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theres-a-goldensky · 4 years ago

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BL Show Review Series - HIStory 3: Trapped

My first non-Thai BL review is also going to be of a series that moves away from the university setting: the Taiwanese drama HIStory3: Trapped.

Disclaimer that these are my own opinions, and I don’t know where the BL community as a whole stands on these shows. If I disliked a show you loved or visa versa, no disrespect is intended!

MASTERLIST OF BL SHOW REVIEWS

MILD SPOILERS AHEAD!

HIStory3: Trapped Rating: 9.5/10

This series. This series. First, a little background if you’re unfamiliar with the HIStory franchise. HIStory is a series of unrelated BL stories. The first season had three hour-long specials. The second series got more ambitious. There are two different stories, each spanning four full-length episodes. Finally, by the time they reached the third iteration, the franchise had grown so popular that both of the series, Trapped and Make Our Days Count, were 10 full-length episodes. (Well, or 20 small episodes that were then condensed down to 10 larger ones, but semantics.)

If you’re interested, the HIStory series is available, in the US at least, on the website viki. It is a subscription site, but it gives you access to thousands of Asian dramas, including this series and South Korean BLs like Where Our Eyes Linger and Mr. Heart.

HIStory3: Trapped is a story about a mobster and the police officers pursuing him. But since this is BL, the mob boss has a heart of gold and is trying to reform the gang so that he and his ‘family’ can get out of the drug business and go legit. Meanwhile, the police officers are on the hunt for answers about a four year old incident that killed one of their own, but they are, err...not super effective.

Look, you just have to roll with the fact that this story is extremely lax about police protocol and the reality of being in the mob. It’s a set up for enemies-to-lovers and intense UST and that’s it. The police chief and other higher ups have no problem with one of their officers dating a well known mob boss who is suspected of killing a fellow police officer, for instance. So why should we? Just roll with it, ok? Roll like a bowling ball, where the pins at the end of the alley are super hot UST, pining, hurt/comfort, jealousy and bed scenes.

The mob boss in question is Tang Yi.

Since the death of his adopted father, he’s taken over the Tang operation and is dedicating himself to avenging his father’s murder and also following his father’s dream of legitimizing their company so that their family can be safe. He is...I mean. He’s gorgeous. Just, like, super super super hot. He is outwardly unflappable (unless you poke the bruise of his father’s death), dresses impeccably, and kills with these knowing smirks that get me every time.

His life is made very complicated by officer Meng Shao Fei, who has been obsessively following him around for years. The same incident that killed Master Tang and injured Tang Yi also killed his police mentor, and Shao Fei is certain that Tang Yi had something to do with it.

Shao Fei is impulsive and as straight forward as Tang Yi is oblique and mysterious. It’s clear early on that Shao Fei’s pursuit of Tang Yi is fueled in part by his attraction to him. Tang Yi can see this as well, and he uses Shao Fei’s crush to his advantage, ratcheting up the sexual tension to nearly unbearable heights in the early episodes and purposely provoking Shao Fei’s quick jealousy.

The jealousy is what brings this show’s rating down the half-point. Shao Fei is so transparent about his jealousy that it becomes uncomfortable to watch. I was cringing with secondhand embarrassment through a lot of the early episodes. However, that honest emotion works well for him once he figures out what he wants from Tang Yi.

This relationship has a TON of hurt/comfort for those of you interested in that particular trope. For Shao Fei, it’s physical h/c. The guy can’t stop getting hurt, and we get to see a lot of Tang Yi worried about him. For Tang Yi, though, it’s emotional h/c as he deals with the psychological fallout from watching his father die.

You might hear mob boss/police officer and think of, I don’t know, The Sopranos, or some other serious, dramatic show. While this story does have its dramatic moments, it is largely romantic and comedic in tone.

The plot surrounding the mystery of that mass murder four years earlier keeps things chugging along and takes some interesting turns, but the focus of the show is very much on the couples.

The main side pairing of the show is between Jack, Tang Yi’s right hand man, and Zhao Zi, another police officer and Meng Shao Fei’s best friend. This pairing is pure fluff from beginning to end. It’s where a lot of the comedy comes, and the two of them are absolutely delightful together.

The contrast set up by Jack’s dark, dangerous personality when he’s doing his job and his sweetness towards Zhao Zi is entertaining. He’s often seen idly flicking a switchblade and smiling in a way that makes it clear he has no problem using it. And then, on the other hand, he prepares Zhao Zi bento boxes and texts him cute bear stickers to make him laugh.

Neither of these sides of Jack seem fake. They’re both just part of who he is, and Zhao Zi gets the warm, domestic Jack, while the rest of the world gets the ruthless, efficient Jack.

Again, you might be asking yourself: isn’t it weird that a leather-wearing gang member who was recently arrested by that very police team could stroll into the station and hand an officer a homemade lunch and no one cares? And to that, I say, roll with it like you’re in one of those giant orb things and HIStory3: Trapped has just pushed you down a hill.

The character of Zhao Zi is adorable, naive and almost childlike. He looks like someone who has never even held a gun in his life, never mind actually shot one. That makes it pretty funny that he became a police officer. It seems to be implied that Zhao Zi is more of a tech / research guy than a field officer, but anyway, we’re rolling with it, so it’s fine.

He’s completely blindsided by Jack’s interest in him, but is easily won over through snacks, home cooked meals, and Jack’s genuine interest in Zhao Zi’s stories about his beloved, dead grandmother.

The other side pairing in this series is between Tang Yi’s adopted sister Zuo Hong Ye, who runs the legitimate side of the company, and their assistant, Dao Yi. Dao Yi is loyal to the Tang family, and is much older than Hong Ye. He has been her bodyguard since she was adopted by Master Tang, which makes his romantic feelings very uncomfortable for him.

Some people didn’t like this pairing, but I got into it by the end. The problem is that Hong Ye starts off seeming pretty unlikable, because she’s rude to our protagonist, Shao Fei. But then you realize that she’s doing it to protect Tang Yi from the police officer she thinks is gunning for him.

There may be a large age difference between the characters, but the actual actors are very close in age, so that part of the story line comes off a little weird. But I found them an engaging couple, in particular Dao Yi’s stoic pining for Hong Ye.

In conclusion: watch this series! It’s great! The bed scenes are hot, the characters are well drawn, the acting is good, the story is interesting. Big recommendation.

And if you’re interested in fanfic, I put together rec lists for multiple BL shows including this one that can be found here and here.

MASTERLIST OF BL SHOW REVIEWS

(Send me an ask if you have a show you’d like me to review - with the understanding that I will be completely honest - or if there’s anything you think I forgot or got wrong in this review.)

#history3: trap #history 3: trapped #history 3: 圈套 #tang yi #tang yi x shao fei #Meng Shao Fei #jack/zhao zi #bl review series #taiwanese bl #HIStory series

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futuristicallyspeedyparadise · 5 years ago

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Waiting For You (Jack x Zhao Zi Story) Chapter 1

“Zhao Zi, if you stare any harder at the door, it will burst into flames.”

Zhao Zi lurched back into reality, ripping his eyes away from the kitchen door to look at Yi Qi’s brown eyes glittering in amusement.

“Why are you so insistent on knowing the new chef? Given our experience with the last few, I would’ve thought you would want to steer clear of that kind of demented folk.”

Perhaps it had just been bad luck, but the restaurant’s endless parade of chefs had resulted in slight trepidation amongst the waitstaff about who the newcomer would be. The chef before this one had the habit of throwing literal knives when someone or something pissed him off. The one before that had emotional breakdowns every once in a while and would lock themselves up in the walk-in freezer for half an hour. And not to mention the one who used the kitchen pantry as his own personal food supply. He would “shop” for items, often the expensive stuff like truffles and Wagyu beef, and take them home to host parties; when being ousted he remained adamant that he hadn’t been stealing.

Each of the previous chefs had cooked spectacularly, but their inability to handle the pressure--or their literal thievery--had made the restaurant owner Tang Yi fire them without hesitation.

Zhao Zi turned fully towards the table again and tucked into his French onion soup. The restaurant’s kitchen was massive, filled with different food stations and prep tables galore. In the corner away from the action, was an area where wait staff could grab food or take their scheduled break. One of the perks of working at the restaurant was that they would occasionally receive free meals. Zhao Zi, a self-identified foodie, could not have been any happier with that particular perk. Sometimes he was able to eat dishes that people had to pay hundreds to eat, for free.

“I’m just curious as to who the new chef is going to be. I mean, c’mon Yi Qi. You know we’ve had quite a string of bad luck.”

“Well...you don’t have to tell me that,” Yi Qi muttered, rubbing her wrist distractedly. Her wrist had been the unfortunate receiver of the last knife that had been thrown by the previous chef. She had not been the intended target, but some things could not be forgiven. When Tang Yi, the owner, heard the news, he had dismissed the chef on the spot and assured Yi Qi that any medical expenses would be paid. Yi Qi had worn a protective band on her wrist for a month and now had a shiny scar to show for it.

