#time lapse video company

[studio52sblog]

Master optimal timelapse photography for construction sites: camera choice, intervals, lighting, safety, and more. Elevate project documentation and storytelling

[studio52group]

Timelapse camera 2024 guide by Studio52

Discover the latest trends and techniques in timelapse photography with Studio52's comprehensive guide for 2024. From choosing the right camera equipment to mastering timelapse video, unlock the secrets to creating stunning timelapse videos that capture the essence of time.

[apod]

2024 June 2

Rotating Moon from LRO Video Credit: NASA, LRO, Arizona State U.

Explanation: No one, presently, sees the Moon rotate like this. That's because the Earth's moon is tidally locked to the Earth, showing us only one side. Given modern digital technology, however, combined with many detailed images returned by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), a high resolution virtual Moon rotation movie has been composed. The featured time-lapse video starts with the standard Earth view of the Moon. Quickly, though, Mare Orientale, a large crater with a dark center that is difficult to see from the Earth, rotates into view just below the equator. From an entire lunar month condensed into 24 seconds, the video clearly shows that the Earth side of the Moon contains an abundance of dark lunar maria, while the lunar far side is dominated by bright lunar highlands. Currently, over 32 new missions to the Moon are under active development from multiple countries and companies, including NASA's Artemis program which aims to land people on the Moon again within the next few years.

∞ Source: apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240602.html

[eleonoraalbright]

A Shared Kiss

Pairing: Roberto da Costa x fem!reader

Summary: Feeling lonely, you wander into Roberto's room to distract yourself with video games, a quick discussion of your feelings, and an even quicker make out session.

You strolled along the hallway, footsteps muffled by the rug beneath them. Xavier’s school was unusually silent. It felt as though you were the sole inhabitant of the mansion. Loneliness creeped around the corner and threatened to overtake your body to paralyze you. What was there to do except train for an upcoming mission and wait for its inevitable arrival? 

You had finished training earlier and now would remain here for who knows how long until it was time to take off and battle villains. You swayed on the spot, unsure of what there was to do, besides twiddling your thumbs. Your gaze roamed about the corridor for something to linger on and it landed on a door opposite you. An idea of how to preoccupy your time leaped into your muddled mind. 

You crossed to the door and knocked on the hardwood. A muffled, come in sounded from the other side. You swung the door open and stepped into the bedroom. In contrast to the darkened hallway, Roberto’s room was well lit. The curtains were drawn back to reveal a pleasant view of a flower garden and the basketball court. 

Roberto was sitting on the edge of his bed, eyes glued to the tv. He wore sweatpants and a black sleeveless shirt. His hair was damp as if he just finished showering. Sparing a quick glance, he greeted you. “Oh, hey.”

“Hey.” You stood there for a few seconds, hoping he would say something more. When he didn’t you said, “Would you mind if I crashed here for a while?”

He shrugged. “Go ahead.” You sat down next to him to observe the video game he was playing and asked him about it. He replied, “It’s called Balloon Fight. It’s kind of like the game Joust at the arcade, but the goal is to pop balloons. I have another controller I can hook up. Wanna play?”

Happy that he offered, you accepted his invitation. He explained the rules which were fairly easy: pop the balloons to score points, whoever scored the most, won. On the screen appeared two tiny pixelated figures in space. There were different levels to defeat. Islands floated in the black void for you to hop on to burst the levitating balloons and bubbles. 

You took great delight in popping the balloons he was aiming for and laughed when Roberto failed to do the same. He pretended to be upset, but his laughter soon joined yours. Gradually the empty pit swelling inside your stomach grew smaller and smaller in his company. As time passed, you both stopped competing and started cooperating to see how many points you could get working as a team.

The afternoon light dimmed and outside the sky turned from a soft blue to a burning orange. The shadows lengthened, showing the hours that swept by unknown to you and Roberto. When your hands began cramping you opted to just watch him as he played Caveman Games and criticized his technique of vaulting over dinosaurs.

During a rare lapse of silence, he took the opportunity to ask, “Have you been doing alright?” You were surprised at his inquiry and couldn’t think of anything to say that wouldn’t divulge too much of the frequent hollowness settling in your mind these days. He answered himself, “You’re different. You don’t talk a lot to us. You seem sad. Everything okay?”

A swirling mixture of satisfaction and embarrassment stirred in your gut that he had noticed your change in mood. How would you respond? Should you tell him the truth or brush him off and say that you’ve been tired. You chose the former. “Have you ever felt trapped here? That you’ve missed out on normal high school experiences?”

“I suppose so. It comes with the territory of being a mutant and a superhero too.”

You sighed, picking at a stray thread on the blanket. “I feel like there’s not much else besides fighting and sitting around the school for danger to arise for us to fight over and over again.” You avoided looking at Roberto, scared that he would think you foolish. You’re part of the New Mutants for heaven’s sake. 

You knew what it meant when you agreed to attend Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. “Sure, we have homework to do and stuff, but I wish– I wish all the most I had to worry about was yucky school lunches and boyfriend troubles.” You thought about that: a boyfriend. What would that be like? What drama and complications would come from having a significant other? 

What love would sprout from such a relationship? Friends were wonderful to have, but some deeper part of you yearned to have the emotional and physical intimacy that would hopefully transpire from having a beau. Whether this desire sprang from raging teenage hormones or the human need of mutual companionship did not matter. 

“Is it shallow to want a boyfriend?” Your distress was blatant in your voice.

He shifted and your shoulders brushed. You peered at Roberto to see him regarding you with an expression that was impossible to decipher. “No, I don’t think it is.”

Relieved to hear his validation, you leaned in nearer. You weighed the wisdom of speaking aloud the comment intruding in your brain. How would he react? Would it shatter this tender, heartfelt moment? Would he withdraw in horror at the hint? Well, there was only one way to find out. You whispered, “It’s been forever since I’ve shared a kiss.”

His eyes dropped to your lips, then flickered back up to your longing stare. To your delight and dismay, he made no movement. What was he thinking at this exact second?

Would you be able to leave with your dignity still intact once he voiced his rejection? He brought his hand up to your face to trace the curve of your jaw and murmured, “Me too.”

Hope bloomed in your chest like a daffodil in spring with the accompanying butterflies fluttering in there also. You tilted your head to the right as he did but to the left. Your lips joined together in a simple kiss.

His other hand ran down your back to press you flush against him and your arms twined around his neck. This kiss was better than any before. Thrilling tingles ran down your spine, chasing away the minute amounts of trepidation left.

Roberto broke it off, a slight sigh of pleasure escaping from his mouth. You didn’t want it to end it here, and had a sneaking suspicion that neither did he. “Do you really wanna stop there?”

His pupils were dilated. His warm breath fanned your lips. He considered the question a beat before saying, “No.” He kissed you a second time. 

Passion surged you both to delve further in one another. His tongue grazed your bottom lip and entered your mouth when it opened a fraction. Your fingers combed through his dark curls, tugging on several strands in the process and he let out a soft moan at the sensation. A sense of pride washed over you, elated to have elicited such a noise from him. 

Roberto pushed you down on his bed so you laid flat on the covers with his body atop yours. One hand was braced beside your head while the other traveled to your shirt’s hem; his fingers trailed farther up your bare skin, leaving goosebumps in their wake.

You wanted to let out a scream of pure excitement at finding yourself in this scenario with Roberto, but didn’t, lest someone heard it through the thin walls. 

You reconciled with expressing your intense emotions by dragging your nails down his back to mirror the passion clawing inside you. His pesky shirt was getting in the way though from marking him.

He had a similar idea of marking because his lips abandoned your own to nip and suck at your neck. When that area of flesh was suitably bruised, he moved downwards to your collarbone. 

You and Roberto jumped apart when a man’s voice rang clear as a bell in both of your minds. “New Mutants, assemble in my office. Now.” You cursed at Xavier; he had the worst possible timing ever. 

You shouldn’t have dilly-dallied, but you clung to him for a couple moments longer to ask, “Can we pick this up later?”

Roberto smirked at the request and said, “Absolutely.” His thumb caressed the hickies he had made. “We’ll also have to talk about the boyfriend and girlfriend thing later.”

With that he sprung off the bed and darted out the room. You smiled after him. Perhaps, the following days wouldn’t be spent in the same monotonous cycle.

[heymeowmao]

2024.10.11 - https://weibo.com/l/wblive/p/show/1022:2321325088345679069341

[t/n: I swear I’m gonna skim it this time…] [t/n: his camera focus is FREAKING OUT]

1:33 LYN: It’s been a long time since I last streamed… and it seems like my equipment isn’t working properly. Something’s not syncing up. It won’t focus, so it’s all very blurry. But that’s nice, too, that you can’t see my face clearly. It’s a hazy/dreamy feel. - /testing the sound/video settings/ LYN: Is it vertical or a horizontal view still? /confirmed/ Vertical? Isn’t that high class? 🙂

3:58 LYN: (The focus) is probably because of these glasses. - takes them off and it does not fix the problem. LYN: It’s too blurry? Then next time we won’t use the vertical view. Maybe the angle with this isn’t right. It’s like everyone who’s watching has astigmatism. Even I can see/feel it. C: It’s because the carousel in the back keeps spinning. LYN: That’s the problem, huh? I’ll turn it off. It must be the carousel that’s the problem. I don’t care if it’s not, it’s going to take the blame for now. I’ll turn it off and see if it gets better. (It does not.) LYN: D: We falsely accused it. The focus has nothing to do with the carousel. This is getting annoying, though. Let me take the glasses off, too. I wanted to cover it because I don’t have any makeup today so my eyes look small. LYN: I didn’t think this would be so- It wasn’t the glasses, and it’s still not working. I didn’t plan well enough this time.

7:00 LYN: Let’s just leave it like this. You can hear me, so  have my voice keep you company. C: I can see your moles. LYN: You shut your mouth. Obviously it’s better that you can’t see clearly, because if it’s clear you can see my moles. It’s not a mole. You’re talking about here, right? (points to a spot on his face) I can’t believe you can see that. Can you see the hair growing on it, too? LYN: It’s not a mole/birthmark. You want to know what it is- /puts his glasses back on/ Let me cover it. The other day I went to get cosmetic surgery. I had lapse in judgement and did a procedure called “photorejuvenation (光子嫩肤).” I was thinking I could get my skin looking shiny and smooth, so I look younger. What an interesting procedure. While I was sitting there during the process I could smell something like burning pig hair. It hurt just a little. They use lasers to burn your skin a little. I’m sure my face was a little rougher to begin with so the technician grilled me a little longer. They ended up thoroughly cooking me and I… got a little burnt.

9:40 - tries to find a fixed position so that the camera will stay in focus. (it doesn’t work.) C: Your new equipment is no good. - Daimi starts barking up a storm LYN: See? Can you hear that? Your words have upset our female celebrity. She’s saying, “What are you talking about? Such nonsense?? What do you mean the equipment is no good?!” LYN: It was quite expensive for this, and now you’re telling me, “You’re new equipment is no good.” I can see the face your making through the screen. It’s not “no good”, I just haven’t adjusted it well enough. I thought I had it set, but it turns out this is much more of a headache than I thought. We’ll leave it. It doesn’t matter. C: Ning-ge, buy SONY. LYN: You’re here to advertise?? Are you from SONY, and have come to advertise your products? // I mean, I CAN but what would I do with the cameras that I already have? What am I going to do with them? My stream- oh my god… -/gets blurrier/ LYN: I’M gonna throw up. LYN: Let me take the glasses off, I think it’s better that way. It’s not the camera- there’s a reason why it won’t focus, that I just haven’t told you about. This camera is set to adjust according to a person’s eyes. It focuses based on your eyes. If I say it like that, do you understand what I’m implying? Are there any fast-thinking friends out there who understand what I’m trying to say here? Yeah. This camera auto- focuses based on where a person’s eyes are. Mm. What a piece of crap! - [t/n: his eyes are too small for the camera to focus on XD]

13:20 LYN: If it comes down to it, I CAN buy a different lens. I bought a new one just a few days ago, though. I was thinking about my stream and how I haven’t streamed for so long, so I wanted to give you a fresh new look. I went online and started looking for lenses using the search term: “what lens makes people look good?” There were all sorts of specifications. I ended up buying one with a summit angle? I don’t know- there might be people watching who know a lot more about this than I do. It’s said that people look best when shot at a 45°-85° degree angle. So I was thinking I would go hard and get one at an 85° angle. Because I don’t understand how it works, right? If they say people look good at 45-85°, then I’m thinking the one that will make me look the best is 85°. - in summary: it’s like a magnifying glass. the camera ended up only showing his nose, he never figured out how to adjust it. He wanted to return it, but the seller would not accept the return because the lens was already scratched from affixing it onto the camera. So he still has the lens and will probably try to raffle it off during a birthday stream. Or give it to his Studio so that they can make use of it.

