#I love how chinese fans when they see two people who look good together they decide to make awesome videos about them

[indigovigilance]

The Final Fifteen is about Terry Pratchett's Death

read on Ao3

The final fifteen is obviously a major plot point, and serves a role in a story that was written long before Terry Pratchett was ever diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. But the scene itself wasn’t written until just a few years ago, during the writing of Season 2. In fact, the scene came about during a park bench conversation between Neil Gaiman and John Finnemore.

Others have noted that the non-romantic kiss that signals the story moving into the third act is a Neil Gaiman staple. The function of such a kiss, from Gaiman’s perspective, is to communicate.

In 2023 we are seeing a lot of stories written by men, for men, about men who are best friends and discover that their friendship can go deeper than the norms of society would usually allow; that platonic and romantic love are not so far apart, and perhaps the better word for a relationship that can be described this way is intimacy.

Neil Gaiman has made it clear in interviews that his friendship with Terry Pratchett was deeply intimate. They began collaborating on what would become Good Omens in the 1980’s, endured a tumultuous experience together through the first publication, wherein Neil offered to martyr himself on behalf of Terry if the book failed, and then spent the better part of two decades touring the world, meeting the people who loved their work. Neil would even off-handedly remark that Terry’s fans were so cheerful, and Neil’s seemed like they were ready to kill themselves; wouldn’t it be nice if they got married? From the outside, it looks very much as if Terry was Aziraphale-coded, and Neil was Crowley-coded, working together in an unexpected partnership to make the world a little bit more tolerable for the humans inhabiting it. I am not conjecturing that Neil and Terry had romantic inclinations the way their fictional characters do, but I think it is fair to say that their opposites-attract intimacy became an important part of who each of them were.

In 2007 Terry Pratchett was diagnosed with posterior cortical atrophy, a rare form of Alzheimer’s. As the disease progressed, he began to lose himself, and knew that the person he used to be was slipping away. He wanted to end his life on his own terms, and die as himself, but England did not and still does not allow for voluntary euthanasia or assisted suicide. He advocated for the right to die but never achieved it, and ultimately succumbed to the disease in 2015. Neil Gaiman has spoken a lot on the topic of death, and one answer of his that resonated with me reads:

Mostly it feels terrible. It even feels terrible when it’s someone who has been in a lot of pain for a long time or has not really been there for a long time and you know that Death has in some ways been a blessing: suddenly you are mourning the whole person. 

It doesn’t get easier as you age. It gets stranger. The point where you realise how many people you used to know and like who aren’t there any longer, and you cannot talk to them or see them or laugh with them is painful in a way that I had never expected. The first time that someone you had a romantic relationship with dies and you realise that there had been moments both of you shared and now you are the sole custodian of those moments and one day you will be gone and they will be lost forever is peculiarly strange and hard. 

~~~

The entire show is seeded with references to Terry Pratchett, but the most important one is the one that’s missing. Neil Gaiman cameoed as a sleeping moviegoer in S1E4, but a long time ago, he and Terry had discussed cameoing as sushi restaurant-goers, because sushi was weirdly prominent in the book. That cameo would have been in S1E1. But when it came time to do it, Neil couldn’t. Not without Terry. 

Neil: I was gonna say our location is a Chinese restaurant we’d had turned into a sushi restaurant. So Terry and I, Terry Pratchett and I, had a standing… not even a standing joke, just a standing plan, that we were going to have sushi - there was going to be a scene in Good Omens where sushi was eaten and we were gonna be extras, we were gonna sit in the background, eating sushi while it was done. And I was so looking forward to this and, so I wrote this scene with it being sushi, even though Terry was gone, with that in mind and I thought: Oh, I’ll sit and I’ll eat lots of sushi as an extra, this will be my scene as an extra, I’ll just be in the background. And then, on the day, or a couple of days before, I realized that I couldn’t do it.

Douglas: You never told me this before either. I might have pushed you into doing it, had I known. I think you were right not to tell me.

Neil: I was keeping it to me self ‘cause I was always like: Oh, maybe I’ll be… this will be my cameo. And then I couldn’t. I was just so sad, ‘cause Terry wasn’t there. And it was probably the day that I missed Terry the most of all of the filming - it was just this one scene ‘cause it was written for Terry and all of the sushi meals we’d ever had and all of the strange way that sushi ran through Good Omens.

~~~

In the Final Fifteen, it is clear that Crowley and Aziraphale want to stay together. They love each other. They each know that the other loves them. There’s nothing that needs to be said, no convincing that their bond is true and real and precious.

But Aziraphale has to go to Heaven, and Crowley cannot follow him there.

I cannot speculate what it must have been like for Neil to endure losing a friend who, though I’m sure he desperately wanted to still be in his life, he also knew that life had become a burden to him, and grieved that Terry was not able to choose the time and manner of his departure from this Earth. This sort of complex grief, we fan-ficcers know, is the kind that is often best processed through story-telling. 

I think that what we see Crowley going through in the Final Fifteen, alongside its importance to the story arc of Good Omens overall, is Neil processing his grief at losing his friend Terry Pratchett, and even the kiss, that violent, terrible, awful kiss, was the symbolic representation of Neil saying goodbye.

[minkyungseokie]

第一章| Getting the Job

warnings; age gap love(R: 23, S:39, T: 50), gxg, throuple, controversial age gaps, random German and Scottish pet names,

note; first chapter! Idk how many chapters this’ll have. I know it’ll include moodboards, smaus, blurbs, and specials that you guys can request!

note2; I don't really like Bianca, so she won't be appearing a lot in this series. I don't hate her, but I don't like her either. If you have an issue, don't complain, just stop reading ❤️

Taglist is open, but only for 19 more people

note3; I decided to give her cochlear implants because I want too. She’s deaf now

fc; imleslie(on a Chinese Instagram app called Xiaohongshu)

Come Talk to Me

Driven by Destiny Masterlist | Next

Autosports Masterlist | Main Masterlist | Toto Masterlist |

I do not give anyone permission to change, copy, or put my work on any other platform. It will only be on top, so if you see it, please report it. Or let me know.

Susie huffed, looking down at the sheer amount of paperwork she had on her desk. She wanted to grab a bite to eat, but she had so much to do and she needed a lot more help than what the employees around her can provide. She pulled out her phone and texted her husband, Toto, for some advice. She was a strong independent woman, but even strong independent women need a bit of advice from their spouses sometimes.

And what she got from him was beyond helpful.

A personal assistant.

She was going to hire a personal assistant to help her around the Academy. The list of requirements wasn't long, but it was specific and the requirements that were listed were important for the assistant to have or they wouldn't work well together. Susie typed out the application furiously, making sure that all her requirements were stated clearly and made sure that whoever was filling out the application knew what they were getting into. She made sure they knew what they would be doing, an estimate about the schedule, and what she expected of whoever applied.

Susie finished up and posted it to the F1 Academy website. She also made a Instagram post about it that was a joint post with the official F1 account and the FIA account. With a sigh and a satisfied smile, Susie closed her laptop and put it in her bag.

Now all she had to do was wait for the applications to roll in. She didn’t expect too many since a lot of people were only interested in watching F1 or were, since the fans were mostly men, protesting against the F1 Academy.

Y/n looked at the link that her sister, Rachel, had sent her. Y/n had told her that she needed a new job after finishing college and Rachel had sent her a bunch of applications to different jobs. They were all just random jobs she had found on the internet, which led to where she was now.

She was staring at an application to be a personal assistant to some billionaire's wife who was the leader of some academy for girls who like driving glorified go-karts. It paid more than any of the other jobs that Rachel had sent applications for. Y/n mumbled on her thumbnail, pondering whether she should aim high and apply for the PA job or should she just go for what she knows that she would be able to get.

Y/n was deep in thought when she was startled by the loud sound of her FaceTime ringtone, which happened to be one the songs from her brother's group. "Ah, shit!" Y/n yelled, nearly falling out of her chair, "Who the fuck?!" The dark haired girl growled, grabbing the phone off the table. "Hello?" Y/n answered, "Hey, Y/n. What are you up to?" The deep voice of her younger brother exited the phone as she set it up so he could see her.

"Ah, baby brother! How are you? Loving the new comeback." Y/n said, standing up to grab a bottle of water from her fridge. "I'm great. The comeback has been good so far. Have you heard the entire album?" Felix asked, "Yeah, of course." Y/n answered, sitting at the table once more. The two of them sat and talked about her brother's most recent comeback before the conversation turned to her.

"So, what've you been up to?" Felix asked, shoving what seemed like a chip into his mouth, "When did you get those?" Y/n questioned, pointing to the box of fried potato sticks. "Ah, Chan bright them to me a bit ago." Felix answered, shoving another one in his mouth, "Well, I was thinking..."

"Uh oh."

"Shut up, Lix. Anyway, I was thinking that now I finished University, I should get a new job. One that fits my expertise better, you know? So I asked Rach to help and she sent me some applications she found online..." Y/n said, looking at the open webpage. "Yeah?" Felix spoke, urging her to continue her words, "She sent me one for some F1 Academy. It pays well and I fit the requirements, but..."

"But what?" Felix urged, "I don't know what the F1 academy is and it's in Monaco." Y/n sighed. "Where's that?" Felix questioned, "It's, like, right beside Italy, I think." Y/n answered, "Okay, so what's the issue? It sounds like a good opportunity." Felix said. "I don't want to move away from our parents and sisters." Y/n set her head on her hand, using it as a way to keep her head up, "I don't think mum and dad would want you to hold back for them. Neither would Rachel and Olivia. They would want you to go. They wanted me to go." Felix spoke up.

"Felix, that's because it was your dream. Your dream was to be an idol, so of course they weren't going to hold you back from doing it." Y/n groaned. "Y/n it doesn't matter whether it's your dream or not. It's a better job opportunity for you until you're able to start modeling the way you want." Felix suggested.

Y/n thought about it. It would be nice to make money until she finds a modeling agency that wants to sign her because waiting around for something to happen won't make her any money. She needed to pay rent and keep herself fed, plus, from what she researched about Monaco, they did not collect personal income tax or capital gains taxes. There were no property taxes in Monaco, but rental properties were taxed at 1% of the annual rent plus other applicable charges.

Monaco sounded like a dream. She really didn't think that places like that existed, but knowing that she'd keep every penny of her hard earned money sealed the deal. Y/n applied for the PA position and closed her laptop, "Okay, now to wait." Y/n let out a breath as she looked around her house.

There was no way she wouldn’t be getting the job. She was once an extremely popular Formula Two driver before she ended up quitting. She had met the likes of so many old Formula One drivers who were excited to see her race alongside them when she was ready, but she unfortunately couldn’t continue due to her mother not having enough money for her to have a seat and unfortunately no sponsers wanted to sponsor her.

Y/n stood up and threw her water bottle away. She hadn’t kept up with Formula One since she had left Formula Two and she was kind of curious how her friends from karting and F2 were doing. They were obviously doing better than her since they refused to keep in contact with her, but it’s alright. She could barely remember anything about them anyway so it didn’t matter. It did when she was younger though.

After she left and they stopped talking to her, she felt like everything was falling apart for her. She was living in the UK at the time, but decided to come back to Australia to be near her half siblings and step mother and start her career in modeling or something in the industry. Of course, her plans to model next to the likes of the Hadid sisters or other popular models, had fallen through and she had only become famous as the half sister of Felix Yongbok Lee, the freckled cutie with a deep voice of the famous Korean pop group, Stray Kids.

Y/n pulled out her phone and ordered some food, hoping that it wasn't a bad decision to put in only one application for a job that might be out of reach for her. 

Oh well.

It had been a week since Y/n had sent in the application and she had been waiting for the call back. She was sitting on her couch, staring at the large flat screen TV that was playing a Sidemen Reacts video that popped up on her feed while shoveling hwachae* into her mouth when the sound of another song from her brother's band rang through the air. Y/n picked up her phone with the spoon hanging from her lips and looked at the screen.

It was an unknown number. Y/n didn't usually answer the calls of numbers she didn't know, but something within her told her to answer it, so she did. After pausing the video, Y/n hit the green button on the screen and put the up to her ear, "Uh, hello?" Y/n answered, accent thick. "Uh, hello. Is this Miss Y/n L/n?" A sweet feminine voice that was paired with a Scottish accent, asked, "Uhm, yes. This is her. How may I help you?" Y/n asked, setting the bowl onto the table and sitting up straight. "Yes, this is about the application you put in for the PA position at the Formula One Academy." The woman said.

Y/n sat there for a hot minute before her eyes widened, "Oh! Yes, ma'am. What about it?" Y/n asked, "I wanted to call and let you know that we are interested in having you in the position, but first we need to schedule an interview. Is there a specific time that you're available?" The woman asked.

"Uh, I'm currently living in Australia and not moving to Monaco until a next month." Y/n said. Truthfully, she didn't want to being that up, but she knew that it would be suspicious if she scheduled the meeting so far away. She knew that the fact she was living in Australia could possibly ruin her chances of securing such a good job, but she just didn't have it in her to lie to the very sweet sounding woman.

"Okay, um, I'll be right back. Hang on tight." The lady said, "Okay, ma'am." Y/n said. Once the woman put her on hold, Y/n put the phone on speaker, muted herself, and continued to watch her video until she heard something from the woman on the other line. 

"Uh, hello?" The woman's voice spoke up. Y/n paused her video and quickly unmuted herself, "I'm here." Y/n spoke up. "Okay, so, we usually wouldn't do this, but we really think you'd be a good fit for the position, so I'll tell you what. Save this number. My name is Susie Wolff. Once you're moved into Monaco and finally settled down, give me a call." The woman, Susie, said. "Okay, thank you, Mrs. Wolff. I'll call you once I'm in Monaco." Y/n said, "Alright. See you then. Bye." Susie said before hanging up.

Y/n looked down at her phone with wide eyes before jumping up and onto her couch with a large smile, "I got it! I got it!" Y/n cheered loudly, jumping up and down as if she was a child on a super bouncy bed. "Holy shit, I have to let Felix know." Y/n said, jumping down from the couch and grabbing her phone, which fell out of her hand after she jumped up onto the couch. Instead of calling him, she texted him since she never knew his schedule.

누나- Noona? 아, 누구세요?- Oh? Who are you? 현진- Hyunjin 릭시에게 전화기 좀 주실래요?- Can you give Lixie the phone please

⋘ 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑎… ⋙

Y/n quickly went to the room that held the boxes that she would use to pack away her things and smiled. It was never too early to begin packing.

Susie cheered. She had finally found the person she was looking for after a week. She was super lucky that she had decided to continue searching through the online applications rather than giving up on looking at the mediocre applications and deciding to hold a hiring fair or something.

Not only was Y/n L/n the most perfect candidate for the PA position, but she had the most relaxing and attractive voice Susie had ever heard other than her husband's.

Susie cleared her throat and looked at the work she had on her computer. She had never been as excited as she was now other than the time when she found out she was pregnant, had Jack, and started the Academy. Okay, she had been this excited before, but this is different. She can tell that she was going to be good friends with Y/n and shoe couldn't wait to work with the younger woman.

This was going to be fun

↳ ❝ [Taglist] ¡!❞

@evie-119 @exotic-iris13 @alliwantisadonut @cheyxfu @xoscar03 @sunnylikesfrogs

[fiddlepickdouglas]

Where do you watch your Thai BL dramas and do you recommend any to start with?

WOW how did I miss seeing this????

Oh boy this is gonna take a while for me to properly answer because you managed to ask, in so few words, a question that has a long answer! (Which I am all too delighted to give, HEHE)

This ended up being such a long post omg, here's a read more.

So starting with where: There's quite a few places. Streaming services with a prescription, YouTube, and even a few free sites where fans will typically upload content (depending on availability and access, these update latest if a show can be found at all).

Streaming platforms (featuring Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, Korean, and Thai content):

iQiyi - Chinese owned, has a free option with ads and a subscription option. Also features bonus content on certain shows that subbed users can access if you're into that. Has a good balance of stuff that isn't LGBTQ+, lots of great Chinese wuxia - I'm honestly amazed they have as much queer shows as they do but I am not complaining because there's a lot of good ones there.

GagaOolala - Taiwanese owned, has a free option with ads and a subscription option. Stout LGBTQ+ collection. There's certainly other programming but it's thing is being more out and proud, so it's a win for me.

Viki - American owned, allows users to add/edit subtitles. I haven't used this one much, but I haven't needed to get a subscription so far with the shows I have sought to watch and haven't been bothered with ads either? Not sure how that works but I haven't needed to bother looking into it lol

Other sources I've used to watch other BLs are YouTube (there's so many, and they're for FREE), DramaCool, kisskh, and Bilbili.

In this next bit, I'll be summarizing different studios that produce Thai shows, including Thai BL specifically. I'll summarize the studio and then list recommendations for shows.

First up:

GMMTV - (most content on YouTube, some has been put on iQiyi and Gaga though) This is a popular one for Thai shows, and Thai BL especially. It's nicknamed the Disney of BL for a reason (pumps out a lot of new shows each year, huge roster of actors signed to them, very focused on branding and promotion, etc.). A lot of people's first Thai BLs are among their shows, since it was the company that produced the show that launched Thailand's BL industry onto the map. They can be hit or miss with the level of satisfaction, but overall there's plenty to choose from and much to recommend.

Shows I recommend from this company:

Bad Buddy

This is the first one I watched and it changed my fucking life. Pat and Pran are the perfect mix of next door neighbors who were raised to be rivals, but they can't help becoming friends, and eventually fall for each other. It does great subversion of a number of tropes and has a kissing scene that so memorable I bought a t-shirt that's worn in it. The acting is superb and it's both funny and devasting in a lot of good ways. There's a sapphic side couple who are incredibly cute as well!

Be My Favorite

Pisaeng and Kawi, two guys who can't seem to accept their feelings, each live out multiple time lines where they can't help but be drawn together when Kawi is given a time traveling device. This show ponders the affects of one's actions and how living your truth can make or break the happiness you seek in life. This show was unprecedented in how good it was, especially since the leads were an unusual pairing. I love them I love them I love them.

SOTUS

This is the one that kick-started everything back in 2016 for Thai BL. It follows a group of college freshman who are subject to ritual hazing by their seniors, and one student worms his way into the heart of the senior leader. This show set out to censor fags (cigarettes) and not fags (gays). There's so much cultural significance that it's difficult to describe. It sets the tone for a number of BLs to follow.

Not Me

Do you like gays? Do you like social activism? Do you like batshit plots that put you on your fuckin knees for the whole ride? Have we got a show for you. I don't know how to summarize this one without immediately feeling insane, I love this show with all my goddamn heart. Twins Black and White get separated because they have a connection where they can feel the same things when they're close, and it has proven dangerous. Black gets put in a coma and White takes on his identity and joins an anarchist gang to find who hurt his brother. Not everything is what he thinks, though. Also this show inspired my first tattoo because Yok is my favorite boy forever and ever amen.

The Warp Effect

Alright, it's not a BL, technically, but my GOD is it queer. Don't believe me? Here's a list that I made of not even all the reasons why this show is so queer. It addresses so much about sex ed, relationships, consent, kink, body shaming, and even features a non-binary character. A boy, who made a promise to his late mother to save his virginity until marriage, breaks the promise and wakes up in the future. He has to help old friends and acquaintances resolve things that happened on that fated night if he hopes to return to his youth.

3 Will Be Free

Also technically not a BL, but it is poly!! A sex worker, a club host, and the son of a mafia boss end up on the run together after being involved with the wrong people and being in the wrong place...and killing a guy. By the same director of The Warp Effect, so you're guaranteed a similar flavor of thorough queerness.

More shows by the company that I recommend: A Tale of 1000 Stars, Moonlight Chicken, Enchanté, Vice Versa, The Eclipse, My School President, Wandee Goodday, Only Friends, Midnight Musem, The Gifted (those last two aren't BLs but the vibes are there).

Next up!

Idol Factory - (YouTube channel for watching) Founded by actor Saint Suppapong with the purpose of creating a studio that harbors a safer and more positive experience for people in the industry. Well known for producing one of the first and most popular GLs or girls love shows.

Shows I recommend from this company:

GAP The Series

Sam has been Mon's idol since she was little and now she's secured a job working at her company! She's so excited! Until she realizes that Sam is...kind of heartless. Her unwillingness to let her boss walk all over her does more than win over a good professional relationship. It's got all the drama of class divide and arranged marriage along with it, so it's a fun ride and makes for an iconic entry for lesbian cinema.

The Sign

Phaya and Tharn aren't just reincarnated lovers, they weren't even human before! The story follows a curse that's followed them since they first met as naga and garuda, both powerful legendary creatures who have fought each other for ages. In the present, they train as police officers and end up working together in a case related to Tharn's tragic past.

The Loyal Pin

This one actually hasn't started airing yet (August 4th!!!!) but it's about a lady and a princess who grew up together. From the looks of things, it's gonna have drama and angst up the wazoo so I'm looking forward to it.

More shows by the company that I recommend: Secret Crush On You (I haven't personally seen this one but it's been on my list and highly recommended)

Next up!

Domundi - (uncensored versions on iQiyi, cut versions on YouTube) It's more of a "content creator" company, so it includes musicians as well as actors, so there's not many shows under their wing. But they are good with high heat (more explicit) BL stories. One currently airing, Battle of the Writers, includes Chinese wuxia elements which is incredibly interesting and kinda ballsy (there's suspected attempts to lower viewership for censorship reasons). I highly recommend watching it just for the sake of elevating it, there's a cut version on YouTube.

