#i hope these shows go smoothly for everyone involved

[stillgotscars]

sorry to be parasocial, but it’s really comforting to see taylor back in her element on the eras tour stage with the biggest smile plastered on her face after what transpired last week

[solxamber]

Hi! Loved your villainess series and i can't wait for a Jamil chapter! In the meantime, do you mind if I request Jamil x a reader whom the Asims are absolutely terrified of? As in they're one of the most genuinely kind people out there but they could eradicate you with a snap of their fingers when pissed (though they only do that in extreme situations and are pretty reasonable). So as soon as Jamil starts dating them, everyone in the Asim household starts walking on eggshells around him cause they don't want to be eradicated off the face of the earth. He still has to do his job but the more dangerous aspects or any extra work is delegated to somebody else. Basically, Jamil can now be as overachieving as he wants since nobody has enough of a death wish to risk pissing off his lover.

Jamil Viper x Intimidating! reader

thank you for waiting <3 i hope you like it

The moment Jamil starts dating you, the entire Asim household becomes a drastically different place. It’s not like you’re a tyrant or anything—you’re the sweetest, kindest person they’ve ever met.

You’re always smiling, polite, and helpful. But everyone knows about that side of you. The side that only shows when something pushes too far, and you go from warm and gentle to terrifying in the blink of an eye.

It doesn’t happen often—really, it only ever happens in extreme situations—but one close encounter was more than enough to put the fear of you into the entire Asim household.

The first time it happened, one of the servants had accidentally endangered Jamil by not paying attention. Nothing too serious in hindsight, but in the heat of the moment, you had stepped in, voice cold and eyes sharp as you reprimanded the poor servant with an intensity no one expected from you.

You didn’t yell or make a huge scene, but the weight of your words and the terrifying calm in your expression was more than enough to send everyone scattering. And now, that incident has taken on a life of its own, becoming a whispered legend among the staff.

Jamil, however, is a little too amused by the whole situation. He’s never seen you lose your temper with him, and he finds it kind of satisfying watching everyone tiptoe around, desperate not to cross you.

Not to mention, it’s made his life a whole lot easier. Suddenly, all the extra dangerous or exhausting tasks that used to be piled on him are conveniently handled by someone else. No one dares to risk upsetting you by overworking him.

As you walk into the Asim estate one day, the staff noticeably scatter, heads ducked as they try not to make any mistakes in your presence. You exchange an amused look with Jamil as he walks beside you.

"Did I do something to terrify them today?" you whisper, half-joking.

Jamil smirks, clearly enjoying this more than he should. "No, they're just smart. Nobody wants to be the one responsible for angering you."

You roll your eyes, nudging him with your elbow. "I’m not that bad."

"Tell that to the servant who accidentally put me in danger last month. I think he’s still recovering," Jamil replies, his voice teasing.

You blush, feeling a little guilty. "I didn’t mean to scare him. He just needed to be more careful."

"Oh, you didn’t scare him. You petrified him," Jamil says, his smug grin growing wider. “Now, everyone’s scrambling to make sure I don’t get stuck with anything that could stress me out, all because they don’t want you to get upset on my behalf."

He’s not wrong. It’s like there’s an unspoken agreement among the staff that keeping Jamil stress-free is the key to survival.

Tasks that used to involve risky magic, late nights, or heavy lifting are reassigned before they even reach Jamil’s to-do list. And it’s not just because Jamil’s Kalim’s right-hand man; it’s because of you.

The thought of you unleashing your wrath is enough to keep the household running smoothly, with no one willing to take chances.

Jamil stretches, looking relaxed for the first time in what feels like years. “I could get used to this,” he mutters, clearly reveling in his newfound freedom from extra work.

You shoot him a playful glare. "You’re enjoying this too much."

"Can you blame me?" he asks, raising an eyebrow. “I’ve got more free time, no one’s shoving dangerous tasks my way, and I have the best motivation to keep it that way.” He leans closer, his voice dropping to a soft murmur, “That motivation being you.”

Your heart skips a beat at his words, warmth flooding your chest. Jamil isn’t always one for open displays of affection, but when he does say things like this, they hit hard. You can’t help but smile, reaching out to take his hand as you walk together.

"I didn’t mean to turn the whole household into a bunch of scaredy-cats," you admit, squeezing his hand.

Jamil chuckles softly, pulling you a little closer. “It’s not your fault they’re terrified. You just have... a certain presence when you’re angry.”

You snort, shaking your head. "I’m sure you’re not complaining, considering all the benefits."

"Not one bit," he says, his voice smooth and teasing. “Though I’ll admit, I don’t need them to be scared of you. I can handle my own problems.”

"Uh-huh, sure," you reply, narrowing your eyes at him. “And here I thought you were just enjoying the luxury of not being overworked.”

Jamil leans in, his lips brushing your ear as he whispers, “I enjoy being with you more.”

Your heart flips, and before you know it, you’re turning your head and pressing a quick kiss to his lips, unable to resist the moment. He seems a little taken aback, his smug exterior cracking for a second as he blinks in surprise. Then, a slow, satisfied smile spreads across his face.

"Keep that up, and I might start making excuses to slack off even more," he teases.

You laugh, shaking your head. "I can’t believe you. I’m not your excuse to get out of work."

Jamil grins, his eyes softening as he looks at you. “Maybe not. But you’re definitely the reason I’m a lot happier these days.”

He says it so casually, but the sincerity in his voice makes your chest feel tight with affection. You glance up at him, your hand still in his, and you realize just how much he’s changed since you started dating.

He’s still the same hardworking, overachieving Jamil, but now he’s more relaxed, more at ease. And you’re glad you can be a part of that.

Meanwhile, the staff is still scattering like leaves in the wind as you and Jamil stroll through the estate. Kalim, of course, is the only one who remains blissfully oblivious to the atmosphere.

"Hey, guys!" Kalim shouts, bounding over with a bright smile. “I just heard about a new event happening tonight! You two are coming, right?”

Jamil exchanges a glance with you, a smirk tugging at his lips. “You know, Kalim, I think I’m going to take the night off. We have plans,” he says smoothly, pulling you a little closer.

Kalim grins, not missing a beat. “Oh! That’s awesome! Have fun!”

You can’t help but chuckle at Kalim’s eternal optimism, but as you walk away, you notice a few of the servants letting out relieved sighs. They clearly appreciate that Jamil is taking a break, but you’re well aware of what they’re really relieved about: keeping you happy.

Jamil’s smirk returns as you head back to your shared quarters. “I think I owe you for this.”

You raise an eyebrow. "For what?"

"For making my life a whole lot easier," he says, his voice low and teasing.

You roll your eyes, but there’s a smile on your lips as you lean into him. "Just don’t get too cocky."

Jamil grins, his eyes sparkling with mischief. “Too late.”

You laugh, shaking your head. Maybe the Asim household will always be a little terrified of you, but if it means keeping Jamil happy and safe, you can live with that.

Masterlist

[narcjsistx]

"𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐀, 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐂𝐇𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐌𝐀𝐒 𝐈 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓... 𝐀 𝐎𝐒!" | bllk os event ⛄

christmas is near, and why not spend the week before the big day reading oneshots about the characters from the blue lock animanga?

EVENT FROM 18 TO 25 DECEMBER!! every day, a new os with a different romantic trope

I asked chatgpt this question for all the characters in the list: if you think of the character (name), what song comes to mind? with what trope?

I chose the characters I write about the most, plus some I've never written anything about, but who interest me. I hope to satisfy you!

— 18/12: rin itoshi

— 19/12: sae itoshi

— 20/12: isagi yoichi

— 21/12: shidou ryusei

— 22/12: karasu tabito

— 23/12: nagi seishiro

— 24/12: bachira meguru

— 25/12: kaiser micheal

— rin itoshi 18/12 — RIGHT CHOICE OS

song: "Homewrecker" by Marina

trope: Forbidden Love. the song explores themes of attraction that may be complicated, reflecting the idea of falling for someone who is already involved with someone else

plot: falling in love with Rin Itoshi, the captain of the national team, was not in your plans, it never had been. you hadn't done it, or at least you had hidden it well, when you were a child, but doing it now that he was about to get married? damn

——— 🎄

— sae itoshi 19/12 — ANNIVERSARY GIFT OS

song: "Numb" by Linkin Park

trope: The Weight of Expectations. the pressure to meet societal or familial expectations can create tension in a romantic relationship, leading to misunderstandings and emotional distance

plot: that your boyfriend was sometimes distant was not a new thing. he often needed his space, both physical and mental, and you accepted this. but you did not expect him to put a match in the first place of the list on the day of your wedding anniversary

——— 🎄

— isagi yoichi 20/12 — OCCUPY EVERYTHING OS

song: "Hall of Fame" by The Script featuring will.i.am

trope: Supportive Partner. the idea of having a partner who encourages and believes in you can be a central theme. this trope highlights how love can motivate individuals to pursue their dreams and overcome obstacles

plot: today is an important day, very important, maybe the most important of your boyfriend's life, the dream of a lifetime finally realized: the soccer world cup. last minutes, the ball ends up in the net thanks to him. the crowd tries to win the heart of the japanese boy, but he already has your heart that has always supported him

——— 🎄

— shidou ryusei 21/12 — BEAST AND ANGEL OS

song: "Bad Guy" by Billie Eilish

trope: Opposites Attract. the song's edgy vibe can represent a relationship where two very different personalities are drawn to each other. one partner may be more wild and carefree, while the other is more grounded, creating a dynamic tension that can lead to romance

plot: during the christmas period it was normal for the association to invite the players, and their girlfriends, to organized dinners. shidou loves to show up at these dinners with you, where everyone asks you how you can be together even though you are so different

——— 🎄

— karasu tabito 22/12 — THE FEAR OF BEING OS

song: "Crawling" by Linkin Park

trope: Rescue Romance. in this trope, one character is drawn to another who is struggling with their inner demons. the relationship becomes a journey of support and healing, where one partner helps the other confront their issues, leading to a deep emotional bond

plot: the pact had been clear from the beginning: only needy kisses when the situation called for it, but no relationships. everything had been going smoothly up until that point, but the main problem was that now you were falling for your enemy's best friend. does tabito not want relationships because he doesn't want to set up seriously or just because he's afraid of ruining everything by being mediocre?

——— 🎄

— nagi seishiro 23/12 — GET USED TO OS

song: "Young and Beatiful" by Lana del Rey

trope: The Fear of Losing Love. this trope revolves around the anxiety of whether love will endure as time passes. the song's lyrics express a longing for reassurance that love will remain, even as youth and beauty fade

plot: nagi thinks everything is a hassle, but you're the last thing he thinks is. the only drag here is how he's starting to think the chemistry between you is running out

——— 🎄

— bachira meguru 24/12 — RUN AWAY OS

song: "Feel Good Inc" by Gorillaz

trope: The Escape from Reality. the song's themes of breaking free and seeking happiness can align with a romance where the couple finds solace in each other, escaping the pressures of the outside world. this trope emphasizes the idea of love as a refuge

plot: running away from the cameras was the favorite thing you and meguru did every chance you got. your love was yours alone, why give the world just a small slice of everything you felt for each other? it would be a waste

——— 🎄

— micheal kaiser 25/12 — LAST CHANCE OS

song: "Stronger" by Kanye West

trope: The Second Chance Romance. the idea of coming back stronger after a setback can represent a relationship that has faced challenges but is given a second chance. this trope explores themes of forgiveness, growth, and the rekindling of love

plot: why kaiser was at your door the night between christmas eve and christmas day? why did he have a red package, even though you had broken up last month?

——— 🎄

if you want to be tagged say it! I will add you to the list without problems 💗

[joanquill]

How Touching

How Albert would react to a reader who doesn't like physical intimacy at first in the modern era.

Albert James Moriarty

A/N: Sorry for the long absence, a lot has happened and writer's block has made a home in my head rent-free at this point it's almost homophobic :) (as you can probably tell with this one so advanced apologies!) late happy pride month! 💕🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈

Tag/s: One-Shot with Headcanons, Modern!AU, Long (2.2k words)

Warning/s: Slightly Suggestive(???)

When you first joined the Moriartys with their plan to abolish the class system, the group welcomed you with open arms.

Quite literally with how Bonde tried to hug you as a greeting.

You evaded him smoothly, surprising the man and the others.

But you explained how you were uncomfortable with physical touch, and everyone respected your boundaries.

Despite the awkward start, everyone still welcomed you.

And as time passed, you slowly grew closer to everyone in the group.

But especially with the oldest Moriarty, seeing as your job usually involved assisting him.

Whether being his partner on missions or attending parties with the rich, you two are usually seen together.

It also doesn't help that you were mostly in charge of maintaining the manor in London when Louis and Master Jack were away.

Because of this, you also tend to stay with him in London while William and the others are back in Durham.

This leads to you and Albert sharing chores in London.

While Albert is a master when it comes to cleaning, you always make sure he's nowhere near the kitchen or at least have you there to supervise.

The first time you tried his cooking, you were out of commission for three days.

Because of how much time you spend together, you two started to get closer.

And this didn't go unnoticed by your housemates.

"(Y/N), have you seen my-?"

"-It's in your coat pocket," 

"And the-?"

"-It's already in your suitcase,"

"And did you already inform-?"

"-Yes, Director Holmes is aware of your return to London tonight," you answered as you showed him the email you sent to the director.

Albert chuckled as he loosened his collar, "What would I do without you?"

You smirked at his remark as you fixed his loosened collar and necktie.

"Well, aren't you just a perfect match," Sebastian commented from the couch, watching you two blankly.

You froze at his words as you turned away, making sure your expression remained neutral. 

"It's almost freaky, to be honest..." he shuddered, making you chuckle.

"Don't you have a chimney to sweep, colonel?" Albert reminded, earning a glare from Sebastian as the doors burst open, Bonde running inside the room.

"You're really leaving already? We planned to go to that new restaurant this afternoon," Bonde asked as he walked in, seeing you and Albert grabbing your coats.

"Yes... The director suddenly called saying it was an urgent matter, so our plans will have to be rescheduled," you explained, much to Bonde's disappointment.

You smiled softly at him as you gave him a gentle hug.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we can go there some other time," you reassured as you pulled away, seeing a shocked expression from the three men.

"...What?"

"You hugged him..." Sebastian pointed out, making you raise a brow and smile.

"Yes, and what about it?" you teased, hugging Bonde again, surprising them for a second time.

"What the-?!"

"Awww, (N/N)!" Bonde smiled as he hugged you back tightly, cherishing the moment as you laughed.

"No way..." Sebastian breathed out a smile, "To think Bonde would be the first..." he smirked, looking over to Albert, who held a faux smile as he walked up to you and Bonde.

"(Y/N), I believe it is about time for us to leave?" he reminded, making you gasp.

"Right! I'll go call a cab," you hurriedly walked out of the manor, hoping you wouldn't miss the last train back to London.

Sebastian laughed wholeheartedly as the door behind you closed, hitting Albert's back while Bonde kept a hand over his mouth, hiding a proud smile from the oldest Moriarty.

"Didn't expect you to be the possessive type!" Sebastian snickered, making Albert lightly scoff and swatted Sebastian's hand.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Albert denied as he grabbed the bags.

"(Y/N) is a reliable comrade to all of us,"

"Then why don't you let them stay in Durham with us?"

"Because their skills are needed in London,"

"But what if William asks them to stay with us?"

"Then there's no helping it, I suppose,"

"Oh?" William's voice cut through, catching everyone's attention.

"Then you finally agree to have (Y/N) stay with us for this weekend?" he asked, but Albert stayed silent as he kept facing away from the group.

"You seemed quite adamant about having them join you back to London mere moments ago when we were discussing in my office," William added, making Albert sigh as Sebastian and Bonde grinned from ear to ear.

"My, my, Al. How unprofessional," Bonde teased as he tried to see Albert's face, now contorted in irritation as he kept his smile.

"It seems (Y/N)'s skills are needed here in Durham more than in London," Sebastian added, wrapping an arm around Albert's shoulders,

"Such a shame..."

William chuckled as he walked up to the group, giving Albert a piece of paper.

"Here are the details for your and (Y/N)'s next mission in London. It seems (Y/N) is more needed in London after all," William innocently smiled, making Albert sigh.

"...I will make sure to visit again next week with them,"

"Thank you, Nii-san. And do not worry about (Y/N)'s affections," William commented, perking Albert's ears.

"I'm certain they also consider you one of their closest companions. But you must be more proactive if you wish for them to see you as something more," he reassured the oldest Moriarty, catching everyone's attention.

"That is not-"

"-The cab's here!" you announced as you hurried back inside, seeing everyone gathering around Albert.

"...What? Do we have another meeting before leaving?" you questioned, making the others share a look as they left, saying their goodbyes as Albert walked up to you with your bags and coats.

"What were you discussing while I was gone?" you questioned as Albert gave you your coat and scarf.

"Just..." Albert replied, looking down at the paper William gave him,  "Have courage"  written on it, "... Just the details for our next mission," he smiled, pocketing the piece of paper as he helped you with your scarf, careful not to touch you.

"...I shall tell you later,"

During the trip back to London, you noticed Albert has grown quiet, deep in his thoughts.

As you tried to ignore the man's change of behavior, he suddenly called your name and asked what you thought of everyone in the group.

Confused by the sudden question, you shrugged it off and answered honestly, seeing everyone as a trusted companion, possibly even family.

"Really?"

"Yes. Don't you see me as one?" you jokingly asked, making Albert smile widely.

"...No, I cannot say the same," he answered, shocking you. You quickly turned to him and saw him looking at you with straightforward eyes.

"You may have started as one of my most trusted companions, but I never saw you as family," he explained, straightening himself up as he grabbed the end of your scarf.

"But as a lover," he clarified, gingerly kissing the end of your scarf as he kept his eyes on you.

After his declaration of love, the trip back to London felt excruciatingly long.

Nonetheless, you admitted you felt the same you both agreed to take it slow.

Albert was a true gentleman in the whole relationship, making sure you were comfortable with everything.

He makes sure to spend time with you, whether it's just at home or out on a date, giving you gifts, and words of reassurance.

He would never make you feel you were lacking or guilty about taking the relationship slow.

He also never tried to touch you or force himself on you.

He might feel jealous whenever you and others hug, such as Bonde, Fred, or your close friends, but he won't force you to do the same to him.

"You will be gone for three weeks?" you repeated in disbelief as Albert nodded dejectedly.

"Yes, which is why we discussed that you should stay in Durham with the others in the meantime,"

"I see... If that's the case, I need to see some things before I leave," you muttered, trying to plan your sudden leave as you looked around the manor.

Albert breathed out a laugh as he let out a dramatic sigh, catching your attention.

"How cold... And I thought you would miss me more," he teased, opening one eye at you with a playful smile.

You scoffed as you walked up to him, cradling his cheek.

"You will be coming back home to me after, are you not?" you questioned, making him smirk.

"Always," he reassured, taking your gloved hand and kissing your knuckles.

You smiled as you interlocked your fingers with his, clasping it.

"Then I have nothing to worry about,"

"(N/N)!" Bonde beamed as he ran up to you, giving you a hug as he squeezed you tightly.

You giggled as you hugged him back, returning the same affection.

"You should go on more overnight trips, Al," Bonde joked, making Albert roll his eyes with a smile as he put on his hat.

"Next time, I shall bring (Y/N) with me," Albert mused, kissing your gloved hand again.

"Take care, Albert-nii-san," Louis smiled as Albert waved goodbye to everyone.

"Goodbye,"

"Take your time~,"

"Be careful...!" you warned, sighing at the memory of Albert returning home in a bloody uniform.

"Aww... Miss him already?" Bonde teased with a toothy grin, making you scoff and lightly push him off.

"Come on... I remember Louis saying we're doing some spring cleaning in the manor?" you reminded, making Bonde and Sebastian freeze. 

"Oi! Keep your mouth shut...!" Sebastian shouted in a whisper as he grabbed your head, making you grin.

"That's right..." Louis started, a dark glimmer shining from his glasses, "I hope you two are done with your portions?"

It's been two weeks since Albert's trip, and he has been calling you every night and leaving short, sweet texts throughout the day.

But, you couldn't help but feel uneasy.

"Hey, (Y/N)!" Sebastian called out, snapping you out of it.

"Y-Yes?"

"William's calling everyone for a meeting," he reminded, raising a brow at you.

"What's wrong with you?" he questioned, making you shake your head.

"It's nothing," you faked a smile as you walked ahead, unsure if it was a topic you could bring up to the man.

As you walked ahead, Sebastian couldn't help but let out a sigh as he followed you along.

"Lovebirds... What a pain,"

"Well! This is new," Bonde smiled as he swirled his martini while Sebastian downed his third whiskey for the night.

"I didn't think you would be the type to offer free drinks, (N/N),"

"I'm not," you sighed, nursing your cup of water, "But I would like to talk to you both in private..." you muttered, looking around your booth for any familiar faces or peeking heads.

"Since you two seem the most... acquainted with this subject..." you added, fiddling your fingers as you stared down at your drink.

Sebastian raised a brow while Bonde furrowed his brows, looking at each other as if trying to figure out what you were alluding to.

"So... What is it?" Bonde asked, taking a sip of his drink while Sebastian tried to catch the attention of a nearby server.

You felt your face burn as you took a deep breath, gathering up all of the courage you had.

"How do you know when's the right time to be physical with your partner?" you asked in one quick breath with your eyes shut.

Sebastian froze while Bonde choked on his drink, making him cough.

"A-Are you all right, sir?" the server Sebastian called asked Bonde, who dismissed him.

"Y-Yes... I'm fine," Bonde coughed as you tried to give him your drink while Sebastian asked the server to just bring more whiskey.

"Thanks..." Bonde sighed, clearing his throat as he looked at you.

"(Y/N), by... physical, you mean...?" Sebastian asked in a hushed tone as he and Bonde leaned to you across the table.

You felt your face flush as you looked away, hiding behind your hands.

"L-Like kissing, and such..." you clarified, stunning the two men.

They both sighed as Sebastian leaned back in his seat with a hand over his eyes while Bonde had his face in his hands.

"That's what you meant..."

'It'll come naturally, huh...'  you thought, remembering your conversation with Bonde and Sebastian.

You sighed as you focused on your chores and hoped for the best, just as they advised.

As you fixed the dinner table, you heard the front doors open, making you gasp and look back.

"I'm back," Albert announced, wearily putting away his coat.

You instinctively ran out of the dining room and to the entrance.

As Albert caught sight of you, he immediately smiled as you kept running up to him.

"(Y/N), I found-" you wrapped your arms around him tightly, sighing as your body eased up at his warmth.

Albert, on the other hand, was stunned as you kept hugging him.

"(Y/N)...?" he called out as he hovered an arm around you.

You breathed out a smile as you looked up at him, squeezing him lightly,

"Welcome back," you greeted as you cupped his cheeks, kissing his lips.

Albert blinked in surprise before wrapping his arms around you, deepening the kiss.

When you pulled back, you felt Albert leaning to you before opening his eyes, and smiling at you.

"I missed you too,"

[sams-butt-dem0n]

Darry x high school gf!reader

• You and Darry had been together for years now; four to be exact. The two of you had met in high school when you moved to Tulsa in your Junior year and you fell in love with him instantly.

• You had met his parents, obviously before they died, many times and they were always so kind to you, especially his mom. She was the best.

• It was because of this that when they passed, you felt like you had lost your family too. However, you could only comfort Darry and his brothers and ensure everything ran smoothly.

• Darry hated that. He wanted to be the one in charge all the time. He believed he was the man of the house and while that did annoy you (and trust me it annoyed you A LOT), you completely understood that all he was trying to do was look out for his little brothers.

