"The way to pick a flower" (a Musashi 2003 fanfic)

Musashi (Ichikawa Ebizō) and Otsu (Yonekura Ryoko),
my favourite Azuchi-Momoyama-Edo couple!

A recurring question amongst the readers of Musashi (the novel) and viewers of Musashi (the drama) is whether Musashi and Otsu ended up together officially and whether they eventually shared a life together. I’ve always liked this couple when I read Yoshikawa Eiji’s novel, yet upon seeing the 2003 Taiga Drama, I’m dead on in love with them and want them to be officially together. Since neither the book nor the drama stated as such, this is my attempt to bring that closure to myself. SPOILERS of Musashi 2003 Episodes 14 onwards; consider yourself forewarned…



Miyamoto Musashi had faced 80 students of the Yoshioka Kenpo, Agon and Inshun of Hozoin Nara, Taguchi Genryu and even Yagyū Sekishusai without blinking his eyes in fear. At the very least, he had managed to overcome his fears and emerged alive, for better for worse. Yet, for this situation at hand, he wasn’t sure how he’d proceed, let alone emerging unscathed.

'Childhood acquaintance' - a Chor Lau Heung 1984 fanfiction

A boy rescued a little girl when she fell into a rabbit hole. Dedicated to all things fluffy and happy in the world (I think I need this after Alan Rickman’s death yesterday). Also dedicated to Michael Miu and Barbara Yung, of course... The New Adventures of Chor Lau Heung 1984 is the property of TVB Hong Kong. No copyright infringement intended. Click this to read this fan-fiction at my new Jianghu blog.

Can't find a pix, so I stole from Kaguyahime Monogatari (Little Kaguya and Sutemaru)

Childhood acquaintance 

The boy watched as the rich-looking little girl stumbled over and fell into the hole. He gasped and then screamed "Idiot!!" before he ran towards the rabbit hole. Lucky for the little girl, the hole wasn't a deep one. Still, the fall would hurt her.

"Are you okay?" He peeked through the hole. The afternoon sunlight illuminated the hole slightly, such that he could see her little face crying from shock. "Don't cry. I told you not to chase the rabbit, but you still did that. Idiot."

"Will you just shut up and help me?!" came the unexpected order from the hole, slightly echoed. The boy chuckled. "I take it you're not injured, then?" He asked her. When she said she didn't know whether she was injured or not, he rolled his eyes heavenwards. Girls! "Try getting up, see if you can stand up." The girl did so and then screamed.

"The Return of the Bat Prince" - a Chor Lau Heung 1984 fanfiction

What if Chor Lau Heung didn’t defeat the Bat Prince during the last duel? What if he fell into the cliff instead, presumably dead? What would Siu Ching do? The New Adventures of Chor Lau Heung 1984 is the property of Gu Long and TVB Hong Kong, no copyright infringement intended. Dedicated to the ever charming Michael Miu and Barbara Yung. Click this to read this fan-fiction at my new Jianghu blog.

Yuen Tsui Wan (Simon Yam) vs Chor Lau Heung (Michael Miu), ep 40

The Return of the Bat Prince

Princess Wing Ching strode along the corridor towards Emperor Father's chamber; her faithful Jade Sword in her left hand. It was past midnight already, and most likely her father was already asleep. She didn't need to talk to him, though. She just needed to make sure he was alright. She arrived at the door, whispered to the guards not to announce herself for fear of waking His Majesty up, and slowly opened the door. 

Wu Tit Fa and Master Yuen Hung were there accompanying the Crown Prince outside the main chamber. Upon registering her presence, the three men frowned. The Crown Prince spoke first. 

"Yearning Lady Playing the Zither" - a Chor Lau Heung 1984 fanfiction

A scene from Ep 27 where Song Siu Ching played the zither after stomping out of a conversation with Chor Lau Heung, and said wandered was forlornly listening to the melody, plus the hypothetical scene afterwards. Watch it with the scene below for better effects. As usual, the fanfiction is dedicated to Michael Miu and Barbara Yung. I don’t own any of the characters; Gu Long and TVB Hong Kong do. Click this to read this fan-fiction at my new Jianghu blog.

Siu Ching playing zither (Chor Lau Heung 1984... by icha74

Yearning Lady Playing the Zither

It had been a while since he heard music flowing from the zither chamber inside the boat, such that Chor Lau Heung felt as if it was his adopted sister Sung Tim Yi who was playing right now. Yet, of course the wanderer knew better. Tim Yi, So Yung Yung, Li Hung Chao and Wah Jan Jan were kidnapped a while ago, and he hadn't been able to trace their whereabouts.

