A very happy birthday to the eternally beautiful Gong Li!

(via Gong Li up close and personal – IN A LONELY PLACE)

he ate the tiles when nobody was looking

Shanghai Triad

directed by Zhang Yimou, 1995

I was so curious about the red string bracelet ( clearly seen in airport photos shanghai > singapore ) and charm XZ is currently wearing. i’ve been using mine for more than 3 years now because of him among other “charms” here and there. i’m referencing this post by FlowerField_博肖拾光机.

The bracelet composition itself is a red rope, similar to his old one. This kind of red string has different meaning depending on the culture but for XZ i would think it’s more of having a personal instrument of luck and protection. tied to a belief in Buddhism that this bracelet can ward off evil spirits. These bracelets are handmade. While making knots, they ( buddhist monks ) repetitively recite mantras for the goodwill of the wearer.

now for the charm, there are two meanings as both sides have 2 different designs. the first one being “fu” which means luck. traditionally it symbolizes goodwill & happiness— placing the character upside-down symbolizes it 'pouring out' or 'arriving. ' and upside-down fu character on your front door is a clever way to invite luck's arrival at your home.

the other side is a horse. i was wondering why, cause i’m 90 ( year of the horse ) and ZZ is 91 ( year of the goat/sheep. literally greatest of all time lol. it suits xiao laoshi ) so he should not be wearing it.

the OP suggested to use the 十二生肖 3合6合生肖 查询表 table. as per the grids, the match for sheep for “6” is horse and this is possibly why the charm he uses is this.

okay, let me try and explain it further…

Ancient Chinese sages believed that human life is destined, but destiny can be changed. One’s fortune is closely related to the mutual growth and restraint of each person's zodiac signs. Therefore, there is also a mutually reinforcing relationship between people. Finding the zodiac who is compatible with your own sign will be helpful to your life's fortune, interpersonal relationships, marriage and family.

The so-called Sanhe (3) and Liuhe (6) are the attraction and concentration of the power of certain elements among the Five Elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, and water). It can be seen from this that unity is the attraction, affinity and cohesion of the five elements. It is mainly based on the three combinations and six combinations of the earthly branches (i.e. "zodiac signs") of the year of birth.

In the 3 part of the table, for example in XZ’s case, sheep/pig/rabbit zodiac signs form a good triad together. Think of it as a kind of "bright combination", one that is fair and upright. It is the auspicious match of the three zodiac signs.

The three-in-one combination not only has a good fit, but also has thoughts, values, habits, actions. These people are usually so in tune with each other. The three-in-one zodiac signs are four years apart. As the saying goes, getting married four years apart is a match made in heaven. This is based on the "three-in-one".

As for the 6, known as your zodiac’s Liu He ( the six directions hence marked as 6 in the table even if there is just one match ). This is more of a secret alliance to that particular zodiac.

They may give strong support to the zodiac sign at work, or give timely advice/help the sign of the zodiac sign in terms of wealth, interpersonal relationships, or provide spiritual comfort. They co-exist harmoniously.

It makes sense. That luck charm added with the the strongest sign that helps the sheep which is GG ❤️

