#The Case of Mr. Zhang | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

starlightshadowsworld · 9 months

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I love Percy and Annabeth but they should not have been in Heroes of Olympus.

Because they overshadow everyone else.

People even say they skipped other characters povs just to read there's.

I love them but I think they shouldn't have been as prominently apart of the story.

Because yeah I love them but I've had 5 books of these guys, I'd really like to know the rest of the seven.

Hell Jason's birthday is the day they fall into Tartarus soo...tell me they aren't overshadowed..

Jason's our main character and he constantly gets pushed aside and is not written well and constantly compared to as being Percy's lesser version.

Which isn't fair.

And he's not given a chance to change that.

He's not allowed to exist outside of Percy because of course he isn't.

Percy's right there.

Also give them a break.

They just fought a war.

Personally would love if the lost hero started with a snap shot of the battle of Manhatten and zoomed out to the Roman part of the fight.

Jason leading the charge and just "Yeah.. That's me, your probably wondering how I got here."

And takes us all the way back to a mysterious woman giving Jason up and the wolves coming for him.

With us learning from kid Thalia demanding to know where Jason is that this Jason is her Jason.

Jason Grace.

We see the wolf house we watch Jason try to survive and absolutely break our hearts hearing someone so young think he's so alone and no one loves him.

Lupa becoming more motherly to him but that fear Jason has always remains that she will turn on him one day.

Jason wandering the streets to Camp Jupiter.

Jason's situation bring the reverse of Percy's.

Being out casted immediately and than put on a pedestal once he's claimed.

Jason immediately hating it.

Jason being pushed into this good soilder narrative but he doesn't fit it at all.

His upbringing has left him wild, less bothered with proper fighting techniques and more on survival.

He fights to kill.

He fights to live.

And no one else gets that.

Except one camper, Octavian, who's older than Jason abd the Augur.

Everyone after reading the Pjo series seeing Octavian...I got my eye on you Mr.

Who insults the elders and is the first to get Jason to laugh.

And encourages Jason to stand up for what he believes in.

Giving Jason the courage to deny his place in the 1st cohort and join the 5th.

This

Pisses everyone off.

Mostly the 1st.

Who are downright offended because you don't turn down the first cohort.

And Jason's like, but I just did.

The 5th have no idea what to make of Jason but in time they become friendly.

Dakota becoming a friend to him.

Jason knows this because he shares his kool aid with him sometimes.

He does get in trouble for squaring off with and scaring off some bullies of the upper cohorts.

Because Jason hates bullies and he recognises the kid, Frank being picked on.

Apparently they stole his stick and while Jason has no idea it's importance, it made Frank sad soo he goes after them.

Ends up on probatio and friends with Frank.

Who admires Jason's bravery and wishes he could be too.

So the rest of the leigion kinda miffed some 5th upstart is embarrassing them.

And so when the next quest is given its to him.

Quests are different here to Camp Half-blood.

Since they don't have a true oracle, specifics are never mentioned.

Leaving the leigion to give the prophecy to whoever they want.

And they want to knock Jason down a few pegs and so they send him.

Jason picking Frank and Dakota.

Neither of the two are hopeful because the day a 5th is sent on a quest is the day their funeral is held.

Not the case though and they do in fact succeed and do it well.

Frank even opening up about his stick and showing that he is as brave and courageous as he wants to be.

It's through that act of bravery Frank is claimed as a son of Mars.

And though he's not exactly sure he should be one, Jason and Dakota both tell him it suites him well.

They both even do the "all hail Frank Zhang, Son of Mars" speech.

Which makes him smile.

On the way back though they do find Reyna.

Jason gets the short straw and has to do the oh the Roman God's are real but she knows and that she's a daughter of Bellona.

And they all head back to camp together.

And while Reyna has her guard up she does genuinely seem to enjoy her company with the others.

She's also the only other person to truly understand how Jason fights and his instinct to survive.

Though she doesn't share why.

Octavian greets them, proud and Reyna is on probatio until they can see what cohort she fits into.

Though she remarks after seeing the egos of the 1st that the 5th might be better afterall.

Celebrations are held and Jason wonders if the quest is really over.

Also all or us wondering if Octavian was genuine about what he said to Jason to follow his dreams.

Or if he did it to take Jason's place in the 1st.

Can't tell me after Luke anyone of you guys wouldn't be mad suss of an older blonde boy befriending Jason.

Fool me once.

Shame on you.

Fool me twice...

Damn...

Also reading the series prior and than this means everyone agrees with Jason.

Like we saw Percy fight for his life over and over and are just like... Oh you bitches gonna have a rude awakening when you face real monsters 💅🏽.

I have no idea what the quest would be but I'd want them to all line up to the next big prophecy.

Instead of it coming out of nowhere.

Hazel does come around but later on because of the doors and with her so does Nico.

#jason grace #heroes of olympus #This was supposed to be short smh #Dakota pjo #reyna avila ramirez arellano #octavian pjo #frank zhang #The lost hero #percy jackson #annabeth chase

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asksythe · 10 months

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I read your tweet on how Wei Ying’s Guidao is orthodox cultivation based on real Guidao and that it’s descended from Bashu witchcraft. I’m very interested in that. Can you elaborate on it? What parts of WWX’s Guidao are based on real-life folklore? I’ve also seen people talk about how his cultivation is bad because it locks souls in their dead bodies. That doesn’t sound too credible to me, but I don’t know enough to be sure.

Hmm… I’m not sure what you want me to elaborate on exactly. It’s a lot of materials to cover. Dry materials at that.

In any case, Guidao 鬼道 (Path of the Dead, Ghost Path) is a real-life orthodox cultivation. WWX’s Ghost Path, aside from sharing the name, has two main aspects that draw directly from real-life basis: 1/ the summoning, nurturing, and utilizing of ghosts or wraiths (in the novel, those would be the ghost lady and the ghost child that killed Wang Lingjiao and Wen Zhuliu. In the Donghua, they are represented as ghost brides), and 2/ commanding fierce corpses.

These two aspects are drawn from two different sources.

I. Maoshan Sect’s Guidao:

As I mentioned in the tweet, the ghost path belongs to one of the three main fulu orthodox schools of Daoism: the Maoshan Sect (the other two being Quanzhen and Zhengyi)

The earliest mentions of Ghost Path are in Han and Jin history records as well as the Three Kingdoms: Zhang Lu biography texts. These texts talk of a Daoist named Zhang Lingzhi, whose Daoism is called Guidao 鬼道. Zhang Lingzhi taught the people the way of ghosts and dao and raised an army. His soldiers and generals were called ghost soldiers and ghost generals. Zhang Lingzhi’s Daoism was itself descended from Bashu ethnic group witchcraft. Zhang Lingzhi founded the 天师道 Tianshidao School.