18:55 C: Ning-ge, will you still enter a drama crew later this year? LYN: I’ve talked to you about this before. This industry is pretty cruel, and I don’t have any resources- even though people always say that I do. I WISH I did. But I don’t have resources, so I don’t have any work. I probably won’t be in another drama crew for the rest of the year. I’ve come back to being a Singer.

19:38 LYN: I was scrolling weibo and came across a post that read, “LYN’s new drama starts shooting.” I saw it and was dumbfounded. I thought to myself, “When did this happen? Who accepted a drama on my behalf?” Let me peacefully ‘pick my feet’ (idle). What drama do you want me in?? Let me rest. How’s this. If you see anyone making posts like that, make a comment saying, “Ning-ge wants you to contact his Studio. He wants to know what job this is. He wants to take it.” 

20:37 LYN: The thing is- you all know- I’ve been in Hengdian for the past four years, continuously shooting for dramas. I haven’t stopped. Even when I was acting as supporting characters, or made special appearances, I would still be part of that crew for four-five months. Even if it’s only 100-200 scenes, I would be there the whole time. I haven’t left Hengdian at all in the past four years. Think about it. You all know my schedule- I’ve been here for four years, it’s about time that I wanted to take a break and rest my mind. Because if you’re constantly filming you start to feel… numb. So I thought I would come back to being a singer, and release some songs, do some much-needed work on my album, and go on some music-varieties to come back into my singer-environment. LYN: Some of my friends are working hard right now. My return as a singer has them running haggard. Today it’s this stage and tomorrow it’s that song. The day after is an OST, and today is a livestream. I’ve got them running around so much I’m sure that they’re thinking, “LYN, why don’t you just go back to acting? Go back to shooting dramas. I’m dead tired.” Thank you, and you’ve worked hard.

22:50 C: Ning-ge, why don’t you put 这蔚蓝 (Azure) onto your album? LYN: It IS my song. It might not be on my album, but it’s already my song. It’s mine, so there’s not much meaning in putting onto my album. With my album I always want to bring you new songs.

24:17 - polling the group: (disregarding the focus) do you like vertical or horizontal view better? Consensus: both are good! (but he’ll buy a better lens for a vertical shot next time.)

25:50 C: You’re not in a drama crew, but you’re even busier. LYN: It’s actually not that bad for me. You’re the ones that are busier. // As a singer there are various music-related things, including stage performances. The stages I couldn’t go to before- because I was always in the crew and couldn’t ask for time away. But now I have time so if there are any events that invite me, I can go. If any varieties ask me if I could go help out- I mean- play, then I’ll go. I’ve returned to being a singer, and it’s nice. // I’ll attend some events so I can go see celebrities and take pictures with them.

28:00 LYN: I hope that no matter what drama airs- whether I have a little or a lot of scenes, or whatever the role may be, I hope that you can still watch the drama. Secondly, I hope that you can help maintain the drama and promote it in a positive direction. I hope that you can support it. Because in order to shoot one drama, I have to work for four months. The work may be difficult and tiring, but that’s normal. It’s really more of a painstaking effort on all parts. It’s every team’s effort. A drama’s success is not due to one or two people alone- it’s all the people who woke up early and stayed up late to help make it happen. So if you’re willing, please support the drama. LYN: It’s the same for every drama, but at the same time as one drama is airing, there are also countless of others. Honestly, we’re all competing for the same viewership and hoping to be your preference. I hope my fans can help to promote my dramas and support them. I don’t want you to get caught up in the rumors and ultimately bring harm to- I won’t call myself your “Ning-ge”, but- your friend’s work. 

30:57 - “It’s my fault. My eyes are too small.” - /troubleshooting the camera some more/

33:10 LYN: Is it better? Did it get better, friends? I don’t think it did- it still looks the same. 😐It’s BETTER, sometimes clear and sometimes blurry, but at least it’s not making anyone dizzy. C: Ning-ge, turn on the big eyes filter. LYN: What are you talking about? The camera doesn’t recognize me, so you want me to use the big eyes filter to help it? Are you crazy?? The problem with that is the camera is looking at me in real life, it’s not looking at the me THROUGH the lens with an added filter. What type of logic is that?? 34:53 LYN: Excuse me- you’ve touched on a nerve. My eyes are the wound that cannot be touched. - /reminds him of a song/

35:55 C: Ning-ge, those glasses make you look old. LYN: Someone earlier said that I looked like I attend NTU (Nantong University- one of China’s best and top-rated Public universities.) I know they were kidding, but I was a little cheerful when I heard it. Friends, even though I myself am well aware that I’m old, hearing that compliment made me feel a sliver of cheerfulness in my heart. When you go outside and see someone clearly older than you- you must say that they look young. Then, whatever path you are taking will go smoothly. I used to work in a clothing shop- if an older lady entered the shop, I would always call them “jie.” At that time, I thought if I used one of three phrases: This makes you look thin/pale/young, then I would have a 60% successful buy rate. So even if they know you're telling a lie, if it makes the other person happy then they’re more likely to spend their money. XD

37:51 C: Why isn’t anyone commenting? LYN: You’re lagging. Why don’t you find someplace to connect to wifi? The screen is full of comments. LYN: You’re not in another stream, are you? Are you in another space/dimension? Are you watching my stream from a parallel universe? My stream is full of people but you can’t see any of them. You’re in a parallel universe. - /Daimi barking/ LYN: /to Daimi/ Be quiet! Shush.

38:40 C: Lao-da, I learned how to ride a horse. LYN: Congrats! But let me give you some advice. I always keep in mind this saying: “stubborn mouths will be beaten to death, and good swimmers can drown.” (one should be cautious and not boastful) It’s something my grandparents taught me. I won’t explain the first half, but the second- for someone like me who’s afraid of water and can’t swim- I will stay far away from rivers, lakes, and seas. If someone says, “Let’s go play in the water!” I will never go. So it’ll be difficult for me to drown. LYN: You said you know how to ride now. I shot a drama before, and they asked the actors, “Who knows how to ride already?” and I told them I didn’t know how. But they replied, “Huh? I thought I saw a video before- weren’t you riding very fluently?” I told them, “I don’t know how to ride, really. I was just going into it blind.” But there was a kid by me, who said that he knew how to ride very well and had been doing it since young. He fell from his horse. LYN: So- in regard to horseback riding, the reason why I am still afraid is because I am wary of each horse I meet. You have to keep your distance from these animals, because in the end it’s not YOUR horse. For example, if you go out and you see a dog. Would you just walk right up to it and pet it? You don’t know if it bites. It’s the same logic with a horse. It may be very happy to have been fed a carrot, but the next moment it can think you look like a carrot and want to eat you. So, you have to be cautious. Even if you think you know how to ride one now, you still have to be careful. Ride slowly. Safety is your priority. Ok?

42:08 - /reiterates that it’s useless to ask him about updates (air dates) on his dramas/ - TXJ was about to drop before he even recorded the OST for it, so he had to record it in a hurry. - Pretty much will record an OST for almost every drama he’s in.

43:44 - Comment asking him if he’s had any cosmetic surgery done LYN: I’ve asked the doctors before and they’ve just shaken their heads. “There’s no helping you.” XD C: Just slightly. LYN: Slightly WHERE? You need to tell me where I need to get the work done. I don’t really do much anyway- the only part I need to improve is my skin. I think the biggest problem on my face is that my eyes are small. The camera already told me, “Your eyes are too small, I can’t autofocus.” But if I get my eyes done, I feel like I’ll look like a whole different person so I just let it go. Everywhere else is… pretty acceptable. :) I have a nose, I have a mouth- they’re decent. I can’t say they look nice, but they’re acceptable. LYN: I remember there was some board that ranked artists based on their features alone. I had nose and mouth, but I didn’t have eyes. But among all those features, I was up in the ranks. Not first, but still high up. When the results were announced and they saw it was me they were dumbfounded. But I didn’t see the results in the eyes ranking, and I don’t want to know.

46:57 C: Is there still hope for a concert this year? LYN: Probably not. I asked the company I collaborate with the other day and they told me that I probably won’t be able to hold my concert this year because there are no venues. After I’m finished with my current business, I’ll start working on the plans for my concert. It’s time, and I SHOULD have one. I still owe you a stop from last time, too. I’ve owed you Wuhan for four years. My fans are really faithful, too- none of them have returned their ticket. They bought a ticket for a concert four years ago they never got to see, but still have not asked for a refund. LYN: But- I was lying in bed thinking about this- I’m sure that there are a bunch of people who bought tickets for that stop who have since stopped being my fan. More or less, I’m sure people have stopped being a fan. For example, if I had 8k sold out tickets at the time, I don’t believe that there wasn’t any loss among all 8k of you. There is no such probability. // It’s been four years since they bought the ticket and I’m sure that with all the amazing people debuting every year they’ve long since stopped being my fan. They could have gotten married and had children, and have stopped chasing stars. They could have started doing something else entirely. That’s all normal and expected. But the thing is- they never returned the ticket. They might be using this last ticket as… a show of decency towards me. That’s what I think, at least. I don’t know if they really feel that way, though. LYN: Friends- there’s another possibility. /setting up the bgm/ Another possibility for why it’s been four years but they have not returned the ticket, is because… they forgot. They forgot their account log in, or they forgot where they put the ticket. So... even now, they have not been returned. It’s possible that not only have they forgotten the ticket, they have also already forgotten me. That’s fine, then. Let us separate in this jianghu and bid one another well. Let us maintain this last bit of… decency. C: I’m gonna cry! C: Ning-ge, what if they watch this stream and then remember, and return the ticket? LYN: /laughs/ /stops/ They wouldn’t, right?! I just reminded them??

51:55 LYN: It’s possible that I’ll hold my concert next year. I remember someone earlier said, “Ning-ge, I’ll study well and when I get a scholarship I’ll come to see you.” Actually, you don’t need to do that. If you’ve won a scholarship, you can buy something for yourself, or your family members. You can use it to make your daily life that much more livable. Later when you’ve graduated and found a job, and have the ability to make money of your own- you can come to watch my concert then. You don’t need to rush. I can wait for you. LYN: But- it’s going to happen next year, so you can start filling your piggy banks with money. I think it’s quite fun. The first concert I watched- other than my own- was… Mao Buyi’s or Mayday? I forgot the order. Was it MBY? It must have been MBY first, then Mayday second. Last time, I was also a special guest for Zhang Bichen’s concert. After I went to her concert, I wanted to have my own. I just think that of having people line up and wait to enter the venue… when I saw that image I was touched. All these people have come for a singer that they like, like a big gathering. And a concert is a lot different than seeing people perform on a regular stage. I’ve been to all sorts of stages, and when you’re on stage singing, you sort of get the feeling like you’re just a performer. You’re only just a singer. I don’t know if describing it that way is the best. But at your own concert, around 70-80% of the people there are there for YOU. Even if you’re on stage and you tell a joke that’s maybe not very funny- everyone in the audience will still have fun. They’ll indulge you. LYN: They’ll be excited. I saw clip from someone else’s concert- for example, if they hate this artist’s company. The artist was thanking their company, and the audience members were shouting “Go out of business!” Or: Artist: “Thank you Sina Weibo.” Audience: THANK YOU!” LYN: They’re really enjoying it. I just think that having all these people here for you, to share your feelings and to be influenced by you- that sort of passion is something I really enjoy. LYN: That “Go out of business!” was louder than anything else. It was amusing. As a viewer myself, I could feel that the whole mood was really “high”. Very interesting.

57:30 C: Lao-da, you’re thinner. LYN: When I was an actor, I would think of scenarios on how to respond to you. But now as a singer whenever you say something to me, I can only think of one song: “Brother, you’ve gotten thinner. You look exhausted.” (lyrics to 兄弟抱一下) But really, I’ve not gotten thinner. I’m still the same, because I’ve been trying more or less to maintain this weight.