• Ponyboy definitely loves you to pieces: you help him with his homework, you read with him, you buy him lots of cool stuff to show off to Johnny and Dallas whenever they are off on their shenanigans, and you are just there for him all the time.

• Soda views you more as a best friend than he does as a sister. He can always joke around with you and have a good time; he can sit and talk when things aren't going so well; he rambles to you about Sandy (when they were together) and cries when she breaks his heart.

• Ponyboy loves that you don't see him as a little kid and that you take the majority of the things he says seriously. I mean, he does have his stupid moments, but doesn't everyone? You treat him as an equal, like the rest of the gang.

• Speaking of the gang, they all love you a whole bunch, especially when you cook for them in the mornings after a rumble and they're all burned out.

• Darry loves that you're so involved with the gang, more his brothers, and he honestly couldn't have hoped for anything better.

• Darry himself never really had much free time, not after his parents died. He's always working, trying to keep the boys alive and while you appreciate that, you just wish he'd give himself a break, even if it was just one day every 2 weeks.

• He's constantly worn out and the only time he ever gets to spend with you is when he's asleep after overworking himself and being sent home early.

• You did miss the boy you met in high school and you missed being able to spend time with him and go on dates but you knew that he wasn't going to change. He was doing it for his family.

• However, on the very rare occasion that you DID get to spend time with Darry, he would always have an arm around you. whether that's around your waist, over your shoulders, or even just a hand on your knee. He wanted to be touching you because he knew it would be a while before he could do it again.

• Definitely calls you "darling" and the classic "babe" but he isn't really a sucker for pet names.

• When he has a later start for work, he'll come up behind you while you're making ponyboy and Soda and whoever else decides to stop over the night before some breakfast, and he'll place his hands on your hips and kiss the back of your head, rubbing his hands on your skin before walking to get a drink or help set the table.

• Gets teased by Soda sometimes when he gets caught doing something lovey-dovey like kissing your forehead, staring at you for a little too long or giving you a compliment; but he never does anything outrageous in front of the gang. He won't even kiss your lips around them.

• Darry would never let anybody say a bad word about you and if he ever heard someone, he'd glare them down his his arms crossed, his biceps stretching the fabric of his usual black t-shirt, and his eyes colder than ice.

• As much as you appreciated his protectiveness, sometimes he could scare you with how angry he looked.

• Extremely protective but doesn't let it show unless it's absolutely necessary. Won't bother if some guy calls you hot because he knows that you are but if anybody even dares to lay a finger on you, he'd want to tear their heads off.

• Obviously, he can't do that due to the difficult situation of Soda and Ponyboy getting put in a boy's home, but God, he wanted to.

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed it! I don't really do much on Darry, Two-bit or Steve but I'm gonna try and make it somewhat even, even though I definitely have my preferences haha.

[in1-nutshell]

Hello!! I hope you're doing alright. I was wondering if I could request for cubertronian! Buddy whos a fox and has a sly personality, and wondering if you can make it as a one-shot in TfMtmte with drift, ratchet, and rodimus! Thankyou

I was slightly picturing The Pet wen I saw the fox alt mode.

Hope you enjoy!

Bot Buddy with a fox alt mode with Ratchet, Drift and Rodimus

SFW, Platonic, Cybertronain reader

MTMTE

To be fair, Rodimus did tell them that there was going to be running involved.

But he never told them how much running.

Earlier that day…

Rodimus had recruited Buddy to help prank Drift.

Why them?

Easy, because they could get out of the splash zone quicker than he could.

And he needed someone who would play bait for a couple of shanix.

Rodimus sets up the bucket of oil and rope.

“Rodimus, why are you doing this again?”--Buddy

“Drift bailed out on our hang out to go be with Ratchet. We had planned this hang out for cycles! He needs to know that there are consequences to his action.”--Rodimus

“Just putting that out there Captain, but aren’t there going to be consequence to your actions?”--Buddy

“Not if I run fast enough.”--Rodimus

“…Fair enough.”--Buddy

The plan was simple.

Lure Drift to the door, Rodimus would see him and let the giant bucket of oil land on his helm.

Get a few laughs out of it and maybe go to Swerve’s when this is done.

So far, the plan has been going smoothly.

Until someone new came into the mix.

Buddy walking with Drift in their alt mode in the hallway.

“Hey Drift, do you mind standing there for a second? I have a trick I want to show you. You’ll see it better from there.”--Buddy

“Okay.”--Drift

Drift happily stands in the splash zone as Buddy does some flips waiting for Rodimus to pull the rope.

Rodimus meanwhile had gotten distracted by the rope fibers.

Ratchet walks up to Drift.

“Move a bit, I have to get some equipment in the room.”

Drift smiles and moves to the side letting Ratchet get into the splash zone.

Buddy mid flip looking in horror.

“WAIT!”--Buddy

Rodimus flinches and pulls the rope letting the bucket fall down on Ratchet.

Drift tackles Ratchet down, and they both get covered in oil.

“…”--Everyone

Rodimus comes around the corner with a huge grin on his face.

“That’s what you get—oh.”—Rodimus

Rodimus takes a step back.

Buddy hightails it out of there.

“…Rodimus… did you do this…?”--Drift

“To be fair I had help from Bud—and their gone.”--Rodimus

“Drift if you catch him in the next 5 minutes I will take the next 2 cycle off.”--Ratchet

Drift already on his pedes ready to start sprinting.

“You don’t have to tell me twice.”--Drift

And that’s how Rodimus ended up taking a dip in the oil reservoirs and Buddy paying for the pair’s drinks for a full month.

And they still didn’t get their shanix!

What a rip off…

From now on, if anyone was going to ask them to be the bait, they were going to take payments first then the work.

[patrophthia]

cruel summer | regulus black

pairing: regulus black x reader

genre: fluff, song fic, love confessions (?), regulus is a attention seeking piece of shit (affectionate), clingy reg, not beta read

wc: 1.1k

this is request ! i’m sorry it took so long, i hope you liked it!!

tag: @tr4ppola

Your favourite pastime activity was lying. Little white lies, that is, lies that were so obvious that everyone knew not to take them seriously. Like saying you were a muggle whilst you cast a complicated spell, or saying that you had once dyed your hair a colour that you swore to never do, or saying that you were —in no ways, involved with Regulus Black whatsoever.

Sneaking around though, was on the other end of your favourite things to do. You like Regulus too much so you let that factor slide through.

It's as if you only ever see him during the quiet nights where no one could ever spot you. You know that that isn't how a normal relationship should function but the red flag tends to look white when you look at it through rose tinted glasses.

More often than not you feel like you earned him, a (semi) bad boy who was wanted by everyone in school. He was a shiny toy with a price and you know damn well you bought it.

The meeting spot is different this time, a room within a room in the room of requirement. He'd only told you to meet him at the room of requirement at ten and you showed up right on time only to be met with confusion.

In front of you were a set of doors, circling around you as you stood over stained glass rings, blue merged with pink then pink into purple where the centre of the room was. Instead of figuring out how to find him on your own, you call out to him, "Regulus?"

"Down here," he replies, you look down onto the glass pane and furrow your brows when he is nowhere to be found. "Stand at the centre, sweetheart."

You do as you were told, watching as the glass dips under your weight; you can hear the mechanics working, it unlocking steps for you to take. Once you finally meet Regulus, you cock your head to the side with a teasing smile. "An oddly complicated way for just a booty call."

Regulus frowns, "this isn't a booty call, ma chérie." He moves towards you, and you let him place his hands on your hips. "I just missed you."

You roll your eyes and Regulus thinks that while the devils may roll their dice, he was sure angels spend their time rolling their eyes at him and his behaviour. But then again, what doesn't kill him makes him want it more. And you were just that.

Opposite does attract after all.

"You shouldn't miss me so often," you fixed him a look. "My friends are starting to suspect where I go so often."

It's his turn for Regulus to roll his eyes, albeit more elegant and poise then you ever did. "This is your fault," he groans, burying his head in the crook of your neck. "We wouldn't have to be doing this if you just told everyone about us."

Regulus had decided to keep your relationship a secret at first, wanting to test the waters and after the first few months went smoothly. So smoothly that he'd found himself smitten with you. He wanted everyone to know, he knew that it was weird for him to claim you but he'd like people to know that he wasn't willing to share.

But you think a lot, way too much at times, and decided that no, you do not want people to know about the two of you. Because, you wanted him all to yourself, you liked him too much for other people to know.

"I'm sorry, my love," you say first, a hand reaching up to brush back his outgrown curls. "I promise it won't be for much longer."

Contrary to popular belief, Regulus Black was a clingy person, so touch starved and clingy that you pressed a kiss on the top of his head for good measure.

He stills for a moment, obviously planning something before he presses a kiss to your neck and pulls away. "Would you still love me tomorrow?"

"What?" You splutter, confused on why he decided to bring tomorrow up. "Of course, I do."

"Thank you, mon amour. I love you too." He says before asking. "My game's tomorrow, you're coming to see me right?"

"I always do," you tell him and he smiles. "Why are you asking me this?"

He makes a face. "Just trying to make sure my girlfriend won't run away before my plan unfolds."

Slytherin were losing, and the longer you watched Regulus not even trying to seek out the snitch the more you realised that he was throwing the game on purpose.

You stood up from your seat in the stands and found your way to the railings. "OI! BLACK!" You call out and he turns to you distractedly. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? THE SNITCH IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU."

He turns away, looking uninterested. "I can't see a thing, sorry."

You were starting to get annoyed now, confused on when Regulus had gotten this kind of attitude but you chopped it up to how being dramatic more often than not runs in the Black family.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" You yell, your voice loud despite the hundreds of others also yelling the same thing at him —albeit with a little more colourful words than you were using. "WHY AREN'T YOU PLAYING?"

"I want you to tell them," he says instead of answering your questions. You're a bit confused on how you can still hear him over the sound of support from the other where their Seeker was actually doing the job. "I want them to know."

"KNOW WHAT." You began to yell when it dawned on you. He wants you to tell everyone about your relationship. "ARE YOU CRAZY?"

He shrugs. "Do you want me to win?"

Knowing how pouty he could be if he didn't, you steel yourself for what's to come next. "REGULUS BLACK." You yell and you can see the other team's seeker dive towards the snitch. "I DON'T WANT TO KEEP SECRETS JUST TO KEEP YOU FOR MYSELF ANYMORE."

The crowd goes quiet, waiting to see the scene unfolding before them. Of course it was another Black brother hoarding the attention all to themself, creating a scene as they stole the spotlight from everyone else.

So you prepare yourself, screaming for what it's worth. "I LOVE YOU. AIN'T THAT THE WORST THING YOU HEARD DURING A GAME?"

The other team's seeker loses sight of the snitch, audibly gasping at your confession towards his rival. The snitch continues its way around the pitch.

"NOW PLAY THE DAMN GAME SO PEOPLE CAN KNOW HOW COOL MY BOYFRIEND IS."

The snitch finds it way a few feet above Regulus' head, you want to laugh at how this was playing out. The snitch was just invested in this as everyone else.

The snitch holds his spot and everyone watches with bated breath because, one, the game seems like it was nearing the end, and two (the much important reason they were watching) was that they wanted to see how Regulus would react.

His eyes look up from his broom and meets yours, it took him a few seconds before he broke away. Looking up, grinning like a devil at his now second prized possession (with the first being his chérie of course).

He reaches his hand up, easily snatching the snitch with a breath-taking grin. He clutched onto the snitch tightly, and a second wave of anxiety hit. What if he'd mistaken something else for the snitch amongst everything that had just happened?

Finally, Regulus unclasped his fist, letting the snitch hover above his palm. And as the game officially reaches its natural ending. The announcer's voice started up.

"It looks like Black has gotten the win this round," the announcer says first, their tone playful. "And would he be a black brother if he didn't get the girl as well?"

And then, since you had always been outgoing, so outgoing in fact, that everyone in the castle knew of you and your habits. So just to be sure, the announcer adds, “this isn’t one of your lies right?” 

You can’t help but smile at that, Regulus had always found your smile infectious so, naturally, he found that it was useless to even try hiding his smile from you as he awaited your answer. 

“Why would I lie to you about this?” 

— from bee: i hope you liked this! and is what you’d imagine when you’d sent in the request! feed backs/reblog/notes are appreciated!! :]

[heymeowmao]

2024.11.03 - https://weibo.com/l/wblive/p/show/1022:2321325096691572277348

- /no luck with the AV settings, it seems. off to a great start./ LYN: Blame it on the fact that I haven’t streamed in too long. I’m sorry, excuse me. - /fixes it, sort of/ LYN: This still looks like it won’t do. Is- is this thing messing with me?? Can you only see one half? I think the aspect ratio is wrong. Let me work on it. No rush. /sigh/ I’m speechless. Maybe it’s because I haven’t used it in so long. - /crowdsourcing for help XD/ C: It sounds like we’re in a water drain. LYN: Hold on. Why don’t you wait for me- when I’m done fixing the settings I’ll turn it back on. - LYN: I haven’t streamed in so long that I’ve gotten rusty. I haven’t planned well, but I have just contacted some weibo staff in the hopes that they will impart their wisdom to me. They’ve told me to restart the video, so I’ve done that and it seems fixed. Is the sound ok now? There’s no more echo, right? Can you hear the music? You can. And the laughter? Ok, perfect. Today’s stream will go extremely smoothly. LYN: I’m sweating. LYN: Let me once again welcome you all to my stream. Welcome, everyone! I am seeing you all on this Sunday night. Welcome in. LYN: For the last stream I used a vertical view but everyone said that horizontal was better so I’ve switched back but what I didn’t account for was the issue with the settings, but that’s all been fixed now.

C: Congrats on breaking 1 million (views). LYN: Congrats, indeed. Of course, this is due to the efforts of the cast, crew, and viewers. Thank you, everyone. LYN: I saw yesterday that ZLS was working hard to get a lot of her friends to promote the drama. I saw many different posts from everyone around the industry in support of ZLYM. She’s worked really hard on this, and even /I/ wanted to make a post for her. It would say: “Friends, let’s watch  ZLS’s drama ZLYM together.” I also count as one of her good friends in this industry, right? I wanted to get in on the fun. But then I was afraid that if I did people would accuse me of being dramatic (getting himself involved so that people talk about him). I wanted to post, “Support ZLYM, quickly start watching it!” But then I thought about it and came to the conclusion that it wouldn’t be proper, so I reconsidered and did not make a post about it. LYN: I’ve learned to restrain myself. I’ve been cursed at so much in the past year that now I’m cautious and timid. If this were me a few years ago, I would promote it to the extreme. But now I’ve started acting as the male lead in dramas, and the ratings so far have been pretty decent, so… as a male lead I need to be more honorable/proper. I don’t want to stir anything up.

10:26 C: Boss, may I go to the upper decks*? LYN: You must thank the *heavenly realm. For letting me meet you. - [t/n: 上舱 = shàng cāng = upper deck; 上苍 = shàng cāng = “upper realm” = heaven ] LYN: /YZJ voice/ Stay on the lower decks! - C: I want to be your personal attendant. LYN: Oh, you must have seen up to today’s ep. (e7), right? YZJ gave DW two choices: 1. Come to the upper deck to be YZJ’s personal attendant, serving only me. YZJ didn’t get to finish, but DW chose the second option. But the second option was to… get hit. I’m speechless. LYN: You want to be on the upper deck? Oh- I don’t need you, though. The upper decks are full. There are no more beds left on the upper deck. Kang Ju sleeps on one, and his cane takes up another. I don’t have any more spaces, so how about you see if you can bunk with someone else? - C: Are there other jobs on the ship? LYN: You mean, other than my personal attendant? There are cleaners, aren’t there? And cooks, and… there are lots of jobs. Putting wood in the furnace (engine?), steering the ship, etc. LYN: /sigh/ Forget about it.

13:35 C: Ge, are there cockroaches on your ship? (蟑螂 = zhāngláng) LYN: /laughs/ No cockroaches, but Zhang-langjun (郎君) (Zhang Jinran) is there. LYN: Oh, Tang Xiaotian is here. Zhang-langjun is here, I saw him in the comments! Report him to management! Oh, we can’t? Zhang-langjun is here, let’s welcome him. LYN: It’s such a coincidence, isn’t it. A lot of things are just bound to happen- they’re determined by fate. Who would have thought that we were just talking about Zhang Jingran- a very handsome scholar, a poet, well-liked and kind, who is helpful to others, talented, handsome and taller than me! Such a handsome fellow, and people are calling him “Zhang-langjun.” - t/n: “Master Zhang”, but can also be interpreted as “Mister Cockroach” depending on where you put the hyphen. LYN: We said this during our livestream the other day, too. When we were shooting and had to call his name- “Zhanglang-jun.” We had already thought of this joke but I didn’t think that the viewers caught on as well. Such a coincidence! Then, I went to shoot at Hi6- also to promote for ZLYM- I had gone as an actor of the ZLYM crew. That slipper… the crew chose it for me. I didn’t choose it myself! When I had gone backstage to change there already weren’t that many selections left, so they suggested I wear the slipper and even asked me if I had any idol baggage. I said, “It’s fine, I can wear whatever. It’s all good. Let me wear the slipper.” At the time I recorded the variety show, the drama hadn’t started airing yet. So… it was just fate’s plan. I didn’t think I would be the slipper, but in the end I became the cockroach’s nemesis. LYN: Welcome, TXT. My “qiáng”. Why is he my “qiáng”? He had sent me a message earlier that read: “What do you mean that I’m your “qiáng”?” I thought about it the whole day- I just got off the plane and was on my way here when he replied with that. I was thinking about it and it’s because zhāngláng = xiǎo qiáng. [t/n: 蟑螂 (zhāngláng) = cockroach; a common online word referring to cockroaches uses the words '小强' (xiǎo qiáng) (little strong); even cockroaches get cutesy nicknames.]

17:53 LYN: Let me ask him if he wants to come on. // If video is not convenient for you, just audio is fine, too. LYN: TXT, I sent you a text message. Take a look at it.

LYN: You’re saying that Li Bofan is here? Oh- welcome, Bofan! [songwriter] C: Change the song. LYN: I’m playing songs in my own stream, and you want me to change it? /sigh/ There’s two possibilities with this friend: 1. They have high standards for music. They must have heard the previous song too much and it’s annoying them, so they want me to change it to something better. The other possibility is 2. They say that Li Bofan is here, so they want me to play this song. LYN: LBF- Start crying! //  I’m joking!! (x3) I shouldn’t be touching his scars. -- 努力的人 (Hardworking People) [written by LBF]

LYN: He said that I haven’t turned on the “join livestream” feature. Let me turn it on for him. Okay- now it’s on. Hold on- I’m streaming on my computer, so- It should work! I’m on my computer. I’ve fixed it now, its on. / Oh- you’re eating? Okay, audio is fine. LYN: Then why don’t we just do a voice call from here (phone)? It’ll save you the trouble of connecting to the stream… // Because I’m streaming from my computer I can’t see the join request. Hold on. Let me see… Maybe we just connect via phone.  LYN: /talking to someone offscreen/ I know it’ll come through the phone, but he hasn’t sent the request. Has he? No- what are all of YOU requesting to join for?? Stop messing around. I’m going to reject your requests! If you’re in the queue then TXT doesn’t have a space! Cancel your requests and stop messing with me. LYN: How long will it take me to find… /scrolling/. Wait- I can just invite him.

23:03 - /trouble getting started/ LYN: Okay! Let me interview you a bit. You now have the very resounding nickname of “Mr. Cockroach”- what do you think of it? TXT: /laughing/ I think this shows the viewer’s love for our drama. I was called “Laobing-ge” in a different drama, before. LYN: Do you mind it? TXT: No, because everyone has their own ways of expressing their love for something. I think it’s great, as long as we have the love in the first place. LYN: That’s fine, then. Thank you, also, for sacrificing so much for our drama. (being called Mr. Cockroach) TXT: No, no. It’s my pleasure. LYN: Are you eating? TXT: Yes, some Hunan cuisine and it’s so spicy. LYN: Okay. Well, do you want to say “hi” to everyone, and let them know if there’s anything they can look forward to in the drama coming up? TXT: Oh, they CAN hear us talking? Then I should blow my nose… LYN: Yeah, they can hear clear as day. Did you think we were talking privately, making secret phone calls? TXT: Oh. Well we’re on 8 episodes today, and- I won’t talk about myself, but I’m sure that people are seeing that YZJ is secretly teaching DW all these survival tactics and that he cares about her. ZJR continues to unhesitatingly help DW, but… Ning-ge will probably show a lot more change, so I hope everyone continues to watch and support. There’s more to the plot waiting for you. LYN: :) Honestly, I think that ZJR’s character is quite charismatic and he’s helped out a lot on the journey. He’s very upstanding. In the later episodes my relationship with him will undergo some changes, as well. Also! I saw a funny video today- the part where you were being pursued by killers and you took a rock to slam on their feet. TXT: /laughs/  LYN: Did you see that? TXT: Yeah, and someone had commented that they feel sorry for the killers. LYN: I saw a comment that almost made me die from laughter. TXT: I think I saw it, too. LYN: The comment said, “I’m a patient with severe paronychia* and I can’t bear to watch this image. It sincerely hurts to look at.” [*nail inflammation resulting from trauma, inflammation, or infection] TXT: I hurt, too. I was exercising and two of my nails... LYN: I’ll send that video to you, later. It was so funny. LYN: Friends- you can go find that video. When ZJR is using a rock to smash the bad guy’s feet. TXT: I even replied to that author, I said I was smashing cockroaches. LYN: Oh, you replied? TXT: Yeah. LYN: Okay, well- you eat. Later when you have some time I’ll call you over to come play. TXT: Okay, no problem. Bye, everyone~ Ning-ge, you continue. LYN: You, eat. TXT: Ok! LYN: Everyone, please give TXT some attention and follow him. There are more interesting plots and performances waiting for you. Please pay him some attention. TXT: Bye bye, Ning-ge.

28:00 LYN: Usually I use my computer to livestream, so sometimes connecting with someone is a little difficult. There’s a bit of a delay, which complicates things. Okay. It’s fine. C: What is paronychia? LYN: Go look it up! I won’t be explaining the symptoms and pain of having paronychia to you, here. This joke is the type where if you get it, you get it but it you don’t, then forget it. I don’t know why I have to be explaining this to you, when my drama is airing (and he could be talking about it instead). Along with treatment methods and the harm it brings to the body? What’s the point in me telling you this? To put it plainly, paronychia is when the nail grows into your skin. It hurts a lot. It hurts even when you're not moving, let alone when you’re grabbing a rock to smash feet. It’ll hurt you to death. C: The edges were red and swollen. LYN: Stop talking about it. Let us end this topic about paronychia here, okay? I have a drama airing, so my hope is that we can be talking about ZLYM when people enter the stream, so that they can go and support the drama. But here they are, entering the stream to hear us chatting about paronychia. Is this a side story? The Story of Pearl Girl: Legend of Paronychia??

30:35 C: Turn off the “join livestream” function. LYN: I won’t turn it off just yet. What if the female lead comes in, later? What will it mean that TXT came and I opened the connection, but now that the female lead is here I’ve turned it off? People would be able to hold that against me. There are people hating on our drama already, you want to give them the excuse to say that the male and female leads don’t get along? That’s game over. 