Nay, the fingers that danced through the zither strings right now weren't Tim Yi's. They were Siu Ching's, the girl who had been haunting his mind as of late. Give and take the last few months since he met her that very fine afternoon in an inn, which seemed like a life time ago. Slowly walking the Fragrant Boat deck, Lingering Fragrance sighed and caressed a strand of his own hair. Song Siu Ching didn't have Tim Yi's excellence in music, but the former was surprisingly good with the zither. Lau Heung never heard Siu Ching playing a musical instrument before, so he was a bit surprised to learn that she was a good player. He shouldn't really be surprised though, the girl would have taken some meaningful musical lessons back at the palace, given that she was actually Princess Wing Ching, the only princess the empire had. Yet, despite the crystal clear notes she played, Lingering Fragrance detected an unmistakable yearning, longing, infused in the melody.

'The First Dance' - a Chor Lau Heung 1984 fan fiction

My take on the first meeting between Chor Lau Heung and Song Siu Ching, requested by JoNe. Romance, action. Chor Lau Heung 1984 is the property of Gu Long and TVB HK. This fanfiction is dedicated to Michael Miu Kiu Wai and Barbara Yung Mei Ling. I own nothing but my love to them and this series (click here to read all CLH'84 episodes). Special thanks to all my CLH/FD/MB regular readers, you guys have kept me going! Click this to read this fan-fiction at my new Jianghu blog.

Song Siu Ching's and Chor Lau Heung's first 'dance', ep 1

The First Dance 

Han men didn't dance with Han women. Unlike the Mongols or the Shendu people, a dance between a man and a woman was not part of the Han culture. It would be the women who performed the ethereal dance and the men enjoyed their dancing, preferably while drinking good wine. However, King of Thieves Chor Lau Heung had danced several times with the woman he loved. He particularly treasured their first dance. Oh, she wouldn't call it a dance, of course, she would call it something else. "Rudeness" or "show off" might be her opinion of that moment. But he would always remember it as the opening dance between them.

'The Princess who saved her wanderer' - a Chor Lau Heung 1984 fanfiction

To assist Yuen Tsui Wan, Kam Ling Chi poisoned Chor Lau Heung, Wu Tit Fa and the three ladies. Chor was almost defeated by Ting Fung but Sit Siu Yan and Wah Jan Jan arrived to save the day (ep 35). Then Khoo Tai Pang found out their hideout. This fanfiction takes time after Siu Ching met Sit Siu Yan in town and went to the mansion to assist Chor tai-gor (ep 36). Instead of asking Tim Yi to play music and acting all cool, Chor et al found a hidden passage inside the house (with the help of the Pak Ah zither) where he hid his friends there. Chor then faced Khoo Tai Pang alone. Chor still sustained injuries from his fight with Ting Fung, hence he was easily defeated and captured. It was now up to Siu Ching to rescue him. Featuring Chor Lau Heung first kissing Song Siu Ching. Violence, romance, action. Chor Lau Heung 1984 is the property of Gu Long and TVB HK. This fanfiction is dedicated to Michael Miu Kiu Wai and Barbara Yung Mei Ling. I own nothing but my love to them and this series (click here to read all CLH'84 episodes). Special thanks to all my CLH/FD/MB regular readers, you guys have kept me going!

Click this to read this fan-fiction at my new Jianghu blog.

Ting Fung defeated a poisoned Chor Lau Heung, ep 35

The Princess who saved her wanderer 

Song Siu Ching crawled inside the damp tunnel. Worried that she might be trapped in the tunnel, she started to regret the idea. However, something about the air told her that she was getting onto something here. The air was fresh, not rotten. The tunnel must end in an opening where she could get out, or at least see what happened in the old mansion.

Siu Ching had found the entrance of the tunnel totally by accident. Earlier that day, she had arrived at the hillside of the old mansion with Trouble Maker Sit Siu Yan to learn that a small army of Khoo Tai Pang’s had surrounded the area. She waited for a while for Wah Jan Jan (who she knew had been tailed by Khoo Tai Pang) to reappear. The Hua Shan girl did appear for a brief moment, stepping down the stairs before she stopped and returned to the mansion. Jan Jan must have detected Khoo Tai Pang then, which was good.