59:00 - /he’s trending, so he (and Daimi) thank the fans/

1:00:00 C: Ning-ge, for your concert, can you be your own organizer? LYN: You sure have some wild ambition. This is like going into a restaurant to eat hotpot, then coming out of it wanting to make your own hotpot shop. It’s like eating a dish and saying, “I can cook this, too!” If you walk into a clothing shop, you’d say, “I can make this, too!” If you buy a bag, you’ll say, “I can sew this, too.” There are things that you can’t do. If you see someone act in a drama, you’d say, “I can shoot that drama, too!” What I’m trying to get at is that there are professionals for a reason. Things aren’t as easy as you may think. LYN: I know someone has done it before, though. But even though I’m not the organizer I still have the authority to make decisions, because this is MY concert. I tell them how I want it to go and a whole team helps to make it happen. // It’s not like before, when I was singing by the side of the road. All I needed then was a laptop, two instrumentalists, and two boxes. - at least 10 stops, if not more

1:02:53 C: Lao-da, are your headphones on the wrong way? LYN: Are they? Whatever. But it’s written here- Left-Right. This is right (pointing at “L”). Oh? This is right?!? In the mirror image, this is “R”, so it’s on my right side. They’re flipped.

1:04:32 C: Where’s your hat? LYN: What do you mean?? Does my hair look bad today? Friends- you can monitor me- I used to not care about how I looked, but these days I’ve been taking special care about it. Today’s look is all about the “foolish boy at the village entrance.” There’s a character here. I’m not only a singer and an actor, but on normal days I also give myself a character. Today I am the foolish boy at the village entrance. The type whose family has a lot of land and money, but the child is not too bright. That’s me. - C: Lao-da, will you invite Zhang Bichen to your concert? LYN: I don’t know. I’ll have to see if she has time. If she does, then she’ll come. If she doesn’t, then forget it. We’ll see. - C: This type of person is just lacking the drool. LYN: What do you mean? Let me tell you- I can put this online and have you morally kidnapped. What- are you looking down on people whose intelligence is not very high? - C: Invite Xiao Qi-ge. (Ren Xianqi) LYN: We’ll see when the time comes. I probably will invite him, though. Honestly… I had invited him to the Wuhan stop, last time. We had just finished with WMDG and I invited him and he very nicely agreed to come. But… then it couldn’t happen. I will definitely invite him when I finally get this going. We even had the song picked out! We were going to sing 后来.

1:09:25 LYN: I’ve discovered that people really care about my face. Maybe it’s because I’ve been showing up a lot lately. Someone asked if I went to get double-eyelid surgery. My eyes have not changed- neither bigger nor smaller- so what would be the point if I HAD gotten the surgery?? Merely to add another wound? I haven’t gotten anything done. And ALSO- no one gets them cut anymore. I can tell you’re not in the business. Everyone nowadays does “mai xian” (bury thread). If you don’t like it you can take it out and redo it. If you want it this thick /measures with his fingers/ you can do that. Later when it’s not trendy anymore you can take that out and change it. Who uses knives, nowadays??

1:11:10 C: Can you play 阿楚姑娘 (A-Chu Guniang) next?  LYN: I can do that. Maybe I can do a reaction. That was fun. Hold on- let me see if I can make it happen. I don’t know if it will go on a vertical screen, but horizontal is usually fine. I can! LYN: This song is called 阿楚姑娘- I remember a long time ago that- no, forget it. I shouldn’t say. This ep was livestreamed, and I really like it because 1. it’s fun (you’ll feel nervous and excited), and 2. it’s fast. You just record the song then leave. LYN: I was really nervous singing this song. A lot of you may know that the hardest part of a male-female duet is the decision of key, because our ranges are different. Especially with Shila-laoshi. She’s amazing- her high notes are awesome and her technique is strong. But me? I can’t do high notes. I’m a mid-tone through and through. So it was difficult for us to pick a key. The first note especially- since we started in the female key- was hard to find. I look relaxed- with my eyes closed- but in reality I was listening for the beat. I was super nervous. It was a livestream, so if you sang badly it would be out there. The internet would give you an instant reaction. 1:16:42 LYN: That day- honestly speaking, I am not a very technical singer. There are singers with good technique, but I am not one of them. My technique is not very strong. I don’t even know what my strong points are. In any case, even though I do not use techniques I think my singing that day was pretty good. Of course, there were mistakes- there’s no way there are zero mistakes. Shila-laoshi had none, though. :) I was talking about myself. There are bound to be mistakes made, on my part. That section just now was okay though. - /comments on where he made a mistake/didn’t execute a note well/ LYN: Okay, that’s enough. “Emotional/Sensitive Boy” is done. I just thought that I hadn’t done as well as I had during rehearsals. It’s okay though- for a livestream, it’s enough to just make it through the song. 

1:19:55 - starts pointing out all the things that went wrong with 一路上有你 (You and Me On the Road) LYN: It’s not a difficult song, but- let me tell you about it. She (Ms.OOJA) sang very well- stable, in tune, and with technique. The tone of her voice is very nice. /pauses where he comes in/ Very low. I remember very clearly that the first time we rehearsed for this song, I couldn’t find the right key, which ate at me. It’s so LOW! I was dazed when I first heard it. Later I thought about it some more and was able to execute.

1:25:50 - doesn’t play 赤裸裸 bc there was a problem with the sound receiving. The fancam is fine, but on the broadcast version there’s a sound delay.

1:26:40 C: Do 这蔚蓝 (Azure). LYN: Nah. // It was a hard song. I won’t do a reaction, though. If it were me in the past I would, but now… I don’t dare to say anything. When I used to say things, it was as a joke or or entertainment. But now if you say one wrong thing and cross someone, it can become a huge problem. C: Ning-ge, then tell us secretly. LYN: Is this what you mean? If I say it in a small voice, then people won’t know- is that it? LYN: It’s nothing. I can do a reaction to it, I just don’t have any particularly strong impression. It’s normal. I liked it. Why don’t we do it? For fun. LYN: This song is difficult- to me. The key is a little high for me, then I use falsetto, then I have to come back and continue. It’s difficult for me to sing- I was under a lot of pressure. I look like I’m feeling the song but really I’m very nervous. You think the frown on my face is because my heart is full of melancholy, but it’s actually full of nerves. // When I close my eyes, I’m actually looking to the feeling. I have to separate myself from the world, leaving only me and the music. I have to close my eyes so I don’t see the masses of other people’s fans in the audience. I don’t want to see them picking their fingers- it’ll affect my performance. So I close my eyes to block out the rest of the world. But here comes the headache: when you close your eyes, you can no longer see the lyrics on the prompter. So I still have to open my eyes. - /narrates how he’s feeling/what he’s thinking during the rest of the song/ LYN: When I’m streaming, just listen to what I’m saying for entertainment. Please don’t take it seriously.

1:33:20 - /reaction to 你敢吗 (Do You Dare?)/ LYN: I wasn’t as nervous for this song, because it’s more or less in my comfort zone. LYN: When people are singing you have to do it with feeling. What you want to express with this type of song is the feeling. You have to enter a state of mind. If you sing it normally, It’d be like this: /soulless singing/. But for this song you have to enter a state of mind; when you’re singing, you’re actually brainwashing yourself. Deceive yourself. - /at the buildup/ LYN: Actually, I didn’t prepare well for this part. You didn’t hear it, did you? This part was too loose. In the previous part I wanted to find that loose feeling- it’s different from relaxed- that feeling that you’re really into the music and the emotion- the weariness towards life, that yearning/searching for light, that painstaking process. But for this line- I was too carefree in the previous part and the next thing I knew- the next line up was so long! I wasn’t prepared but I still took a secret breath. But at the end of the line I didn’t have enough breath left. Listen- // I didn’t have breath here, but with my years of stage experience, I timed my breath with the pause well enough that you couldn’t hear that there was a break. - /stops trying to explain himself, because he’s not “professional”/ LYN: To anyone watching my stream who has a profession in music- these are just my immature thoughts- I am not a professional/I am not learned in music. I learned how to cook. All of my understanding of music is just from years of personal experience, so I hope the professional musicians out there can… not pick on me. // Also- I am only commenting/judging myself.

1:40:58 --- Break #1

1:46:45 C: My dad says that you are a “kid with positive energy” LYN: Thank you, uncle. I AM a kid with positive energy. You’re right. C: My mom says you LOOK very positive energy. LYN: /laughs/ That sounds… complicated. I don’t know how to respond to that. What do you mean I LOOK very positive energy? What does that look like?

1:48:09 LYN: I came on tonight because it’s been a long time since I last streamed and I wanted to chat with you. If there’s anything you want to chat with me about, you can let me know. I’ve been on a lot of stages and everything lately- and even did some reaction video. When I get the chance I want to react to regular variety shows, too. It’s content, and I can watch a show with everyone. We can comment on celebrities and make snide remarks about LYN, etc. 1:48:57 C: Ning-ge, have you been on a travel variety? LYN: Hey, now that you mention it! If there’s an opportunity, I would go. 

1:49:14 C: Ge, can you buy a phone case for me? LYN: I can’t do that. For anyone who comes into my stream and starts wanting stuff from me- you can leave. Who asks for a prize for watching a stream? This reminds me of years ago when I was singing on the street. - /describes how some local shops would commission the Modern Bros to promote their shop/hand out items for them. People weren’t there to listen to him sing, they were there to collect the free things he was passing out./ LYN: As long as I held on to the items with one hand and the mic in the other, they couldn’t leave. (in the break between verses, he would hand them out again). C: Why does that sound so sad? LYN: I don’t think there’s anything sad about it. That’s just life. It was the normal life of a young man who wanted to pursue music. Sometimes- I’m not trying to complain- /stops playing Westlife bc it makes it sound pitying/ I’m willing to share this with you. I’m thankful for the experiences I went through. Including singing on the street, grilling corn, being a waiter, being an attendant in the bath house, selling clothes, and even starting my own stall. I think these are all good experiences. To the me now, they were good experiences. I’m sure that there are people out there now, who are going through what I did. These experiences were good for me because they let me see all sorts of things- human nature and how to make a living. These things gave me experience and motivation. Whether for my acting or singing, these experiences are of a great help. LYN: I don’t think it’s sad, because my situation has turned for the better now.

1:54:52 - 寻岸 (Search For Shore) [Dark Night and Dawn OST] LYN: Because I was working on my album, I had collected a bunch of demos and I quite liked this song. But I didn’t choose it at the time because I didn’t want my album to sound too depressing. I liked it, but not enough to put it on my album, but at the same time I REALLY liked it. I was conflicted. So of the two songs I had, I picked the other one to put onto my album, and let this one go. Later a drama reached out to me, asking me to sing the OST- and it was this song! What a coincidence! // Originally, I would have spent money to make my album, but with this job I’m actually making money! What a happy coincidence. So I gladly sang this OST for them. C: It was meant to be yours. LYN: Yes. You get that feeling sometimes, once you hear it you’ll think “this sounds like mine.” - /shows off his new filters/ - /broke his camera’s focus again X’D/

2:02:23 C: This is too funny. My cheeks hurt. LYN: Such an amazing performance and you think it was funny?? What artists’ stream does this to them? Is there ANY normal artist out there who does this? You think it’s funny? Shouldn’t you be thinking that it’s amazing?? Isn’t this too wonderful??? Shouldn’t you be clapping for me??!! LYN: Your words are making me think that I am just a clown. C: You’re not a clown, you’re handsome (xiao shuai). LYN: /meme/ Pay attention, this man is called “xiao shuai”-

2:03:58 C: Ning-ge, that line “Woman, you’re playing with fire”- did you add that in yourself? LYN: You saw the ZLYM trailer and are now asking me if I added that line in? I don’t dare to respond! People are going to start saying that I added scenes for myself. I can’t take more of that. LYN: Now when I’m acting, sometimes I can have an improvised response, but I don’t dare to say them out loud. I don’t want someone to grab the script later and say, “That line wasn’t in there. LYN, you’re adding scenes for yourself now?? You must have resources backing you, and that’s why you have the gall to add your own scenes.” It’s a trauma for me now. LYN: But I did actually add that line. You might think it’s unreasonable or incongruous now, but when you’re watching the drama you’ll see that it fits.

2:06:00 LYN: I’m joking. I’m not adding scenes, but- I don’t know when it started that you have to follow the script strictly. When actors are on the scene, all of us will improvise sometimes. There’s no way we can stick to the script 100%. Actors have their own understanding and expression, and are able to play with improv. A lot of drama interactions are not scripted- but based off our interactions with each other; they’re all created with director’s input, though. I was joking when I said that I don’t dare to add scenes for myself, because actually it has nothing to do with that. As long as I act my own role well, I don’t care about much else. Because it’s not something I can influence either way. The only thing I can do is play my own part, and if I have any ideas I will bring it up with the director. After getting permission, then I actually express them. All of my ideas are to better fulfill my role. As an actor, you need to find ways for the audience to remember you. // I don’t want to talk about this in too much detail, because I don’t understand it (not learned). It’s just things that I have observed after these many years of filming. - /talks about a time a director wanted him to act- “There are no lines for this scenes. Just sit here. You’re drinking. You can chat about whatever you want to.” and how the last time he felt like this was with SYXSSYX when Li Muge (director) wanted him to act a scene three different ways. You have to use your understanding of the character to act instinctually./ - /thinks this is fun for lesser known actors, though. he prefers that the director or acting partner allows space for creativity and improv., because he has a quicker reaction time and his automatic responses can be fun and more accurate/real than what’s scripted./

2:10:40 LYN: Friends, have you noticed that there are rules for awards ceremonies, now? They don’t want you to say “fans”, you have to say “song appreciators.”