31:25 C: Coconut Chicken. (yēzǐ jī). LYN: Is that the name you’ve come up with for me (Yan Zijing)? Mr. Cockroach is a pure tonal pun, but “Coconut Chicken” is a bit of a stretch, isn’t it? I think you’re just here for clout. It’s a little… not so… natural. LYN: If you wanted to call me Swallow Spirit (yànzi jīng), that’d be okay. For example, Fox Spirit, but I am a Swallow Spirit. /sings a bit of a song he associates “swallow” to/

32:26 LYN: Let me tell you- I am someone who is not affected by negative comments. Someone in the chat wrote four words, “the plot is average.” Friends- a normal artist will not respond to such a comment, but I am the type to face difficulties head-on. What type of person do you have to be, to come into one of the actor of this drama’s livestream when we are all having fun, just to say the words, “The plot is average.”?? You’re the type of person who makes a lot of noise online; but in real life- For example: a property just had its grand opening today and they’re celebrating with fireworks, but you walk over cracking melon seeds and just say, “The structure of this building is just average.” Eight security guards will come out of nowhere and beat you up! You really don’t know how to speak. You’re only good for making noise online. In real life, you’d go to a restaurant on its opening day, look at what other people are eating and say, “These dishes were cooked just averagely.” The chef is going to beat you over the head with their ladle. LYN: How annoying! LYN: Also I want to discuss a problem with you. “The plot is average.” If the plot is average, go find the drama crew! Go ask the screenwriter, what are you harassing me for??? You must be sick. Go find the scriptwriter’s weibo account and leave them a message, why are you complaining to me?! I’m just an actor, here to perform, so there’s no use in complaining to me about the plot. If you wanted to say that my acting was mediocre, that, I can accept. But for the plot? You’ve come to the wrong door. Get out. LYN: You’re such a bad person, so annoying. You’re likely to have paronychia. Later you can have Mr. Cockroach go treat it for you. This must be a sever paronychia patient: they’re in pain, so making a fuss will make them feel better. Go have Mr. Cockroach treat you. Follow TXT’s weibo account, as he’s a paronychia doctor. With his miracle rock you won’t ever have to worry about paronychia again. 

36:30 LYN: The stream isn’t lagging. It’s because ZLYM has a promotion group, so I told them that I was going to go back to Beijing, but that I’d maybe do a livestream tonight. I told them about it, and ZLS asked me when I would start streaming, so she can come and send me gifts. I told her that my gifting is closed, and how about she just sends me 66 over WeChat for the ceremony of it and be done with it? So she supported my livestream that way. LYN: I’m kidding! How could I ask her for a red envelope?? I told her that my gifting was closed and she was happy she could save some money. But I told her that when I was streaming, if she had nothing else to do, she could come over and greet everyone. She’s the main lead of our drama, after all. So it would be nice if she could come to chat. She said OK, but that I had to remind her because she’s flying out somewhere tonight, she’s about to get on a plane. LYN: Our entire drama, including the producers and platform are all very attentive towards the promotions of this drama. I’m sure you can see it. We hope that more and more people can be aware of ZLYM, like it, and watch it. I hope it can bring people relaxation or enrich your lives, just a little. C: Lusi is here. LYN: Oh? Let me look- LYN: I realized something embarrassing- which is that when I was connecting to TXT a little earlier, I found out that I wasn’t following him. So when I sent him the invitation to come on my stream, I also subscribed to him as well. LYN: Lusi is here, so let me connect with her. So she can come on and say “hi” to everyone. // ?? What’s her weibo ID?? No- she’s not in here? It’s okay, we’ll wait for her. C: She came, then left. LYN: … Ok, fine. I’m guessing she wanted to spend some money but saw that the gifting option was closed so she went back out. LYN: She’s here now? Okay, she’s here! Oh, my goodness. (sifting through the requests) She’s here. // Um. I sent the request to her, but it’s telling me “Please remind the other part to upgrade Weibo to the latest version.” C: She left to recharge (add money to) her account. LYN: No, she doesn’t need to. LYN: It’s telling her to update to the latest version, so… I’ll invite her again. All she has to do is accept.

42:05 ZLS: What does this mean? What does this mean? LYN: It doesn’t mean anything- it means that we’ve successfully connected. ZLS: Oh, it connected! It told me that I’ve upgraded! This is so professional, Liu-laoshi! I really like connecting like this. This is my first time doing it. LYN: Of course! This is my previous area of expertise! ZLS: This is really professional! I like it. Hello, everyone. “Lao-da, put on some bgm.” Someone needs some music. LYN: Why don’t you greet everyone, first? ZLS: Hello, everyone. LYN: There really is a delay. // It’s okay- you can speak! - /she’s going through a security checkpoint, so they’re asking about the things in her bag/ LYN: Did you see today’s episodes? It’s the treasure hunt, today. ZLS: Last night, I- Oh, no. I haven’t had the time to watch today’s updates. LYN: Mhm. ZLS: I was in a hurry to catch your stream, so I’m happy. LYN: So what you mean is that catching my stream is a little more important than watching the drama? ZLS: It’s more important. Very important. LYN: So my stream has delayed you from watching the drama. ZLS: I said that your stream was more important, right?! LYN: I know- what I mean is that you should watch the drama when it’s time (and not get distracted), so that you can support ZLYM. ZLS: What are you- Okay. Okay, laoshi. LYN: Yesterday I saw that you were working hard and requested a bunch of your good friends to promote the drama, so I was telling everyone that I also wanted to repost and ask people to support your new drama. 

ZLS: Sorry- I need to go through the security check. Let me tell you- sorry, Liu-laoshi- you’ll have to go through the checkpoint. Hold on! Go through the checkpoint, ok? Wait a moment!! LYN: Oh- she’s showing us the inside of an x-ray machine. Now we can so some research on it. She said I’ll have to go through the machine- but I’m holding my phone?? Okay, well. LYN: This might be the first time in my life- I’m sure that while I was being screened, all of you who are watching the stream right now have also been screened. ZLS: Sorry, I’m sorry! Sorry, everyone!! LYN: It’s okay! ZLS: Ten million people have been screened, sorry about that! I had to go through the- but it’s fine now. Sorry, sorry. Otherwise I would have delayed when everyone else is already waiting for me, and then I’d be in trouble. I think-yeah. LYN: Go ahead. ZLS: Everyone is very safe! Everyone went through, so you’re all safe. LYN: /laughing/ Yes, we’re all safe. Thanks for your hard work. On behalf of everyone here I want to tell you that “you’ve worked hard” yesterday to promote the drama. ZLS: Well, you’re the one streaming. And I felt that there was nothing more that I could do. What touched me was that a lot of friends that I don’t talk to that often also helped to promote the drama for me, probably because it was my first time asking them such a thing. And then- because I know that people are busy- and you know that most of the time you have to lighten it by saying “Oh, it’s no problem if you don’t have time. I was only asking.” LYN: “If it’s convenient for you, please help me to promote my drama.” ZLS: Yes, yes. - /talks about someone she only met yesterday, but was very sincere and encouraging/ ZLS: I was happy to see that everyone was willing to help and it felt a lot more meaningful than just a regular drama announcement. LYN: Of course, we’re thankful to all these friends. ZLS: Yes. Thank you, Liu-laoshi. Thanks for your hard work. Thank you to the fans- LYN: Thank YOU for your hard work. ZLS: It’s nothing. I want to thank you and your fans, and my fans, and the actors. We’re all working together to protect the show. I’m thankful that you like the drama.

ZLS: Oh! Your dog popped up! [t/n: a sticker in the comments] LYN: It’s a special effect! ZLS: Daimi!! LYN: Okay, well. You should catch your plane. I won’t disturb you, but it was nice of you to come at the last minute to greet everyone. ZLS: Yes, please support Liu-laoshi’s stream, and thank you everyone! Okay. LYN: You’re using my platform to extend your thanks to everyone, is that it? ZLS: Yes, that’s right. This platform is great! LYN: You can come more often to promote your dramas and I will collect less of a fee from you. ZLS: I think that’s a great idea! We can even join the stream. I think I should just promote my dramas with you in the future. There are a lot more people watching, here. LYN: That’s the truth. I have good equipment here, too. I have BGM! ZLS: Oh, right! You have the laugh track! /lyn plays some bgm/ Wow! LYN: It’s very impressive. You can give it a try next time, okay? You can promote your songs here, too. I can promote everything. ZLS: Ok, sounds good. Thank you. Thank you, Liu-laoshi! I should catch my plane now. LYN: Oh, my. Thank you for coming over and you’re welcome to come play more often. Have a safe flight! ZLS: Ok, ok. Bye! LYN: After you get off the plane, remember to watch ZLYM. Support ZLS. ZLS: Ok, ok. I’ll go and re-post ZLS’s weibo in support of the drama. LYN: /waves/ Okay. ZLS: How do I get out of here?? :) LYN: I’ll do it, I’ll do it.

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51:08 LYN: Ah! Oh, it’s back. Ok. LYN: I think that’s a good direction for the future of my business (having his actor friends join the stream to promote their dramas). LYN: I wasn’t kicked out. - /thanks people again for promoting ZLYM/ LYN: People are so nice, aren’t they? I started streaming and TXT and ZLS both came. TXT’s out there eating, too. But they still came over to be a guest. It makes me happy that everyone is working together in the hopes that we are properly promoting the show to everyone. I saw something even more touching though, today. After I saw it, I cried. The first thing is that I saw many of you had reserved cloud servers (?). It’s touching, because I know that they’re expensive. 30 yuan for a private room. Why do I know it’s expensive? Because I also paid a lot of money- but it’s not worth mentioning, because I know it’s what I should do! I spent a lot of money and- I don’t regret it at all. Thanks to all the friends who reserved the server in order to promote the drama, so that more and more people have the opportunity to watch the drama. I hope that if you were able to get the server, that you are able to watch ZLYM on time. Don’t have rushed to get the reservation but end up watching a different variety show instead… C: What’s the point of that? LYN: It’s like buying a membership for everyone. For example, there are some students out there who don’t have a lot of spending money, and therefore won’t buy themselves memberships to watch dramas. Then, some friends can come out and buy a membership for them, so that they can watch the drama. C: I didn’t get one. LYN: If you didn’t get one, then buy one. Please support the drama, ok? C: I bought SVIP. LYN: Yes, I did too. Did you think that as a big artist we can get memberships to big platforms for free? No, we still have to buy them, too. How strange is that? It’s a drama that I filmed myself, but I still have to pay money to watch it. I’m kidding! That was a joke. (about it being strange) LYN: Our friends are great and have kept promoting for me, which I am grateful for. I also expressed my thanks to them in the group chat yesterday. I know that every time one of my dramas air, that my fans have a hard time of it. Thank you for your hard work, everyone. Right now, your Ning-ge will offer you a deep bow. 

56:45 LYN: I really enjoy reading the comments that are a little mental. Someone just posted a comment that read, “Then, why don’t you kneel for your fans?” /laughs/ That is, “If you’re so thankful for your fans, express your sincerity and get on your knees. Kneel, if you’re so thankful.” Some people… I want to share something with you- LYN: If you’re going to be so sarcastic, then it will be really difficult for you to survive in a workplace. Getting back on topic- if I were to kneel down in this livestream- So what? There’s no need to speak so mockingly. Do you think you’re Yan Zijing? Friends- I’m gonna kneel! This person is provoking me! Well, I’m the type of person who doesn’t back down to provocation. You really want to do this? You said, if I were really thankful, to kneel down to my fans. I’m going to do it. And what about it?? Let’s do it. /points at the camera/ Watch me. - /makes like he’s going to get on his knees but ultimately uses his hand trick/ LYN: I knelt. C: You mustn’t! LYN: You’re a good actor.

C: That scared me into sweating. LYN: What does that mean? Why would it make you sweat? You afraid that if I kneeled down… then what? I don’t know. C: I’m going to cry. LYN: No, no. Don’t cry! Kneeling is also a form of respect and becoming sworn brothers. It doesn’t matter- even if I did kneel it would be in the name of friendship. C: Bow to one another as husband and wife. LYN: That’s not worth it. Let us just bow to one another as sworn brothers. We may not have been born in the same month, day, or year, but we can die on the same month, day, and year.

1:00:45 C: Ning-ge, did you play the erhu yourself? LYN: Did I play the erhu myself… Um. Did you think I was like a blind person, and that as such playing erhu should come naturally? - /puts on some shades to blindly feel around/ LYN: Is that what you mean? LYN: I didn’t play it myself. I was making the motions, but the sound was filled in during editing. Yan Zijing was really playing, though. 

C: Did you provide the beads for the drama, too? LYN: No- most of them were mine, but part of them were the crew’s, because some of the scenes required me to… throw the beads. /laughs/ I had to throw them at someone’s face, and I couldn’t bear to do it with my own. Most of them really are mine, though. Yu Yonghai- who plays Kang Ju- he gave me a string, and he put another string on for me. I gave him one of my plain ones and he gave me a matching one. He is also a hobbyist. He gave me a string of old xinyue, bodhi, and cinnabar, and I used that in the drama.

- /a comment about more puns of the name Yan Zijing; LYN: You can call him whatever you want./

C: Are the pearls in the drama real? LYN: If I were to say they weren’t real, would that be bad? If I were to say during this live that all the pearls in the drama were real, would that make it seem like we are serious about the props? Why don’t you just ask me if the gold bars in the drama are real?? Ask me if we really chop off people’s heads, while you’re at it. /sigh/ If the execution were real, actors would be one-time use, like chopsticks and tableware. Disposable. The beheadings and everything are for real, yeah. LYN: You know how YZJ is deeply poisoned? As the actor who plays him, I was also poisoned. It gives you a sense of immersion. On the day of filming wrap, I died.

C: Ning-ge, did you really play YZJ yourself? LYN: /laughing/ Uh? What type of question is this, I can’t wrap my head around it. Hold on. ??? “Ning-ge, did you really play YZJ yourself”? … No, I didn’t. I didn’t play him myself, no. A different actor did everything and they used AI to swap his face out for mine. That’s popular now, isn’t it? I don’t know when it started, but no matter who acts in a drama, they all have to use AI to switch the face and post it online to ask, “If it were this person instead, wouldn’t it have been a better fit?” If they’re more suitable, you should have had THEM act in the first place. Of course, I’m not talking about myself, here. I have also been face-swapped, you all know this happened with YNGS. But there are always these posts, “If this role were played by this person, wouldn’t it have been more suitable?” And in the comments are a bunch of fools adding fuel to the fire: “Yes, yes. This person is more suitable. It’s not bad?!? This looks good!” LYN: If acting relied on good-looks alone, then any good-looking person could become an actor. 

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1:05:55 LYN: I hope everyone here can support Fangs of Fortune (FoF/DMGL)! It’s airing at the same time (as ZLYM) and is also a very amazing project. It’s extremely not bad, ok friends? There’s a singer called Liu Yuning, who sang one of the songs, called “Unintentional Big Dream (无心生大梦)”, okay? Let’s take a listen. -- 无心生大梦 (Unintentional Big Dream) [Fangs of Fortune OST] LYN: This song is my first time trying a new style (for me). When I received the demo I was wondering if I would even be able to pull it off. But I grit my teeth, because life is all about breakthroughs and I’ve never tried this style before. So I gave it a try. I recorded it, and I quite liked the result. LYN: Next week’s Hi6 should feature the FoF crew. I will also be there. I’ll be representing the ZLYM drama crew.

1:08:37 C: My mom says your mouth is poisonous. LYN: Did your mom watch that part in the drama? Yan Zijing has a poisonous mouth and he licked his own lips and poisoned himself to death? LYN: Thank you. I’m guessing Auntie has some good taste. I’ve seen Aunties and Uncles around me- not Brothers and Sisters, because I am already old- I see that they’ve also been watching ZLYM. They’re sincerely watching it. C: Will you go to Hello Saturday? LYN: I already went. I was on the episode that aired yesterday (11/2). You must not be my fan! All of my fans know that I went to record for Hi6. So if you haven’t yet subscribed to my weibo, please do so. That way you will always know what I’m up to. Ok? Support me. C: My mom says you look like a son-in-law. LYN: Ehm… if you get a chance, take your mom to get glasses. She saw incorrectly? Or maybe she was a little confused, just now? It’s possible that she saw incorrectly. Take her to get some glasses or something. Look after her.

C: Ning-ge, people are making fun of you online. What do you think of that? LYN: Friends, it’s like this- I am very thankful for YNGS. The ridicule and hate I received during that time was- I’m not exaggerating- almost three times worse than it is now. What I get now is actually not bad. The first thing is that the original group of people probably aren’t spending the money to purposely put me down anymore, and secondly the haters aren’t as enthusiastic about me anymore. They’re probably tired. After everything, they’re only saying the same things that they were last year. They just need to simply copy and paste their comments/opinions from last year and be done.

LYN: /whispers into the mic/ Friends, there are crazy people in this stream. Watch out. There are crazy people here. Earlier you told me that there were people hating on me, to which I replied, (basically) “So what?” Just now someone posted, “I’ll go kill them all!” Did you see that? It’s terrifying! I was told someone was hating on me and someone else posted a message saying that they’ll go kill them all. Really. LYN: Don’t do that!! There’s no need- what sort of grudge, and how much must you hate someone??? There’s no need. Don’t be like this. Calm down. It’s okay. (x3) Let me tell you- the people who hate me, deep down, actually love me. If you really hate a person you don’t even want to SEE them, but these people tirelessly pay attention to every move I make. They listen to every single word I say, trying to find something to use against me. Think about how attentively they must be listening to my timbre, my voice, my resonance, on top of looking at my average face. Right? How much must they have to pay attention to me? On a base level, it’s love. If they didn’t care about me, how would they know where I am wrong or which point to use to ridicule me? So really, they love me. Don’t kill them. Save me some face, and spare their lives. Spare their “dog” life. Ok? C: I’ll go all out. LYN: Don’t!! You’re going to fight the haters? It’s enough. That one person alone was terrifying enough. LYN: “Spare the individual under the knife!” [t/n: used to save someone from execution]

1:14:00 C: Why did you only have one sip of champagne yesterday? LYN: Because… my alcohol tolerance sucks. LYN: Just one sip was enough. It’s not like I was there to get drunk. It’d be a sight if I were to attend an event and just drink all their alcohol.

LYN: I’ll repeat myself- I hope you all can support FoF. If you’ve watched ZLYM and have nothing else to watch, you can support FoF. Widen your horizons. There’s also another drama called Our Days, which is also airing on CCTV. It’s a high-quality drama and this song has a sense of the times, which really helps you to become immersed in the drama. It’s called Our Days. -- 这一路 (This Journey) [Our Days OST]

C: You’ve done quite a lot in this stream tonight. LYN: I skimmed past this comment and at first thought it read “You’ve done some inhumane things in this stream tonight.” I saw wrong. I did a lot of things in this stream, yeah? I promoted ZLYM, and the dramas for which I’ve sung OSTs for (FoF, OD). Of course! We focus on cost-effectiveness and after-sales services. If YYXH had asked me to sing their OST, I would also help to promote them. But they didn’t come to look for me, so there’s nothing I can do. That’s just how it works. I accept the money to help people alleviate their “disasters.” It’s that simple. So I won’t be helping to promote YYXH today. Despite the fact that I am quite close with the actor-friends of YYXH, to each their own. Please be understanding. Excuse me, I’m sorry. We’ll work together the next time.

1:17:12 LYN: There’s also another very good drama airing called A Beautiful Lie. It’s on iQIYI and it ends today, friends. If you haven’t seen this drama yet, you can go support it. If you’ve finished watching ZLYM and you don’t have anything else going on- this drama has ended and all the episodes are out now. You can check it out, okay? It’s called “A Beautiful Lie” and you can take advantage of your break to watch it from start to finish. This song is called “You Are The One.” It’s a song I sang for the OST, and I hope you like it. -- You Are The One [A Beautiful Lie OST]

LYN: That’s right, and there’s another drama which is airing, called The Rise of Ning. This drama stars Zhang Wanyi and Ren Min. We also recorded an episode of Hi6 together, and I was happy to get to know these two new friends. So, friends, if you’ve got nothing to watch after finishing ZLYM, you can check out Rise of Ning, okay? In this drama I sing a song called 泼墨. -- 泼墨 (Splashed Ink) [The Rise of Ning OST]

LYN: There’s another drama, called Kill Me Love Me. Some very amazing actors brought to life the very beautiful drama called KMLM. I think it’s already finished airing, right? In it I have sung a song called “不敢逢春 (Do Not Dare to Welcome Spring). I hope you all can support this drama as well. Even though it’s already finished airing- the membership period for it is already over- but you can watch this great drama in your free time. Okay? Please support it, friends! -- 不敢逢春 (Do Not Dare to Welcome Spring) [Kill Me Love Me OST]

C: Ning-ge, do you still owe OSTs? LYN: I owe two, and there’s one I haven’t decided whether I will take or not. They haven’t been recorded yet. Thanks for your support. C: Do you have more? LYN: Of course I do. That’s right. This song is from the drama Story of Pearl Girl, which also stars me. The OST is called 惟愿 (Wish). -- 惟愿 (Wish) [The Story of Pearl Girl OST] - C: Ning-ge, your dance at the press conference wasn’t half bad. LYN: /glares into the camera/ You don’t need to say it like that. - LYN: This song is from a drama airing on Youku. This is the ending theme from the amazing drama called ZLYM. It’s sung by a singer that I really like- Modern Brothers Liu Yuning. This drama is about a pearl harvester- /laughs at himself/ It’s too “official.”

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C: Ning-ge, is the ending a BE or HE? LYN: The ending… I think it’s fine if I tell you, because everyone already predicted this ending. The ending for ZLYM- for YZJ’s part- nearing the end he started to find the reason to keep existing in the world. He ends up finding something that made him truly happy. But in the end, he was taken away by aliens. The moment he found happiness, he was taken away by aliens. Which planet did they take him to? Maybe that will be revealed in the second part of ZLYM; it’ll be called The Story of Pearl Girl: Interstellar. It’ll tell the story of what happens to YZJ after the main storyline. It’s okay, because it’s an open ending. It’s not a sure thing where the aliens took and left him. It’s also possible that he was cremated. He was lit up, like a lighter. Or maybe they threw him to a different planet, full of Mr. Cockroaches. It’s a planet that gives him a headache because the planet is full of Mr. Cockroach. The story is about him fighting with these Cockroaches, I’m guessing. C: As long as you don’t die. LYN: I already said this before- the mortality rate of the characters I play has reached 80%. As long as LYN is in the role, the character’s mortality rate is already 80%. 10 characters, 8 have died. That’s just, inexplicably, how it is. No one else has reached this point, have they? Very few people can have this effect. The mortality rate of any character that I play is 80%.

C: Lao-da, you can watch an ad, then come back to life. LYN: /laughing/ Wow, that’s an idea. For example, a character I play dies near the ending. At this point a 30 second ad pops up on the platform. “Would you like to resurrect Ning Yuanzhou?” Use 30 seconds of your life to resurrect. That’s an interesting way to interact with viewers. You can resurrect protagonists. I’m sure this will be an expensive ad. This way, when you’re filming the drama you can shoot an alternate version where the protagonist isn’t dead. Another example! When you’re filming, you shoot two versions- one dead, and the other not dead. Then, when it gets to the last episode, a window will pop up. “If you would like to purchase an ending where the character is alive, please pay 6yuan.” So the people who want this character to be alive can pay to watch an ending where everyone is alive. There can be multiple endings to choose from: A) The leads are in love. B) The leads aren’t in love. C) People live. D) They’re all dead. If need to spend 6yuan to unlock each ending. The platform sure can make a lot of money, that way. 6yuan for a resurrection. Not bad. C: You’re a shrewd businessman. LYN: /YZJ voice/ Of course.