(Citation: Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences - “巴蜀的“鬼道”如何变成了道教?” - How did Bashu’s ghost path become Taoism? http://www.sass.cn/912/default.aspx If you want to dig deeper, you can contact the academy directly for their research paper.)

Tianshidao School underwent several name changes over the year. To this day, they are known under the name (or descended, as some would say) Maoshan Sect in Jiangsu Province.

Maoshan sect has four major specialties: talisman, array, sorcery, and the nurturing of ghost familiars. After the cultural revolution, Maoshan sect lost a lot of its scriptures and relics. But it has been around for literally thousands of years. So there are still things there. It’s not the titan it used to be, but it’s still very much a cultural icon. There are numerous movies, books, and games that draw from Maoshan history and legends. One of them happens to be a movie cited as MXTX’s inspiration for aspects of MDZS in the recent Subaru magazine.

(Mr. Vampire, the movie cited in Subaru magazine features the adventure of a Maoshan Daoist)

II. Tujia 土家族 ethnic group’s stiff corpse driving sorcery - Hunan:

The other aspect of WWX’s ghost path: the commanding of dead corpses by a warlock. In the same Subaru interview, MXTX also talked of folk legends of Jiangshi (stiff corpse, or commonly translated as Chinese hopping vampire) serving as the basis for her fierce corpse, ranging from things like general abilities, toxicity, and tricks like using rice gruel to cure their poison.

Jiangshi has been around since the Ming dynasty, but tales of warlock with the ability to command them originate from the Tujia ethnic group in Hunan.

A jiangshi warlock process the corpses, plaster them with paper talismans to restrain their ferocity, tie them in a row, and leads them using a bell that the warlock continuously rings.

(Hoppy hoppy! It's edgiest conga train!)

Well, I don’t think I need to point out the similarity between the real-life Tujia warlock and WWX’s corpse commanding ability.

This specific sorcery was created in a time of war, when young men died in far-off lands. Their families, wanting to bury them in their home soil, would pay a warlock to go fetch their corpses and walk these corpses all the way back to their home province.

These legends might seem very fantastic but the corpse walking part is a very real job that still existed until the last 50 years. It’s featured in Liao Yiwu’s real-life journalism record “The Corpse Walker”

(It's a really thrilling read. I got the physical copy over 13 years ago while I was in my last year at university. I recommend it.)

III. How does Tujia warlock (and WWX) supposedly command corpses?

Regarding the whole, did WWX lock people’s souls inside their dead bodies. Uh…. I don’t think so.

Why?

Because Chinese beliefs about souls are different from Western beliefs. In Chinese lore, a person has three souls and seven spirits (三魂七魄). The three souls represent the positive aspects of a person, with one soul literally being a divine spark. The seven spirits represent earthly taints and degradations and are bound to the body. When a person dies, the three souls will go to the heavens, the next life, and the underworld, respectively. The seven spirits, on the other hand, dissipate after death after 49 days.

This belief is shared in other Sinosphere nations as well and is featured in other media franchises. If you read Inuyasha, you will remember the Jewel of Four Souls and the Four Souls concept being a close relative to three souls seven spirits. In Vietnam, there is folklore of Ba Hồn Bảy Vía and rituals on how to call a person's soul home.

It’s these seven spirits that create Jiangshi. If the spirits do not completely dissipate, the corpse turns into a Jiangshi, a literal life vampire that has only the worst aspect of the dead person and who is forever hungering for life energy. It is these seven spirits that a Tujia warlock (and WWX) controls.

When you have this context, you can put the creation of Wen Ning in a different perspective, and why is it that it's such a big deal he retains his consciousness as a corpse.

(Citation: https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%83%B5%E5%B0%B8/80733

#ask sythe #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #wei ying #wei wuxian #Ghost Path #Guidao

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sgdlr-asdfghjkl · 4 months

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Link Click Musical content 120

(it's been a busy time, so let's do a summary)

Because of Chinese New Year holidays, the musical is currently on a break 🐲🌟 There were just a few last performances and now they're resting 🙏 However, some extra content came out, so let's go through it (all video links in replies as always :*)!

LC Musical got media coverage on CCTV (Chinese Central Television - main national tv station in China). It was a short material promoting the play and the theatre, you can actually watch it on Encore Musicals' weibo and bilibili. The stageplay has gained popularity since the premiere and more people are visiting Shanghai to see it. So this news piece is basically a big shout out and a recommendation 🌟

Another video on Encore Musicals bilibili (and 1st pic at the top of my post) is from when the whole musical crew was drawing red envelopes 🧧 (I didn't know this tradition, so I added the wiki for you too^). Basically Zhang Jiahao and Wang Minhui drew the best gifts and were happy about it ^^

I already posted abt Wang Minhui's vlog with rehearsal scenes, but thanks to @chocolatexiaoshi 💝 explanations and translations from @/Elaraqwq and @/bhd322418 on twt 💙, I can tell you about some fun details about it ^^

⬆ So yea, here Cai Qi really says: "Coincidentally, I'm single too. If you want, I'll be your first boyfriend."

⬆ here Cai Qi starts singing CXS's main plot song "Words can't convey the love", then it cuts to Wang Minhui singing the rest (best thing is, we'll get to see that song performed by Shu Rongbo and Wu Yihan on Feb 10th livestream).

⬆ then he talks about the books they have in sunroom shelves. He points out how the books are all about how to become wealthy and sucessful, with titles like: 'It's performance that counts', 'Project Management Practices', 'Conscientiousness trumps competence', 'Corporate Strategy and Risk Management'. Like, the book he's holding in 2nd pic is written by Jack Ma Jun, 4th wealthiest person in China, you get the vibe... It's such a funny touch and shows attention to details by the crew designing the set ❤ I love the idea of our broke indebted boys having a library of economy coaching books ><'

⬆ (okay... okay, you got this Niebo) Then this part. Wang Minhui is singing a song from another musical (白夜追凶 roughly translated as 'Chasing the murderers day and night') in which they played as twins. Minhui played the older brother who was an experienced policeman.