2:12:00 C: Why is there a scar on your chest? LYN: How do you know there’s a scar on my chest?? Were you the doctor that gave me my physical? LYN: Oh, I know- that time I took a pic with Shila and my collar was a little wide, so you saw a spot on my chest. Well, since you already know about it I might as well tell you. Many of you have discovered that there is a so-called “scar” on my chest. The truth is- this is a long story. I’ll make it short. Some people think it’s a birthmark, but it’s not. /exaggerating/ I really don’t want to recall this experience, it hurts too much. Birthmark… Someone else’s pain comes out of your mouth as just a simple “birthmark.” That’s so shallow! This event happened about a month ago. I woke up one day and I don’t know why, but I really wanted to eat hotpot. - /tldr; he ended up getting a blister (?)  that wouldn’t go away and has now reduced to a dark colored spot/ 2:17:58 - /discussing the position of the blister(?), and why it grew on his chest when usually they appear on the butt./ - (in summary) LYN: Are we really going to go there? Or should we discuss- from a medical understanding/perspective? And if we really do discuss this, would it affect my market value? 2:19:55 - /afraid that there are new fans who have come into the stream because he looks like an interesting person in interviews and during his dramas, but they listen to the stream and find him talking about weird medical stuff instead./ C: Then you’ll have gained a fan because of it. LYN: You must be sick! You have nothing else to be a fan of, so you become a fan of a blister?? - /confesses that though he found it disgusting at first, he got addicted to watching ear-cleaning videos… and blackhead plucking videos. >.> As well as carpet cleaning, and restoration videos (slightly more normal territory)./ - doesn’t watch ocean-catching, because he grew up by a river and has done it himself. - will watch hoof trimming videos, but not human callous removal ones - not interested in watching mukbangs.

2:25:25 - actually, wants to be a content creator. if you do it right, you can make a lot of money. C: You can be the type that roasts people/things. LYN: I was roasted myself not too long ago… They get really high views, though. MY highest viewed video doesn’t even reach the highest view count from a video roasting me. It doesn’t really have to be very professional, either- the video’s can look this like: /pulls up some filters/ “Where does LYN find the courage to shoot historical dramas? How is he even qualified to work opposite these actors??” LYN: I was disappointed with the app, so I barely even open it anymore. 2:27:30 LYN: But something fun is that I used to watch those reaction videos, of people’s complaints about dramas/the actors. “This script is unreasonable” or “this actor didn’t do a good job”- I would watch those videos secretly. I didn’t dare to watch them out in the open. I was afraid my friends would find out and break ties with me. Sometimes when I watched videos of them roasting my friends, I would be watching seriously. Not to make fun of them (!); because I understand my friends. But who would have thought that starting last year the main star in these videos would become myself. It’s an interesting feeling. LYN: There were some uploaders, whose videos I would watch according to their upload schedule. That week I continuously kept seeing myself. In a fit, I blocked them all. I had even given them money before! GIVE IT BACK TO ME!! // I started on this app to find happiness. I have a membership! I PAID for this?! LYN: I’m joking. Please don’t take it seriously. Honestly, most of these creators rely on ad revenue to make money. Yet others can be bought and commissioned to make controversial videos. I found about this fairly recently. One of my friend’s drama was airing, and it was being terribly ridiculed. The company thought they could contact some creators and pay them to create more positive videos of the drama. These creators have some morals, and said that they would only accept a fraction of the pay. Because they had already accepted money to create the negative videos in the first place, they would not accept money to now create a positive video which would essentially slap themselves in the face. In the end there weren’t any creators who made more positive videos of the drama later. LYN: It’s interesting and there was a time I thought it would be fun if I was also in that line of business. At the very least, there are people with morality who follow the rules. If you accept one side’s money, you do not accept the opposing side’s as well. Unlike some paparazzi, who sell a set of photos to a fan then later sell the same photos to another one. There’s no morality in that.

2:32:15 C: Ning-ge, how is the album coming along? LYN: It’s the same as it has been. That is- it’s almost finished. Very soon! It’s always the two words, “very soon”! I’m working on it. I’ve been on a music variety program lately- as you all know- if you watch you can tell that picking a song in this industry is a difficult thing to do. The songwriters who were even able to be ON the show are already very amazing. They’re already known in the industry. I’ve worked with most of them before, and will ask them for songs. When they send something over, it doesn’t mean that the song isn’t good, just that the song doesn’t suit me. I still have to release songs that I like, after all. You can’t just tell me to record and release a song that I don’t even like. It’s hard for me to find one that I like, and when I do I’ll keep it and sing it. C: What are you recording? LYN: Songs from my album- some that I’ve collaborated with others on, and OSTs mostly. C: How many songs are you still lacking? LYN: Two. I recorded one, but still need two more. I asked a friend the other day for a song and I’m considering it. I’m hesitating. But it’s no problem. It’ll be quick. LYN: You all still have songs to listen to, right? I’ve been releasing OSTs. For all the dramas that will be airing in the near future- I’ve pretty much sung an OST for all of them. That includes ZLYM, and also.. I think Fangs of Fortune is airing? I don’t know anything officially- I just know what I see on the internet. I also get my news from yxh accounts. I find out when my own dramas are airing from yxh, too. C: When is ZLYM airing? LYN: I don’t remember. Why don’t you go look it up? I don’t know, either- I also find out through yxh.

2:25:20 - replies to a comment on cutting his hair- it’s “to make me look younger” - won’t stream for too long, just wants to chat and test his new equipment; mentions he should either adjust the settings or find different equipment for the stream. LYN: I used the search term: “lighting and equipment for a visual male streamer” /laughs/. I’m joking. I just looked up “(livestream) equipment” but there was an article for tips on lighting for a male streamer, so I clicked in to secretly learn. Then I bought a bunch of lights and stuff. But now I’m realizing it doesn’t really work. C: Ning-ge, there are people who can adjust the settings for you. LYN: Me? If they adjust my settings for me- wouldn’t they recognize me?? Or you want me to wear a mask- the Spiderman mask- for them to adjust to that they won’t recognize me? But that would defeat the purpose of an adjustment. C: Turn on a filter. LYN: What’s the point, then?? - /likens it to when you’re on stage and the sound technicians want to adjust your mic and sound settings, but instead of speaking normally, you’re quacking like a duck./

2:39:16 C: I really like the drama with you and Tao-jie, Be Your Own Light. LYN: Thank you. I didn’t have very many scenes, but I did enjoy shooting them. I gained a lot from that drama. It was my first proper modern drama. Shooting with all the laoshi you can really learn a lot! Tao-jie took good care of me, and we get along well. That’s why during the promotions and livestream we were able to make jokes with each other. C: Will you accept scripts for modern dramas? LYN: Of course. But for right now I want to come back to being a singer. My own thinking is that as soon as two more of my dramas start airing, I will start with acting again. Right now is a good time for me to come back to being a singer, because I still have a lot of my “song appreciators” out there.  C: What will your next drama be? LYN: I have accepted any yet! I have scripts but I haven’t looked through them. I’ll leave it for now, and look at the scripts when I have some time. If there are any suitable dramas for me among them, then I’ll start making arrangements. I want to be a singer now, though. I want to work on being a streamer, too. I want to be able to sing when I have time, act, and also stream a little on the side.

2:42:20 C: Ning-ge, you’re dazzling when you’re on the stage. LYN: You mean that now I’m just average? I’m not very shiny right now? What about if I turn on a filter? Do I look a little brilliant now? - /playing with filters/ - Fall in Love - /ends up with a… “soaking in water” filter, LOL/

2:47:40 -- break #2

2:53:35 LYN: I just remembered I bought something that I haven’t shown off to you yet. Hold on a second… - /comes back with a zootopia nick wilde hat on/ 2:55:53 LYN: Hello, children! // Oh, my goodness! What are you doing? LYN: I had bought the bunny hat, and this one. The last time I went to Disney, I didn’t buy them. I cant remember if they were out of stock, or what. But I went again this time so I bought them. - /chatting about having fun and relaxing at the park/ C: You must have been tired from taking photos with everyone. LYN: That part was okay. I was more worried about blocking the foot-traffic and affecting other people’s time in the park. I’m not saying I’m a big celebrity or anything- the fact that people want to take pictures with me means that at least they think I’m worthy of it. If you want to take a picture with me, that’s no problem. The thing is though, no matter how big of a celebrity you are, inside the park there’s no way you’ll be more popular than Minnie Mouse. Can you be as popular as Donald Duck? Right? So I didn’t want to make myself out like some hotshot celebrity, and make a ruckus while taking photos with people in the park. You SHOULD be taking photos with LinaBell. Who am I?? LYN: Since you wanted to, I took some photos. But for the most part I just wanted to walk around. You kept coming in waves, and honestly that did make me want to run away. That’s why I ended up not having as much fun, so I left. C: You didn’t have fun? LYN: It has nothing to do with “fun.” I mean- there’s really not much to do after you’ve been on the rides once. Mainly I go just to walk around and be surrounded by the happy and excited atmosphere. I’m there the relax, not to have fun. Something simple like walking around and eating a popsicle made me happy. C: Ning-ge, next time go secretly. LYN: Did I announce it to anyone this time around or something?? Did I post a weibo to someone, saying that I was going? I didn’t.

3:01:00 - /talks about the Wuhan concert stop. He’ll prob do two stops- one for the show he owes (2019), and one for the new tour./ LYN: I discussed this earlier, didn’t I? All the tickets for that stop had sold, but by now I’m sure that many of those people have stopped being my fan or forgotten. This time when I hold the stop I owe, all the tickets will be sold out but there will only be 100 people in the audience. X’D That’d be pretty funny, actually. C: Ning-ge, can I get in without a ticket? LYN: I don’t know what you mean. Are you trying to play the pity card with me? “Ning-ge, I’m a student. I don’t have a ticket, but can I watch your concert?” You’re like those customers who try to haggle down something that’s being sold for $5k down to $500 because “I’m a student”. I don’t know if that’s doable. Usually when I watch a concert, I have to show a ticket. How about this- why don’t you go to the entrance and try it? Tell the office that you don’t have a ticket but you want to watch the concert, so will they let you in? I’m not watching the doors, so you’ll have to ask one of the employees. I don’t really know. C: I’ll be watching the front door- can I go watch? LYN: You mean that you’re the person checking the tickets? But if you come in to watch the concert, who will be watching the doors?! With no one watching the doors, ANYONE can come in.

3:04:30 C: It’s okay, I still have some hair. You can pull it. LYN: What does this mean? Actually what you want to say is, “It’s okay, Ning-ge. Hold your concert. I have some money left in my pocket, and can buy a ticket to support you.” It’s actually a good thing. But they’re want to burden me with the way they phrased it. It seems like you want to be a talk show actor. // So another way of saying it is that because I decided to hold a concert, I’m over here pulling your hair? (like it’s his fault) This burden… this doesn’t sound like a joke. That is- it’s not a very funny comment. LYN: My fans should all know that I’m cool. I don’t really want to pull your hair, and I wouldn’t find it polite to do so. That’s why most of the time my songs are all free, and why I don’t accept business proposals and all that complicated stuff. 

3:06:50 C: Ning-ge, how about this. If I can’t or am unable to buy a ticket, sing louder. That way I can hear from outside the stadium. LYN: If they let me, I can do that. As long as it doesn’t disturb the public, I could  connect to speakers on the outside. You can stand outside and “watch”- that’s okay with me. As long as it’s allowed. But I don’t think it will be allowed. If it were a sports venue with an open top, that would probably be okay. The problem is that mine will probably be held in a closed venue. It’s sealed and soundproof. C: Ning-ge, I’m a college student and wiling to go be a volunteer. LYN: I’m not in charge of outsourcing, so there’s no point in telling me that.

3:07:50 C: Ning-ge, do you like watching talkshows? LYN: I haven’t ever seen one live, but I’ve come across clips online. 

