill it, Ackles.” She said playfully pushing his shoulder.

He bit his lip looking down at her causing her breath to hitch in throat. “I was wondering why you decided to stay in the guest room? Normally… you stay in my room with me.”

(Y/N) reached out touching his arm lightly, “I didn’t want to assume anything. I mean you have your own life and the possibility of someone being with you is always there. I didn’t want to step on any toes or cause any drama.”

His olive eyes were filled with confusion and then realization hit him, “Do you really think I wouldn’t tell you if I had someone staying with me?”

“I don’t know, Jay. A lot has changed and again I didn’t want to assume anything. Better safe than sorry.” (Y/N) felt as if her heart was weighted down with the thought of Jensen having someone.

He shook his head and grabbed her bag placing her clothes back into it, “First, things haven’t changed that much that I wouldn’t let you know if I was with someone,” once all her things were back in her bag he turned towards the door. “Second, you get first dibs because you mean more to me than anything or anyone.”

(Y/N) followed Jensen into his bedroom that had not change at all in the three years she had been gone. Seeing the familiar room brought her a great deal of comfort and she watched from the bed as Jensen unpacked her things into two empty drawers of his dresser.

“Thanks Jay,” She whispered as he turned around smirking.

“You’re welcome and by the way, I’m not seeing anyone not since my last girlfriend that you know all about.” (Y/N) could not help the small smile on her lips as she watched him leave his room.

The next morning, she woke up alone in bed hearing a bunch of commotion downstairs. Looking over at her phone she saw it was nearly eleven in the morning. She quickly got up, showered and dressed trying to keep her anxiety from consuming her. She stood at the top of the stairs taking deep breaths before nervously walking down them.

We'll be all alone under the mistletoe Santa can you hear me? I have been so good this year And all I want is one thing Tell me my true love is here He's all I want just for me Underneath my Christmas tree I’ll be waiting here Santa that's my only wish this year

“Good morning sleepy head.” Kenzie said from her spot on her husband’s lap.

(Y/N) put on her best smile, “I’m not like your brother who is used to traveling between time zones. Plus, I need all the beauty sleep I can get.”

Kenzie scoffed as she got up going over to her and hooking their arms together, “Come on, the women folk are hanging in the kitchen while the men do manly things.” (Y/N) chuckled waving goodbye to Kenzie’s husband.

When they walked in Mrs. Ackles was shooing out Jensen and Mr. Ackles, “Out of my kitchen. No boys until the food is ready.”

“Really this is my kitchen mom…” Jensen started to say until she glared at him and he shut his mouth. He turned seeing her standing with Kenzie and smiled brightly to her.

(Y/N) laughed as he walked up to her, “Nice bow. Are you sleeping under the tree tonight?” she asked messing with the red bow on top of his head.

“This was my payment for Kenzie wrapping my gifts for the tree. If you take any pictures they best not leak to the press or the fans will have a field day with this.” Jensen said as (Y/N) laughed.

“Oh, the fanfiction that could be written from it!” She said as he groaned.

(Y/N) hugged Mr. Ackles as he pushed Jensen out of the kitchen, “Nice to see you again, kiddo.” He said quietly as she held onto him a little tighter.

The Ackles family had always been more of her family than her own. They knew she had a rough home life and she was always welcomed whenever she needed to get away. They had helped her through college while Jensen moved out to Los Angeles to begin his acting career. Three years ago, when she was preparing for the biggest moment of her life they had all been there when it fell apart.

Soon Gen was had joined them in the kitchen as Jared and their sons were outside with the rest of the guys. With Gen coming in it gave (Y/N) the chance to sneak out the back door to the backyard and have a moment to herself. Spending time with the Ackles women had been great and reminded her of why she loved them so much.

(Y/N) was sitting on the retaining wall watching Jensen, Jared, Thomas and Shep playing their version of football. Jensen was always great with kids and it was a shame that he had not found someone to settle down with to have his own. The thought of him being a father pulled the strings attached to the feelings she had buried deep within her.

“(Y/N/N)!” Thomas yelled out running towards her. She jumped down off the wall and picked him up swinging him around.

“Tom-Tom! I’ve missed you buddy.” She said as he held onto her tightly. Shep had just been born when she left Austin and he walked beside Jared shyly looking at her.

Jared hugged her with one arm while holding Shep in the other, “Hey (Y/N), good to see you again.”

“It’s great to see you as well, Jared. Hi Shep,” She said waving slowly as he buried his head into Jared’s neck.

She set Thomas down who kept a hold of her hand as Jared chuckled, “We’re going through a shy phase. Once he gets to know you though, he’ll never leave you alone.”

She laughed looking over to Jensen who was staring at her strangely. “You okay over there, Jay?” she asked as he shook his head slightly.

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine. Come on, let’s go inside and see if we are eating any time soon.” He said placing his arm around (Y/N)’s shoulders as Thomas kept a hold of her hand walking in.

Dinner had gone better than she could have expected, and she had a feeling it was because of the spiked soda Jensen was feeding her to help with the nerves. After dinner they all piled into his living room to watch It’s A Wonderful Life together. Thomas was snuggled between her and Jensen on the love seat where he fell asleep within minutes of the movie starting.

By the end of the night, everyone had said their goodbyes and made plans to meet up for New Year’s Eve at the bar Jared owned. Before Kenzie and her parents left she smiled widely at (Y/N) and Jensen looking above their heads.

“Really Kenzie?” Jensen said rolling his eyes as (Y/N) saw the mistletoe attached to the beam about their heads.

Kenzie nodded, “Oh going on you two. It’s not like we all don’t know how you two have been pining for one another all these years.”

(Y/N)’s eyes went wide as Jensen’s face burned red. The panic that had not been there all night hit her harder than ever before. It was different this time though, there was also hope attached to it and that was something that scared her even more. Her body began to tremble, and she felt Jensen tighten his arm around her.

“Goodnight Kenzie,” He said firmly as their parents pulled her along while she pouted slightly.

Once the door was shut, (Y/N) wiggled out of his grasp feeling as though the room was closing in on her. Without a single word she turned towards the back door quickly going out into the backyard. She took a few deep breaths trying to calm herself down, but all her emotions were bubbling up too fast for her to control.