Shows I recommend from this company:

Bed Friend

Poor Uea is traumatized to hell and back; it's like the world is out to get him. He and his coworker King decide after a one night stand to be exclusive fuck buddies, and ngl it's HOT. We get catboy kinks in this one! Their connection deepens and they have to figure out what they both want from each other. Also all the shitheads get owned, it's really nice to watch. It inspired a Jennette McCurdy meme from me.

Middleman's Love

This is the story of Uea's best friend Jade, who sees how happy his friend is in his new relationship, and takes his turn being Emma Woodhouse. Well....it doesn't go to plan. He keeps pushing Mai toward someone else and doesn't realize that Mai likes him. This one starts incredibly goofy (I put that as a warning), and then gets steamy later on.

Battle of the Writers

This one just started airing! Ob-un is accused of plagiarizing fellow author Chan, and after things have been cleared they end up on a writing team together. The wuxia characters here are characters from their novel. It seems their relationship will parallel certain aspects of the story.

Next company!

Wabi Sabi - (YouTube channel for shows) They've recently lost a whole bunch of actors (several to GMMTV no less) due to terminating artist management, so I'm not sure what the future looks like, but they've released several shows that are considered BL staples.

Recommended:

Until We Meet Again

Dean and Pharm are reincarnated lovers who previously had a tragic end. This one is heavy on the emotions, the first 10 minutes took my fucking knees out. Has lot of themes of intergenerational trauma and how important having supportive parents can be. Pharm is so cute, I need to squish him!

Between Us

It starts around the same time as Until We Meet Again, but from the perspective of Team and Win. They have their own angst issues and family traumas that make them messy, and there's a lot more development of the side characters that were featured in the first series as well. I especially enjoy the sideplot for gamers Waan andTul, lol, I wish they could get their own series too! I do recommend watching UMWA first if you don't want to be confused about a few scenes in this one.

Final company, let's go!

Change 2421 - The company that made the omegaverse alpha-alpha car racing BL. That one. Need I say more?

Recommended:

Pit Babe

Mx. omegaverse alpha-alpha car racing BL themself. Babe is a star racecar driver with special abilities. He's charmed when he meets Charlie, but things begin to change for him faster than he can recognize. The home he ran away from tries to force him back as he attempts to reveal its worst secrets.

This Love Has No Long Beans

This is currently airing! Oab is your chef from Kitchen Nightmares that judges harshly with a tough exterior but genuinely has a good heart. Having lost his passion for cooking, he decides to set up a contest to find a successor to take over his restaurant. Plawan chooses to enter this contest despite having no skills and already having gotten on Oab's bad side. Things get heated when Plawan's determination to make it through the competition ignites the passion for cooking again.

There's plenty more companies, but these are the ones I am most familiar with. But there's still more!

Shows I recommend that aren't from the companies listed above:

Kinnporsche

The mafia BL that took over. I have so much brain rot about this one that it's hard to summarize without going crazy. Porsche and his brother have been struggling to keep their beloved family home, so he takes an offer he can't refuse - working as a mafia bodyguard. Kinn, the current mafia head, is undeniably attracted to him and it ends up making them inseparable in more ways than one. I especially enjoy the side couples, VegasPete and KimChay (there is ENDLESS insanity from all possible pairings tbh).

Love in the Air

It's kinda split into two stories, Payu (or Phayu, honestly the spelling gets switched a lot and even I don't stick to one thing) and Rain, and Prapai and Sky. PayuRain are the most couple ever, that's just the best way I can put it. The actors have incredible chemistry and set a fucking standard for making out. Sky and Prapai will make you cry. They handle some pretty intense material and do an incredible job with it. Also bisexuals with motorcycles and light mafia action.

I Told Sunset About You/I Promised You The Moon

Not only an iconic BL series that strives for telling an incredibly realistic story (no goofy sound effects or gags here), but the cinematography is absolutely gorgeous. Also the messiest bisexual awakening known to man. Oh my god. So much crying. Sooooo much angst. It's okay if you throw shit over this one, it's worth it, I promise. Tee and Oh go through pretty much everything that could make weaker couples hate the other person and that's what makes them top tier.

Ingredients

This whole series is a grocery store commercial? Ignore that, these roommates have the most adorable development. I binged this and was crying at 2am. Tops is an aspiring chef and Win is his himbo roommate who is trying to make it as a musician. As they each work toward their dreams, they become important aspects of each other's lives. Also, if you don't come out of this obsessed with Jeff Satur (or anything else he does), I will question your taste. Pun intended.

Old Fashion Cupcake

Japanese BL? Older queers? Office romance? Age gap? A confession scene that meets Jane Austen level standards of desperation? Togawa and Nozue are something else man. They make it a game to pretend to do what young women do as an "anti-aging" technique, but really it's Togawa's scheme to hopefully catch the eye of his boss. Incredible, no notes except maybe I'd like to have a Thai remake? Please?

And last but absolutely not least...

Semantic Error

A fantastic Korean BL. Rivals to lovers and 10000% ADHD4autism. Jang Jaeyoung is prevented from graduating by Chu Sangwoo and makes it his personal mission to get under his skin. And well....it works lol. They're both the most characters, I adore them and their chaotic stumbles into romance. Bonus Choi Yoona bisexual goddess side character, we love her.

Kiseki: Dear To Me

Taiwanese BL that's also split somewhat split between two stories. Zong Yi takes in a wounded Zhe Rui. The student realizes he's keeping a gangster in his dorm and tries to ignore his charms but ends up being drawn into his world. Meanwhile, Ai Di and Chen Yi, other members of the gang, deal with the consequences of Zhe Rui's disappearance.

Well. That was a whole lot. I hope this isn't too overwhelming for you! I've only been in the BL fandom for a couple years so this is barely scratching the surface as far as what's out there.

[meraki-yao]

Now I'm curious to know all the "candies" between Nick and Tay 👀 lol I don't ship them but I also find it interesting that some fans really ship real people together and gather evidence or proof of it. If its fine with you to share it pls do 🙏 but if not its also fine :)

Huh...

Actually, sure! I kinda wanted to share some of these at times but again I understand that rps is a complicated subject.

A couple of quick prefaces though:

1, If you’re uncomfortable with the subject, again, please don’t read under the post

2, I don’t have all the candies because I really just view them in passing, so I’m just gonna write/translate the ones I’ve seen, remember and find at least a logical speculation

3, I need to reiterate this in case my position in this gets misunderstood: Me writing about “candies” isn’t because these are MY opinion or things *I* found or *I* believe in them being evidence. I am just a translator and messenger.

4, (this one is gonna sound a little academic lol) Two things I realized when thinking about this “candy eating” culture is that Chinese people have a very difference understanding of platonic/romantic affection/relationships with the Western world, and that they look at the candies with rose-tinted glass. Chinese/Asian people are generally a lot less affectionate with their personal relationships, for example friends wouldn’t say “love you” to each other if they’re just friends, nor would they expand their friend group to the others easily or other stuff. And these people who look for candy go into their “investigation” already with the belief that “they are together”, everything remotely resembling a close relationship will automatically be interpreted as romantic. I thought about it a lot, and honestly among the “candies” I’ve seen, most of them are a matter of interpretation: yes those are things couples will do, but it wouldn’t be weird if friends did it too. So they’re not that seriously or up for further speculation. There is I think only one “candy” that I can’t quite say the same, which I will explain and elaborate on in this post. 

5, Please remember that the people who do this do it in good nature: something I didn’t make clear in my post yesterday, which is on me, is that the fans do want them to be together, but they’re not like… yandere level or something. If they’re just friends the fans won’t be upset or betrayed or anything, they just prefer to see them as romantic. They don’t mean any harm, and they don’t cause any harm because China is physically and digitally too far away for them to actually fuck shit up, and they understand the lines of parasocial relationships: those who met with Taylor during his China trip in December know to, and didn’t bring up this in front of him. They know where to draw the line, and whoever doesn’t and starts becoming a problem gets kicked out of the community. This is meant for fun.

6, Ok Future Meraki here, turns out, there’s a lot to translate, a lot more than I anticipated Jesus Christ and I do want to get this post how within today and make it a reasonable length, so I’m just gonna do two events and the one that I mentioned in 4. If yall want a part 2 let me know.

Ok with that being said, the main event under the cut:

In December they made a whole article about “candies” from December, and to quickly summarise (again noted that all of this is speculation, I didn’t and can’t fact check them, and I’m just a translator) (also this ended up way longer than I anticipated so for photo reference if you can please go to the link of the original article):

Academy Gala:

Nick and Taylor both attended the gala: Since the strike ended up to that point, the two times Nick attends a public event, Taylor’s there too (GQ men of the year and Academy Gala), and for both times he’s wearing Cartier’s Tank Must Watch (remember this watch, I’m gonna elaborate on it later because it is the only candy that even I can’t say it’s a matter of interpretation)

In various pictures of the night’s party that other people took, the boys can be seen together in the background

How the photography worked that night was magazine photographers wandered around the venue and randomly found people to take some relatively candid photos: so people who were walking/sitting/in any way sticking together would be photographed together. So best friends and married couples would be photographed together, which is what happened to Meryl Streep, Greta Gerwig, Saoirse Ronan, and Christopher Nolan, Cillian Murphy and their wives. With that logic, Taylor and Nick were caught by the photographer together TWICE, in clearly different places. Later Korean fans (with the same “candy-searching” mindset) read the time on Taylor’s watch in the photos: one was 8:30, one was 9:50. The implication is that they were together for at least that period of time (nearly 1.5 hours)

In both photos of the boys together, Nick’s elbow is…straight up leaning into Taylor's chest. In a photo with Kaia, Nick’s friend and co-star from Bottoms (Brittany), there’s visible space between Nick and Kaia but none between Nick and Taylor (… okay I’m gonna pop in with my own opinion on the latter one real quick: I really think that one is just Nick being a gentleman)  

During that night, Taylor re-posted an Instagram post from July onto Little Red Book: but the things is in the comment section of the original Instagram post, Taylor teasingly pretends to not know Nick; and according to the posting time and the time calculated in 3, Nick would have been watching him post that to Little Red Book.

Nick got a photo with Taylor’s friend Jay Ellis (Jay and Taylor follow each other on Instagram, and Taylor comments under Jay’s post), even though Nick and Jay don’t seem to have any direct connections. Kaia and Taylor started following each other on Instagram after the event.

While other people who got photos with Taylor posted them, in Taylor’s Instagram Post for the night: He only included his photo with Nick, the rest are all solo portraits of himself. Not only that: he edited the background of the photo so it’s just them, and proceeded to put the photo in the middle of the post.

a bunch of Taylor's good friends, including Taylor’s cousin went to like Nick’s post for the academy gala night. Taylor’s sister Ash shared Taylor’s post to her stories: 2 photos of Taylor himself, and the one photo of Taylor and Nick. Taylor mentioned in a past interview if he had any emotional or relationship (I don’t know which one is the right translation, the original wording is 感情) issues, he would talk to Ash. (please note that I didn’t not and don’t know how to fact-check any of the things mentioned above except for Ash’s Instagram)

Conclusion/ Speculation (okay the academy gala part alone took me 40 minutes what the fuck): I cannot reiterate this enough: THIS IS JUST SPECULATION DO NOT TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY but under the assumption that Taylor and Nick are a thing, the serious of shenanigans that happened that night, especially with the family and friends stuff in 6,7,8, was interpreted as they announcing it to their personal social circle. AGAIN THIS IS SPECUALTION DON’T TAKE THIS SERIOSULY 

Taylor’s China Trip

On 7th December, Taylor had a photo shoot at the GQ gala venue, but spent the rest of the afternoon taking photos and signing things for fans. Among those, one was the photo of him and Nick from the academy gala just three days ago. He was visibly extra happy and showed off the photo to the crowd, unlike the other photos which he simply gets it, signs it, and then gives it back.

This day was also the start of “Taylor giving Nick/Henry a moustache”: throughout the trip, he drew on four photos of the two of them

(This one is a … really big stretch) among the four, one of them was the GQ magazine shoot, and he first drew the moustache on Nick’s face, giggling “I’ll sign on Nick’s face”, signed his own signature, then just when he was about to give the magazine back he suddenly changed his mind and said “wait wait I wanna do something on my face”, and then drew a crown on his head while muttering “crown prince”. And the thing is… historically, George Villers had a moustache. And then he drew a moustache on Nick and a crown on himself. Also, one of the most popular Chinese RWRB fic on AO3 is called “The King’s Palace”, and the premise is putting Henry in George place as the social climber and the Duke of Buckingham (it is literally George’s character with blonde hair and a different name), and Alex as the crown prince who ascended to the throne and is also utterly infatuated with Henry. So… yeah.

When he drew the fourth photo, which was the piano scene, the fan who asked said “Oh you’re so nice to Nick!” and according to their description (there’s no video), Taylor blushed a little and said “yeaahhhhh” with a big grin

While Taylor was in China people were stirring shit up on Twitter about him, and during the Twitter drama, Nick liked Taylor’s Academy Gala post.

The boys liked the same video on Instagram but from different accounts (a video about a pony in the snow)

During the trip, Taylor was seen wearing a white button-up with blue stripes. Nick has been seen wearing a shirt that looks identical before.

Cartier Watch (aka the one that makes me do a double take)

Taylor used to wear a lot of Cartier watches until he started wearing Tagheuer last July due to a commercial partnership

Nick likes wearing Omega watches. In fact, Henry’s watch in the movie is Nick’s own omega watch. He also has a commercial partnership with Omega.

But then starting last year, both of them were seen wearing matching Cartier’s Tank Must Watches (the silver on with a black surface and a sapphire crown): Taylor can be seen wearing it in the 5th photos of his September post, while Nick can be seen wearing it during the GQ gala, the Academy Gala, in Milan during fan interactions, and last weekend in his TIOY co-star’s Instagram story.

And the thing about this watch is (and here is where I need to reiterate that I’m just translating, I didn’t fact check this) 1, watch is a typical thing to give a lover, and you must be familiar with their wrist size 2, Cartier is a pretty romantic brand 3, the price of this watch is closer to what Taylor’s used to wearing but much cheaper than Omega 4, This specific watch is a popular watch to give a partner/lover, 5, David and Victoria Beckham’s relationship was discovered because paparazzi saw the Cartier watch he gave her and connected dots together

Jesus Christ at this point I should consider getting a part time job in translation

This was fun but this took me so much time, it’s ~2000 words long

Again, all of this was found and speculate for fun, and mean no ill will, and haven’t, and won’t harm the boys, please understand that and don’t take this took seriously. If you find this interesting and want a part two, let me know.

[alipeeps]

Episode 31

The race to be the first to sacrifice yourself for Wen Xiao... on your marks, get set... GO!

How is it? Well... that's never a good expression on a doctor's face...

Oh my fucking heart....

I was right, Baby Bro didn't die. Just dematerialised for a bit.

It's interesting how since the confirmation that his demonic power is gone, Zhao Yuanzhou has started dressing in much lighter colours... lots of white. Which ngl is a little worrying given that white is the colour of mourning in Chinese culture... (oooh or is it that he's wearing white/combinations with white because Ying Lei died?)

Fucking called it.

Of course there had to be some kind of threat to drive the plot for the last 4 episodes.

A plague again? What d'you want to bet it's to do with Wen Zongyu's experiments?

Wait up, Wen Xiao's foster dad is missing?!

Ah shit and Bai Jiu's dad is ill with the plague.

Without his demonic power... is Zhao Yuanzhou susceptible to the plague?

A demon blood sachet?

So someone has deliberately used a sachet containing Fei's blood to spread plague. And who a) was aware of/had contact with Fei, and b) would pull some shit like that?

Answer: fucking Chongwu Camp.

(But if it's the same plague caused by Fei that they encountered previously, can't the same cure that Bai Jiu developed be used?)

Are they sealing off the city?

BECAUSE IT'S FUCKING CHONGWU CAMP!!

Oh what the fuck Fei is not dead?!! How is that possible?! We SAW him die!!

Zhou Dage once again performing his primary duty in the polycule of bringing food to people when they are locked in the library frantically researching....

Oh my fucking heart...

Oh damn. He has been estranged from his dad this whole time cos he thought he'd killed his mum. And he's afraid his dad's gonna die before they can clear the misunderstandings between them...

What the FUCK Zhou Yichen?!!

I have never - fucking NEVER - suffered through a drama that has so explicitly verbalised ALL the found family feels... apparently with the express intent of causing me PAIN!!! 😭😭😭

How did he survive? Wen Xiao.

And now he wants to repay that by saving her...

Because she loves Zhao Yuanzhou

(At least, that's all the show is allowed to say. We know better. Polycule supremacy!!)

Ugh, god, verbalising that love is not just wanting to have something for yourself, but rather wanting to care for it and see it thrive... even if not by your side...

Zhao Yuanzhou continuing to make it his life's mission to make sure Wen Xiao is warmly-dressed...

WTF Zhao Yuanzhou was that a fucking marriage proposal?!!!

Oh god, all the imaginations of them living a happy life together that he held onto to keep his inner demon core at bay... 😭😭😭

"Return to the wilderness"? Yeah that feels like you changed your mind at the last minute there as to what you were going to say... probably because you remembered you're going to sacrifice yourself to save her, right?

God the visuals of each of them alone, contemplating... and we know exactly what the two men are contemplating...

He's carving a monkey - sorry, a white ape! For her? To... remind her of him?

Fuck me that is a fucking badass move.

Ahhhh I have missed Xiao Bai's voice-breaking shrieking!

God I love this show. The humour is just...

Oh holy shit, I am dying. it got better and better and better. Fuck my "no gifs for these summaries" rule, I have to gif the whole fucking thing!

Oh goody, it's occurred to them to look into what the fuck Chongwu Camp are up to.

I swear, if it turns out they pulled a fake-out on us and Wen Zongyu also isn't dead, I will cut a bitch...

Uhhh where did Wen Xiao's foster dad go to? He was in the same prison cell with Fei.

Oh shit, I hope they haven't turned him into a demon hybrid?

Oh fuuuuck what's going on with Fei? That... that looks kinda like the ever-burning fire in his eyes?

Uhoh, Mr Fan is not chained up anymore. I'm guessing he's controlled/hybridised?

GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!! 🔪🔪🔪

He didn't die AND he's got the ever-burning wood and it's let him succeed in his demon experiments!!

Shit... was the Wen Zongyu we saw burn up actually his demon-hybrid with shapechanging powers?

Phoenix?

Oh fuck.

So he has also demonised himself?

So... he needed the ever burning wood precisely because he needed it to burn himself up and be reborn as the phoenix?

Ohhh shit and doesn't the phoenix have the power of rebirth? So... it's part of his plan to bring his wife back to life?

(I hope he succeeds in bringing her back to life and she is horrified at what he has done/become and immediately kills herself)

WHAT THE FUCK?!! How did the medicine they made contain demon cores?!!!

I thought his grand plan was to get rid of all demons? How does turning everyone - including himself - into a demonised hybrid achieve that?!!

You fucker!!

BROTHER?!!

Was Wen Xiao's dad his BROTHER?!

He's Wen Xiao's fucking UNCLE?!!!!

Oooh nice, was it all a plan? They snatched Wen Zongyu!!

What's going on?

Oooft what a reversal, Zhuo Yichen stepping forward to protect Zhao Yuanzhou.

Freeze that fiery fucker Zhuo Yichen!!

Ooof he's transferring the knowledge straight to him.

And now he can form ice out of thin air - just as the phoenix can create fire out of thin air - rather than having to freeze water.

Uhhh I don't like the look of that smoke...

What the fuck? Is this a dream?

Baize goddess and Li Lun? Is it... a memory then?

YING LEI!!

This is freaky....

God the fondness in his expression...

It's a trap. That's what the poison does? Traps you in a dream world where everyone is alive and happy so you don't want to leave...

Zhuo Yichen knows what's up.

Oh damn. He knows full well it's not real. But he just wanted to pretend... for a little bit...

But wait... what if THIS is the trap? What if it's baiting you into killing yourself to try and escape the dream?

FUCK, I was right... the poison was making them act out in real life what they were doing in the dream. They would have killed each other/themselves trying to escape.

Damn, thank goodness for Bai Jiu.

He would if he could, you fucker, and he's every right to. You manipulated and used him against his friends, sacrificed him to be possessed by a demon, poisoned him, and then used him to poison the entire town! Fuck you!!

So wait up, was Zhao Yuanzhou's loss of all his demonic power just temporary then? As Bai Yan had said, it will not be quick to recover? So has he got at least some back now? Cos he sure seems to be using his power in this episode!

Ah yeah, he's got some back. But nowhere near enough.

Okaaay so now they need Wen Xiao to see where his demon core is so they can remove it. Game on!

[bengiyo]

Wonderful day in Thailand. but now for the important questions.

Of all the ql thai couples, what couple would be the biggest headache for Namnuea? And why?

Rose💜

See, this is an interesting question. I've been thinking about it for days, and now I just want a follow up show about Wiwa Square tackling all of the new gay weddings. I'd love this as an episodic show where the challenges the classic BL couple is dealing with reflects something going on with Nuea's or his people's lives. Any Thai fans following me, feel free to propose this to your people and make this happen. Just make sure I get to watch it.

The Wedding Plan Wiwa Square Spinoff Show Guests

With that in mind, I'd like to see an episode for the following pairs:

Sarawat and Tine

I just know that Tine is going to be the one they expect to be dramatic as hell, but it's going to be Sarawat freaking out about everything being perfect in a fantastic meltodown. We could have Lom talk to Sarawat and share how the closet affected both of them.