3:08:27 C: I’ll go dance for you. LYN: Um… I want to tell you something, and it’s not because I’m looking down on you- let me take my glasses off so I can tell you seriously- I’m not looking down on you, nor do I think you’re not worthy to dance for me. That’s not it. It’s because I have to sell tickets for this performance. Stage setting, sound, etc. These are things people are paying to see. It’s not a joke, and not just a fun dance in the square. I’m not just setting up a pair of speakers in a courtyard and dancing. It’s not the same level. You can dance for me, but you’d have to be a professional dancer. LYN: Or, how about you attend my concert, and you can dance from your seat? Only the hands. Just don’t stand up, or the security guards might kick you out. You can sit off the stage (in the seats) and dance. Okay?

3:10:10 C: Is there a discount for students? LYN: I don’t know about the concert ticket, but you can probably get a discount on the train ticket. I’m not sure, because I’ve never had a student certification. I’ve never used one, so I don’t know.  Because I went to school in the same place, and I didn’t go to college.

3:11:00 C: A four-sided stage! LYN: I went to ZBC’s concert and sang on her four-sided stage. I think the good thing is that… You can see from anywhere, and there are more front row seats. :) That means I can sell more of the more expensive front-row tickets. I’m joking. What I wanted to say is that all four sides have a “front row.” In a normal concert there’s only the one front-facing row of front-row seats. You’d be missing out on selling those tickets because there aren’t enough seats. That’s a joke, okay? LYN: The good thing is that the distance is closer- you can be closer to more people. I don’t know what the bad thing would be... I just wasn’t used to it. I went to- to cameo. What am I, acting? I went to be a special guest and I felt like I had to keep moving around. I was going from here to there and back- just wandering around the whole time. I’m just not used to it. We’ll see if I ever hold one like that, but for now I don’t think I can accept it. If singing doesn’t make me tired, walking across the stage will. The stages that extend into the crowd are okay, but if it’s just four-sided and there’s nothing to do but walk around- like shopping- I wouldn’t be accustomed to it. I still need a big screen for a background, so it can show things. 

- /he’ll be tearing off his shirt when he’s 60, like he promised. right now he’s making enough money to buy the shirts./ - /daimi just ate, so he’ll show us her later./ - /was going to talk about the music festival but… doesn’t know/doesn’t dare to say anything/

3:16:05 C: Ning-ge, didn’t you say you would go on music varieties often? LYN: Music varieties are actually hard. The hardest part- especially for music variety shows- is to seek investment/funding. Many shows have come for me the past two years; but if they don’t have the funding they’re never going to take off. If you think about it, there haven’t been many music variety shows lately. I was on WMDG, which is DragonTV but they’re and old customer/frequently worked with. The other one I’m on is Melody Journey, which is also very good. I’m not saying that because I already recorded with them and now I need to shower my praises. It’s because they’re doing something I think is really meaningful. The cast is great- objectively speaking, and excluding myself- they’re well-known in the industry and have their own representative works. The singer-songwriters are also well-known! I don’t mean to criticize or compare, but you’ll notice that in most of the other shows we’re only just singing covers. There hasn’t been a program for original music in many years. There hasn’t been a way to show off new music in quite some time, unlike how with the short content media where one old song becomes popular, played over and over for a week or half a month, then blows over again. A show for original content is rare and risky. As a singer, the fact that such a program exists, is meaningful and it takes a lot of courage to pull off. LYN: With covers, the song already has a base popularity. Just like with novels. If you buy the rights for an already popular novel- hold on, why did I bring acting into this? The thing is if you find an already popular song to cover, everyone would have already heard it. But with original music, they’re all NEW songs and it’s the first time people are hearing them. If they’re good, great! If they’re not good, you’ll never hear it again. Even if a song isn’t that good, once it’s made it to the short video platform and you listen to it on repeat for a few loops you might even start to like it. I just think that a show like this is very meaningful. 

3:20:30 C: You’ll be singing 偷心 tomorrow. LYN: Who told you that? Don’t make assumptions about my stage performances. LYN: I’ll be singing this song tomorrow- 奇妙惊喜 (Magical Surprise). That’s why I’m listening to it now- so I can practice. C: They already released a video of the rehearsal. LYN: I know. That’s only a portion. Actually I’m singing 18 songs tomorrow and that’s one of them.

3:21:38 C: Does the Liu Group Business Empire have more episodes? LYN: You like to hear me tell stories? There are no more episodes. LYN: You’re just a normal person, so don’t even think about trying to make any connections with the Liu Group. /slap/

3:22:20 C: Ning-ge, did you change your headphones? LYN: Wow, your attention to detail is amazing. These are such big headphones- can you not tell that they’re new? I feel like I’m dressed for winter! (wearing earmuffs) C: Your stage earbuds. LYN: You’re so attentive, you even know about that? I went to record for a program and brought a sound technician with me, who asked me what type of earbuds I was using. I told them which ones I was using (from before), and they let me know that there’s a new model out and let me try theirs. They had just received them from abroad, and would let me borrow them. So I tried them, and I couldn’t tell if they were good or bad. But I figured I’d been using the old pair for six years and it was about time to change. So I told them I would use theirs for the show and to become accustomed to them. Later, I asked them to buy a pair for me. At first they wanted to gift me theirs, but I told them not to because they’re expensive. So, I changed my earbuds. The new ones are more suited to live shows. C: What about the in-ears? LYN: I didn’t buy customized in-ears. Because then you’d need to get a kit and take a mold of your ear, then send it back to America to be made and sent back. I just bought a standard pair- just like one you would normally use, with the universal large or small. It’s all good- there’s not much of a difference. 3:25:40 C: Why are you wearing headphones to livestream? LYN: For appearances. Actually, there’s no sound coming from them. 1. For appearances and 2. My house is cold, so I’m wearing them to warm my ears. LYN: Kidding! Some of you my not know, so let me explain. With the headphones, I can hear myself talk and also the music. Everything you hear- is what I hear. I can monitor with these, as I need to hear what I’m saying. Sometimes I’ll sing, and instead of going through the trouble to set up a pair of speakers here, I can just listen to the track through my headphones instead. Before, I was wearing the earbuds and it was the same thing.

3:27:00 - /figuring out how long he’s streamed for, and how much longer/ LYN: Honestly it’s been a long time since I streamed last, and I’m not really in the right mood for it. I hope for your understanding, and when I’m in the mood I will come to stream again and we’ll have proper fun. // I just feel like I’m slow in thinking and I also don’t dare to say as much anymore. One of the things is that my drama is about to air soon, and I don’t want to say anything “explosive” that will negatively affect my work. So I’m trying to control myself, otherwise I might say something you might take offense to and then I’ll be in trouble again. I’ll give you an example, you may or may not understand: Let’s say there’s this thing- and I comment that LYN is ugly. If the thing comes true, it has nothing to do with me, because LYN is ugly. If it doesn’t come true, it DOES have to do with me, because LYN is ugly. I don’t want to take the blame, whether it’s a success or not.

3:30:15 C: Are you in Hengdian? LYN: I’m… (in Hengdian) in Beijing. Why? Do you want to come over and hit me? C: I’ll go ambush you tomorrow. Watch yourself. LYN: The internet isn’t a lawless place. If I report you, please undertand me. You can insult me, but you can’t threaten me.

3:31:35 C: Ning-ge, could you act as the big bad villain? LYN: /amused/ Because I don’t look like a good person, or what? If I act as a good Samaritan, it looks out of place?? Wasn’t there someone earlier whose dad said I looked like a person with positive energy??? Or was it their mom? And now you want me to act as a villain.

3:32:45 C: Ning-ge, I want to see you act in a comedy. LYN: That’s too hard. It’s the most difficult… So.. If there’s a chance, I guess. Let me hone my skills more, let me learn more. I will never think I’m good enough. LYN: Let me tell you, there’s this way of thinking- it’s also what I tell myself- I think people- no, I shouldn’t say this. I’ll tell you later.

3:33:33 C: What’s good to eat in Zhejiang? LYN: How would I know?? I don’t know. Why don’t you go to a public forum and look it up? Download a tourism app or something. Why would I know- I’m not from Zhejiang. I’m from Liaoning, Dandong. I’ve only ever been in Hengdian, and it’s just a town/city. - /but: transportation and delivery are fast, and restaurants are opened by people from all over. so you can get whatever you want whenever you want./

3:34:55 C: Can you talk about Melody Journey? LYN: I did earlier, didn’t I? It’s great. Normally we split into two parts for recording- first half on site with all the guests, and then the second half for performances we’ll go to Macau. C: Will there be a second season? LYN: I think so, because it’s a great program. Jiangsu is good at making music-varieties. But it’s really hard to say. This is like when people ask me if there’ll be a season 3 for KSTLB. If a program has enough funds/investors then any of them can come to fruition. So, to the person who asked this question, please work hard to create a business that’s as good as the Liu Group’s Business Empire. Then, you can invest as you wish. Just invest in whatever you want to watch. Okay? So study well and work hard. I hope that one day you can have a business empire as impressive as the Liu Group’s. 

3:36:40 C: Lao-da, when I have money I’ll ask you to be my producer. LYN: So what you mean is that you don’t think I’m suited for acting? /laughs/ I’m joking! LYN: You want me to be the producer so I can call the shots and pick my own director and actors? That’ll work. I hope you make a lot of money and when that time comes I’ll work for you.

3:27:15 C: Can you improve your acting a little? LYN: I’ve always been working on it! I’m always learning. My progress is already pretty quick, considering I’m just a cook. I know that the audience has no reason to wait for me, but I really am trying- learning how to perform and say my lines. I’m working hard on it. I don’t like to say anything about it, because I think that telling people that “I’m working so hard” is.. (pretentious). This friend, if you watch every one of my dramas, you’ll discover that I am improving over time. You can watch them, okay? My performance in later dramas is much different than in the beginning. I’ve started to act… randomly. That’s a joke!! I can’t tell you any nonsense with this. I DO improve in my later dramas, so I hope you can continue to follow me. I’m not like what you’ve seen before. 

3:38:40 LYN: But sometimes actors… /thinks about not finishing his thought/ Actors aren’t the most important part of the crew. Because there are a lot of things we don’t even have a say in- wardrobe, makeup, props. The only thing you can do anything with are the lines you’re given. There’s nothing I- at this point in my career- can do about it. I can’t influence what’s written in the script. LYN: Also, I’m the one being chosen, so I’m not that great. That’s why I hope you can make a lot of money so that I can be a producer instead. Jiayou. Work on your business empire. 3:40:30 C: Ning-ge, if someone invests and makes you a producer, can you let me act? LYN: You want to be a celebrity? Let me ask you something first- can you bear getting yelled at? The first thing you have to do is have a strong mental fortitude in order to work in this industry. All other data comes after. The first step to getting in this door is whether or not you can withstand being yelled at. You can say, “I have a thick skin. I can take it.” It’s nothing like what you’re thinking. It’s not just curse words. If it were, then I’d be more than ok.