As soon as the first tear fell the dam broke free unleashing three years’ worth of tears. Jensen was by her side in a flash, “(Y/N) it’s okay. It’s okay, Kenzie was just trying to get a rise out of me.”

His panic voice may have caught her attention, but it was what he said that had her chest tightening. “W-What do you mean?” she asked sniffling.

He looked down at his feet, his hand running over the back of his neck. “Apparently, my feelings for you have been painfully obvious to my family since we were kids. However, for me, it wasn’t until you were supposed to get married that I realized that you were the only woman I ever wanted to be with.”

His eyes locked with hers and she felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. They stared at each other for what seemed like eternity until he broke the silence, “Say something, (Y/N).”

“I… I can’t…” she said running back inside his house and up the stairs to the spare bedroom. She shut the door and leaned up against it fresh tears falling down her face.

Tell me my true love is here He's all I want just for me Underneath my Christmas tree I’ll be waiting here Santa that's my only wish this year

The next morning, (Y/N) woke up to the smell of bacon and coffee. She looked around seeing she was in Jensen’s room snuggled up with his pillow. The last thing she remembered was crying herself to sleep in the spare bedroom. When she heard the door open she looked up seeing Jensen with a breakfast tray in his hands complete with red bow on it.

“Morning,” He said softly as he set the tray down, “I figured you could have breakfast in bed and relax this morning.”

He stood up walking towards the door then stopped not turning around, “If you want to leave early after last night I completely understand. Your ticket home is open ended so you can choose whenever you would like to leave.”

The sadness in his voice broke her heart and in all the confusion of what had happened she did not take into consideration how he must have felt after she ran off. “Wait.” She called out as he turned around his eyes still downcast.

“Have breakfast with me.” She said scooting over carefully to make room for him on the bed.

He approached the bed hesitantly and sat down making sure there was plenty of room between them. Silently they ate together an awkward tension building between them that had never been there before. She could see the internal dialogue going on within Jensen and how he was blaming himself for it.

(Y/N) got up setting the tray on his dresser and then climbed back into bed wrapping her arms around his waist feeling his body tense up. After she did not let go, he finally wrapped his arms around her and laid back on the mattress with her. So many times, they had laid in bed like this, but it suddenly felt completely different and what scared her the most was how much she loved it.

“I’m scared.” She whispered her ear pressed to his chest listening to his rapid heartbeat.

He took a deep breath, “Of what?” he asked.

She leaned up on her elbow looking up to him, “I’m scared that you actually have feelings for me. I’m scared of losing your friendship.” She took a deep breath, “I’m scared that I’m damaged beyond repair and undeserving of you. Most of all, I’m scared of the hope I’m feeling that you feel the same way I do and then I’ll be left at the alter again. I don’t think I could go through that again especially if that meant losing you.”

She heard him suck in a breath and then he moved to sit up resting against his headboard. (Y/N) was surprised when he pulled her onto his lap holding cradling her in his arms. Her arms instantly went around his neck as his eyes bore into hers.

“I’m scare too and for some of the same reasons. Hearing you talk about how you’re damaged or undeserving makes me what to find you ex and not only kick his ass but shake his hand to thank him.” He said as (Y/N) gave him a confused look.

He smiled, “Well I think it’s only polite to thank him for being a complete douche for leaving an amazing woman at the alter so that I can have the chance to win her heart. I should have punch that guy from the get go when he asked you out after setting me up with my ex just to get me out of the way.”

“Wait, what? He knew you liked me?” she asked stunned.

Jensen nodded, “Everyone knew I liked you except for you and me. He set me up saying we could go out on a double date and then he showed up with you. I felt like I got punched in the gut and you were so happy that I couldn’t do anything about it but be there for you. When he left you at the alter it took Jared and my dad to keep me from finding him to beating him within an inch of his life.”

She sat there shocked by his revelation, “Do… do you know the real reason why he left me?” she asked looking down at his chest.

She felt shake his head and she looked up at him, “I received a letter from him on Christmas afterwards. He told me that he had found the woman of his dreams and they were both in relationships. They decided to run off together to elope but that they would be moving back to Austin to start a family in the house he had bought for us. A few weeks later, I saw them walking down the street holding hands, laughing, smiling and I immediately left Austin moving as far away as I could.”

Anger flashed before his dark olive eyes before he shook his head, “Bastard.” He whispered.

“Jensen, what happened then has a huge effect on me now. I… I don’t want to screw this up rather it’s a relationship or our friendship.” She said quietly biting her lip.

He placed his hand on her cheek his thumb gently running across it, “You’re not going to screw up anything. We will be in this together, but I don’t think I can go back to just being friends. It’s too hard to hold back from kissing you and wanting to hold your hand at all possible moments. It won’t be easy especially with my schedule, but you know how I am. If I want something bad enough then I will work my ass off for it. I want this more than anything, pretty girl.”

Jensen leaned in his lips brushing against hers hesitantly then she pressed hers against his firmly. It was not the first time they had kissed, but everything was different. This kiss sealed their future in place and any doubts she had vanished completely.

“Merry Christmas (Y/N),” he whispered against her lips.

“Merry Christmas Jensen.” She said as he kissed her again.

Well he's all I want just for me Underneath my Christmas tree Ill be waiting here Santa that's my only wish this year

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josshucng · 6 years ago

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it’s elle with another muse , jocelyn . please excuse her theme right now , i’ll have more time later to make it look pretty ( same with mina’s blog tbh ).