Teh and Oh-aew

Teh wanted to come out at the end of IPYTM, and wanna see the glam these two could pull off. I just know they're going to have an epic fight. This would be a good episode for Lom and Nuea to have a big fight.

Patts and Saengtai

Honestly, I want this episode because I feel like we didn't learn a lot about Patts beyond his relationships with Nara, his grandmother, and Tai. It would be a great chance to delve deeper into his character and see these two trying to communicate properly now that Tai is not holding back. These two also kissed really good, so this would be a good episode for Nuea and Lom to have a steamy moment.

Mork and Tawan

Let's be real: weddings are expensive. Mork's poverty was a huge part of his story in My Ride, and I think it would be really cool to see Wiwa Square work on a small budget for Cheep and Dej, Mork's gay uncles. It would also be an opportunity to talk about wealth and aging while queer.

See-eiw and Cake

The benefit of these two being friends to lovers is that their families saw how close they were the whole time. Despite the unfortunate PSA at the end of My Only 12%, this would be a great episode to focus on families around weddings. We'd get to see Cake's mom stepping in to fill the mom role for See-eiw, and this could be an opportunity for Lom's mom to reenter the fold.

Yang and Phumjai

We need a good episode for hijinks. The Love in Translation cast would be perfect for this. Yang is also Chinese, so we could focus on some cross-cultural traditions.

Charn and Tinn

I'm sorry, I just want Nawin to meet Neua. It also means Silvy could cameo. This would be an excellent episode for the side characters to take center again because they decide to keep Nuea away from Charn or something.

Phun and Noh

I just want White and Captain to get back together every few years and reprise these characters for little check ins. This episode would be a good time to talk about long-term relationships and their challenges with guys who are just a few years older than Neua and Lom.

Khai and Third

Speaking of White showing up in BL! I'd like to see Third struggling with his perfect wedding plans. This would be a great time to reflect on how weddings have been presented in media, and they could spin that either way by either leaning into the tropes or actively subverting them. That would be in line with the ToL goals.

Pluem and Kevin

These two had fantastic chemistry in Ghost Host, Ghost House. This could be a good episode to reflect on how weddings feel when some of our loved ones didn't get to live to see the day. I think this could be a really touching reflection on grief softened by how comfortable these two always manage to look with each other.

Pharm and Dean

I honestly don't think these two would have a lot of problems within themselves for the wedding itself. For this episode, we could really focus on wedding logistics. We could have something go really wrong with a caterer at the last minute and have Pharm step in to save his own wedding while Dean uses his connections to fix other things blowing up around them. This could be a good episode about Nuea and Lom having problems maintaining a good work-life balance.

Cairo and Gavreel

We need to do an international episode, and I'd like to see a crossover with The IdeaFirst Company in some way. Gav and Cai have been separated multiple times. I like the idea of them finally getting to marry at a destination wedding.

Shin Ki Tae and Lee Wan

I just wanna see these two again. This would be another international episode, and we could get back into some of the unresolved abandonment issues Shin Ki Tae is happening, and we could have a cross-cultural dialogue about making things right.

Im Han Tae and Han Ba Ram

Another international episode. They could use this episode to talk about the ongoing challenges of being a public figure and a star if these two are successful.

This was a lot of fun to think about! I really want this show now.

[miss0atae]

Century of Love : Good ideas, Good acting, Meh ending (EP 9 – 10)

I'm again late to the party. We’ve finally reached the end of Century of Love. It wasn’t a series I thought I would enjoy, but I was pleasantly surprised. I’m glad I was convinced by others to watch it. Again I have to admit how great it is sometimes to have found really interesting people’s blogs to read here on Tumblr. It can sometimes make you see something in a different light. You will always find so many different views. Sometimes you’ll agree with them and sometimes you won’t see the same things as them. However, it’s always interesting. That’s the beauty of any work of fiction: you’ll always have something to say about them and it’s not the same for everybody. This time I won’t develop one point from the series. I’ll focus on a summary of what I feel about it.

Things I really liked about it:

◾ The story itself was interesting. Reincarnation mixed with Chinese mythology to have a BL story in Lakorn style. Century of Love used the Lakorn formula to offer something different among all the great QL series we got this year. I also believe it was good that the story didn’t really give us a proper answer on who was the real reincarnation of Vad / Wat. It lets the viewers to decide what he prefers. The only thing to keep in mind is that it’s better to let the past stay in the past and to fully live in the present. That’s the only way to love and to be loved.

◾ We had great characters too even if sometimes some of them were a bit too much for me. I guess it’s because some were classic Lakorn characters (New Vad / Wat was a perfect example of this. She was just too much at the end). However, two characters got my heart in this series. Firstly, I would say Vee was my favorite character. I like how he was a combination of cheeky, playful and loyal. You just wanted him to find a cure for his grand-ma and to charm this handsome grumpy youthful-looking grand-pa. My second favorite character was Third, who played the childhood friend doctor of Vee. He was supposed to be the reincarnation of Lord Trai the ex-fiancé of Vad / Wat who killed her. However, in this time, Third has only been an ally to the main couple, even if he had feelings for Vee. He was there when San and Vee needed him. He never shy away from telling the hard truth and I’m glad he wasn’t just here to create a rift between San and Vee. I hope Tao and him get to have their own little romance.

◾ I was also impressed by Offroad and Daou's acting. I have to admit I never understood why people liked them before. I wasn't a fan of their boys band (LAZ1) and I didn't like their previous series, Love In Translation. I tried hard to get into it, but never felt the hype. However, here in Century of Love, I really liked them. Their acting was good and they would engage you to root for their characters. The chemistry between them is quite good and it makes you believe in the romance of their characters. Now, I'll be more interested in any other series they may do. Let me add too that I find Offroad really handsome. His smile is so pretty.

◾ The goddess had a really nice sense of humor. She must have had fun. Good for her!

Things I didn’t like:

◾ It's quite common in QL series especially Thai QL series, but I didn't really like the end. I'm glad Vee and San got their happy ending because I would have been really sad if they didn't get it. However, I felt like the end was rushed to fit the 10 episodes they were given. I also didn't like how San made this stupid move to not tell Vee the truth about how he saved him. Instead of thinking together of a solution, he left and let him deal by himself with the loss of his grand-ma, but also his disappearance. This was dumb and it seemed so out of character for San to let someone he loves suffering alone.

◾ I felt like they didn’t handle well new Vad / Wat appearance. It’s like they didn’t know if they wanted to make her a villain or a side-kick. Hence, she was stuck in this role where you wanted to root for her, but also where you were annoyed by some of her actions. I felt like she could have been better used by the story. I also saw how many viewers seemed to like her. They should have make something of it. I admit it was interesting that she didn’t have the same personality like the previous incarnation of Vad / Wat (just like Third wasn’t Trai). I don’t know I just wished for more from her.

◾ The five colored-stone power and the deal with the goddess made no sense after they used the stone to save Vee. We've been told San needed to have it to give it back to Vad / Wat to end his deal with the goddess. We've also been told he needed to be close to the stone to be able to not feel the pain he would always get until finding the reincarnation of his lover. However, when he gave it to Vee it shouldn't have matter. Unfortunately for him, even if he was close to Vee, he still felt the pain. Also, even if the stone reacted positively to Vee, giving it to him to save him, wasn't like ending the deal with the goddess. I wish it was because it would have avoided a needlessly complicated break up for San and Vee. The series never gave us an answer about why the rules changed suddenly.

One thing I can't explain, but felt it wasn't good enough. However, in the end it didn't matter:

◾ Let me get it straight. I created this category only to talk about Juu. I was so conflicted about this character. I have to admit I found her a bit annoying sometimes, but she was really a nice girl deep down. I felt bad not liking her as much as other. Especially as she was always trying to help the main couple to be together. Don't get me wrong, I like the actress and I feel she did a good job. I guess I forgot how young Juu is and that's why I felt like she was too much.

[dojae-huh]

Cjdist is discussing this, can you explain?

https://weibo.com/6382358033/5081479275348867

https://weibo.com/6382358033/5081878897887378

It looks like cjdist really loves jaedo, they even explained the perfume that jaedo uses

https://weibo.com/5663738348/5067023531639396

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

Link, Link2, Link3

Fans of all countries do it, actually, dig up info on perfumes and clothes. There are accs even that find out brands for all looks.

The two posts are from the same shipper who wrote down how Jae and Do show their love, the differences.

Jaehyun memorises events from Doyoung's past. Oh, I didn't know about the green light. It's probably from EnNaNa. Doyoung shared that he used to leave for school 10 minutes before the start of school, and the traffic lights always showed him the green light. Jaehyun responded with "It's a new bit of knowledge for me" (to add to his Doyoung enciclopedia).

The shipper speculates that Jaehyun learnt to cook to make meals for Do who used to starve to quickly lose weigth after he was accepted to the trainee programme. (The shipper made this conclusion because Do said he would marry Jae (out of the members) because he is a good cook (I think this reply was from pre-debut times or 2017). Plus, Jaehyun really used to bring that case with Do eating only nuts pretty often). And that the homemade meals Doyoung uploads to his bubble in 2024 when Jaehyun is on a business trip abroad, are meant for Jae, to secure him Do is eating well in his absence. (I didn't undestant if the shipper thinks Jae cooks those meals before leaving or not).

Jaehyun is keeping an eye on Doyoung in other ways, like calming down Do's shaking leg (an old 127 interview), bringing him fishcakes (that show with 127 on an island, Jae was handling the food station), giving Do his own gloves after Do burnt his (another 127 show, I remember shippers pointing out that Do and Jae wore the same pair of gloves at different moments. Ah, maybe the NCT2020 show?), buying Do chocolate milk for his BD (it used to be a tradition, Jae ordered online when he couldn't find in the store), etc.

It's hard for many people to see Do's love, however, the shipper argues that he shows it aplenty. It's "subtle ans silent". His way of loving is to understand Jae's habits, the way he thinks, his weirdness, to copy hobbies (like perfumes, LPs). OP notes that Doyoung used to be uptight, rigorous, earnest (a workaholic who can't relax), but now he enjoys his life more (after learning how to from Jae). He is making sure to be with Jaehyun during all his important days (like BDs, I think the OP referenced the visit to EnNaNa in 2018).

OP used an old nickname of Doyoung (he came up with himself) - Woodong (our Dong=noodles). But I can't understand the Chinese saying about noodles.

Looks like OP decided to write the post because some shippers feel like abandoning the ship? The shipper's friend wanted to give up, thinking its a waste of time. OP says that maybe the reason is because the old JaeDo and the new JaeDo are too different. (pre-debut JaeDo were obvious in their affection, now they are hiding).

OP compared JaeDo to some other couple (official?). One partner said that the love occupies only 10% of life, but those 10% are made of 100% of his/her(?) partner. Right now JaeDo are too busy and have responsibilities, they grew up. However, whenever there is a content with both of them, you can see JaeDo interacting.

Do didn't have a birthday party in 2024, but Jae played New Love on his (did he?? or was it used as a background music in the BD party bts video?). The necklace with round beads Jae wore the whole year appeared on Do's neck for his Dear youth poster. Jae watched Do's concert with big attention. Plus Jae was very busy back then, but still found time to attend Do's concert. OP listed some other moments, which I can't figure out. The couple content from Walk (like Walking together reel and a tiktok for LA kcon?).

Although Jae and Do had different schedules and weren't seen much together this summer, when they were together, they showed "don't worry, we are very happy" mood.

OP said that the younger version of JaeDo waw about two people loving each other without reservation. They were crazy and desperate. And the older version is about two people becoming better versions of themselves (working on careers, maturing in character) while loving each other. And now both are shining in their respective careers. Both JaeDo want the other to become a better version of himself and support each other on the journey.

[osarina]

I JUST GOT AROUND TO READING I, CARRION AND UGH!!

“there’s a lecherous smile on Albatross’s face as he leans against the frame and looks at you, glasses hanging off the bridge of his nose. ‘Damn, if you weren’t the boss’s girl…’” awww stop it you’ll make me blush

THE SCENE W DAZAI FINDING US NOT READY YET “It’s not silly if it has you upset,” kisses on the nape of the neck and then kissing our ankles & buckling our heels >>>>>> “I’m sorry that I’m not a good enough man to do what’s right and let you go.” hey so what if i started violently sobbing. “but if fate brought us together, then far be it from me to deny the one thing in this world that has ever made me happy.” HEY SO WHAT IF I STARTED VIOLENTLY SOBBING.

“Still, he wants to gouge their eyes out.” if my man doesn’t want to gouge out people’s eyes just for looking at me, i don’t want him ‼️‼️

“My, Dazai, possessive, aren’t you?” “Very,” Dazai agrees idly. “Be sure to remember that.” bringing his hand up from your waist to cup your cheek, thumb brushing over your bottom lip as he murmurs, “That’s my girl, always so smart.” blushing giggling kicking my feet twirling my hair

“Fyodor Dostoevsky. A pleasure, truly.” oh no. oh no no no no no. that’s not good.

one more thing, i noticed that you kinda like made up your own characters (which was super cool and really creative btw!!) could you explain how/why you chose the specific authors you did? and i’m assuming you got their group names from something they wrote, any reason you chose those works in particular? (these are the ones i’m talking about: Mishima Yukio of the Sun and Steel, Nabokov’s Pale Flame, Leo Tolstoy’s Three Deaths, Cao Xueqin of the Red Chamber, Kitazawa Michihiro of Fuji Electric)

ty for listening to my ramblings once again ily !!

TUMBLR USER PE4RL-DIVER UGHHHHHH I LOVE YOU WHENEVER I SEE U IN MY NOTIFS IM SO HEART EYES

albatross is truly her no1 fan in this fic and she adores him <3 dazai is so not unsubtly jealous of him whenever she talks to him. gets all side eyed and irritated and then has to hide it whenever she looks at him LOLLLLL meanwhile albatross is just pleased that dazai is no longer an emotionless brick wall with a quick trigger finger

WHEN I TELL U THAT SCENE WAS ACTUALLY MY FAVORITE EVER i actually struggled so much writing it not because it was hard to write just because i was yearning so terrible for him LOLLLLL HAHAHAH

</33333 we all need our own beastzai truly life is so unfair he's so perfect

OMGGGGGGGG actually thats my favorite part of writing series/long one shots. i adore being able to build up new characters and organizations. usually i pull them just from some of my favorite authors/works (i cheated with the one electric company its actually just a real company because i got lazy) BUTTTTT mishima is obviously my go to just because there's lowkey already been reference to him and his works in the series but no mention of him, so he's my favorite to build and explore. and then i dont know why but i always have the russian underground divided by three (tolstoy, dostoevsky, nabokov) and usually in a constant territory struggle. of the two ive built up, nabokov is usually the one i use the most because ive hced that he worked with the previous boss pretty often before things went to shit. but i've actually built tolstoy's organization more than his - the three deaths is led by a triumvirate of tolstoy, gorky, and cheknov who were all contemporaries and had were associated with each other. and actually fun fact, i plan on doing a fic with a reader who takes the place of cheknov as one of the three deaths so we're going to see more from them. cao xueqin wrote one of the 4 great classical novels of chinese literature. my fyozai fic i've also built a new organization for - they're based in italy and are in constant conflict with the clocktower, but i don't wanna give anything away because u shall see when i finally post that

maybe one day ill do a whole little page for the organizations ive built & their references in my fics for u guys to look at if ur interested!!

[grumpy-liebgott]

Miscellaneous Tag Game (pt. ii)

Made by the lovely @onehelluvamarine and thank you for the tag @panzershrike-pretz <333

A band you don’t like that many others do:

BTS. Idk why but I'm just not the biggest fan of them

A childhood memory that you remember vividly:

When I was younger, my sisters and I would put aside time every night to play blind man's bluff with my dad in my parents' room. Every night, we would choose a different person to be the blind man, and the rest of us would have either 3, 5, or 10 lives (depends on how tired my dad was that day). It didn't matter what our mood was before, after we played blind man's bluff, we were all happy and giggling. I loved those moments and I still smile at the memories.

Least favorite animal and why:

Flies and mosquitoes. THEY'RE SO ANNOYING. THE WAY THEY BUZZ BESIDE YOUR EARS AND LAND ON YOUR FOOD AND BITE YOU. Ugh I hate them so much.

Hot fandom take:

I don't knowwwww

Do you wear any jewelry, if so, what’s your favorite piece:

I rarely ever wear jewellery except for a necklace my mum had made when I was a baby. It's in the shape of a heart and has my name engraved on it. My mum and my sisters all have one of their own.

Besides that, I used to have two pairs of clip on earrings that I absolutely adored. My grandpa banned my sisters and I from ever having piercings, but I've always wanted earrings, so my mum got me those clip on ones. Sadly, I lost both of them a few months ago.

A movie others liked but you didn’t:

I don't know, maybe the new animated Super Mario Brothers movie? I fell asleep half way through it. Though, that could probably be because I was just too tired.

Three things you love about yourself:

- my hair. It has a few different shades of brown with some copper and gold strands mixed in. I have my mum's genetics to thank for that

- my ability to memorise things (very handy in exams)

- my eyes

A place you hope to visit in the future and why:

Italy. It's always been on my bucket list to visit Italy. It just looks like such a beautiful country

An actor that gets on your nerves and why:

There isn't any, really. I don't know much about celebrities lives because I don't actually care, and I think they should have their own privacy.

Things you’re excited for in the nearby future?

Celebrating Chinese new year with my family!

Least favorite ship in a fandom you’re in:

Thor/Loki from the Marvel fandom. Like, come on, they're siblings. Adopted siblings, but still!

What’s the most toxic fandom you’ve been in?

All the fandoms I've been in haven't been very toxic. But then again, the HBOWar fandom is the only one I've really interacted much with.

List three things you find beautiful about life:

- being able to watch the sky. The clouds, the stars, the moon. They're all so nice to look at.

- spending time with the people I love. Whether it's my family or my friends, I appreciate all the little things we do together

- playing with my pet dogs. I love seeing them so happy and excited when I play fetch with them

Any dreams for the future?

I hope to one day become a sucessful veterinarian who ensures long happy lives of pets, with enough income to support my family.

How are you really feeling today?

Honestly, not too good. I was tired the whole day and I'm down with a cold. Oh well, at least tomorrow is a holiday for me so I can rest up.

Tagging (no pressure) : @ronald-speirs @malarkgirlypop @a-n-t-h-e-a @l13bg0tt @1waveshortofashipwreck @blueberry-ovaries

[uchuukaijugundan]

Ranma ½

らんま½

(original Anime)

Martial arts romcom by Rumiko Takahashi

Era: 1980s, 1990s

Rating: C

Plot: Master of the Anything-Goes style school of martial arts Soun Tendo receives a postcard from China from his old friend Genma Saotome saying that it is time for his boy Ranma to get married to one of his three daughters, ensuring the continuity of the Tendo family dojo. When they arrive, however, the Tendos only see a panda dragging a girl with red pigtailed hair.

Length: 161 episodes

Thoughts: Alright, this is the one that's getting me in hot water but I don't think the original adaptation is that great as an whole, or at the very least squanders a great start by running well past Best Before date. The premise is great and shows the versatility Rumiko Takahashi has, and it might be the most interesting cast of characters she put on paper - we have our gender-flipping titular character and the mutually tsundere love interest Akane. Nabiki, the shameless opportunist, always proves to be a great source of entertainment when given a chance, and entering the whole assortment of fiancées and pretenders, from the completely delusional Tatewaki Kuno and his sister Kodachi with her incredible ojousama laugh, Ryoga, the only character who can stand up to Ranma but could get lost walking in a tunnel, Shampoo, the clingy Chinese amazon who generally acts like a wrecking ball opposed to the more reserved Ukyo, the only of Ranma's pretenders to act relatively normal (and with whom Ranma feels more at ease)... at least for someone who's a master of Okonomiyaki-based martial arts, because imagining normal activities with martial arts thrown in is a delightful plot device. All this (without accounting for one-off and other secondary characters) gives room for plenty of different dynamics, most of them have that that frenemy vibe to it, in the sense that yes, they'll help each other if the occasion demands it, but always looking for an opportunity to get ahead on their goals. Giving some room for kung-fu treachery is always good.

It has, however, some characters who are also on the bad kind of annoying - sure, Gendo Ikari Lifetime Award recipient Genma is annoying - after all, most of Ranma's misfortunes lie on his terrible decision making (such as training in China without knowing how to speak or read the language) but is usually never too far from being kicked into a body of water by Ranma, who is also never that far from being drenched in water as payback. On the other hand, Happousai in particular kills dead any episode he's on for more than two minutes and later the new school principal and estranged patriarch of the Kuno family adds more duds to the story at a point it started to feel thin. Finally, I'm not a fan of overly long shows, and I feel Ranma played a big part of that, there's just too too much of nothing in long stretches of the show, and the animation quality drops to very low standards by the end. Once again, I feel this is might have a case of "ran too long", and drops what would have been an easy A. I'll probably look at the OVAs and movie at a different time, as I don't think they'd do enough to help improve the rating here, but would get a better grade together.

It's a show that I've found *severely* dragged down by these factors, here's to hoping the 2024 series (which will be on its own post soon) gets 40-something episodes and keeps doing a smoother and more streamlined version of the story - reminding people of what they liked while discarding what they didn't - which from the start certainly will be rated much, much higher. As for the classic adaptation... I'm sure someone has compiled a list that lists the decent-to-good episodes that runs a bit over 70 or so.