3:42:10 C: Can you say anything about the SJYM trailer? LYN: I think it’s good, right? You all saw it. There’s not much else to say, because if I say more I would be spoiling the drama. It’s just a story about transmigrating into a script and it’s a bit… satirical. It plays on a lot of drama tropes. LYN: I’m sure a lot of of you have seen historical dramas, and particularly historical-idol dramas. For example when the FL is in danger, then the ML will always pop out of nowhere to save her. There are a few methods of saving her but one of them is: Grab them by the waist and turn in the air, time freezes. The FL is looking at the ML, and the ML looks determinedly ahead. In that moment, she’s reeled in and the plot begins. There are always these types of scenes, and every drama has it. The whole “hero saves the beauty” trope. Honestly, and I’ve said this before, we’ve been doing television dramas for such a long time now- is there anything we HAVEN’T seen yet? That’s something a director’s also told me. The only thing that changes is how it’s executed. C: What hasn’t been filmed before? LYN: I will amend my earlier comment to say, “Is there anything we haven’t seen yet, *that can even be filmed in the first place.” Now we have a limit. Is there anything that’s ALLOWED that we haven’t seen yet? We’ve seen it all. LYN: I’ve also done guzhuang dramas, so I know- most of them all have a lantern festival. It’s either Mid-Autumn Festival or Spring/Lantern Festival. There’s always lanterns. I guess people in old time’s only entertainment was to look at lanterns. But every drama has it. - /also: water lanterns, tanghulu, scenes were there’s an imminent execution but someone stops it at the last minute, etc./ LYN: The point of this drama is to play on all of these tropes and flip the script.  - /discusses more examples: tournaments to win the lady’s hand in marriage (he forgot he had to do this with Hao Du); when the FL/ML jump off a cliff but they never die (but no one cares about supporting roles)- there’s either a river or some hidden martial arts skill, a tree branch, or they’re saved by someone/

3:49:48 C: ML/FL don’t die if they get shot with an arrow. LYN: Not necessarily, it depends on what episode. Whether the ML/FL die by getting shot with an arrow depends on how many episodes in you are. If it’s a 40 episode drama and the ML gets shot in e39, he might die. If it’s e15 and the ML looks like a porcupine, he’s still not going to die. But if you get shot in e39, ML is likely going to die, based on plot progression alone. It has nothing to do with the ML/FL themselves at this point. The other possibility is that you don’t die directly from getting shot, but it leaves a lasting wound that leads to a later cause of death. It’s an indirect cause of death. But if it’s the earlier eps, forget about getting shot- even if the ML’s lost an arm, he’ll still find a way to grow one back. LYN: As an actor myself, the move I use the most is this- /holds his left shoulder./ I just don’t know what it is with this left chest. The arrow is always shot here. You may not have noticed it, but think back on the dramas you’ve watched- the ML is usually always shot on the left. Why there? First- it can make the ML bare-chested. If they get shot in the belly-button, then it’s difficult to film. How are you supposed to film there? You’ll pull their intestines out. Middle of the chest also doesn’t look good. It has to be above the heart but below the collarbone- there’s some cartilage and can be pierced through. Once the clothes are off you can show off the chest, and abs if you have them. After spraying some water, to make it seem like it hurts so much he’s sweating, you can let it run down the body- it serves to please the audience. LYN: Another thing is- it’s easier to perform. Using your right hand to cover your left shoulder is a smoother motion. If you use your left hand to cover your right chest- unless you’re left-handed- it’s awkward. If you’re shot in the shoulder, you’re going to look for something to hold on to for support. If you support yourself with your left hand it can be a little awkward. You can go think about it. People rarely ever get shot in the butt. Some comedies might have it, I suppose. But in general, the ML always gets shot in the left shoulder. You can think about all the dramas you’ve watched. C: Lao-da, you can do one where you get shot in the butt. LYN: … /sigh/ What’s wrong with you? C: /comments about getting shot in the stomach./ LYN: Yes, people do get shot in the stomach, but not in the belly-button, like I said earlier! How good must your aim be to accomplish that?!? They get shot or grazed in the side. - LYN: For knives- let me tell you. Knife wounds are usually here on the arm, shoulder, or side. These three places are the easiest to acquire knife wounds. On the back yes, but rarely. Almost never on the head. Legs are few, too. Legs get shot with arrows. In the knee, mostly. I’m not saying it never happens, but that mostly the wounds are on the upper half of the body. As an actor- if you get shot in the thigh or something, for the next five or six scenes you’ll have to walk with a limp and that doesn’t look good. They can’t walk gracefully and the hair won’t be flowing in the wind, like that. So legs wounds are rare, but if you do get hurt there you can lie on a bed for a few days and then you’re all healed. But a leg wound, where you still have to walk on it?? I already experienced that when I broke my foot, didn’t I? (YNGS) Most wounds are on the upper half so that filming later on is easier.

- /! Talks about a character in ZLYM (Kang Ju), who walks with a cane and has a limp, but has very good fighting skills and the cane is also a sword. There’s one scene where the group is supposed to chase after bad guys, but it suddenly occurred to LYN, “How is he supposed to run??” How does that look on camera?/ C: On a wire. LYN: … Wouldn’t it be better if we just had a wooden wheelchair and then pushed him with us?

- /used to share stories from set more, but nowadays doesn’t want to give anyone an excuse to find a loophole/cause for ridicule/

4:03:02 C: Is there a character who’s been with the ML from the start, but it turns out that in the end they were the villain all along? LYN: There are. In YNGS… /pauses to think about it/ In YNGS there was someone who was with me until the end- Ding Hui- do you remember him? In the very first drafts of the script he was a mole. But then- never mind. These roles exist, though. In any case, it was changed later. Not by me! I don’t have that kind of power. 4:04:33 C: ZBF’s senior brother. LYN: You could probably already tell in the beginning eps that he was a villain. From the first moment we saw him, we already knew. It’s not like he was acting like a good guy the whole time, only to find out he was bad in the end. He doesn’t count. C: I was waiting for him to turn good.

LYN: Let me see what time it is. It’s time, friends. I’ve been streaming for 4 hours now. If you haven’t yet subscribed to my weibo, please do so. I am Modern Brothers Liu Yuning. Thank you for watching my stream today. I’ll come to stream when I have time, ok? If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can. It’s not shameful. Thank you for your company. I hope you had a relaxing, happy, and wonderful time. It was great to have you and I hope you had fun. Next time I’ll make sure I’ve got all the settings right before I stream. Goodnight everyone.

[mariacallous]

For almost a decade, Nick Roy has been scanning North Korea’s tiny internet presence, spotting new websites coming online and providing a glimpse of the Hermit Kingdoms’ digital life. However, at the end of last year, the cybersecurity researcher and DPRK blogger stumbled across something new: signs North Koreans are working on major international TV shows.

In December, Roy discovered a misconfigured cloud server on a North Korean IP address containing thousands of animation files. Included in the cache were animation cells, videos, and notes discussing the work, plus changes that needed to be made to ongoing projects. Some images appeared to be from an Amazon Prime Video superhero show and an upcoming Max (aka HBO Max) children’s anime.

The findings and security lapse—detailed in a report by the Stimson Center think tank's North Korea–focused 38 North Project, which helped analyze the findings along with Google-owned security firm Mandiant—provide a glimpse at how North Korea can use skilled IT and tech workers to raise funds for its heavily sanctioned regime. It also comes as US officials increasingly warn about North Korean IT workers infiltrating companies and their outsourcing.

North Korea’s internet is a small—and fragile—space. The repressive nation only has 1,024 IP addresses and around 30 websites that connect to the global internet. While there is a limited internal intranet, only a few thousand of the country’s 26 million people can get on the internet. When they do, it’s highly controlled: These select few North Koreans can use the internet for an hour at a time and have a person sitting next to them approving their use every five minutes.

When Roy discovered the exposed cloud server, it was being updated on a daily basis. Martyn Williams, a senior fellow on the 38 North Project who helped analyze the contents of the server, says the server likely allowed work to be sent to and from North Korean animators. The server itself is still live, but it mysteriously stopped being used at the end of February. While there is a login page, its contents can be accessed without a username and password. “I found the login page after I found all the exposed files,” Roy says.

Inside, the files contained editing comments and instructions in Chinese which were translated to Korean, the researchers write in their report. “For a lot of the animation files, we would find things like spreadsheets with details of the workflow,” Williams says. A sample of the files shared with WIRED show detailed anime images and video clips, with notes for the authors and date stamps on various files. In one instance, the report says, an animator was “asked to improve the shape of the character’s head.”

Based on the documents and drawings, the researchers were able to identify some of the shows and projects the North Koreans were working on. Some of the projects included work from season 3 of the Amazon show Invincible, which is produced by California-based Skybound Entertainment. There were also documents linked to Max and Cartoon Network show Iyanu: Child of Wonder, produced by YouNeek Studios, as well as files from a Japanese anime series and an animation studio in Japan.

Some file names gave away clues about the series and episode numbers. There were also files and projects the researchers could not identify—including a “bunch of files” with videos of horses and a Russian book on horses, Williams says.

Sanctions placed upon the North Korean regime, for its ongoing human rights abuses and nuclear warfare programs, prohibit US companies from working with DPRK companies or individuals. However, the researchers say it is highly unlikely that any companies involved would have a clue about North Korean animators working on the shows, and there is nothing suggesting the companies violated any sanctions or other laws. “It is likely that the contracting arrangement was several steps downstream from the major producers,” the report says.

Spokespeople for Amazon and Max spokesperson declined to comment for this story. YouNeek Studios did not respond to a request for comment.

“We do not work with North Korean companies, or Chinese companies on Invincible, or any affiliated entities, and have no knowledge of any North Korean or Chinese companies working on Invincible,” a spokesperson for Skybound Entertainment says. “We take any claims very seriously and have commenced an investigation into this.” In a post on X, the company characterized the findings as “unconfirmed” and said it is working with authorities to investigate.

Williams says it is possible that a front company in China is used to help disguise the activity and involvement of North Koreans. The researchers were able to analyze connections to the exposed server and, despite most having their location masked by a VPN, spotted access from Spain and three Chinese cities. “All three cities are known to have many North Korean–operated businesses and are main centers for North Korea’s IT workers who live overseas,” the report says.

While Williams says the researchers did not find any identifiable names of North Korean organizations buried in the files, the country has a well-established animation company called April 26 Animation Studio, which is also known as SEK Studio. Originally set up in the 1950s, the studio has worked on hundreds of international TV shows and movies.

However, in recent years, the US Treasury Department has sanctioned SEK Studios, individuals linked to it, and various “front companies” that it says are used to “work for foreign customers.” Many of these have links to China, according to the sanctions. “SEK Studio has utilized an assortment of front companies to evade sanctions targeting the government of the DPRK and to deceive international financial institutions,” a statement issued as part of the sanctions in 2021 says.

The main aim of these efforts, says Michael Barnhart, a North Korea researcher at Mandiant, is to raise money for the North Korean regime. The country’s hackers and scammers have stolen and extorted billions of dollars to help fund its military ambitions in recent years, including from huge cryptocurrency heists. In early 2022, the FBI issued a 16-page alert warning companies that remote North Korean freelance IT workers were infiltrating businesses to earn money they could funnel back home.

“The volume is much higher than we were expecting,” Barnhart says of North Korea’s IT workers. They are constantly changing their tactics to avoid being caught, he says. “We had one not too long ago, where during the interview, the person’s mouth was just off-frame. You could tell that someone in the background was speaking on their behalf.” Technically, Barnhart says, companies should verify their remote workers’ devices and make sure that there is no remote software connecting to a company laptop or network. Businesses should also put extra efforts at the hiring stage by training HR staff to detect possible IT workers.

However, he says, increasingly there is a greater crossover between North Korean IT workers and individuals who are members of known hacking groups or classified as advanced persistent threats (APTs). “The more we focus on IT workers, the more we’re starting to see APT operators and efforts blending in with those,” he says. “This might be the most quick learning-on-your-feet, nimble nation-state that I've ever seen.”

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

After spending months at Shadowvale, learning to control his abilities, Theo was desperate for some fun. The closest thing to fun he could find was painting on the school supplied easel in his quarters. With no modern technology to distract him, Theo was becoming quite the artist. It gave him something to update his parents on at least during their weekly video call. He'd shown his fathers a recent painting and Abe had nearly teared up with pride. He'd let his own artistic skills lapse over the years, but he promised to collaborate with his son when he finally came home. Of course, as usual, Theo's parents knew next to nothing about Adam to pass along to him. Evren had talked at length with Adam's father and had only returned with "He's doing a lot better" and "his friend from Crystal Cove has been visiting quite often".

Theo didn't know which friend was spending time with Adam, as there were several Crystal Cove apprentices who regularly texted with his boyfriend. It was great to hear that Adam was doing better than before, but Theo was still in the dark about what he was recovering from. It was tearing him up inside, trying to guess what was going on with Adam and all of their friends in Pleasantview. They were all living their lives together, while Theo was stuck in the middle of nowhere with only a paintbrush to keep him company. He still hadn't made any friends at the school, which wasn't a surprise since he saw other students so infrequently. Whenever he had a rare lesson with other students, Theo's attempts to socialize were met with hostility or indifference. If he had to spend another semester or god forbid, another year at Shadowvale, Theo was going to scream.

Apparently, after the long months he had been here, Theo had earned a small reward. Once every two weeks, he would be permitted to leave the campus and explore the country that housed the school. He would have magical restrictions of course, and be shadowed by school security, but finally, he was granted a small taste of freedom.

His first outing was to the local movie theater, as the school security team deemed it an easy place to control any deviation from their plans.

Theo hadn't been to a movie theater in ages, not since Adam had dragged him to see their classmate Devard's mother's new film. The movie itself had been boring, but all the kissing during the slow parts had been worth it. It didn't matter what movie was playing, so long as Theo wasn't at school.

Theo took his seat in the theater and watched curiously as people trickled in to see the show.

He had been given very strict rules of conduct that would likely affect his hope of future outings if he disobeyed them. Shadowvale was a rare and mysterious school in a region that was shielded from the outside world. He had needed the staff to open a portal to campus in the first place, as regular teleportation was impossible from the outside world.