'Tonight I stay here' - a Fearless Duo fanfiction

The scene between Szeto Man Mo and Lam Chor Yin (MMCY) in Ep 6 of Fearless Duo after they had to share the room to fool Chor Yin’s uncle and aunt. After realising that he couldn’t escape the mansion without getting beaten to death, Man Mo resigned his fate and decided to just sleep in the room. But there was only one bed there. Fearless Duo is the property of TVB HK. This fanfiction is dedicated to Michael Miu and Barbara Yung. Click here for Fearless Duo episode summaries. Click this to read this fan-fiction at my new Jianghu blog.

Lam Chor Yin wanted to slap Szeto Man Mo, ep 6

Tonight I stay here

"I'm not sharing a bed with you!" Chor Yin glared at Man Mo.

Szeto Man Mo glared back at his former wife. What a nonsensical girl! "Miss, even though you don't want to sleep, I do. You can sleep next to me, I don't mind!"  He then lay down on the bed, only to be dragged up again by Chor Yin. “Haiyaaa...! What do you want, Girl??”

Since Chor Yin still lodged a protest, both of them ended up sleep-sitting on the chairs. For the first two hours they could do that. But at midnight, just as the clock man passed the mansion with his clunking bamboo, Man Mo woke up with a thud cos his head hit the table. Groaning, he massaged his forehead. Then he looked around. Although the room was dark, silver lights penetrated the windows from the moon and 2-3 lanterns in the garden. He looked across the round table where he had been leaning on and found Chor Yin sleeping on her folded hands on the table. He was about to change his position when he saw the bed again. His back hurts. What would he give to sleep there...

Baby delivery - a Chor Lau Heung 1984 fanfiction

Siu Ching was in the last week of her pregnancy and Chor Lau Heung unexpectedly had to help delivering the baby because Dr Cheong and the girls were detained in an infected town. Featuring Wu Tit Fa who was too scared to help due to excessive blood. Special thanks to the ladies at the MB Paradise, Network 54 and SPCNet.tv who have been reading my fan-fictions so far. Chor Lau Heung 1984 is the property of Gu Long and TVB HK. This fanfiction is dedicated to Michael Miu Kiu Wai and Barbara Yung Mei Ling. I own nothing but my love to them and this series (click here to read all CLH'84 episodes). Click this to read this fan-fiction at my new Jianghu blog.

Baby delivery

Song Siu Ching & Chor Lau Heung (from ep 38)

Chor Lau Heung looked back at the gate several times before returning to the dining room where his wife was sitting. His very pregnant wife, to be exact, only a week into her due date. 

"Stop worrying Chor tai-gor, they'll be fine," said Song Siu Ching, opening a cup of tea and filling it. She looked peachy in her favourite soft pink maternity dress. "Here, have some tea."

"I know," smiled her Brother Chor as he took the tea. "It's just the trip shouldn't take that long for them to return. They said they'd be back yesterday, and now the sun will set in a few hours and they haven't returned."

"Do you think the illness in town is so bad? It might prevent them to come?" as Siu Ching sipped her own tea, her other hand massaging her very large abdomen. She winced a bit when she felt a kick, then she smiled. Chor Lau Heung registered the wince quicker than the smile tho, so he quickly leaned towards her and asked if she was okay. Siu Ching smiled again, looking alternately between her belly and her husband.

"It just kicked me."

The annoying but lovely girl - a Chor Lau Heung 1984 fanfiction

Chor Lau Heung’s subconscious thoughts as he drifted into and out of comma after the fight with Yat Dim Hung, and also his musing on the events before and after he took a wrong medication in eps 11 (click here for the summary of all episodes). Particularly inspired by the way Chor tai-gor reached for Siu Ching when he had the heart attack. Chor Lau Heung 1984 is the property of Gu Long and TVB HK. This fanfiction is dedicated to Michael Miu Kiu Wai and Barbara Yung Mei Ling. I own nothing but my love to them and this series. Click this to read this fan-fiction at my new Jianghu blog.

Chor tai-gor had a heart failure due to wrong medication, ep 11

The annoying but lovely girl

Chor Lau Heung tried to raise his chi to balance the storm of energy within his chest. The imbalance was too great though; the internal storm attacked him back, causing him to double over coughing. He gasped as he felt a greater pain piercing his chest from within. One of his hands grabbed his chest as the other hand reached forward towards the people around him. His adopted sisters and a girl wearing a pearly white dress he successfully saved earlier. Siu Ching...