Recommended to: fans of Rumiko Takahashi, but generally everyone who feels they can hit the low point and call it quits instead of sticking until the end (also, it doesn't have one).

Plus:

It's still a classic for very good reasons - it has an incredible cast of unique characters who are in their own way being all sweet or at least normal and then turn into the worst backstabbing assholes once situation changes.

Ranma might be the most interesting character concept RT did as far as what you can do with.

Minus:

Once again, i feel it touches extremes: what it does well, it does really well, but what's annoying about it is past deal-breaker point.

I don't mind filler if it's used to, you know, fill a short production blank, but in a show that starts to drag after the midpoint, you can probably attribute that to a substantial number of episodes being filler.

[heymeowmao]

2023.04.26 - https://weibo.com/l/wblive/p/show/1022:2321324894853447418274

Stream for a small while~

bgm: Ice Paper -  夜泊秦淮 (Ye Po Qin Huai)

LYN: Hallo everybody. I am Modern Brothers Liu Yuning. Welcome. LYN: I was adjusting my equipment, because I’m away from my normal location so I brought my laptop with me. It’s not particularly stable. Let’s test it out first. Can you hear the music? Can you? We’ll test the software first. The music is okay? Then, what about the laugh track? Does it laugh? Okay? Alright. Tonight’s stream is nearly perfect. LYN: Long time no see. I don’t remember when the last time I streamed was. It was a rare early wrap today so I came to meet you. 

C: Is your hair a new wig? LYN: It’s my own hair. I felt like... I started losing myself, since I am shooting the guzhuang drama day in and day out. I don’t really need to do my hair or style it at all, and I thought I shouldn’t just leave it like that. I took time one day to get my hair done.  C: Take off your hat, let’s see it. LYN: No~ I won’t take it off! Why should I?? // I just got off work and came to stream- I didn’t wash my hair or anything so right now it just looks like how it does. If I take it off my hair is all flat. /lifts his hat/ See? It’s stuck to my head. So the hat is here to make it seem like I attempted to style it. 

C: I’m going to Dandong to play! LYN: Welcome. Dandong welcomes you. But... I’m not there right now. So if you’re going just play on your own. 

C: You look like a twenty-something year old youthful kid! LYN: Why does it sound so nice when you speak? Is it that only LYN’s fans have such sweet words? C: 18 years old. LYN: There’s no need for that. If you say “twenty-something” then that also includes... 29. I know I’m already over 30, but I can pretend. C: I’m just a passerby and I think you’re handsome! LYN: Thank you. I like people like you who have never seen the world. Once you’ve seen more of it, you won’t consider me handsome anymore. I hope that in terms of aesthetics you don’t see much of it. You can have it, but not too much. Then we can continue to happily play together.

C: Have you eaten? LYN: I had a shou zhua bing (crispy chinese pancake) today. Oh no, it was kao leng mian (grilled cold noodles).

C: I calculated that you would come to stream today. LYN: My stream is even worth calculating? It’s not worth it. Don’t they always say that wasting your fortune on trivial things will deplete your own luck? There’s no need to waste your own luck in calculating when I’ll stream. 

C: Are you in the hotel? LYN: Yes, my crew has come to Xiangshan so I’m streaming from a hotel here. But since I’m out I could only bring my laptop to stream with. It’s not exceptionally functional, so it keeps lagging. Please don’t mind and I apologize if it affects your viewing experience. Just make do, alright? LYN: I know the video lags a bit, but the sound is always there and that’s good enough. You just need to listen to my voice.  C: How’s the soundproofing in the hotel? LYN: It should be pretty good? I think it’s good. It’s a new hotel and fairy well-built... The windows and doors are all closed. I’m in the inner room, and the door is closed- it’s two layers. My neighbors are my assistant and my staff, so I won’t be disturbing my neighbors. C: The background is so fake. LYN: If I made the background any more extravagant you could say it’s fake. But it’s like this (plain) and you think it’s fake?? Here is a sofa, and there is a bed. You think it looks fake? If I were going to fabricate it, I’d at least set up something nicer. I don’t need this type of fake background.  C: Your neighbors can’t fight today. [ t/n: his go-to excuse for using the restroom] LYN: It might be the upstairs neighbors. It’s possible. We never know. It depends on my condition. XD

C: Is that Daimi on the sofa? LYN: It’s a mop/rag. 

C: Isn’t Xiangshan’s seafood tasty? LYN: It’s alright. It’s tasty. The thing is I don’t particularly care for seafood, though there are people who love it. Why? Because I grew up in Dandong. It’s close to the river and sea- there’s plenty of seafood to go around, there. I grew up eating it, so I don’t particularly favor it. I like eating meat. C: Then do you have high uric acid? LYN: /laughs/ Are you a doctor? What the heck... But I heard that if you eat too much seafood you could get gout, right? I... I’m alright. I don’t... have high uric acid levels. // If you eat too much seafood and drink beer you can get gout. But I don’t eat very much. I had too much when I was little and when I grew up I stopped. I like eating meat now that I’m older. C: All the doctors jumped out. LYN: Yeah, they’re all teaching us how to treat gout.

C: Sing! Sing! LYN: I won’t. It’s a hotel it won’t be very nice if I’m over here warbling and shouting. People are trying to sleep. I don’t want to be responsible for disturbing the public. It’s not worth it.  LYN: I just came to chat because it’s been a long time since my fans last saw me. I’m sure they miss me very much. Also I’m guessing that many people are getting off work or school and can come see me stream and they can.. relax. 

C: Ning-ge, reply to me. I need to go do my homework. LYN: Hurry and go. Why do you need to tell me when you’re doing your homework?? As if I wanted to know? Do your homework. What time is it now, and you’re still not done with it?! What about your class ranking? Do your homework, hurry. // Or is it that you wanted me to do it for you??

C: You look so cool today. LYN: You- you all are too cute. I was in a rush to stream so I just threw on a t-shirt and a hat and you’re saying I look really cool?? What the heck. Usually when I make an effort you have no reaction but today I put on anything random and you say I look nice. Is there a problem with my sense of aesthetic or do you all have a misconception of what “fashion” is? The other possibility it that for a lot of you, no matter what I wear, you all think it looks good. I’ll be spoiled by your love until I’m old.

--

C: It’s my first time seeing you with dyed hair. LYN: It’s really been a long time since I last dyed it. In the video it looks on the yellow side but in reality it’s a lot duller in color. Right now it’s looking kind of orange but it’s not. It’s because all the lights in this room, including the one I brought, are warm-toned so it makes my hair look yellow/brown. It’s not really. C: Ning-ge, tell me the color. I’ll go dye my hair. LYN: I don’t know what color it is. I just went and told the stylist to dye it lighter and give me a color that would more golden, and they gave me this. I didn’t choose a color or anything. Just something a little yellow, a little golden. C: Does it hurt the hair? LYN: More or less, it always will. There’s no way to bleach your hair without hurting it. There’s always a price for beauty.  C: Take off your hat, let’s see it. LYN: My hair is- /sighs &lifts his hat/ It’s just flat so I put a hat on. /drops it back onto his head./ It’s so flat and not styled at all. /lifts it again/ Just this color. Next time I’ll get it styled and show you. C: If you dye your hair when you reach middle-age you’ll experience hair loss. LYN: 去你的. Hair is something that continuously grows. It’s not like your nails. After this batch of hair is dyed, you’ll still keep growing hair and it’ll come out black, won’t it?? Did you think that after you dyed it, it would stay that color forever?? You must secretly be entertained by the thought. Think of how much money you could save. After this batch of hair grows out, you’ll have new and healthier hair to replace it. You wish! Did you think you could have that hair for a lifetime? No way. C: Ning-ge, we’re already no longer middle-aged. LYN: Do you consider someone in their early thirties middle-aged already?? Oh, my goodness. Even if I DO count as middle-aged, I will never admit to it. What can you do about it?? C: 80 is “middle-aged”. LYN: It doesn’t matter. You can set it to whenever you want. But, I think I will always be a... “youth.” I will maintain my youthful heart. I will always have curiosity and expectation for the world. As someone who is already in their thirties, having this kind of mindset is what will allow me to keep walking forward. I hope you are like this too. If you maintain a good mindset, then you will also maintain your youth. If you’re 18 years old and already have an “old” mindset and you convince yourself of that, then your body will also start to stagnate. 

C: Ning-ge, your voice is a little rough. LYN: Yeah. I’ve been shooting the drama. /sigh/ Acting- especially when you’re acting as someone with a bad attitude- is really tiring. As an actor, acting as someone with a bad attitude is tiring. Let’s say for example in a drama you act as a good person or someone who has very stable emotions- then when you speak you won’t be as tired. Someone says, “I’ll fight you!” and you can reply (stably), “Alright. Let’s fight. I want to see how you expect to beat me.” But if you’re acting as someone with a bad attitude, then the reply is like this (more animated), “Fight me? Hahahahaha. I want to see exactly how you expect to beat me!” You just need to put a lot more effort into it. /gives another example/ Listen to that and tell me how much effort I need to put into my voice to execute the line. There’s just no helping it. When I start look at roles next, I might consider choosing someone with a more stable attitude. Otherwise my voice can’t take it.  LYN: This is why I had a great time when doing Luo Mingxi’s (ALZ) character. Because LMX was a little.. a little sick. He had a weak constitution ever since he was young and would speak like this, “Do you know... how we should resolve this issue? /catching his breath/ Hold on. Let me rest a little.” That wasn’t as tiring. You can hear that my voice is hoarse because I’ve been shouting. I can’t take it. LYN: When I was doing the voice acting for LMX though, I had a bad time of it. Because he keeps coughing. In the later episodes he enters into... an... almost wasted state. Everything he does and everything he says he starts off by coughing. Like, “You can’t do this... /coughs, sickly/ Listen to me. /coughs some more/” This was so difficult to do voice acting for! The worst part of having to do the voice for that role was the coughing. 

C: When is ALZ airing? LYN: /clicks his tongue/ How would I know??? I don’t know.

--

LYN: I was thinking of going to Disney to play when this drama wrapped, but then Disney told me that they are experiencing some extreme jump in business right now. There are a huge amount of people (at the park). Then I was thinking I could go later than planned- I’ll go when they tell me to. After all I’m going there to play, not to see people.  LYN: I can’t do the stream if there are too many people. I asked, I really did, but it’s not very convenient. I think people have started opening up- they want to travel and go to concerts. They’re open to anything, now. There are all sorts of music festivals and activities happening lately. Everyone’s out to play so Shanghai Disney’s business is booming. There are people everywhere, so I thought I would forget about it for now. I’ll obediently stay at home.

LYN: A music festival got into contact with me today, too. They wanted me to participate. I decided not to. Ever since I’ve debuted I haven’t accepted any business proposal or music festival. So I just decided not to. I know that the music festivals sell tickets, but I’m someone who’s going to hold his own concert, anyway. [t/n: doesn’t want fans to buy music festival tickets to see him when they can buy his concert tickets instead.] LYN: As for the concert, I don’t think I’m going to continue considering it for this year. I’ve been acting quite a lot these past two years, so I was thinking I would hold off on my concert. Honestly I don’t have a lot of time to work on my album, either. Later because of filming I won’t have the time to  finish my album. When I finish it, then I’ll consider doing my second concert tour. This year though, every other singer is holding their concerts. I was thinking, since everyone else is holding theirs this year, I won’t include myself in the bustle of it. You can do what you will. First, I don’t need to include myself and get caught up and possibly start fights and later not be able to hold certain stops. Secondly, I’ll probably be filming for another drama the latter half of the year. I want to focus on filming and use whatever time in between to work on my album. I really want to make something great out of it- my second album. When it’s done, I might consider holding my concert next year. Another thing is- the third and most important thing- I’m waiting for a few of many dramas to air this year... I’ve been shooting dramas for the past three years and now there are six completed dramas that are waiting to be aired. Of these six, at least three of them have to air this year, right?? At least two or three. After these dramas air I believe that the number of people who know LYN will raise at least a little, right? Even if the drama airs and my character is not popular, at least 80-100 people more will know of me or like me to some extent. Then, the number of my fans can rise at least 400-500 more. Like this, my concert tickets can be more easily sold. Don’t you think that works, friends? I have to consider it from multiple angles. Therefore I have concluded that holding my concert this year is not suitable. LYN: I was trying to calculate... ALZ HAS to air this year, right? I finished that drama two years ago- it’s got to air at least at the end of the year. BYOL is about ready to air, as well. It’s a modern drama, so the post-production will go a lot faster. I think it’ll be ready to air this year. The third, TXJ- I finished voice acting for that a while ago. There are also some other dramas, but at least those three should be able to air. Once these three dramas air and I gain 500 fans it means that I can at least sell 500 more concert tickets, right? That’s how I’m counting it. C: I won’t be able to get any tickets! LYN: I’m not only holding one! I’m going to have at least 10 stops. Or did you mean that you wanted to watch at all 10 stops? If that were the case then I’m sure that for some cities you wouldn’t be able to get a ticket. But at least 1 out of 10 is doable, isn’t it? Did you think I was only doing one and done? Don’t worry- there’s nothing to fight over. There’s no way you wouldn’t be able to get a ticket. If you can’t get it for this stop, try the next one. You’re going to be able to buy a ticket for at least one of them. C: What about overseas fans? LYN: Overseas fans can- I mean- I... How about I record it to a vcd and mail it to you? [t/n: Yes, Ning-ge. Record the concert, then release the video. I’ll buy it and I’m sure that people who went in person would also buy it...]

LYN: I was just overthinking one day and started wondering if technology would ever advance to the point where we could hold VR Concerts. I would be the singer, on stage and we could have all the camera and equipment. The viewers wouldn’t need to be in-person at the venue. You could have some VR equipment and headphones and it will “transport” you to the concert venue. There would be people around you- everyone else who is watching the concert with you. They might be represented by avatars, but I would be real and on stage. You could be at home, watching a concert. I believe that one day technology can advance to this point, right? C: Can I touch you with VR? / I can SEE you but I can’t TOUCH. LYN: Our concerts don’t allow you to come onstage and touch me, either?? At every concert, we also spend the money to hire security. They have very difficult jobs and ensure the smooth progression of my concert program. You can’t just say you can see me, but can’t touch me! C: Are we seeing a real person? LYN: You might not be understanding what I’m trying to say. You’ll know if you try experiencing VR. It’s not like in the game world, you can really see the- /tsk/ I can’t discuss such high technology with you. /waves it off/ C: We can’t all sing along with you, with VR. LYN: You can. If you wear the headphones then it can receive your voice, too. It can receive your neighbor’s voice, too. You’ll be able to hear the sound from the stage. I just can’t talk about such high technology with you all. I hope that I can see such a thing accomplished while I’m still alive to experience it. C: Stop fantasizing. LYN: This isn’t fantasizing. It’s “dreaming”. I mean a few years ago, who knew that AI would advance so quickly? It’s the same, isn’t it? Most things start off as imagination but then in the blink of an eye they become reality. C: Ning-ge, stream your whole concert. LYN: I won’t stream it. It’s the same excuse a lot of friends just used to rebut me- you go to concerts for the atmosphere. If you’re watching online, it’s a completely different experience. If you’re listening to my concert online then I don’t think there’s any meaning in that. You go to concerts for the experience. There are always going to be people screaming and shouting around you, and who it ends up being someone different every time. For this stop you could be sitting next to someone very quiet on your right and someone shouting on your left. They all add to your concert experience, and it differs every time. You go to a concert for the experience. If you just wanted to listen to the songs, then just play the album and you’ll have a better time of it then listening in-person at a concert. I know the topic of an online concert has come up a few times, but that’s the reason I’ve never done one. I don’t think there’s a need to. Streaming is to chat and to relax. But if you really used it to hold a concert then I don’t think there’s any need. I won’t hold any live stream-type concert. I want you to be there in person. That’s the charm of a concert. Of course, my concerts aren’t very charming. 

--

C: The “mop” won’t change a position? LYN: The “mop” is asleep, what position do you expect it to change to? She’s asleep.

C: I’m a new fan! LYN: Thank you. If you haven’t subscribed to my weibo yet, please do so. When I have time I’ll come to chat with you all. C: I can if I have time. LYN: Of course, come watch if you have time. I mean- do you have something to do right now but are watching the stream instead??? That’s not very realistic, right? Watch my stream if you’ve got nothing better to do.

C: Why don’t you rest for a few days after this drama wraps LYN: Are you asking a question, or telling me? Are you saying, “After this drama wraps, how many days will you be resting?” or “After this drama wraps, rest for a few days.” I don’t know which way you mean- where you put the stress makes the meaning totally different. C: How many days? LYN: Just a while. C: How many days is “a while”? LYN: “A while” is- okay, honestly Ning-ge isn’t very cultured. There’s “I’ll rest for a while” or “A while passed.” The definition of “a while” seems to change depending on the situation. “Every once in a while” is also a different time frame. It’s just not set. We’ll see. As for exactly how long, we’ll have to see. 

C: What’s your next drama? LYN: I really haven’t confirmed it yet. I saw there are some rumors that I would be in a spy-war drama. I saw it and I asked my studio if I received the script for that project. I was- (excited and disappointed). I forget if it was a spy-war drama, I don’t know. It was me, Tang Yan, Luo Jin, and another actor. The four of us. But I asked my studio if we received that project, and if we did, could I take a look? I think I’d like to try it out and experience it, since I’ve just been doing guzhuang dramas lately... but they said they didn’t receive it. I said, “Don’t trick me~ You just don’t want me to do well.” I had a fight with them and we broke up on the spot. XD After we fought for three days it was confirmed that I really never received that project. Honestly, there’s no need to lie about these things. But after three days of no contact, I concluded it was true- they really didn’t have news about it. 

C: Lao-da, shoot a xianxia. LYN: The world doesn’t owe me. It not that I can act as whatever I want to. I have to be given the option, if a script comes for me. Then, I have to like the story and role before I accept. Nothing is just given to you. LYN: Honestly though, I used to be afraid of xianxias. I did receive a script for one once, but after I reviewed it I was afraid to accept. Because I am someone with strong sense of logic. I think about why a person is they way they are, why do they make the decisions they do, and why they would say what they are saying. How many different layers of meaning are behind their words? I thought about all those things, because I want to make it make sense. But xianxia dramas don’t operate with logic in the realm of current society- it’s a whole other level of logic. I’ve never done a xianxia drama, so I don’t understand it and therefore I'm afraid. But I was thinking that I’ve been doing quite a lot of guzhuang dramas, so I’d like to try out a xianxia if I could. As long as I’m not playing the “most beautiful man in the realm” or something like that I’m sure that very little people will come yell at me. As long as I’m not in that type of role, people probably won’t attack me for it, right? So, I can give it a try.

C: What about national/republic dramas? LYN: Of course, it’s okay. I don’t really differentiate between genres, mostly I look at the script. Whether I accept a job or not depends on of I like either the story or the character. If I like the script but don’t like the character then I don’t go because I don’t think there’s much meaning in that. I mostly look at the script, the platform, the director, etc.

LYN: I cherish everything I have. As a singer, too- I cherish that I get to be one. That’s why I haven’t accepted any business proposals since my debut; I can’t be commissioned to sing at any particular event. Likewise with acting, I cherish every opportunity I get to act. If someone wants you to act in their drama it means that they look kindly upon you. It’s a rare chance, but I don’t want force myself to act in a drama or as a character that I don’t like. I’m sure that the script is very good, but maybe it’s that I don’t understand it. It’s possible. So, I have to acknowledge and like the drama in order for me to act in it. I want to cherish myself and I also don’t want to exhaust my welcome.  LYN: There are pros and cons, because I don’t have an agency. Everything has its advantages and disadvantages. One good thing is that I can choose my own work. Of all the collaborations I’ve done, there hasn’t been one random/unknown brand. Secondly, when I say I don’t want to accept any business proposals, I mean it. If you’re an artist in a company, though, do you really think that they want to do all the gigs you see them at? No. If the company wants them to attend, they have no choice in it. There are pros and cons. LYN: I’ve met a fair few actors who’s state of mind is the total opposite from mine. For a lot of dramas, they have no choice and the company makes decisions for them. Do they still go? Yeah, but they might not enjoy it. Do you know how that feels? When you don’t want to do something but are forced to? So think about how they must feel idling in a drama crew they don’t want to be in for four months. I think I’m happy just having the ability to choose. That’s why I have to choose well.

C: When does ZY wrap? LYN: There’s about another month left to go. It’s been a fun and smooth process. C: Are you going on holiday break after ZY wraps? LYN: I don’t think I have the time to... Normal actors don’t accept jobs on quite as tight a schedule as I have been. What I mean by that is some drama have a time conflict- sometimes you have three days of rest between the end of one and the start of another. But it’s rare for them to match up. For example, if my drama ends in June and the next one starts in July, then I can spend the month waiting for the next drama and can use that time to rest or records songs, or go on a variety show. But I went from TXJ straight into BYOL, then YNGS, then the new year happened, and I was in ZY. These past few dramas have been aligned really closely. It’s going to be rare for my dramas in the future to line up like this again, though.  C: It’s a good thing, though. LYN: Of course it is! Having work is a good thing. Think of how many people are sitting around at home with nothing to do. Of course it’s a good thing- it is to me, at least.

C: What about variety shows? LYN: I might do one in June or July, but I haven’t decided which yet. We’ll see what materials they give me first. 