Theo was advised not to reveal that he had two biological fathers or a boyfriend waiting for him at home, as most of the society near the school was extremely "traditional" whatever that meant. He should certainly not admit to being a demon in certain circles as well. There were reasons for how difficult it was to be admitted to Shadowvale. There were signs praising the Watcher everywhere as well as the Leader. If Adam sometimes thought Arkhelios was a weird place to live, he'd be stunned by Shadowvale's realm.

The movie itself was boring. The plot circled around a "Maiden of Jacob" and her intense desire to sacrifice herself for the good of the Jacobean population. Everyone else in the audience had cheered at the end of the movie, while Theo was still confused about the plot. Every character died in the end, save the Jacobean Proxy, yet people were cheering like it ended happily.

Theo wasn't permitted to walk back to campus and couldn't summon any demonic magic in this strange place, so he was forced to wait for his campus "wellness" team to come return him to school. While Theo waited impatiently to return to his imprisonment, another teen sat on the couch beside him and smiled.

"I haven't seen you around here before," the teen said warmly. "There aren't very many new people my age around here."

"I go to Shadowvale," Theo replied cautiously. Getting into a conversation meant that he might slip up and mention the forbidden topics, making his life misery when he returned to school. "This is my first trip off campus."

"Ah, the school of dark magic. A family friend goes there. Do you know Torkel?"

Theo shook his head.

"It doesn't sound familiar, but I haven't met anyone really in class. I barely see the other students."

"Our family is the opposite alignment. We don't go to Shadowvale. I've always been curious about it though."

"I really don't think I'm allowed to talk about it," Theo confessed. "They're pretty strict and I'd like to keep earning time away from that place."

"Of course, I'm sorry," the teen apologized. "That sounds about right for Shadowvale. I don't want to get you in trouble or anything. I'm Brion, by the way. Brion Pryor."

"Theo. Theo Bellamy."

The two boys formally shook hands.

"Do you want to come over sometime or hang out if you're free?" Brion asked. "We don't see many new teens come here. Having a Shadowvale student over may raise the opinion of my family among the good witches. Outreach to the fallen and all that."

"Yeah, I'll ask my 'team' if I'm allowed," Theo sighed. "Anything is better than homework or staring at the same four walls of my room all night."

"Speaking of, it looks like your ride home is here," Brion laughed, pointing to the two witches who looked more like soldiers than teachers, scanning the room for Theo.

"Yep, that would be them," Theo sighed. "I'd tell you to text me, but we're not allowed to use phones. So call the school about hanging out maybe? It was nice meeting you."

The night had been a strange success for the demon hybrid. He saw a bit of the world outside of Shadowvale, realized that foreign movies were weird and maybe made a friend. It wasn't Pleasantview, but this was probably the most fun Theo had had in months.

[dk-thrive]

I’d fallen in love with a man whose heart was like his company: effusive, unruly, surprising, spellbinding. Now we were married after only six months. I wanted to believe you could make commitment work by speeding it up like a time-lapse video of a growing plant: Seed, stalk, bloom. Voilà.

— Leslie Jamison, Splinters: Another Kind of Love Story (Little Brown and Company, February 20, 2024)

[loststarphounix]

now that we got that question out of the way...

how about the vice versa? despair!kazuichi x non-despair!gundham?

would their situation be the same with the stockholm syndrome and all?

That’s a good question! And my answer would be…maybe.

The difference between Kazuichi and Gundham in this is their personality and response to isolation. Kazuichi would fall much quicker than Gundham because his response to violence and domination are freeze and flight due to his dad’s constant abuse as a child. While Gundham was also being abused by his dad, he had his mom and he felt strength protecting her and by extension others before himself, which makes his response to violence fight. That makes a big difference because Kazuichi has to literally keep Gundham chained to prevent him from escaping.

He wouldn’t hurt the breeder intentionally and tries desperately to give him creature comforts and even makes him robotic animals to “care” for (he did give him actual mice once but they somehow managed to pick the knock of the cage). He’s given his own room, with a lock on the outside, a four poster bed, bordered down chairs, desks etc. And cameras monitoring him 24/7. Kazuichi is obsessively watching the live video feed, since Gundham will refuse to see for days at a time. Even when he’s supposed to be working on towards nuclear fallout, he’ll still live stream the room on all his monitors so as to not miss anything.

Gundham had at first denied Kazuichi entrance to his room or his company, but he eventually caves due to loneliness and the need to see if he can break through to the other. It seemed to him that the once bumbling mechanic was under a dark spell. Perhaps he can deduce the root cause and free them both from this curse. But it seems to only make Kazuichi ecstatic when he finally invites him inside his room and immediately begins to demand more - of his time, of his voice, of his touch. He wants all of Gundham and the goth walks a very, very thin line of denying these advances and giving Kazuichi a little bit.

After awhile, I think Kazuichi would get bored of this - the despair isn’t given new stimuli and so he decides to push boundaries. Normally, he wouldn’t do this intentionally, but he isn’t normal anymore, is he? His a Remnant and the world he controls is shared with 14 other people. He shouldn’t have to pussyfoot around the love of his life object of his desire if he didn’t want to. Which pushes Gundham just a bit because ya know, a crazy mechanic is demanding more of him in a stressful situation.

I can’t help but think Kazuichi would take it as a sign of love, due to his Despair fueling his degradation kink lol 😈 Gundham kinda gives in for his sanity’s sake, but he hopes to help Kazuichi and get him free from Junko’s grasp. There seems to be moments of lapses - a flicker of hope here and there. Maybe all is not lost.

[mirageofficial]

𖤐 ⤸ ₊ ִ ˚ ࣪ ˖ MIRAGE is a group that consists of five members that is managed under KQ ENTERTAINMENT. the quintet is well-known for being kq’s first ever girl group, and the company’s first act since the debut of the boy group, ATEEZ. the company initially planned for the group to be rap-centric, but many potential candidates for the final lineup showed that this would be hard to accomplish. so, with their final debut in february 2020, the lineup ended up featuring nari ,, eunae ,, xepher ,, nako ,, and arin as a k-pop act with no officially confirmed positions — only ones given by fans. the group’s debut mini album, LUCID DREAMING : LEVEL1, was a viral success online due to the group’s catchy choreography and intricate visage thanks to the video direction of the tracks, BLACK MAMBA, LUCID DREAM, & NEXT LEVEL. as their name + lore suggests, their concept explores illusions, time traveling, & also displays a battle of resisting temptation with a sound that never remains in the same genre per comeback.

⩇﹒⺌ more below the cut﹒﹗﹒

mirage was originally meant to be managed under DOOMSDAY RECORDS, a new subsidiary label from kq that would be launched with the group’s debut. but, the new label was scrapped in order to ensure the new group had enough funding to present eye-catching content in the future. aside from 3/5 being main lyricists, the group is 85% fluent in english, and often add not only english versions of title tracks but also original songs for international fans. they’ve been releasing english songs since their second comeback, presenting listeners with the b-side RE-LAPSE + english versions of their songs WANNA-BE and A LITTLE DIFFERENT. other english songs (both variants and originals) include STARLIGHT ,, TIPTOE ,, LOCO ,, LOVE ME / LEAVE ME ,, & THE HAPPIEST GIRL. due to their popularity around the world, there’s speculation that the group will release an english project before a japanese one.

the group is known for a unique lineup for a multitude of reasons, but the biggest one of all is due to their third youngest member (1999) being the group leader — this is because the oldest member and los angeles-born, nari, was born in 1996 & is also one of the oldest artists under kq. xepher was crowned leader not for her training time, but for being the company’s first female trainee with leadership qualities. when counting the longest training time, former PLEDIS ENTERTAINMENT trainee + maknae, arin, started in early 2013 and was on produce 48 prior to joining kq in 2017.

the members were revealed without further announcements in age order, they were called the KQ GIRLZ (the female version of KQ FELLAZ, a traditional pre-debut project) before their official name was confirmed. the lineup caused a lot of commotion, as it included eunae, the younger sister of former PENTAGON member, jihun, and the former TOMORROW X TOGETHER member, SOUL. before txt, soul was one of the original kq trainees that were supposed to debut in ateez, but ended up getting signed by BIGHIT ENTERTAINMENT. she participated in only a handful of promotions for THE DREAM CHAPTER: STAR before dispatch exposed her newfound relationship with yuto from pentagon. she was already heavily disliked by most from the very start due to being the only female, and multiple sources predicted that after the downfall of GLAM many would try to sabotage her career before it had even begun. though bighit is rumored to cover up potential scandals of other artists before the public finds out, soul’s was not one of them. it certainly did ruin everything ahead, it would completely destroy her reputation + relationship with bighit — so she left both the group & company, disappearing from the public eye from may 2019 until february 2020. desperate to complete mirage and solidify a lineup, soul was signed back into kq despite her scandal & re-debuted under her birth name, nako. since returning right after eunae completed her training, both girls would become the final additions to the group’s roster.

today, mirage has become an example of a group becoming popular outside the big three companies, they are very vocal about trying to grow up, mature from past mistakes, and their strange yet close bond. with four EPs, a single album, and two full LPs, mirage is becoming a force to be reckoned with — and seemingly, very used to adapting to whatever life throws in front of them.

GROUP NAME ╱ mirage (신기루)

DEBUT DATE ╱ february 7, 2020

DEBUT RELEASE ╱ LUCID DREAMING : LEVEL1 (EP)

COMPANY ╱ KQ ENTERTAINMENT

MEMBER COUNT ╱ 5

FANDOM NAME ╱ promise

GREETING ╱ “looking for a miracle? hello, we are mirage!”

COLOR PALETTE ╱ quick silver (#9BA79D) + english lavender (#C17896)

DISCOGRAPHY ╱

— LUCID DREAMING : LEVEL1 [2020, mini album]

— TREASURE MAP : LEVEL2 [2020, mini album]

— THE QUEEN’S JEWELS : FINAL ROUND [2020, mini album]

— WE NEED LOVE [2021, single album]

— FESTIVAL [2021, first album]

— ONEIRIC [2022, mini album]

— THIS IS A MIRAGE [2022, second album]

— REBIRTH [2023, mini album]

— SUCKER PUNCH! [2023, first english album]

[1996 ; kim jiwon ; NARI] ╱ main dancer, lead vocalist, lead rapper, writer

[1998 ; jeon taryn ; EUNAE] ╱ main vocalist, lead dancer, sub-rapper, visual

[1999 ; shin ailee ; XEPHER] ╱ leader, main rapper, main dancer, sub-vocalist, writer, face of the group (performance)

[1999 ; kang nako ; NAKO] ╱ main rapper, lead vocalist, writer, face of the group (acting)

[2000 ; park arin ; ARIN] ╱ maknae, main vocalist, sub-rapper, main visual, face of the group (modeling)

SOUL'S OLD TAGLIST: @skzfairies @m00niesk7 (let me know if you’d like to remain on the taglist! or if you’re new, to just join!)

[ NOTE ] nako, formerly known as soul & is now a revamped oc, was originally going to be a standalone addition to TXT. as time went on, i felt like she would have more potential in a girl group!

[ichigo-dream]

Sick At The Heart 4

Bliss. 

It’s the only word for it. 

Here, with your friend, with no expectation to leave, an open invitation with no expiry date, you can finally breathe. 

You lie on her sofa, sprawled out in a way that is the picture of calm and relaxation. 

Levi is securely away from you for now, and he has no authority to come barging in here without making a total fool of himself. The image of Levi squaring up to your friend’s father has you giggling where you lie, making your friend giggle too - contagious laughter and all that - though you think she must think you’re laughing at the TV. 

The weekend has passed in peace - you ate pizza, played video games, screamed like children at said video games, and laughed until your sides split. 

It’s paradise. 

You don’t tell her about Levi. About what he did. You know you could, but you don’t want to think about him. You don’t want to think about his hands, the way they make you feel, the way your heart races when you think about him. 

You’d much rather enjoy her company and pretend. 

When Monday comes, you’re not as nervous as you were when you arrived. No longer a jittery, teary ball of nerves ready to collapse in a heap on the sofa. In fact, you’d almost go as far to say that you’re back to normal. 

Or, at least, as normal as you can get these days, all things considered. 

“You know you’re more than welcome to stay as long as you want, babe!” Your friend says, sitting curled on the sofa next to you as you text your mum to tell her to come and get you. 

“I know.” You say, smiling back at her in gratitude. “Maybe next weekend, if you’re free?” 

Your friend scoffs incredulously. 

“If I’m free she says, what else would I be doing?” You laugh at that, and she kicks lightly at you teasingly. Back before your mum had gotten married again, you had spent nearly every weekend with her, comfortable in that routine. With the sudden expansion in the family, you’d felt it better to stick around the house more often, if only because Sunday Dinner suddenly became something which felt taboo to miss. 