following in the tradition of, if not quite living up to the reputation of, farewell my concubine (1993), chen kaige’s temptress moon (1996) once again casts gong li and leslie cheung in an exploration of the shifting meaning and role of gender in a modernizing china. whereas the former film straddles the sino-japanese war, this film spans from the abdication of puyi to the 1920s. the narrative of this modernizing, westernizing, revolutionizing timespan, especially in the film’s setting of shanghai, is that in this period both women and servants, oppressed into total submission by the rigid tradition of the qing dynasty, gained class consciousness and power together—with women in particular taking control of their sexuality and playing a particularly central role in modernization and revolution, as depicted in daybreak (1933), the red detachment of women (1961), and two stage sisters (1964) among others. this film paints a different picture, however. christopher doyle’s lush and richly-toned cinematography takes the opposite approach as his later work on in the mood for love (2000), as well as zhao fei’s work on zhang yimou’s raise the red lantern (1991), both of which uses a static camera and heavy use of frames within frames to telegraph how boxed in the characters feel themselves to be in their world of tradition and regulation. the cinematography of this film is fluid and fast-moving, with close-up tracking shots conveying intimacy, forward movement, instability, and confusion (a confusion that echoes the confusion of chen kaige’s loose and difficult-to-follow plot, but i digress). the characters of this film, male and female, former servant and former daughter, feel themselves to be utterly free of the previous, violent, mentally and sexually exploitative class structure. and yet the violence of that system lingers like the protagonist ruyi’s opium addiction inflicted on her by her father during childhood; the only difference is that this violence has reformed entirely along the lines of gender, in the absence of class-based channels of violence. as nodded to in zhang yimou’s shanghai triad (1995), in the warlord-run, revolution-torn, war-bound nominal republic of china, the lowest-born man is considered more important than the highest-born woman. as this film goes to pains to show through the grooming to violence of both duanwu and zhongliang, this attitude is not a revolution against the oppressive class-based structure of the past, but merely a reframing of it, and the internal corruption and violence that destroyed the old dynasty are bound to destroy the new era. of course, the film does not give up these insights easily; despite its gorgeous visuals and sensitive acting, the story is not particularly well-composed, and it reads more as a series of loosely-connected vignettes than as the the last emperor (1987)-like epic tale chen kaige clearly wanted it to be. nonetheless, temptress moon (1996) has style, it has heart, and it has some interesting ideas within it, and at the end of the day i would recommend it

Mafia / Cop / Detective / Thief

~*~

Cop/Detective

When a Bird Flies, It Leaves Feathers by Bem_Kofi (Not Rated, 75k, WangXian, Modern AU, XuanLi, Police, Police Officer LWJ, Medical Examiner WWX, Minor Character Death)

Keep Track of Losing Days by giraffeter (T, 74k, WangXian, NieLan, Modern AU, Case Fic, Police, Missing Persons, Getting Together, Flashbacks, Detective LWJ, antifa WWX, Angst with a Happy Ending, Sharing a Bed, First Meetings, Seattle, Mutual Pining, nonfatal car accident, mafia wens, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Friends to Lovers)

🧡 CSI: Gusu Edition Series by Stratisphyre (M, 39k, WangXian, WWX & LQR, Modern with Magic AU, College AU, Golden Core Reveal, Single parent WWX, Good Uncle LQR, Hospitalization, Allusions to violence and murder)

medium blues by darkterrible (E, 193k, WangXian, Modern AU, Horror, Spooky, Opposites Attract, Fluff and Angst, Gore, Ghosts, Necromancy, Mojo’s post)

Detective, please. by Pitycup_hearts (T, 124k, WangXian, XueXiao, Modern AU, Paranormal, Detectives, paranormal unit, csi, Crime Fighting, Ghosts, Fluff, Angst and Humor, Thriller, WY doesn't die this time, OOC, plot heavy)

🧡 Where's Your Emergency? by trippednfell (M, 64k, WangXian, 911 Dispatcher WWX, Single dad LWJ, Kid fic, Modern AU, D&D Games, Angst with a happy ending)

Torch Song at Nightless City by ArcadianMaggie (M, 11k, WangXian, Film Noir, Detective LWJ, Singer WWX, 1940s, Chinatown, San Francisco, Murder Mystery, Noir, Modern with Magic)

hey now by mellowflicker (E, 8k, WangXian, Modern AU, Detective LWJ, Mutual Pining, Hurt WWX, Hurt/Comfort, a sprinkle of, Gloves, Major Character Injury)