[ MUSE 89 ] ●● is that SONG YUQI? no, that’s just JOCELYN ‘JOSS’ HUANG, the 16 year old CISFEMALE who is a HIGH SCHOOL JUNIOR. some say they’re DEFEATIST & SECRETIVE, but their family and friends will swear they’re COMPASSIONATE & ECCENTRIC. when i think of them, i think of wild wavy hair, bright colored blouses, oversized sweaters that keep you warm and safe in a cold winter, make up products falling off her vanity and constant typos in text messages. i wonder if HER family knows that SHE’S BEEN STEALING MONEY FROM THEM. ●● ( elle && 21 && gmt && she/her )

jocelyn was born to a chinese immigrant single mother in washington. she never had much but the woman made sure to do everything in her power to provide for her daughter. being a single mother alone in a foreign country was difficult and frightening but the woman knew it was the best thing for her daughter.

a lot of babysitters in their teens would watch her whilst her mother went to work. it was in these times that she picked up a little basic english. she was only young but would find herself speaking back to them. her mother spoke mandarin to her so this is the first language she learned. she didn’t have much need to actually understand people who spoke english when she was younger but would need it as time went on.

everything changed when she was six and her mother wasn’t breathing one morning. no matter how hard she tried to wake her up, the woman wouldn’t and this frightened her. she remembered to call the ambulance and was pronounced dead. her mother had a heart attack in her sleep so she had died during the night. jocelyn kept asking when she was going to wake up but she would soon learn that never was the answer. however, she likes to think that the woman is still with her.

going into the foster system at six was hard. she was still at the age where people would want to adopt her but she thought it was very strange. as a child, she would often tell prospective parents that her mother was coming to see her and she once refused to go on a day out with a couple because she felt like she was betraying her mother. the carers were concerned so took her to a therapist once but didn’t have the funding to keep it up.

joss was one of those children that lived in her own head a lot. the girl had an amazing imagination, one that ran away with her sometimes and she also loved to paint. the staff were so kind to let her paint freely on the wall on her bottom bunk. whenever it got full, she could just decide what she didn’t like and painted over it to start again. sometimes she wouldn’t be able to decide so did drawings and then stuck them up on the paintings to create more layers.

this kept her as happy as could be but backfired on her when she was fostered by a family and ended up drawing on their walls. disgusted with her, they turned aggressive and brought her back to the group home.

as time went on, she longed to be with a family more and more but they would always bring her back. she never tried to be something she wasn’t. she was creative, loud as she always wanted to put on a show of one of the stories she had written but adults were either not interested or the rest of the children in the house would bully her for it.

she had to learn to stand on her own two feet. instead of crumbling, she took a leadership role in the home and was the figure that the younger children would come to. joss was always one to tell a good story and it made them love her. it caused her to grow up in a way as the young ones depended on her to raise their spirits but they also raised hers.

it was very upsetting for her when they would get fostered or adopted. some would unfortunately come back but some, she never saw again. she was happy for them but slightly jealous as she thought that she had run out of chances.

she had been placed with another family but felt like she was only going to disappoint them; she started taking any loose cash around the house and storing it in a box in her backpack, making sure to distribute it to her school locker. joss could see it not working and she wanted to save so that she could get out of there. her foster father caught her stealing ten dollars out of his son’s jeans and it got physical. she picked up her bag and ran, thanking herself that she had done it as she would have been out of money.

it lasted her two days until she ran out and a kind woman picked her up from off the street and gave her a nice meal. the care workers came to pick her up. of course it was twisted but she definitely didn’t want to go back there.

she always tried really hard at school to better herself but it was very difficult for her to get help if she was unsure with so many other kids in her house. she was defeatist as she felt like she was at a disadvantage. she’s the type to frequently give up but pick herself up and try again.

after the mess of her previous home, she never thought that she’d find a home, a family. however, the townsends’ were taken in by her big heart and expressive presence that they couldn’t resist. she settled in rather well with them and no one ever tried to hurt her.

the move to ashcroft definitely upset her version of normalcy. in her experience, bad things would happen when they moved and she really hoped that this wouldn’t be a negative experience for her.

joss was never the most popular person at any of the schools she had ever gone to. she never had time to get friendships and the other children did think her outlook was a little odd. she seems all airy-fairy most of the time, spending too much time in her art and not caring what others think of her. however, there’s definitely a backlash as some have started picking on her for being ‘different’ ; she prefers to live in her fantasy land than experience anything unpleasant.

having these situations at school has caused her to feel more insecure about her place within the family. she knows that the two women love her and she’s so grateful but her past experiences make her feel like they can turn their backs on her at any point. she was never one for stealing but things changed her view on it at the old foster home; if she hadn’t have had that money, she didn’t know what she would have done.

the thing about joss is that she will never feel comfortable asking for money as it is, so she has started to take money again from her family. whether it’s to get a new shirt that people will find interesting at work, money to get an ice cream outside of school when they’re on sale, there will always be the possibility of them turning on her at the back of her head and this is her main motivation.

if she does something wrong, she automatically assumes that she will have no second chances and so gives up on the subject. if that were to happen with her family, she would be completely alone again and this time, they would not put her back in care as she’s over the age of 16. she would be by herself and needs money if she’s going to do that.

of course, she feels the sense of guilt that she didn’t with the other family; the townsends’ are good people and the other kids are like her, the ones that were given a very last chance; she doesn’t want to hurt them. however, there’s something inside her that tells her to be wary and this is her taking precautions.

joss is very loyal, if you do befriend her at school, she will love you to the ends of the earth. yes, she’s clingy like that but an amazing friend to have. she has no problems sticking up for people as she’s had no one up until now in her corner ready to fight for her and she doesn’t want anyone to feel like that.

she wears a moon charm necklace around her neck that was her mother’s and this is her most prized possession. if she misplaces it somewhere, expect a full on freak out from her.

she’s in the drama club, choir (an alto) and is still very passionate about the arts in general. joss has always felt at home being her creative side, even if it does make her a little rebellious at times but she’s never out to hurt anyone.

as joss has been on her own for so long, she can get very defensive so be prepared for that if someone criticises her.

when something is wrong, she’s one to carry on like nothing’s happened and reverts back to her very ‘happy’ personality. she would prefer that than break down and people feel sorry for her. she keeps secrets but doesn’t feel like they’re worth mentioning.

deep down, she knows that her stealing habits come from a place of insecurity but doesn’t want to admit it because she’s scared of it getting ugly... she loves her family as much as she loves her art and she’s scared that they won’t want anything more to do with her.