C: These days I have been inundating my friends’ heads with LYN. LYN: By that you mean you’ve been trying to make a case for them to be my fan? Thank you. But please don’t “press on their heads”. That’s a little impolite. It gives off a feel like this: /mimes grabbing someone by the back of the neck, forcing them to look at something in a threatening motion/ “I want you to like LYN! Be his fan! Be his fan!!” That’s not very nice. Please don’t hold their heads down. If you mean you “massage” their heads, then that’s okay. Be gentle. 

C: Have you decided your next-next drama? LYN: /laughs/ I- you have too much faith in me. I haven’t even decided on my next drama, and you’re asking about the one AFTER the next?? I will go back to the same thought- do you think this industry owes me?? LYN: I really have, though. You have good taste. :) LYN: No, I haven’t. I’m kidding! If I have any work that I can tell you about, I would tell you. If I can’t tell you yet, then I can’t. // Despicable. You caught me pretending, again. C: May I boldly ask which laoshi you will be working with? LYN: Everyone I work with is my “laoshi”. I’m just an actor and I have no say in deciding who I work with- that’s all up the the platform. They will choose who they think suits the drama the best. I’m not qualified to choose who I want, I can only choose to accept or not accept. I can work with anyone. As long as the drama approves of them, I’m okay. C: Is there anyone in particular you really want to work with? LYN: Of course I want to work with people I’m familiar with or people I recognize. As for who exactly I won’t name names because I don’t think there’s any reason in doing that. There I people I really want to work with, but there’s no need for me to tell you who they are. 

C: Is there a season 2 of The Truth? LYN: I’m not sure. I think there will be, because I also hope there will be. It was quite fun. if there is, I hope you can tune in to watch.

C: Is there anyone you don’t want to work with? LYN: No. Is there anyone in this industry I don’t want to work with... not yet. I think everyone I’ve worked with so far is very good. Everyone who I haven’t worked with, I don’t know what type of person they are (if they are good or bad), so I can’t say that I don’t want to work with them. There is no “work together” or “not work together”- everyone is fine.  C: What a very diplomatic response. LYN: What’s diplomatic about that?? I’ve been very happy in every drama I’ve been in and have been able to come out of them having made friends. 

--

C: Where are your glasses? LYN: Wait- let me go grab them. Hold on, listen. -- break #1 (upstairs neighbors are fighting X’D) LYN: Ah. I misheard.

LYN: Daimi? Daimi. Come here. Get back on the sofa. You’ve left and people don’t want to watch my stream anymore. Your fans were asking where you went. Stay on the sofa back there, come here. Sit. Okay. Lay there and go to sleep. C: She’s so obedient!

C: Ning-ge, I’m watching your stream in a bar. LYN: There’s no need for that! You can go “shake your head” (dance?) as you want. Don’t watch my stream, do you own thing! 

LYN: I keep seeing a bunch of you say you want me to work together with ___ actor. Here’s the thing- I have no say in that. I’m just a tiny actor, I don’t even know if I’ll HAVE work, let alone decide who I want to work with. I think that if I stay in this industry for long enough then I'll have the chance to work with everyone, eventually. Don’t you think so? If we get to work together then that means it was meant to be. If we don’t then that means it’s not our turn. Just wait it out. 

C: You’re trending. LYN: Am I? How come I don’t believe you?? Am I qualified to be trending- I’m not worthy! Friends, really though. Am I qualified? I think... - 我不配 (I’m not Worthy) LYN: This song, friends is deeply meaningful to me. When I first started taking male lead roles, let me tell you, I- /holds back fake tears/ People told me I wasn’t worthy. Even now people still don’t think I’m worthy. So this song has accompanied me through countless nights. Without this song, I would not have been able to persevere until today; I wouldn’t be able to hang on until the next project, friends. Music really can cheer people up. Whenever I hear this song I feel like ridiculing myself, “LYN, you’re not worthy!” “How could you be a male lead, when you look so ugly?!” Whenever I see a comment like that I’ll sing this song.  - 我不配 (I’m not Worthy) [round 2] LYN: My tears are coming out of my mouth (?) 

C: Change the glasses there’s too much reflection with this one. LYN: Why do you have so many issues? Can’t you see I’m trying to cosplay Conan, here? Whenever they come to a conclusion on a case the glasses reflect like this. I’m imitating Conan, right now. Alright I’ll take it off. You just don’t understand fashion. 

C: You’re trending. LYN: Am I really? Well, first of all thanks to all of you watching. If you weren’t here then I wouldn’t be able to have this trending topic. You made this happen because you keep typing comments and interacting with me/each other. Once the discussion levels are up, the topic can easily start trending. So thanks to you. Thank you for the discussion. There are a lot of people in the stream who might have been watching for a while and have not typed a single word... but! You’re a part of this, too. If you still haven’t typed anything into the comments tonight, then just reply with one phrase: LYN, hello. How about that? Please. Interact with me. As long as you type in the words “LYN, Hello” into that chat, from today forward we will be friends. Okay, fam’? LYN: Friends, what is “family”? “Family” is not the one who’s here all the time claiming to give you benefits, no. What is “family”? YOU are all my family. /laughs/ This song I have to gift to you- Friends. LYN’s Stream will always be your home. We’re a family. So I’ll gift you with a song. - 常回家看看 (Go Home Often) [ft. customized lyrics XD] C: I’m speechless. LYN: What do you mean?? It’s such a touching song, and you’re speechless? I want to say your indifference is making ME speechless. Don’t be indifferent. We have to be moved by it.

C: Ning-ge, it’s like I’ve walked into a gym. LYN: ?_? Where did that come from? Why would it be a gym?? Did you see barbells in the back or?? A treadmill? Why do you think it looks like a gym?

LYN: I want to tell you all- May 1st: 云襄传 (The Ingenious One; Yun Xiang Zhuan) will air. I sang an OST for it, and the drama looks good so I hope you can support it. My song is called “Yun Zi Jue (云字诀)”. I hope you can listen to it as well. The drama’s story is really good, I took some time to get to know about it. It’s about uhm... eh... I know but I just don’t want to say it. XD I’m afraid I won’t explain well. It’s a mysterious story... about and things that happen within the sect. As for which sect, you can watch and find out. It’s a mysterious drama, very nice. LYN: Someone’s typed out the name of the sect into the comments, you’re exactly right. I’m sure that this will be a very interesting drama.  C: 双开门. (double open doors*) LYN: 去你的. LYN: What “门” is it? 家人们 (Family). It’s a story about “family”. C: What is the “double open doors” thing about? [*referring to the “Korean double-door refrigerator figure”: Broad shoulders, small head, thin waist, long legs.] LYN: It’s a type of aesthetic describing men. They have very wide shoulders, but a small head. This appearance/ratio is what people refer to as the “double open door” figure. I don’t know if you have a double-door fridge at home? The one where you grab both handles and open the doors at the same time. It’s just used to describe a type of figure. This person is double-doored. This person is a single-door. This person is an air conditioner. C: Ning-ge, you’re double-doored. LYN: I am not! I’m so tall and skinny, I’m definitely an air conditioner. I don’t know if your house has the kind of air conditioner that’s hung across the wall? I’m the standing type- the tall kind that you put in a corner. Thin and long. C: Ning-ge, you’re an LCD monitor. LYN: What do you mean. Are you saying my face is big? Is that what you mean? That’s probably not what they intended. There are two possibilities: 1. They didn’t have anything better to say but wanted to join in on the joke so they called me an LCD monitor. The second possibility is that they think very deeply, and you can see everything wonderful in the world’s in my face. Everything that is broadcast on my face are the wonders of the world. In other words, my face is very abundant. Maybe that’s what they mean. I’m not sure which interpretation is correct, but I get the feeling it’s mostly the first kind.  C: They called you an LCD monitor because they are calling you thin and weak. LYN: Ah. I am. They’re right so I won’t argue. I’ll continue to stay thin.

C: You’re trending Ning-ge. LYN: I don’t believe it. Friend, you’re a little late though. Someone already told me earlier. What’s the topic, though? / I think I was at 34 earlier?? What is it now? / What’s the topic, I want to know. C: “LYN Live Stream” LYN: Oh. No wonder I’m at 34. If it were something else... it’d be even higher. This is normal, it doesn’t get too high up. 

--

C: Yingzi-jie is here again. LYN: Welcome! YXJ is a drama Yingzi-jie produced. (Li Li Ying; Producer: Ultimate Note, Tientsin Mystic) You can check it out when it starts airing. I also sang a song for it, called Yun Zi Jue (云字诀). It starts airing on May 1st. The Ingenious One. LYN: I keep saying, the reason I was able to enter the television industry when I started off as a singer, is due to two people. I have to thank these two people. One of them is Yingzi-jie and the other- I always talk about- is Bai Yicong-laoshi. These two people gave me my first opportunity to move from a singer into an actor. I always remember their kindness. LYN: Think about it. In 2018, I had only just started off as a singer. Who would even think to invite me to act? No one. But they did.They’re the ones who helped me take my first step in this industry. Then through my first drama I got to know Director Zhu. If I didn’t have that first drama I would never have gotten the ones that came later.

C: Ge, you’re at 43 now. LYN: If it’s at 43, just let it be. It doesn’t matter. I’m not like other artists, who only stream very rarely and it is a treasured experience. I stream all the time so- like all things you see all the time- I am not as treasured. If there’s a lot of a single product no one cares, but if there’s a limited run then it becomes coveted. I stream all the time, so having “LYN Live Stream” trending is normal. People see it all the time.

C: Ning-ge is horse-riding fun? LYN: I know you may have seen some videos online saying that I can ride horses now and that I can gallop and I might look stable. By stable I mean emotionally. But honestly every time I shoot for the drama, the moment I get on the horse I get timid. After timid I start to fret. As soon as I get on the horse I start to get scared. Everyone is like this- once you reach a point where you are scared and uneasy, there’s a kind of inexplicable wrath that arises. You’ll go through all sorts of emotions. Every time there’s a horse-riding scene my head starts to pound. C: I’m a girl and I can ride! LYN: WOW, YOU’RE SO AMAZING. I admire you~ And then? What does that have to do with me??? You can be amazing and I can be scared- there’s no conflict here. I’m just afraid- what about not being afraid makes you so amazing? I’m even afraid of water- I can’t swim. I’m sure a lot of you will reply, “I’m a girl and I can swim!” You swim yours, I’m afraid of water. What can you do. Everyone in the world has something they fear. There are people who don’t eat cilantro, garlic, or spring onion. Everyone has their own likes and dislikes, just like everyone has their own fears. Some people are afraid of dogs and other aren’t. Some people are afraid of cats and others raise them. What is there to compare?? C: Ning-ge’s agitated. LYN: I’m not agitated, but I think I’ve been insulted?! If you come to my stream and start talking about how you’re better than I am then in my heart I am uncomfortable. Also, this type of showing off... doesn’t seem very amazing in perspective but it’s still something than can one-up me. That’s what makes me feel worse. She’s a girl and she can ride a horse, but I’m afraid. It’s like I... lost. It feels like I grew to 1.8m for no reason.

LYN: I told you before. The reason I’m afraid of water is because when I was little I went with a group of kids to free swim. I almost drowned. What is “free swim”? When we were little we’d go around looking for large pools of water, or play by the river. It wasn’t exactly swimming, because I didn’t know how to swim. We were just playing in the water. I almost drowned once, so after that I developed a fear of the water. I was afraid of the water for a long time and then one year I thought I had matured enough. LYN: I was 20+ years old and a bunch of my friends said we should find a water park to play in because it was summer and hot. I went. You know- the man-made waves, pools, water slides, floating around in the inflatable ring, etc. So I went- you might have seen a picture online, where I’m wearing some shorts. My legs are so pale- I’m sure that a lot of you have seen it. That was taken when I went to the water park. I went up to the top of the slide and came all the way down to where a pool catches you- as soon as I hit the water I started breathing. My instinct when I hit the water is to try to breathe. I never learned how to swim. I told people I didn’t know how to swim and they told me it was okay, just remember to hold my breath when I hit the water. As long as I held my breath I would be okay, because they would quickly pull me back up. I said I could do that. But from the moment I started sliding, when I was preparing, I started holding my breath. The slide part hadn’t even started yet but I was holding my breath. “Are you ready?” /nods/ /slide/ At the end I couldn’t hold it anymore and tried to suck in some air- /splash/ The exact moment I hit the water. Just like that. My first experience. I held my breath too early. By the end of the slide I couldn’t hold it anymore, tried to breathe, but sucked in water instead. I will never forget that feeling. It was like so much water was entering my brain. LYN: If I was a little crazed earlier it’s because there’s water in my brain. It’s not completely out yet- there’s still water in there. But I was choking on water and I couldn’t stand up. I was 20+ and already 1.85m, but I just couldn’t stand up. I feel like I was in there for 10 seconds but in reality it was only 2 or 3. In the end a staff member pulled me up. I stood up- the water didn’t even reach past my thighs. Think about how much I’m afraid of water. It didn’t even reach past my thighs and I was crying trying to catch my breath. LYN: Some things just have nothing to do with height or age. It’s just a fear.

C: Then you must be very brave when filming. LYN: That scene for BCF... has become an eternal trauma for me. I’ve told you about it before. My character in that drama was wearing shackles- it was a big wooden block and my head and hands were sticking out the top of it. You’ve all seen it, so you know what it is. I was chained up, sitting on the bench and they pushed me in. When I was shooting for that scene I almost went crazy. I don’t know how to swim and here they were, throwing me into the water. I could have died. I was chained, too! There’s the block, as well. Normal people, if someone pushes you into the water, don’t sink. You’re not heavy enough. So they tied a few weights around my waist. Kind of like the weights you strap to your legs when you run. There were a bunch of weights added to the bench, to make it so you sink. I already told you about it before, so I won’t repeat it. But that scene really scared me so much I have residual trauma.

LYN: There’s a script that I have- the character jumps into water in the first episode. I was reviewing the script and the first scene is that the character has to jump into the water to save someone. After I saw that I almost didn’t want to see what came after. I have to go into the water to save someone and be calm myself. After I saw that I didn’t want to see the rest. XD C: Can the scene be changed to a fire rescue instead? LYN: /laughs/ The original script is that you have to go into water to save someone, but you think I can negotiate with the director and screenwriter to change it from a water rescue to a fire rescue? That’s what you mean, right? Em... I don’t think it will work. It has an original manhua. I can’t just change it because I want to. 

C: Why don’t you go learn to swim after ZY wraps? LYN: I have thought of that. I was thinking of taking 1-2 weeks to learn how to swim. I feel like there are some things people just have to know how to do. For example, swimming. People can learn a lot of things! Swimming, diving, surfing, riding a jet ski- motorcycle, driving, it’s all a process- parachuting... they’re all skills. I think I should learn, at least how to swim. That’s what I was thinking. C: Ning-ge, give me 800RMB. I guarantee you’ll learn how to swim. / I’ll teach you for free. LYN: Alright- that person who wanted 800RMB- kick them out. I don’;t need to spend the money. Someone will teach me for free. See that? You think you’re going to make some money off of me? C: Ning-ge, when you learn how to swim can  you record it and share it with us? LYN: ... ?_? .... Do I even have to record a VLOG for learning how to swim? You want a swimwear VLOG? :D We don’t need to do anything so thrilling. Let’s forget about it. LYN: Actually there’s a logic there... It’s not that I can’t record a VLOG, but I just don’t want you to benefit from my swim classes. If I find someone to teach me it’s definitely going to be a paid instructor. But you want to secretly learn how to swim from my videos and save yourself that money... I definitely won’t let you take advantage. If you want to learn you can pay for classes yourself.

C: Do you need any fan-support for learning how to swim? LYN: /laughing/ Do I need fan-support for that? Are you going to occupy the outside of the swimming arena with fan banners and chant our motto? I don’t need it. Thank you, everyone. C: In the pool. LYN: No need! But actually I’ve never seen anyone else’s fans to a water-based fan support. I’ve heard of fans lining the streets for fan-support, but never anything on the water. You want to do a swimming pool fan support? Let’s not go overboard, okay? C: Be creative. LYN: Sometimes creativity it not a necessity. One day If I ever go to sit in a hot spring, are you going to suggest a hot springs fan-support? It’s not necessary, really. C: Ning-ge, I thought we wanted to be unique and different? LYN: It’s not necessary, REALLY. - /tries to stop this line of conversation, sees a comment that drags us back in/ C: Ning-ge, you can always make it a paid service for watching you learn how to swim. That is, if people want to see you swim, they can buy entry tickets. LYN: LOL. You want me to sell tickets, so you can watch me swim. In that case front seats are 1980RMB. Is that what you mean when you said I should sell tickets? Erm.. I don’t think my current development has made it to the point where this is warranted, has it? I can’t survive on my talent anymore?

C: Hmph! You’re skinny like a rack of ribs- what is there to see? LYN: /laugh/ Whether I AM as skinny as a rack of ribs or not, there’s still no chance of you seeing it. I won’t let you see. You don’t need to be weird about it. LYN: Some people like to eat ribs! Right? It’s just... a different experience. Radish and greens, each has their own preference. If it’s a choice between beef and ribs I’m sure there will also be people who like one or the other.  LYN: Anyway, I already promised. When I’m 60 and I hold a concert I’ll show you an old man ripping off his shirt. Alright? I know that a lot of people are hoping that when they see me in concert- concerts are always designed this way. They’ll be on stage singing, and then it gets to a really high point and they, inexplicably, rip the shirt. I don’t know why the song requires you to rip your shirt off, but it’s really mesmerizing. It’s planned for the stage. I know some friends are hoping that I also do that during one of my concerts. For example, /starts playing “隐侠”/- you can’t rip right from the start. Let me see what point is suitable for tearing off a shirt... - 隐侠 (Hidden Hero), My Heroic Husband Donghua OST - /gets to the start of the pre-chorus verse/ LYN: This part is suitable for tearing a shirt. You can choose to rip the shirt here, or not. But here’s the thing- if you DO tear the shirt here I think it’s inappropriate. Why? Because it means you’ll have ripped the shirt off from the start. Which is to say, you’ll have to sing bare-chested for another three minutes. For me, who has a weak constitution, these three minutes means that I am easily susceptible to catching a cold. Especially since the venue air conditioning is usually pretty good, if I were seating up until this point and suddenly am exposed to the air, I could catch a cold. Considering all these factors, this timing isn’t suitable. Let’s continue. - /the part at the end of the pre-chorus/ LYN: This is suitable, and in the next second we will enter into the chorus. The whole composition is suitable, too. Listen- /sings it/ Hold it. Then RIP! If you rip the shirt here, it would be really cool. Friends, I think this is it. Let’s try it.  LYN: But the other thing is... only 1 minute and ten seconds have passed. There are still two minutes and 28 seconds left to sing. From a stage design perspective, ripping the shirt here might be too early. What happens is we first let the music stir you up, then in the second chorus we can bring it to the next level with a shirt tear. If we do it now, once it gets to a certain point there’s no raising the bar. We’ll let this first chorus go and tear the shirt in the second chorus to bring the song to the next level- that would be perfect. 

C: Ning-ge, how about this? Wear five layers. Let’s do it layer by layer. LYN: That’s also a way to do it. Other people tear their shirts off in concert very smoothly. Let’s make mine so it’s like the Sichuan Opera art of face-changing. I’ll wear five colors of shirt- black > yellow > red >  blue > purple > white. I’ll be sharing a little culture on stage, is that what you mean? First gufeng and now bian lian. We’ll sprinkle a little culture into it.  LYN: But the other thing is, if this singer doesn’t usually work out or id he’s tired lately... After tearing three shirts off he won’t have the strength to rip the last two. Struggling to rip the shirt open on stage is also awkward. Like me- if I tear two I’d already be tired. I won’t be able to rip the next three. C: Ning-ge, cut it a little first. LYN: Leave an opening, so that it’s easier to tear? It’s still tiring. Anyway, we’ll see. C: Buy a paper (?) shirt. LYN: Let’s do this. In the case that I cannot fulfill my “face-changing” shirt trick, starting from today I will buy five colors of shirt and start wearing them. After thirty years, I’ll be 60- think of what condition these shirts would be in after being worn for thirty years. I’m guessing touching it will be like paper. At that point, they should be easy to tear. I’m sure when Im 60 I’ll have enough strength to tear five shirts. It’s decided. LYN: I’ll wear the shirts until they’re mesh.

LYN: /sigh/ Let me make it clear. You’ll never see me rip my shirt off in my concert. I was considering it for next year, but after one of you said I looked like a rack of ribs and there’s nothing to look at I took a blow. They’re not anti-fans, because what they’re saying is the truth. But, I took some blows. First, by “what’s there to look at?” and secondly by “I’m a girl and I can ride a horse but you can’t?” I’ve been hurt twice today already. /sigh/ I suddenly want to play a song... Every time I’m sad I play this song. - 我不配 (I’m not Worthy)

--

C: Ning-ge, you’ve got a new background. LYN: ... I don’t even want to respond to you. It’s clear that you don’t much follow me. Why should you? I’m filming right now and our drama crew has moved to Xiangshan so I’m in a hotel right now and what you’re seeing is the room. It’s not that I wanted to change the background to give you some freshness, it’s that I’m actually streaming from a hotel room.  C: Is the room soundproofed? LYN: The room in front and behind are the staff so it should be no problem. As for upstairs and downstairs... below me is the director. So if I sing or stream it’s not likely that he’ll report me or tell the hotel management that his upstairs neighbor is noisy and to do something about it. XD I think he’d understand.  C: What about upstairs? LYN: I’m on the top floor. Upstairs is the sunroof, with the water heater. Do you think my singing can make it explode or???