Good For Betting by ana_cp (E, 16k, WangXian, Modern AU, Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV) Fusion, fake date, Police, Getting Together, Fluff and Smut, Humor, Oblivious WWX, Mutual Pining, Idiots in Love, Co-workers, Police Officer WWX, Police Officer LWJ, POV Alternating, Blow Jobs, Top WWX, Bottom LWJ, Horny WWX)

critical path analysis by chinxe (T, 14k, WangXian, Modern AU, Police, Brooklyn Nine-Nine AU, Pining, Misunderstandings, wwx and lwj are simultaneously the smartest and densest detectives)

Everything’s glacial shine by letterando (T, 3k, WangXian, JC & WWX, WWX & WQ, Modern AU, Bar Room Brawl, Alcohol, Comfort, Fluff, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Pre-Relationship) - modern mundane AU, featuring the Yunmeng Jiang as gentrified river hicks given to daredevil stunts and barroom brawling. Detective LWJ keeps having to drag WWX off in handcuffs, a ritual both enjoy altogether too much. (The author hints at such a rich backstory, with traumatic military service standing in for the Sunshot Campaign, that I hope they someday continue this universe.)

Mafia

LAOZU (1989) by Machinebender (E, 33k, WangXian, Andrey/Goncharov, Modern AU, Fix-It, Post-Canon Fix-It, Organized Crime, 1980s Shanghai Triads AU, Angst, Oblivious WWX, Goncharov fusion)

Loyalty and Betrayal by VkShinkarenko (E, 100k, WIP, WangXian, Modern AU, Detectives, Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe mafia, Fluff and Smut, Slow Build, Developing Relationship, Spies & Secret Agents, Falling In Love, Domestic Fluff, POV Multiple, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Blood and Gore, Heavy Angst, graphic description of violence, Angst with a Happy Ending, First Time, Love Confessions, Explicit Sexual Content, also on Wattpad, Lealdade e Traição by VkShinkarenko)

🧡 Rule Number One: Never get attached. by KizuKatana (E, 130k, WangXian, Modern AU, A/B/O, Criminal underworld AU, Fluff and angst, Crime boss LWJ, Rouge criminal genius WWX, Explicit Sex)

Miscalculated Misreckoning by LadyVamp (E, 5k, WangXian, Modern AU, Organized Crime, Attempted Kidnapping, Murder Husbands, Blood and Violence, Violent Sex, Married WangXian, BAMF LWJ, BAMF WWX, YLLZ WWX, Hair-pulling, Office Sex, Desk Sex, Dark LWJ, Protective LWJ, Dark WWX, Partners in Crime, Gun Violence, Gun Kink, Crime Syndicate Qíshān Wēn Sect, Arranged Marriage, Crime Lord LWJ, Crime Lord WWX)

Say What's In This Drink? by Pancho (E, 2k, WangXian, Established Relationship, Gun Violence, Violence, Mild Blood, Dark LWJ, Organized Crime, Murder, Crime Boss LWJ)

herd 'em like cattle by mdzsed (E, 3k, WangXian, Modern AU, Blood and Violence, Torture, Murder, Mutilation, Blood and Gore, Age Difference, dark LWJ, Older LWJ, Mafia Boss LWJ, Kidnapped WWX, Date Rape Drug/Roofies, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Attempted Sexual Assault, Guns, Sexual Assault, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat)

Due Process by Kytrin, Mslead (E, 279k, WangXian, XiChengSang, Poly Junior Quartet, Modern AU, Foxxian, dragonji, Genderfluid WWX, WWX identifies as male, Organized Crime, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, mentions of child abuse, Angst with a Happy Ending, Found Family, Reincarnation)

Take Some Advice Paesano by FeelsForBreakfast (M, 8k, wangxian, modern, mob au, mafia the 🤡 version, humor, mistaken identity, getting together)