In order to solve the case, Minhui's character tried to rewrite the psychology of the perpetrator, that's what this song is about. Like he was just imagining the interrogation. So Cai Qi is reenacting what Minhui is singing. It is not the actual choreography to that song 💀

Okay, that's all I had to share about the vlog, thank you Mr Wang Minhui 🧎‍♂️

From minor news, Encore Musicals announced they'll be auditioning for LC Musical cast. It's probably connected to how it's a long-term stage and they'll need more actors. According to choco-xiaoshi, musicals like this can go on for a year or longer, depending on how well the tickets sell. And for now LC stage is selling well 🌟

They also posted the performace schedule for March, with special events marked. And yes, Shu Rongbo and Wu Yihan have birthdays on the same day, March 10th and will be performing then 😌

Also Liao Jingyuan and Cai Lu posted these pictures:

To finish this post off, have this Rock, Paper, Scissors sequence between Bai Zhuoming and Wu Yihan. It's not recent, but I like it and wanted to post all the pics together but always reached photo limit before I could ><

it's missing Wu Yihan hours fr

Okie, hope you had fun ^^ remember to make use of a masterlist~

#link click #link click musical #shiguang dailiren #lu guang #cheng xiaoshi #qiao ling #wang minhui #teng chunpeng #cai qi #shu rongbo #wu yihan #zhang jiahao #cai lu #bai zhuoming #source: weibo

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respectthepetty · 1 year

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ALERT ALERT!!! TAIWAN REQUEST ASK INCOMING!!!

Please can you recommend to me your top 5 Taiwan BLs? I saw you posting about a few and wanted to know when you would recommend please?! is it always enemies to lovers?

Thank you in advance colour genius!

WHY ARE THESE ASKS ONLY GETTING HARDER?! First, y'all wanted my Top GMMTV actors, then it was Top GMMTV pairs, and now you are coming for my heart and soul with my

Top Five Taiwanese BLs!

That's like making me decide who is my favorite Backstreet Boy (it's Kevin) or telling me to choose my favorite child. I don't have kids, but I feel this is very similar. I love all of them equally for different reasons. Taiwanese BLs are my favorites because they have the best parents, high heat, some (but not all) enemies-to-lovers, and serve domestic bliss, so forcing me to pick between them is painful.

But I'll do it!

However, I'm gonna finesse my way into having more than five, yet still only technically giving you five.

The Ones That Couldn't Be Considered:

First, I will not count HIStory 4: Close to You in this list because it is my favorite BL. Period. It is not fair to these other BLs that they can't be a strategic hot ass mess with the gusto that my beloved HIS 4 had.

Next, Oh No! Here Comes Trouble isn't a BL, so I can't count it, but it was queer to me. I watched it for Your Name Engraved Herein's Tseng Ching-hua, but when Guang Yan said "This comic is not only about my high school life, but also about my heart," their love became canon for me, and I knew I wasn't moving past this show. When I write my book If You Just Don't Wanna Admit It's Queer, That's On You, the masses will see exactly what was there all along.

I can't include Red Balloon because, quite simply, I don't remember it well enough since I watched it when it was released in 2017, but I still feel it in my heart, you know? Edward Chen, the opposite lead in Your Name Engraved Herein, and Jason Tauh of HIStory 5: Love in the Future were the younger leads, so if Gagaoolala brings it back, I'll watch it again to see how they have both evolved.

I can't put my finger on why I won't include DNA Says I Love You, but I think it's because I don't classify it as a BL, yet I don't know why I don't classify it as a BL because it is a BL. It is! But . . . I don't know bruv. Either way, it's slow but good!

See You After Quarantine?'s entire runtime is a little over an hour. That's one episode of a Thai BL! It's cute, quick, and creative, but I cannot use up a spot on an eighty-minute series even though it was good. I'm sorry boys, I'll see you after my Hot Tops!

The Ones That Made the List:

#5 - About Youth

I hate singing, but the songs (and singing) in this series were GOOD, so much so that I still listen to the theme song. The characters (except Ye Guang's shitty parents) were also good, but Ray was my favorite. It was just serious enough to not seem trivial but was still light and enjoyable, and Xu Qi Zhang's mom and pink Converse deserve some appreciation.

#4 - Be Loved in House: I Do

That argument in the street that spilled over into the office the next day is one of my top five fights! In case you haven't watched it, Real got upset because he believed everyone was hiding a relationship from him, so Shi Lei called him out on his hypocrisy since they were basically in a relationship yet hiding it. Real misunderstood, but that made Shi Lei more upset which lead to him screaming at Real in the office asking if he even thought about them as a couple. Then Shi Lei's mother and that coming out scene! AND THE FLOOR SCENE! So many amazing scenes. So little space.

#3 - We Best Love

Although I prefer No. 1 For You, it goes hand-in-hand with Fighting Mr. 2nd, so I'm counting them as one for this list. The second part gave us the office slap heard around the world, and that superb drunken confession, but the first portion really delivered a cohesive story about pseudo enemies-to-lovers that had satisfying pacing and great side characters. The show also had color coding, so if it weren't for the promise of a third season that has yet to be delivered, that time jump and the reasoning for the separation, it would have been No. 1 For Me.

#2 - My Tooth, Your Love

As soon as Jin Xun An said he knew a good therapist, it was over for these other BLs. Jin Xun An is such an adult and does not have time for tomfoolery, which pushed Bai Lang to grow. A majority of BLs openly express that one of the leads is a mess from trauma, yet gives the message that the other person should and will love them regardless. Not this BL! Jin Xun An said he would love Bai Lang through it, but he didn't allow Bai Lang to treat him like poo or make excuses for his behavior while kindly pushing Bai Lang to treat himself as seriously and as gently as Jin Xun An did. Oh, and the side couple was intriguing as well.

#1 - HIStory 3: Trapped & HIStory ?: Freed

You notice how all the other couples on this list are right next to each other, probably holding each other likely in bed? NOT THESE TWO! Mis tóxicos fell in love in the woods while handcuffed to each other after running away from their kidnappers while Kinn was still dating Tawan and Porsche was sexing up customers behind the bar (KinnPorsche). Mis tóxicos were not trusting each other, yet willing to fuck while Dr. Bun was still in the big city and Tan wasn't even on his radar (Manner of Death). I'm not making a comparison; I'm making a statement that this show changed me and what I now crave from other shows. If a man isn't willing to kill for his guy AND possibly kill his guy too, then is it really love? I have demanded for FOUR YEARS that my boy Tang Yi be released, and one of these days, Taiwan will deliver us what we all deserve -

HIStory 15: Freed WHEN?