His hands reached hers as she called his name in panic. He couldn't respond, but he desperately needed to hold onto her hands as an anchor. He felt his chi slipping away and he needed her to ground him, thus he felt a tiny flush of relief as her small hands firmly holding onto him. He coughed again and then heard the commotions around him. Yung Yung's and Tim Yi's voice, then Siu Ching saying something about giving him a pill. Then he felt someone opening his mouth and force-fed him the pill. He automatically swallowed it, hoping for the best.

Tough Love - a Chor Lau Heung 1984 fanfiction

Chor Lau Heung battled an enemy who kidnapped Song Siu Ching and almost killed her. Chor realised he didn't train Siu Ching enough hence gave her a very strict, hard-core boot camp. After two weeks, Siu Ching had more than enough bruises and frustration. Chor Lau Heung 1984 is the property of Gu Long and TVB HK. This fanfiction is dedicated to Michael Miu Kiu Wai and Barbara Yung Mei Ling. I own nothing but my love to them and this series (click here to read all CLH'84 episodes). Click this to read this fan-fiction at my new Jianghu blog.

Chor Lau Heung and Song Siu Ching, ep 36

Tough Love

Chor Lau Heung crouched behind the bush in the darkness. He knew he had to show himself soon, but he preferred to observe his surroundings first, pitch dark as it was. He squinted to see any signs around, including in the tree canopies. It was a moonless night, but he thought he saw something moving slightly on a tree across the clearing in front of him. Tentatively, he walked into the open clearing towards the tree. A swift sound alerted him and he pirouetted to the closest tree branch to avoid a flying dagger. Yet, as he landed his right foot on the branch, he caught another swift sound and had to backflip off the branch to avoid another dagger. Using both his gravity-defying skill and his agility, he had to do several somersaults among tree branches to avoid not only flying daggers but also throwing-stars. Eventually, the Lingering Fragrance had enough. He unhooked the Jade Sword he'd been carrying and, as he leapt towards his target tree, rotated the central point of the scabbard around his body to make an effective spherical shield as he used his gravity-defying skill (ching gung/qinggong) to practically fly towards the tree. As he parried the daggers and throwing-stars with that method, the offensive items scattered around him. Some were even reflected back to his offenders as could be heard from their gasps and cries as their weapons flew back at them. Closing in to the tree, Chor Lau Heung caught the last dagger thrown at him and threw it to the tree instead. He heard metal clanking before a chilling laughter broke.

The Wanderer who took her hairpin – Chor Lau Heung 1984 fanfiction

My take on a possible scene after Chor Lau Heung left with Siu Ching’s hairpin and before they met again on his boat in Ep 40. Chor Lau Heung 1984 is the property of Gu Long and TVB HK. This fanfiction is dedicated to Michael Miu Kiu Wai and Barbara Yung Mei Ling. I own nothing but my love to them and this series (click here to read all CLH'84 episodes). Click here for an MV of this fanfiction based on Li Yu's "Alone Up the West Chamber" (Du Shang Xi Lou). Click this to read this fan-fiction at my new Jianghu blog.

Princess Wing Ching (Barbara Yung), ep 40 TVB 1984

The Wanderer who took her hairpin 

Princess Wing Ching absentmindedly touched her elaborate coiffeur. Something was missing there, and she knew well what it was. It was a gold hairpin dotted with pearls and small diamonds. It was one of her favourite hairpins that were too flashy to bring outside the palace during her adventures that eventually led her to meet Chor Lau Heung, a.k.a. the man who eventually took the hairpin away. Upon returning to the palace after their unforgettable adventure, she was happy to find that the hairpin was still in her jewellery box. She had purposely worn the hairpin that day for the private audience between Brother Chor and Emperor Father. She never expected Lingering Fragrance to choose the hairpin over her, hence she didn't bother to say anything when he properly made leave in front of her family. Oh, he had looked at her alright, but she was still too shock and confused to say anything, not even to wish him a safe journey.

The Greeting - a Chor Lau Heung 1984 fanfiction

The Greeting

I don’t own Chor Lau Heung (Chu Liuxiang); Gu Long did. And TVB, cos this story is based on the 1984 TVB’s The New Adventures of Chor Lau Heung starring the dashing Michael Miu Kiu Wai as Chor Lau Heung and the sweet (late) Barbara Yung Mei Ling as Song Siu Ching. This fanfiction is dedicated to my childhood idol Michael Miu and my all-time-favourite actress Barbara Yung. This is my take on the scene before Chor Lau Heung greeted Siu Ching as their Princess in episode 20 that can be viewed here. Click here for the summary of all episodes. Click this to read this fan-fiction at my new Jianghu blog.