-- break #2 - /calls Daimi back to sit on the sofa again/

LYN: Is the director here? Director Deng is here! LYN: I was just saying, I hope my streaming doesn’t disturb you. I’m upstairs. Are you about to come and report me?

C: Daimi’s gotten thinner. LYN: I turned on the face-slimming feature for this stream. So she looks really thin. But can you imagine, a small dog like this is actually 10+kg? She’s just a giant meatball, and you think she’s thin? You can say she’s ugly and I’ll agree. If you say she’s thin, then I can’t agree. 

LYN: ?? Why is the software not registering the lyrics again?? It can’t pull them up. Let me close the software. What the heck is this?? Can it work?! // Alright, fine. It’s not important. LYN: Hold on, let me play a video again and see if that changes things. /nope/ Ok, whatever.

LYN: I’ll sing a song. Why aren’t there any lyrics?? This thing is messing with me. C: I’ll type it for you. LYN: Okay, sure. // I have them. - 你說愛情啊 (You Say Love), Young and Beautiful OST LYN: I quite like this song. It’s one of my favorites of the OSTs I’ve sung.

C: Which other ones do you like? LYN: I’m not telling you~

C: 紅塵客棧 (Worldly Tavern) LYN: Oh, right. I suddenly realized that there’s a line in that song that goes “為你折腰” (I’ll bow to you). I was thinking, why are the words “折腰” (Zhe Yao, also the name of his current drama) so familiar? Then I realized it was in the song. // I’m not in the greatest condition today, my voice is a bit hoarse. Let’s see if I can sing it. - 紅塵客棧 (Worldly Tavern)

C: Ning-ge, I hope ZY is a hit! LYN: What do you mean, that YNGS won’t be a hit? BYOL is lacking? Why are you singling one out- that’s not right. We have to 一碗水端平 (deal with things fairly, without favoring any party). If you’re going to be like that, then I have to sing ⼀念之間. - ⼀念之間 (An Idea) [David Tao] LYN: I forgot how to sing this, a little. But we want to be fair. LYN: Is BYOL lacking? I am male lead in all three of these dramas (ZY, YNGS, BYOL)... - 黑夜一束光 (Praying) LYN: We have to be fair, right? They’re all my own projects, and all roles that I love. I hope that when the dramas air you can support them.

C: bian dan piao shui duan ping le [t/n: ???] LYN: bian dan... piao shui... duan ping le? - 中國話 (Chinese) [S.H.E] LYN: That’s just the instinct of a singer- once you hear a keyword* you’ll associate it with a song. I gave up in the middle. [*Here, the keyword was “扁擔” (bian dan) = bo staff]

C: Lao-da, can you wish me a happy birthday? LYN: Happy Birthday! There are people celebrating birthdays today, huh? It’s your birthday but you’re here watching my stream, so I feel very touched and thank you for being here. Happy Birthday. Don’t spam the comments or I’ll kick you out. If you keep spamming then I’ll make this birthday UN-happy. I’ll kick you out. I saw it, okay? Happy Birthday. LYN: Whenever I see a friend like this I will feel moved. Because they’re spending their birthday here with me... which goes to show that they really don’t have any friends in real life. But they think of me as their precious friend so at this time, at 9:46pm, they have come to keep me company. Thank you.

--

C: Your voice is a little rough. LYN: I told you, I’ve been shouting a lot lately.

LYN: I had a scene yesterday that had me at a loss. You all watch dramas, so you know. For example, an old man says, “I think the Crown Prince is right!” and then every other official in the area says, “Yes, yes. He’s definitely correct. Minister Du, you aren’t wrong.” Everyone else is agreeing, right? And another situation is where someone will say, “Today I must catch the culprit!” and there are a bunch of people in the crowd who reply, “What makes you worthy? Who do you think you are??” // “Yeah! Who does he think he is??” Like that. As soon as someone says something critical there’s the peanut gallery in response. LYN: But this scene- the set up of this scene was that I enter the room and everyone inside is stunned/suppressed by my presence. Everyone was pointing fingers and making a fuss and I enter the room and say, “Stop fighting, have you no dignity!?” [t/n: or sth like that...]. At this moment, the whole room should be stunned into silence. They have to be suppressed by my majesty. So I went in, said my line... and they kept fighting. No one even paid me any attention! I went in and I already said my line, so I went “HEY!” These actors were really into their role. XD I was supposed to show my majesty/might but I went in and everyone ignored me. Wow, I almost lost it. But that’s why I had to keep shouting yesterday. We did that scene so many times. C: Were you not loud enough? LYN: My nickname is “Loud Voice Box”- nothing about me is great save for the loudness of my voice. I’m already very loud! I went in there and practically shouted my line but several people kept their fight going. I couldn’t uphold my title and my dignity was strewn across the floor instead. I was going crazy. They didn’t give me any face. Just a slap in the face. We shot the scene so many times, and I shouted each time. I felt like my voice was about to catch fire. Normally I’d shout, walk into the room, then continue. By the end I shouted, walked into the room, but my voice was already hoarse. // I still haven’t recovered. These teachers were too immersed in their roles, and here I was about to have a mental break.

LYN: There’s another scene that had me breaking. I went to... a place... and the person there says, “He’s here. Girls, attend to him.” A scene like that. I was meeting with a person but the location was special. You all can use your imagination to think of what special place that was. The steward said their line and then four girls were coming for me. I’m acting in a very upright role, okay, so in the moment I said, “Get away.” Very righteous of me. You have to adhere to the role, right? It’s not like the scene can go, “Attend to the Marquis.” and I say, “Come, come~ Let’s drink.” That won’t work. I needed to be cold and indifferent. LYN: I said, using a very low voice- “Get away.” !! These four girls ignored me!!! The came to me and wanted to hold my hands! What should I do?? So I shouted, “Get away!” They still didn’t listen!!! They kept touching me! I was having a breakdown, thinking, “Do you want to die???” “I’m a Marquis, what do you think you’re doing??!” LYN: Sometimes when you have teachers (actors) who don’t listen to you it’s really a headache. It’s not as if I could hit them, right!? I’m a Marquis, so normally if I told them to “get away”, they should have backed off. These four jiejie-s were too real, all they wanted to do was touch. They were trying to pour me drinks and feed me. I- I was having a breakdown. // So that day I also ended up shouting several times. LYN: In the script, it was the four approached me and when I told them to go away, they should have left. The other teacher should have said, “The Marquis doesn’t want you. You’re dismissed.” But I told them to go away and they didn’t care and kept pouring the wine and trying to touch. So I shouted at them to go away- I already had to add that line! but they continued to pander to me. There was no way to keep acting. I didn’t know how to keep it going. When the drama airs I’m sure you’ll see this scene and you’ll know what I’m talking about. C: Ning-ge, I don’t think it’s funny. I think it’s scary. LYN: No, it’s not like they were crossing any lines. They were just touching my shoulders and saying, “Aiyo~ Have a drink~” like that. You’ve seen dramas, right?? Just touching the shoulders. There’s no way they could have done more. I just think the character is suited to having his shoulders touched. It’s like, “Don’t touch my shoulders!!” That sort of feeling.  LYN: They’re not exactly background characters, but special appearances. These types of actors need to have a certain level of performance and acting ability. They’re all great actors. C: Smash the cup and kick the table. LYN: I’m a Marquis and you want me to smash the cup and kick the table. That would make the character too petty. Am I worthy of the Marquis title, in that case? I’d be a scoundrel. A Marquis is supposed to stop people with a word. If they were going around smashing tables all day that would be too petty.  LYN: Acting is all about the cooperation. If the other party doesn’t cooperate then it’s not as if you can carry the scene on your own. The thing is you CAN improvise, but once it strays too far from the script there’s no saving it.

--

C: Daimi looks like she’s sleeping soundly. LYN: She’s sleep-dazed. But do you believe as soon as I say the magic words she’ll stand right up? Those three magic words. She’ll sit up. She;ll go from sleeping to wide awake in a second. Forget it. Let her sleep.

C: The director doesn’t care? LYN: Of course he does, he already told them not to touch me anymore. There’s no way the Director wouldn’t care. I’m just sharing the experience.

LYN: Have A Sausage? DM: zzZZzzzz LYN: !!! LYN: Have A Sausage?? /again, louder/ HAVE A SAUSAGE? DM: ZZzzz LYN: ???!!! LYN: Daimi? Have a sausage? DM: zzzzz LYN: How embarrassing. Have a sausage? LYN: Hey. Sis. How about a sausage, Daimi? DM: zZZzzzzz LYN: Oh my god. The magic spell doesn’t work anymore. It doesn’t work... LYN: Let her sleep, then. LYN: Friends, if I called for my dog in my stream and she didn’t come, does that affect my market value? Does it influence whether I will get drama roles or OSTs? Brand collaborations? It doesn’t affect those, right? Then, it’s okay.

- /still trying to call Daimi/ LYN: “Thankless wretch”? Let’s go play? Go? LYN: Oh. This dog is an overseas breed. Let’s use English. LYN: Wake up. Wake up. Let’s go. LYN: ... LYN Good. LYN: /back to Chinese/ Time to eat. LYNL: /in English/ Get up. Come here. LYN: Oops. That’s all the English I know. I already said all the English I know but she didn’t react. There’s nothing I can do. Let’s continue our chat, friends.

LYN: There’s another way, which is if I eat something she might wake up. Let’s try it. - /chews on a... corn?/ LYN: She’s not in shock, is she? LYN: Oh, well. 

C: Ning-ge, what are you eating? Dog food?? LYN: Moderator, kick this person out of the chat.

C: Is she still breathing? LYN: Don’t scare me. - /turns to look at her and she twitches/ LYN: She looked at me.

--

C: “LYN dyed his hair” is trending on the main tab at #22. LYN: I just dyed my hair. If I had known I would start trending for it I would have styled it too. LYN: Now I look like a... /trails off and doesn’t finish the though/ // The thing is when other artist start trending for dyeing their hair or changing up their hairstyle all the pictures are nice and pretty. If it’s not a full photo-set it’s professional “leaks”. When you see other artists trending for dyeing their hair it’s always those very cool hairstyles and photos. I’m just sitting here wearing a hat. My hair looks like it’s raining outside. It looks like I was caught in the rain. I’m trending for this? It’s two different styles entirely. C: What about a wig? // Go fix it. LYN: It’s too late to style it. There’s no saving my hair today. C: Do you hair right now. LYN: I can’t. It’s too flat. // Forget it. I can’t save it. - /tries to fix it anyway/ LYN: Let’s play a more fashionable song and see if that can save it. - /plays Moon Lover OST -  내 마음 들리나요 (Can You Hear My Heart)/ LYN: 미쳤어? (Are you crazy?) LYN: I need to find a pair of glasses. This isn’t working.

LYN: Is this better? Seems like it also doesn’t work. LYN: I got a call. / It’s nothing. My staff is watching my stream and they were telling me where the hair gel is. They thought I was really going to do my hair. It’s alright, I won’t try. LYN: It doesn’t really help. I won’t try. It’s fine like this. A Bright and Sunshine Happy Boy.  LYN: This is fine. Is it acceptable? My hair’s a little long. Let’s just leave it. C: Wear the glasses from before. LYN: These? C: You’re too cool. LYN: You haven’t seen enough of the world... Anyway! Since I’m trending for dyeing my hair and people are coming in to look. There’s one thing you have to remember- an artist, singer, or actor- what do we do? It’s a service industry. No matter what we do, it’s a service. The customer is king. To an actor, whoever watches your dramas is your customer. The singer’s king are the people who like your songs. To idols the people who like their visuals and like to see them perform on stage and show off their talents, those people are king. Here in my stream we want to make sure that everyone is well-served. You have to remember to have a service mindset and that way you will have returning customers. Since I am trending for having dyed my hair, then I have to show them, even if it looks a little ugly right now.  LYN: How is it, friends? This doesn’t affect my market value, does it? As long as it doesn’t it’s fine.

C: Try the shades. LYN: I did earlier, and it didn’t look very cool. Let me go switch. Wait for me. LYN: I don’t have anything else, but I DO have a lot of glasses. 

LYN: This one seems alright, C: How come your hair fell? LYN: I didn’t put any gel into it. I was just grabbing it. To give it “air bangs”. Once there’s no air (holding it up) it falls. I can’t really style it right now.

C: You look blind. LYN: :| Friends, it’s like this. Online you think you’re a dragon. But in real life I don’t believe you would go up to someone on the street wearing shades and tell them they look blind. Do you dare? If you were walking on the street and saw someone wearing shades would you go up to them and say, “Hey. You look like a blind person.”? They’re going to beat the crap out of you. How dare you be so presumptuous in my stream?? 

LYN: Let me put the hat back on. LYN: It’s good enough. /takes off the jacket/ It’s too hot. LYN: Alright, customers. I have finished serving you. I think after all that I have lived up to the trending topic. I’ve done my best. LYN: Let me see what time it is. It’s already 10p. I’ll stop before it hits 11p. I still have a bunch of scenes to do tomorrow. How long have I been streaming for? Let me see.... three hours. I’ve been streaming for three hours?? So quickly? In my mind I’ve only been streaming for around two. It’s been three. LYN: Well, alright. I’ll chat with you a while longer before I leave. I have a lot of scenes to do tomorrow; there are just a lot of lines. I have to remember my lines. I’m getting older in age, so I am slow at remembering them.

--

- /gets Daimi back on the sofa/ C: If Daimi could speak I’m sure it’d be with a Dandong accent. LYN: I know I speak with an accent. But normally and when I’m speaking with other people and staff, even though there’s an accent, I mainly use Standard Mandarin. It’s only when I stream that my accent is this heavy. I don’t speak like this normally. I purposely use my dialect when I stream. LYN: Am I speaking with my dialect now? It’s still standard. But I want my stream to carry a bit of humor and my own personality, so I purposely use my hometown dialect. Right fam’? I speak like this on purpose. LYN: What I’m speaking now is a tone I’ve designed specifically for streaming.

LYN: Friends, I really want to ask- is there any trope or situation in dramas that, after you watch them, really makes you want to make fun of it? Or, not necessarily “make fun of”, but is there any trope that you find particularly fun(ny)? LYN: Sometimes when I’m watching dramas or when I’m shooting them, I’ll see some funny things. I’ll record them all down and when I have enough I’ll tell you all about them.

C: When they fall down and end up kissing. LYN: Ah- whether it’s the FL or ML falling and the ML or FL catches the other- whenever they touch each other and there is a situation where they fall to the ground, they end up on the floor kissing? They need to get a “bite”, right? It’s required. When they fall, they kiss. You’re right, there is such a trope. Now I’m trying to think if I ever filmed such a scene?? I haven’t. 

C: When they haven’t done anything but start fighting right away. LYN: Who are you referring to?? Huh? Are you an anti? Who are you referring to? What do you mean “haven’t done anything but start with a fight”? You don’t need to refer to me. I’m trying to chat with you and learn something from you, to see how you feel when watching dramas normally. But you’re trying to provoke me??? ZY starts off with a feud, what of it??! Is that not okay? It’s okay- you can start a drama that way!

C: When they start running but are hit with a car and are sent flying. LYN: In a lot of dramas when someone starts running, they’re easily hit by a car? I think a lot of dramas are filmed this way because there’s a moral meaning behind it. It’s to teach you not to run wildly. Don’t run in the street; it’s dangerous. Through this video format, it’s to teach you that you must obey the rules of traffic. When you run into the street without a car for red or green lights, you’re going to get hit by a car and sent flying. You’re sent flying but most of the time you don’t die. In the worst case you end up with amnesia. That’s good enough- they already left you with your life. Other than making you aware that you should obey traffic rules, they left you with your life and a warning that you could have gotten amnesia. Don’t run wildly.

C: When it’s always raining in break-up scenes. LYN: LOL. They say it always rains when you break-up with someone. I think... hold on, let me think if I’ve ever done that. I haven’t. Because up until now I haven’t shot any break-up scenes. This friend isn’t referring to me, but a different drama. LYN: This is normal. The reason is because when it’s raining the atmosphere will be a lot stronger. As a viewer watching the drama, rain makes most people feel down. When you’re rained on it gives off a sense of vulnerability. It’s all to make up the mood, so I think this trope is valid. It’s not as if you can break-up at noon in broad daylight. You break up when the sun’s so bright you can’t open your eyes and you don’t have a sunshade? There’s no feeling in that. Think about it. It’s noon and the sun is shining in the cloudless sky. If you tilt your head up you can’t even open your eyes- and you break up. There’s no feeling. Don’t you think so? There’s just no helping it. The drama needs to stir up the mood somehow.

C: Washing up without taking the clothes off. LYN: ... Who are you referring to?? There’s no need, okay? Don’t cue me. If you don’t want to see it then get out.

C: When the FL washes up and hasn’t gotten her clothes on all the way but bumps into the ML. LYN: Or, like most dramas like to do, when the ML has finished washing and comes out in just a towel. As soon as he steps out from the bathroom he’s sure to bump into a girl. There IS such a rule, isn’t there? As long as the guy comes out in just a towel, there’ll be a girl there to see his whole top half. This seems to be a trope, doesn’t it. Let me think of if I’ve done it... Uh. I think I have.

LYN: There’s no need to cue me! Hao Du did that. The princess had just finished with her bath and I came to deliver a letter in a rush. I entered the room and there was a few moments of awkwardness. (E27) It was just a small part, there’s no helping it. Stop picking on me. If you don’t like to see it then get out. XD

C: When you’re punished into kneeling and it rains. LYN: This is okay. It’s also to create the mood. The weather is always changing, right? I think rain is reasonable. You never know when it’s going to rain.

C: When you save someone in midair and they twirl in circles. LYN: For example if the FL falls from a tree or off of the top of a wall and someone catches them- they have to turn in circles. It’s like this, friends. Even though I also find it a little strange when watching those scenes, as someone IN this industry I just want to say- What else did you expect? If they don’t shoot the scene in such a way, then what’s the meaning of the moment? [t/n: I always thought that they turned in circles because it helps to lessen the downward momentum...] LYN: Let’s say the FL drops down and the ML doesn’t catch her. She falls to her death. What a surprise, right? There’s no way anyone’s going to shoot a drama like that. So if she falls, someone is going to have to catch her. Let me say an example- say this water bottle is the girl, and my hand is the guy. If she falls- 1, 2, 3. /catch easily and puts her down/ “Are you okay? If you’re fine, then let’s go.” ... Do you think that’s okay?? If she was falling, the male lead catches her and sets her on the ground, and they just walk away?? Do you think that’s better than twirling around and around? C: That’s what a normal person would do. LYN: You’re right. But since this is a guzhuang drama, it needs that sort of variation. Of course they’re going to use some stereotypical things, but that’s normal. Let me think if I’ve shot such a scene before... (He has.) Who are you referring to??? Don’t pick on me. If you don’t like to see it, get out.

C: Princess-carry out of nowhere. LYN: Who are you referring to?? Hmph. Get out! What do you mean “princess-carry out of nowhere”??? There is no 119 in guzhuang dramas! Let’s say a girl fainted in front of me. I go, “Hey! Grab a stretcher!!”??? Me and my good buddy carry her back? That’s no good. What we want here is to show off that the guy has strength. You’re picking on me again!

C: Bad guys always talk too much. LYN: What do you expect? There’s no helping it. They have to talk a lot. A lot of the times the situation is like this- the blade is already at the neck and then! They start to have a conversation with you. XD They could kill you in the next second but they won’t- they’ll chat instead. If the blade is like this /picks up the corn cob/ then the villain should say, “Hahaha. Do you know WHY I want to kill you?” The ML, even if he doesn’t say anything, in his mind he’s saying, “I don’t want to know, I just want to die.” -Villain: Do you know why I want to kill you? Today, I’ll let you know. In the past, blablabla. So today! I must kill you.- Now we know the story of WHY the villain wants to kill the ML. Next up is deflecting. -Villain: But you can’t blame me for doing this. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself!”- Blablabla they say another spiel, then the third cycle. -Villain: I’ve said what I need to. Now die!- And at that moment! Of course, someone is going to come save him. As soon as he’s done with his monologue, someone will come to the rescue. LYN: Friends, I think for this you should be more understanding. If I were a villain- no, let’s say I’m the good guy, and the other person is the villain. If the blade goes here (to the neck) and I die. The villain doesn’t say a word. The main character doesn’t say anything. That’s the end of the drama. X What’s there to watch???

LYN: I couple days ago I reasoned out another rule of dramas. If there are a lot of people around and the male lead starts doing this- /laughing maniacally/. They laugh. There will always be someone next to them to ask, “What are you laughing at?” Even if they don’t really want to know! Normally, let’s say you’re walking down the street. Someone next to you suddenly starts laughing- you’re probably going to say, “Is this person crazy? What are they laughing at? WTF.” But! In dramas once the main character starts laughing there will always be someone there to ask them why. “I’m laughing at you... for not knowing you own limits!”  LYN: What else can we expect? Usually, if someone told you they were laughing at you for not knowing your own limits, the reply would be, “?! How dare you laugh at us?! Brothers, let’s kill him!” and then the main lead kills everyone. Go observe some dramas- as soon as the ML starts laughing, someone is going to ask them why.