#taiwanese bls #HIStory: Freed WHEN?!#HIStory 3: Trapped #My Tooth Your Love #We Best Love #we best love: no. 1 for you #we best love: fighting mr. 2nd #be loved in house: i do #About Youth the series

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geonppangi · 1 year

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zb1’s skincare routines

shanbin and zhang hao

THE husbands!!

i feel like they would have both had pretty intricate skincare routines and then exchanged stuff until at some point they just straight up share the same products

they definitely do the basics, cleanser, toner, moisturizer, and sunscreen

we know that shanbin also has those vitamins that he takes so i also see him taking collagen and vitamin c supplements

also some extras like retinol, serums, essence, oil cleansers, aha, bha, the list goes on

i think individually they know a lot about skincare and have perfected their routines and together they are just unstoppable

also feel like they use sulwhasoo or beauty of joseon

my guess would be

oil cleanser

water based cleanser

chemical exfoliator (occasionally!)

toner

essence

serums (at night!)

sheet mask (at night!)

eye cream

moisturizer

sunscreen (in the morning!)

and supplements

seok matthew

i actually have no idea with him

he definitely doesn’t seem as invested as haobin

his older sister gives me major skincare vibes though (she’s so cool can she adopt me i’m canadian too)

i think he mostly just picks stuff up from her

i can see him getting a lot of the stuff that trends on tiktok

like the snail mucin essence and sunscreen sticks

i feel like his skincare would be pretty light and gentle

an overall solid routine but he probably doesn’t know the details

my guess would be

makeup remover/micellular water

water based cleanser

pimple patch

toner

essence

moisturizer

sunscreen stick

ricky

ofc mr young and rich, tall and handsome probably has his own dermatologist who does weekly checkups and treatments

probably has custom made skincare if he even needs it at this point

can he pls share of that with the other boys because some of them really need it…(we’ll get to them later)

my guess would be

$$$$$$

gunwook

oh boy

this is when things start going downhill

honestly i think he has a very basic but clean routine

probably doesn’t bother with any treatments or serums

i don’t see him doing anything that wouldn’t be daily so probably no exfoliating for him either

i feel like he would stick to one brand too just to make things simpler

i’m thinking round lab

he’s probably done some research and it’s a very popular brand in korea

i can see him doing sheet masks too but more in a dog union sleepover animal face mask kind of way

pls why am i lowkey roasting him (T ^ T) in the 0% chance he reads this i’m sorry gunwook ily but you just don’t have that vibe pls tell me if i’m wrong though

my guess would be

foam cleanser (idk why gunwook feels very foam coded to me)

pimple patch

toner

moisturizer

sunscreen

taerae

they don’t call him fashion taeraerist for nothing

i don’t think his skincare routine would be any better tbh

like i simply cannot imagine anything except for hand soap or the all-in-one soap and both options scare me

i feel like as a trainee and then an idol his routine has got to be better though

i hope he got forced to use actual products

probably ended up with drugstore stuff (T ^ T)

so um my optimistic? guess is

cleanser

toner (maybe)

moisturizer

sunscreen (maybe)

gyuvin

same situation as taerae and gunwook but worse somehow

once again!!!!! i’m getting soap vibes from him

boy probably didn’t bring any skincare because we saw what his suitcase looked like

i’m not convinced he even uses skincare at this point (if that is the case i’m so jealous because how do i make my skin look like his)

either that or it’s super chaotic like the most illogical combination you’ve ever seen like only exfoliator and night cream

seems like the type to use skincare when there’s a problem if he even notices that there is a problem

alternatively there is this olay retinol spf moisturizer (my head hurts trying to think of the logistics of this) that i can see him using as his one and only skincare product

jiwoong

finally breaking the curse

jiwoong gives me major vegan good for the environment vibes

i mean he doesn’t even eat snacks so

i feel like he’d like the dr. ceuracle vegan kombucha stuff

also because he 100% drinks kombucha you can’t change my mind

i think his skincare routine is simple but well thought out! like haobin, he’s tried a lot of stuff out and has narrowed it down to the essentials

also probably uses de-aging stuff so he can be an immortal vampire

i can see him using those led face masks once in a while too

it probably freaked the other boys out so much the first time they saw it LMAO

he probably also has the most lifestyle habits to help his skin

like changing his pillowcases frequently, using conditioner that won’t cause acne, staying hydrated, avoiding oily food, etc

he legit is what i aspire to be if i had the same willpower that he does

my guess would be

micellular water

gel cleanser (idk he feels gel coded to me)

toner

essence

serum sheet mask

eye cream

moisturizer

slugging (at night)

sunscreen

yujin

our wildcard yujin!!

i literally have no idea i’m so sorry

i feel like he would pick up skincare either from his mom or maybe one of the stylists from yuehua or boys planet?

would probably just take recommendations from people around him

i’m feeling innisfree for him? might be because he sort of reminds me of wonyoung and ofc who can forget the iconic plump, glowing, hydration boost

my guess would be

water based cleanser

toner

essence

moisturizer

sunscreen

if you’ve made it this far, tysm for reading my random rambling! this is based off of no information except what i know about korean skincare and also what i thought the boys would be like based on their personalities. i couldn’t find bare faced photos for everybody or info on their actual routines but i’d love to find out! so if you know anything about that pls lmk!!

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bizarrequazar · 6 months

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GJ and ZZH Updates — November 12-18

previous week || all posts || following week

This is part of a weekly series collecting updates from and relating to Gong Jun and Zhang Zhehan.

This post is not wholly comprehensive and is intended as an overview, links provided lead to further details. Dates are in accordance with China Standard Time, the organization is chronological. My own biases on some things are reflected here. Anything I include that is not concretely known is indicated as such, and you’re welcome to do your own research and draw your own conclusions as you see fit. Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or additions. :)

[Glossary of names and terms] [Masterlist of my posts about the situation with Zhang Zhehan]

11-12 → Rare posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun. (1129 kadian)

→ Fresh posted a commercial featuring Gong Jun.

→ Gong Jun attended a live event for Rising with the Wind. Fan Observations: Gong Jun talked about his vs Xu Si's MBTI types, with him making a comment that when he was working he was "forced to be an E (extroverted)". This sounded like he was saying "yi" (a top), an accidental pun that everyone else noticed before him lol. [clip] This trended on Weibo.

→ Gong Jun Outdoor Office posted a photo of him from the event. Caption: "Mr. Xu is here today!"

→ The Rising with the Wind Douyin posted a video of the main cast dancing. An interviewer also posted a similar video to her Xiao Hong Shu shortly after.

→ A video interview with Zhang Sanjian was posted to YouTube. The face is off in a number of aspects (smile, jawline, cheeks, etc.) and the voice sounds lower than Zhang Zhehan's. [comparison photos]

→ Gong Jun posted a douyin of himself doing a little dance he had tried to do during the earlier event. Caption: "It's okay this time!"