C: Spend money to determine life or death? LYN: Yes, because the audience is God, and God can decide whether you live or die. Right? Even for me- whether as an actor or before when I was a waiter in a restaurant or a salesperson in a clothing shop- this is a service industry. As an actor, you serve the audience, and serve the drama crew. In this case, we are also service workers. The consumers are God. You can spend 6yuan to determine if we live or die. Only 6yuan to hold the life of a character an actor has played in your hands. Is it worth it or not? C: 3yuan for half-dead but not alive. LYN: Do you think this is Haidilao?? There are large portions and half portions??? “Give me a half serving of duck blood!” Half-dead? What does that even mean?? Someone who’s catatonic? The person is lying there, alive but mentally dead. Half-dead. Can’t you just grab your roommate and pool your money to split the bill? You pay 3yuan and they pay 3yuan, and together you can eat a full meal! Honestly…

1:31:20 C: Ning-ge, quickly apply for a patent. LYN: What’s the point in that? I’m sure that a lot of platforms have thought of it. If I can think of it now, then platforms have thought of it ages ago. It’s just that if such a thing really was released… the platform might get cursed to death. Then that means my idea was a bad one. :( LYN: I can joke about it in my stream but I’m sure that if any platform out there really does implement such a thing they’d be cursed to death by the viewers. I’m saying it as a joke, friends. Please don’t take it seriously. Because- how can I put this? The platform wouldn’t need to use such measures anyway because doing so would affect their stock value. It’s not worth it. The money they make in stocks is probably higher then your 3-5 cents. LYN: But my Yan Business Empire WOULD use such a measure. The Liu Group Business Empire would. XD

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1:32:20 -- break #1 - /troubleshooting bc we can’t hear the audio from the video he’s playing as commercial break/ - /he CAN play Hardworking People, but it’s not the full version (and he needs more time than that)/ - /video editor OP has new works, but he hasn’t dl-ed them to this computer yet bc he just got back/

1:38:32 LYN: I’ve found out that there are some friends who have already predicted my prediction. Oh my goodness. You all are too amazing. Why don’t you go be a streamer and be done with it? I think you’re too amazing. You’ve already predicted what I was going to say! I JUST sat down and I saw a comment scroll past saying, “When Ning-ge comes back he’s definitely going to say, “The neighbors weren’t fighting, they were watching e7 of ZLYM.”” Amazing. Hey- why don’t I sign you as one of my artists? Your reaction-time is too fast! Episode 7 of ZLYM is YZJ’s first fight scene. I was already prepared to come back and tell you about it but you took my baggage and- what is it called? You didn’t spoil the joke… there’s this thing in crosstalk where members in the audience- “pao le”! Yes. You’ve “dug up the baggage”! Aiya. But, your reaction ability makes me really admire you. I’m impressed. Not bad.

1:39:50 C: Can you see me, Lao-da? LYN: I can see you all! Of course- yes, you’re a new fan. LYN: I want to take this time to thank all of my fans and friends. I’m really grateful for all of you. You’re there for all of my offline activities, program recordings, and such. When I was recording Hi6 for two days you were down there shouting and supporting me. I want to sincerely thank all of you. Thank you, and you’ve worked hard. I hope that you are happy, though. Okay? LYN: I know you’ve been helping me to fight against the haters and to promote the drama, and the very talented friends among you make video edits. When I see what you’re doing I feel touched and a little proud. I just want to say that you all are pretty talented! C: Ning-ge, I believe that good fortune will arrive. LYN: I-I’ll work hard, okay? I’ll do my best to work towards that goal. I don’t dare to acknowledge the fact, but I can work hard. People must have dreams. Maybe your dream, to others, can appear ridiculous or make people give you spurned looks and spit, but you just need to believe in and work hard towards your own dream and I’m sure you’ll find an answer.

1:42:45 LYN: See? I’ve just finished saying that and already there’s someone pushing me, asking if I’ve looked at any scripts recently. Um. Well… I haven’t. I already said- I’ve come back to being a singer. That means it’ll be hard on you for a while longer. LYN: The reason I’m not too anxious about it is because I still have three dramas that are waiting to air. Of course, if I come across a good one I will definitely accept it. Mainly it’s because I’ve been pretty active lately with business, variety show recordings, and some stage performances. I’m not in the mindset to sit down and look through scripts. And… I’ll look at them in a couple days. Don’t worry- I’ll give them a look. I’ll finish what I’ve got going on first, and will be busy for a while yet. Such as discussions for my concert, recording the OSTs that I owe, and… in any case I will be adjusting my own physical condition. 

C: How’s the second album coming along? LYN: The second album… I think it’s just short one song now. I’ve collected another one recently, so now I’m only short one. If I wanted to release it I could grab any song to add and release it. I do have some songs that I like, but the question now is if I really want to get this going right now or not. I CAN release the album, but I would need to form more concrete plans first.

1:44:53 C: I feel like you’re in a better condition now than when you were filming. LYN: Yes, because I got fatter after I came back. My skin and body are in a much better condition than when I was filming, because for the past four years I’ve been in Hengdian and haven’t left it. I think it’s okay, though. This year and last year the two guzhuang dramas for which I am the male lead have aired and they count as an acknowledgement of the past four years I’ve worked here. The reception for YNGS was good, and I think it broke 10k views, right? Actually, on iQIYI that’s hard to achieve. There aren’t many dramas in a year that can do that, if you think of how many drama that are released in a year. So YNGS already achieved great results. But I always see some inexplicable commentary. LYN: Of course, I can understand why people say this about the drama. People have said that “The ML in YNGS is too unfortunate (looking). I got halfway through and stopped watching.” And people were following along, saying “Yes! The people around me all said the same- they got halfway through and stopped watching because the ML was ugly.” I guess it’s my fault, otherwise YNGS would have surpassed 2m? Blame me. Think about it- so many people STOPPED watching and it already broke 10k. If the continued to watch, maybe it would have broken 20k. Right? Because about half of them stopped watching because of me, and I am one of the leads. I’m sorry- I was the block that kept YNGS from hitting 20k. Sorry, sorry.

LYN: And then, this year, the same words are flying around. I will never be free. There were comments saying that the ML is too ugly and that they won’t watch the drama. I opened up their Douban reviews, and attached was a really long image- someone sent it to me and told me, “Check this out, Ning-ge.” It was a really long image. They weren’t my anti, but an anti of one of the other actors in the drama- and they gave a one-star review to any actor that I’ve worked with. Meanwhile all the other actors received five stars. So- it’s an enemy of one of the people I’ve worked with, but the blame is all on me. [t/n: I’m confused] This person must have felt like a genius. Actually, I want to say that maybe you didn’t know who the protagonist was- you might not even know me. It’s also possible that it’s because I’m ugly. That’s entirely a possibility. But the problem is, there was no need to drag me into it! I was just here to blend in, you didn’t need to drag me in and use me as the weapon. I know I don’t look very alert, but there was seriously no need. If you’re so amazing, pick your fights one-on-one but don’t use me as a shield. You used a borrowed knife to kill! I’m too miserable! C: I’ll go kill them! LYN: No need!! Are you all crazy?? YZJ looks so mean but he hasn’t said anything about killing anyone. He’s only mean on the outside- on the surface level. But here it’s like there are a group of you gathering together and are ready to commit murder. 

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1:49:35 LYN: I want to thank all my good friends, my fans, and the people who are in the stream today, who are probably watchers of ZLYM. Many of you must be fans of other artists, or just passing by. I want to thank you for your support of ZLYM. I, Liu Yuning, will toast to you all. Cheers. C: Drain it. LYN: You people- Let me tell you, I really see all sorts of people in my streams. Have you ever met a person like this- for example: a groups of friends go out for drinks. “Come on, let’s drink!” Okay, drink. /sip/ “You- you didn’t drain your glass. What, are you raising fish? Drain it! Drink it all. If your feelings are deep, you’ll drink it in one shot. If your feelings are shallow, then one lick is all it takes. You’re a grown adult man, you should down it. Do it, do it!” “If you don’t drink, then you’re not giving me any face. Quickly, down it.” … Do you know anyone like that? I don’t know- I think they exist, because I’ve met them before. C: Acting as me? LYN: You’re THAT person?? It’s really annoying. C: Sounds like me. LYN: Oh, there are so many people who act like that? That tracks, because the stream's full of people who would kill an anti if they got the chance. LYN: Actually, friends, I am also this type of person. How else would I know how to act them so well? We’re the same type of person. I am not discriminating against you. Come then, friends. Let’s act that out again. LYN: A toast to all of you, and thank you for supporting ZLYM. I hope you can continue to watch until the day it finishes airing. Continue to support it, okay. Thank you. I’ll toast to you. /one shots it/ LYN: Drain your glass!! What are you doing, raising fish?!? Drink it, drink it! - LYN: ! (to Daimi) You gave me a fright, you. - /picks Daimi up, but she’s not in the mood for sitting/ - LYN: Down it, down it! What are you doing? /laughs/

1:48:45 C: How did English speaking go yesterday? LYN: I know I always brag in my streams that my English is so good, but when I actually need to use it I’m lost. I’m dumbfounded. The thing I’m most afraid of, you know- a normal person would be like this. For example. To my understanding, when a foreigner wants to communicate. First, they will say “Nice to meet you.” Then, of course I know how to say “Nice to meet you!” back. “Nice to meet you. Thank you, thank you.” But after two sentences, they think I KNOW English!! That’s a bug (glitch), friends!! “Nice to meet you.” “Yes, nice to meet you, too.” Then they will start- /”speaking English fluently”/ To which I- /can only smile and nod, laugh politely and say “yeah/of course/thank you/cheers” in response/. /sigh/ LYN: The most embarrassing thing is that you just finished saying, “Nice to meet you” and they start talking. After a while of talking, while they are awaiting your response, the person next to them (translator) says, “Oh, he can’t speak English.” And THEN, the person you were trying to talk to just goes, “Ah.” I’m sure they’re thinking, “If you didn’t know how to speak English, then why did you say “Nice to meet you”. I think you look like a mudfish (ni chou)!” LYN: But the good thing was that I could understand about half of it. Half-guessing and half-listening helped to me understand half of the conversation. I also watch foreign movies, and I’m the English class representative of Dandong Cooking Second Technical School, after all. You knew that. I went to study how to be a cook, but there are English classes.

C: You had such a history? LYN: ! A new friend. I caught you. I told you I was the English class rep of my cooking school, and someone asked, “You have such a history?” You’re either trying to flatter me, or you’re a new friend. Friends, let me tell you- you have to pay attention to the details. From this single point alone you can infer that I have new fans. Even if they’re not my fan, I still have a new friend in my orbit. They’re not my fan, but we’re still considered friends, right? Nodding your head at someone can mean that you’re friends, right? I will nod my head to you right now. /Nods/ That’s how you make friends. LYN: This means that the YZJ’s drama has attracted fans. :)! So for those of you who are acknowledging our friendship by nodding your head, if you have not subscribed to my weibo yet, please do so. I am Liu Yuning. I welcome you all.

LYN: Oh, my. You are quite educated. Someone used the term “as close as old friends.” C: I’m not a new fan anymore. LYN: That’s good, too! ~ Welcome new friends, without forgetting old friends. The road is easier to walk with more friends. At this moment, you all should be thinking of this song: -- (朋友 (Friends) - Zhou Huajian) - /someone hands him something/ LYN: Huh? Friends- Youku platform is too kind. I just said something that I need to apologize for- I was too narrow-minded. My bar was set too low. Friends, I want to cry. I made a joke earlier, asking why I had to buy SVIP membership to watch my own drama… /holding back his fake tears/ It’s like this- to the directors, first of all, I was joking when I commented on having to buy membership to watch my own drama. But they have gifted me with 1,001 SVIP cards. Friends, aren’t they so righteous? This means that I don’t need to spend money to watch any drama that airs on Youku in the future. Maybe I’ll save these cards, and for example in the future when I have a daughter, I’ll use it as her dowry. It’ll pass down from generation to generation. C: Ning-ge, can you give them to us? LYN: I can’t. Thank you, Youku. Thank you. C: Raffle them off. LYN: I won’t! Why should I?? I’m keeping them for myself! They sent me 1,001 SVIP cards, and I’m going to keep them for myself. Why should I give them to you? I won’t!  -- 朋友 (Friends) - Zhou Huajian LYN: Friends, sing along!! LYN: I was too short-sighted. I can’t believe they sent me 1,001 cards. But what if I turn around and start selling them? One card is 30yuan, then that means 1,001 cards is…. 31… 33,030yuan! [INCORRECT] C: That’s 1110, not 1001. [this woud be 33,300yuan, actually.] LYN: Oh, sorry. /thinking/ C: It’s 1101. // They charge by month. LYN: Oh, it’s by month?? Help me to calculate- how many years is 1101 months? Ten years? Nine? They’re using this as an opportunity to educate me. 9- 91 years?! C: 91.75 years. LYN: /lol” “.75”! They gave me 91years of membership??? HUH?! Wow, 91 years of membership. Oh my goodness, then that really IS going to be passed down through generations. I’ll need to give this to my children. LYN: They already put it in my account, so I don’t think I can give them to anyone. Sorry, friends. But what if I sell my account?! What if I sell my account, with the caveat that if my drama airs they have to go and leave comments. That way no one will found out that I’ve sold my account. I’ll sell the account to them for cheap, but every time a drama of mine comes out they have to go leave comments for my fans. LYN: That’s so dumb. I’m kidding! Thank you- thank you, Youku. I’ll strive to live until I’m 125 years ol; someone counted it for me and by then I’ll be 125. This account is going to be a target for hackers in the next 91 years… C: What’s the password. LYN: The password is yanzijing666. You can try it. LYN: ZLYM started ariring on Nov 1, so that’s meaningful. [t/n: not sure why he made that comment.]

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2:06:12 C: This is my first time seeing a ML play an erhu. LYN: ? I think that’s true. Usually it’s playing the dizi (flute) and playing the guqin. For the most part in guzhuang dramas it’s either dizi or xiao, the guqin. Erhu is pretty rare- not saying it’s never happened- it’s just rare to see, especially for the male lead. Other roles would play it, of course. But specifically the male lead, and not a supporting character or those fortune tellers by the side of the road. Think about it. C: Violin! LYN: I was talking about guzhuang dramas. Have you seen a violin in a guzhuang drama??! Why don’t you just get an electric guitar, then? We’ll do death metal. There’s no way.

C: Male God, how long have you been streaming for? LYN: She called me her “male god.” I don’t think I count as that, but maybe as a “male psycho.” How long have I been streaming for? Let me take a look. Two hours. It’s been two hours. Why? Where you looking for me for something?

1:08:07 LYN: The character of YZJ is quite… I’ve said this in an interview before, too. He’s special, and a character I enjoyed portraying. Maybe- not humbly speaking- I can see my improvement in acting through YZJ. Let me praise myself. I did improve. Because, honestly speaking, after I finished filming for YNGS I felt that I had made a breakthrough somewhere. I don’t know, but that’s how I felt. I’m not trying to say that my acting is amazing- I don’t act well. I’m still a very immature actor. I just want to share that even though I am immature, after YNGS I feel like I came to an understanding. I figured out how to handle acting, so I was able to experience/feel a lot more. After YNGS, I filmed another drama- you know (ZY). After going through that drama, I came into YZJ. Although he didn’t have any outstanding performance, I think it’s the smaller details that were more difficult to get a good grasp of. After watching my own performance, I want to say that I think that I have matured just a little bit. I’m happy for that, and I’ll keep working hard! LYN: Liu Yuning. I have high hopes for you. Jiayou. LYN: I saw a teacher comment on my performance, saying “You weren’t as natural as when acting in YNGS.” YNGS… (NYZ) was a different role entirely and the way I acted as him was different. The baggage they (Ning Yuanzhou vs Yan Zijing) each had to carry was different, so therefore their characters were different. Keep watching. One day, you’ll understand.

C: Who’s YZJ’s little sister? LYN: His sister? YZJ’s mom and dad had a little girl, and she is YZJ’s little sister. That’s how she came around. There’s nothing strange about it. His mom and dad had another kid, who is a girl and younger than him. So she is YZJ’s little sister. Yeah. C: Do you find her later? LYN: Didn’t you hear what ZJR said? “Sometimes you think the clue is lost, but the clue is right next to you.” When I was reading the script and saw this part I said, “Who’s YZJ’s little sister? Don’t tell me it’s Duanwu?!?” Because we’re seeing the same thing- I was reading the script and I saw that and was thinking “Is Duanwu his little sister?? How am I supposed to act from now on? Does this scriptwriter really want to play with this type of plotline? Is that okay?? Will it pass the censors?” XD - [t/n: Discussing the term used for when one sibling loves another, but idk what it is in English, let alone Chinese. There’s a nicer term than “incest”, I’m pretty sure.] LYN: In any case, I was thinking, “It can’t be HER, right?” - [t/n: honestly, I also had a split-second where I went there.] LYN: But you should keep watching… because it might really be her! I don’t know. Keep watching. You’ll get an answer to who YZJ’s little sister is.

LYN: Youku came to comment, “We must be generous to Mr. Yan. Come to ZLYM and watch Yan Zijing stir up the business world.” Our platform’s boss- I mean, leader- is here. I’m very thankful to Youku. Thank you, thank you. They left a message, did you see it? Why don’t you go start up a conversation with them? LYN: My fans are the best, in that they are thankful to whoever treats me well. 

C: YZJ’s little sister isn’t ZJR is it?!? LYN: /GASP!/ D-did you buy a copy of our script? I heard that our script can be bought online for 5yuan each issue. You’re not the consumer, are you? I heard the electronic copy is being sold at 5yuan each issue, but it used to be 10. Maybe the market wasn’t good enough, so it dropped to 5. In that copy you saw that… my sister is ZJR?! What did my sister go through to in Linglong Cave to turn into a boy?!? XD LYN: Oh- maybe it’s because our family- I am 1.90m tall. TXT is taller than I am. That’s fitting for my little sister. Usually the second child in a family is taller than the first. It’s true, then. He’s my sister. LYN: The friend who commented this is actually very right. Because not once in the drama does ZJR deny the fact that he is my sister. He didn’t deny it, which means that it’s true. LYN: This theory is… quite wonderful. You can use it for anyone. For example, you can say, “Liu Yuning, you’re an alien. Why? Because not once in your life have you ever denied the fact that you are.” Isn’t it strange?! It sounds strange, but also reasonable. 

C: Change the bgm. I want to listen to 惟愿 (Wish). LYN: Alright, as you wish.

C: So do you have a sister or not? LYN: I do. Yan (?) Ding said before he died, that my sister was still alive, right? So there must be a storyline in here in relation to that. I have lines referring to it as well. When the matters in Guangzhou are handled, I’ll be going to Shaozhou to find my sister. So, what’s next? Actually friends, Shijiu is my sister. I saw in the comments that someone had guessed so. I was watching the drama and reading the comments scroll by and someone commented, “Cui Shijiu isn’t his sister, is she?” Because the story that’s been revealed up to now is that the Cui family’s pearl farm used to be owned by the Yan family. They stole my family’s pearl farm, and took a child while they were at it. So Cui Ding must know who my sister is. It’s actually Cui Shijiu. It’s a possibility I also thought of when reading the script. The farm used to be the Yan family’s, and when the Cui family took it they also took the daughter. It’s reasonable. C: What “pig” farm? LYN: I can’t believe you wrote the “zhu” for “pig.” You OBVIOUSLY must not be watching the drama! We’ve been talking about it for a while now- ZLYM!! Friends- You know what, I am ashamed. Because- - /creates a banner that reads “Please watch ZLYM. Thank you~” and puts it up on screen/ LYN: - I should have put this up sooner. When the platform came by, I didn’t have this up. I should have had it there long ago. See? Friends- this space up here is advertising space, now. Today it’s been bought out by ZLYM. In the future, for my next stream, maybe ZLYM would have finished airing so our cooperation is over and this space will be free. Other drama crews could then purchase this ad space. 200 yuan/night. Unlimited scrolling. How about it? / But can the scrolling speed be a little faster?? Ok, I got it. I can just repeat the message a few times.

C: CSJ can’t be YZJ’s sister because her eyes are too big. LYN: !! Do you think you’re very funny? Do you think your comment is very amusing? She- can’t she take after our dad?!? It’s normal for the children of a family to look different, isn’t it? Especially with boys vs girls. For example, the boy looks like mother and the girl looks like father. Isn’t that normal? What’s the problem?? There is no problem. Why did you have to bring it up?! Why does it HAVE TO BE the eyes??? Don’t you know that my eyes are my bottom line and you’re not supposed to mention them???? You’re going to give me a breakdown. You think you’re so funny, huh? LYN: There are antis everywhere, and no matter what you do they’ll say, “Look, he cares so much.” Don’t even mention it! This is moral kidnapping. You stand on your high ground and kidnap others. For example, someone comes to curse at me, and I try to refute. They’ll say, “Aiyo~ You’re trying to explain? Look how much he cares about this. If he didn’t care, then he wouldn’t bother to correct people when they’re wrong.” >.< I hope you eventually meet a person like this in your work environment. LYN: No, no, don’t kill. No need for killing. Save me some face. C: I’ll go kill them. Leave it to me. LYN: It’s fine. It’s fine, really.

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2:24:54 -- break #2 LYN: Let me play a video for you, and I’ll come back later. I need to use the restroom- I drank too much water because I was toasting to you too much earlier. I'll come back and we can continue to chat for a bit. If you have any questions- if you’d like to interview me, for example they always gather questions from fans to ask me during interviews. You can just ask me directly. I’ll choose some questions and answer you directly, okay? We can interact. We’ll do an interview. If you have any questions, we can chat. You can also ask me questions about filming, and whatever else you’re curious about.

2:31:50 C: Lao-da, will you hold your concert in Singapore? LYN: Singapore… I won’t be going. It’s... overseas. I don’t have any plans for anything overseas at the moment. Because I’m not popular to that extent yet. I know I have an overseas fanbase; many of you told me about it last time. I have a lot of foreigner fans, for which I am happy for! But for now, I won’t be going overseas because I’m not that popular yet. I’m sure that if I did have a concert overseas people would come to watch. But it would also be a lot of you (in China) flying over to watch me (in another country). There’s no point in that. C: I was really happy to see you in Macau the other day. LYN: We’re friends, now. If we met once in Macau then we can be considered friends, right? If you met me once and we’re able to exchange words now, then we’re friends already. Please watch ZLYM, thank you.

2:33:45 C: Can you talk about NYZ? LYN: Of course I can. - C: The lyrics are gone. LYN: Ok. /brings them back/ - C: Does YNGS have a part 2? LYN: Yes, it does. It’s ghost story. If I’m in it, I’ll be acting as the ghost. A horror movie, a little thrilling. I have a lot of fans and friends who are girls- so maybe they would be less receptive to horror movies. Why would I say (that I’m a ghost)? Because at the end of YNGS, Ning Yuanzhou died… He was stabbed to death. So the next part would be a horror movie, set in the underworld. It’ll be set over by Fengdu County. (aka Fengdu Ghost City) It’ll be about people from Fengdu and the customs there. You can look out for it. It’ll be called “Er Nian Guan Shan.” C: I’ll watch an ad to revive him! LYN: /laughs/ Oh~ Right! That’s a good idea! If you want a second part to YNGS, you could do this- The start of the first episode of ENGS would be a viewer watching YNGS. Then, they’ll receive a pop-up that reads, “If you’d like to revive NYZ (and all the other heroes who have died), please pay 6yuan.” The viewer will pay and then ENGS will officially start. That’s a possibility. Watch an ad to revive the hero after 30 sec. It’ll give you double the gold coins too, right? Watch a 30-sec ad to revive NYZ, and right when that’s done another pop-up: watch 1-minute ad to double NYZ’s force value. C: I’ll pay 60yuan. LYN: Don’t do this.

C: I want to see the Six Paths Hall Prequel. - /misspelled a word to make it “Six Questions”, so LYN makes fun of them for a bit/ LYN: You must be preparing for the high school entrance exam, huh? Jiayou. Once you solve those “six questions”, you can revive NYZ.

C: What job did NYZ have when he was working in An County? LYN: Don’t ask! This is the only secret that he’s kept: what his job was when he was undercover in An County. You can think about it yourselves.

C: Does it take a long time to braid Yan Zijing’s hair? LYN: Not really. Actually YZJ’s hair/makeup was pretty quick. Because his braids- you girls must know of a thing called fake bangs, right? He has fake hair, like how you get extensions. He’ll braid the extensions and tie it to his real hair. 

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2:38:30 C: Trending topics #7. LYN: Is it positive? It’s not a bad topic, is it? C: #2. LYN: You can’t look in “My Topics”! It’s because you follow me, so you see that I am at #1. If you want to look accurately, you should- C: #1. LYN: #1?? Huh? #2 in Entertainment, but #1 on the Main list?? Don’t lie to me. Especially now, when my drama is airing- my mood is very fragile. I can very easily be pushed towards a mental breakdown. I’m very sensitive right now. Because when YNGS was airing I has hurt too much. So- I don’t want to experience that type of pain again. Let me take a look. LYN: I saw it. The topic is just “LYN wants to repost ZLS’s weibo (post).” /sigh/ That counts as a positive thing, right? It’s drama promotion.  LYN: I saw them- I have a team, and they send me screenshots, too.

C: Ning-ge, I started liking you because of YNGS. LYN: Thank you.

LYN: In in regard to the trending topic, I was not tricked. My fragile heart was saved. Thank you, to Weibo, for supporting me and my drama. Thank you to the team that works on the livestreams, as well. I had a small problem with my stream and they helped me to resolve it immediately. They taught me how to fix it, and I understood how. So “Thank you”, to them. Thanks for supporting us, and thank you for supporting me, Liu Yuning. Thank you.

2:43:00 C: Did Kang Ju teach YZJ all of his fight moves? LYN: The plot doesn’t give an explanation, but I don’t think he did. Because he grew up in a very- Since you’re on the seventh episode today, you know how YZJ fights. He grabs the arm and breaks it with a kick. Deadly and cruel. Including this- /gestures with an elbow/- almost like wrestling. So even though it doesn’t explicitly say how, from my understanding of YZJ- because his past hasn’t completely been revealed yet- but he grew up in an extremely harsh environment. He survived by crawling and fighting. All of his fighting skills are pretty much lethal. He’s not doing any of this for show; he fights to kill. Because in that kind of environment, any mistake can cost you your life. That’s my understanding. So as you can see from they way he fights in E7, he’s very cruel. He’s not the type who fights beautifully and looks like he’s flying. He’s going to immediately break something to make you quickly lose your fighting ability.

C: HE or BE? (happy ending or bad ending) LYN: Uhhh… /halfway towards Mongolian throat singing/ HE or BE? I can’t tell you. There’s no way I can spoil that for you. There’s the third possibility: it’s related to aliens. I’ve already told you- the ending is that he was taken away by aliens and went to another planet where there’s nothing but cockroaches. At the end it crosses over into a different, Three-Body (scifi) genre. C: Look up the ending to the original source and you’ll know. LYN: The original source of this original work has not been written to the end yet. This drama’s source material is only a preface, but not much story otherwise. This is an original script which borrows established backgrounds and characters, but the rest of it the scriptwriter wrote themselves. C: Aren’t you afraid I’d really believe it (about the aliens)? LYN: What do I have to be afraid of? The end is that he was taken away by aliens. That’s all there is to it.

- /promotes that ZYLM will air on three stations/platforms at once/ - /does the rounds thanking everyone for their support of his livestream and of the drama/

2:48:10 C: Will you work with Li Bofan again? LYN: He asked me the other day, “Ning-ge, what type of music do you like?” and I told him that as long as he wrote it and he thinks it’s good, I am okay with anything. I don’t have any fixed genre. I want him to write, and if there’s a song he likes that he think suits me, all he has to do is send it to me. 

C: Ning-ge, are there any parts in this drama where you have to show some skin? LYN: /sigh/ Uh… more or less. Because in guzhuang dramas the more the ML appears all arrogant and domineering in the first half, the more he’ll suffer in the second half. If he doesn’t suffer and stays arrogant until the ending, that’s a villain. How does one define “suffer”? Either shot with an arrow, stabbed with a knife, axe, hammer, a drop of blood on the head*. Anything is possible, you just have to suffer some injury. I don’t think the blood drop is possible though, because in that case you’d be turned to ashes immediately.** In any case, you’ll have to suffer some injury. [*t/n: I think he’s referring to a game or something, here.] LYN: You’ll see that a lot of dramas all do this- and I’m not saying that we don’t- the ML gets injured and the FL takes care of him. Think back on the recent guzhuang dramas you’ve watched lately- didn’t every one of them have this situation? Either it’s tending to the injury, feeding them the medicine , or bandaging a wound- there’s always such a scene in these dramas. Think about it- isn’t that the truth? You can say, “But Ning-ge, this drama that I’ve watched didn’t have such a scene!” and that’s okay- I’m sure there are some that don’t. But most of them do. LYN: This drama does have a scene where I am injured and the FL… didn’t care. In the end, the one by my side was Kang Ju. /laughs/ I’m kidding! You can watch what happens when the time comes. There will be a bit of injury. But even if I show some skin, there’s nothing to look at because I don’t have any sort of figure. I’m not like others with their well developed muscles, pecs, abs, and biceps/triceps. I don’t have that, so we’re not trying to “sell” you anything with my showing of flesh. It’s just a requirement of the plot. I can’t “sell” you any meat, anyway. I’m not worthy of selling any. I don’t have any muscles. 

C: If I spend money can I get a sneak peek? LYN: Peek at what, my showing of skin? What you mean is that if my gifting option were open, you would send a gift my way in expectation that I take my shirt off for you? You wish. That’s the first point. The second point is- you’d openly solicit a male actor?? If I were to report this to the police I could have you arrested. Your words were a bit too frivolous. You think you can buy me with money??

C: The 2ML showed his. LYN: What does what he does have to do with me?? If they want to show off, let them. Everyone has their own limits. Mine is to show as little skin as I can while shooting these dramas. Because it’s… embarrassing. I’m afraid to lose confidence because of it. My second limit is that if there are any scenes that require getting underwater, I’m not taking that drama, because I’m very afraid of water. LYN: When I first saw the ZLYM script, honestly I was a little afraid. Because the front part was all about pearl fishing. I was reading through the script and was dreading coming across “something happens to the FL while she’s in the water harvesting pearls and the ML has to jump in and save her” or “the ML falls into the water and bc the FL is a good swimmer, she goes to save him”. I was the most afraid of seeing such a scenario, because that would mean that I would be shooting a scene underwater. LYN: I’m afraid. Once I’m in the water, I can’t breathe. Or rather- the moment I’m in the water I WANT to take a breath. For example- if I’m on the shore and getting ready to go in. 3, 2, 1. /holds his breath, not going in the water/ I can hold my breathe above water for about a minute. But as soon as I’m in the water I can’t even hold it for ten seconds. I suspect that I was a fish in my past life. Once I’m in the water, I just want to breathe. I don’t know why. - /talks about how much he was practicing holding his breath for that one scene in Heroes, and he could hold it for a long time! But as soon as he was in the water he took a great big lungful of H2O./ LYN: I just starting breathing! Instinctively, I wanted to breathe (in the water)! Do you know how it feels to be underwater and breathe through your nose? It feels like you’re choking on it and the source of the water is through your nose (bc mouth is still closed). This is why Ning-ge has been a little slow these past two years. I used to have a quicker reaction time, but I’ve been slow because “my brain is filled with water.” [t/n: this is an insult people use when they want to ask why you’re an idiot.] It was filled with water. When I resurfaced it shot out my nose. After that scene, I don’t dare to take any more that involve water. I’m afraid of dying. Because I don’t know why it is, but as soon as I’m in the water, I want to take a breath.

C: Your brain was filled with water and it’s been a few years since then but it hasn’t dried? LYN: I don’t know if that’s how it works. You mean that it’s been three years since my brain was filled with water, so it should have dried up by now? It’s like this- I don’t know if you wear a watch? If you wear your watch in the shower, there’s going to be water vapor inside your watch. Water got inside it, and just letting it dry on its own is not going to fix it. The brain is the same- once water gets in, it won’t come out. Sometimes you think its dry but actually there’s still water in it. The brain is always going to be wet and damp. In Dandong, we have this saying to describe people who aren’t too bright- we say that their “heads (brains) are damp.” C: Use a hair dryer to blow dry your brain. // Take it out to sun-dry. LYN: You think I’m Sponge Bob? C: Throw your brain in a rice bucket. LYN: /laughs/ Oh yeah, they say if things get wet you can toss it into rice and it will absorb the water, right? That’s one way to do it. Tomorrow I’ll buy 400kg of rice, fill a tub with it, and sit inside. Other people take baths (in water) and I’ll take one in rice. That’ll do it.

2:58:55 C: People say that you have a specific horse that you use in Hengdian, is that true? LYN: No. I saw it- our platform went to Hengdian to conduct an interview and they went to the horse stables. They found the stable master and he said, “This horse, 123, is designated for use by LYN-laoshi.” That’s true. Whenever I’m in Hengdian I will always ride that horse. But there are a few horses to choose from, not only 123. 123 was used in several scenes, though. For the most recent SJYM, I think we used Lao Jia. Maybe it’s because the production always pairs me with a black horse, or a dark-colored one, so they’ll have me ride 123. At least with that horse… how should I put this? You can bribe it a little- bring it snacks everyday and at the very least it won’t kick you, right? LYN: At the very end of the interview- after hearing the last sentence my heart skipped a beat. The host had asked, “Among the actors you are familiar with, who do you think is better at controlling the horse?” The stable master said, “Oh, Liu Yuning has good control…” and I didn’t hear the rest. They mentioned me first. They said my equestrian skills are good. I was thinking, “You must be tricking me.” There’s that saying, isn’t there? “The stubborn of mouth will be beaten, a good swimmer can drown, and a horse-rider will fall to their death.” Of course, that’s not how the saying goes but the meaning still applies. LYN: Whenever I make it into a new crew, the director will usually ask, “Xiao Ning, can you ride a horse?” and I will reply, “I can’t. I KNOW HOW, but I’m not very good at it.” So I’m afraid that this interview will get out- I don’t dare to say that I know how to ride. The more confident you are- you know? (the more arrogant and prone to mistakes.) One must not be too confident. I keep telling myself that I have to treat horse-riding with the utmost of respect. I have to be respectful of the horse. Their height and weight are all greater than ours. In a natural environment your survival rate is not as high as that of a horse’s. So you have to be in awe of them, respect them, and treat them as a friend. C: You didn’t ride any less for having said you didn’t know how to ride, though? LYN: Well, if the production insists…

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3:01:55 -- Break #3 LYN: Watch a 30-sec commercial to revive me. C: You’ve made me cry miserably (by playing 别梦寒 for the break). LYN: You’re fine. 

LYN: Anyway, please support ZLYM. It’s currently being broadcast on Youku, and when I woke up this morning I received the good news that it’s broken 10k views. That’s great and I’m really happy. I hope you all continue to  watch and support the drama. I also saw- because I see very few comments on my stream- but apparently an actor from our crew, Zhu Rui, was here? I’m thankful for that, and she plays the role of Bai Niao, whom we will see later on. She’s another amazing actress, so you can check her out. I hear our drama is also Youku’s fastest to break 10k views, so I’d like to of course thank the viewers and our celebrity friends who ZLS lured in. Thank you for your support. I’d also like to thank the fans of these celebrity friends- Thank you very much. C: Reimburse the money used to pay for the membership. LYN: So you mean that if you’ve spent money to watch one of my dramas, I should reimburse you for that support? Should I also pay for the duck necks/tongues (snacks) that you’re eating while watching the drama, too? Should I prepare drinks (starts naming them), too? Would you like me to pay for those?? C: I want to drink Chunzhen. LYN: Oh, well that’s ok. Chunzhen works- you can support it more, if you’d like. When you’re watching the drama you can partake in some Chunzhen drinks and snacks. And if you’re up late watching dramas and your skin condition is not too great because of it, you can use our L’Oreal products- face masks, hydrating serums, and etc. Replenish and moisturize to make your skin look more beautiful and youthful. 

LYN: Today’s update has been up to- /counting/ episode 8, right? If I’m remembering correctly it should have aired up until the Treasure Hunt. It’s my first fight scene in the drama. C: Your brother is here. LYN: Oh? Kang Ju is here? Welcome! I also said this earlier, but the actor’s name is Yu Yonghai. He’s a very splendid actor who is very serious on set and works very hard during filming. It’s actually a lot harder on them (supporting actors) than most of the leads. LYN: Yes, he’s given me beads before, for my birthday.

3:11:30 C: Wow, you’re streaming. LYN: Yes, I have been for about three hours now… You’ve only just come now? What took you so long? LYN: If I don’t have anything big going on, and especially as my drama is airing, I’ll come to stream. While you’re watching the drama and you think something looks fun or if something comes to mind like “how was this part shot?” or “what were you thinking when you did this scene?”, you can come to my stream to share it with me and I’ll chat with you. Ning-ge will take you and reveal the secrets behind the whole film and television industry. No- that doesn’t seem like a good thing. (the way he said it) It sounds like I’m going to say something bad. /rephrases/ Ning-ge will take you and reveal the mysterious story behind the drama. 

3:12:35 C: I want to ask LYN, what part of the drama left you with the deepest impression? LYN: Your question is a lot like ones I get asked in interviews. “I think the scene that left me with the deepest impression was… There are quite a few. Because, how should I put this? There are several scenes to highlight that reflect the conflict and drama of the story. So for me, I… I’ve forgotten everything. Oh, of course, I can’t respond that way. I don’t remember.” C: !! LYN: No, don’t interrupt me!! What do you mean I can’t remember??? One of you hit the nail on the head, actually. “The scene that left the deepest impression on me was the very last scene, where YZJ boards the UFO. Every step he took was like a step on his own heart. Each step was heavy. When I stepped foot on that UFO- when that escalator descended- only an actor can understand that feeling. I don’t believe the audience would be able to understand was he was feeling in that moment. I hope that my expression can help everyone feel YZJ’s happiness, sorrow, and fear of the unknown.” You can check it out when the time comes. C: You saw the aliens? LYN: That’s right. With heavy steps I set foot on the spacecraft, and the alien who came to greet me cried. It was also deeply moved by my performance. I stepped with heavy feet and the actor who played as the alien cried with every step I took. Although they were wearing a little green alien costume, I could still feel their sadness. The tears flowed out from their feet. The alien cried.

C: How was the fire on the pearl farm shot? LYN: Do you mean the arrow shot from afar, or the fire on the inside? The indoor fire is just shot as it normally would be. The arrow was green screen. When I shot the arrow, it was at a green screen. The scene was created with special effects in post. That’s normal. You can’t REALLY build a building and burn it down in a fire. I gazed upon that green screen and felt a trace of hatred in my heart. C: Spoiler! LYN: What’s there to spoil?? Do you not normally watch xianxia? And even if you don’t, have you ever watched a spy movie or the like and there’s a gunfight? You don’t think they’d give real guns to these actors, do you? That’s all special effects; they have to be. Look at all those xianxia with immortals flying everywhere. Aren’t those all accomplished with large fans and wires? Do you think a push of the hand would create such a strong lift-off? That’s straight up a fan- /whoosh/. There are many scenes atop a mountain where a slight breeze gently makes the female actress’s hair float and look beautiful. The truth is that below the camera-line there’s a group of people each with a small 25yuan electric fan. You can buy them on Taobao. The rechargeable kind. Did you think they were really standing on the top of a mountain? What they’re actually standing on is what the professionals call a one-meter stand. It’s a stage that’s one-meter tall and the camera shoots upwards from below- because we can’t aim it at the ground, so we aim it at the sky. It only gets the actor’s face and chin, clothes and hair; and there are two small fans below, making the “wind”.

C: Did you laugh at all while “playing” the erhu? LYN: No, no bloopers because I am a professional. :) In the beginning though, I did. When I was first learning/playing- I laughed. Because I don’t know how to play, so the sound- /imitates the sound while maintaining a serene expression/. Even if /I/ were to be able to hold back my laughter, I don’t think anyone else on set could. There was another scene where I had to play the erhu while everyone else danced! 

C: Ning-ge, should I watch ZLYM or your stream? LYN: You can do whatever you want to do. ZLYM had already updated, so you can watch wherever you want- it will still be there. As for my stream, there’s the playback. So you can come back whenever you want to  watch it. Do you have difficulty making decisions? I do as well. So, you can play rock-paper-scissors with your left and right hands. /plays a match/ Ok- right hand won. I will watch LYN’s stream first. 

C: How are scenes in the sea shot? LYN: You mean in the beginning, when they’re on the sea floor? They build a water shed. Our crew spent a lot of money to build a water shed, and we shot in there. It was… quite expensive. Did you think we were really throwing people into the sea?? Why don’t you ask if the shark was real or not? This friend is very innocent. C: Did they really go into the water? LYN: Yes. You can tell when things are shot really in the water vs. when they’re not. - LYN: Actually, I’m grateful that friend didn’t ask if the shark was real. “If the shark was real, how was it trained to listen?” C: Is the shark real or fake. LYN: The shark was definitely real. We borrowed one from an aquarium. I told you earlier, didn’t I? Actors are disposable, just like the chopsticks you get with your takeout. When you buy takeout, don’t they ask if you want to pay 50cents for utensils? We actors are the same- 50cents and disposable. If the shark bites us to death you can just throw us away.  - C: Was the ship real? LYN: The ship was real, but we were shooting on land. All of the water was put in with green screen. There’s no way… no way they’ll drag us out to sea. Also, I don’t think the quality of this ship was suited to being on the water for very long, so it’d be dangerous. - C: Ning-ge, the shark was real? But I thought it looked so fake. LYN: /laughs/ No making fun of our special effects! What do you mean?? We were just talking about whether the shark was real or fake, and I told you it was real, so you’re going to ask me why it looks so fake??? For this things in the drama, you’re supposed to watch just to get the meaning. If you understand that the FL is in danger, then it’s done its job. When the shark appears, what is it to you whether it’s real or fake? The shark wasn’t there to let you see how exquisite our special effects are. We’re not filming Jurassic Park, here! This isn’t Jurassic World. Seeing the shark is to let you know that there’s a hidden danger. Is it really necessary to discuss whether the effects were good or not?? There’s no need, really. This isn’t a xianxia drama, where the special effects are to look cool or bring authenticity to the world. Nor is it a monster film. It’s just there to let you know that there are sharks in the water. Why are we taking this so seriously? There’s really no need. 

C: Are the pearls real? LYN: The pearls were all real. They’re from those oyster/clam opening videos you see online. A few of us actors stayed up one night to stream an oyster-opening video. After we opened all those shell we took the pearls from them to use as props. That’s what we did. The pearls were all real. 

C: Is the hair real? LYN: The hair…? Are you talking about my hair- YZJ’s? It depends on what angle you’re looking at it. From the crew’s perspective, it’s a wig and not my own hair. But from the wig’s perspective, it’s all real hair. You haven’t heard those vendors on the street when they pass by your house calling, “We accept hair! Accepting long hair!” You haven’t heard of that before? They go out to collect real human hair in order to make wigs. “We accept hair! Accepting long hair!” XD C: I haven’t heard of it. LYN: You must live in the city. Over in my hometown you hear it all the time. 

C: Liu Yuning, are you a real person? LYN: I already told you that I didn’t act in this drama at all. They just used AI to switch in my face later. 

C: Is the ending sweet? LYN: So sweet it’ll choke you. After you watch the ending you’ll gain 2lb. It’s that sweet. Even if you don’t eat anything- just by watching the ending alone- you’ll gain 2lb. The sugar intake will be too high. Be careful. I promise you it’ll be sweet. If it’s not sweet, I’ll give it to you for free. This melon is guaranteed to be sweet. If it’s not, I won’t take your money for it. C: I don’t like to eat sweet things. LYN: No way? I promise you it’s going to be sweet, but you don’t like sweet? C: If it’s not sweet, will you reimburse for my platform membership? LYN: I won’t be, no. LYN: You don’t like sweet? In that case, let me tell you- the ending is sour like an unripe pear. There’s all sorts of heartbreak and suffering. The ending will torment you to death. Really. Just wait for it. After you watch the ending, you’ll lost 2lb. Why? Because it’s so sad that you’ll keep crying, so much so that you’ll tremble and sweat. When all the water weight has left your body and you stand on the scale, you’d have lost 2lb. This is a weight-loss drama. You can weigh yourself before you watch the finale, then weight yourself after you’ve watched it. You will definitely lose 2lb. C: If I watch it twice, then will I lose 4lb? LYN: /laughs/ ?! Hey- that’s… you’re very smart. You say, “Lao-da, I want to lose weight.” I tell you, “Watch the drama, and you’ll lose weight.” Then you reply, “If I watch it ten times, will I lose 20lbs?” I don’t know if that’s possible, but you can try it. Watch it 60 times and lose 120lbs.

C: Were the scenes on the ship shot on a real ship? LYN: It was filmed on a real ship but it wasn’t in the water, but on land. Some of the cabins weren't on the ship- rather they were sheds build on land. It’s convenient to shoot things on a ship. 

C: Ning-ge, what meaning does the blood pearl have to you? LYN: The blood pearl, of course, is a very important thing. I can’t tell you, but later you can post on weibo: “Has anyone bought the script and can tell me? What does the blood pearl mean?”

C: Have you ever hit your head while filming? LYN: I often hit my head. That gave me the most headache. There were a couple times I hit my head pretty hard. There were additional three-four times I didn’t hit it that hard. The cabin was too low. I kept forgetting, so I would walk around and hit my head on the door frame all the time! After shooting a day in there my neck hurt SO MUCH. Because I didn’t dare to lift my head, I went around like this (neck extended low). Oh my goodness. I was hitting my head so much. Sometimes you just forget, turn your head, and bump into it. C: Why didn’t they make it higher? LYN: … “Why didn’t they build it higher”?? Go ask the director, why ask me??? I’m not the builder or artist, so I’m not there to build up the sets. Go ask them, how should I know?? I don’t know either. Why didn’t they make it higher? I also wonder. D: LYN: It’s not because we didn’t have enough money. Making it higher would only take a few extra pieces of wood. This height must have been specifically designed. It was the perfect height for me to stand up straight- with the exception of the door frames, which should be expected to be lower. So apart from the doors frames, you’ll notice that the roof is my exact height when standing up straight, save a couple inches. If I were to speculate on the director’s intention, he probably wanted to convey that: “YZJ is only an upright man when on his ship. But when he’s off the ship, he’s nothing.”  LYN: The early episodes are all mostly on the ship, because I don’t leave it much. I left it in the latest episodes to attend the Treasure Hunt. C: Did Zhang-langjun also hit his head? LYN: He definitely must have! I don’t know, though.

C: How can I get into YZJ’s company? LYN: We were thinking about this while filming- how should we be pronouncing “Yan Zijing”? Because at first we knew that the character for “yan” (4th) in surnames is pronounced with the 1st tone. Just like the “ning” in Liu Yuning changes tone when used as the surname “Ning”, as in Ning Yuanzhou. We were thinking about what to call this character, and I tried it both ways. Yan Zijing (4th tone) was smooth. But Yan Zijing (1st tone) didn’t seem as smooth. I don’t know if actually both work? But if using the surname, it should be 1st. // Using the first tone makes it sound like this kid’s been drowned. That’s what we were thinking while filming. Yan (1st tone) Zijing. :|? Doesn’t sound very manly. So when I was acting, I basically used the 4th tone. It sounded more impressive. But the problem is that later when I went to dub my parts the laoshi said I should change it back to the original tone. It just… doesn’t sound very impressive. 

C: Ning-ge, you’re trending at #5. LYN: Thank you, everyone. Thank you, weibo. - /promotes ZLYM again/

C: Ning-ge, in E8, what are YZJ’s feelings towards DW? LYN: Now you’ve come to ask about how my understanding of  the character? I have to answer these types of questions carefully. As an actor, you have to answer these questions carefully, because people with find a problem with whatever you say. I already saw someone a couple days ago trying to make people play to their tune. What did they say, “This ML is really dislikable. The first thing he does mistreat the FL. He doesn’t respect women.” Tsk. They’re clearly trying to stir things up. It’s BECAUSE I respect her, that I don’t treat her as a woman. Everyone on my boat is equal and punishment and reward is given fairly. If you do something wrong, you’ll be punished. But likewise if you do something right, I will definitely reward you. This is the company’s system. These are the rues of this world. You know?? LYN: Also, in the beginning I didn’t know the FL and I wasn’t close to her. YZJ’s personality was clear from the beginning. Zhang-langjun and I went to the pearl auction and I told him then, “You’re such a good person. You can meet anyone and want to help them.” Later there’s a scene of us playing chess and there was a critical line there, too. I said, “There are so many pitiable people in the word, but can you help them all?” These actually are proof of YZJ’s morals. He CAN be kind, but… has a very formal standard for evaluation. He’s not someone who would save or pity anyone. He’s not this type of character, but if you like this type then Zhang Jinran is your man. C: Kill them all. LYN: YZJ is a very sensible and clear-headed person.

3:37:40 LYN: Also, before the drama had even aired people were saying that in order to get revenge, YZJ shot DW through with an arrow and that his character was the worst, etc. That’s complete nonsense and the plot wasn’t even like that at all. But people will use these out-of-context in order to comment on my character, which I think is really unnecessary. So, friends, please don’t be led on by these kinds of things. LYN: No need to kill anyone over this. Spare their lives. No one has it easy.

C: Is the hairpin a token of love? LYN: I can tell you that it’s not.

C: Ning-ge, can you talk about the roles you’ve played in the past? LYN: I can, but I wouldn’t know what to say about them. // Or ZLYM? I can talk about them all. - C: Bai Choufei. LYN: Ok. BCF’s is a role I liked very much; he’s unrivaled. For that time. Every character will leave you with regrets, right? My regrets for him- honestly speaking, these are words from my heart- was that my own proficiency in acting wasn’t very high at that point in time. If we were to liken it to a skill chart, my strength was there but my performance was not. Acting requires the use of certain skills, and at that time I didn’t have those skills yet. I had used my intuition/real feelings in order to act as BCF. So when I was shooting for the drama I was often quite weary because I was too invested in the character. I used my heart to express the acting, but it’s an exhausting way of performing. Normally, one would be able to use skills to accomplish the same effect. That’s were my regret lies, with this character. If only my skills had been better- not saying that I am very highly skilled right now- just saying that if they had been better, the character would have been more richly interpreted. But I’m already very satisfied with it, because when I look back on past roles there are some things that I may not be able to ever reproduce. I was just too invested. - C: Hei Xiazi. LYN: Hei Xiazi… I really liked the character, and thought he was similar to me. He’s a little like how I am when I’m streaming. There’s a saying in this industry, “Acting well is not as good as looking alike.” I offered up a different topic, but this is what we say, on the inside. In a normal casting, acting well is not as good as fitting the look of the character. I may not be like Hei Xiazi, but there’s some part of my personality that matches and fits the character more. There’s a joking/teasing side, but when he needs to be serious he’s reliable. I was happy to have played him. LYN: Sometimes if you tell me that an actor played a role with a high-status, I don’t even believe it when I see it. With this type of person, it means that he doesn’t look the part- not to comment objectively on his acting or whether be is good-looking or not. That’s secondary. The thing is that when he’s standing there, he doesn’t LOOK like someone who would have a high status or be in a position of power. That’s really unbearable. It just… doesn’t fit. Other people can just stand there and already fit the look. You don’t have to act, because you ARE him. These types of people are more suited to the role. 

LYN: Sometimes if a character is similar to me in some aspect- personality or state of mind- I’ll try to express that similarity more clearly. This helps to make the character feel more alive. LYN: I don’t really want to talk to you about acting, because I’m not really worthy of doing so. I’m just a singer. If i say too much about it, people are going to think I’m putting on airs and “teaching” you about acting. I’m not. I’m just sharing how I approach and get into my roles. I won’t talk about it anymore, because it’ll look bad if I say too much. Because I… don’t understand it (wasn’t professionally taught). No more of this topic.

LYN: When actors are shooting, there are certain scenarios that are quite fun. There were a few dramas of mine where the actors were all very good, when we’re together. For example, in this scene there are 4-5 people. Normally when we get on set the director will tell us to do a run-through. We know what the scene is about, so we’ll start running it through. We start going through our lines, and at some point there’s space enough to make a change. But with one change something else has to change to accommodate. We’ll play off of each other so that the scene can play out with more life, to make the drama richer, more fun and more reasonable. Some dramas may only have two pages worth in writing, but if we think there’s something that’s excessive- once we are familiar with each other, there’s no need to say much- there’s no need for too much explanation, so we’ll decide to cut that part in the script out. Some dramas may only have a third of a page in writing, but we can turn it into ten minutes’ worth of time. It’s entertaining and emotional. When you meet such actors, shooting with them is an enjoyable experience. You’ll feel the creativity flowing in the environment. You’ll believe that you ARE your character, and the people around you are your friends and relatives. This is why I think acting is interesting- because I enjoy this process; I enjoy creating with everyone. Sometimes when we’re shooting with a partner, especially for one-to-one, with you sitting across from me and we’re having a conversation. You one line, then me one line. I especially like filming scenes like this. Because sitting across from the other actor lets me observe them and change my own rhythm of speech, performance method, and inner state to react in the best way. I feel it’s almost like an interview, like a conversation. I think it’s really interesting. As if I’m watching to see what move they’ll make so I make my move in turn. After I’ve made my move and they were able to counteract, I’ll need to think of my next play. It’s fun. I enjoy the process and it’s really satisfying.

LYN: Sometimes I’ll watch the dramas of other actors in my drama ad see how they act. If there’s good things to learn, I want to learn from them. If there are bad things or things that were different from how I was imagining, I will avoid and try to mask those shortcomings. That’s how I am- I’ll look at other people’s work, and that way I can learn from them. C: Ning-ge, you keep working with veteran actors. LYN: Of course, working with mature actors means that there is definitely something for me to learn. 

LYN: Okay. That’s about time, everyone. Thank you all for your support and companionship. Many of you probably started watching from the start and haven’t left, so thank you for your company and support. I hope you all can continue to support ZLYM. If I have time coming up I’ll come to chat with you. It makes me happy that we get to chat like this. Thanks for your support and company. It was great to have you and I hope you had fun. Let’s meet again in my next stream. Goodnight everyone!

[meiiuka]

hi Mod Toko!! <3 can I request rantaro and nagito finding out that the reader has a crush on them and how they both would react??

of course, that's such a cute idea!!

rantaro amami and nagito komaeda finding out that you have feelings for them:

category: headcanons, fluff

notes: i hope i didn’t stray from the prompt too much, i tried my best to make the scenarios entertaining lol

Rantaro Amami:

• you, rantaro, and your mutual friend were having a conversation with just the three of you in a casual group setting

• the third party had accidentally mentioned that you had feelings for him while telling a “funny story” 💀 • rantaro’s first reaction is to chuckle at the news but he doesn’t really fully process what’s being said until he notices the flustered reaction on your face

• he has this moment where his eyes just kind of go out of focus and he thinks about the fact that your mutual friend just said it aloud without thinking

• he’s normally a very composed guy but this time, he can’t help but react by widely grinning and letting his excitement show in his face 😭

• the normally chill, sociable guy that you fell for is bubbling with excitement and is struggling to think of how to phrase what he wants to say smoothly

• “can the two of us have a minute to ourselves? i uh… might need a second”

• “hey y/n, so about that. when were you gonna tell me you had feelings for me?”

as you held your breath in anticipation, he completed his thought

“i wasn’t sure how i was going to tell you about my feelings, so i take this as a good way to break it to you”

• you two are both laughing at the situation (and at your mutual friend who has zero idea what they just revealed), rantaro putting his hand on your shoulder for leverage as he struggles to compose himself

• “what do you say a date for tomorrow night? it’s my turn to take initiative and put effort into this”

Nagito Komaeda:

• it started when you wrote a message to your friend about nagito: “i just don’t know what to do… i like him, but what if he doesn’t like me?”

… and accidentally sent it to nagito 💀

• the first reaction you get from him is “?” (that is, the first reaction you can see)

• on the other side of the phone he is freaking out, wishfully thinking that it might be about him, blushing PROFUSELY, pacing around, and is unsure of what the hell is going on

• you immediately send him a follow up message trying to cover your tracks but you get the feeling that he already knows

• in a way, you also want him to know so that you could just get it out there, but it’s extremely nerve racking for everyone involved

• meanwhile every single fiber of his soul is hoping that the message was about him, and that somehow you’d reveal it to be

• “not to pry but could i ask you something y/n? who is this person you have feelings for? we’re friends and i want to help you, if i can”

• this evolves into a conversation about you practically describing the aspects of nagito without actually naming anyone— but it’s exactly what he needs to deduce that you’re talking about him

• you two have the same moment of realization where the tension is so high that you just can’t ignore what you both already know

• “i think i’ll just be honest at this point,,

i’ve been talking about you, nagito. you’re the one i have feelings for.”

• he literally cannot type words. he’s paralyzed by the fact that you of all people??? liking him? no way. he must be dreaming

• his reply reads:

“if i wasn’t already obvious, i have feelings for you too… sorry if it was awkward for me to ask you that. i want to go further but i think i’m worried about ruining our friendship. i want to watch movies with you and maybe even hold hands, i wanna be closer with you. agh. i can’t even think… what am i saying??? just ignore this”

• you reassure him that it’s okay and that these are things you’ll figure out with him along the way. he buries his face into a pillow and sighs with a mixed feeling of excitement, joy, relief, and nervousness. but above all, he’s happy to know his feelings are reciprocated

[dalilacherie]

The gang baking all together with the Curtis brothers before the book scenario pls?? 🎂🍰🧁

If u r okay with that ofc ☺️☺️

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐚𝐤𝐞-𝐎𝐟𝐟

[𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬 𝐆𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐱 𝐁𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠]

𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞: I love this so much! I really had a lot of fun writing this so I hope you like it too.

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬: 1,149

The sun shone brightly through the kitchen windows of the Curtis house, casting a warm glow over the bustling activity inside. Mrs. Curtis had taken on the task of organizing the bake sale for the school, and with the bake sale fast approaching, she thought it would be a wonderful idea to get the whole gang involved in baking cookies. After all, with so many hands to help, what could go wrong?

The Curtis kitchen, normally a place of quiet family dinners and quick breakfasts, had been transformed into a chaotic but cheerful hub of activity. Flour and sugar bags lined the counter, mixing bowls and measuring cups were scattered about, and the air was thick with the sweet smell of vanilla and chocolate.

Mrs. Curtis and Ms. Mathews, Two-Bit's mom, were stationed at the kitchen island, reading out the recipe and overseeing the operation with practiced ease. Mrs. Curtis was a natural at keeping things running smoothly, while Ms. Mathews provided comic relief with her witty remarks and easy laughter.

"Alright, boys," Mrs. Curtis called, clapping her hands to get everyone's attention. "We need ten dozen cookies for the bake sale tomorrow, so let's get to work."

"Sure thing, Mrs. Curtis," Steve replied with a grin, but his eyes were already on the bowl of cookie dough sitting temptingly on the counter. Beside him, Soda was having the same thoughts.

"You two stay away from that dough until it's ready," Darry warned, giving them both a stern look. He was trying his best to keep things on track, but with this group, it was no easy feat.

Ponyboy was carefully measuring out the flour, his tongue poking out in concentration. He enjoyed baking, and this was a nice break for him.

Meanwhile, Dallas and Two-Bit had other ideas. Two-Bit, ever the joker, had found a carton of eggs and was trying to juggle them. Dallas, surprisingly good at it, had joined in, his concentration only breaking when he saw Two-Bit drop an egg, splattering it on the floor.

"Watch and learn, Keith," Dallas said, effortlessly juggling three eggs with a smirk on his face. Two-Bit, undeterred, tried again, only to create another mess.

"Two-Bit, you're gonna end up with scrambled eggs on the floor if you keep that up," Johnny warned from his spot by the oven. He was carefully monitoring the temperature, making sure everything was set just right. The last thing he wanted was to get burned.

"Aw, come on, Johnnycake, where's your sense of fun?" Two-Bit laughed, but he did put the eggs back down, realizing that maybe juggling wasn't his strong suit.

"Hey, Soda, Steve, hands off the dough!" Mrs. Curtis exclaimed as she caught the two boys sneaking bites of the cookie dough. Both boys flashed innocent grins, but the evidence was clear on their faces.

"Sorry, Mrs. Curtis, it's just too good to resist," Steve said, wiping a bit of dough off his chin.

"Why don't you guys help Pony with the measuring instead?" Ms. Mathews suggested, handing them each a measuring cup.

"Yeah, come on, guys. We gotta make these cookies perfect," Ponyboy added, grateful for the extra help.

Darry was at the mixer, combining the butter and sugar into a creamy mixture. His focus was intense, and it was clear he was determined to get this right. Despite the craziness around him, he found some peace in the methodical process of baking.

Mrs. Curtis moved to help Johnny with the oven, showing him how to adjust the racks and making sure the temperature was just right. "You’re doing great, Johnny. Just keep an eye on that timer."

"Thanks, Mrs. Curtis," Johnny said quietly. He appreciated the attention and care she always showed him.

Two-Bit, having given up on his juggling act, started cracking the eggs into a bowl, one by one, under Ms. Mathews' watchful eye. "Easy, Keith, don’t get any shells in there."

"Yes, ma’am," Two-Bit replied, unusually compliant. He knew better than to push his luck with his mom around.

Dallas, seeing the juggling act was over, leaned against the counter, watching everyone with an amused look. "You guys are taking this way too seriously."

"Dallas, if you're not going to help, at least stay out of the way," Darry said, not looking up from his mixing.

"Who says I'm not helping?" Dallas grinned, reaching over to snatch a piece of dough. Mrs. Curtis swatted his hand away just in time.

"No more dough until the cookies are done," she said firmly. "If you want to help, grab the chocolate chips and start adding them to the batter."

Dallas shrugged and did as he was told, though he made sure to sneak a few chips into his mouth when no one was looking.

With everyone finally working together, the process started to smooth out. Soda and Steve took turns measuring ingredients and adding them to the bowl, while Ponyboy mixed everything together. Two-Bit, under his mom’s supervision, cracked the eggs without incident, and Dallas added the chocolate chips with surprising precision.

Mrs. Curtis and Ms. Mathews moved between the boys, offering guidance and keeping things on track. Despite the occasional mishap—like when Soda accidentally knocked over the flour or when Steve tried to start a flour fight—they managed to keep the chaos to a minimum.

"Alright, time to get these on the trays," Mrs. Curtis announced. "Ponyboy, show them how it's done."

Ponyboy carefully scooped out portions of dough onto the baking trays, making sure they were evenly spaced. The others followed his lead, some more successfully than others. Two-Bit's cookies were a bit uneven, and Dallas's were a bit too close together, but Mrs. Curtis fixed them with a smile.

"Now, into the oven they go," she said, helping Johnny carefully place the trays inside. "And we wait."

As the cookies baked, the kitchen settled into a comfortable rhythm. The boys cleaned up the mess they’d made, with Dallas and Two-Bit even taking turns sweeping up the flour from the floor. Mrs. Curtis and Ms. Mathews chatted about the upcoming bake sale, while Darry and Ponyboy washed the dishes.

When the timer finally went off, the smell of freshly baked cookies filled the kitchen, and everyone gathered around to see the results. Mrs. Curtis and Johnny carefully pulled the trays out of the oven, and the golden-brown cookies looked perfect.

"Good job, everyone," Mrs. Curtis said proudly. "These are going to be a hit at the bake sale."

"Yeah, we did alright," Darry agreed, a rare smile on his face.

"Can we eat them now?" Soda asked, eyeing the cookies eagerly.

Mrs. Curtis laughed. "We'll save some for the bake sale, but you can each have one now."

The boys didn't need to be told twice. They each grabbed a cookie, savoring the sweet, warm treat. Even Dallas, usually too cool to show much enthusiasm, looked pleased.

If you made it this far you get a free cookie 🍪

[deathbxnny]

🎀💮 Hello, I was wondering if you could do a Jing Yuan × female reader where the reader is pregnant with twin boys but wants to continue to go on missions and won't rest or sit down. How would Yuan react? Would he force her to rest or would he keep her in their shared room? The reader and Yuan are both married, and she is also a general. Reader is stubborn and a skilled fighter once she sets her mind on something she wont stop till she completes it take your time. 🎀💮

-----♡

A/N: I love this idea alot, so thank you for the request, Anon!<33

Content: Mentions of pregnancy, fluff, established relationship, Jing Yuan lowkey being a little manipulative??, angst if you squint, sfw

Reader is female here!

((Not fully proofread))

-----♡

Jing Yuan knew right away, that the pregnancy would not go smoothly, mainly due to how you were like. You were always such a hard worker, that not even the news of it stopped you from doing missions and overworking yourself. You were determined and stubborn, much to your husband's dismay and worry.

He was fine with you continuing work at first, as you weren't that far along yet and were just doing work in the office anyways. But when you started showing and it was confirmed that you were having twins, he quickly changed his stance on that. He became a little too overprotective and out right forbade you from doing any missions involving battle.

He knew you'd protest against his decision, which he knew would result in you getting angry with him, but everyone knew it was the right choice. Yanqing and Fu Xuan agreed, just like all the other generals, so surely you had to see and understand his view on this? Besides, he could just finish your missions easily on his own anyways, so there is no need for you to endanger yourself.

It eventually ends up with him persuading you to just stay at home and rest, until the twins were born. All your needs are taken care of by him and your maids. Your protests and complaints are gently hushed by his sweet words, as he showers you with love and affection to distract your stubborn self from realising that he finally won and got his way.

-----♡

A/N: I hope this was okay! Thank you again for the request!<33

[httpiastri]

devil in disguise – cn21

clement got into a fight.

genre: angsty??

pairing: female reader x boyfriend!clement novalak

warnings: mentions of blood, alcohol, fighting. basically describing an anxiety/panic attack so stay away if that might trigger you!

requested?: no

author's note: two pieces of writing in one day? who am i??? 😵 jk jk, this has just been sitting in my drafts for so long (since halloween-) and i just got tired of not posting it, so i just wrote an ending and here we are. welp. not super happy with this one, esp not the end, and im not sure how accurately i described the panic/anxiety (like. i just experience, i don't remember it after it happens. 😐), but i hope u enjoy!!

f2/f3 masterlist

"i can't believe you, clem."

the anger is still bubbling inside of you, yet your actions tell a different story. you've got one of his hands in yours, pressing an ice pack against the back of it gently to hopefully stop some of the swelling and bleeding.

"hey, baby-"

"no, don't you 'baby' me right now. bloody hell, what were you thinking?!"

to say that clement's halloween party had been a failure would be an understatement. you aren't exactly an avid party-goer, most often preferring to stay at home with a good book or a favorite show playing on the tv. in fact, you couldn't even recall when you last attended a party before this one. but, knowing that you're a big fan of halloween, clement invited you to his theme party. your boyfriend had promised to stay by your side and make sure you were comfortable, knowing how you sometimes get intimidated by large crowds, and it all went smoothly for most of the night. until it didn't anymore.

it all happened so quickly. one moment, there was a hand on your waist – one you assumed belonged to your boyfriend – and you leaned into his touch. the next, the hand was ripped off you and you spun around to see what was going on. and then, all you could see was clement's fist flying towards the stranger's face.

silence washed over the apartment momentarily, only to soon be shattered as screams and the thuds of fists against skin consumed the room.

but to you, it all went quiet. it felt like the world slowed down, and you were stuck watching as your boyfriend punched some dude you'd never seen before. you couldn't move, frozen in place as more people started getting involved, pulling the two apart or throwing punches of their own.

you felt yet another hand land on your shoulder, but this time it belonged to marcus. he pulled you back, away from the commotion, tucking your face into his chest to hide you from the ongoing fight. your lungs felt tight, your vision growing blurry.

the crowd scattered moments later, everyone but clement's closest friends leaving hurriedly. marcus guided you to the bedroom, ensuring that you weren't panicking completely before going out again to help out.

your relationship with clement is still relatively new, and you're both experimenting to find your dynamics and get to know each other. you know that you have a lot to learn about him – you just never thought that this was what was hiding behind his cheerful exterior.

clement's apartment is completely empty by now, with scattered plastic cups filling the floor and the pop music turned off. you make it out of his room once you know the coast is clear, tiptoeing into the living room to find him sitting on the couch with his head in his hands. his knuckles are still bleeding, just like a few bruises on his face.

"i wasn't thinking, i guess," he mumbles, eyes strictly focused down on his lap. he leans back slightly against the couch cushions. "i know you're too innocent for these kinds of things... i shouldn't have told you to come here in the first place."

you shake your head lightly, removing the ice pack and instead reaching for the box of wound cleansing wipes you'd gotten from his bathroom. "it's my own fault for asking if i could come."

clement smiles as he looks at you. he's come to learn how soft-spoken, shy, and timid you are; how you have a way of calming those around you. it's one of the many things making him fall for you. he's never been with anyone like you before, and it's different in such a refreshing way. "don't be sorry," he hums. "you had no idea what was going to happen."

"does this happen often?" you ask, beginning to rub a wipe against the bruises on his knuckles. "do you get into a lot of fights at parties?"

he pauses for a moment. "well... stuff like this does happen at times." he sighs. "i know it's bad, but... sometimes, you can't control it. i'm just sorry you got caught in the middle of it." your wipe is quickly filled up with dried blood and other dirt, and when you bend over to the couch table to put it away, clement's free hand reaches your hip. his gaze is on you when you lean back, his hand giving you a quick squeeze as a slight grin makes its way onto his lips. "do you find it attractive?" he raises his eyebrows teasingly. "having a guy who knows how to throw a punch?"

"honestly?" your eyes meet his for a quick moment before you stare at his wounded hand again. your voice is lower than before when you start speaking again. "you're... it's a bit... scary..."

clement is shocked. he hasn't realized the effect this has on you – surely, he understands that you could be afraid of a fight, but being scared of him? it breaks his heart. the novelty of your relationship makes him a bit unsure of how to act around you, but he's worked so hard to build up your trust and to make you feel comfortable around him. to have it all be broken down in just one night makes his heart drop.