C: The bad guys are always very strong. LYN: I saw something yesterday related to this... why are bad guys always strong? Most of the time the male lead- in guzhuang dramas- are carefree and unknowing. They only want to enter into the martial arts world. They don’t want fame or fortune, and only want to live happily and freely. They live coolly- if they decide they want to work one day, they can. If they want to drop everything and wander the martial arts world the next day, they will. The main characters are usually all like this. On the other hand, the bad guys are driven. There’s something they want to do and will strive to do it no matter the cost. There’s something they’re working towards. The other side is that if the villain is not strong enough, then it’s not enough to show how strong the main character actually is. If the villain is strong, then the main character is stronger. LYN: Don’t single me out. If you don’t like to watch, get out. XD

C: The second male lead never gets the love he wants. LYN: Stop singling me out. If you don’t like to watch, get out. I replied. You can stop singling me out.

C: When you’re talking shit about someone and they overhear you talking about them. LYN: That’s just nonsense, isn’t it. It’s already RECORDED, so first of all the viewers have definitely heard it. The viewers represent a perspective. If there’s something the show doesn’t want you to know they wouldn’t have recorded it for us to see/hear.

C: Herbal medication is always fed one mouthful at a time. LYN: You mean if someone is sick and they’re fed the medicine spoon by spoon? Stop picking on me. Let me tell you- what’s wrong with that?! They’re already sick- you want to open their mouths and just pour the medicine down? What if they choke to death?? They’re already weak and need spiritual pills and mysterious medicine to save them. You want to take a bowl of piping hot water and just have them guzzle it down??? If there was nothing wrong with them before, they would have been burned to death after your care. We need to feed them one spoon at a time- blow the medicine cool before you feed it to them! This is medicine we’re talking about. It’s not like beer- you expect them to one-shot it? What the heck... You’re wrong on this one. you can’t be like this. One spoonful at a time is normal. C: They’ll die from the bitterness. LYN: Well... you CAN gulp it down. But usually in dramas if you’re at this point you don’t have the energy to do that, right?

C: If you fall off a cliff, if you’re not landing in water you’ll be hanging off a tree. LYN: In this case it’s mostly a main character situation. If it’s the lead role and there are 40 episodes in the drama and they fall from the cliff in E2... and they die.... we’ll be watching a group of supporting actors for the rest of the drama?? Let’s say the ML dies in E2, the FL dies in E3, the 2ML dies in E4, and the 2FL dies in E5. What do we do- find a group of background characters to follow? Wouldn’t that be very strange? C: Get the 2ML. LYN: No, he died in E4. X’D LYN: If everyone dies at the start, who would you be watching the drama for??

C: When the ML takes off his clothes and shows his abs. LYN: /thinking/ Oh, this has nothing to do with me. Um... I guess the prerequisite is that this person has to have abs in the first place. The actor himself has to have abs. If he doesn’t then they probably won’t give him a close-up in this scene. But if he does have it, then why not show off his charms, right? I think this is normal. If he takes off his clothes and you don’t focus on the abs, where do you WANT them to focus? 👀 You have to pick a place! If you don’t choose the abs, where would you focus? Tell me. LYN: He takes off his clothes and you focus on, what? The armpit? Underarm? A fingernail? That doesn’t work. You have to go with the abs. Thats very normal. There’s nothing more to say here. LYN: He takes off his clothes and you want the camera to do a close-up on his bellybutton?? That would be weird. C: The lips. LYN: You can see that when he’s wearing clothes, too. What’s the point of taking the clothes off, then?

C: Flower petals in the bath water. LYN: That’s up to personal preference, isn’t it? Also the drama has to shoot something... aesthetically pleasing yet acceptably broadcast-able. The petals can cover some things, and you can use your imagination to think of what’s under the water. If you’re just sitting in a bath of clear water and the camera is shooting downwards into it.. that’s strange, isn’t it? Even if it weren’t exactly clear, but you still can’t see what’s under the water. If the water were green, for example. That’s weird, isn’t it? As if the lead is so smelly the water has turned green. XD But also if the water is clear and you don’t take off any clothes to bathe... that’s also strange. So they just use petals to block the view. That’s normal. If you can’t even accept that then just stop watching dramas. 

C: Keep spitting blood but they don’t die. LYN: I guess it depends on the wound. If their head was cut off they’d have to die. Or are you watching Journey to the West? Still, not feasible. 

C: When, before going to fight in a war, the male character says, “Wait for me to come back. I will definitely marry you, then.” and they don’t. LYN: This is true. A lot of foreign movies are like this as well. If there’s a person out on a mission and they take out a picture of their wife and kid, or maybe their girlfriend, their probability of dying increases to 90%. As long as they turn to their buddy and ask them, “This is my wife/girlfriend. What do you think? Isn’t she pretty?” 90% chance they’re not going to make it. Also! Right before they’re gone they’ll give the photo or a letter to their buddy and say, “Bring this back for me and return it to her. Tell her not to wait for me.” 90%. A lot of movies do this.

C: I wanted to listen to your song so I watched TtEotM and starting falling for Luo Yunxi. LYN: You have good taste. I hope that people can continue to support every drama that I sing an OST for. May 1st- The Ingenious One will start airing. You can watch that, too. You’ll start falling for Chen Xiao. Of course, Mao Xiaotong-laoshi is also very great. Go watch it.

C: Martial brothers end up feuding. LYN: This doesn’t count. Because this goes according to the situation, but we’re thinking of something more common.

C: Washing up but not washing the hair in guzhuang dramas. LYN: ... This you should be more understanding. As an actor myself I don’t think we should complain about it. If you really want to push the issue then there’s no way to continue filming. If you’re so strict to the point where you can’t accept that this ancient person doesn’t wash their hair, then I think it’s too strange. It’s possible that people in the old times didn’t LIKE to wash their hair. Can’t I just not want to wash my hair? LYN: Most of the times it’s a wig! Once it hits the water, the wig’s going to fly off. It’s just held on by glue. Once your head is in the water it’s going to remove the glue and then the hair’s coming off. That won’t work, so there’s nothing we can do about this. 

LYN: Oh, Director, you came again? Checking things out? Welcome~

C: Someone always saves you when you’re trying to jump off a building. LYN: Which drama? ... ?_? Does that even need explaining?? This doesn’t work- of course there’s going to be someone to save them.  [t/n: Ah... what about... Bai Choufei. ;_; ]

C: Why do they need to kiss underwater? LYN: When someone falls into the water, someone else jumps in to save them and they have to give the other mouth-to-mouth to transfer air. I think this is suited to the situation. I mean.. the first person in doesn’t have air anymore, so the other person becomes their oxygen tank. Just give them a breath. That counts as underwater CPR. You can’t think so evilly. They’re under the water, so in order to stay alive they’re using a method of CPR. It’s not that they’re just down there to kiss! What a happy situation, that would be! But the purpose of this scene isn’t just to that they can have an underwater kiss. The main point is to save the other person, just that the action requires some mouth-to-mouth. This is normal. I don’t think we need to ridicule this. You just don’t like seeing it. Let’s do this, friend. If you see this scene happening in a drama, just think of it from a medical perspective and you won’t find it as strange. Don’t think about the feelings between the leads, but the medical aspect.

C: Ning-ge, when you kiss, are you REALLY kissing? LYN: Sometimes- Are you- How old are you this year? I think if you’re asking this question you aren’t older than 18. The other problem is, if you’re older than 18... I think you can tell the difference.  LYN: If it’s not real kissing then what is it..? An actor and... a piece of pork? Or there’s a space between the actors and later they get PS’d together so it looks like they’re kissing? I don’t get it. I’m not sure what is a “real kiss” and a “fake kiss”. C: Kissing but not touching. LYN: How do you do that?? LYN: There are of close scenes where they’re not REALLY kissing, but those are for wide or middle shots. If it’s a close-up then there’s no other way. I have also heard of course, about kissing doubles and I’ve also heard of who has used them. But it’s not important. This type of thing is... whatever. C: Have you? LYN: I have not. I’m not worthy.

C: I’m drowning, what now Lao-da? LYN: You’re drowning but you’re still typing? I can’t help you.

C: It’s 11p. LYN: I have a clock! :( I have a clock, I have my phone. My computer has the time right there! I know what time it is, you don’t need to remind me!! Are you an alarm or what? I’m aware, don’t push me.

C: Brothers end up liking the same person. LYN: This is normal, you see it all the time in real life too. You and a girl in your dorm end up liking the same boy- that’s normal isn’t it? There’s nothing to pick at, here. 

C: Never finishing a sentence before they die. LYN: Oh, for example if a villain has fatally wounded someone and at the last moment the good guy comes and holds them, says, “Quickly! Tell me who did this to you!” And the person on the verge of death says, “The murderer... the murderer is...” and then dies. It’s always like that, right? Well, what else did you expect?? Someone dies in the first episode, but before they died the good guy came and asked them, “Who is the murderer?” and they reply “The murderer is XYZ.” ... What’s the point in shooting the drama? How do we shoot the rest of the drama? I mean, we CAN but... /laughs/

C: The ML always has a 白月光. (refers to a person or thing that is elusive in the heart, has always been loved, but cannot be touched.) LYN: This, I... /thinking/ Who are you referring to??? If you don’t like to see it, get out. Stop picking on me. XD There’s always a childhood friend or a former lover, something like that. This is normal. A normal part of a drama story.

C: The FL gets lost and the ML goes crazy looking for her. LYN: Who are you referring to?? (Hao Du) This is extremely normal, isn’t it? If your partner went missing I’m sure you’d be going crazy looking for them, too. Let’s say for example- a lot of you are women- say you’re hiking with your husband and you suddenly find that he’s no longer with you. You wouldn’t look for him? You’d happily go home? “So great!” You’d be going crazy looking for him, too! You’d make a police report and find people to help you keep looking. This is totally normal! It happens all the time, what is there to pick on, about this?

C: When there are misunderstandings but they don’t stop to explain. LYN: This is very normal. Some people just don’t like to play the pity card. I think it’s understandable, but I also know that this theme comes up often. From a logical standpoint, this is normal. Some people would rather suffer in silence than speak up. They don’t have a personality that allows them to express themselves, so they don’t want to speak up. This is an ordinary thing. It’s in line with the story, so I think this is okay. LYN: I just don’t want to say anything. I’m an adult man- I shouldn’t make a big deal out of it. I can just bear it and when it reaches a point that I can’t anymore, I’ll just run away. XD LYN: There are people in the world like this, so there’s nothing to say here.

C: When they meet a fortune-teller and whatever they say ends up being the next plot. LYN: This is normal, otherwise what’s the point of their appearance? Say the male lead is on the road and meets a fortune-teller, who says, “Kid- I see that you “this and that”. In the future you should be careful. “blablabla”.”  And then the fortune-teller tells them a bunch of stuff that has nothing at all to do with the future plot- what’s the point of their appearance, then? What was the point of the director shooting such a scene? In this case they wouldn’t need to appear in the drama at all.

C: When the ML and FL are together and one of them falls asleep, there’s a high probability that the one left awake will try to kiss the sleeping one. LYN: /laughs but then sobers (because Hao Du)/ Ehm... This... Is normal! There’s nothing to say! It’s normal. This friend- you must not have dated before. I think this is normal... If the ML and FL are together and one of them falls asleep and the other one really likes them, I’m sure that they’ll want to try to kiss or are discovered trying to kiss. Either is possible. Stop picking on me! If you don’t like to watch it, then get out.

C: If the FL drops something it will definitely be picked up by the ML. LYN: Not necessarily. This one’s alright. It depends on the script. Sometimes if a ML drops something it will get picked up by the FL. Or maybe a beggar... or some random person. It’s not definite. Most of the time it’s a handkerchief, or a scarf, or face veil that blows away. It will definitely end up near/around the male lead. Either they catch it, or it ends up in the ML’s face, or around their neck, or tangled in their hands. - [t/n: that’s -1, Ning-ge. You tagged yourself.]

C: When the FL throws up it has to be because she’s pregnant. LYN: Not necessarily! ... Well then, tell me. What method(s) should a drama use to convey to the viewers the information that the FL might be pregnant? Other than having her throw up, what other way is there to let the viewers know? Is there something else we can do? This is the only way. If the leads are talking and the FL suddenly /starts gagging/, the ML is going to ask, “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?” - FL: I don’t know. Lately I haven’t been able to keep anything down. I always feel nauseous. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. It’s alright. Maybe it’s because the weather has been hot and I’m tired. - ML: Let’s call a doctor right away! - FL: I don’t need one. - ML: No, no! You could have heatstroke. Let’s have a doctor see you, just in case. LYN: A doctor comes and sees her. - ML: How is it, Doctor? - D: Congratulations, My Lord. Your wife is expecting! ~ LYN: It’s always like this. There’s nothing else we can do. If we shot a drama like this- /the FL starts gagging and the ML asks her what’s wrong/ - FL: /directly/ I’m going to throw up. ~ LYN: It’s not like it can’t be done this way. It’s a different method of expression, for sure. Or- /the FL starts gagging and the ML asks her what’s wrong/ - FL: I don’t know. Lately I haven’t been able to keep anything down. I always feel nauseous. The weather’s taken a turn and it’s started heating up. Maybe I have heat exhaustion. - ML: Let me call you a doctor. - FL: No, I don’t need one. - ML: No! If it’s a small thing we can take care of it but if it’s serious we can't risk it. I’ll call a doctor for you. LYN: The doctor comes. - ML: How is it, Doctor? How is my wife? - D: Your wife... has eaten something off and has diarrhea. She has food poisoning. Have her eat something light in the next few days. ~ LYN: Then what’s the purpose of shooting the previous scene??? Or it could go like this /repeats the whole spiel one more time, but-/\ - D: Your wife has heatstroke. LYN: Shooting a scene like that would have absolutely no meaning/purpose! We can only make do. ~ C: 2x speed. XD LYN: /repeats it all again, faster. But-/ - D: Oh, your wife. She’s crazy. LYN: There’s no need to film that! LYN: /repeats it again, with a different result/ - D: Your wife... is pretending to be ill. LYN: That also has no meaning. The only thing this (throwing up) can represent is that she’s pregnant, and congratulations. It’s just the process. ~ - D: You wife has heatstroke. - ML: What can we do?? - D: Have her drink some huo xiang zheng qi water. LYN: It’s possible! Maybe the drama has some collaboration with HXZQ and this is a subtle promotion. Some people do film that way. “After your wife drinks this HXZQ water, I guarantee that her symptoms of heatstroke will turn for the better.” It’s a way, so this is normal. We don’t need to pick on this. -- C: People didn’t get heatstroke in the old days. LYN: ?_? What do you mean??? They did. Of course they did! Ever since there were humans on this Earth I’m sure that heatstroke has been a thing. It has nothing to do with old or modern times. When the weather is hot, you get heatstroke. This is a common thing that happens! 

C: FL coughs and ends up spitting blood. LYN: This doesn’t only happen to the FL, the ML does it too. This is normal. If you’re hurt to a certain extent you’re going to cough blood. Sometimes this is a method that dramas have to use to reveal the extend of their condition. It’s not like nowadays, when we can go get checked out at a hospital. We can get an x-ray and the results tell us we have a broken bone. There’s no way to tell you so straightforwardly in a guzhuang drama, so the only way to show that someone has been severely wounded is to have them cough blood. Pale lips, pale face, spitting blood. They can only use this imagery to tell you that someone is badly hurt. We can’t get an x-ray and look at lab results. LYN: There’s no helping it. Coughing and spitting blood is a way to show that the person is very ill. If they were ONLY coughing, maybe you’d think that they ate something spicy. If someone is wounded and they were just dry coughing, you’d find it annoying. If they cough and all this blood spills out it’s a direct way of telling you they’re badly wounded. Just using imagery to convey to the audience the situation. There’s nothing to pick on, here.

C: There’s a misunderstanding between two people but they never sort it out. They almost talk to each other but end up not. LYN: This is normal, because things like this happen in real life, too. There are people who don’t like to express themselves, or sometimes one person wants to explain but the other doesn’t want to listen. Why do you think young people nowadays like to fight each other? I’m sure a bunch of you young people are dating right now- when you fight, what do you fight about? There are always going to be disputes and there’s a reason behind them, but you’re still going to fight about it. This is normal. It’s possible that one person has an explosive attitude and doesn’t want to hear it. No matter how reasonable the answer is, they still don’t want to listen. This is very normal, so there’s nothing to say. 

C: Does medicine have to be fed by mouth? LYN: You mean, for example, the person is sick and they can’t open his mouth. They won’t drink, so the guy/girl holds a mouthful and blows it into their mouth? /thinking/ It’s possible that- /laughs/. These things do happen.. passing the medicine through their mouth... this is also normal. It’s not like they can stick a tube down your throat, in the old times. What else can you do- there’s no other way. C: No straws? LYN: There were. But the reason that they can’t drink is because the teeth are closed and they can’t get it in. Or maybe they can’t swallow. So the only thing is to get the medicine into the mouth and then blow it down. I think this is acceptably normal. LYN: I already told you, if you don’t like seeing these things then just think of it from a medical perspective and that might make it more acceptable.

LYN: Alright. It’s about time, friends.Thank you for your company and support. If you haven’t subscribed to my weibo yet, please do so. I am Modern Brothers Liu Yuning. Thanks for your company. I hope you had a relaxing and wonderful night. It was great to have you, and I hope you had fun. Let’s meet again in the next stream. Goodnight, everyone!

[zucchan]

Oreo’s videos

I was saving all the double leo videos that I've liked, but in the end I've decided to create this post so that I can spread the most unusual and strange ship I adore on t too: Wu Lei and Luo Yunxi! I have no idea how people started to ship them,  but there are so many videos about them on bilibili and I’ve ended up enjoying watching their videos too 😂

LET'S START WITH THE MASTERPIECE:

A 40 Minutes long video about 2ha, even if you don't understand chinese I would recommend it to you if you like the novel. (Even though I was sure I watched it with eng sub but it seems I can't find it anywhere, it was a dream? Am I finally losing my mind over 2ha?🙈)

【【全剧情配音向电影|双LEO】二哈和他的白猫师尊 |吴磊x罗云熙|鹿晗/肖战/朱一龙/白敬亭/刘昊然/胡歌|-哔哩哔哩】

https://b23.tv/hzaspL

This is a trailer for the novel Qiang Jin Jiu by Tang Jiuqing. This video is sooooo goood!! I love this videomaker so much, she/he is so talented!:

【“你坐明堂上，不要沾风雪”【唐酒卿原著将进酒｜箫策安&沈兰舟｜吴磊&罗云熙｜迪丽热巴&李沁｜solu｜奥利奥｜双leo｜沁热】-哔哩哔哩】

https://b23.tv/iFT6vE

I also watched a lot of videos where they fancasted Wu Lei and Luo Yunxi as the svsss main leads. I think they would be perfect too! (but I'm obviously super iper mega happy that lyx decided to accept chu wanning's role):

【【剧情向】【群像】人渣反派自救系统 吴磊/罗云熙【已更新同人番外篇】【同人番外篇：av36146661】-哔哩哔哩】

https://b23.tv/ykHOKZ

Chinese fans obviously had to create a video with the most famous ship at the moment ! Double Leo and wenzhou are both so cute☺️:

【【温周/双leo】上错花轿嫁对郎 |龚俊X张哲瀚 吴磊X罗云熙-哔哩哔哩】

https://b23.tv/i9uFwu

And since I felt I was sort of cheating on Chen Feiyu I also searched the tag Wu Lei /Luo Yunxi/ Chen Feiyu because three is better than two and I've found these gems (it's kind of NC17 and I think you can also find the eng subs on YouTube but this is the original versions):

 【【陈飞宇x罗云熙x吴磊】天降竹马互杀的故事·评论置顶见-哔哩哔哩】

https://b23.tv/SXhdp1

【【陈飞宇x罗云熙x吴磊】天降竹马互杀的故事Ⅱ-哔哩哔哩】

https://b23.tv/hifEWu

【【陈飞宇x罗云熙x吴磊】天降竹马互杀的故事Ⅲ-哔哩哔哩】

https://b23.tv/LUHppF

tips: usually the first comment is the one that explains the plot of the video, so even if you don't understand chinese you can translate that comment and understand the story better

[meraki-yao]

RWRB: The Awardist Podcast Interview Thoughts

Alright after listening to the podcast giddily while aggressively stomping on the cross-ramp machine to work out my extreme happiness and excitement to the point that I burnt through twice as many calories than usual and soaked through my shirt, I'm here with thoughts

Pippin @pippin-katz, who sent me a voice message at 3 am my time to tell me to brace myself and be prepared for what's happening and what I'm going to wake up it, did their own version of a summary+thoughts with timestamps here, go check that one out

So my list of thoughts is gonna be a little more all over the place

Immediately burst out laughing with the "mouthful" joke, even more so when the boys both caught it lmao

"I am not happy to see Taylor's face" and "I have a Post-it I'll stick it over your face now" that is peak bestie behaviour

Nick honey I love you but I... do not believe you don't look through online stuff lmao we literally caught you likely fan content and edits you posted two Henry edits and referenced another one

I love how unintentionally in sync they are??? For the first question they started talking at the same time, and for the second they both started nodding and stayed silent forgetting this was an audio interview

"mate, mate, mate, MATE" and the last one being said in sync oh my god this is so much fun

The whole comment on the signing wars: what Pippin said, we were literally calling Taylor "that little fucker" yesterday when he started taunting us with more BTS (EVERYONE KEEP VOTING PLEASE)

"What possessed you? What have you got against me?", the same energy as "Why do you dislike me?"