→ The Instagram posted three photos of drawings. All of them are completely different styles, which doesn't seem to fit the "art lessons" narrative.

→ It was made public that Gong Jun is suing an anti for a total of 120,000 RMB, with the case set to be heard on 2024-01-04. The anti is a former whaler who had posted insults against Gong Jun's mother.

11-13 → Gong Jun's studio posted a behind the scenes video from Rising with the Wind. Caption: "Xu Si @ Gong Jun Simon’s physical examination report is released! Stay healthy workers and have a good start on Monday!"

→ Gong Jun's studio posted a video of Xu Si clips. Caption: "Recently, there have been frequent cold air activities. Mr. Xu @ Gong Jun Simon reminds you to wear more clothes to keep warm. The special electronic down jacket has been delivered, please make your choice!"

→ Rare posted four photos of Gong Jun from that day's event.

→ Gong Jun's studio posted a behind the scenes video of Xu Si in his office. Caption: "You have been bound to the dream system, and your current task is to help the host Xu Si @ Gong Jun Simon complete the acquisition KPI! This system cannot be untied easily! Are you ready? We're leaving immediately!"

11-14 → The Instagram posted eight photos of "Zhang Zhehan" and a drawing of a butterfly.

→ Gong Jun's studio posted a behind the scenes video of Xu Si. Caption: "Mr. Xu @ Gong Jun Simon is a warm reminder that no matter how tiring the work is, you must balance work with rest!"

→ Gong Jun's studio posted an infographic comparing Xu Si to a potted plant. Caption: "#Gong Jun Xu Si# has a high clinginess index, so be careful when cultivating them! Do you want to be friends with @ Gong Jun Simon?"

11-15 → Gong Jun's studio posted a video of Xu Si with food and drinks. Caption: "During the 1129 days of being a bot in the world, Mr. Xu, the gourmet bot @ Gong Jun Simon, gave him a 'professional counterpart'!"

→ Gong Jun's studio posted a behind the scenes video of Xu Si cooking. Caption: "You have received an invitation reminder! Welcome to the home of 'Si' Kitchen, come and become Xu Si @ Gong Jun Simon's partner~"

11-16 → Daidai, Gong Jun's friend from university, posted a vlog which included a story about Gong Jun helping him back in 2017.

→ The Instagram posted eight photos of "Zhang Zhehan".

→ Gong Jun made a post on Weibo for the livestream with his Rising with the Wind costars that he would appear in the following day. Caption: "Tomorrow’s agenda: A meeting with the cooperative unit. All departments are in place, and the six cards have been arranged 🤳🏻"

→ Global Times posted a video interview with Gong Jun for Rising with the Wind.

→ Gong Jun's studio posted a behind the scenes clip of Xu Si dodging a slap.

→ Gong Jun posted a comedic video of Xu Si.

11-17 → Gong Jun made a post about the movie 我本是高山 (English title Beyond the Clouds), which he had attended the premiere of the previous day. Caption: "After watching 'Beyond the Clouds', I was really moved. Principal Zhang Guimei, played by @海青哥, used her life and hard work to try her best to help every girl from Dashan break out of the world that restricts them. These girls, the students, did not let down Principal Zhang’s hard work and worked hard to make a comeback! Really, Principal Zhang is such an amazing person. Her deeds deserve to be seen by more people. I hope everyone can go to the cinema to watch this thoughtful work. I wish for 'Beyond the Clouds' to be a big box office hit!"

→ Gong Jun's livestream with the Rising with the Wind cast took place, with it being streamed on his Weibo. (full recording in link) Caption: "Mr. Xu’s KPI today: No overtime work on Friday, the meeting will be dismissed before you get off work!" Fan Observations: The curse of being forced to sing Ai Ni Wuhu continued. 😂

→ Gong Jun Outdoor Office posted two live photos of him from the livestream.

→ Gong Jun's studio posted a photo of Gong Jun from that day. Caption: "Mr. Xu @ Gong Jun Simon acquires the card (not) (just say it casually) (don’t take it seriously) (don’t take it seriously yet)!"

→ Gong Jun posted a photo of himself from that day. Caption: "After the inspection, Si will still be waiting for you at #Rising with the Wind# 😎"

→ Gong Jun's studio posted nine photos of him from the livestream. Caption: "The most handsome little Mr. Xu @ Gong Jun Simon’s work record today. I wish everyone a happy weekend and year-end bonus ➕➕➕!"

→ 361° posted two photo ads of Gong Jun, celebrating three years of their endorsement.

11-18 → Gong Jun's studio posted a video of Xu Si clips. Caption: "#Gong Jun Xu Si# seems to have found the switch for Xu Si @ Gong Jun Simon to switch states. Mr. Xu, you still have two faces!"

→ Gong Jun's studio posted a behind the scenes video from Rising with the Wind. Caption: "The real thing about growing up is to take the initiative to put on a thick coat, and the real thing to care about is the little tips for keeping out of the cold shared by Mr. Xu Si @ Gong Jun Simon!"

→ Zhenguoli posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.

→ Gong Jun's studio posted a behind the scenes video from Rising with the Wind. Caption: "You are not alone on the way to work, Mr. Xu will accompany you for a walk! Come and take a two-step walk with @ Gong Jun Simon~"

Additional Reading: → N/A

previous week || all posts || following week

#Zhang Zhehan #Gong Jun #Word of Honor #woh cast #lld timeline

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beehunni62 · 1 year

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Rare Portraits Depicting Hanfu Worn with Right Over Left Lapel Closing (左衽).

Thirteenth Ancestor Portrait from Portrait Album of Wu’s Ancestors 吳氏先祖容像十三. Ni Renji. Painted sometime between the late Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty during the artist’s life (1607-1685). Yiwu Museum, Zhejiang, China [image source].

For the Han, the left lapel was considered Yang and the right one Yin and, thus, living people placed the left lapel over the right one to symbolize Yang (life) covering Yin (death). That’s why only dead people had their right lapel over their left. In the case of the dead, Yin (death; right lapel) overtook Yang (life; left lapel). Moreover, the left over right lapel (右衽) served as an ethnic distinction for the Han.

However, not all living Han people followed this tradition and there are documented cases of them wearing their hanfu with the right lapel over the left one.