#ashcroft:intro.#death tw #abuse tw #fostering tw

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brokeandjetlagged · 7 years ago

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Take a Chance on Me (Wonwoo/Reader)

Wonu sat there, blinking, with some unmeasurable weight in his chest that prevented him from speaking, from breathing properly.

an awkward bookworm Wonwoo for all of you~

a/n Wonwoo is romanized as “Wonu” throughout the fic b/c honestly, it just sounds more right. Also, this a companion piece to “So What Can’t I Do?” but can totally be read separately

There are many things that could be said about people who believe so wholeheartedly in fate. Most of what Wonu would say about such people would probably be very unflattering, so it was a good thing that he had the sense to keep such opinions to himself. Well, mostly. Almost half of the time, at least.

“How was the wedding?”

“I give it a year,” Wonu said dryly, pulling at his tie and kicking off his shoes at the door. His roommate, Junhui, was only momentarily distracted from some Chinese drama he was (illegally) streaming on the TV. His eyes were already pulling back to the screen, his hand reaching to rest in its comfy home inside his sweatpants. If Junhui were half as charming as he was handsome, no person in Seoul would be safe.

“That’s harsh,” Junhui chided. “Haven’t they been dating for like, ever?”

“Three years,” Wonu amended, flopping onto the ratty couch next to Junhui. Maybe by his next paycheck he could afford to replace it with something better. He was exhausted, although this wedding was about as short as any other. From the time Wonu had entered the wedding hall, witnessed the ceremony, and offered his congratulations to the new couple, not two hours had passed. Something about seeing Minki, just a few years older than Wonu himself, stand and confidently pledge the rest of his life to someone drained all of Wonu’s energy. His brain processed the entire thing slowly, his thoughts moving like molasses through the vows, the readings, the prayers. How, was one of the only thoughts that had enough momentum to circle back to him more than once. How is he so sure?

“Give Minki some credit, then.” Junhui spoke importantly, but a lilt to his words betrayed how little he actually cared about one of Wonu’s college buddies and his happy marriage. “Once you get to be our age,” he paused here, to pick his nose, and then resumed, “stuff like this will make sense.”

“I’m the same age as you,” Wonu said, fighting to keep an eyelid from twitching.

“Not mentally.”

Wonu would like to convey that he knows that attempted murder is never the answer for shutting up an annoying Chinese man. But if Junhui had continued to speak, there would have been a greater danger of Wonu having to jump off the balcony, and he was not above acknowledging that he probably had more to offer in his life than Junhui—who rarely did much other than model, eat, and annoy him.

(Wonu would also like to convey to you, dear reader, that, while it stings his pride, he has never been attributed to being very well-muscled. Or coordinated. He risked spraining a wrist if he turned a page in a book too quickly. So any murder attempt was never long-lived.)

“You’re awful,” Junhui coughed dramatically, rubbing his throat long after Wonu had recovered from his bloodlust. “You’ll never find love with this kind of behavior.”

Wonu hid his sneer by picking up a book from the coffee table, and spent the rest of the night annoying Junhui by loudly (and with terrific mispronunciation) repeating every other line of dialogue from My I.

Within the next few weeks, spring had come, and Wonu had mostly forgotten Minki’s wedding except for the new photos on Instagram from their (Wonu repressed a shudder at even the thought) married-life Instagram that Seungcheol had guilted him into following.

But yes, anyway: his last bout of midterms as a college student had ended, and spring—as mentioned before—made the air warm and the cherry blossoms close to falling, and it prompted Wonu want to get off a few stops early and walk the rest of the way home.

The fact that there was a Kyobo bookstore a few hundred meters away from this station wasn’t a factor.

The fact that Wonu found himself there only five minutes later was purely coincidence.

There were a lot of pushes recently among Wonu’s family (mostly by aunts that spent too much time on facebook) to abandon chains like this and favor more local, Korean-owned book stands. But Wonu was pretty proud of how much his English reading had improved since high school, and not many Dongdaemun book stalls had much to offer beyond a few battered copies of Harry Potter.

Junhui had come with him into bookstores a few times after he had first moved in. The man had been eager to explore some of the neighborhood and pick up Korean textbooks (this was when Junhui looked at Wonu with awe and didn’t know much Korean. A much happier time in Wonu’s life), but Junhui soon found that the internet and his drinking buddies were much better tutors, and Wonu made his trips alone again.

The classics were always the first that Wonu checked in the Foreign Books section. Nothing ever really changed there, but there was some sort of comfort in knowing that whatever he bought had been acclaimed and loved for ages. No one ever occupied this section either, besides college students like him, or middle-aged, professor-looking types that looked like they could go on for hours about which color pantaloons the early English nobility wore. But it was deserted today, and Wonu didn’t suppress his smile as his shoulders relaxed, and he let his fingers brush the spines of a whole shelf of Pride and Prejudice as he walked down the aisle.

After about thirty minutes of double checking a Naver blog post about the great classics, Wonu was debating between Jane Eyre and Lolita when someone cleared their throat. Wonu jumped, startled, and clutched his books to his chest like an embarrassed teenager when he saw the woman trying to get by him.

She pressed her lips together in an embarrassed smile at his reaction, and bowed her head slightly, moving to get by him before she stopped, seeing the books he had been trying to decide between. Wonu wasn’t exactly opposed to her lingering gaze.

“You like your books scandalous?” She asked, and Wonu blinked dumbly at her for a moment before stuttering back to life.

“Um, yes.” He fought off the urge to smack himself. “I mean, yeah, I like it. Have you read them before?”

“Only this one,” she admitted, pointing to Lolita’s cover. “I have a friend with the same name. She hates it, so I have to quote it whenever possible. Obviously.”

Wonu was too startled to hold back his laughter. And he was glad he hadn’t kept it to himself when her face broke into an expression of a relieved sense of accomplishment. She was foreign, and although confident, was probably met with varying reactions when she interacted with anyone in Korean. A twinge of understanding resonated through his chest; she kind of reminded him of Junhui. Although much, much prettier.

“Sorry for interrupting you,” she said after a pause, heat staining her cheeks. “I’ll leave you to it, then.”

Wonu sat there, blinking, with some unmeasurable weight in his chest that prevented him from speaking, from breathing properly. She didn’t wait for him to speak--which was a good call, he probably looked like a gaping lunatic--and was lost into the crowd of shoppers almost immediately. Wonu shook his head, as if that could throw off the lingering embarrassment and heat he felt in his face, and put one of the books back without checking. He’d been having a nice day up until five minutes ago. Well. It was still nice, but he felt like his insides were spaghetti and someone and just stuck a fork in them and given it a good twirl.