You & Me Baby, We'll Eclipse The Sun Series by 2501987 (M/E, 130k, WangXian, XiCheng, MIND THE TAGS, Modern AU, Mafia, Murder husbands, Torture, Possessive Behavior, Blood and Violence, Older JC, Younger WWX, Hurt/Comfort, Dark)

of demons and the good they bring by mimi123meg (M, 1k, WangXian, Modern AU, Mob, Crime Boss LWJ, BAMF WWX, BAMF LWJ, BAMF JC, Slight Violence, not too graphic, but definitely there, Established Relationship)

You Only Die Twice by Mikkeneko (T, 11k, WangXian, Modern AU, Assassins/Spies, Assassins & Hitmen, Mafia AU, Action, Moderate Violence, a lot of people die but no named characters, not exactly lan sect friendly, not exactly lan sect critical either, Assassin LWJ, Kindergarten Teacher WWX, coffee shop meet cute, Let LWJ Say Fucks, lightly cracky, Non-Linear Narrative)

Thief

disappear like smoke by jade token (jianghu) (T, 10k, ZhuiYi, Modern AU, Detectives, Thieves, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Meitantei Conan | Detective Conan References, Secret Identity, Pre-Relationship, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Crossdressing, First Meetings)

The Weight Of A Badge by Pancho (M, 19k, wangxian, 1920s au, femme fatale, genderfluid WWX, cat burglar WWX, detective LWJ, mob au, death, guns, violence, implied/referenced incest, QS lives, pining, YLLZ WWX, angst w happy ending)

(i've got) trouble in mind by seularen (E, 76k, wangxian, JGY/LXC, modern w magic, heist au, thief WWX, forger LWJ, consigliere JGY, epistolary, long-distance relationship, d/d elements, Canon wangxian kinks, happy ending)

Crime & Chaos by NebulusCharlie (Not Rated, 24k, WangXian, Crime AU, Modern AU)

~*~

Just wanted you to know that the sudden revival of interest in the lost Martin Scorsese subtext-laden gangster epic “Goncharov” is already inspiring fusion AUs: LAOZU (1989), by Machinebender (#43216329; note that this fulfills Mafia AU requests, such as #3 on post #693120469347549184.)

😂 I can't believe how unsurprised I am, of course the Goncharov fandom found MDZS. It's perfect for a crossover. Lan Wangji as Goncharov and Wei Wuxian as Andrey.

- Mod C

LAOZU (1989) by Machinebender (E, 5k, WIP, WangXian, GonDrey, Fix-It, Post-Canon Fix-It, Modern AU, Organized Crime, Enemies to Lovers, Rivals With Benefits, Canon-Typical Major Character Death, 1980s Shanghai Triads AU)

Top 16 Favorite Film Gowns

Red

~~ Titanic (1997) ~~ The Age of Innocence (1993) ~~ Jezebel (1938) ~~ La Reine Margot (1994) ~~ Shanghai Triad (1995) ~~ Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) ~~ Dangerous Liaisons (1988) ~~ The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964) ~~ 102 Dalmatians (2000) ~~ Pink Flamingos (1972) ~~ Crimson Peak (2015) ~~ The Banquet (2006) ~~ The Light Across the Street (1955) ~~ The Band Wagon (1953) ~~ Tale of Tales (2015) ~~ Cinderella (2015) ~~

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: M/M

Fandoms: 绅探 | Detective L (TV), 叛逆者 | The Rebel (TV 2021)

Relationship: Lin Nansheng/Luo Fei (Detective L)

Characters: Lin Nansheng, Luo Fei (Detective L)

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, although it is canon compliant if we assume LF was always part of the canon, Longing, Nostalgia, Undercover, Vignette

Summary:

On the gallery on the first floor, engrossed in a rather spirited talk with another Westerner, there is a man Lin Nansheng thought he will never see again. No one returned to Shanghai after being taken away by the triad, Nansheng knew that. Everyone knew that. The man was taken in 1937, years ago. Lin Nansheng had mourned him.