“I wonder what their specialty is? I don’t know how we stay afloat. Our menu changes every time a new chef parades through this door!”

“I think that has become the novelty of it. Everytime we fire a chef and the media gets a hold of it, they start conducting polls on what our next specialty food will be.”

“I mean you can’t fault Tang Yi. Whether they are crazy or not, he does find the top people in the culinary field,” Yi Qi agreed.

Tang Yi, their boss, was a no-nonsense restaurant owner. He came out of nowhere a few years before and opened this restaurant, somehow managing to curate the top talent in the field. People wondered how a nobody could convince top chefs, sous-chefs, maître d’s and sommeliers to abandon their posts and come join his restaurant; given Tang Yi’s dubious past—it was rumored he had been affiliated with the gang activity—many figured it had been blackmail.

Despite that, or perhaps because of all the mystery, Trapped surged to the top of every national restaurant list and garnered many recognitions and awards. It’s ever changing and experimental menu, mostly due to the revolving door of chefs, kept it fresh. Though the food changed, the quality certainly did not slip. Zhao Zi had to interview extensively to be a waiter at the restaurant. It was a position that many people in the service industry, from long-time waiters to culinary students, vied for because it included great pay and benefits as well as the chance to work for the culinary greats.

Zhao Zi sighed. He loved working here at the restaurant. Despite the occasional uppity customer who felt they were too rich to have decent manners, he enjoyed the clientele and enjoyed ensuring that they had a great experience. Plus the staff at the restaurant was like family, something that was nice to have given that he had no actual family.

He had lost his parents when he was very young and had grown up with his grandmother. His grandmother, a small but feisty woman, always made sure that he was well taken care of. She put him through school, and encouraged his love for food blogging and consumption. He missed his grandmother’s cooking the most. She made the most wonderful feasts, plates full of steaming, richly flavored food that warmed his stomach and soul.

Stricken with a bout of pneumonia, she passed away a couple of years ago in her sleep.

The door to the kitchen creaked open, and Zhao Zi’s head whipped around to see who had come in. He groaned when he realized it was just Jun Wei, another waiter.

The kitchen staff knew the identity of the new chef; they had had some closed-kitchen training with them to work out the new menu and how the kitchen would be run under their direction. However, it was a tradition for the kitchen staff to not reveal the identity of the new chef to the waitstaff, and legally mandatory for them not to leak information to the press. Tang Yi had made them sign non-disclosures even before the parade of chefs began. Though they had a legal obligation not to, the staff knew that helping drive the media into a speculation frenzy helped garner the restaurant free publicity and more clients which meant a prosperous business. They also just loved to take part in the fun.

“So, sorry to disappoint,” Jun Wei said sarcastically as he made his way over to Zhao Zi and Yi Qi. The waiters at Trapped all wore black button down shirts, black slacks and a black vest. Jun Wei was tall, with an athletic build and wore his uniform well. When he drew close, he reached out to ruffle Zhao Zi’s hair.

“Stop it!” Zhao Zi cried, fending him off. “You know the boss will kill me if he sees my hair like this,” He dropped his spoon, reaching up to pat down his hair. Jun Wei laughed and took up the seat next to Yi Qi. A line-cook came by and dropped off a bowl of soup in front of him; Jun Wei thanked them gratefully.

The cooks in the kitchen and the waitstaff had a mutual respect for each other. They understood that they needed to work cohesively in order to run the restaurant well. Their boss wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Has the dining room been set yet or do they need help?” Zhao Zi asked Jun Wei. He finished off his soup bringing over the bowl to the sink for cleaning.

“I think you might want to go out there and help out a bit. Hong Ye looks a bit...peeved.”

Hong Ye was the restaurant’s maître d. She was a formidable character, strong in personality and with very high standards. She was Tang Yi’s sister and together they ran the restaurant like a pair of benevolent dictators.

Zhao Zi nodded, already heading towards the door. As he was about to push out the doors, someone pushed them in and Zhao Zi jumped back to avoid being hit. The person who walked through the door was...different. He had red wine-colored hair, a black leather jacket and boots to match. He was tall and lithe. His face was nothing short of elegant, a beautifully carved Adonis with a smirk.

“I am so sorry, sir!” he squeaked.

The man’s smirk grew wider. “No need to apologize.”

“How can I help you, sir?” Zhao Zi asked, with a slight bow. It was a habit to address all clientele as ‘sir’ and ‘madam’ or ‘miss.’ He figured that having gotten past Hong Ye, this person was surely some kind of business partner on his way to chat with Tang Yi. He wasn’t dressed like a businessman, but Tang Yi’s visitors were rarely corporate looking characters. They were often older gangster looking types, or young ones who came with their chests puffed out looking for Tang Yi and referring to him as “boss.” This one however, with his green leather jacket, simple white t-shirt and motorcycle helmet in hand was definitely one of the more interesting ones.

“Do you call everyone, sir, or is that one particularly reserved for me, shorty?” The redhead asked, smirk still in place.

Zhao Zi blushed. Sure he was practically a head shorter than the man who was standing unbearably close, but it hadn’t been necessary to point it out.

“I...uh—”

“You can follow me,” came a deep voice from behind him.

Zhao Zi turned, hearing Tang Yi’s voice. Tang Yi wore a soft gray cashmere shirt and black slacks, a rich man’s simple daytime outfit. Tang Yi turned and walked back towards his office, clearly expecting the newcomer to follow him.

“Sure thing, boss.” The man said, moving around Zhao Zi to follow Tang Yi. They went into Tang Yi’s back office, which Zhao Zi had only been to once, during his interview. It was a beautiful room, decorated in splendorous dark woods and emerald accents. It was truly a gentlemen’s den. Zhao Zi let out a breath and pushed through the doors to the dining room to see how he could help.

---

Hong Ye wasn’t necessarily mean when she told someone off, but rather she was incisive. She chose her words carefully, ensuring that each word held its own weight and cut the person to their core.

She gazed about the dining room in disgust.

“So far we have fallen in our standards it would seem,” she said in an emotionless, measured tone. “Dust on the wine bottles, crumbs on the floor. Wine glasses on the wrong side of the table. Did you think I would not notice?”

She gazed at the staff. A beautiful woman standing at just over five feet, her stature did not stop her from seemingly towering over anyone. She wore a white billowy shirt, with draped arms and simple black pants.

“If you think for a second I would not fire all of you in a heartbeat then I’ve clearly haven’t made myself clear enough. Perhaps I have been too soft.”

The dining room was in a state of slight disarray. They had just changed the decor and some of the details were still being worked out. Zhao Zi liked the new look. Just like their food, the restaurant underwent certain changes to match the style of the new chef.

Looking around Zhao Zi was able to learn a little bit about the chef who would soon join them. Whereas before the restaurant had adopted the sophisticated golds and burnt oranges that matched their emphasis on Thai food, now the room was decorated in swathes of red with accents of greens, yellows and blues. The room took on a more intimate and private feel with dimmer lighting; it invited introspection and commiseration. Zhao Zi was reminded of the temples he and his grandmother would visit while growing up.

Perhaps the new chef had an affinity for traditional Taiwanese culture? Zhao Zi couldn’t help but feel a slight disappointment. It didn’t seem like they would be getting any exotic foods with this new chef.

Hong Ye disrupted his thoughts by barking out a list of orders and so they spent the rest of the day fixing up the dining room, rearranging again and again the furniture and decor in order to satisfy Hong Ye’s vision. The restaurant was closed to the public this week in order to prepare for the debut of the new chef, so they worked until Hong Ye was satisfied.

Sometime later in the evening, collapsing on to a chair, Jun Wei groaned, “I am so tired. Man, at least we get to eat.”

That was another perk of working at Trapped. All new chefs cooked a full meal for the wait staff thereby making them always the first to fully try the restaurant's new menu. Tang Yi might have been an emotionless, mysterious boss, but he was a good one.

Zhao Zi was nearly bouncing in his seat; he was always excited when it came to trying out the new menu. He often raced home afterwards to update his food blog. He wrote his thoughts and feelings about the food, tried to describe the flavors accurately and fairly and described how the decor tied in with the food and the mood it established. He was careful to not post his accounts until after the restaurant debuted its new chef to the public; he wrote anonymously and was careful to avoid any details that would identify him as one of the staff.

Zhao Zi had quite a following. He received a lot of correspondence from newspapers and magazines inviting him to join their staff or asking for an interview. It was tempting, but Zhao Zi truly loved his coworkers and the ability to have an inside look at the unique restaurant. He loved watching it come together, each piece necessary to its core: Tang Yi’s curation of staff, Hong Ye’s organization, the kitchen staff’s passion and the waitstaff’s excellence. Each review he wrote about the restaurant was like a letter of deep appreciation to his family, because at the end of the day, that’s what they were. The reviews, however, did not shy away from critiquing the food, and were honest about any faults that were found.