“What’s wrong with you?” Junhui said loudly as Wonu walked into the living room. He flung his bag down and threw himself over the couch.

“Um. I bought a book?” Wonu looked at the brown paper bag that had landed next to his book bag. He didn’t really remember buying it.

“You bookworms are gross,” Junhui said bluntly, heading to his room. “Buy one book and you come home looking like you just got your first blowjob.” He paused before shutting his door, and poked his head out to the living area again. “Oh, you see, a blowjob is what happens when someone actually wants to put their--” He slammed the door shut suddenly, and a thick magazine thudded off the wood half a second later.

“Asshole,” Wonu muttered under his breath, slumping back down into the cushions.

While Junhui was possibly a demon from hell, Wonu did have him to thank for introducing him to a lot of cool people that he wouldn’t have met otherwise. The friends that he had made in the last two years he’d roomed with Junhui were so much better than the pricks that were in Wonu’s school’s journalism department.

The best of these new friends was a senior at Jihoon’s performing arts school, Soonyoung, who had also just finished his midterms and was itching to celebrate. And this is how Wonu found himself out on this particular Saturday night in the busier section of his neighborhood.

Wonu, contrary to every malicious rumor Junhui had tried to spread, did not only like to jerk it to old books that smell like death. He had many hobbies. Including drinking. Including this specific place’s honey makkoli that made his head swim but his lips taste sweet when he ran his tongue over them. A waitress came by with another bottle of liquor and a pot of honey and Wonu’s other hobby could be taking her as his wife because yes.

“You’re funny when you drink,” Soonyoung sniggered as he mixed another--their fourth? Fifth?--round of drinks.

“I’m funny all of the time,” Wonu said immediately. He stretched his hand out in front of him, flexing his fingers.

Soonyoung just laughed, which Wonu thought proved his point (it doesn’t, poor boy), and Wonu moved on to trying to think back on the specific train of conversation they were having before Soonyoung felt it necessary to point out how hilarious Wonu was. “What were we talking about?”

“Well,” Soonyoung shrugged, ladling out another cup for Wonu. “Nothing really. You just asked that poor girl to marry you though.”

“Oh.” Wonu winced, feeling a little of his happy, swimmy vibe dribble out of his ears.

“Aw, I’m sure she would’ve said no,” Soonyoung chided, grinning at Wonu’s red face. “And then you’d still have a perfectly clean no-commitment record.”

“You make me sound like such a douchebag,” Wonu complained. He thought of the girl from earlier that week, just a few days ago, really. His tongue felt heavy just thinking of her, though. And he shook the thought away. “Just because I’m not--I’ve never…” Wonu trailed off, blinking as his words stopped trotting around in his head long enough for him to realize what kind of tangent he was going on. “Wow, I’m drunk.” He dug the heels of his palms into his eye sockets.

“It’s okay,” Soonyoung laughed good naturedly, slapping a hand on Wonu’s scrawny shoulder and giving it a good shake. “So you’re not ready. Big deal. Maybe you will be and maybe you won’t.”

One of the greatest things about Soonyoung was that he sometimes spouted stuff like that, like he’d been some sort of living vessel for ancient Buddhist texts that knew exactly what Wonu needed to hear in order to not feel like his life was just one shitty decision after another. Wonu rewarded him by paying the bill, and letting Soonyoung crash on his couch instead of forcing him to find a taxi all the way back to his one-room on the other side of the river.

“Nunu,” Soonyoung groaned as Wonu gave up on wrestling him out of his coat. “You’ll find someone who’ll make you crazy.”

“What makes you say that?” Drunk asshole almost rolled off his tongue, but Soonyoung had been very nice that night and he was, Wonu reminded himself, his favorite.

“You drive a lot of people crazy.” Soonyoung giggled. His curse was that the alcohol hit him doubly hard once he was horizontal. Wonu brought a little wastebasket over, just in case, in the time Soonyoung had untied his tongue enough to continue. “Junhui and Jihoon would love it to see you all heart-eyed over someone, after all the shit you put them through.”

“They deserved it.” Jihoon had serenaded that one girl from the rooftop of one of his university buildings. Like a love-sick male lead in a cliche drama. There was a video of it on Youtube. What did he expect? For Wonu to not hum that song whenever Jihoon mentioned any new girl?

“It’s okay,” Soonyoung said, and his hand came up to clumsily pat Wonu on the cheek. More of a dull slap, really. “I’ll be rooting for you.”

Wonu blushed and slurred out a thank you before heading to his own bed.

Wonu almost wished he took another seminar class for his last semester rather than leaving a block of time for an internship. Working was hard. He could barely cope with trudging his way to work at the crack of dawn on top of his other classes and homework. How was he going to cope with a full time journalism job: forty hours a week, including research, editing, arranging interviews and scheduling shoots? He wanted to take a nap.

He couldn’t nap though. Or well. A nap wouldn’t be very proper in line at a Starbucks. The soulless drones that wandered Seoul would just step over him like he was garbage that hadn’t been collected from the night before, and he would get fired for being late.

Someone from behind jostled him, and Wonu huffed a little and scooted forward the two inches that he could. Seriously: Soulless. Drones. And when he got another tap on the shoulder, he had to fight from snapping when he turned around angrily to--

A pair of eyes blinked at him and then crinkled into a smile of recognition, and Wonu couldn’t stop the puzzled way his eyebrows drew together. It was the girl from the bookstore. The funny, pretty one. Her hair was pulled back from her face, and she was dressed like she was headed to work like him, like everyone else in line. It was weird. He had just assumed she was a tourist, or maybe an exchange student. Seeing her against the backdrop of a Monday morning in a random Starbucks felt out of place, like she didn’t belong in boring planes of reality like this.

“Hello,” she said. Not over friendly, but polite. Sort of like how he would greet his co-workers when he finally made it in this morning. Not like he was some stranger she had exchanged a handful of words with a few weeks ago.