There are exceptions in which living Han Chinese would wear clothing with a zuoren closure. For example, in some areas (such as Northern Hebei) in the 10th century, some ethnic Han Chinese could be found wearing left-lapel clothing. It was also common for the Han Chinese women to adopt left lapel under the reign of foreign nationalities, such as in the such as in the Yuan dynasty. The practice of wearing the zuoren also continued in some areas of the Ming dynasty despite being a Han Chinese-ruled dynasty which is an atypical feature.

Wikipedia, Garment collars in Hanfu

Fifth Ancestor Portrait from Portrait Album of Wu’s Ancestors 吳氏先祖容像五. Ni Renji. Painted sometime between the late Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty during the artist’s life (1607-1685). Yiwu Museum, Zhejiang, China [image source].

Other non-Han ethnicities, such as the Khitans and Xianbei, would preserve their 左衽 tradition even after adopting hanfu. It’s possible for these women (and its mostly women wearing hanfu depicted with 左衽) to be non-Han in origin or are Han but came from areas where 左衽 was still practiced due to non-Han ethnic influence. I remember reading somewhere that, South of the Yangtze, certain Han women wore their hanfu in both styles.

Since almost all of the portraits below are ancestor portraits and there are plenty of those where the women and men wear 右衽 despite being dead at the time of painting, it’s unlikely that the 左衽 depicted is meant to indicate that the woman is dead.

Portrait of the wife of a dignitary with maid by Chow Ying. Scroll. Painting on silk. 16th century. Moscow State Museum of Oriental Art [image source].

Portrait of Father Zhang Jimin and Mother Zhao. Unknown artist. Ming or Qing dynasty, Late Ming or early Qing dynasty (17th century or later). Hanging scroll. Ink and colors on silk. Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution [image source].

Ancestor Portrait of a Court Lady. Possibly Ming Dynasty. Unknown artist. Hanging scroll (laid down on panel), ink and color on silk. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art [image source].

Notice how, even the maid in the background above, has 左衽.

Possible Portrait of Ancestor with maid. Unknown Artist. Possibly Ming Dynasty [image source].

Ancestor Portrait. Unknown artist. Late 19th century. Qing Dynasty. Auguttes Auction House. [image source].

Note: Be careful when dating ancestor portraits. Many were painted posthumously and could depict ancestors from multiple previous generations. Just because the figures are seen wearing a dynasty’s distinctive clothing, does not necessarily mean that it was painted then. Some Qing Dynasty ancestor portraits depict ancestors from the Ming Dynasty and, thus, artists painted the figures with Ming clothing.

Images portraying hanfu in the Ming Dynasty with 左衽 drawn by Sesshu Toyo (1420 - 1506 CE), a Japanese monk who visited China between 1467 to 1469. Ink on paper [image source].

More portraits with 左衽 and modern recreation:

#chinese history #chinese culture #ming dynasty #ancestor portraits #右左衽 #hanfu #ming paintings #ming portraits

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kdram-chjh · 1 year

Photo

Cdrama: A League of Nobleman (2023)

20230209 #君子盟幕後花絮-13 #ALeagueofNobleman BTS

Watch this video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/oY8WjQzjqqc

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hils79 · 1 year

Text

Title: Love is Blind

Fandoms: 盗墓笔记 - 南派三叔 | The Grave Robbers’ Chronicles - Xu Lei, 盗墓笔记重启 | The Lost Tomb Reboot (TV)

Relationships: Wang Pangzi/Wu Xie/Zhang Qiling

Summary:

He pulls out his phone and calls Wang Meng and, of course, it goes straight to voicemail.

He sends a text.

Too many handsome men! Which one is it? Help!

(Or the one in which Wu Xie has a blind date, but doesn't know which of the two hot men he's supposed to be meeting)

It’s not exactly thriving, but it is 3pm on a Tuesday. It’s not quiet either and therein lies the problem.

Just look for the hottest man in the cafe

Wu Xie's eyes are immediately drawn to the man standing near the counter looking at the range of cakes and pastries that are available. He’s a big, solid looking man and almost right away Wu Xie can imagine how safe and warm it would feel being held in his arms. He’s talking animatedly with one of the waitresses and even from where he’s standing Wu Xie can hear the man’s booming laugh that makes him smile back instinctively.

Oh, he really hopes that’s him. If it is then the emotionally manipulative breakup he had planned may be off the table.

He hasn’t spotted Wu Xie yet so there’s no way to tell if he’s expecting someone to join him.

Well, there’s only one way to find out. And even if he isn’t expecting Wu Xie, maybe this man is single and likes to talk about books and antiques.

He gives himself one final look over and takes a step forward. This could be the beginning of the rest of his life, a story they tell their grandchildren.

He pauses and gives the rest of the cafe one final glance, just in case he’s somehow missed someone that looks like they might be expecting him. He needs to be realistic. Just because he wants his date to be with the warm looking man at the counter that doesn’t mean that he is.

Everyone else seems to already be sitting with someone. There’s certainly no one looking at him expectantly. It has to be Mr Warm and Solid. No one else seems to even be alone.

His confidence goes up a notch. Things might actually be going right for him for once and he goes back to thinking about his imaginary grandchildren.

Except just as he’s about to approach the potential man of his dreams something catches his eye. Just a moment of movement in a corner that his eyes had glanced over the first time.

Oh. Shit.

In the corner, almost blending into the shadows, is the most beautiful man Wu Xie has ever seen.

Read the rest on AO3

#my fic #dmbj #iron triangle #iron triangle week 2023 #wu xie #wang pangzi #zhang qiling

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swiftletinthecloud · 1 year

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Lan Jue to his fellow court colleagues: “No I won’t resign from being Chief Examiner over these rumors. That will only look like I’m confirming it!”

Lan Jue after other examiners started accusing Zhang Ping of fraud: “To clear your doubts and avoid further suspicion, I will resign as Chief Examiner and subject myself to review.”

Zhang Ping trying to gain entry to investigate the crime scene: “What would Mr. Lan do in this case?” /bribe to get in/ LOL

Lan Jue after finding evidence of fraud: “What would Zhang Ping do in this case?”

And this all while Lan Jue is still mad at Zhang Ping and everyone was trying to get them to be friends again.

#LOL #liveblogging #cdrama #a league of nobleman #lan jue #zhang ping

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divinekangaroo · 11 months

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In a previous ask you talked about how sex for Tommy can be transactional. I wondered why you thought that's the case for him?

Mostly because the vast majority of his approaches to people and relationships appear transactional?

Specifically looking at S1-S2 which establishes the pattern:

He has Lizzie for the most overt transactional sex, and May also as transactional sex right from his initial offering ‘do you want to have sex with me Mrs Carlton? because I represent something to you?’ - May is very clear on this with her rebuttal to Grace that there’s no separation between Business and Love in Tommy, and is also very clear she got her fair dealing of life/sex with her racketeer lover in exchange for her influence on the racing board in favour of Tommy’s bookies.