Hong Ye thanked them for their hard work and instructed them to sit down. It was time. From the kitchen doors came first Tang Yi who somehow still managed to look put together and unaffected after a long day of work. Behind him came the new chef.

It was the red-haired man.

Zhao Zi’s eyes widened as he took in the new chef’s apparel. He wore a black chef’s jacket with a red trim that seemed as if it had been tailored. It hugged his body like a glove, showing off his athletic form. The man walked casually behind Tang Yi, a casual smirk in place. They stood at the head of the dining room.

“Thank you all for your hard work today.” Tang Yi began his speech, his deep voice carried across the room. He truly had an impenetrable expression. The only time Zhao Zi had seen him crack a smile was with Hong Ye and even that had happened three years ago. “In order to thank you for bringing his vision to life and for the future work on which you will embark together, our new chef has created a menu for us to dine on tonight. You will find the new menu in the booklets in front of you. Please order as you wish.”

The first dinner with the staff was not only a thank you, but also a test to the new chef. It was their chance to command the kitchen fully. They hired extra wait staff for the occasion so that Trapped’s staff could enjoy their meal. As a reward for the night's hard-work, Tang Yi would in turn treat the kitchen staff to dinner at some of the leading restaurants in Taiwan. Cold he was, but benevolent.

“Before you start, our chef would like to say a few words.”

The redhead stepped up beside Tang Yi and greeted them all with a grin. “Hello,” he said, his voice smooth, low, and rich. Zhao Zi swore he heard some of the women and men swoon in response. Yi Qi’s cheeks immediately turned bright red. He himself even felt a slight swooping sensation in his stomach that he decidedly ignored.

“My name is Jack. You may refer to me as Chef Jack.”

Jack was an odd name. Zhao Zi wondered whether the chef had spent some time abroad. Plus, did he not have a last name?

“Today I have prepared a traditional Taiwanese menu, with my own personal touches. I hope you enjoy it.”

He nodded and led the way back to the kitchen to start the service.

“Taiwanese, huh,” Yi Qi said as they all turned back to the table. A low murmur was already filling the room. They opened the menu and were scandalized. “But...but this looks like the kind of food you would get at a corner shop! Why would anyone want to pay top dollar for this?”

Zhao Zi had to agree. The menu items weren’t particularly exciting, but perhaps the execution would be. He settled for a bowl of beef noodle soup. You could tell a lot about a chef by how they executed the simplest of dishes. Beef noodle soup was common, but every restaurant and food-stand had their own closely guarded recipe that made the dish their own. Zhao Zi was interested to see the chef’s take on it.

Orders taken, the team settled into their seats, wine in hand.

“I wonder what made Tang Yi go for this guy,” Yi Qi questioned. She lifted the glass of white wine to her lips. “Has anyone ever heard of him? At least we had heard about the others.” She looked at Zhao Zi in particular, seeing as he was the one who always displayed more knowledge about the industry.

“No,” he shrugged. “But Tang Yi has never failed us before..”

Jun Wei peered at him. “You are not as excited about this menu as I’ve seen you be at other times.”

Zhao Zi laughed. “Yeah, it’s a bit difficult to be excited about something I can get anywhere. Plus no one can beat my grandma’s beef noodle soup. Not even a top chef, or whatever this guy is.”

“You sure?” Jun Wei challenged, a growing grin taking over his face. He nodded towards the food that was now exiting the kitchen. “We will find out soon enough.”

When Zhao Zi’s beef noodle soup was set in front of him, he couldn’t help but feel a little impressed. Plating up an appealing looking soup was always a challenge and the chef’s arrangement of this one was stunning. The broth was dark and rich, contrasting greatly with the white noodles. The bok choy was a deep green and accented by the light green scallions sprinkled across the top. The beef was sliced thinly and served on top of the noodles. Zhao Zi saw hints of red flakes, indicating the soup would come with heat.

He stuck his chopstick in and pulled out a wad of noodles. They were well cooked with a slight firmness. Zhao Zi brought the noodles to his mouth.

A moan escaped him.

Jun Wei and Yi Qi stopped and looked at him with raised eyebrows. Zhao Zi flushed a deep red, quickly chewing up the noodles.

“That good, huh,” Jun Wei laughed.

Zhao Zi nodded, but had no words. He continued to dig into the soup, enjoying the tenderness of the beef contrasted by the structural fidelity of the noodles. The hint of licorice flavor in the soup was perfect and there was something else, something Zhao Zi couldn’t pinpoint quite just yet, that tied the whole thing together.

His grandmother had been an expert at making beef noodle soup. She had her own recipe and made it for him constantly. It was his comfort food. So he wondered what was the story behind this meal. Despite its clear appeal to the palette, a symphony of tasty perfection, he felt something was missing. Something that told a story and gave a hint as to who Jack was.

The team enjoyed their meal. Yi Qi praised her vermicelli oyster soup and Jun Wei had a second order of soup dumplings.

“Well I guess you were right. Tang Yi didn’t let us down. That was amazing,” Yi Qi said. “The public won’t know what hit them.”

After dinner, they always completed anonymous surveys that were given to the chef. While he knew most of the staff praised the food, he often tried to give good constructive criticism. For his beef noodle soup, he wrote: Amazing soup with a deep, rich flavor and delightful hint of licorice. A flavorful adventure. However, I can’t help but wonder, where’s the story? What are you trying to say?

Zhao Zi knew that previous chefs had never responded to their critiques. Oftentimes they thought themselves above the staff, an unfortunate result of early career success and zero-humility. He wondered if this chef would be the same.

When he got home that night, he stepped into his house and felt...alone. Putting his things away, Zhao Zi slipped into his pajamas, a big t-shirt and soft sweat pants before walking over to the little alter he kept for his grandmother and lighting a candle for her. “Nǎinai, I had some pretty amazing beef soup today. World class,” he whispered to her. “It still wasn’t as good as yours.” He bowed his head and stood up, making his way upstairs to bed.

--- Back in the kitchen, Jack looked over the survey responses that had been submitted by the waitstaff. A lot of them expressed the fact that they had been surprised at the simplicity of the menu, but were blown away by the food. Good. Jack liked surprising people with the unexpected.

He knew he didn’t necessarily carry himself like a professional chef, and that he was relatively unknown and would therefore be put under a lot of scrutiny, but Jack had no doubts that he would succeed in impressing the public. He would settle for nothing less.

“How did the staff take it?” Tang Yi asked, slipping into the seat next to him.

“I seem to have pleasantly surprised them.”

“I expect you to do the same to the critics.”

“I will, boss,” Jack affirmed. He pulled out one of the survey cards, “Do you know who this is?” Jack asked. Tang Yi took the card and read through it.

He smirked.

“What is your story then?”

Jack smiled back, coyly taking back the card and slipping it into his pocket. Tang Yi and him had met under unconventional circumstances. Tang Yi did not know much about Jack’s background, no one did, but in their time of interaction he grew to realize that Jack was amazing in the kitchen. Now he was using that to his advantage.

Jack stood and lazily saluted Tang Yi before slipping through the kitchen doors.

-------------------

I will be posting updates to this story on AO3.

#jack x zhao zi #zhao zi x jack #history 3 #history 3: 圈套 #fanfiction

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h3trappedcollection · 5 years ago

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Author Interview Part V

The talented and all-round fabulous @weilongfu joined us today for another part of the Author Interview.

Stories written for the Collection:

The Day of Singularity

Four meetings with Officer Meng (But one with Shao Fei)

Interview:

How did you come into the Trapped fandom?

I came into the Trapped fandom the way I’ve gotten into many of my fandoms. By everyone around me screaming about it. People like @andwebegin, @ctl-yuejie, and @florbexter were pretty instrumental in getting me aware that it was going to happen. Especially after having taken their word about HIStory2: CTL, I was more than willing to check out Trapped. Especially after I found out more about the potential plot.

My usual philosophy after that is to at least watch the first few episodes. If I’m not hooked by anything, then I give it up. Trapped kept me hooked for good! I fell in love with everyone in the show and the rest is… history?

Who’s your favourite character?

I love a lot of characters in the show for different reasons. I love Zhao Zi for his honesty and genuine desire to do good. I like the mystery and mischief of Jack. I admire Tang Yi’s deep feelings and emotions. And I greatly enjoyed Shao Fei’s straightforwardness and ability to commit. If I had to pick one, I’d go with Zhao Zi because we both love food, potentially like dangerous boys, and we both want the world to be a better place.

What’s your favourite trope?