Taylor's explanation of signing on Nick's face and how it started made me laugh and scoff a little because I translated that fucking moment: the first time it happened, Taylor was in China, it was the firstprince PR photo not the GQ magazine, he was on a boat, and he was the one to ask for the photos to sign lmao

Again, need to see them sign stuff in the same time and space: FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!!! :D

"Take it Nick" Nick's little snicker in response

A little heavy and personal but I wish I could talk to them and tell them how much the book, the movie, the characters and the boys mean to me and how it kept me somewhat afloat last October when I was drowning every single day, and how this story made me want to change myself and break out of my status quo

I know I've been saying Taylor knows Casey's pronouns and he gets them wrong when he's nervous, and I stand by that, but God the sigh of relief I let out when he used they/them

"Right Nick?" is so oddly comforting?

Oh my fucking God the "Top to Bottom" joke was a low-hanging fruit but it made me laugh

Also even the order was right! "Top to Bottom", "Taylor and I" (jkjk lmao) 😜

I really fucking hope that the "that's what I'm known for now, doing intimacy work on screen" is an offhand joke and that people don't genuinely label Nick as that

"Why don't you speak for this, Taylor" again, unexplainably comforting

"Seeing my mate at all these awards shows" made me remember a Chinese phrase "頂峰相見·", literally "meeting again at the peak", meaning "I'll see you when we're both at our best"

Nick's burst of laughter at the "who's a better kisser" comment

Taylor I swear to God 🤣 he combined the "is nick a good kisser" and the "who has your heart joey or Nick" questions together and said "I don't know, I don't know how to answer that question, I have no idea" DUDE YOU LITERALLY ANSWERED THE GOOD KISSER QUESTION WITH "YOU KNOW WHAT HE IS A GOOD KISSER WE HAD TO PRACTICE A LOT PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT" WITH ZERO HESITATION (that answer, on that day, was first thing in the morning for me, and I lost my sanity for the next two hours)

I'm so fucking happy and Matthew comes from a theatre too, speaking as a theatre person and someone who has been dissecting this film since its release

I really think there's gotta be more improvised scenes? Or at the very least stuff like the morning after V&A that was a last-minute decision to add in and wasn't in the script, or maybe scenes where there wasn't specific lines written and they just reacted and spoke based on the scenario? Or even little moments, the shoulder kiss or something?

"Tay" OH MY HEART

Ok I can make an argument on both how Nick is like and not like Henry, but Taylor is so ACD that he basically fell out of the book? How does he not see that? (personally think Taylor's very similar to Alex with a bit of Marco?)

Oh my god the whole segment of the DNC/getting caught scene and Taylor's ass

"I will take this one" "yeah"

"I love working with her, we both love working with her" That's sweet- hang on Nick you just have this one scene with her

I have so many more questions about this scene: Was Nick actually in the closet for that one shot? How many takes did it take?

Taylor referencing a detail in Bottoms from like a 30-second scene in the movie!!! Yes!!! We love seeing friends being supportive of each other (suddenly want to hear Taylor's opinions on M&G lmfao)

"And I'm not even going to get into M&G"

The text question is kind of the only question that made me think "Why would you ask that?" because that was definitely more of a directing/editing thing

Nick really freaking loves the cake scene, he mentioned that as his favourite scene three times at this point, all times on audio, twice on video

Aw Taylor's story about Jack... 🥺

But somehow everyone knowing it lmao, and Taylor's fucking awful British accent

And at this point Nick starts swearing lmao

Awww Nick's compliment to Taylor

Tangent: what the fuck is a fuel museum?

Oh I just love hearing them finishing each other's sentences when one of them forgets the word

Lmao imagine just recovering from Covid and then needing to make out for two hours

"Next to a witchcraft shop" What the fuck lmao

Tangent again but I could write a sociology essay on what Taylor said about architecture and history

I swear to God, Nick's "go on Taylor" somehow being softer, you can fucking hear that that little shit is smirking

Taylor saying that he wants a second book from Casey and me immediately going "BOTH OF YOU QUIT YOUR FUCKING JOBS" (I have complicated feelings about the bonus chapter)

"What-if world" exactly!

Taylor pulling out the stats about the queer population: did he fucking calculate that on the spot or he just casually have that information in his head?

the little wrap-up by the hosts was so sweet but somehow talking about Taylor's ass again oh my god (his body hair being digitally edited, it was minx right?)

"it's so sweet and nice and we need more of this in our lives right now" YES WE DO, WE FUCKING DO

"he's gonna be second-guessing his booty" is not a sentence I thought I'd ever hear but here we are

Culture shock moment: the number to call the podcast/American phone numbers is 3-3-4 which caught me off guard for a second cuz here it's 4-4

And that's it for now! God, I need so much more of this, like, if this is what we get out of a half-an-hour podcast interview what would press and promo be like?

Now that we're back for awards I really freaking hope these new RWRB content will be coming back, maybe like once a week or something

WE'RE BACK WE'RE FUCKING BACK WE'RE FUCKING WINNING

EVERYONE GO VOTE GO VOTE GO VOTE

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

hi raven !! do u have any moots who are people u looked up to before u became moots with them? just curious :-)

Hmmmm... 🤔 A good question!

When I first started out writing, my two inspirations were twstpasta (Mac) and panacea-wishes (Lily). Mac had a very clean and simple interface and a whimsical way of writing, whereas Lily edited together her own banners and focused more on pretty descriptions... I wanted my writing blog to have its own unique flavor like Mac's and Lily's did!

You'll notice that I wrote the last paragraph in past tense, and that's because both of those writers have since terminated their respective blogs and moved elsewhere💦 but to this day, I still really love them and the work that they do! If you’re interested in continuing to follow them too, you can find Mac at @mcdonaldsnumberone and Lily at @fairlyabookie. However, please note that they no longer take writing requests; they only write what and when they wish to.

Another predominantly text-based blog I enjoyed (and still enjoy!) reading is @pianostarinwonderland. It's mainly a dumping ground for TWST thoughts and theories, which I do also sometimes share on my own blog. It's a place I go to when I need to get my brain juices flowing, and sometimes the things they point out make me develop more of an appreciation for the details of TWST! (I also used to be an Azul stan, so I'd run to a fellow Azul stan to feel validated in my screaming, ahah~)

Back around the start of my TWST journey, I mainly relied on @kibadreams and jmee for story translations and rough summaries, respectively. Kibadreams does their best to retain the original “voice” of every character when they translate, and they’re very open about the potential translating mistakes they may have made and they’re striving to improve! Jmee really goes in on the details and the deeper meaning behind character relationships and TWST lore. I really appreciate the work that they have done for the community!

Special shoutout to @mysteryshoptls, whom I first got to know as a friend before they initially set up their translation blog. They’re a great source for vignettes and character lines; their translations really retain the spirit of the original characters in Japanese.

There are also a lot of artists in the TWST fandom that I admire! Seeing their posts always puts a smile on my face, and it inspires me to work hard at my own things too. I especially like seeing their own OCs and takes on certain scenes and characters from the game. It gives me confidence to share my own original works~

@4nimenut (They use very delicate brushstrokes that remind me of watercolors or traditional Chinese paintings! The lighting in their pieces is also very atmospheric~)

@airin-queenz (A very bright and cheery art style! The colors and the shading really pop out.)

@beth-lau (I love how they draw expressions! The arrangement and details... they really bring out the emotions that every character is feeling.)

@k0ushii (Their sketchy art style and color choice is very soft and easy on the eyes! They've also done gijinkas for Cookie Run and FNAF characters, which I absolutely adore the designs for!)

@lolitsleia (I love how dumb their OC Alex and Ace are together! lolitsleia really does a bit of everything, from nice fully rendered pieces to funny little sketches and comics of the characters interacting with each other!)

@myuunji (Their Yuu is really adorable and clumsy! It's lots of fun keeping up their shenanigans in the little doodles and comics they make.)

@pearlwhitecats (Their love for Silver is really pure! I can feel it come off in every Nahime x Silver work they make. I'm also a fan of their cutiepie OC Neviah~)

@renniecirque (Ren has a really unique art style! It almost looks like traditional art instead of digital because of how soft the colors and the line art is. It gives me cottagecore vibes! Very soothing to look at~)

@shimmeryspark (Kana's art is both cute and detailed! While their fully rendered pieces are a treat, I also really like their chibis--they look so round and squishy, I just want to pinch them with my fingers! Their shrimp-based OCs and Kana (the Yuusona) with Floyd and Ruggie are also adorable and pure~)

@stupidneko (I like how big and expressive their eyes are! I also really love the little details they add to accentuate various pieces, like tiny sparkles or little tuffs of cotton.)

@suiiseis (We share a mutual appreciation and intense brain rot for J word I like how dainty their style is, from the lithe forms of their characters to the way they draw eyes and hair!)

@teuffels (Their vibrant, bouncy colors really bring pieces to life! They also get really experimental with poses and compositions, which always keeps you guessing. Plus, their love for Lilia and Xiao is just so wholesome and endearing!)

@tinyfantasminha (I adore their OC Vic's sass and their breakdowns over Jack Howl! They're very talented with drawing poses and coloring in a way that mimics the TWST style!)

@yttrocen (An artist with a very soft and pastel color palette, mainly doing comics and doodles. If I'm not mistaken, they mainly do Tweels, which I can appreciate~)

@zariyen (Yuu Yumehara my beloved he's so cool and hot and-- I'm a huge fan of zari's work on alternate outfits for Pomefiore! Everything they do is really gorgeously detailed; I could stare at their pieces forever and ever!)

It feels like a really big honor when someone you look up to follows you back! It's like one of those "wow, senpai noticed me" moments you see sometimes in anime or manga. Of course, I'm not super close to everyone that I listed in this post, and I’ve also met a lot of amazing people and made friends that I didn’t include here (since they didn’t quite fit the parameters of the ask)!!

Please consider checking out their socials and supporting them!! Let’s keep exploring this twisted wonderland together 🎵

[hikari-kaitou]

Capcom's Official AA Fanclub Surveys - DGS Edition

Many Western fans may be familiar with the Turnabout 4koma comics that get posted on the official AA fanclub site that Capcom runs, thanks to some lovely fans on tumblr and elsewhere who have shared their translations. What fewer people seem to know about is the character surveys.

Back in the old days, they used to hold a survey on Capcom's official AA fansite every few months where they'd write about the seasonal activities of a handful of characters and ask fans to vote for the funniest/most pleasant/strangest/etc answer.

They stopped doing them in like... 2016? 2017? The original text is lost for good as far as I can tell. Even the wayback machine couldn't help because the content was password locked and you can't get past the password wall while remaining in the archived version.

Fortunately, I saved some of my translations of them so I thought I’d share them.

Cut for length...

"February has begun, and the DGS cast is nearing the end of their journey aboard the RFS Alacrei. Which of them acted the most strangely?"

Ryuunosuke ~ Exhausted from his intensive study session, he decided to try some katana swinging practice as a change of pace and to combat his recent lack of exercise. But because he wasn't used to handling the katana, he swung it too hard and it went flying out of his hands and got stuck in the wall right next to Sherlock, who had just entered the room. Sherlock asked him, "aren't you supposed to be studying right now, Mr. Naruhodo?" and handcuffed him to his desk.

Susato- worked on developing a curriculum for Ryuunosuke. 'If we keep going at this pace, he won't be able to learn it all in time... It'll be hard on Naruhodo-sama, but we'll have to work hard through a couple of nights together.' With that thought, she created a harsh study schedule, and almost seemed to be looking forward to it for some reason.

Sherlock- Driven by excitement over the thought of returning to England after a long absence, he went up on deck to stare at the ocean. Being February, it was very cold out there and he ended up being chilled all the way to the tips of his fingers. He returned to the ship cabins and amused himself by putting his frozen hands on Ryuunosuke, who was stuck in his room studying.

Van Zieks- Upon hearing from Vortex that there was a Japanese exchange student coming to England to study law, he smashed a Lord's Bottle. He apparently also didn't care for the fact that that Japanese student wouldn't be alone, because he proceeded to shatter his chalice, too.

Hosonaga- in order to provide a respite from studying, he provided some hot chocolate. They enjoyed a pleasant tea time, marveling over how sweet and delicious the drink was until Sherlock piped up with some unnecessary trivia: 'Actually folks, chocolate has long been used in Europe as an aphrodisiac!' Everyone promptly spat it out."

"The long winter is nearly over and spring is on it's way, putting the DGS cast members in a celebratory mood. Who found the best way of enjoying spring?"

Ryuunosuke: the Yuumei University faculty members were holding a flower viewing event, and he joined the assistance committee. He exhausted himself keeping the blankets clean so the intense shower of flower petals wouldn't pile up too high on them, delivering sake and snacks, and mediating whatever pointless fights arose. To top it all off, for some reason his compensation was only a single piece of leftover candy. Talk about a sad result!

Susato- her father and the others living in his dormitory were  holding the flower viewing event, so she got up early to prepare the bentos. But her father carelessly forgot to tell her that they wanted tea cakes, so she had to go around the house and neighborhood collecting sweets. For some reason, she ended up being able to gather caramels, biscuits, candy sticks, basically everything but tea cakes, for the tea ceremony.

Sherlock- he disguised himself as a beat officer and infiltrated Scotland Yard to have some fun. There was a real beat officer napping on his feet in the spring sunshine, and while observing him, Sherlock ended up falling asleep too. Detective Gregson gave them a good scolding when he found them, but then Sherlock revealed his true identity with a "hey, it's me, folks!" "What the blazes do you think you're doing?!" Gregson shouted, his rage growing even more, and Sherlock ended up making a run for it.

Van Zieks- went to the vineyard to oversee the production of the contents of his Lord's Bottle. As he viewed the still unopened grape blossom buds, he thought about how they would someday grow up to fill his Lord's Bottle, and ended up going around to look at each one. But the farm hands couldn't stop wondering whether the bottle itself or its owner's heel might come flying at them and were quite uneasy.

Asougi: exhausted himself running around since early morning helping with the professors' flower viewing event. When it was over, he took a break, sharing his reward candy stick [the name of the candy literally translates to 1,000 year candy] with Ryuunosuke, who had also been helping out. 

"I wonder if the candy's effect is halved if you share it with someone."

"That still gives us 500 years."

They laughed and enjoyed looking at the flowers until dark. Then they parted ways with a handshake and a "see you later, best friend."

(This one was something about celebrating New Years. For some reason I didn't save the original question)

"Ryuunosuke ~ To celebrate New Years, he planned to pound mochi with everyone at the office. He somehow managed to get his hands on some mochi rice and he and Sherlock started pounding. Iris was having such fun watching them that she steamed a whole bunch more mochi rice so they could have some to share, and he and Sherlock spent the whole evening pounding mochi like crazy.

Asougi~ Because it's New Years, he went around to a bunch of shrines. When he drew his new year's fortune, he got a "horrible luck" result. "I'm not worried about it," he claimed, and headed up to the mountains early on New Years morning and work hard on a full training course of purification by water, meditation under a waterfall and wooden sword practice. It seems that he was working really hard to clear his mind of all earthly thoughts

Sherlock- Agreed to help Ryuunosuke pound mochi. As Ryuunosuke was flipping the mochi over, he carelessly dropped his badge into the bowl and Sherlock mixed it in without noticing, so they had to crack open both the hard and soft mochi to look for it. Fortunately they found it in the 4th one they checked, but apparently Sherlock got his hands and face covered in sticky white mochi in the process.

Susato- Wore a furisode and went with her father to do the first shrine visit of the year. The shrine was incredibly crowded and they had to wait in line for a long time, but she brought the Encyclopaedia of British Law and a copy of the Strand Magazine in her sleeves to secretly read as they waited so she actually ended up enjoying the wait.

Van Zieks- Ryuunosuke cheerfully gave him some mochi as a New Year’s (which at that time was celebrated at the same time as the Chinese New Year) gift, which he accepted confusedly, wondering “...Can the Japanese not even keep track of when the New Year is?” Because Ryuunosuke referred to it as a rice cake, he tried to eat it like a regular cake without softening it with heat first. It was so hard that he couldn’t imagine how it could possibly be food, and ended up misunderstanding the Japanese even more!

"Autumn has arrived, and the weather is starting to cool off, which means that everyone is becoming more active. Which character chose the most pleasant autumn activity to keep busy with?"

Iris was making bread but her hands are small and it’s difficult for her to knead the dough, so she asked for Ryuunosuke’s help. She wanted to make enough to hand out to Gina and all the other homeless children in the East End, so she made a massive amount and Ryuunosuke was stuck kneading this massive mountain of bread dough all day. Apparently he became such a expert at kneading that he could be a baker now.

Asougi was practicing with his sword, slicing autumn-colored ginko leaves as they fell from the tree. He cut so many leaves, though, that he ended up making a big mess on the ground, the number of fallen leaves now having increased, and it took him a long time to clean it all up.    

Sherlock: Ryuunosuke told him that he was making anpan (bread filled with sweet red bean paste, the bane of my Asian-dwelling existance) and asked Sherlock to help by being in charge of getting the poppy seeds they’d need to sprinkle on top, so Sherlock went out and gathered a ton of poppy seeds. In fact, he got so many of them that no one knew what to do with them all cuz they had a huge amount of leftovers. Sherlock said, “Well, they’re only the size of poppy seeds! Surely you two can deal with them somehow! Ahahaha!” and Iris scolded him.   

(I couldn’t capture it in English, but Sherlock’s line contained a pun, and a pretty stupid one at that, so that’s part of why he got scolded)

It’s grape harvesting season, so Van Zieks commutes to the winery regularly to direct the production of the contents for his “Lord’s Bottle.” He demands perfection in everything from the selection of the grapes to the way they’re squeezed, and the winery staff is terrified by the “grim reaper’s” gaze and heel swinging (i.e. the leg thing he does in court) so they grumble as they work. 

"Hearing that there’s a holiday in the West called Halloween, the people involved with the court in Japan decided to try it out themselves. Naturally Halloween is a big deal in England as well. So, which member of the DGS cast had the best celebration?"

Team Ryuunosuke and Asougi- Asougi got Naruhodo up on his shoulders and they draped a white sheet over themselves to make a ghost costume. They went out like that, but Naruhodo had such exaggerated reactions to the fear of the people who saw them and to bumping his head on tree branches that they ended up losing their balance and falling on top of each other?!   

Sherlock Holmes- went wearing a horse’s head mask. Iris used her skills to make it a fancy horse covered in stars, but the eye holes weren’t well made and he had to wander around blindly. Because of that he tripped hard over a pile of coal! He ended up getting so dirty that the stars on his costume were covered up!

Van Zieks- took inspiration from his nickname and dressed up as the grim reaper. He covered himself up with a skeleton mask and hood figuring no one would know it was him. Unfortunately he got angry when he saw Megundal (McGilded) pass by and started throwing bottles and glasses and ended up giving himself away.

"November has arrived, and autumn is nearing its end. However, the DGS cast is still keeping busy, even on their days off. Which character chose the most interesting way to spend their late autumn day?"

Ryuunosuke- Thinking that he’d better learn more about British culture if he was going to be a defense attorney in Britain, he went down to the East End with Gina for a little observation. However, because an Asian like him stood out so much, he got mobbed by the other children. On top of it all, his arm band got stolen from him and he had to send a replacement request to Yumei University on the other side of the ocean.

Asougi- He went for a meal at La Quantas. The customer at a nearby table got a persimmon for dessert and scarfed it down, saying “Mm! This is it! This sweetness makes it worthy of being called a treasure among foods!” Asougi tried to comment on this by saying, “The customer at that table sure is enjoying his pershim--gak!” but he may or may not have accidentally bitten his tongue in the process and been unable to finish his sentence.

Iris- She accepted Ryuunosuke’s request to learn more about British culture and prepared a bagpipe and kilt costume for him. “This outfit sure is breezy,” Ryuunosuke said shyly upon trying it on. With Ryuunosuke now dressed, he, Iris, and the others from their office headed over to Gregson’s place to get him to treat them to some fish and chips.   

Sherlock- He accepted Ryuunosuke’s request to learn more about British culture and cooked up some European style curry for dinner. Thanks to the fact that his secret ingredient was a large amount of Chinese herbal medicine style spice, it caused some strange side effects and Ryuunosuke, who’d eaten it, ended up passing out and falling over.

“Another taxing trial for Ryuunosuke has finished and now it’s December. As the year draws to a close, which character acts the strangest?”

Ryuunosuke- he was recruited to help with snow removal around Yumei University and the courthouse and he enthusiastically began his task with the help of a large shovel. He got a little carried away, though, and ended up accidentally burying his umbrella, which he’d left propped up against the side of the building, in the snow he’d just finished shoveling.  He had no choice but to share Asougi’s umbrella on the way home.

Asougi- On the way home, he nods silently to Ryuunosuke’s question of whether he’d finished his travel preparations and changes the subject: “...Come to think of it, it seems that tomorrow is celebrated in the West as God’s birthday.” “I’ve heard that they eat chicken as part of the traditional celebration. Wanna try it?” Ryuunosuke asks invitingly. Asougi is strongly opposed to that particular menu item, however, and they end up going out for their usual beef stew that night instead.           

Susato- in addition to her year-end travel preparations, she also was busy with straightening up the book room in her home. She managed to get the law books in order when she suddenly stumbled upon some old issues of Strand Magazine! She hurried through the rest of her cleaning, then began flipping through the magazines she’d found, trying to decide which to take with her on her trip. She accidentally lost herself in her reading and didn’t realize it until it was already the middle of the night.

Sherlock- he was in the middle of a long ship voyage when Christmas night came. His mind on his partner in a far-off country, he made a toast alone on deck, when suddenly the crew began shooting off fireworks with a cry of “Merry Christmas!” Sherlock had to dart back and forth across the deck to prevent the fireworks from hitting him and setting off the explosive chemicals he carries with him.

Main series edition