“Hello,” he nodded to her, and the absurdity of exchanging greetings with a complete stranger made him choke on a laugh. He held a hand over his mouth, but couldn’t stop the effects of his smile changing the shape of his cheeks, his eyes. “Have you been well?”

“Yes,” she said, and the way she had to bite the inside of her cheek let Wonu know that she had enough sense to know how out of place this was. “Which book did you choose?”

“You remember?” Wonu said, but he wasn’t very surprised. “Um. Jane Eyre.”

“That’s a good one,” she nodded, and moved her chin so that Wonu knew to take a step towards the counter. “I thought you were a student.”

“I were. I am.” Wonu started fishing his wallet from the depths of his pockets. His hands got nervous. “I have an internship in the mornings though.”

“Oh. I intern too.” The way she said it made it seem special, like she and Wonu were the only two interns in all of Seongdong.“I’m an editor at one of those startup volunteer organizations. Refugees and that sort of stuff.”

Wonu ducked his head down a little. That sounded a lot better than the morning of errands that he was about to run for a hoard of Dispatch wannabees. “That’s sounds interesting.”

“Yeah. It’s your turn.”

“It’s just this gossip newsletter. I just tweak the site and--”

“No, uh. It’s your turn.” Wonu followed her gaze to the empty register, where an employee was clearly hiding her irritation behind a smile. He gathered his strength and managed to walk forward and place his order without his face melting off from his blush; he gave himself a small pat on the back while he went to join the bundle of commuters waiting for their order to be called.

“You’re funny,” she said when she came over to wait as well. She said it lowly, in English, not rude or conversational, but an observation.

“No, I’m Wonu,” he said back, switching over to her language. He knew his accent was awful--his parents couldn’t afford to send him abroad like his cousins. But it made her smile. He liked the way her eyes shined; even though the sound didn’t escape, the light of laughter was trapped in her, and it refused to be quiet completely.

She told him her name, and Wonu butchered it, but promised to try harder, or come up with a nickname for her if he got really lazy.

“Meeting twice is kind of testing fate in a city like Seoul,” she said after her order was called. She looked at him levelly over the plastic top of her coffee as she took her first sip. “You seem nice.”

Nice. She thought he was nice. Wonu kind of floated on that for the rest of the morning. Minhyun yelled at him for accidentally deleting some D-list idol’s interview edits, but Wonu couldn’t find it in him to care. She also thought he was funny, said some part of his brain that did not want him to focus on any task he was given. She laughed at him a lot, anyway. And now he had her kkt ID stored in his phone.

“You’re acting weirder than usual,” Minhyun said loudly as he passed Wonu’s desk. He tossed a thumb-drive over to Jonghyun. “What is it?”

“He’s smiling too much,” Jonghyun said, his voice distorted around his fourth mug of coffee. Jonghyun was a perpetually tired grad student who also moonlighted as a dance crew leader in Hongdae. Wonu wasn’t actually one-hundred percent sure that Jonghyun could exist, as a person, without being hooked up to a caffeine IV.

“So I’m not allowed to smile?” Wonu deadpanned, the edges of his mouth smoothing down. Minhyun just shrugged.

“Classes going well?” Jonghyun guessed.

“They’re okay.”

“It’s a girl,” Minhyun said, leaning against Jonghyun’s chair in order to get a look at his computer screen.

“Are you into girls?” Jonghyun asked. He seemed unbiasedly curious, but he didn’t look up from his assignment.

“Sometimes,” Wonu said bitterly. That floaty feeling was getting dampened by this conversation, which is why Wonu genuinely did not like people in his business. Having another set--or sets--of eyes on him made everything seem tiny, examined piece by piece under a microscope. If you look at something closely enough, the importance seems to drain out of it. Or worse, you realize it wasn’t even important to begin with.

She texted him at 8:59pm on Saturday. Wonu only knows this because it was the exact time that they were announcing the guests for the next week of Knowing Bros. It was SHINee, and Wonu was already being bombarded by messages. He was trying to figure out how to mute Soonyoung’s alert tone (because there are only so many times he could be disturbed by a keyboard smash without wanting to smash Soonyoung’s head against a keyboard) when her icon popped up in a banner.

Free sometime tomorrow or Monday?

Wonwho: tomorrow? 4? There’s a good cafe near exit 8

Junhui called it a date. Wonu was not that optimistic--he was realistic.

“That’s not realistic, that’s just being sad,” Junhui said, rubbing an eye and smearing some of the liner a stylist had forgotten to wipe off. “You’re not a sad person. Go sow your wild oats.”

Wonu raised an eyebrow at him. “Where did you even learn that expression?”

“I’m telling you: I was a scholar in my previous life, and Buddha decided to reward me with good looks in this one. Maybe he’ll do the same for you.”

“That’s not how Buddhism works,” Wonu said boredly through a mouthful of ramen.

“I’ll start my own sect then. Wanna be my first disciple?”

Maybe in a different universe, they did start their own religion, right there in the living room. Converted millions and changed lives and went down in history as modern re-evangelists. Wrote essays and papers and revamped prayers to account for vanity and the need for more instagram followers.

In this universe though, Junhui’s joke (like many, many others, Wonu feels the need to add) fell flat, and the drone of shit variety television did little to distract that he (Jeon Wonu) indeed, perhaps, maybe had a date the following day.

End (?)

I’m gonna start doing things where I just post something after I feel “done” with it, and maybe post updates/chapters once I get the juice back, or people really like a certain thing and want to see more of it. I have a little more in store for this little arc, but if I don’t get to it, i’m okay with this short little piece.

thanks everyone for continuing to read and support my stuff. i check my notifs daily

#seventeen fanfic #wonwoo fanfic #wonwoo fluff #kpop fanfiction #wonwoo scenario #seventeen scenario

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firestorm26621 · 5 years ago

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Top 10 of 2019

Disclaimer: The following are not what I consider to be the “best” movies of the year, at least not in the objective sense of the word. I’m not even entirely sure one can judge “best” in an objective manner, or by what criteria that could be measured. Competence in composition and construction, acting, design, music; these are all only parts of what makes a film connect with an audience, and some truly great films have few of these factors in any great quantity, while there are many that are practically perfect films by these gauges which had very little impact on me personally.