I honestly have been enjoying a lot of the AU fics that are in the fandom. Like the original Trapped setting is great, but pushing the boys into college or further back? It’s been an amazing thing to read and I’ve enjoyed it immensely. As to whether I’ll write it? Eh… Someone did ask if I’d ever write a proposed fic about College Freshman!Jack dating HS Senior!Zhao Zi so…

What do you like about writing for Trapped?

The best part about writing for Trapped has actually been the fandom. Everyone is so supportive and nice. It’s a real pleasure to see the responses I get which are also always very friendly.

Aside from that? Trapped has such varied and interesting characters. It’s very easy to find the right knob to twist or switch to flip that can make a large variety of fics happen.

Care to elaborate about your writing process?

My writing process is a mess!

I don’t usually outline because then I over-outline. A lot of my fics were spawned from just coming up with a good title! And that’s in every fandom I write for.

But once I get going, things usually just flow. I’ll go back and read it once or twice to make sure I haven’t truly fucked something up, but once I’m done, I’m usually done for good and I post it before I second guess myself. Truly, I treat writing fics like how I take exams. Just get it done and hand it in before you delete/erase something that actually worked!

Sometimes it’s not that easy, and I have struggled with a few fics just because I’ve managed to overthink myself or I get hung up on an idea, but I have yet to find a better or more comfortable way for me to write.

Your favourite Trapped fic by another author?

Oooo…. Well I have to give a shout out to @decadentdeerpolice and @the-wintry-mizzenmast for their lovely fics during the last exchange. I absolutely loved how they filed the prompt for me.

I’m also a big fan of Skuld’s The Divine Art of the Househusband series. It’s definitely a twist on what Jack’s life as a househusband would be like and it’s always fun to see a new update!

I also liked @sarah-yyy ‘s fics fortune and amuse bouche.

The next set of fics I’m actually eagerly awaiting updates on is Flor’s Breaking the Firewall series. The espionage and manoeuvring that’s happened in just the first parts is already super fun.

What do you want to write but never had the nerve to?

Hmm… I’m not sure? There aren’t a lot of ideas that I’ve never really had the nerve to put down on paper, if only to get them to stop bothering me. There are a few that never really made it to paper though. Like my Fantasy!AU where all the boys are different positions and have different abilities.

I wanted to write Jack as a member of the Assassin’s Guild. Zhao Zi would be part of the guard and mostly be seen as a scribe, except when he pulls the robes off and gives most thieves a run for their money in his trap deactivating, lock picking, and ward/seal breaking. Shao Fei would, of course, be a paladin as he believes in the law and doing what’s right. Tang Yi would so be a weapons master type character, as once he was adopted by the ‘noble’ Tang Guo Dong, he was trained in many styles to defend himself.

The idea fell apart after that because I had no idea what they’d do afterwards. Plus they’re missing a ranged caster and committed healer in the party and everyone who has played D&D knows that’s a mistake waiting to cause a total party kill. (I mean you could argue Hong Ye would totally make a great sorceress and Dao Yi would be the cleric cleaning up her messes, but let’s not get this any bigger.)

If you want, please share a snippet of your current Trapped WIP!

It wasn’t very often that Zhao Zi wondered what was the first link in the chain of decisions that lead him to slightly less than desirable outcomes. Not because Zhao Zi lacked insight or critical thinking, he was a police officer after all. It was often because Zhao Zi was usually pretty good at pulling himself out of a pinch.

A smile and innocent disposition were very good for many things. When those failed, being flexible in many ways helped some more.

(The third option was that he was legally allowed to carry a gun, even if no one wanted Zhao Zi to carry a gun.)

But as Zhao Zi lifted a large, homemade sausage to his lips while Jack eyed him expectantly, Zhao Zi contemplated if his grandmother would approve of what he was about to do to a perfectly decent piece of food and what had brought him to this new point in his life in the first place.

------

Zhao Zi had been through practice interrogations before, but none of them had prepared him for someone like Jack. And despite Jack’s initial countenance, there was something about his smile, how easily he showed his teeth. It should have been predatory and dangerous. But in the curve of Jack’s eyes, Zhao Zi knew he wasn’t in any danger.

Of course, Zhao Zi knew plenty about Jack. Working with Shao Fei for so long, Zhao Zi knew plenty about Tang Yi’s most recent right hand man. Jack was a known mercenary, but he’d somehow managed to keep his nose just clean enough, just on the gray side of legal. All evidence was circumstantial. Even the International Crimes Division was often stuck dancing around Tang Yi’s lawyers when they were aiming for whatever secrets were hiding in Jack’s mind.

So it was Jack’s smile and eyes that allowed Zhao Zi to sell Shao Fei out in exchange for food. He did not expect the food to taste as good as it would. Nor did he expect that he might enjoy Jack pulling him close as Zhi De knocked over his bowl of noodles.

Zhao Zi decided to be open-minded. Jack was certainly interesting and fun. No harm in getting to know someone, right?

------

Jack knew he was smitten the moment Zhao Zi sold out his friend for food.

Good survival instincts. Good taste. Cute face too.

Jack was also hardly the kind of guy who just let things happen to him. But Zhao Zi was a new quantity. He’d have to slowly edge his way in, find out just how Zhao Zi might handle another man pursuing him.

So when Zhao Zi said, “Don’t you need to try it?”

Jack knew this was his chance to appeal to the clear foodie Zhao Zi was. “I don’t need to. I know I’m a good cook.”

“Huh? I meant Ah Fei’s number!”

“Too subtle,” Jack thought.

But Jack got to hold Zhao Zi close and a promise to see him again anyway.

“That could be like a date, right?” Jack thought as he rushed to collect Tang Yi from the hospital.

Thank you so much @weilongfu for the Interview

#h3trappedcollection #history 3: trapped #history 3: 圈套 #author interview

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florbexter · 6 years ago

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THIS! This was what I wanted to see in the episodes without Jack and Zhao Zi. This character development, to see what Zhao Zi is like without his happy-go-lucky-attitude. That people, who seem so optimistic and happy on the outside aren’t shallow, that they are also able to feel deep and feel vulnerable.

Some dismiss him as this naive character but he calls Shao Fei his brother, his home is full of memories of his grandmother, gosh he lives alone in a huge house without someone to greet him.

Yes, he is a police officer and familiar with life's tragedies but after losing his Chief, who maybe was also a father figure for him he also almost loses his brother too and maybe, just maybe, after he feels like everyone is leaving it’s the first time he actually asks someone to stay and admits that he’s afraid of losing someone else he cares about.

I’m so so hyped for their scenes!

#florbexter rambles #history 3: trapped #zhao zi x jack

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projectjasper · 6 years ago

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tang yi’s father figure : one day someone will come along who will show you the value of simple , normal life

zhao zi’s grandmother : one day you’ll find someone who will take care of you very well

shao fei and jack : * looking at the camera like they’re in the office *

#history 3: trap #shao fei x tang yi #zhao zi x jack #archer watches trap

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tinesleftnipple · 6 years ago

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There’s a strange delicacy about shao fei where he’s so willing to love and is so forward and brave about it, and will stop at nothing to get to what he wants regardless of what other ppl say-

And yet he’s so sensitive. He paid more attention to li qi’s feelings after tang yi mentioned it briefly, comforted zhao zi in the softest way after his grandmother died, and remembered tang yi’s birthday

To be able to see these different aspects of shao fei not only gives a more rounded character, but also shows this sort of forced strength about his personality that he shows to protect the people he loves, which makes him ironically vulnerable, and at the core that’s what makes his character so interesting and likeable

#history 3: trapped #history 3: 圈套 #history3圈套 #mine #basically shao fei makes me feel protective feelings #shao fei

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shijiujun · 6 years ago

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History3: Trapped FanMeeting Summary - I am an embarrassment to this fandom

Okay guys let me summarise what happened today for the fanmeet - I fucking, absolutely fucking died - Like I died both from excitement and quality content and more importantly, for BEING A FUCKING EMBARRASSMENT IN FRONT OF CHRIS BUT MORE ON THAT IN A SEPARATE FUCKING POST OH GOD

General comments on the event: Chris and Jake’s friendship is okay I think, and I guess putting it in perspective, Andy and Kenny are way better at fanservice and knows what the fans want, while Jake firstly isn’t really the kind to really go overboard on the fanservice with Chris due to his personality I feel, although there was still quite a bit of fanservice between them both - But it was more genuine I feel because Jake or Chris would jump in with something clever and a bit flirty, it felt really natural actually - And also because Jake srsly looked confused half the time regarding what they were supposed to do for the games and segments - More on that below

But more importantly I think jake is legit busy with work, and he’s not really a person to do stuff on social media, it’s not in his personality but he tried today hahaha with a post after the event - jake says that whenever he logs on once in a while he always sees chris’ handsome photos and he looks so good, and chris replied that jake looks... down to earth in his photos hahahahaha

So a few highlights:

Freebies!! There are so many freebies from dedicated Taiwanese fans literally just giving out shit for free - banner prints, stickers, hair clips, photo cards etc. - We took a lot and we’re going through what we have right now, but would you guys want some of the freebies? Let me know!!! If the shipping cost makes sense I’m totes fine with sending you guys some of the loot

Saw Jake’s back going into the building in the morning in front of all the fans because I was too slow but I did see his back

WeStar is literally in the heart of downtown and it was frickin packed - We started queuing at like 11am+? And there were only 2 lifts to get everyone up to the EIGHTH FLOOR and each lift could only hold like less than 15 people? And there were like 700 of us. Luckily my friend and I were in the front of the queue and managed to get upstairs with the second round of lifts (the staff were asking some of us to take the stairs because it was faster, and it wouldn’t be faster if I died on the stairs while getting upstairs)

In terms of organisation - It wasn’t half bad because we were lucky where we were, we were always in the right queue and right area, but there were literally zero directions or instructions on where to queue or how to go upstairs etc. etc.

Too bad we were seated in row 16 which was actually pretty far, and we were blocked by too many people in front of us and i’m literally like 157cm so wow I really was blocked really bad BUT we could still see the stage

There were like two tables in the hall that allowed us to leave gifts for the four of them - So in my other video you guys saw that I actually did deliver the message books! They’ll definitely get it I think, no chance of it dropping out or mistaken for anything else considering the covers

The event actually started more or less on time - And the hosts were great - There’s Xiao Yi and Chen Chen (they’re both hosts from showbiz, the variety show) and they were fucking good as hosts - Xiao Yi has hosted quite a number of their events, and if it wasn’t him the event would have gone a bit differently

They started singing the opening song for the show first together, coming on stage and like rotating turns to sing a line - They tried the boyband formation it was quite hilarious

They introduced themselves as always - And can I be the one to first say that Jake’s fugly shirt - Fashion was absolute shite at his event - At least Chris had like a suit on even tho i take issue with the print on the suit itself, but wow Jake really went for... wannabe gangster loan shark OR grandmother’s quilts put together - i dont know which is worse idk guys, is it just me or my eyes or is it really fugly - Andy and Kenny were perfect tho

So they began with some best couple scene recaps through the show:

Jack/ZZ - 1st grandma/instant noodles scene, and the ep 20 scene where Jack is trying to confess to ZZ while ZZ is angry

Tangfei - Jealous andy scene at the tea place, the touching hospital scene, and the lift scene from ep 1

They recapped these scenes one by one, alternating btw the couples and then the hosts asked what they thought about each scene when they were filming it and LOL jake and chris were like laughing and being embarrassed when certain scenes came on, and then for the 1st grandma/instant noodles scene, kenny said it was a really cold day that day when he filmed that scene and the noodles were actually ice cold and he had to keep eating it - andy like patted kenny on the back

for the touching hospital scene - jake said that it was easy to act out because the emotions always came through the moment he looked at chris, and chris said he was really touched by that moment, by jake’s acting

the lift scene was quite tough to act out because of how long they took to get the logistics right

And while the angry ZZ and jack scene from ep 20 was being shown on the screen, ON STAGE kenny and andy were literally reciting their lines and re-enacting the scene

And then Xiao Yi asked the audience which scenes would we like the couples to act out - and everyone was just yelling for the lift scene re-enactment - but logistically that was hard to do and chris was like, “if there’s no lift we can’t do the scene!!!”

Then Andy and Kenny offered to be the walls of the lift for them but Chris was like whoa then that’s a bit weird because when Jake is slammed against the wall in the lift, that part, Jake will turn around and crash into Andy hahaha so they decided to re-enact the jealous scene instead - with a few additional lines hahaha and then andy and kenny re-enacted the part where jack asks zhao zi if he wants him to stay or go

and then the next segment - there was a game where each couple is supposed to stand together on a piece of newspaper and play rock-paper-scissors, and whoever loses will get their piece of newspaper torn into half - in the end chris and jake won hahaha but both jake and kenny ended up being piggy-backed by chris and andy respectively hahahaha it was cute

then chris and jake went off stage to take a short break, and since andy and kenny lost, they were punished to do the titanic pose and lines which kenny had to do in half english and chinese

then jake came on stage to sing I’m Yours - he was super nervous so he false started a few times, but he was pretty good and he has a very nice smooth tone - and i think a lot of people didn’t know the song in the audience LOL and then as he left the stage after his performance he left a bouquet of flowers for chris who was coming up next

chris came up after to play the piano and sing some chinese song i’ve heard before but don’t know the name of - and then after he finished he was very touched by the bouquet and then some member in the audience shouted to ask for the bouquet and chris protectively hugged it, but decided to give her one stalk anyway, and when he was giving it out, jake literally came out and then chris was explaining to him like why he was giving away his gift, and jake said, “yeah that’s okay, he knows my heart” AWWWW

then they all came back on stage for a segment of talking where Xiao Yi revealed their childhood photos - jake/kenny/andy were very talkative and chatty when they were younger and andy was isolated in the middle of the classroom, while kenny was directly placed outside of the classroom because he was so noisy, and omg jake was a little chubbier when he was younger and he didn’t like to study HAHAHA

chris was a shy boy and still is apparently!!! and he got a lot of love letters when he was younger and he couldn’t believe that jake/kenny/andy didn’t get any, and then when jake’s childhood photo came out he jokingly said, “now i can finally understand why (you didn’t get any letters”

then we had andy and kenny singing and dancing to marry you totally out of beat, poor guys they tried, and kenny totally missed an entire line, but they were so sweet - they ran off the stage and threw sweets at the audience, and andy said he was thankful to kenny for practicing the dance repeatedly with him because he’s not good at dancing and then they hugged awww it’s cute

fan games: LOL okay so interesting thing was that all the fans said they didn’t want to play the games with the cast but instead wanted to watch the cast play the games so in the end they randomly chose four of the audience to go on stage to watch the cast play the game LOL - so the ones picked were two men and two women #genderequality

1st game: chris/jake and jack/kenny had to feed each other a sushi piece i think, or a pastry i’ve no idea but one of them was filled with chilli, so the challenge was for the audience to guess which of the four of them ate the chilli one, and jake said he can’t stand spicy food and if he had it he’d totally show it on his face - in the end it was kenny who ate it and literally no one could tell

then the second part there was a huge confusion because the hosts weren’t very clear on who was supposed to play the game in the next part - anyway, so they had a how-well-they-know-the-cast quiz with the fans - and here we know that chris likes blue, winter because that’s his birthday period and then he and jake had a moment where they were like ‘oh your birthday is in december too?!!!!’ LOL, kenny likes to eat bbq meat

then the next part, they had the fans on stage and jake + andy drink a sweet drink and also a bitter drink, everyone had to figure out who is the one with the bitter drink and lol jake was so sweet he didn’t want the fans to be punished with the bitter tea, and chris said that he’ll help him to finish the drink if it’s really bitter, and jake was like, “because you’re here, i’m not scared”

afterwards, ezu came out to sing a ballad version of the opening song that made people around me cry hahaha

and also kenny announced a third fanmeeting stop in taiwan after chengdu, on 18 august in taichung

and then there was the hi-five touch and photo thingy - and you guys already know that i fucked it up i am still wanting to cry - i know he doesn’t remember but god I WANT TO BE THE ONE WHO DOESN’T REMEMBER

but i touched their hands hahaha

anyway at the end, jake said that no matter where he is, where we see him in the future, he’ll always be the same jake, and i think this is beautiful

they had the afternoon tea party after the event and from photos i see that it was like a mini-fanmeeting where fans could sit closer to them and really like be able to talk to them, and jake/chris and andy/kenny were very friendly and accommodating from what i see

when we went back to the building at about 6.20pm there was still this long queue outside the entrance, and i went for dinner so i didn’t actually stay to wait for them to come out, but a lot of fans did - jake was surprised so many people were waiting for them outside and he left first - andy/chris/kenny left together in a van and chris was holding a huge bouquet of flowers

if you go on twitter/weibo you can see that jake talked to a lot of fans, said hi to the ones who called out his name, and someone asked if he was tired and he said he was still okay

chris was bowing repeatedly the entire time he was walking through the crowd to the van <3

#history 3: 圈套 #history3圈套 #history 3: trapped #history3: trap #history3: trapped #chris wu #andy bian #jake hsu #kenny chen #history fanmeeting #taiwan fanmeeting #history party #summary #trapped news desk

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shaenanigans · 6 years ago

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Wedding Bells (Guardian/SCI/Trapped Xover) Drabble

The wedding invitation had been sitting on Zhao Zi’s desk for at least three days. Shao Fei was not a nosy person by nature, regardless of his obsession with the then bane of his existence, now boyfriend Tang Yi. What he felt was more along the lines of worry for his junior. Zhao Li An had been moping. Not even bribes of food from Jack could make him smile, mouth seemingly carved into a permanent pout.