 

Chor Lau Heung found Siu Ching's scarf, ep 17

Chor Lau Heung raised his hand to knock on the door. The girl he grew to care for – no...love, not just care for – like no other woman was in that room. She was resting, or perhaps talking to Wah Jan Jan. He wanted nothing more than to enter the room, politely asked Miss Wah to give them privacy, and then hug Siu Ching and never let her go again. But he couldn't do that. He had no rights to do that.

His hand hovered on the door for a while before he lowered it and took a few steps back. His mind flew to the first day he realised there was no future between him and Siu Ching. It was the day he realised that Mr Song was actually the Emperor himself. Prior to that, the wanderer and ladies' man Chor wouldn't have thought of settling down. But then he met the brazen girl Song Siu Ching and grew to like her more than the way he cared for Sue, Rosie and Sugar, his adopted sisters.

Just as you are - a Chor Lau Heung 1984 fan fiction

I don’t own Chor Lau Heung (Chu Liuxiang); Gu Long did. And TVB, cos this story is based on the 1984 TVB’s The New Adventures of Chor Lau Heung starring the dashing Michael Miu Kiu Wai as Chor Lau Heung and the sweet (late) Barbara Yung Mei Ling as Song Siu Ching. This fanfiction is dedicated to my childhood idol Michael Miu and my all-time-favourite actress Barbara Yung, whom I still miss to this date. Click this to read this fan-fiction at my new Jianghu blog.

After the events in the Legend of the Bats (click here to read all episodes), Princess Wing Ching decided to leave the Palace and travelled around with the Lingering Fragrance. They were finally married, but it doesn’t mean that Siu Ching could easily get rid of her insecurities regarding the three smart girls that Chor had adopted and had lived with him for more than a decade. In such circumstances, what should a girl do then?

Song Siu Ching (Barbara Yung) and Chor Lau Heung (Michael Miu), TVB 1984

Just as You Are

Living on a boat with her husband and four smart and beautiful ladies was not an easy feat for Song Siu Ching, a.k.a Princess Wing Ching, but she managed. Living with her husband alone, she had no problem with that, for that was what she wanted. She left the Palace because she realised that she couldn’t live without Chor Lau Heung anyway. She had been happy living on the boat so far, particularly because Chor did show without any reservation that – even though he cared about Sue, Rosie, Sugar, and Wah Jan Jan – Siu Ching was the girl that he loved.

True, there were times when Siu Ching wondered whether her presence was actually needed on the boat. She excelled in the ropes and sails bit, thanks to her tomboy tendency. The rest of the day, while Sugar was cooking or playing music and Rosie collecting herbs, Siu Ching would just joke around with Chor, play chess (she wasn’t the best player on board; Sue was, after Chor of course), or just leaning on his broad shoulder as he read books. But Chor knew how to show her that she was special. For instance, during chess play, he’d still hold Rosie’s hand when she tried to cheat, but he’d just hold it within a reasonable time limit. But with Siu Ching, Chor’s hand would linger much longer than that, causing her to blush and the other girls to smile knowingly. When he taught her about the technical aspects of sailing, he’d position himself behind her and envelope his arms to hers, practically hugging her, as he showed how to tug the rope. He didn’t do that to Jan Jan; he was just standing or kneeling next to her at a close, yet respectable distance, as he showed her some roping technique.

Vayuputra review and fanfiction: Difficulties in letting go and moving on

Neelkanth visualised by Amish et al (I have to say that those lips are adorable...)

I have difficulties in letting go, at times. Or moving on, at times. One of the recent examples is Amish’ The Oath of the Vayuputra. Case in the point: I received the book from my dear friend in India in late April, finish it in three days (non-continuous reading due to my schedule), and yet have never been able to sit down and write the review. Until now. Because I am still in denial (yes, it’s not only a river in Egypt… which I will mention again at the end of this review).

Several things made it difficult for me to let go. The ending, for one – and I’m sure I’m not alone in this matter. I read online that a girl still hadn’t been able to let go after two weeks of finishing Vayuputra. Well, I’m into six months after finishing it, and I still cannot let go. There are some nitpicks of course, which made me wish that Amish had somewhat wrote the book rather differently. But the most important thing is the ending. 

So, to make it shorter-ish, I will divide the review into what I love, what I like, and what I dislike (and I wish I could change). Heavy spoilers for those who haven’t read the book yet.