So, setting all that aside, what follows are my top 10 films of 2017 only in the sense that they are films I personally enjoyed the most, be that by conjuring the biggest emotional reaction, making the biggest intellectual impact, or simply inspiring the greatest sense of wonderment and appreciative awe in me. These sorts of things are not easily measurable and certainly aren’t objective, but I know what I like, and it’s these.

#10 – A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

I loved 2018′s “Won’t You Be My Neighbor”, which was a heartfelt documentary that lovingly explored who Fred Rogers was as a man and what drove him on his mission of kindness. So much so, that when a live-action Mr. Rogers film was announced I was skeptical, at best; it had already been done before after all. It was a surprise then, that this film takes an entirely different view of the topic altogether. This is not a film about Mr. Rogers the man; while Hanks gives an amazing performance, imbuing him with tremendous empathy but with a hint of slightly mysterious withholding, the film makes it clear that we’re not here to re-learn about Mr. Rogers, but instead to explore what it looks like when his teachings and philosophies are applied to a cynical man in a cynical world. The main character, played with understated angst by Matthew Rhys, has been severely jaded by the pain and tragedy in his own life, so much so that he has cut off his empathy in an effort to avoid more of it. But upon beginning to interview Mr. Rogers for an article, the film sets him on a powerfully emotional journey as he struggles, fights, and eventually reconciles with the emotional honesty and kindness that Mr. Rogers confronts him with. It’s not subtle about its themes or its message, but it delivers them like Rogers would have, with emotional insight, openness, and compassion.

#9 – Hustlers

This one reminded me quite a bit of 2017′s “I, Tonya”, another film that could technically be classified as a “crime drama” but that falls on the edge of that category, full of clever, biting dialogue, fallible characters, and an amusing Coen brothers-esque tone. This one is a little different from the others in this sub-genre though; by being entirely female-led but also by being incredibly stylized in a way akin to a Guy Ritchie movie of old. But then, the way the camera moves is distinct and purposeful, almost like a Scorsese movie; this film definitely has a bit of Goodfellas in it. So clearly, the film is taking influences from other films in the crime family, but the way it blends those influences into a neon-soaked ride is what makes it so interesting. And amidst all those influences, Jennifer Lopez is giving the performance of her career as a stripper matriarch who commands every room she’s in and who’s every outfit and stance could be a character poster. The film uses her maternal powerhouse performance to focus the crime story more on the closeness of the leads friendship than any other of these types of films. The end result of all this is a film that tells a very familiar crime story in an incredibly unique, colorful, delightful way.

#8 – Parasite

Parasite is a very odd film. It starts as what is ostensibly a dark comedy following a poor family living in the basement level of an apartment building who find themselves defrauding a rich family in order to gain access to their opulent home. While it’s following this thread it’s pretty hilarious, with the con-man schemes to get them more and more ingrained in the household becoming increasingly absurd, but at the same time, they become increasingly grim as well. And as you’re watching this comedy play out, a sense of foreboding begins to creep into the proceedings. And ever so slowly, the film begins to morph into a bizarre, dark, tension-filled thriller about the lethal gap between the rich and the poor, and the lengths to which people will go to close it or to maintain their place at the top of it. The film boasts a large ensemble cast, and they are all so good that none truly stand out above the others, making the film feel like a large-scale, zoomed out picture of how different personalities handle the class structure they are in. And when the film decides it’s ready to pull the trigger on the tension it has been ratcheting up for the entire run time, the explosion of cathartic expulsion and tragic consequences hit like a bullet, leaving you both astounded and heart-broken.

#7 – Little Women

Ladybird was one of my favorite films of 2017, and upon hearing that its director was helming an adaptation of this classic novel, it felt like a perfect fit. Greta Gerwig has a real knack for capturing authentic familial relationships; slyly examining both the complicated nature of the love of family and the dichotomy of the closeness and emotional distance that can somehow exist simultaneously within those relationships. This film continues that trend, being a charming look at strong personalities butting up against each other, growing closer, and growing apart. It’s helped by excellent performances across the board; all the girls are bringing real emotional weight and vulnerability to their characters, and there are a few standout moments from Saoirse Ronan that are absolutely heartbreaking. Of course, here is where I have to admit my dimness; I walked out of the film really disliking the ending, thinking it far too saccharine for the story that preceded it, and as I began to record my thoughts on the drive home, as I talked about that point, the genius of that ending dawned on me abruptly, and suddenly the themes came into sharper focus and the film took on new levels of depth. The remixing of the story, and the cross-cutting between time periods, suddenly had much more meaning and power. And with that, the film elevated itself above other period pieces, other adaptations of the famous novel, and into a powerfully affecting study of the evolution of a family.

#6 – Doctor Sleep

This one is going to be my dark horse pick, I know it. I haven’t seen it on any other lists or even heard much about it after its release, but for me, it was one of the most imaginative and well-executed fantasy stories of the year. The film is a chronicle of the life of Danny Torrance, the young boy from The Shining, picking up right after the events of that story and walking through the rest of his life; from learning to control his power and banish ghosts to lock-boxes in his mind, to losing himself to his visions and becoming an alcoholic, to cleaning himself up after finding a moral use for his abilities, to protecting a psychic girl from a pack of immortal energy vampires. If that sounds like a lot, it is; the film is long and it covers a lot of ground, but it moves at a clip without ever feeling like it’s rushing itself. The world expands upon the foundation of The Shining, really digging into this universe of super-powered psychics with a variety of abilities and the dangerous monsters that surround them. It plays with its psychic elements in a way that is both imaginative and yet grounded; it isn’t afraid to get trippy but it’s all understated and tangible, never letting us forget that these are real people in real danger. To that end, it also doesn’t shy away from its horror roots; the film isn’t scary in any real way, but it is often unsettling, not shying away from the horrific nature of its story. Ultimately, it manages to be both a worthy adaptation of Stephen King's novel and a worthy followup to its film predecessor, which is a feat in and of itself.