Then there’s his comments to Grace - ‘we’re all whores, just sell different parts of ourselves’ and how initially, once she’s caught his eye, he asks her outright if she’s a whore - would’ve been interested to see what happened next if she said yes…

Non-sexually, he pays reparations in exchange for emotional damage all the time - buys Arthur the pub in part to soften the blow of cutting him out of the bigger gun issue; pays the mothers of boys who die for him; constantly tries to buy Freddie off to the point Freddie accuses him of having no idea what love is. Also trying to give Lizzie more money to seduce the field Marshall (when he probably could’ve sat her down a day before and just ‘recruited’ her into his plan with much less emotional damage…)

Then there’s his general financial negotiations which trade people (not just limited aspects of their time/services):

- trades John in marriage in exchange for soldiers

- negotiates Michael’s future and salary with Polly

- swaps his personal (and at times his family’s) safety in exchange for financial opportunity (export licences)

-trades Grace to Kimber (even if he backtracks that because he wants her more)

And finally his approach to money generally: he is so insistent he pays people ‘a fair price’ even if he’s in this constant position of power such that they can’t ever really get a fair price out of him. Eg, he pays Harry for drinks, even if Harry declines; he pays Zhang for his suits and information; he buys Harry’s pub ‘at a fair price’ even though Harry didn’t want to sell and had no alternative but to sell.

It’s this recurrent thing like he needs to use money and transactions to make himself feel better/balance his emotional ledger. Fuck someone over and feel bad about it? Just pay them, they’ll have a price point after which we can both feel satisfied.

#Peaky blinders #Tommy Shelby #fannish thoughts

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emotionalcadaver · 4 months

Text

Part 10: Red Right Hand

Fandom: Peaky Blinders

Pairing: Tommy Shelby x Grace Burgess x OC

Summary: A heartbreaking betrayal threatens to destroy nearly everything Lucy and Tommy hold dear.

Word Count: 4,191

Notes: Warnings for depictions of blood, violence, angst, minor character deaths, gunshot wounds, and references to sexual content.

Masterlists: Main • Series • Fic

Previous Part • Next Part

Chapter 15: Black Star

“Lucy,” Tommy said, softly. She whined, face scrunching cutely as she turned her head to bury it into his sternum. He couldn’t help the soft chuckle that rumbled through his chest, stroking his fingers along her back. “Luce, wake up.”

Pouting, she raised her head, curls a mess around her face. “Why?”

“It’s black star day, love,” he reminded her gently. “We need to go tell the others.”

Her big green eyes blinked slowly as her mind began to process his words. “Oh. That’s right.”

Chuckling, he kissed her nose lightly before rolling out of bed, reaching for his clothes. Curling on her side, snuggling the pillow he’d been settled against a moment earlier, Lucy tilted her head as she watched him, eyes still groggy.

“Are you just going to lay there ogling me, or do you plan on getting dressed sometime?” he asked, smirking over his shoulder. Lucy yawned and stretched.

“I dunno. The view over here is pretty nice…” she squawked when he tossed a loose pillow that had ended up on the floor at her. “Rude.”

Smirking, Tommy finished pulling on his trousers, sliding his arms into his shirt. He could hear Lucy beginning to rummage around, pulling her own clothes on, leaning close to the mirror on her vanity so she could apply her makeup and fix her hair.

“Ready?” he asked as he pulled his coat on. Lucy snatched hers from the hook by the door and pulled on her cap, yawning again.

“Yeah.”

“Don’t go falling asleep on me, now.”

She snorted, shaking her head. “‘M fine,” was mumbled from her lips. She followed him down the stairs and onto the road. He dropped her off at the shop to begin preparations there while he set out to gather up the rest of his family.

It was going to be a busy day.

∗ ∗ ∗

She followed Tommy through the Chinese market, Arthur, John, and the rest of their boys right behind them. The men moved to collect their suits, while Tommy went to the counter to pay. Finding the suit labeled with her name, Lucy tucked it carefully over her arm, eyes scanning warily across the market. They were too exposed, especially all together like this. She didn’t like it. At the counter, Tommy was leaning in close to Mr. Zhang, who was whispering something into his ear. Curiosity piqued, Lucy inched closer.

“What’s going on?”

“Mr. Zhang here says that Inspector Campbell is just in there,” Tommy nodded towards the backrooms. The ones used by customers for the services of the whores.

“Oh,” Lucy snorted. “That’s funny,” not so self righteous now, is he?

“I’m going to go talk to him,” Tommy reached into the holster tucked away into his coat.

“You are?” all amusement drained away as alarm filled her chest. Tommy raised an eyebrow. She nodded to the revolver half pulled from his jacket.

“Just in case,” he said simply. Looking into his eyes carefully, Lucy nodded.

“You want me to come with you?”

“No, this will only take a moment.”

Chewing on her bottom lip, she watched as he disappeared behind the curtain. Leaning against a post, she lit a cigarette, eyes darting up to the woman half cowering in the back behind the counter. There was a cut near her lip that she was trying to press her fingers to.

“Here,” Lucy pulled out a handkerchief and held it out. The woman hesitated, then took it. “It’s Chin, right?”

The woman looked surprised that she knew her name. “Yes, Miss. Winters.”

“Did Inspector Campbell do that to you?”

Chin hesitated. “Yes.”

Lucy sucked in a deep breath. She didn’t know Chin particularly well, but she had a reputation for being sweet; she was a favorite amongst the men who frequented this part of town for a reason, after all. “I’m sorry,” she said, as gently as she knew how. Chin just sniffled and nodded, dabbing at her lip with the handkerchief. When she moved to hand it back to Lucy she shook her head. “You keep it.”

The curtain fluttered, and Tommy reappeared. Lucy gave one last, parting, sad smile to Chin before moving to follow him.

“What did he say?”

Tommy shook his head. “Something about my heart being broken before the day is done,” his brows were furrowed.

“Hm. Spooky.”

“More like him just looking for an easy jab. Come on.”

“Did he say how he found the guns?” the question had been prickling in her mind as of late. She had been so sure that they had been careful…

“No.”

“You still think he got lucky?”

Tommy sighed, rubbing at his neck. “I don’t know,” glancing around, he huffed. “But we can worry about that later.”