Maybe, getting back into old habits wouldn’t be such a bad thing. 

“She text you back yet?” She asks between footering with her phone, and watching edits and kicking her feet at them. 

You check.

Me: Hi mummy! You okay to pick me up at 1?

xo Mum xo: Yeah pet! I be there! Xoxo

Me: Awesome, see you soon! Xoxo

xo Mum xo: 👍 xoxo

“Yeah, she’s gonna get me in like ten minutes I think.” 

You both lapse into familiar silence, sprawled together and discussing the same things you have always discussed. 

As it always is with you two, time seems to pass in a flash and it isn’t long before you hear the tell-tale sound of tires on gravel, and you see the familiar shape of your mum’s car pulling into the drive. 

“That’s me now.” You say, standing and cracking your back with a groan. I’m getting too old to pull all-nighters, you think, grabbing your things and walking to the door. 

“Text me when you get home!” Your friend says, pulling you close for a hug and waving you off. 

You open the car door, tossing your bag into the footwell and getting in. 

“How’s it going?” You ask, not even looking up as you put on your seatbelt and wave to your friend. 

“Pretty shitty having to carpool on my day off, not gonna lie.” 

Your body freezes, praying that your mum had suddenly developed a severe throat infection causing her voice to drop and a penchant for swearing but as you turn you’re greeted with the familiar profile of Levi. He’s casual, black t-shirt on despite the heat, and sunglasses sitting low on his nose. He turns to you, looking over the rims.

“But I guess life’s a bitch huh.”

You say nothing as he puts the car in gear and drives off. The drive is silent, the radio on low and Levi tapping gently on the steering wheel. But you can’t focus on that. The whole space is filled with Levi, his presence, his scent, his sounds. It’s filling your head, and your legs tremble slightly. 

“Did you have fun?” Levi asks, and the sound of his voice makes you jerk in surprise, having expected him to remain silent and brooding the whole way home. 

“Yeah. Yeah, it was fun.” You say quietly, keeping your eyes on the scenery passing by. You feel like Levi can hear the hammering of your tell-tale heart, that he’s aware of how much he’s affecting you without even looking at you. Although, he could be looking at you. You wouldn’t know. You’re trying your best not to look at him. 

“What did you get up to?” Another question. It makes your fingers clench in the fabric of your jeans. Does he actually want to know? Or is he just wanting to torture you? To lull you into a false sense of security? What does he want from you? Is he going to talk about it? Has he been thinking about it as much as you have? Has he been thinking about you too? 

“Not a lot.” You grit out. His nonchalance makes your skin itch and had he not been present, you would have been rubbing at your arms or shaking out your hands. You settle for pressing on your nails, adamantly refusing to look at him. “Just the usual.”

The both of you lapse back into silence. 

The radio buzzes in the background.

“You’re not working today.” He speaks again, and you inhale slightly. It’s phrased like a question, but Levi manages to make most things he says sound like statements or, often and much to the dismay of others, judgements. 

“They weren’t looking me in today.” He hums at your answer and you’re desperately tempted to glance round at him, to look at him, but you resist the urge. It’ll only confuse you more. 

“Thanks for lifting me.” You say, hoping that politeness will temper any bad mood or feelings that might be forming inside him at the fact that he’s had to waste time collecting you. 

“It’s no bother.” He replies, and his voice is deadpan and tired as usual, but his meaning is soft. Maybe he’s being soft for you.

You put the notion out of your head.

“Why’re you in Mum’s car, by the way?”

“She’d blocked me in. Plus she was heading out to some bullshit, I don't know, I wasn’t listening. She asked me to get you and said I could take her car cause she was taking Kenny’s.” He explains, and you note the derision with which he says his uncle’s name. You know there’s some complicated history there, but the two of you aren't exactly close enough to get into it. Despite recent events, you don’t think it's the kind of thing you can just ask about out of the blue.  

“Makes sense.” You nod. You don’t see it but Levi looks at you briefly, greedily observing you before turning his eyes back to the road. 

The rest of the drive is spent in tense silence, and you’ve never been more grateful to see the familiar drive of your house. 

The gravel crunches under the tires as Levi pulls the car in behind his own, blocking himself in once more. 

As Levi pulls on the handbrake, you’re quick to reach to click off your seatbelt but his grip around your wrist stops you. 

Your breath hitches, your heart beating loudly in your ears as your nerves fray once more. Levi’s touch is firm, warm, and overwhelming.

He does nothing more than hold your hand in place. 

“You wait.” He says firmly, gunmetal eyes flashing as he looks at you, sunglasses held in his fingers about the steering wheel. “You wait until I turn the car off before you take off your seatbelt. No one ever teach you vehicle safety? Christ, and you want to live on your own?” He scoffs. 

You want to rage against him, to gnash your teeth and tell him what a complete bastard he is sometimes, but you don't. The weight and warmth of his hand is making you stumble around your own thoughts, and words are harder to form. 

His eyes are too intense, and your own flick briefly to his hair, falling into his face in a way that shouldn’t be as attractive as it is. You notice the cut by his hairline. 

“It’s healing up.” You say, the words out of you before you realise you’ve said them. 

Levi’s grip tightens minutely, his eyes taking on that strange look again, the same one from that night. 

He nods, watching your face for any flicker of feeling. 

“You winded yourself pretty badly.” He says, and if you were being generous to yourself, you’d go as far to say that his voice may even be tinged with guilt. “You’re not bruised right?” 

His face is guarded, but his concern seems genuine. 

You mumble out a “no”. He doesn’t need to know that you are. That’s not important right now. You haven’t prepared yourself for this conversation. In fact, you’ve been actively avoiding it. Levi seems content to watch you eerily, and the tension in the car doesn’t bode well for you. 

What’s behind me doesn’t matter. 

With that thought, you pull from his grip and open the door, quickly making your way up to the front door. 

You’re in the hall when you hear his door shut and you quickly make your way upstairs, hoping to kill the time in your room until your mum gets back. Quickly, you make your way up the stairs, and into your room, dropping your bag at the foot of your bed. 

The click of your door has you spinning around in time to see Levi place the chair under the door handle, just like you’ve taken to doing these past few nights. Though, where it is intended to keep him out, now all it’s doing is trapping you in here with him. 

You tremble, stepping backwards as he turns those piercing eyes on you once more.

He takes a sure step forward, backing you up against the wall, his arms blocking out your peripherals, so you have no choice but to focus on him. 

You whimper in fright and something shameful you don’t want to acknowledge. 

“I don’t appreciate being lied to.” He whispers, his breath ghosting over your lips.

Oh, Christ. 

Notes:

In the words of Nico from DMC 5: I know, I know, I'm late!

Apologies that there's been such a delay with this chapter - life has been hectic recently and I just haven't had the chance to sit down and crack into this fic in a while.

Hopefully though, I'l have the next chapter up for you soon - it's already in the works - and that updates won't be nearly as delayed! (Plus, I think you'll enjoy what's coming ;) )

Thank you again for reading, I hope you enjoyed it.

Love always, Ichigo xoxo

[studio52sblog]

Discover the art of time lapse photography with Studio 52's expert guide. Learn 10 essential tips for stunning videos, from planning to execution.

[sizzlingpatrolfox]

Thanks for linking all the vmin and vminkook posts for me. Really enjoyed going through them. You make excellent points.

Also thanks for replying. Appreciate it.

Another ask for you if you have the time?

So you know all the jimin promoting jk has been doing? Like that one vlive where he only watched jimin's videos or all the other ones where he has been singing jimin's songs(among others)

You think he did all that maybe because he was feeling guilty?

Because no matter which way anyone puts it, jimin has had the worst of the promotions so far( also the most success but still..) especially compared to jk.

Hope you are well too 💜

- Lizzie

You're welcome, no need to say thanks 😅 I love the name Lizzie 🤩

Being real here, Jungkook didn't do any "promo" for Jimin. That wasn't promo. Anyone watching a Jungkook weverse live at 7am already knew face and like crazy existed. Promo is posters on the street, youtube ads, tiktok ads or challenges, billboards on Times Square. The end goal of promo is to reach as many people as possible, and even better if it's new audiences. Fans did all of that for Jimin. I can agree with calling it support, because in the end it was about Jungkook showing appreciation and enjoying Jimin's music/performances. But it wasn't promotion.

I have said that I wouldn't put it past Jungkook to do that live because he was overcompensating for something, but it wasn't about their careers. If Jungkook feels guilty or like he has to make up to Jimin for something, it's more likely something personal rather than about their careers. So no, I don't believe him watching Jimin content had anything to do with Jimin's activities.

As for FACE... things were going so well at first. I was really happy and satisfied about the rollout. The album was announced with a proper time lapse for people to buy it, Dior, Tiffany, magazine covers.

Then come March and they suddenly started dropping a lot of stuff simultaneously. As a standalone activity, things about face leading up to its release were more than ideal. The company -and Yoongi- sandwiching it between all the other releases was messed up. I saw so many people say that they couldn't buy face because they had just bought tickets for Yoongi's tour. As if it wasn't enough, everything ended after 10 days.

So to sum it up; the way I see it, all was going alright until the whole of rapline decided to release music at the same time and until hybe ignored like crazy after such success, while immediately running to try and get another member the same. Both of those things could've been sorted out.

Personally, the worst of it all is the underserved hate he got for nothing at all. He literally got defamed in every direction for having a basic, regular kpop album rollout. For doing stuff BTS have been doing since 2013. He even got denied stuff that other members and other groups under hybe are getting just like that but he's the only one who gets called names because of having the bare minimum.

[k00296471]

Project: Disrupt

•I hope to add 3D life-sized foods in the fridge. They will be made of card board and painted or coved in felt.

•These would be a recreation of real brands of foods that I find addictive and foods that have a lot of added sugers, fats, salt, and caffine. Such as monster cans and other processed foods, like Pringles.

•I will add eyes and arms to many of the 3D food models to show how they are like alive monsters to me.

•⬆️Becky Sloan and Joesph pelling's animated show, 'Don't Hug Me I'm Scared' characters, inspired me to make alive food monsters, too. Here is a video of their work above.

•Their animation looks inviting with its bright colours and Sesemi Street like puppets, which hides the shows characters' alterior motives of food propaganda. I feel the food industry is very like this. DHMIS and all the other episodes. I have a few reasons why.

•Firstly, food packaging is inviting, with its bright colours, animated appearance, and happy slogans. Just like the characters in DHMIS.

•What makes many food companies truelly like DHMIS is that they both have a wolf in sheep's clothing feeling to me personally.

Something that's disrupts you by sneakily destroying your health and emptying your pocket while being advertised as appealing and joyful.

•Also, I will add writing on each 3D model saying how the product is addictive, as if the food companies' true intentions and darker consequences are shown on the packaging.

•⬆️ I drew out the body of the fridge plan

•⬆️Here's a time lapse and photos of me working on the two life-sized fridge doors, which are made of card board, masking tape, and painted white. The shelves are made of card board and plastic acting as glass, just like in modern fridge models. I decided to add four shelves on each door I stead of just too

•⬆️Then i drew out the final fridge doors plan

•⬆️With my Fridge ideas, I made one mini model made of masking tape. I shone a light through the fridge. The final fridge will have a light inside it to make the food inside stand out!! The final fridge will be life-sized.

[moviehealthcommunity]

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)

This is a Movie Health Community evaluation. It is intended to inform people of potential health hazards in movies and does not reflect the quality of the film itself. The information presented here has not been reviewed by any medical professionals.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga has a few quick flashes of bright images while the main character is sleeping in two separate scenes. There are a few close-ups of rapid gunfire and bright muzzle flashes. Early in the film, there is a time lapse shot with rapid changes between day and night that may create a strobe effect. In the opening WB production company logo, the lighting on the logo flickers off and on rapidly for the first second or two of the film.

This film features multiple high-speed road chase scenes, and multiple scenes depicting peril at extreme heights. The camera shakes mildly in one scene.

Flashing Lights: 6/10. Motion Sickness: 3/10.

TRIGGER WARNING: This film shows several graphic open wounds throughout the film. In one very short but disturbing scene, there are maggots swarming these wounds. In the opening sequence, there is an extremely high-pitched whistle used. A childbirth scene ends with a stillbirth, and the stillborn baby is shown on-screen. One character has a convulsive seizure seconds after suffering a traumatic brain injury. Multiple characters end their own lives in a "blaze of glory."

Video ID: Admin Brandon's review and evaluation of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga