If there is anyone who would like to practise Mandarin with me, I don’t mind helping. When I’m not working or on my primary blog, I’m pretty free. And bored to tears.
The Double 墨雨云间 book scene- ML's first step into the 'play'
This scene is too long, so I can't post the Chinese version for this part even though it's written beautifully. The setting: Jiang Li and her uncle face unexpected danger in the woods behind Tong Xiang after rescuing her father's (Xue Huai Yuan) loyal staff from the mines. Ambushed by two groups of assassins, one sent by Princess Yong Ning and the other by Jiang Li's stepmother, Madam Ji, they become separated. Jiang Li finds herself confronting Madam Ji's deadly assassins alone in the dark forest. Guess who appears?
“Second Miss, there’s no need to look around for another way out,” the leader said with a peculiar malevolence. “Madam ordered us to use every method to torture you before killing you. But you’re so pure and lovely, wise and brave, we wouldn’t want to use any terrible methods on you. How about something more... comfortable?”
The surrounding men laughed sickeningly in agreement. Jiang Li didn’t need to guess what despicable ideas were running through their minds.
For an instant, she felt as if she were back in the Shen family’s courtyard, the same feelings of humiliation and rage that had consumed her in those months of near-death. These men were dredging up her most vile memories.
Her eyes darkened, and she sneered, “Do you think you’ve already won? Do you really believe I have no other way out?”
The leader laughed again. “I know you’re trying to buy time, but Master Ye is already injured, held up by Feng Yutang’s men. And your horse moved too quickly for him to follow. He doesn’t know this forest, and he won’t find you. Right now, it’s just us and you.”
His arrogance was blatant. Jiang Li had led three assassins into the swamp because she knew the terrain, but even if Ye Mingyu escaped the assassins, he wouldn’t know where to find her—Tong Xiang was entirely unfamiliar to him.
But Jiang Li merely smiled, “Who said I was waiting for Master Ye?”
The man was stunned.
Her voice, clear and laced with amusement, echoed through the forest.
"Lord Duke, after watching the performance for so long, how about coming out to meet us?"
Her clear voice echoed through the forest at night. The moon hung low, almost reclining on the treetops, illuminating Jiang Li's delicate face. Her eyes were bright and clear, devoid of the panic one might expect in a dire situation. Instead, she appeared relaxed and clear-minded, as if she had everything under control.
The men in black observed her, and their leader chuckled, "Second Miss, why the pretense..." Before he could finish his sentence, a soft laugh emerged from the depths of the forest.
A crimson figure gradually stepped out of the darkness. Under the moonlight, the darker it got, the more magnificent his red attire appeared.
The moonlight shone on the black-gold butterflies embroidered on the hem of his robe, making them seem ready to take flight, their beauty almost sinister in its extreme. Ji Heng walked out of the night at an unhurried pace, holding a gold-threaded folding fan, a smile playing on his lips. "Nothing escapes you, does it?"
Ji Heng’s appearance immediately drew the attention of the assassins hired by Ji Shuran. Several of them pointed their swords at Ji Heng. Jiang Li’s earlier call of “Lord Duke” had not escaped the assassins’ notice.
Ji Heng's appearance was overwhelmingly striking, almost unnaturally so. His sudden presence in the dark dense forest made him seem like a bewitching forest spirit, exuding a dangerous allure. Perhaps it was their assassin's intuition about danger that made the leader in black ask Ji Heng, “Who might Your Excellency be?”
Ji Heng, however, didn't acknowledge them. Smiling, he looked at Jiang Li and said, “Second Miss, your acting skills have become more impressive.”
“If the show isn't captivating, how could it attract your attention?” Jiang Li glanced at the leader in black, her smile widening. “My lord, they are pointing their swords at you.”
Ji Heng was the kind of person who wore a perpetual smile, yet beneath that facade lay a ruthless and cold-hearted nature. His arrogance made the act of pointing a sword at him an outright insult. The leader of the black-clad men caught a glimpse of Ji Heng's gaze and felt an inexplicable urge to step back. His fingers involuntarily tightened around his sword, sensing that something was terribly amiss. Ji Heng paid them no mind, continuing to smile at Jiang Li.
"Second Miss, why attempt to divert trouble towards me? I have told you, I am not a part of the play."
"After watching so many of my performances, would you simply let this one go? If I were to die here today, would you not regret never seeing another of my plays?" she asked, looking up at him.
Her face was fair, her eyes bright and lively, filled with endless appeal. When she spoke in a soft, pitiful tone, even a deity might be moved.
However, Ji Heng was no deity; he was a demon crueler, more callous than any deity. He merely watched Jiang Li with an amused expression and said, "It’s a pity, but I will not be a part of the play."
The look of pleading in Jiang Li's eyes vanished instantly. It was hard to believe that the captivating demeanor she had displayed could be withdrawn so quickly.
Jiang Li felt a twinge of annoyance. In her past life as Xue Fangfei, she had a face that could launch a thousand ships. While she didn't think much of it, her beautiful appearance often smoothed her way through conflicts. People would often relent upon seeing her face, not pursuing matters further. A beauty only needed to pout a little, and everything would fall into place. Though she disliked using such tactics, Xue Zhao often chided her for wasting her looks, saying she could have easily gained a reputation as a femme fatale.
Now, she found herself forced to play the part of the pitiable and lovable, but it seemed that her charms were lost on Ji Heng. His response was as clear and unaffected as ever, leaving her deflated. Ji Heng continued to smile at her, speaking lightly as if he saw nothing wrong in his decision to let her fend for herself. His long, narrow phoenix eyes, beneath which a crimson mole added even an air of seduction, glimmered invitingly in the night.
The leader of the assassins seemed to come to his senses at this moment. He addressed Ji Heng first, "Since Your Excellency has no conflict with us, this will be simple."
He then turned to Jiang Li, saying, "Second Miss, it seems your reinforcements aren’t planning to help you. Let’s not waste any more time, shall we?" With that, perhaps fearing Ji Heng’s presence might lead to unforeseen complications, he lunged at Jiang Li.
The silver tip of his sword gleamed with deadly intent, stirring the leaves into a flurry as they fell.
Seeing that the situation was beyond repair and her supposed ally remained detached, Jiang Li gathered her resolve and shouted, "Lord Duke, I know why you are associating with the Prime Minister and Prince Cheng! The court is divided into three factions. Though the Emperor may appear weak, but he is no fool. To gain his sole trust, you must support Prince Cheng. With threats on all sides, the Emperor will rely on you heavily. This entire tripartite standoff is your creation!"
Jiang Li's rapid and urgent words left the black-clad assassins dumbfounded. What Prince Cheng? What Prime Minister? What was she talking about?
The Double book scene- ML's first step into the 'play' P2
As soon as Jiang Li finished speaking, a sword tip appeared before her eyes, and someone behind her was also thrusting a sword at her. Rushing forward meant certain death, and retreating spelled doom—no matter the direction, death awaited her.
At that critical moment, a slender hand suddenly reached out, gently pushing her aside by the shoulder. In the next instant, a vibrant peony bloomed—Ji Heng had opened his fan. The edge of the fan transformed into a razor-sharp blade. Jiang Li saw the fan swing back and forth, and within moments, the gold threads embroidered on the peony petals sparkled faintly. With a resounding "thud," the two black-clad men who had been attacking her from front and back collapsed to the ground, their faces still showing bewilderment, as if they remained confused about their cause of death until their last breath.
The surrounding black-clad men were momentarily stunned by the display. No one had clearly seen how Ji Heng had acted; his movements were too swift. Jiang Li stared intently at Ji Heng's fan. She had witnessed its power once again, but perhaps it wasn’t the fan that was so terrifying—it was the man holding it. "Men, attack together!" The leader of the black-clad men gritted his teeth and suddenly ordered his men to advance.
Jiang Li had narrowly escaped death and now saw murderous intent coming from all directions. Without a second thought, she clutched Ji Heng's sleeve tightly. Ji Heng was dangerous, but the enemy of her enemy was her friend. For now, only Ji Heng could ensure her safety. Ji Heng cast an icy glance at her without saying a word. The black-clad men were already closing in. A cold smile tugged at his lips as he fully unfolded his fan.
Grabbing Jiang Li by the collar, he swiftly retreated. His movements were so fast they were nearly imperceptible, with only the sight of the black butterflies on his robe fluttering ominously, adding to his eerie allure. In the darkness, his movements were too fast to discern, save for the black butterfly pattern dancing on his robe's corner. As he wielded it, blood blossomed like May peach blossoms, the fan's glint sending chills down one's spine. The forest echoed with agonized screams, turning the place into a scene from hell. Instinctively, Jiang Li pressed closer to Ji Heng, but she found his robe icy cold, as if it belonged to something otherworldly, devoid of warmth.
After what felt like an eternity, the screams outside faded. Ji Heng's movements ceased.
Above her, Ji Heng's mocking voice rang out, "Second Miss Jiang, the area is clear." Jiang Li slowly released her grip, raising her head to look around. Under the moonlight, the corpses of the black-clad men lay strewn about, the ground covered in blood, resembling a hellish scene from a temple mural.
Ji Heng alone had killed a dozen men, and it had all happened in just a moment.
Oda-sensei, are you finally removing Sanji’s (at first funny and getting downright annoying/ offensive) ‘flaw’ —> the bathhouse scene. If so, then YASSSS. Please, please, please don’t forget about this character development in the following chaps.
A few readers were talking about what a waste of the raid suit but tbh, this is what I’ve been hoping for the whole time. The suit awakened his latent modifications, yet also dampening his ridiculous (it is really getting ridiculous, to me anyway; and the bathhouse scene pissed me off) over-chivalrous / ero attitude towards women. I hated the nosebleed scenes especially.
‘Sides, I doubt Sanji’s gonna die, I mean, he’s one of the main crew. Him dying would make the WCI arc pointless. I don’t really think Sanji and Zoro are gonna fight, though. The Den-Den convo feels more like Oda is trying to show the bond between the two of them…? No idea, maybe there will be a fight - either way, I am looking forward to the battles (Zoro vs King and Sanji vs Queen) and the end of the Wano arc. Though that would mean it’s getting closer to the end of One Piece, wouldn’t it? 😭
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 2/2
Fandom: 더 킹：영원의 군주 | The King: Eternal Monarch (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Jeong Tae Eul & Jo Yeong, Jeong Tae Eul/Jo Yeong, Jeong Tae Eul/Lee Gon
Characters: Jeong Tae Eul, Jo Yeong, Lee Gon
Summary:
Something about that face gave Yeong mixed feelings.
or
An AU version of episode 5, when Yeong had to keep an eye on Jeong Tae-eul while she was out sightseeing in the Kingdom of Corea.
i cannot believe it is 2021 and a bizarre portion of abled ppl STILL seem to believe that all wheelchair users are paralyzed and if they have any use of their legs they are OBVIOUSLY faking
the concept of part-time wheelchair users isn’t that hard to understand what is up with y’all
I used a wheelchair for longer distances for a few years (bc of chronic pain, fatigue, and subluxations) and most of the time i used my feet to help propell myself and needless to say some people were really confused about that
“that person got up out of their wheelchair/scooter to get something on a shelf!”
Like, dude, did you walk to the store or did you take some form of wheeled transportation because you realize there are limitations to your functionality that just happened to be greater than theirs?
A/N: I wish I could put a picture of eggs as the title but sadly that didn’t work out. This will be the temporary title until a better one pops up in my head. There’s a silly anecdote about the name anyways.
Setting: The two boys are around 15 years old. For the sake of this story, the dates of Seon-ho’s birthday and his mother’s death anniversary are only a few days in between.
Summary: Seon-ho harbored some mixed feelings about his birthday, with it being so close to his mother’s death. Hwi and Yeon didn’t agree.
🥚🍳🥚🍳🥚🍳🥚🍳🥚🍳🥚🍳🥚🍳 🥚🍳🥚🍳 🥚🍳🥚🍳 🥚🍳🥚🍳
“Come on, Seon-ho orabeoni!” The bastard son of Nam Jeon found his lips twitching despite himself. It seemed that in her excitement, Yeon had completely forgotten about her usual shyness. Her hands pulled and pulled at him so insistently that he had no choice but to follow.
“I told you I didn’t want to celebrate, Yeon-ah,” he tried but it fell on deaf ears. “Quickly,” she huffed when he took his time in taking off his shoes. Finally, he stepped onto the entrance and without hesitation, she dragged him into the house. He glanced around for Hwi but didn’t see him. Hwi’s sister, however, pointed to the space in front of the small table. “Where are you going, orabeoni? Sit here,” she pushed him down and he plonked down with a thump. He stared up at her, mouth agape at her forwardness. Red spots dotted her cheeks for a moment, when Hwi’s voice suddenly called out.
“Is he here?”
“Yes, orabi, he’s in here!” she exclaimed, her face flushed with excitement. Seon-ho tried to peer outside, but Yeon blocked his view immediately. “Are his eyes closed, Yeon?”
“Oh, hold on, orabi!” She whirled around and to Seon-ho’s surprise, placed her hands over his eyes. “Yeon-ah – “
“Don’t look, Seon- ho orabeoni,” she pleaded and Seon-ho gave in. Hwi was right; she had him wrapped around her little finger. He obediently closed his eyes. “Yeon-ah?”