Shao Fei was there when the invitation arrived in the mail. He’d seen the exact moment Zhao Zi’s eyes lit up when he read the wedding card, exclaiming about his awesome Yunlan-Gege and his upcoming marriage. But then there’d been the letter with the Zhao family crest and he went pale.

The Zhao family is well off. Elite even. But Zhao Zi’s father gave up all his inheritance to elope with his mom, who was not of their stature. When his parents died, his grandfather didn’t want anything to do with him and forbade any contact with the family. He had to stay with his grandmother from his mom’s side. When his grandfather died and his uncle became the new head, Zhao Zi was invited back but he chose to stay with his grandma. To make amends, his uncle made sure he didn’t get kicked out of the police academy. Though being a police officer was his dream and clearly something that ran in the blood of Zhao men, Zhao Zi was too naïve and innocent for the gritty job of a cop, sheltered as he was under his grandmother's coddling . If he wasn’t a natural technological genius with strong family connections, he would have been in danger of not graduating.

Last Shao Fei heard, though Zhao Li An’s relationship with his uncle was civil, familial obligation at best, he was close with his cousin Zhao Yunlan, who coincidentally was also Shao Fei’s senior at the police academy. So there should be absolutely no reason for Zhao Zi to sulk the way he’s been doing. It’s a happy occasion after all. And going by what he knew of his senior, Zhao Yunlan didn’t seem like the type to settle down. He used to flirt with anything that moved as if he was in perpetual search for the one. Shao Fei remembers a particular scandalous affair Zhao Yunlan had with the only son from another family of elites, the Bai clan. It caused quite the ruckus back at the academy because they were constantly at each other's throats. Which was true anyway, just not entirely in the way everybody thought.

This Shen Wei must be very special indeed to put an end to Zhao Yunlan's flirting ways. Shao Fei is of the belief that finally finding the love of one's life is definitely something that needs to be celebrated.

“Uncle Xinci had a near death experience." Zhao Zi explains later that night when Shao Fei has had enough with the moping and decided to confront his junior about his mood. "Some kind of underground gang got to the family. Yunlan-Gege was held hostage and nearly died. His fiancé was presumed dead for a time. I mean, I get it. He probably thinks someone might come after me that’s why he wants me to stay at the main Zhao family house where he could keep an eye out. He wants me transferred and work under Yunlan-Gege. But Meng Shao Fei, I have a life here and and…” he trails off in his rant, head bent down. There's no mistaking the slight pink on his cheeks. “Jack’s here too.” He groans, shooting Bambi eyes at Shao Fei and his ever present pout, the kind that never fails to make the people around him trip all over themselves to try and cater to his needs. Tang Yi’s right hand man being the biggest casualty of all. “Uncle Xinci is going to be livid if he finds out my boyfriend is a gangster.”

“He’s just your uncle. He can’t dictate who you should or shouldn't date.” Shao Fei says, hands clamped on the younger man’s shoulder, very gently pushing him down the couch. “And don’t forget. Xing Tian Meng is not going to be a gang for long. Tang Yi’s making sure that they’re going to be clean as a whistle.”

“I know that, but I also know Uncle. It’s not going to matter. He’ll see mercenary on Jack’s background sheet and say no.” That pout’s really getting more miserable by the second. “I don’t want to leave you guys and grandma’s house. I’ve lived here all my life. I don’t even know the first thing about Dragon City.”

“Don’t you think maybe you’re overthinking this?” Shao Fei asks, handing over the koala plushie from the side of the couch to join the Teddy Bear Zhao Li An’s already suffocating against his chest. The younger man turns to him, nearly knocking Shao Fei over when he stubbornly plants his face on his shoulder. Shao Fei sighs and wraps an arm around the distraught police officer.

“Meng Shao Fei, I don’t want to break up with Jack.” Zhao Zi laments, voice muffled.

“You’re not going to.” Shao Fei assures, fingers raking through his hair soothingly. He smiles, rubbing his face against the mop of dark hair. “You’ll go to the wedding, congratulate your cousin and tell your uncle that you’re not going anywhere, and that will be the end of that. I’ll even accompany you when you reason with him if you want while Jack and Tang Yi can look devastatingly handsome at a distance.”

Zhao Zi pulls away from the half-hug and directs Shao Fei with wide, worshipful eyes. “You’re coming with me? Even Jack and Tang Yi?” he asks incredulously, and then with his expression falling, he adds. “But the wedding invitation didn’t say anything about bringing guests. Is that going to be okay?”

Shao Fei knows Jack will definitely want to come with, and well, if Shao Fei is going, then Tang Yi will undoubtedly want to come too. After the fourth time he got hurt in the hands of Tang Yi's enemies, he’s become quite overbearing lately, always watching him like a hawk. Not that he doesn’t appreciate his boyfriend's overprotectiveness, but he’s a grown adult and can take care of himself thanks.

“It’s a garden wedding, not a closed doors court ruling.” Shao Fei shakes his head, knuckling Zhao Zi gently on the forehead. “I’m sure it’s going to be fine.”

“Ai-yah, that hurt.” Zhao Zi says pouting, backing away from his hand.

“I didn’t even put pressure in it. Stop exaggerating, Zhao Li An.” Shao Fei says with an eyeroll, then pulling him closer, he asks in a conspirational tone, “So, have you met this Shen Wei that Zhao-senior is marrying?”

Zhao Zi blinks, then nodding, he grins happily. “I did facetime with Yunlan-Gege once and I saw him in the background cooking. He was only in a black T-shirt. He had really nice muscles, Meng Shao Fei! His arms were very toned and his chest! He’s also very pretty. Prettier than Hong Ye I think. But don’t tell her I said that. Hey, do you think Yunlan-Gege is going to get mad if I felt up his fiance’s muscles when we get there?” Beaming, he adds. “I need someone to compare Jack’s muscles with.”

Shao Fei snorts. “Of course you’d focus on some unsuspecting guy's muscles.” he says sighing, looking up to the heavens in silent prayer, hoping that the wedding would commence with no casualties, no jealous other halves potentially losing limbs or vital organs.

More later...

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I fee too inadequate to try and write this. I should have just prompted someone else hahahaha. But at the same time this is something fun to do.

#crossover #weilan #tangfei #tongyao #s.c.i mystery drama #guardian #zhenhun #history3 #trapped #zhao zi and zhao yunlan as cousins #police academy bros #writing process #experiment #weilan marriage #jack x zhao zi

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bibaybe · 4 months ago

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Teen Wolf OC Masterlist

Teen Wolf

Grayson Bishop

age: 17

character type: side character

appearances: season 5 (minor), season 6 (main)

gender and pronouns: cis man, he/him

sexuality: bisexual

love interest: josh diaz, theo raeken

faceclaim: anthony turpel

series: running with the wolves

summary: part of the moonwood pack, led by sullivan lahey. younger brother of sullivan's girlfriend(tba). only human allowed with the pack due to his sister's influence. turned into a chimera in season 5 and later resurrected by theo raeken.

links: playlist / tag

James Lahey

age: 41

character type: side character

appearances: season 4 (minor), season 5 (main)

gender and pronouns: cis man, he/him

sexuality: straight

love interest: genesis bishop

faceclaim: tom hardy

series: running with the wolves

summary:n/a

links: playlist / tag

Jayda Barlowe

age: 16-18

character type: side character

appearances: season 2-6 (minor)

gender and pronouns: cis woman, she/her

sexuality: straight

love interest: n/a

faceclaim: skai jackson

series: running with the wolves

summary: tba

links: playlist / tag/ fic- runaway

Jian Zhao

age: 16

character type: side character

appearances: season 2 (minor), season 3 (main), season 4 (main), season 5 (minor), season 6 (minor)

gender and pronouns: cis man, he/him

sexuality: gay

love interest: isaac lahey

faceclaim: wang zi yi

series: running with the wolves

summary: Jian had grown up on stories of special people with abilities far beyond normal humans. People who could run faster than Olympians, who were more agile than gymnasts, who were clairvoyant, though he wouldn’t know what that meant until he was older. The Zouyu had been his heroes since he was young, but they were nothing but daydreams to him, no matter how much his grandmother said that they were real. That is, until the day he looked at Scott McCall in the hallway and all he was red, screaming in his head. The moment shook him. But when Scott came to school the next day, suddenly ripped and amazing at lacrosse, Jian shook it off. Obviously, Scott was fine, right? Whatever he saw, it must have been his imagination. Over time though, these moments began to happen more and more, and soon enough he came to realize that his grandmother was right - the Zouyu were real. And his family were part of them. Suddenly able to relate to his grandmother on another level, he began working with her to understand his visions. His sister may not have gotten the gift of clairvoyance, but she was certainly agile and fast enough that they could spar against each other evenly matched. And things were fine, for a while. Suddenly being known as the weird kid who likes to pop his nose into others’ business with annoyingly good advice is certainly a plus. That is, until Jian’s at a lacrosse game and looks at new girl, Willow Lahey, and sees her chained to the floor, red tinting the vision. And suddenly, his gift is no longer something fun but something that can effect real life.