"oh, love..." he says. "you have nothing to fear. you mean too much to me," his hand moves from your hip to your cheek. "and i would never ever lay a finger on you."

you can't find it in yourself to look at him or say anything, but you manage to nod your head and take a breath before you start cleaning his hand again. he leans forward to press a sweet kiss to your cheek, your skin heating up where his lips had touched you. he smiles at you – until he looks down at your hands again.

"hey, you're shaking." a frown reaches his face, eyes flickering up and down between your hands and your face.

"oh, i am?" you ask, trying to focus on continuing to wipe his knuckles so you don't have to think too much about your feelings and the reality of the situation. "i didn't realize..."

"darling, you need to relax. it's been a long night." his hands wrap around yours, thumbs grazing over the skin of the back of your hands. "you don't need to clean my hands, i'll be fine."

"but-"

"no buts. i'm sorry for..." he stops for a moment, eyes studying you closely. "hey hey hey, you need to breathe properly. take a deep breath."

you hear his words, but you can't do what he tells you to do. your throat feels like it's closing up and your breaths get shorter as your head grows dizzy. it's all a downward spiral; your anxiety increases when you can't breathe, and breathing gets even more challenging as you get more stressed.

clement almost panics himself when he sees your state, but he must stay calm for you at this moment. he places a hand right below your collarbone while you shut your eyes. "big breaths, lift my hand," he says, voice low and tone soothing. his other hand reaches for the back of your neck, tilting your head back slightly to free your airways.

you concentrate on his touch, your short breaths through your nose only making your chest rise slightly. his thumb strokes the side of your neck as he breathes with you, demonstrating and guiding you in the hope you'll copy him.

"good girl," he whispers. his hand lifts and lowers with your breaths, quickly at first but the speed decreases as you calm down bit for bit. "you're doing so good. just a little more now..."

your thoughts are still clouded with anxiety but as more oxygen enters your system, your body relaxes a little. you focus on your breathing as clement's hand leaves your chest and moves down to your side again, moving up and down your ribs. the tears have been rolling down your cheeks for a while, though you haven't noticed until now, and the coldness of the tears brings you back to reality somehow, and you realize;

you're crying in front of clement for the first time ever.

you feel so exposed, naked, vulnerable. sobs begin to escape past your lips once you lean forward to hide your face in the crook of his neck, and he wraps his arms around you. "hey, it's okay," he starts. "everything is going to be okay. i'm here."

he presses a soft peck to your temple as a hand strokes the back of your head. your hair is still bundled up in your fancy hairdo but the halo headband you'd worn for the party is removed, the rest of your cute little white outfit covered up by the oversized hoodie you'd picked up from clement's bedroom floor. his devil's horns, ironic, are a bit crooked but still clipped to his locks.

"sweets, what happened here?" he asks, shuffling around to pull you onto his lap so that it's easier for you to hug him.

your head is still buried in his skin, his mild scent soothing as you sniffle. "i- i-" you groan at the way you aren't able to get any proper words out, the frustration blending with the panic and mixing into one big soup of despair. "i don't know-"

he rubs up and down your back, sighing. "okay, we don't need to talk about this right now. but," clement leans back slightly, taking your face into his hands and tilting your head up towards his. "if my fighting affects you like this, i'll stop it." his eyes are staring straight into your soul, and it feels like he's trying to prove that he really means his words. "you're the most important thing for me right now, i'm not going to lose you over something like this."

clement is shocked by not only his own words, but also his feelings. the two of you haven't been a couple for a long time, and yet, his heart aches at the mere thought of you ever feeling this bad again. he knows he can't let this happen again.

"i promise you that. okay?"

you nod, unable to get any words out, but it's more than enough for clement. he gives your forehead a kiss, and one on your nose, and one on both of your cheeks. then, he makes sure to press a quick one to your mouth so it doesn't feel jealous.

"how about this," he starts and you raise your eyebrows. "i go make us some tea, we drink it, and then we go get some sleep. how does that sound?"

"perfect."

he picks you up and puts you down on the sofa, tucking you in with a blanket before giving you one last peck and disappearing into the kitchen. you can hear his soft humming of a song you'd danced to earlier today, and you relax into the soft cushions.

clement's awareness of his actions, along with his promise to get better, makes a sense of calm wash over you; you allow yourself to believe that maybe, just maybe, everything will turn out alright after all.

[jennay]

Special Moments

Rory Culkin x Reader

Warnings: None just fluff

Words: 1kish

Master List

AN: I love fluff. I always forget that. I hope you enjoy.

"Please." You plead with a cute pout, snuggling into Rory's neck with your nose. "Pretty please. One more time." You shift your weight on the piano bench, feeling his arm around your waist. He thinks you're just teasing, but you really want to learn. "My fingers are traitors. They won't listen to me."

He gives you a tender smile, rubbing your back soothingly. "Just relax, okay? You're doing great." He says, his voice is warm and supportive. You feel a blush spreading over your face as he wraps his arms around you, guiding your hands to the piano keys. "This one goes here and that one…here. See? You just have to skip this key and go to the next one." He points to the keys with his finger, then presses them with yours. "There you go. Now try it a few times, get the rhythm of it."

He smiles at you, his eyes full of love and admiration. He loves teaching you new things, especially when they involve music. He watches your face intently, seeing the concentration and curiosity in your expression. “Amazing," He whispers, kissing your temple. “Now, move your hand to the left, two keys over, same position.” He guides your fingers gently, feeling the warmth of your skin.

You hear the melody come out smoothly, and you can’t help but grin. You pull your hands back and clap excitedly.

You feel a burst of happiness as you exclaim, “I did it!” You look over at him, glowing with pride, and his eyes sparkle with joy. “You did!” He cheers, clearly impressed.

You can’t help but tease him, “Better watch out. I’m gonna outshine you soon!”

His response is to lean in and give you a sweet kiss. “Keep practicing,” He advises, “You can take over the holiday piano playing at my mom’s.”

But you shake your head, feeling a little nervous. “No, I’m not ready for that.” You admit.

He grins at you, “Well then, do you wanna keep practicing, or are we done for the day?”

“I think my fingers need to rest. They aren’t used to stretching in all of these weird ways.” You say, rubbing your hands together. “Besides, it’s time for us to get ready for dinner. I don’t want to be late again. Your mom always gives us that look when we show up."

Rory shrugs, “I think everyone’s used to it.” He gets up from the bench, delicately lifting your chin with his finger, locking eyes with you; he plants a sweet kiss on your lips, "You can't speed up perfection." You hug him tightly around his neck, kissing him back.

"Mmm. I love that." You say, slowly opening your eyes.

Rory never ceases to amaze you with everything he does. Sure, your relationship has highs and lows, but you wouldn’t trade him for anyone else. He just gets you and understands you.

He bites his lip, hoping you won’t say no to his question, “Do you mind being ‘sick’? I kinda want to stay in tonight and cuddle with you.” He sighs, “My mom won’t take no for an answer unless one of us is on our deathbed.” He chuckles.

You smile at him, feeling touched by his request. You know how much he loves spending time with you and how hard it is to say no to his mom. You decide to go along with his plan and nod. “Okay,” You agree softly. “Let’s be sick.”

He hugs you tightly and kisses your cheek. “Thanks,” He says gratefully. “I don’t want to hurt her feelings and say, Sorry, Mom, I just want to hang out with my girlfriend instead.” He laughs, “She doesn’t get how crazy our schedules are.”

You nod, following him to the living room and plopping on the couch. “I get it. Honestly, I was going to ask you this morning, but I know it’s important for you to have your family outings.” You say, understanding his dilemma.

He grabs the remote from the coffee table and sits before you, leaning back and fluffing his hair onto your lap. He looks up at you with a mischievous smile.

“Did you want something?” You tease him back and say

“Maybe.”

You bend down and kiss his nose, making him grin.

He softly speaks, grabbing your hand and putting it on his scalp. “It's so relaxing when you play with my hair.” He says, batting his eyelashes at you. “Please?”

You nod, bringing your hands to his head, and softly brush through his curls with his fingers. You stop when your fingers get stuck in a knot. "Hold on." You fling your leg over him, sitting up and walking to the bathroom to find your brush and detangler.

You gently run the brush through his curls, smoothing out the tangles and making them shine. He closes his eyes and sighs, enjoying your touch.

“Much better.” You say, parting his hair down the middle and continuing to practice your braiding skills. “You’ll be so pretty when I’m done.” You tease, making him laugh.

“You’re braiding my hair? I’m gonna look ridiculous.” He says, shaking his head slightly.

“Don’t worry, it’s only me here, and I’ll still love you either way.” You remind him, kissing his cheek. “Besides, you look cute with braids. Like a Viking warrior.”

He opens his eyes and looks at you with a playful smile. “A Viking warrior, huh? Does that mean I get to pillage and plunder?” He asks, making himself laugh.

“Maybe, if you behave.” You say, smiling back. “Now, hold still; I’m almost done.” You finish the last braid and tie it with a rubber band. You admire your work and say proudly, “There. You look amazing.”

He turns around and faces you, his blue eyes sparkling with curiosity. He reaches up and touches his braids, feeling the texture. He grins and says, “You know what? I kind of like it. It makes me feel adventurous.”

“I’m glad you like it.” You scoot over on the couch, making room for him to sit.

“Thank you for making me feel special.” You smile and snuggle into his chest. You feel his heartbeat and sigh contentedly. You whisper back, “Thank you for being you.”

He leans down and kisses you a little rougher then intended, surprised you kiss him back, feeling the warmth of his mouth. When you break away from him, breathless, you say, "God, you're fucking perfect."

[skeletonpunching]

Buddy Daddies scriptwriter interview

Interview with Shimokura Vio (Nitroplus; original story idea, series composition, scriptwriter) and Kakihara Yuko (series composition, scriptwriter)

Interviewer: Shimokura-san, you handled the original story idea for "Buddy Daddies"; how did you establish the premise for the story and characters in the initial stage?

Shimokura: I came up with the preliminary outline. "If the setup is 'two contrasting male characters get stuck raising a child on the spur of the moment', the story will probably play out this way…" I wrote a provisional outline with that general vibe. Later on, Director Asai joined the production, and he had a very clear image of the characters right from the start, so the premise was solidified from there. The overall storyline is similar enough, I think. I first laid out a fairly orthodox flow of events, and then the director, Kakihara-san, and the producers gave their opinions, and we put it all together.

Interviewer: When the two of you were in charge of the series composition, what sort of discussions did you have in advance?

Shimokura: I don't think we had that many detailed discussions, did we?

Kakihara: There was something of a tacit agreement that Shimokura-san would do the work-related (assassination) episodes, and I would do the parenting-related episodes. After all, I do really have a child, so it's easier for me to come up with stories about children, while Shimokura-san is better at hard-boiled assassin stories - so I relied on Shimokura-san to deal with that, and when it came to the parenting stories, I boldly thought, "Now it's my time to shine!" (laughs) I guess Shimokura-san may have felt the same way.

Shimokura: That's right. Before I came on board this project, Producer Toba once asked me for advice, along the lines of, "I don't have kids myself, so I don't really know how to approach parenting." Back then, when I was still an outsider, I casually told him, "The crux of this project is people who don't understand parenting being confronted with it, so your perspective is vital as well, Toba-san!" But when I got involved myself, I realised what an outrageous thing I'd said. (laughs) Since it dealt so heavily with parenting, there were parts that I felt like I didn't truly understand. But Kakihara-san and Producer Tsuji have children of their own, and have many thoughts and practical experiences related to parenting; I counted on them to share the responsibilities as well.

Interviewer: And so you were able to enhance the realism of the parenting scenes.

Kakihara: I thought it would be fun to show cool men who usually have nothing to do with children being confronted with parenting, and finding themselves in dire straits, and all the challenges they go through. So when it came to those scenes, I deliberately made them as uncool as possible - there's nothing pretty about that portrayal. I hoped that this would make for an interesting "relatable parenting" story.

Interviewer: Amidst all of this work, was there anything each of you personally got hung up on? 

Shimokura: Essentially, I was always concerned with the classic theme of "Can assassins burdened with sins find happiness?" and that was on my mind when developing the overall storyline. And something I personally enjoyed was the fact that a 4-year-old child's thought processes are totally incomprehensible. When setting characters in motion, there's usually some chain of cause and effect tying things together - "this character thinks this way, and so they act like this", and the question is how we direct that flow to develop plot points. But you really have no clue what a 4-year-old child will come up with. And on the contrary, that made things incredibly interesting. I also enjoyed hearing all the anecdotes about parenting 4-year-olds that came up during the planning sessions; everyone seemed to be in full doting-parent mode. (laughs)

Kakihara: As for me, thanks to the original outline that Shimokura-san created, my work went extremely smoothly. I was wondering, well then, what can I bring to the table? And then during a script reading, some members of the production staff very kindly said, "Now I've understood how hard it is to be a parent." When they've just brought Miri home, there's a big scene of chasing her all over the place, but that was actually written based on my own stressful experiences… (laughs) And how even her going to the toilet takes a whole lot of effort. The fact that people commented, "This must be so tough," and found it a little amusing - that brought me a new sense of joy. So, rather than approaching the parenting scenes with thoughts of "it would be cuter this way", I decided to deliberately run counter to that. I emphasised making things realistic, and that made it more fun for me as well.

Interviewer: When it comes to our duo of assassin protagonists, what do you find appealing and interesting about each of them?

Shimokura: (Suwa) Rei might seem like a certain archetype of a cool-headed character, but when you delve into him, he's full of the kind of passion Director Asai has. As scriptwriter, I was thinking in terms of "what would be more natural", but the director reflected his own thoughts and views on family, and that leaves an incredibly vivid impression. In that sense, he seems cool-headed, but has a surprisingly raw side to him, and that really fleshes him out and makes him a compelling character.

Kakihara: It took me some time to get a grasp on the relationship between the two protagonists, but the director had quite a solid image of it, and nailed down the details; thanks to that, I was able to bring things together. Rei is the kind of so-called minimalist character where you have no idea what he's thinking, but there's also a surprising level of variation between his seemingly similar expressions and lines of dialogue. Like the distinction between "blue" and "bluish purple" - that's the sort of subtle gradations he has as a character. And as a result, the impression each viewer has of him is going to differ slightly, depending on their perception; I think that's his charm.

Interviewer: Then what about (Kurusu) Kazuki?

Kakihara: The director made some significant revisions to the way Kazuki ends his lines - he ended up speaking more "coarsely" than I was thinking. I guess that's the mental image the director had. (laughs) When the director was revising the scripts, he changed all the hiragana "n" characters to katakana "n" instead. (laughs)

And with such a clearly defined image, Kazuki's character really came alive. I felt like I was chasing after Kazuki, searching for my own image of him, but I think he ended up being a brighter and more fun character than my initial notion. I also rather like the good-for-nothing Kazuki we see when he goes out drinking; when he got lured in by those girls and frittered away all his money, I remember thinking "this is an interesting guy".

Shimokura: And when that scene was actually performed by the actors during the recording sessions, it became all the more interesting. I think as a result of Toyonaga (Toshiyuki)-san's incredible performance, Kazuki also became a more theatrical character. When we recorded the bonus drama CD for the blu-ray and DVD, during the break, Toyonaga-san and Uchiyama (Koki)-san were in the booth going over the script, and we could hear them faintly over the microphones. And the director and I reflexively exchanged a glance, and said, "This is just perfectly Kazuki and Rei, huh..." In this series, the characters' charm is often enhanced by the way the actors make them their own, but I think Kazuki was a real standout in this regard.

Interviewer: Are there any other characters you are fond of?

Shimokura: I'd say (Hanyu) Anna-sensei from the daycare. In a story about parenting, it's also nice to have a presence who brings a sense of security or, how should I put it, "mama mood" - but in between, she also provides a lot of comic relief, and it lightens things up. I think that's great. She's a broad-minded character, and that type of character hasn't shown up much in the scripts I've written; she brings me a real sense of security too.

Kakihara: I like Kyu-chan (Kugi Kyutaro). Like what I said earlier about Rei's subtle gradations - I think Kyu-chan is also a character who leaves the audience with room for individual interpretations. It's very easy to run wild with fantasies of "my imagined Kyu-chan", so in the staff meetings, everyone came up with their own ideas; it was a lot of fun having everyone put things out there.

Shimokura: At first, we couldn't quite settle on an image of Kyu-chan's character; he was a vague "cafe owner" presence. Depending how things played out, he could possibly have ended up being a brawny man with a shaven head, like Umibozu in "City Hunter". (laughs)

Interviewer: But in fact, he became a mysterious and cool character.

Kakihara: He became a character who it's worth watching interact with Miri.

Shimokura: I feel like we have to thank (character designer) Enami Katsumi-san for that. (laughs)

Interviewer: As for the episodes that have already aired, what did you find memorable during the production process?

Shimokura: When coming up the idea for episode 1, I remembered us discussing "should the finale be a Christmas episode?" during a planning session. And after all, the first episode is an episode where something special happens; when I was wondering how to properly bring out this feeling of specialness, it occurred to me that it should be set during Christmas - that alone would be enough to cast a sort of magic over the script. And it would strengthen the sense that something special was really happening here. I thought that would be great.

Kakihara: At first, we had lots of trouble developing episode 1, but as everyone threw in their ideas - "Christmas might be fun", "that means there'd be a cake…" and so on - we got very excited about it. And as we considered how (Unasaka) Miri would act amidst all that, we went from "I want her to act like this" to "since she's a kid, she'd end up doing this". Everything really came together - it was like watching a chemical reaction take place. It was a lot of fun. Making it a Christmas scenario added just the right touch of playfulness, and I really enjoyed building out the story from there.

Interviewer: Now, please tell us what you think are the selling points of this series "Buddy Daddies".

Shimokura: Single men with no children, and how they lead a haphazard life from day to day - personally, I wanted to write about that aspect. Rei and Kazuki are grown men sharing an apartment; they probably don't think about the future at all. They have a sense that their current daily life as assassins will go on forever. And then the two of them find themselves confronted with the child Miri, and they start to think about their future. That's a fascinating series of events, and I put a lot of care into portraying the details. For the first time, they're seriously facing one of the possibilities for their future. I think that's what this story is about. So I hope that people will pay attention to this aspect.

Kakihara: Looking back on the series as a whole, I hope that people will enjoy watching the drama of Kazuki, Rei, and Miri… I'd say. The story has quite a solidly crafted progression, and each of them shoulders their own painful burden, but ultimately, I think it's a lot of fun watching Kazuki and Rei's relationship, and the slapstick comedy introduced by Miri's addition to the mix. The characters are each cool in their own ways. I think the most important thing is to just have a fun, relaxing time watching.

Interviewer: Finally, please give a message to everyone who is anticipating this series.

Shimokura: From here on, the full-fledged parenting episodes will start coming out. Even if you have some awareness of the struggles of parenting, you can't understand those struggles unless you have actual experience raising children. And I'm guessing you haven't really imagined what it would be like to actually share space with a 4-year-old. By having this scenario suddenly flung at you in the form of an anime, you can be exposed to a world which is unknown to you, through this fictional story - I think that will be a good experience. At least, it was an excellent experience for me. I would be very happy if everyone has a similar experience through "Buddy Daddies".

Kakihara: If I may be so bold, I'll go with the exact opposite of what Shimokura-san said. It's a story about parenting, but there are some surprisingly hard-boiled developments waiting for you in the second half of the series. Even in the planning sessions, you could feel a difference in the level of tension - the previous week we were talking about parenting, and now this week we'd be discussing people’s attitudes towards life. But it also wouldn't be right to handle those serious elements so roughly - and how should we find the right balance in our portrayal of an assassin's job? We grappled seriously with these questions, and talked through all of them. So it's a fun story of parenting, but of course, some complications crop up in the second half of the series. I hope you will accompany us through the second half of the series, including all of that.

[mad4turtles]

I'm not sure if you're still doing writing requests, but I really loved your oneshot about Leo coming out to Splinter - it brought a few tears to my eyes thinking about my own coming out experience :') if you want, could you maybe do something about Mikey giving Usagi "The Shovel Talk"? It doesn't have to be serious, I just thought it'd be funny if Mikey went all Dr. Delicate Touch while Leo tries not to die in the background. Hope you have a good day/night! :D

I'm so sorry this took FOREVER to get out, I went through several drafts before I finally had to say it was fine XD Hope you enjoy :3

---

First Impressions (Part 2)

Miyamoto Usagi has become a regular guest in the Hamato household.

After introductions went about as smoothly as one could expect—Splinter warring between outrage and panic and glee that his Baby Blue was dating, and the rest of the family stunned that Leo actually has game (or maybe Usagi is just as dumb as he is)—the clan don't go long without seeing him wandering the lair, usually side by side with Leo.

In hindsight, that makes the death glares Donnie drills into the back of the rabbit's head make much more sense, but that's another issue.

Apparently, they'd been together three weeks before the introductions, and Mikey believes it. Just yesterday, he'd caught them through the crack of Leo's open bedroom door sitting together on the bed, sharing a pair of earbuds as Leo shuffled through his Spotify playlist, letting Usagi in on his atrocious taste in music.

“Hey, glam-rock is the shit,” Leo nudged Usagi's shoulder. “And you can't talk when all you listen to is J and K Pop, classical, country and Lofi.”

“Shut up, baka kappa,” Usagi nudged him back, grinning wide and showing off the buck front teeth that Leo found adorable. “Classical is thought-provoking, good for meditation. And I'll have you know Lofi is calming, something you never are about anything ever.” 

“Okay, I will allow that just this once but you cannot defend country or K Pop—”

“Contrary to popular belief, not all of your western music is about human Christian values, tractors or drinking—in fact, give me your phone, I'll show you my jazz playlist—”

“No!” Leo pulled his arm up, holding his phone out of Usagi's reaching paws even as the rabbit clambered over him. “Knowing you it'll be some awful jazz-lofi remix or somehow have Catholicism involved, people are getting creative in converting the masses—ow! No, get away from me—!”

“Your music sucks! You must be properly educated! Jazz is soothing for the soul!”

“But Queen! David Bowie! Prince!”

“All of the Hidden City knows you're gay, Leonardo, you don't have to blast it on speaker, too!”

“You attack me?! I let you into my house! I trusted you!”

 “Gankona baka! Kōfuku shite horobiro!”

  “Conejito idiota! ¡Fuera de mi trasero!”

They'd tousled for a bit before falling over on the bed and giving into giggles, barely any space between them. Leo's cheeks were flushed, his eyes bright and his grin a wide, dopey thing. Usagi called him a fool and nuzzled his nose against Leo's, earning a delighted chirp from the slider, and it was the happiest Mikey had seen him in months.

He's so in love it's gross. Mikey means that in the best way.

And Usagi seems like a nice guy. A really nice guy.

But they've been fooled by a pretty face and flowery words before. Last time, Leo had to bail them out. This time, Leo is too high up on cloud nine; he won't notice the danger until it's too late, and the fallout will be devastating.

Leo is strong, the strongest of them all as far as Mikey's concerned, in little ways they've never noticed until he'd showed them all by locking himself in hell with a demon. He's faced bigger, scarier things than any teenager—any person—ever should. But relationships? Dating? Being vulnerable with another person, opening your heart and trusting that person to take care of it, and in turn care for theirs? That's a beast of a different calibre.

Heartbreak happens to everyone; it's just how life is, and ignoring the ugly truth of it serves no one. Leo had barely survived his physical body breaking under metal fists driven by hatred and mindless bloodlust. Mikey doubts even he, with all that strength he possesses in spades that have carried him through some of the worst moments of their lives, would last long with a wound that deep.