“Yes, Seon-ho orabeoni?”
*“Don’t scold yourself too much later.” He could hear her confused squeak before Hwi’s padded footsteps came to a hurried stop beside him.
He inhaled deeply. “This better not be some kind of –” he paused mid-sentence. He sniffed, tilted his head and sniffed again. Hwi’s chuckle sounded loud to his left. He must be quite close to him now… his brows furrowed, listening closely. Clothing rustled on the straw mat he was sitting on. There was Hwi sitting beside him; he could feel some sort of…heat radiating off him.
“Look at him snuffling about like a hound, Yeon. Here, doggy, doggy.”
Even with the temporary blindness, he didn’t hesitate. His foot lashed out and scored a hit on Hwi’s thigh. “Hey!”
His lips wound up in a haughty smirk. Then, he became serious. “Hwi-ah, you know what I told you about today,” he started saying but got cut off when Hwi elbowed him in the gut. His words tapered off in a groan instead.
“Oh, shut your trap. We heard you the first time. All right, open your eyes now.”
“Moreover,” Seon-ho grumped, “I don’t see what you can give me anyway.” He opened his eyes and for a few seconds, had to blink away the dark spots. Then, for the second time that day, he found himself speechless.
Bars of sunlight fell across the table and the plate in front of him. Smiling back at him were three eggs fried to perfection with their golden yolks glistening. He knew if he were to cut them open, the runny yolk would ooze out like molten gold over the crispy brown edges. Freshly plucked yellow tomatoes surrounded the plate in a ring and Seon-ho… Seon-ho found his eyes aching with unshed tears.
“Are you crying?” Hwi suddenly slid his face into his line of sight. His unexpected visage startled a wet laugh out of the other boy.
“As if,” he partly choked out and quickly cleared his throat a few times. Yeon peeked at him.
“Do you like it, orabeoni?” She directed her gaze to the ground, fiddling with her fingers. “I know it’s not much,” she hurried to add on, “but we hope it’s enough. Ah, I mean-”
Seon-ho got up and pulled her down into a seating position. Clasping her hands, he bent his head to look straight into her eyes. “I like it very much. Thank you.”
As she blushed, Hwi threw his hands up in the air. “Excuse me?! Where’s my thanks? I was the one who slaved away at the stove! I was the one who picked the tomatoes and bought the eggs. Did you know I had to bargain with the seller? She was so mean and awful, let me tell you –”
Seon-ho rolled his eyes and picked up the spoon laid beside the plate. Gently, he used the edge of the spoon to cut a perfect circle around the first egg yolk, careful not to nick it open by accident. Then, he scooped it up and it slid right onto the spoon. (He almost wanted to do a mini fist pump.) He turned to Hwi. His friend fell silent at the expression on his face.
“What?” He looked down at the proffered spoon and up at Seon-ho again. “What?”
“Ah,” was all Seon-ho said.
Hwi stared.
He raised an eyebrow in challenge and sure enough, his friend squared his shoulders and straightened up. Yet still, in the next moment, he kept wriggling to glance back at Yeon. Seon-ho reached out, applied a sharp jab to sensitive ribs and as Hwi bowled over, mouth open, he shoved the spoon in.
Hwi sputtered, but Seon-ho had turned his attention back to his plate. He repeated the first task and then turned to face Yeon this time. The girl’s pale face reddened and she began shaking her head repeatedly. “Ah, no, I can’t, Seon-ho orabeoni, it isn’t, I can’t, I don’t deserve,” she protested. But when she met his gaze, all the fight went out of her, for Seon-ho orabeoni was looking at her with such gentleness and gratitude. How could she deny him that? She savored the soft umami in her mouth, and smiled to herself.
Whereas for Seon-ho himself… he ate the egg whites first. Then, as he closed his mouth around the last egg yolk, he let it melt all over his tongue for a few moments before swallowing it. It was delicious; Hwi must have picked the freshest eggs he could, and though some part of Seon-ho worried about the costs, he was all the more touched by their thoughtfulness. If the rims of his eyes grew a little red, no one commented. Each of them was preoccupied with their own thoughts then.
That afternoon, they just sat there in the patches of sunlight, enjoying their moment together. All in all, it was one of the best birthday gifts Seon-ho had ever received.
*it’s because when Yeon thinks back on this, she will most likely feel embarrassed for being so forward with her Seon-ho orabeoni.
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