links: tag / fic - runaway

Lisha Zhao

age: 15

character type: side character

appearances: season 3 (minor), season 4 (main), season 5 (minor), season 6 (main)

gender and pronouns: cis woman, she/her

sexuality: lesbian

love interest: willow lahey, hayden romero

faceclaim: peyton elizabeth lee

series: running with the wolves

summary: N/A

links: playlist / tag

Willow Lahey

age: 16

character type: main character

appearances: season 2-6 (main)

gender and pronouns: cis woman, she/her

sexuality: bisexual

love interest: lisha zhao, stiles stilinski

faceclaim: kiernan shipka

series: running with the wolves

summary:Abandoned by her father to the foster care system, Willow has spent her life dreaming for a family who would love her for who she is. The next twelve years are hell. That is, until she sneaks into her social worker’s office and discovers that, after all this time, she’s had family just a bus ride away. Determined to get out of the precarious situation she’s in, Willow runs away to Beacon Hills, eager to convince her uncle to take her in. Instead, she discovers her uncle has just been murdered and her cousin, Isaac, is the prime suspect. Now the police are asking questions, two boys who claim to be Isaac’s friend are hovering around her, and weird things are happening all around her. It doesn’t help that her social worker is livid and determined to take her back to the orphanage, leaving Willow fighting to stay in Beacon Hills while also trying to discover the truth behind her cousin’s mysterious disappearance.

links: playlist / tag / fic - runaway

Yùméi Zhao

age: 51

character type: side character

appearances: season 3-6 (minor)

gender and pronouns: cis woman, she/her

sexuality: lesbian

love interest: n/a

faceclaim: ming-na wen

series: running with the wolves

summary: Lisha and Jian's grandmother. A zouyu. Runs an antiques shop and employs Willow in later seasons.

links: playlist / tag

#masterlist #type: oc masterlist

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randomingoftherandomness · 6 years ago

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Jack being jealous because of zz

Zhao Zi smells the frying of garlic, hears the subsequent sizzle of ingredients hitting the pan, and blinks himself awake. Jack isn’t on his side of the bed. Zhao Zi tries not to let the twinge of longing for his boyfriend settle. Not when it sounds like said boyfriend was cooking breakfast in the kitchen.

“Morning,” He says when he sees the man at the stove. “What’re you making?”

No answer.

Zhao Zi frowns. He takes a few steps closer.

“Want to tell me about that?” Jack says, pointing to the ripped out piece of paper. Scribbled on it was a girl’s name, her number and a smiley face. There’s a stormy look on his face.

Oh. Oh.

“It’s not what you think,” Zhao Zi says immediately. Jack begins plating up. Kimchi potato hash with a side of sour cream, and freshly squeezed orang juice.

“Is it not?” Jack says slowly, controlled. Zhao Zi rounds in on him, licking his lips nervously.

“Her grandmother ran a mochi stall, you see? Really good stuff. She recently went back to the country to live with some relatives, and told her granddaughter to pass along her number should I want to learn how to make it. I was thinking…” Zhao Zi shyly slips his hands into Jacks. “We could make a trip out to see her? That way you can learn it too?”

“Like,” Jack’s throat bobs as he swallows. “A couple’s trip?”

Zhao Zi shrugs. There’s a warmth that spreads from his core. A couple’s trip? Yeah, that would be nice. Go out to the country, see the grandma, take in the fresh air…

“If you want to?”

Jack scoffs. Pulling him in for a hug, he feels the man’s amusement being pressed to his skin. “Can’t believe I got jealous because of mochi,” He hears being muttered to the crown of his head. “Eat your breakfast,” Jack says, releasing him.

Zhao Zi can’t quiet the happy smile that stretches his lips as he takes his seat and digs in.

–

A/N: Kimchi Potato Hash is the little black dress of my cooking repertoire and absolutely delicious. I will take no criticism thank you very much :>

#history3 #history 3 #history3圈套 #history3 trapped #history 3: 圈套 #history 3: trapped #zhao zi x jack #Jack x Zhao Zi #gab writes stuff #borntobethequeen

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weilongfu · 4 years ago

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The name etched on my chest (the one you forgot)

HIStory 3 Trapped, Jack/Zhao Zi

Summary: Zhao Zi can’t explain this feeling he’s got in his chest after meeting Jack during his “interrogation.” He’d like to explain how it blossoms into something more after tasting Jack’s food. How it grows deep into his heart, out his lungs, and into the marrow of his bones when Jack promises to stay just for him. But Zhao Zi would love to explain it especially because Jack’s got no name that Zhao Zi can see (or tried to see) and the name over Zhao Zi’s heart reads exactly as Fang Liangdian. So if they’re not soulmates and Jack stays anyway, what are they?

Written for the Trapped Collection theme this month, Soulmates!

I saw soulmates was the theme for this month's collection and banged this out in a few hours. It feels good to finish... something? And now back to banging my head against a wall for all my other WIPs fandom and academia related.

Zhao Zi has no expectations of what he’ll find the morning of his sixteenth birthday, the day that most people usually find a name written over their sternum. The name of their soulmate.

Zhao Zi does not ponder Fang Liangdian’s gender. He also does not wonder if they will also like food. If they love computers. If they think his acrobatic tricks will be weird. Or if they will love his grandmother as much as he does.

Instead Zhao Zi wonders if he’d be able to spot them on the street, if their first meeting will be as magical as movies and books make it out to seem. Zhao Zi wonders if he’ll be the one swept off his feet or the one sweeping someone off their feet. He also wonders if the name on his chest will burn, if his heart will flutter, if butterflies will suddenly tickle his stomach.

For the next several years, none of the above happen.

And unlike many of his peers, Zhao Zi does not mind. Instead, Zhao Zi assures himself that he’ll just know one day. It is, as they say, the way things go.

In retrospect, Zhao Zi realizes that truth is often stranger than fiction.

Much, much, stranger.

------

It feels strange, Zhao Zi belatedly realizes, as Jack throws him over his shoulder and then onto a couch in a dark room in Tang Yi’s house. Because despite all the menace in the glint of Jack’s smile, Zhao Zi finds himself unable to be afraid.

Some part of him, a part that Zhao Zi wonders if he should call an idiot or naive, instead feels safe being cornered by the red-haired mercenary.

Zhao Zi leans into it anyway, plays up the energy he feels bubbling up inside his chest, and somehow, Jack doesn’t resist. Zhao Zi begs, wheedles, complains, and jabs. Jack, despite his threats, seems to inevitably relent. And cooks all of Zhao Zi’s requests himself no less.

“Go on, eat,” Jack says with a confidence Zhao Zi has only seen from the famous chefs that he and Meng Shaofei have taken great pains to visit.

After the first bite, Zhao Zi isn’t sure if it’s his hunger or his palette that’s saying Jack deserves the confidence. After the next few bites, Zhao Zi is sure it’s his palette.

(But Zhao Zi hopes it’s just indigestion lurking just under his solar plexus after he gets released from his “captivity” and not anything more. Jack is, after all, a gangster.)

------

During their next meeting, Zhao Zi sneaks a not so subtle peak at Jack’s chest through his wet t-shirt after they fall into the pool. The chilling cold of the water seeping into his bones distracts him from the faint disappointment that Jack’s chest has no name written on it. The view of his impressive muscles helps as well.

For the third meeting, Zhao Zi hopes it’s indigestion again when Jack pokes his way around the small house Zhao Zi had shared with his grandmother. Even if it feels more like effervescent bubbles than gas or stomach rumbling.

In the fourth meeting, Zhao Zi tries not to think too hard about how easily Jack had predicted all the things he wanted to eat at the hospital. But the feeling is different again. It feels like warm hands cradling his heart. Like resting his head on grandma’s knee as she teases him while poking his nose. Like holding hands so neither person strays too far.

The fifth meeting, after Jack kisses him after his cheesy pick up line, feels like a lightning strike to his soul and Zhao Zi flees for his life. And in his fear, Zhao Zi does not remember the sensation of the kiss, nor the horrid way Jack delivered his line. Instead, Zhao Zi remembers the rapid beating of his heart, so fast it could burst into a thousand pieces in his chest and each piece would still be beating in unison.

The sixth, with the lunch box, feels sad and Zhao Zi tastes something else in Jack’s carefully prepared lunch box other than his expert touch with seasoning. Zhao Zi tastes conflict and sorrow and just a touch of pride and greed, all under something as loving as Yu Qi says should exist. For it is a happy blessing, when someone washes their hands and goes into the kitchen to cook for you. And that is a taste that cannot be hidden through the sour poison of a conflicted soul.