∗ ∗ ∗

They all gathered around in the main room of the shop. Tommy was at the head of the table they surrounded, the blackboard behind him. Lucy stood to his right, her arms crossed over her chest as she listened to him give the men their instructions. She wondered if this was how Tommy had spoken to his men back in France, his orders stern but not unfeeling.

Everyone broke into applause when at the end of the meeting Polly ushered Ada into the room, a little bundle clutched in her arms. Lucy watched Tommy’s face carefully as his sister slowly approached him after handing the baby off to Arthur. Cautious hope had entered his eyes, tentatively holding out the metaphorical olive branch, waiting to see if Ada swatted it away or not.

“Well, Ada?” Tommy asked. “Am I forgiven?”

“If what Aunt Polly says is true, you are,” there was a cold standoffishness in Ada’s eyes that had Lucy’s hackles rising. Their men were breaking her bloody husband–who, might she point out, had held a gun to Tommy’s head the last time they saw him–out of prison. The least she could do is be grateful, and maybe apologize for being so awful to her brother when he hadn’t even done anything wrong.

“It’s true,” Tommy assured. A smile bloomed across Ada’s face, overtaking the distrust that had been there a moment before, rushing to wrap her arms around him.

“Thank you, Tommy,” of course, she was all smiles now. When he was doing something that benefitted her. Just like the rest of them. They’d spit and snarl and treat him like shit when it suited them, but once he gave them what they wanted, they’d be sweet as honey.

No wonder the poor man seemed to think that none of them actually loved him. Maybe they really didn’t.

She hated the way that they all treated him. Half the time it made her want to pull at her own hair or smash their heads into a wall.

Lucy turned away before the bitterness showed too plainly on her face.

∗ ∗ ∗

They burst into the pub, chattering away excitedly, blood beginning to rise in the anticipation of the battle to come. Tommy pulled off his jacket, Lucy ducking around behind the bar, grinning and squeezing at Grace’s shoulders in greeting. He moved to join his girls behind the bar after instructing the boys on how much booze they could have before the fight–the last thing they needed was to have half their men drunk before they even got to the tracks. Grace moved in beside him as they started to pour pints while Lucy passed them empty glasses.

“Do you have the enclosure tickets and the register of bookkeepers on the track?” Grace asked him in a low voice.

“In my coat. You did a good job, Grace,” he cleared his throat. “Next family meeting, I’ll make sure you’re there.”

Lucy smirked at him knowingly.

“If I were family,” Grace murmured. “But I’m not.”

Tommy hesitated. “That could change.”

Grace’s head snapped towards him. “Tommy–” her eyes darted between him and Lucy. Lucy’s smile was bright and encouraging. “We’ll talk about it more when I get back. All right?” an awkwardness fluttered in Tommy’s chest, fighting back the urge to battle against the vulnerable feeling. His instincts were encouraging him to lash out and slam his walls up in response to it, but he forced himself to push them down.

“When will you be back?”

“Oh, is this how it’s going to be, eh? You waiting at home for me saying, ‘what time do you call this?’” he chuckled. Lucy giggled, nudging Grace gently with affection. But Grace had gone rather stiff, suddenly pulling away.

“The barrel needs changing,” she walked around him, disappearing without another word into the backroom. Tommy stopped with his hand on one of the levers used to pour the pints, eyes darting to Lucy for some clue as to where he’d gone wrong. But her face was just as furrowed with confusion as his was.

“Go talk to her, I’ll finish these,” she whispered, moving to take his place pouring drinks. Tommy nodded, rubbing a hand awkwardly over the back of his head before opening the door to the backroom and stepping inside.

Grace had her back to him, but even from the doorway he could see that her hand was wiping at her eyes, shoulders jerking as she cried.

“Grace,” he tried, very gently. “Hey, Grace, I was joking,” not exactly the truth, but he just needed to get her to stop crying first. He touched her arm carefully. Someone banged on the door.

“Tommy, we need more mild!” John’s voice hollered.

“Just help yourselves,” he called over his shoulder.

“Tommy, the truth is,” Grace lifted her face to him tearfully. The door creaked as Lucy quietly slipped in, moving to stand close to them. “When you come back from the races, I won’t be here.”

It felt like someone had ripped a rug out from underneath him, or punched all of the air from his chest. He swore for a moment that his heart stopped. “What are you talking about?” he took a step forward, then hesitated, mind whirling as he thought back, trying to puzzle out what exactly he might’ve done wrong to make her change her mind about him. But he was coming up blank.

But maybe it was simply what he was that was the problem. After all, what posh girl with a good background dreamed of tying herself to the leader of a backstreet razor gang, living in a tiny apartment and spending her days counting taking in a gambling den? Always having to look over her shoulder and be on her guard, enemies coming at them from every angle.

But…he had thought that, despite background and class, they were the same. Like him and Lucy. Kindred spirits. Who understood each other.

“All right, look, Grace,” he started, “I know you weren’t born to be with a man like me. But I’m turning things around,” he spoke quickly, desperately. “When I get back here tonight, I will have one of the biggest legal racetrack syndicates in the country. And I’m going to close down some of that other stuff,” he added. If that really was what was bothering her, he could change that. It would take time, but he could change it. “Maybe open a club, hey? Like in London. And another thing,” he reached out, fingers tenderly cupping her chin. “And another thing. You have a contract of employment. With a real Limited company, you remember?”

“I remember everything, Tommy,” Grace’s voice was still full of tears, her eyes glistening. He didn’t know what to do to make it better. One of Lucy’s hands was on his shoulder, trying to soothe him. The other was on Grace’s.

“I am going to make a success of this. I am going to make a success of it. I am,” he insisted. Grace cradled his face, shaking her head even as she spoke.

“I know. I know.”

He swallowed hard. “I’m not talking about marriage,” that he meant. Nice as it would be, he didn’t need it. Still, he stuttered for a moment, trying to put his meaning into words. “We know each other,” he grabbed her hands tightly, squeezing them, holding them up and close against his chest. Lucy was all but hugging them both, their three foreheads coming to rest against one another. “We can talk. We are the same. Us three,” his girls. Just him and his girls. That was all he really needed anymore.

“Tommy…Lucy, I have done something terrible to you,” Grace whispered. Tommy stared at her, trying to process what she could possibly mean. But before he could ask, the door slammed open and the three of them backed away from each other. He let the hands that had been clutching at Grace’s fall limply away.

“Right,” Arthur came striding in, followed closely by Jeremiah. “Tell him what you just told me.”

He listened numbly as Jeremiah reported to him that Kimber and his boys were heading into vans up the Stratford Road in their direction. Not to the tracks, where they had planned to confront them with the help of the Lees.