Mikey loves him too much to let that happen.

(That, and he really doesn't want to kill Usagi, bail costs a lot, and not even Donnie has that much in his many wired accounts.)

So the trio meet up in Donnie's lab late one night and make a plan.

Miyamoto Usagi is gonna learn what'll happen if he messes with the Hamato clan.

~0o0~

A week later, Mikey corners Usagi at the front door.

The samurai in training doesn't startle when he drops from the ceiling or flinch at the smile that would have his brothers running for the hills. He smiles back, adjusting the duffle bag on his shoulder.

“Hello, Michelangelo. Nice of you to drop in,” he says, completely straight, and Mikey kind of wants to die. Leo did say they've been dating for a while. More than enough time for him to be a horrible influence on the otherwise straight (ha) laced samurai.

“Hey, Usagi! Here to see Leo?” Mikey asks like it's not obvious.

Still, Usagi nods. “That I am. We'd talked about some traditional Japanese snacks he hasn't tried before, so I bought some from the marketplace near my home.” He unzips his bag to let Mikey peek inside. “I'd be happy to share some with you and your brothers. I may have over-purchased.”

Mikey is dazzled by the array of absolutely delicious-looking snacks—including mango-flavoured mochi, oh be still his heart—but he shakes his head. Focus. Leo's heart and Usagi's continued existence depend on it. “That's great, Usagi, but I'm good for now. Actually, we gotta talk with you real quick before you see your boy. May I take your bag?”

Usagi blinks at him. “Oh. Um. Certainly?” He zips the bag up and shrugs it off, handing it to Mikey, and damn, he wasn't kidding. Did he buy out the whole store?

Mikey shoulders the bag and smiles. “Perfect! Now, stay still so Donnie doesn't accidentally knock you out.”

“Okay—wait, what—?”

Donnie drops from the ceiling and shoves a pillowcase over Usagi's head. 

And as Mikey expects, Usagi doesn't immediately struggle or fight: he freezes, an innate rabbit instinct kinda like how Mikey retreats into his shell. He almost feels bad for exploiting that weakness. Almost, because it gives Raph enough time to grab him in his massive arms, pick him up and carry him off to the atrium. Mikey and Donnie follow behind, the latter wearing an unsettling grin that tells Mikey he's enjoying this far more than he should. 

Blindfolded and trapped in Raph's solid grip. Usagi doesn't panic. Though his voice carries a twinge of worry when he says, “Is this a game? Am I being kidnapped? Did Leonardo put you up to this?”

“All will be revealed in good time,” Donnie says with a chuckle meant to sound ominous but it comes off as dorky. “Just relax, don't ask any questions and everything shall run smoothly and without the removal of a thing attached to another thing, like your head from your neck.”

“Alright?” Usagi says. Mikey bumps his hip against Donnie's and scowls. Donnie rolls his eyes.

They reach the living room, Dad's chair thankfully unoccupied, and Raph drops Usagi into it. Mikey sets the duffle bag down and quickly zips to his room to grab the sweater, glasses and pants, shrugging into them. When he returns, Donnie has just finished duct-taping Usagi's arms to the chair—

“Donald!”

“What?” Donnie has the gall to look offended. “This was your idea!”

“Not to tie him up!”

“Who's to say he won't run, hm? He's a rabbit and they're fast as frick, we'd never catch him before Leo gets back, and then our whole plan is ruined. Also, no teenager is comfortable talking about 'feelings', so I'm just taking extra precautions—”

“I can still hear you, you know,” Usagi says, the pillowcase still over his head. He doesn't seem bothered about this whole situation, which both amuses and concerns Mikey a little.

“You shush, or I'll bring out the chainsaw,” Donnie says.

Mikey looks at Raph. “You didn't think to stop him?”

Raph folds his arms and shrugs. “I'm just the muscle here, big man. This is your show.”

Dr Feelings appreciates the level of trust and respect Raph has for Mikey that's been a slow-growing thing these last few years. Dr Delicate Touch wants to strangle his oldest brother for being a wise ass.

He rolls his eyes instead and gets in position while Donnie sets up the projector. He nods to Raph, and the snapper pulls off the pillowcase.

Usagi blinks, adjusting to the brightness and looking around. “You blindfolded me to take me to the living room? Where I've been multiple times?”

“Shush,” Donnie hisses, “second warning. We'll be doing the talking here, bunny boy.”

“Don, chill,” Raph says, looking seconds from bursting out laughing. “We're just here to have a nice, friendly chat.”

Usagi arches a brow, pointedly dipping his chin down at his taped arms.

Raph's smile twitches, a drop of sweat trickling down his brow. “... I'm just the muscle?”

Mikey clears his throat loudly, snapping their attention back to him. He smiles and rolls his shoulders back, relaxing into the role that's become a blessing these last few months than the curse it was two years ago (at least to his brothers).

“Good evening! I'm Dr Feelings, and welcome to my newest seminar—!”

He clicks the button for the next slide on the PowerPoint, a photo of the three turtles glaring down at the camera from a high angle, a shovel in Mikey's hands. Underneath, the title reads in comically bright, bubblegum pink letters--

“—Shovel Talks!”

Usagi stares at the slide and then at each of the present turtles. Mikey keeps his smile bright while his brothers (mostly Donnie) no longer hide the touch of sadistic glee in theirs.

“... ah,” he says carefully. “I see the position I'm in now.”

“See, I don't think you do,” Donnie drawls on Usagi's right, Raph looming over on the left. “So we are going to educate you, and do not interrupt or talk until you are spoken to as we have much to go through and very little time before our dearly devoted dum-dum returns from April and Splinter's distraction outing. Dr Feelings,” Donnie turns to Mikey and gestures grandly, “Proceed with your first slide.”

“Thank you! Let's start off by asking our patient some simple questions. Question one!” Mikey flips to the next slide titled 'Spill The Tea' with a doodle of a teacup underneath it. Under that is a photo of Leo flashing a peace sign at the camera with a goofy grin. “What are your intentions towards one Hamato Leonardo?”

Usagi blinks. “... I would think my intentions were obvious? We're dating, are we not?”

“Sigh, yes, we can see as much given how you two are all but attached at the hip whenever you're so much as in the same vicinity,” Donnie mutters before getting right up in Usagi's face with a glare, fisting the front of his blue hoodie and shaking him once. “What we don't know is why you are dating Leonardo! Were you dared to by compatriots or colleagues of similar age or older for a cruel joke? Or are you a spy sent from a yet unknown enemy seeking to destroy us from the inside, integrating yourself into our inner circle by seducing our resident feeble-minded little gay only to turn on us at the last second, surrendering us to your evil leader and shattering the heart of the boy who fell in love with a person that never truly existed?! Speak, heathen!!”

Usagi stares at Donnie with wide, mildly disturbed eyes. Donnie glares at Usagi, right eye twitching.

“Jeezy heckin' creezy, Don,” Raph squeaks after a beat. “How long've you been holding that in?”

Donnie whirls on Raph with a half-crazed grin without releasing Usagi's hoodie. “The whole dub, baby!” he says.

Raph facepalms.

Mikey gathers himself quickly and clears his throat again. “Donald, if you would please let go of our patient—”

“Prisoner, guilty until proven innocent—”

“—patient, so we can hear his clear and honest answer? Don't you test the waters of my patience, boy, I will bring out Dr Delicate Touch on your ass.”

“Language,” Raph sighs, working Donnie's grip from Usagi's hoodie and bodily lifting him up and away from the rabbit. Donnie goes without a fight, but not without a spitting glare aimed at Usagi. Ignoring him, Raph offers Usagi a smile, cementing his role as the Good Cop. “Sorry about him. Just answer the question so we can get this over with.”

“And we'll know if you're lying!” Donnie adds. “I have lie detectors under the seat that'll fry your cotton ass six ways to Sunday—!”

“There are no lie detectors.”

“Raaaaph, you're ruining it, I'm trying to instil fear—!”

“Yer doin' enough of that to me right now! We were worried about Dad goin' all 'Daddy with a shotgun' on him when we really should've been watchin' the 'Overprotective Twin with his Middle Child Nonsense'—!”

“May I speak, now?”

Usagi's tone cuts through the idiocy as neat as the katana he wields, and the boys fall silent. Raph sets Donnie down, and Donnie steps back, his glare fading to make way for open confusion and surprise.

Mikey, who'd been on the cusp of dropping the act and wringing his brothers' necks, takes in Usagi's expression—purposefully neutral, the way he shuts his eyes as he takes a breath, his fingers drumming the armrests he's tied to while the heel of one foot bounces on the floor—and wonders if they've crossed a line here.

Then Usagi sighs, slow and measured, and opens his eyes. “I understand why you're concerned,” he says. “Leonardo has been through... a lot, to put it mildly. You all have, which is why you're so protective of one another. I admire and respect that; you hold true to the ancient belief that founded your clan centuries ago. Anata wa hitori janai, I believe. Leonardo told me about it. About the Shredder, the invasion... and the prison dimension.”

A shudder runs through the brothers. Mikey sees Donnie's jaw lock, Raph's fingers curling into fists. Mikey pulls at his fingers and bites his lip. “... he told you?” he asks in a smaller voice than he intends.

Usagi's gaze softens minutely, and he nods. “Not everything, but yes. I never prompted, but... he saw me fit enough to know.” His brows furrow, his frown deep and angry as he glares at his lap. “It sickens me to hear what that creature put you through—what he did to Leonardo. And it frightens me to think of how you'd come so close to losing him... how I'd come so close to never meeting him at all.”

Oh, Mikey thinks, almost floored. Oh wow.

Usagi takes another breath and raises his head, meeting each of their gazes. “... So yes, I understand your fears regarding our relationship and your hesitance to trust me. Leonardo's well-being will always be your top priority. He's precious to you.” Then Usagi smiles. It's small but bright, warm and quietly delighted, proud and certain. “He's precious to me, too.”

This time Mikey is floored. Oh. Wow.

“To answer your question, Dr Feelings,” Usagi continues, heedless of the turtle's altering perception of reality, “my intentions towards Hamato Leonardo are simple: I want to protect him. I know he's more than capable, and knowing him, he'll never ask me for help outright. But when he does, I want to be there—no, I will be there, because I care about him. Very much. We haven't known each other long, but my life is brighter and better with him in it, and I'll do whatever I must to keep it that way.

“I want to make him as happy as he's made me because he deserves that much. He deserves every good thing in this world.” He shrugs, flashing a bashful, buck-toothed smile. “For now, I hope he can settle for just me.”

Mikey stares. Donnie stares. Raph stares.

Oh. Wow. 

Either he's the greatest liar ever, or they've had him pegged so wrong. But then, not even Big Mama, the Queen Bee Bitch of lies, could fake that kind of devotion.

No, Usagi really is just a good guy. A great guy.

“Dammit!” Donnie cries, throwing his hands up. “I can't even fully hate you ironically anymore, what the hell!” He hangs his head with a sigh. “I suppose I shall have to settle for 'jealous older twin suffering from attention withdrawal from the younger twin' until further notice. Also, you get to live another day. Congrats.”

Usagi smirks. “Thank you, I think?”

Raph rolls his eyes, but he's grinning from ear to ear, slicing away the tape binding Usagi to the chair and helping him to his feet without prompting. He drops a heavy hand on Usagi's shoulder, his grin widening when the rabbit doesn't buckle under his strength. “What I think Donnie means to say is... well. We're glad you have Leo's back. And we're sorry for thinkin' the worst of you when we're all still gettin' to know each other. I mean, we've seen how happy you two are together, and we just—well, we wanted to—”

Usagi huffs a laugh, patting Raph's massive bicep. “As I said, I understand. My sensei often warns me against jumping to conclusions, but it's different for family. Especially younger siblings. I should know, I have a little sister.”

“Right?! You get it! My little brothers are literal demons even the devil's too scared to look at, but you get it—!”

Mikey shoves his way between them and barrels into Usagi for a hug, squeezing him tight. The rabbit squeaks in surprise and possibly pain, but his arms carefully come around Mikey's shell a heartbeat later, a chuckle running through him. “I suppose this means I have the youngest's seal of approval?”

Mikey nods against his chest, raising his head to beam up at the rabbit. “You do. Welcome to the family!”

“Thank you. I'm honoured to—”

“But we didn't finish the slide show, so I'll run a tee-ell-dee-arr for you. Hurt Leo and you die.”

“... ah.”

“They'll never find your body,” Donnie adds, “because I will reduce it to atoms. I have a ray in the works, I can show you the blueprints.”

“And if that fails, Raph will break every bone in your body and dump you in the Hudson!” Raph says brightly. “Ever swim there? Pretty deep. You find all kinds'a weird stuff. A rabbit yokai won't stand out much.”

“... I understand. I'll definitely deserve one of those fates.”

“Oh, you will,” Mikey chimes. “Thank you for understanding, and thanks for coming to our TED talk!”

“Pretty sure I did most of the talking.”

“I will yeet your ass across this house—”

“Are you chuckleheads done harassing my boyfriend, or can I have him back now?” drawls a familiar voice that has them leaping a foot out of their shells. They turn to find Leo leaning against the back of the couch with one arm, the other hand propped on his popped hip. He arches a brow at their stares.

Mikey jumps back from Usagi to wildly point at his immediate older brother. “How long have you been standing there?!”

“About a minute,” Leo says. “I've been behind the couch the whole time, though.”

“What?! When'd you get back from hanging with Dad and April?!” Raph cries.

“Never left,” Leo pushes off the couch and swings his arm around Usagi's shoulders upon approach like its second nature. Usagi leans into him likewise, one arm curling around his waist. “I kinda figured this whole 'shovel talk' thing was gonna happen sooner or later, so the minute April and Splinter tried to drag me out for a 'father-son-daughter thing' the same day Usagi said he'd come over, I knew you assholes were scheming and told 'em I wasn't leaving.” His eyes narrow a little, and Mikey almost shrinks back. “Didn't think you'd tie him up, though, or that Raph would just let it happen.”

“I'm just the muscle!”

“And I am hurt and offended that you all thought so little of my absolutely innocent Bunny Boo! You look at this face—” He unwraps his arm to squish Usagi's cheeks between both hands—“and tell me there's a single bad thought behind those beautiful pink eyes!”

“Weonawdo,” Usagi mutters, fur tinted pink with embarrassment.

Quick as a whip, Donnie says, “There's not a thought whatsoever if he's dating you.”

“You're a thot.”

“Different words and spelling. And it takes one to know one.”

“Die.”

“You first.”

“Both of you knock it off,” Raph sighs, pinching his brow the way he's done since he first knew the pains of being the eldest. It's a miracle there's not a permanent mark between his eyes. He turns to the rabbit. “Sorry, could we borrow Leo for a sec? Then I swear you two can finally go hang out and... do whatever two teenage boys do when they're head over heels for each other but still in their parent's house so they gotta keep it PG, 'kay?” 

“Um, wow?” Leo scowls, dropping Usagi's face to plant his hands on his hips. “Who do you take me for, a horny teen with no self-control around my significant other?”

“That is exactly what we take you for,” Donnie says.

“I don't!” Mikey says, raising his hand. “You're just a dumb gay hoppin' mad for your bunny boo!”

Leo's eye twitches. “Gee. Thanks.”

Usagi snickers, taking Leo's hands, and Leo instantly melts like putty. “It's fine, Leonardo. I'll wait in your room and get the snacks sorted,” he says, then he leans in to kiss the corner of Leo's mouth. Right in front of everyone. 

It's not something he's done before—being openly affectionate with Leo when his siblings or fathers were around—but then Mikey isn't surprised.

Maybe this whole 'hesitance' and 'mistrust' thing hasn't been as one-sided as he'd thought.

Mikey never knew a slider could turn pink, but Leo manages it, steam funnelling out of his ears as the rabbit walks away, grabbing his duffle bag as he goes. There's a pep in his step, and Mikey wonders if the kiss or their acceptance put it there.

Once he's gone, Donnie breaks the silence, staring in the direction Usagi had left in—“Should I get the tranquillizer?”

“You've done enough today.” Raph puts a massive hand over Donnie's face and shoves him onto the couch, ignoring his indignant squawking as he faces Leo. The slider collects himself quickly and crosses his arms, flashing that devil-may-care grin that irritates and amuses Mikey.

“So? You gonna tie me to the chair and subject me to the horrors of dating life via Dr Feelings?” Leo drawls, “Or are you finally gonna admit that you were wrong about my totally amazing and hot boyfriend?” 

Raph sighs. “Yes, we may have taken it too far—and in Donnie's case, we were overly paranoid, even by my standards, but we learned our lesson about jumping the gun. Again. And you were right.” He smiles, broad and warm. “Your boy is cool with me, little brother. You got yourself a keeper.”

Leo blinks, his smirk falling. “... wait, wait—for real?”

“Did you not hear his heartfelt speech not even two pages ago? It was rather dramatic and moving,” Donnie says absently from the couch, eyes now on his phone to avoid looking anyone in the eye, but Mikey knows what's up. They all do, but they're nice enough not to say anything. “And if I'm being honest—which isn't saying much because I can't lie for shit and you can clock one with an accuracy that borders on mystical—I don't actually think your new beau is inherently evil. I cannot say that I like him... but I approve. For now. My earlier threats still stand, though, so please try to keep him in line, or I will turn him into a hat.”

Leo falters again in the face of sincerity, however masked, from his twin. “...oh. Um. Wow. That's—uh, cool. That's cool, Dee, I, um... thanks...”

And finally, Mikey steps forward, shrugging off the sweater, glasses and pants. “What? You really think it's that odd that we're lookin' out for you? It's like Usagi said, you're precious to us, bro! And he was damn right sayin' you deserve every good thing. You deserve to be happy with someone who cares about you as much as we do.” 

He darts forward again even before Leo's eyes take on a misty sheen, bundling his brother in his arms as much as he can and squeezing. “And if Usagi makes you happy, we're happy too.”

“... you guys,” Leo whines, his voice thick as he holds Mikey impossibly close. Donnie tosses his phone aside to hop up and join the hug, cheek resting on Leo's shoulder. Raph lumbers over and plucks them off the floor, nuzzling the top of Leo's head with a low grumble from deep in his chest.

Later, with mostly dry eyes and a megawatt smile, Leo jogs off to find Usagi. Mikey stands with his eldest brothers and folds his arms. “Our work here is done, gentlemen.”

“But we didn't really do anything,” Donnie says.

Mikey swishes his cape and departs.

“Where the hell did you get that cape?!”

~0o0~

The following week, Mikey corners Usagi at the front door and tackles him with a hug. Usagi laughs and returns it freely.

In the living room, Donnie's eyes are glued to his laptop, fingers typing away. He lifts one fist, Usagi wordlessly bumping it as he sits on the couch with Raph. Setting his comic book aside, Raph reaches out to ruffle his white bangs and chuckles when Usagi's paw bats him away.

Leo enters from the kitchen and immediately brightens when he spots Usagi, leaping over the top of the couch to bounce in the open space beside the bunny. “Hey!"

“Hey, yourself,” Usagi snickers. "You couldn't possibly have missed me that much to come running as soon as I walk in."

Leo swings an arm over the top of the couch, the other pressing a hand to his forehead in a dramatic swoon. "Parting is such sweet sorrow," he bemoans, batting his eyelids at Usagi, "that I shall say good night till it be morrow!"

Mikey laughs so hard he gives himself hiccups. Raph chokes on his soda. Donnie whirls on Leo, looking downright mutinous. "You did not just quote Shakespear so you could flirt with your boyfriend!"

Leo gestures to a madly grinning Usagi trying to hide behind his hands. "It worked, though! You guys hate it when I use the cheap pickup lines off Google, so I consulted the world's finest wordsmith instead."

"You are abusing and defiling William's good name! Thou crusty batch of nature!"

Leo rolls his eyes. "Whatever. You're just jelly 'cause I've officially got more game than you."

"Or Usagi has terrible taste in men."

Leo opens his mouth to say something he'll probably regret, but Usagi swiftly intercepts with a kiss on the cheek that stops him cold. "I thought it was creative," he says, "Much better than your awful pickup lines."

At that, Leo forgets Donnie completely, leaning in with a dumb grin to peck Usagi on the lips. Raph shakes his head with a secret smile, and Mikey giggles as he lays across Raph's thighs, Switch in hand.

Donnie gags. “Get a room.”

“But keep the door open!” Splinter calls from—somewhere. 

Usagi tugs an ear over his face, flushed and embarrassed. Leo throws his head back and laughs.

Mikey grins, basking in the glow as he plugs into his game. He can get used to this.

---

Reblogs are appreciated :3

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[sapphire-weapon]

How do you imagine Leon as a dad?

depends on how he becomes a dad tbh

like I see a lot of fandom headcanoning Leon as such a devoted and hands-on dad, but Sherry Birkin would like to have a fucking word with you about that LMAO

if a condom broke during a one-night stand, Leon would absolutely be a dad basically only in name. maybe the woman gives their kid his last name, maybe she doesn't. but Leon is just a monthly check that comes in and also that guy who shows up on birthdays and maybe holidays when the kid is younger. like, don't get me wrong, it's a big check, and his kid never wants for anything and is fully taken care of, but the kid just doesn't have a real, actual dad in their life. and then Leon pretty much gives up come middle school when it's clear his kid wants nothing to do with him.

I think he would want to do more and be more, but his job and his life literally do not allow for him to do that. not only does it not give him the time to spare or the predictability to be dependable, but he's also staunchly unwilling to rope some chick and their innocent child into the nightmare hellscape that is his life. he'd rather have his kid know next to nothing about him and resent him for it than expose his kid to the horrors of bioterrorism.

if Leon was to accidentally impregnate a girlfriend, he'd be a bit more hands-on -- because it's not like any girlfriend would be completely oblivious to what he actually does for a living. but he'd be a constant source of frustration and disappointment in a family setting. in some ways, this is worse than the one-night stand kid, because there's no pretense or broken promises with the one-night stand kid. one-night stand kid knows that their dad isn't going to be around, doesn't expect him to be around, and never asks him for anything as a result.

an accidental kid with a girlfriend is constantly going to get flaked on -- and not on purpose, but just due to the reality that is Leon's life. Leon's going to do his best to try to be an active part of this kid's life, and it's going to blow up in everyone's faces. he'll have to break promises and go back on his word constantly, which will piss off his babymama because he'll always be pushing shit back onto her to pick up the pieces when he can't follow through with his responsibilities.

because, like. he still wouldn't live with them. he'd still be at a distance from them. he'd still view his family as just a part of his life and not something that exists at the centerpoint of it, which sucks and makes everything harder.

if Leon was somehow in a position to deliberately plan to have a child, that's a completely different ballgame. all of the bullshit about his life would be hashed out ahead of time with his girlfriend/wife, and contingency plans would be made in case he suddenly got called away for xyz reason. this kid would be programmed from a very early age to see their dad's erratic schedule as normal and expect him to disappear for stretches at a time because he has a Very Important Job.

and because there's a baseline of expectation already set and plans in place for backup, I see this going so much more smoothly. everything exists within reason and expectation, and this is the version of dad Leon who actually has a good relationship with his kid. he may not be around all the time, but when he is around, he's genuinely invested in his kid's life and achievements and wants to hear about their day and gets involved with their interests and shit. he knows who his kid's friends are -- maybe not well, but knows them decently enough.

in fact, Leon planning out having a kid and then actually going through with it might just be the best thing for his mental health. it gives him something to come home to and something to keep fighting for. that kid would be a constant source of hope for him to draw on at any point, no matter where he's at or what he's doing.