Meeting number seven ends with Zhao Zi feeling paralyzed, his lungs frozen in his chest as Jack tells him he might be leaving. Zhao Zi puts his head between his legs and tries to breathe deep, long after Jack has already stopped standing in front of his door. The breaths never get any easier.

The eighth meeting starts out tasting of salt from tears and sour beer. The pain in Zhao Zi’s chest won’t leave. The pressure pressing down on his sternum, on the name he’s carried for years over his heart, refuses to let up no matter what he does. Is Fang Liangdian gone?

“Has he left me too?” Zhao Zi asks himself as he looks up at the sky. “On top of everyone else…” Zhao Zi clenches a fist in his shirt over his sternum, “Are you gone now too?”

“Who’s left you, Shorty?” Zhao Zi doesn’t even startle as Jack sits down next to him. “Why are you out here at this hour?” Gentle thumbs wipe away the moisture under Zhao Zi’s eyes and Zhao Zi feels his eyelids flutter shut. “What’s got you so upset?”

It comes out in a rushing tumble, one that reminds Zhao Zi of the first time he’d tried to do a cartwheel down an incline and ended up as a flailing mass of limbs, sprawled out on foam mats. All the pain, all the sorrow, all the ways Zhao Zi feels he’s been abandoned by the people he’s looked up to, by the people he’s loved. Somehow, Zhao Zi’s words about being abandoned by someone he’s never even met fail to make it past his lips.

But the nausea sets in with Jack’s words.

“I’m leaving soon, Shorty.”

“Why?! Why are you leaving me too?”

“Are you saying I should stay?” Jack puts his arm around Zhao Zi and warmth and comfort overwhelm him immediately. “Are you saying I should drop everything for you?”

Zhao Zi’s hands cling to Jack’s shirt like a lifeline. “Please.”

Jack pauses for a second before leaning in. “I’m going to ask you one last time. Are you sure you want me to stay?”

And this time, despite how Jack’s name is definitely not Fang Liangdian, despite how Zhao Li’an is not written on Jack’s chest, despite how strange his lips feel from beer and the cold, Zhao Zi kisses Jack anyway.

Somewhere, under pain and hurt and anxiety, it feels like his chest lightens up again. And for the first time all day, Zhao Zi feels as if his lungs have taken in a full breath despite how Jack sucks the air right out of them again.

------

It’s only after Jack moves himself into Zhao Zi’s house and the two begin preparing dinner together that Zhao Zi asks the appropriate question.

Or at least, Zhao Zi hopes it’s appropriate.

“Jack…” Zhao Zi starts. Jack only hums in reply and doesn’t look up from the cutting board. “Is… is my name on your chest?” Jack’s body stiffens. The chopping finally stops and Zhao Zi feels his own body locking up.

Jack keeps his head down as he replies, “Does that matter, Shorty?”

“I…” Zhao Zi bites his lip. Jack does not resume his chopping. Zhao Zi exhales and inhales again. “Your name isn’t on my chest. It… it doesn’t say Jack.”

Jack’s body loosens by a fraction. But only just. “I had the name on my chest removed a long time ago, Shorty.” The chopping resumes, but it is not the fluid motion that Zhao Zi has become accustomed to. It’s mechanical in it’s staccato, more reminiscent of a factory line than a home chef. “I’ve long forgotten what it was.” The rhythm of the chops slowly regains its fluid stride. “So if you were expecting that-”

“I’ve never had expectations,” Zhao Zi says in a rush, trying to ignore the disappointment welling up in his chest. Trying to remember that you don’t have to fall in love with your soulmate, that it’s fine to fall in love with someone else. That some people go lifetimes perhaps, without ever meeting their soulmate. “I think… I feel…” Zhao Zi presses a hand over his sternum. “I think they’re gone now anyway, the person with this name.”

“So?” Jack’s motions stop again, but this time, he turns to face Zhao Zi with a small smile on his face. “Shall we two foolish and broken souls build something else together?”

Zhao Zi takes in the lightness of Jack’s tone and how the smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Yeah, we’re our own family now anyway, right?” Zhao Zi walks over to nudge Jack with his hip. “So who cares if we’re not…”

“Whether we are or are not,” Jack says quietly, as if gently correcting. “Whether we are or are not soulmates, it feels right in here.” And Jack carefully pokes Zhao Zi’s chest with the handle of grandma’s chef knife. “And that’s what should matter.”

“Yeah…” And Zhao Zi, instead of poking Jack’s chest, cups his left pectoral instead and squeezes. “What we feel right here.”

“Shorty, you should at least have dinner with me first!” And suddenly the emotional haze is broken and Jack laughs, bright and clear.

-----

Zhao Zi forgets about Fang Liangdian and whatever name Jack might have had on his chest for the next few months as he and Jack settle in, as Tang Yi’s court case moves forward, and as Meng Shaofei’s energy crests and wanes with every other hearing. But Zhao Zi knows in his heart Shaofei will be fine, knows that the pair of ridiculously lucky soulmates will make it through Tang Yi’s incarceration as strong as ever and meet on the other end with open arms.

(However, if Zhao Zi has anything else to say, it’s that it’s one fucked up courtship to drive each other mad through police investigations over the death of one’s mentor and the other’s apparent birth mother until the sexual tension builds up amid life-or-death crises.)

But the night that he and Jack have decided will be their first time, Zhao Zi cannot help but stare at the slightly off-color strip of skin over Jack’s sternum, the place where someone’s name was once written. At the same time, Zhao Zi presses a hand over his own, where Fang Liangdian’s name still lives, even if he perhaps does not.

And Zhao Zi means perhaps. There is no emptiness under his chest, slowly fading away with time, as many people who have lost their soulmate have described. There is only the feeling of a bright light seen through sunglasses. Or water trickling through a hole in a dam.

Either way, Jack pulls the comforter over both of them as he slides into bed and even in the dim light, Zhao Zi’s hands find their way to Jack’s chest. Zhao Zi’s fingertips trace patterns that he’ll deny are his name into the strip of scar tissue and Jack says nothing but reaches for Zhao Zi’s shirt hems. Immediately after Zhao Zi’s shirt is cast aside outside of their cocoon away from the outside world, things continue for a total of thirty very pleasurable seconds, until Jack kisses his way down Zhao Zi’s neck to his chest.

And finds the three characters written in black on Zhao Zi’s sternum.

“Jack?” Zhao Zi raises his head up from his pillow in concern. “Is something wrong?”

Calloused fingers gently trace soft skin. “The name here…”

“Fang Liangdian.” Zhao Zi reaches for one of Jack’s hands and grasps it. “You said… you said it doesn’t matter.”

“It shouldn’t, but…” A ghost of a smile is pressed against the first character. “I thought everyone had forgotten this name. I’m surprised to see it here.”

Zhao Zi sits up properly this time. “Jack? What are you-”

“It looks like, we’re a little more meant to be than I thought, Shorty.” Jack presses a hand over the characters as he kisses Zhao Zi’s forehead. Both touches feel like a brand somehow. “Fang Liangdian is not dead, Shorty.” Another kiss, pressed over each eyelid. “He’s someone who lost his way, gave up everything, and still ended up with a great treasure.” The final kiss to Fang Liangdian’s name feels like dynamite blowing up the dam in Zhao Zi’s chest. “He’s right here in front of you Zhao Li’an.”

Zhao Zi feels his jaw drop in indignation despite happiness flowing through him. “You… You’re…”

“Fang Liangdian was my birth name.” Jack rolls off of Zhao Zi to lie beside him instead. “It’s been a long time since anyone called me that.”

“But what about-”

“It feels right, when you write your name over my heart, Shorty.” Jack smiles up at Zhao Zi.”It feels like it should be there.”

“Should be doesn’t mean it was!”

“Well…” And this time Jack’s smile turns infuriatingly smug. “What if I told you I sent out a request for something from one of my very, very old overseas lockboxes? And what if I told you that what’s in that lockbox is something I got removed a long time ago.”

Jack is still smiling and laughing as Zhao Zi attempts to smother him with his pillow, yelling all manner of curses and names. But Zhao Zi can’t deny the feeling flowing through him now that the dam has been torn down. Now that he knows Jack’s birth name. Now that he knows maybe, just maybe, his name was once on Jack’s chest as well.

Because now he feels the radiance in his heart, in his soul, of loving his soulmate, of loving the person whose name he’d carried for years through highs and lows.

And it feels as good as people described.

(Of course, Zhao Zi takes every moment he can to rub it into Shaofei’s face, especially after any disparaging comments Shaofei makes the day after he finds out about Zhao Zi’s lost virginity.)

#history 3 trapped #jack/zhao zi #LiKe CP

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