#5 – Avengers: Endgame

Being the culmination of more than a decades worth of films was never going to be easy, and being the second part of that climactic Infinity War story that was so exciting last year set the bar extremely high. And yet, Endgame lived up to everything that came before, as a celebration of its earned history and as a powerful cathartic release to years worth of character development. The film pretty clearly divides itself into three distinct acts. The first act that works as an emotional anchor, laying low on the action but allowing its characters to really feel the events of the universe and also allowing its actors to really stretch their muscles. The second is what no one saw coming; turning into something of a heist movie as it tours the whole history of the MCU. Then, of course, there is the third act climax that pumps its adrenaline and gives the fans all the service they could want while also putting a perfect end-cap on the arcs of its two main characters. As with many of the MCU films, it's sheer existence is a feat on its own, but as the final point on the massive web of stories the MCU has given us, Endgame was a satisfying and powerful success.

#4 – The Farewell

This film was probably the most educational experience of the year for me. The dynamics of a Chinese family aren’t something I have a ton of experience with, but The Farewell cast such an endearing, focused, insightful light on this particular family that it’s hard not to feel like you’re being let in on a secret while you’re watching, as if you’re being invited to participate in the most vulnerable moments of a family during its most trying times. I don’t think any film has made me feel like part of a family on a screen as much as The Farewell did; it explores a family coming together upon learning that its elderly matriarch has been diagnosed with cancer and that the majority of the family has decided not to tell her about it. The idea sounds a little out-there to Western ears, including mine, and including the main character, played by Awkwafina proving she can translate her awkward comedy skills into awkward family drama pretty damn effectively. And so the film attempts to reconcile these disparate cultural concepts, exploring in-depth not just what such a lie constitutes, but what about a particular culture would lead to that being thought the kindest option. The film never paints any villains or portrays any of its differing viewpoints as right or wrong, instead it’s more interested in the spaces between them; how a family with such a wide gamut of views can maintain itself, and the tensions produced from such cultural & geographic distances. And in the end, you feel for each of these family members, all trying to do their best in their own way, to maintain the bonds of a family.

#3 – Ford v Ferrari

Ford v Ferrari is, obviously, a racing movie, and racing movies are fun. But the best racing movies have a power, an energizing, blood-raising quality that is rarely replicated elsewhere. And Ford v Ferrari is the best racing movie in at least a decade. The racing is phenomenal, with high-octane stunts and cinematography that maintain a grounded realism; to my eye, despite the glut of dangerous maneuvers, there was not a single shot in the movie that did not appear to have been achieved with a physical camera. Any CG involved was woven in so smoothly that you never think to consider if what you're seeing isn’t real. Add to that a pumping score timed to the motors and the fantastic reaction shots Christian Bale is giving during them, and you have some of the best racing sequences put to film in a very, very long time. The rest of the movie is pretty great too. The story of a racing team contending with inferior technology and corporate bureaucracy is told in a purposeful yet understated way, without a lot of stylistic embellishments in how it was shot. The editing and pacing are also crafted in a skilled manner, with the film having a propulsive energy that carries you along, without anything being rushed or overstaying it’s welcome. And then there is the actual best part of this film; the career highlight performances of both Matt Damon and Christian Bale. Damon makes being utterly charming look completely effortless, playing a character trying to walk a fine line between being a “car guy” and a “company man”. Bale, meanwhile, is giving one of the best performances of his career as Ken Miles, a man without any understanding of the word “tact”, while also somehow maintaining a lovable teddy-bear quality. He’s a dedicated family man with a childlike joy of driving who is completely loyal to his friends, and who happens to have zero social refinements and no interest in playing any political games, ever. The film uses these two characters to their fullest, and ultimately the film has a ton of heart and real emotional weight born out of us connecting to these men and really wanting them to succeed.

#2 – 1917

1917 is absolutely amazing as a technical piece of work. I have no idea how they accomplished what they did in this film, with it presented as two continuous shots, through barren wastelands, underground bunkers, verdant fields, truck convoys, blasted towns, raging rivers, and one surreal, mesmerizing sequence progressing through a city on fire in the middle of the night that is so visually stunning it has been burned into my brain forever. The camera pans, dips, and circles around them, making it feel as though you yourself are a third member of this team, following along with them. If you were to pay close attention, you could likely spot the hidden cuts and tricks they used, but the film is drawing you along on such an engaging journey through this war that you don’t. And it’s not just a technical marvel for its own sake; it serves the story of two men in a race against time, with less than a day to make a journey to save many lives, and you can physically feel the time ticking away as you follow along with them on their trek. The film presents its themes, those of the perseverance required to save lives in the midst of so much death, in a way that you cannot tear your eyes from and won’t soon forget.

#1 – Jojo Rabbit

Jojo Rabbit accomplishes things I never thought possible. It’s a comedy through-and-through, which would normally mean there is little chance of it landing at the top of my favorite films of the year. But this film does something astounding with its comedy; it uses it as a tool, deftly weaving it’s absurd humor amidst its incredibly heavy themes, exploring ideas of hate as identity, the pressures of culturally accepted intolerance, and the inherent nature of kindness. All while an imaginary Hitler eats unicorn meat. It’s wild. Part of the way the film accomplishes this is through its fantastic lead. Jojo himself is a 10-year-old on the cusp of having his naive views of the world around him being either codified into his beliefs or broken by the realities of his situation. Which one happens is not only the central conflict of the film but also the primary thematic device. By showing us the grimmest of situations through the eyes of a child who hasn’t fully grasped their weight, the film is able to explore serious ideas in the silliest possible ways, without ever diminishing their meaningfulness. The film can be incredibly touching, poignant, agonizing, and joyous in a span of minutes, and they all land with equal force. It’s an amazing thing to behold, and it’s one of the best films of the decade.

Runners-Up:

The Last Black Man in San Francisco - It uses the backdrop of gentrification to tell an impacting, occasionally comic, occasionally surreal story of trying to latch onto legacy and purpose through history that uses its painterly aesthetic and unique tone to great effect.

I Am Mother - It takes an initially simple science fiction premise then explores the hell out of it, weaving in coming of age ideas about autonomy and developing morality, and putting it into a tense thriller package full of manipulation and wonderful acting.

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World - The animation is just as impressive and awe-inspiring, and this entry offers a far more interesting villain, some great action sequences, and a conclusion to the trilogy that is poignant, powerful, and rather beautiful.

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