JACKIEEE CONGRATS ON 2K OMG ♡♡♡♡ you're seriously one of my favorite blogs on here i'm forever thankful to that svt as cats and dogs post for introducing me to your blog 🫂🫂 for the requests can i take 1 + 26 + 29 from your prompt list? congrats once again ♡♡

--> (prompts) noir/1920’s | “you deserve better. it doesn’t have to be me, but you deserve better.” | “does it hurt?” | words: 600

in which you were born into a mafia family, and seungcheol helps you escape from an arranged marriage

Bang. Bang bang.

The sound of gunshots rings out through the street, cutting through the quiet night air. You don’t jump from your perch in the passenger seat of the car, however. You’re past the point of fear, not when you were born into this life. They used to call you the princess, but back before your father had risen through the ranks to become the leader of the city’s dominant triad, you had been his shadow and his spy. Because who would suspect a child? Half-consciously, you rub at the scar along your throat. It’s just a faint, faded thing now. (Blood on your hands, blood in your mouth, filling your lungs, there’s blood everywhere and you’re dying, barely twelve years old. It was Seungcheol who had dragged you home, crying the whole way back.)

Seungcheol whistles with his hands in his pockets as he emerges from the warehouse, unscathed. He saunters toward you easily, like he didn’t just kill your brother-in-law and your husband’s lackeys, and slides into the driver’s seat of the car.

There’s a faint speck of red on the crisp white edge of the shirt collar pressed stiff against this throat. Very gently, you reach out and rub your thumb against the stain. It doesn’t budge. “You sure you don’t want to come with me? I have a ticket with your name on it.”

Please come with me, is the unspoken plea. Maybe you’re too far gone for such tenderness to really mean anything.

“You know I can’t,” he says, frowning slightly. “Not without putting you in danger.”

“You’re being stupid again, Cheol.” You smile and run your hand along his cheek affectionately. “Just say the word and I can give you a new name, a new life.”

Seungcheol doesn’t answer. He just puts his hand over yours and presses his lips against the center of your palm. “April,” he whispers, “You know I can’t leave until April.”

You know he’s planning a coup. He’s been planning it since he found out the price of your father’s alliance, where all that new drug money was from, and just exactly why your engagement had been so rushed and secretive.

(Seungcheol had always been handsome. He’s kneeling, shoulders slumped, when he meets you in secret the night before your wedding. There’s a barely-healed scar running across his left cheek, a consequence of his confrontation with your father. The boss doesn’t tolerate defiance, not even from his right-hand man.

“Does it hurt?” You crouch down and touch the edge of the scar. It had been held together with sloppy stitches, and you know it’s going to mar his visage forever.

“Sometimes,” Seungcheol says. His eyes are dark. “But the more it hurts, the better. I want to remember this.”)

“April.” You exhale through your nose slowly, eyes closed. “Or you could die.”

“Dead or alive, I’ll get it done by April,” Seungcheol reassures you. “I promised I would kill your father, and I keep my promises. But if April passes and I haven’t joined you in Shanghai, you have to promise me that you won’t wait. That you’ll move on, get on that boat to San Francisco.”

At that, you don’t respond to him. How are you supposed to just forget about him? The man who would topple an empire for one person?

“You deserve better than this life,” he says, and you know that he means every word. “It might not be with me. But you deserve better.”

You laugh humorlessly. “Start the car, Seungcheol,” you pull your hand away. “I have a train to catch.”

For any of you out there who watched and enjoyed Granting You a Dreamlike Life and are interested to know more of the story... there is a novel!

For a while, there was a machine translation (MTL) posted, but the links all now seem to be defunct.  So, I’m going to give translating it a go.  This will be mostly a heavily edited MTL, but I’m doing my best to keep it as accurate as possible by working with a multitude of translation sites/dictionaries/Baidu-Baike for cultural references and a little help from friends whose Mandarin capabilities far exceed my own.

No promises about how quickly this is going to happen; chances are the chapters will go up in fits and starts.  (...that’s just how ADHD rolls sometimes.  OTZ)  But I’m hoping that if I start posting what I have so far it will encourage some accountability on my end, so I guess we’ll see?  ^_^

Anyway.  You can follow my translation group on Novel Updates (link above) or you can follow the translation blog directly on wordpress to know when new chapters are out.  For now, the first chapter is up if you’d like to peruse!  ^_^  Enjoy?  ^_^

Characters I have played in the past couple of years of roleplay:

A reformed cut-throat bandit.

The security officer of the equivalent of a space-16-wheeler, dumped in a "Event Horizon" kind of mess.

A winter witch who escaped slavery and now gets antsy if she stays in the same place for too long.

A spacefaring telepath who is very done with this shit and fries people's brains or has monsters gnawing at their own flesh.

The middle kobold in a three-kobolds-in-a-trenchcoat kind of set up.

A female musketeer with very little sword skills but a penchant for alchemy and explosions (and very little eyebrows left).

A bounty hunter hunting for a guy in a 1990s Shanghai that is infested by monsters and where the Triads are the least of your problems.

A fishman scout working on a submarine for a minimum wage.

A 1930s airhead bimbo actress set to play the main character of a female-Tarzan kind of flick, who first ends up in the Hollow Earth, and then has to pretend to be a goddess on Barsoom.

There's so much good stuff out there, in terms of settings and rules! We truly live in blessed RPG times, if you look at it the right way.

New Year Fic Ask: 1, 8, 11 :)

1. Do you have a word-count goal for the upcoming year?

Not really, I don't usually pay much attention to word counts unless it's something particular, like an exchange with word limits.

8. Is there a story idea in your mental vault that you’ve never been brave enough to try writing? Is this the year? Can you tell us about it?

I actually came up with an idea for a CQL/MDZS modern day au that I like enough to tweak it into an original fic. It follows a man living in rural Ontario who immigrated from China several years earlier... the TL:DR of it is that the MC is based off of Jin Zixun whose family had been Triad back in Shanghai, and when his cousin was killed in the middle of a gang war, was forced to reevaluate everything in his life. JGS thinks he's dead, and JZXun who had been an enforcer type in the Triad now feels he has a penance to pay and tries to honour his cousin's memory, even if he can't stand being decent toward those he thinks of as beneath him - but he genuinely is trying to be better though it may not always seem like it. And then one day someone from his past shows up in a local bar, someone who knows he's supposed to be dead... based off NHS of course. And yeah, it goes from there. I want to really develop a whole bunch of other townspeople characters not inspired by canon so that it's really fleshed out as a universe unto itself. So... yeah :)

11. Would you like to try any new fanfic genres or tropes this year?

I might want to explore poly ship dynamics a little more - have dabbled but there are so many variations to work with.

Also, an idea that's been niggling in my mind is ace!LXC - I don't write him much, maybe because some of his biggest canonical flaws are ones I share and it's not always fun to look in a mirror, but I think it might be worth getting to know him a bit more through writing.

Thank you!

1/23

Collaborations: The Cinema of Zhang Yimou and Gong Li box set (Red Sorghum, Ju Dou, Raise The Red Lantern, The Story Of Qiu Ju, To Live, Shanghai Triad, Curse Of The Golden Flower, Coming Home)(Blu Ray only, 8 discs rented separately) Comfort and Joy (Region B Blu Ray only) Johnny & Clyde Limbo (4k Blu Ray & Blu Ray) More (Region 2 DVD & Region Free Blu Ray) Smoke Sauna Sisterhood Stonewalling Us Or Them

filmmakers in the late 20th century love filming extended 1920/30s cabaret acts WAY more than actual 20/30s filmmakers. i’ve never seen anything even pre-code that comes close to the lush and racy dance performances we see in like. singin in the rain (1952) or indiana jones and the temple of doom (1984) or shanghai triad (1995) or the artist (2012) or