#the records always sell out so fast and I really want them

[alleged-golden-retriever-bf]

From Portland, Oregan Alexandra Savior makes haunting sounding Desert Rock/Indie Rock/Dream Pop style music.

I first discovered her music back in 2017 or 2018 when going through that years SXSW music line up. I was giving listens to whichever bands shared genres I was interested in to find new music. She’s grown in popularity since then which has been great to see and I’m excited for potentially a third album coming soon. Despite her gain in popularity over the years the only people I’ve known that also know her music are people I put on to her music to begin with so thought I’d try to share her music more so on here.

Attached are my favorite songs from each album. MTME has a moment where Alexandra lets out quite the shriek but at first I didn’t realize it was actually her doing that (thought it was a sample or something? Idk) let alone was I expecting her to replicate it during her live performances which was really neat. Howl just has some really nice synths going on that are easy to get lost in and disappointing to hear come to an end.

Fun fact: If you happen to be familiar with the band Brick + Mortar I also put them on Alexandra Savior by suggesting the music to them on Instagram (If you’re unfamiliar give them a listen too! I’ll maybe make another post for them)

[tswiftupdatess]

Record Store owners on how Taylor Swift has helped them with sales:

“I never in my wildest dreams thought I’d have to think about Taylor Swift [vinyl] as much as I do now, I have to hustle so hard to get that stuff because it always sells out really fast, it’s hard to find, and people want it. If we don’t have it, it’s a problem. It’s changed how I approach my job.”

“We couldn’t survive without the Taylor Swift sales, The customers showed me that they'll just keep on going and it's never gonna stop.”

source

[dandelionxbby]

: ̗̀➛ Modern TWOW Kids Headcanons

╰┈➤ Neteyam

High school junior - 17 years old

Captain of both varsity basketball and soccer

4.1 GPA, working towards Stanford

Often spends time in the library

Reads classical literature

Played Romeo in their school production of R&J

Has his licence and drives a ford

Models for small black owned fashion brands for a little extra cash

Runs Tuk's Etsy were she sells bracelets

Collect Records - R&B and Rap

Headphones > Speakers

Introverted but Extroverted around his friends and sports teams

Teacher's pet - carries the whole class. Answers when no one else does

Often gets into fights with Ao'nung because Ao'nung wants to be captain of the basketball team

Drives Tuk to school and extracurricular activities

Love to cook, in the kitchen almost every night with Neytiri

Not that close to Jake, he craves Neytiri's approval more than his

Nose, industrial, and multiple cartilage piercings

Plays violin

Has been growing his dreads since he was 7, but they don't look bad bc he keeps up with them

╰┈➤ Lo'ak

sophomore - 16 years old

JV Football and Basketball

2.3 GPA, Lo'ak isn't dumb, he just doesn't try

Made a music video to his rap for film class and it got a B-

Facetimed Reya right after he got his grade, he was really proud of himself

Skateboards to school and practices but Neteyam drives him home

Collects 90s/00s rap CD's - eminem, tupac, biggie, etc.

Talks back to the teacher, kind of a class clown

Wants to join the Marines like Jake

Worked as a cashier at the movie theater to buy him and Reya tickets to the Eras tour. He didn't know all the words to the songs but he tried.

Is outside from the time he comes home 6:30 to 11:00 at night shooting hoops bc he really wants to be on varsity basketball with Neteyam

Always has his airpods in

Records his raps in his bathroom bc it has good acoustics

Closer to Kiri than the rest of his siblings

They all has their own rooms but he is always in Kiri's for some reason

Taper fade with braids

Besties with Rotxo, he talks to him about things he can't with other people

Wants a tattoo so bad, but Jake says "You can get one once you paid your own rent"

Has an Ig with 134K followers

╰┈➤ Kiri

Sophomore

Crochets her clothes

Thrifts or depop clothes only, doesn't believe in fast fashion

Low-key in her Kat Stratford era

Plays piano and bass

Has an all girl band - boygenius is her idols

Loves anime and K-pop - has her Bias as her laptop wallpaper

Anti-plastic, only uses her hydroflask - hates stanleys bc "consumerism has America in a chokehold"

Photographer for the school's digital newspaper

Wears dangle mushroom earrings everyday

Has a wolfcut and red hair

She has natural freckles but they are barely there so she draws them on with a brown eyeliner pencil

She's in theater club and is the composer of all the musicals

Dance moms is her guilty pleasure

Very much vegan and will give someone the stink eye if they eat meat next to her

works at a crystal shop and will geek out anytime a rookie collector ask her what a specific crystal is for

has a septum piercing

Super introverted her only friends are Reya and Rotxo

Always challenging her teachers

Her only social medias are Twitter (X), tumblr, and tiktok

Loves Taylor Swift and Minski

Watches french films and reads french books

Closer to Jake but Neytiri is her go to girl when she needs to talk

Her phone background is Grace and her when she was 3, it was taken 3 months before Grace died

Hates sports, doesn't understand why people are going crazy over football recently

Her walls are covered with posters

Low-key loves all of Lindsay Lohan's movies - she's her celb crush

╰┈➤ Ao'nung

Same year and age as Neteyam

I feel like his family is rich

Drives a benz

going to uop on a basketball scholarship

6'3 1/2 - got his dad's height

Super protective of Tsireya

On the debate team, he loves arguing

If he's not playing basketball, hes surfing, if hes not doing that he's studying

Posts him playing basketball on his tiktok and ig, hoping one day he'll get noticed by a scout, thousands of people repost his videos

Has every pair of Jordans known to man

crosses people over in the hallway

I feel like he bullies freshman boys but sticks up for the freshman girls bc he sees them as his little sisters

Ronal is the principal so he get's good food at lunch

always late to class but has amazing grades

introverted extrovert

teaches basketball to kids at the community center

Throws the best parties

brings speakers to school

Frenemies with Neteyam and Lo'ak

Of all the Sullys, Kiri is his favorite

╰┈➤ Tsireya

Sophomore - 15 years

Post GRWMs on tiktok

Tennis and volleyball

Starting ballet this year

skincare and makeup obsessed

wears her mary janes everyday

super coquette / coastal grandmother

team conrad

Loves Taylor Swift and Lana Del Rey

Priscilla, Marie Antoinette, Belle, Girl Interrupted, Black Swan are her favorite movies

Wears the friendship bracelets that Kiri and Tuk make her

Watches Vouge Beauty Secrets when she gets ready

Her favorite youtuber is Sabrina Lilliane

Thrifts with Kiri

Has a baby pink Stanley and wears ugg slippers

On the school dance team

Has a Jeep but can't drive it yet so she rides with Ao'nung

Carries K-pop Idol photo cards

4.0 GPA, she doesn't play about her grades

Often helps Lo'ak with school

Reads poetry books

Researching to start her own haircare line with the help of Neytiri

Doesn't wear a backpack only tote bags

If she doesn't have starbucks every morning then she'll be cranky all day

Always wears a locket that has her parent's pictures in it

Is the star of all the musicals

Sophomore year class president

Did the best petting zoo fundraiser

╰┈➤ Rotxo

Junior

Head of the school paper

doesn't play sports

The smiths are the only people he listen's to

works at a record shop

volunteers at a soup kitchen

4.2 GPA going to Harvard Med

OCD

Wants to be a surgeon

Manages Ao'nung social media accounts

Introverted, hates large crowds

Drives Kiri to thrift stores, they're besties

╰┈➤ Tuk

3rd grade - 8 years old

Sells friendship bracelets

Went to the eras tour with jake, had a big sign that said "Give her her scarf back, now"

She traded bracelets with a bunch of people

Did ballet for a while and hated it so now she does gymnastics

Spa days with Neteyam

in her "only eating chicken nuggets and craft mac and cheese" phase

loves to rollerblade

Has an unboxing channel on youtube

always making slime

doesn't have any electronics bc Jake and Neytiri doesn't want her to be an Ipad kid

Tuk is really popular on youtube but she doesn't know it

Loves Reya like another sister

Takes horseback riding lessons

╰┈➤ Spider

Doesn't go to Pandora High like the rest, he goes to an athletic boarding school on a lacrosse scholarship

Was really close to the sullys but since his school has a no phone rule they've grown apart

Still hangout on the weekends and in the summer

no doubt he's going pro

Grew up around military vets

cut his dreads off once he got to school

takes archery as an extra class

really good at math

The sullys send him care packages full of junk food

He sleeps over at the sullys on the weekends bc he would rather not be with his dad

Still really close to Kiri but not as close to Lo'ak as they used to be

Loves the MCU and goes to the theaters when the movies come out even if they are bad

Thank you for reading <3

[3terna15unshin3]

Yes to blurbs!

Maybe when they decided to move in together? Or taking a vacation together? Or one of them winning an award for their writing?

great suggestions bestie and sorry i didn’t get to this when i initially asked for requests!!!! i have written blurbs similar to those last two ideas here and here but i haven’t done the first one yet. i hope this is okay :))

—

They move pretty fast after getting back together. Especially because so much of their relationship at the beginning was long distance, the minute they’re finally living in the same city it’s hard to separate them. Este starts spending two or three days at a time over at his house since it’s just as easy to just take the tube to work from there as it is from her granddad’s house.

When she leaves to spend a few days with José and grab some fresh clothes, Matty pouts and grabs her by her belt loops to lure her into kissing him and tries to hide her things so she can’t leave.

“Why go back to that tiny house in icky Islington when you can stay here with me,” He whines.

“I’m telling Lolo you said that.” She retaliates, and Matty scrambles and takes back what he said. He’s still desperate to always make a good impression, even though José loves him.

She comes back the next time and sees a toothbrush, still in its package, sitting on the edge of the sink. “I do own a toothbrush, you know.” Este tells him sarcastically.

Matty explains that it’s stupid for her to take hers back and forth so he got her one to keep at his place. She secretly loves the fact that he thought of doing it for her. He likes seeing the ceramic cup next to his faucet now have two toothbrushes instead of just his.

Covid hits so he isn’t on tour anymore and Este begins working remotely from the Islington house, since whenever she tries to write at Matty’s, he blares his favourite records in the next room to distract her. Or burns his toast in the kitchen and needs her help to get the smell to go away. Or slyly sits next to her, peeling off each article of her clothing until they end up tangled in his sheets again.

But when Matty’s not at the studio and she’s not on the clock, they’re attached at the hip. Este starts liking his body wash better than the one she had at home. Then she no longer has to ask him which kitchen drawer a certain utensil should go, and just knows the answer herself.

They live like this for a couple months—but the thing that changes things is when José decides to move in with Este’s parents. London is a big city and now that he’s long retired and Florencia’s gone, he likes the idea of living somewhere more rural. Since they’ve owned the house for so many years, there isn’t much of a mortgage left to pay, and he offers Este to add her name and take ownership of the property.

When she brings the idea up to Matty, he asks, “You really love that house, huh?”

The more she thinks about it, the more she realises how old and small it really is; and how it inhabited some of the lowest moments of her life. If José’s ready to move on from it then she should be too.

“I actually kind of hate it.” She decides, sitting on top of his counter while he stirs a pot of cooking pasta. Matty takes a noodle out with his wooden spoon and lightly blows on it to cool it down before asking her to try it and tell him if it’s ready or not.

“Then just live here.” He finally suggests.

Este’s not sure why she’s so shocked and flattered by his idea, as if they weren’t already practically living together. She’s rendered speechless and slowly chews the still undercooked pasta.

“...Really?” She suddenly becomes shy.

“If begging you to stay like a toddler every time you have to leave doesn’t show you that I want you to live here, then I’m not sure what to tell you, darling.” He points out with a laugh.

So Este’s stuff gets packed into boxes and her granddad sells the house. They rent a moving van and lug everything 40 minutes west, over to Matty’s. Este snaps a funny photo of him in the back laying across all the boxes and then posts it to her Instagram story without much explanation, making fans freak out and get scared that Matty’s giving up his concrete bunker even though he isn’t.

He even calls the guys for help, despite her protests. “It’s only some boxes, love. We’ll be fine,” Este tries to reassure him, but he asks them anyway.

Matty doesn’t want to make her carry anything so she directs them as they unload the van.

“The last, like, 8 boxes I’ve seen have all been labelled ‘books’… You are a crazy woman.” Ross declares.

“Books are my job, mate!” She argues.

There’s one box that has ‘important’ scrawled across the front that she forces Matty to carry up the stairs and to his—their—room. It’s incredibly heavy and she hears his laboured breathing as she trails behind him on the steps. She stops him when he’s about to set it down, telling him that she wants it some place else. A metre to the side, maybe. He huffs and shifts it like Este asks, but then she stops him again.

Matty’s fingertips grow white from gripping it so tight and he bites his lip to accompany the immense effort it was taking to humour her.

“Love, you’re killing me here,” he complains, voice breathy and strained.

“Just let me think,” Este stalls some more, tapping her finger to her chin and looking around the room as he continues to struggle. “Maybe it can actually go down in the lounge.”

He looks at her, dumbfounded. “Are you fucking with me?!”

She pretends to act innocent and then eventually gives in, giggling and telling him to just put the box down anywhere. He shakes his head and laughs, sitting on the bed in defeat and wrapping his tired arms around her waist to drag her onto his lap.

“That was cruel.” Matty says into the crook of her neck, kissing it shortly.

“You’re just extra fit when you’re all sweaty and breathless and grunting, okay? I had to wind you up a bit,” defends Este. His hands on her skin (and their lips against each others’) get a bit carried away and they have to stop themselves when they remember that Adam, George, and Ross are just down the stairs.

When Notes comes out, Matty has to do a bunch of Zoom press, and it’s a struggle to find a presentable background that doesn’t show any of her cluttered belongings. She ends up unpacking her stuff rather slowly so the mess stays longer than anticipated. Este really does have a lot of stuff, her maximalism shining through with the sheer volume of things she moved with her from Islington.

It works unexpectedly well with Matty’s existing decor. The house grows brighter with the art Este adds to the walls and more charming with her flourishing shelves of books. She mixes her vinyl in with his and takes care of the plants that now scatter their home. Trinkets start to line most flat surfaces. His mug cupboard grows fuller.

The two of them are just too busy basking in the glory of one another’s constant company. It’s a delight to wake up in Matty’s arms and hear his croaky sleepy voice every morning. When she thinks she needs privacy, Este puts her headphones on and glues her eyes to her laptop screen in the guest room. But then she can’t hear his shuffling footsteps anymore, and misses the way he hums made-up songs when he’s concentrated. So she moves down to the dining room table and sighs in comfort when Matty kisses the top of her head every time he walks past.

He likes having to sort through the mail to make a pile of her letters before opening his own; and doesn’t mind buying twice as much tea to accommodate both of their habits. Coming home from the studio feels so much better knowing that Este’s there to greet him and then kiss him goodnight. The bed sheets now smell of mint, just like her.

And when she’s fully moved-in, and the house is now theirs, Matty smiles every time he notices how lonesome it was before becoming littered with Este-ness.

“Sure you’re not sick of me yet?” He asks.

Este grins. “Positive.”

[raziraphale]

I've learned not to trust my memory, so I wanted to make a note for myself of some things I enjoyed from the Neptune production of RAGAD before it all leaks out my ears. It's mostly for me but thought I'd post it here in case it's interesting to anyone else.

Note for people that aren't me: this is the only production of RAGAD I've seen live. I've seen the movie and the 2017 NTL recording as of writing this, for reference. So, forgive me if I gush about elements/choices that are common to RAGAD productions and not unique to this one lol. Also I was an English major but not a theatre guy outside some Shakespeare, so also bear with me if I'm lacking some specific terms.

Performances:

I feel like this almost goes without saying but Boyd and Monaghan are excellent as Guildenstern and Rosencrantz. Their chemistry is great. There was an excellent rhythm to their dialogue together that was really fast-paced without feeling artificial (imo there is a certain point where performers talk so fast it can only feel fake. They were all believable enthusiam).

I particularly liked Monaghan's Rosencrantz! like there was just something so earnest about him. He had this character tic of chewing on his finger most of the time out of anxiety or inattention and that stuck out for me for some reason. It was endearing. Also the line "I wanted to make you happy" made the whole theatre let out a wounded animal noise.

Also Boyd's Guildenstern really did a good job of projecting an aura of "person trying really hard to appear in control but may also snap any moment". Control freak recognizing control freak o7

The Player (Michael Blake) was amazing. He had such huge stage presence that you really believed the character was a seasoned performer. I fully believe this man could successfully sell me snake oil with the power of his presence alone.

Personal note but I was jazzed to see Drew Douris-O'Hara as Alfred. I'm not a regular Neptune patron so I don't know how often he appears in their productions, but I have seen many a Shakespeare By The Sea show in my time so he's a very familiar face. Always a really fun presence.

I also feel like I have to mention Ophelia (Helen Belay) even though she obviously doesn't get much to do here. The actress really sold every small appearance though like my heart broke a little every time I saw her in anticipation for her off-stage fate. Less important but have you ever seen a woman so beautiful you started crying?

Costumes:

I really liked Ros and Guil's tattered suits. They looked like they were dragged behind a horse. These are the clothes of two guys that have been trapped in a play for like 50 years, truly.

They also had an inverted colour scheme (Ros had a blue suit with a green waistcoat, Guil had a green suit with blue waistcoat) that really emphasized the two-sides-of-the-same-coin/ yin & yang vibe. Also the colours weren't really shared by the rest of the cast much (they tended to be a bit more muted) so it made them stand out as separate from the rest of what was happening.

Also personal note but I was enchanted by Monaghan's slightly stupid-looking grown-out fauxhawk. He basically had a lesbian mullet haircut. That combined with his single dangly earring was a Look.

The Player's coat was gorgeous. It felt grand but also appropriately dated/worn. It wasn't fully a feather jacket, but it had a smattering of large feathers that got more dense as it went down. It kind of reminded me of a vulture, honestly, which I think is fitting, with him being an opportunist that loves some corpses.

Script:

Misc. Stage Stuff:

Unless I'm really mistaken, I think they cut/modified the few lines with some outdated racial terms (I have two specifically in mind, referring to Chinese and Inuit people). So unless I just somehow missed hearing those, that's nice.

Just a note to say that the line about who the English King is will depend on when they get to England got a huge laugh. Thank you to King Charles' cancer for making everything funnier

The lighting !!! It really did a lot to separate the scenes from Hamlet from the rest of it. The stage was dark for most of it, with cool lighting (like a blue darkness). For the Hamlet portions, though, the lights were suddenly bright and warm yellow. That combined with the differences in the performances gave a strong impression that the curtain had just suddenly risen on a more traditional production of Hamlet right in the middle of Ros and Guil just doing whatever.

I really liked how they used the two risers on wheels they had (not sure if that's the right word -- they were those three-tiered platforms I remember from doing choir in school. Kind of like bleachers). They looked like they belonged on an empty stage and also gave the actors something interesting to climb on. They were able to reposition them pretty easily with the wheels, which really worked for the portions on the boat tbh. They just pushed them together so that the lower tiers touched to create a half-pipe-shaped skeletal "boat". They could climb "above deck", or even go below while still being fully visible from whatever angle. The whole thing was spun around a lot during the pirate attack, which was fun.

The risers also separated the stage really well in the first two acts. For most of it, there was one on the left side facing the audience, for characters to sit on, and one on the right facing backwards and partially obscured by the curtain they had covering that side of the stage. The curtain was backlit, so you could see the silhouettes of anything behind it. At some points, you could actually see shadows of events in Hamlet happening in the background while Ros and Guil were doing their thing in the foreground. Unfortunately I didn't get the best look at them, bc I was sitting at far right of my row, so the far right of the stage was partially out of my sight line. Still a really cool effect!

They did turn the risers fully around to face the back during the players' performance of The Murder of Gonzago, with the curtain pulled across. You saw the shadow of the king standing up and storming out.

For the final scene, they did the expected thing, where Ros and Guil are alone in the dark, illuminated by a single narrow spotlight each. The spotlight goes out when each of them die and they disappear from view. The detail that made me insane though is that each time a spotlight went out, they played the sound of a flipped coin hitting the stage and the audience was so quiet it felt like a gunshot both times.

After all the deaths they had Rosencrantz and Guildenstern start from the opening scene again tossing coins for a bit before the final curtain. They did not escape the narrative 😔

Will add more if anything else comes to mind?

[heymeowmao]

2023.06.06 - https://weibo.com/l/wblive/p/show/1022:2321324909692089401460

加油啊!

bgm: Chong Zi OST - Heaven Light (天光)

LYN: Hallo everybody, good evening. I am Modern Brothers Liu Yuning! Welcome!! Long time no see. I feel like I haven’t streamed in a long time, at least. And... why is the sound so loud? /adjusts/. It’s been a while since I streamed last and I saw that a few of you were going out of your minds. You resorted to taunting me to get me to get me to come. Can we spread a little more kindness in this world? Please? It’s only been a few days and you’ve already started to taunt me. It’s not necessary, alright? LYN: When I’m in a good condition, I will come to stream on my own when I think the time is right. I hope you don’t push me next time. When you start pushing, I start second-guessing myself and think that maybe I SHOULD be streaming. But if my condition isn’t great- for example if I did some recording that day or took care of some different business- then I won’t be able to stream the way I want. I’d be forcing myself to stream. It’s not necessary. Let’s leave it up to me, alright? If I’m in a good condition and I want to stream and chat and relax, I’ll come. But otherwise... let me rest! 

LYN: The stream lagging a little is normal, because I’ve upgraded my equipment. If I upgrade my camera, I have to upgrade my computer, too. After that, you might think the sound card isn’t doing a good enough job- a lot of you always complain that the sound is too low. I don’t know why you can’t wear some headphones... but you always complain that the sound is low. After upgrades, the computer can’t keep up. See? It seems like I have to change my computer AGAIN. I’ve only had it for two years- it cost a lot- and now I have to buy a new one. Technology is too advanced for my computer to keep up. C: Sell it. LYN: I won’t be selling it. It’s just because that for this stream I’ve returned home to Beijing. i don’t have a desktop computer here, so I’m using the laptop. The signal on it is probably lacking, so it lags every once in a while. It’s enough for you to watch, though. Thanks, everyone (for your understanding). Our main focus is on “company”. Even if you are just photos (profile pics) we’re keeping each other company, alright? 

bgm: LBFD/CLJ OST - Searching for You (寻一个你)

LYN: Why am I wearing this today? Because the NCEE is fast-approaching. In order to fit the theme, I’ve worn some clothes that make me look younger. Let me pretend to be young, to be a student. Is it alright? Our theme here is “young.” LYN: As long as you’re satisfied with this look, all’s well.  LYN: The other thing is I haven’t lived in this Beijing house for a long time, since I am always away in Hengdian. I don’t really have any clothes to wear, here. I tried looking, I did, and I couldn’t find anything to wear. People always say that a woman’s closet is always lacking something. I get the feeling I’m lacking ten outfits- to use for streaming. I always feel like I don’t have anything to wear when I want to stream. Let me tell you- I do put thought into what I wear. You might think that I choose my streaming outfit at random, but I actually put a lot of effort into it. 

C: Ning-ge, I thought you had 3,000 outfits. LYN: When I first debuted- in the first two years- I might have had 3,000 outfits but now, three years later, how many clothes do you think I have? Think about it. There’s a room in this house that looks like a storage room and it’s full of clothes. I can’t even wear some of them because I bought them so long ago that the color has gone off from age.  C: Raffle them. LYN: We could... we could pick a concert stop- if I’m having a concert next year- and let’s say it’s a 10,000 person venue... Wait- I don’t have 10,000 pieces of clothing... Let’s do this instead. I’ll take 1,000 pieces of clothing for each stop and gift it to the audience. The concert benefit is being gifted clothes second-hand. 

- - - - - - - - - - 

C: How’s the album coming along? LYN: I really am working on album stuff right now. But if it were such an easy thing to do, it wouldn’t have taken me three years to release one. Think about the singers nowadays- there are as many as they come. It’s really difficult to continuously release albums, unless they are songwriters themselves. They could write their own works and put as much into that as they wanted; but even so, there are times when you have no inspiration. For me, as someone who does not have the ability to write songs... I just have to wait for something that works. Sometimes even when you find one, someone else gets to it first. It’s up to luck and timing. This time around I have taken my time to pick the songs and I’ve gotten some that I really like.  LYN: Let me tell you about my plans. I want to release this album before the end of the year. I previously released a song called “Fall in Love”- you know it, right? My fans have probably heard it before, but there are many of you who are just passing by and have entered the wrong shop- or have been dragged in by someone handing out cards- let me play my song “Fall in Love” for you. -- Fall in Love LYN: I went crazy all of a sudden. 

LYN: This was going to be the title song for my album... but it’s been two years since the track was released. Well- one and a half years. I sang it for the first time at the Jiangsu New Year’s Event... and then... about two years have passed and the album was never released. If I release it later in the year, it WILL be three years. So my plan for this year is to get my album out before December. It’ll be around 10 songs. This song (Fall in Love)- we can do without. I mean- not count it as part of the album. It’ll just be a single. LYN: As for my album, I’ll remake it. I had collected a few for the album from before, and have recorded two of them. But now... immodestly speaking, my singing has improved in the last two years. Listening to those songs now I think, “What the heck is this singing? WTF is this?? You think you can release an album like this, you must be crazy!” So the other day I re-recorded one of the songs. LYN: To singers “progress” is relative to a lot of different aspects. The first is the progression of age. The second is the advancement of music. The third probably has to do with the fact that I am acting now. After acting, I feel like I can better express emotions. I can let them show more or.. how should I say it? (Express them more subtly.) I have a deeper feeling/understanding of them now. LYN: Penny-jie gave me a song. Not counting Fall in Love, I should have... four now. But I should be able to confirm another one or two in the next couple of days. They’ve given me demos and I’ve given gone through them briefly and I think they’re very nice but I’ll have to get a better listen. I now have four complete songs and will get another three or four in the next days. I’ll have seven. Then I can just find three more and we can release the at the end of the year. :) My plan is to release the album before the end of the year- 10 songs- and then open up my concerts mid 2024. That’s just an estimate, because I have to film in the first half. Probably May or June. But before the concert I want to release an EP of about 5 songs.

C: Will you release an MV? LYN: I am working on an MV, yes. I’m planing on finding a few of my good friends- I can now make a PROPER MV. The MVs I shot before were all: I’m looking for something. I walk to the ocean and I search. I climb a ladder. I run. I look up at the sky and sit by my bedside, depressed. I’m emo. More conceptual. Now I don’t want to make MVs like that. I want something with a plot. So the songs I am finding now are all- /cuts himself off/. In any case, I’m going to find some of my good friends to help me shoot it. Of course, I will not be paying them. LYN: I already asked them- “If I release an album next year, will you help me shoot the mv?” They asked me if I would pay extra, and I replied that if they continued that thought I would block them. XD  LYN: My MV would need a group of them- I'll find 10 artists to act in the MV for me. Something that requires 2,000 extras. We’ll do a “human wave attack” (人海战术; offensive infantry tactic in which an attacker conducts an unprotected frontal assault with densely concentrated infantry formations -wiki).

LYN: So, for those of you asking about how my album is going, I really am working on getting it released this year, I swear. I have time in Beijing now to work on it properly and wrap up with logistics and with the music. After all that is finished I will re-focus on my acting. We’ll see.

C: I want to be an extra. LYN: Er... for extras the fee is 200RMB, sent to me. 1200RMB to me and I will include two meals. I won’t pick you up, but will send you back- to the closest bus stop. C: Ning-ge, I’ll invest 300k for your MV. LYN: Are you really investing or has chasing starts made you silly? If investing, let’s say my mv makes any revenue- you’d like a cut of the profits? But if you want to shoot a nice MV, it requires quite a bit of money. I don’t think 300k will be enough. I’m thinking of shooting two to three. C: I’ll invest 1M. LYN: I will find a staff member to contact you immediately. You can’t run, I’ve remembered your ID. I’ll find a staff to contact you and we can exchange the deposit in private. For a 1M project, you only need to give me a deposit of 200k first. C: Ning-ge, I’ll invest my charms. LYN: So what you’re trying to say that you’re too good-looking, so you want to be a part of my video and... that will be favorable for me? We’d be taking advantage of you because you’re too pretty, too beautiful?

C: Ning-ge, how about I give you 10RMB. LYN: Has the progression of my career reached a point where I need to do crowdfunding? I can’t survive on my own anymore, and if I want to do something my fans have to drum up the money? It’s not necessary. I know I’m not doing very well but I’m not that pitiful. Also, I just want to say- let me think of how I can phrase this nicely, to filter it-   LYN: ~ I think that music has always been a dream of mine. I can give everything I have to my music. You tell me you want to crowdfund in order to let me release my songs, but I think there’s no need for that. The music I release is for you to listen to, to enjoy, and to experience. If you feel anything when listening to my songs then that already is my greatest honor. That’s why, I don’t want you to give me any money. I will figure out the funding on my own. I appreciate your good intentions. You are all kind people. You all have dreams. You are good samaritans. ~ LYN: ~ I’m sure that everyone who has a dream in music who sees such a group of people who want to support their passion for music, will be moved. Thank you all. ~

- - - - - - - - - -

- /gives his support to students taking the NCEE/

C: Ning-ge, your voice is like this and you’re still streaming? LYN: ~ Honestly friends, I have to tell you, my voice is really uncomfortable today. Because for a long time I was in the South- in Hengdian- which is more humid. I’ve suddenly returned to Beijing and I haven’t quite adjusted. I have a really dry throat. I am withstanding searing pain to stream for everyone today. But I don’t want to make this a big deal. I don’t want to say that I am sick. I just want to say- that you are all very important to me. I’m willing to do this for you- ~ - /breaks character because he couldn’t stand himself/ LYN: Beijing is dry, alright? My throat is uncomfortable. I’ve been living in the South all this while- me, who originates from the North, has been living in the South. Hendgian is in Zhejiang, right? That’s south. It’s humid. So being back here now (in the North), my throat has been uncomfortable. It’s really dry. Especially Beijing, which is particularly dry. Liaoning, Dandong- where my house is- is okay, because there I am close the the river/ocean. The air isn’t as dry for a place in the Northeast. Beijing is really dry, though. I have to put on so many face masks every day. LYN: Wait for me a sec, I’ll go grab some water.

C: The chair looks nice. LYN: Are you making fun of me? This house in Beijing is rented so this furniture was all here when I got the house. I don’t have such high tastes. This is the landlord’s stuff, not mine. - C: Drink less soft drinks. LYN: This isn’t a soft drink, it’s just carbonated water. It’s carbonated, but there’s no sugar or anything in it.  - C: It’s a princess chair. LYN: /laughs/ Yes, it is. There are six of them. They were around the dinner table but I grabbed one over to sit on while I stream. I’m not in Beijing very often, anyway.

C: What special effect is this today? LYN: You can tell that this video has special effects?? This is the “aurora” effect. Why am I using it, do you know? Well- you all know what an “aurora” is, right? A very mystical phenomenon. LYN: ~ I am using this aurora effect today because I believe that not many people in this world have seen an actual aurora. Or a real rainbow. But I hope that each one of you who are in my stream can see this wonderful aurora special effect. So you can feel like you are in a faraway place- somewhere you can see the lights. ~ - bgm: Young Captain队长 & ODD Chen Sijian - 超感 (Super Sense) - LYN: But remember to tell me where I can see a rainbow. I saw one the other day- with my eyes, it was very clear. But I tried to take a picture of it on my phone and I found out- you can’t really see it.  C: Your skills aren’t good enough. / LYN: Oh. C: Change your phone. / LYN: Right, okay.

C: Have you done your physical yet? LYN: Not yet. I want to get everything arranged first and acclimate before I do it. Lately I’ve been preparing to start working out again. I want to give myself half a year’s time to start a regular eating schedule. I’ll mind what I eat- like not anything fried or sweet- and try to stick to an exercise schedule. I want to know, after this half year, what the results will be.  LYN: I really have properly started working out now. I’m not kidding anymore. My abs... I’m at... 10%. If having full-on abs is 100%, then I have at least 20% now. That is- you can see something if you squint. Let me train for a bit first. If there are results by the end of the year I’ll post up a picture. I see a lot of male artists wearing suits, right? But they don’t wear a shirt- it’s just the suit jacket- and a low middle button. I see a lot of male artists like that and I’m super jealous. They have such nice physique that allows them to wear the clothes in that way, to show a little skin. Either that or it’s a dress shirt, but the buttons are undone until the last few. The name of the game there is “Temptation/Seduction”. I can’t do that, though. If I open it up I look like a boiled chicken. LYN: I just want to have a nicer physique. I won’t make any promises from now on. I won’t bring it up again. We’ll just.. wait and see.

LYN: I was worried that I would come onto the stream today and my face would look fat. Lately I’ve been eating less but if I want to work out I have to eat more- three meals is modest. I’ve been forcing myself to eat, so I feel like I’ve gained weight. I thought it would show on the camera but it’s alright. The beauty filters are strong, after all. LYN: I had a huge bowl of rice and vegetables just earlier. But those are all regular foods. It’s alright I didn’t gain weight. // I have a performance in a couple of days, I told you about it before- some college, right?

C: Ning-ge, your hair color is makes you seem young. LYN: I don’t like the words “seem young”. I used to sell clothes, so I know all the right words to say when you’re trying to make a sale. If you say I “seem young” then that means that you don’t see me as ACTUALLY young. You don’t see me as young at all, but the words “seem young” should be allocated to 45+ year old men and women. You can use “seem young” to describe them. Okay?? You’ve just admitted that in your mind I am already... an old man.

C: Feels “youthful”! LYN: Friends, you don’t need to make forced compliments. I have a very clear image of myself and “youthful” doesn’t fit it. I told you before, that I had a script come to me and they wanted to act as a high school student for a portion of it, didn’t I? There was a plot where the two people met in high school and went to college together but later separated to start working. The majority of the plot is focused on when they are adults, but I couldn’t get past them wanting me to act as a high school student for a portion of it. Because of this, I gave up on this drama.  LYN: I can act as maybe a college student if you lay down the foundation extra thick to cover up the wrinkles. Maybe get some Thermage treatment in, and I could pass. But if you want me to act as a middle or high school student, I really can’t do it. I am 1.9m tall- when I’m not wearing shoes I’m 1.89m, but if I wear shoes I’m taller than 1.9m. It’d be okay if I were shorter but have you ever seen that tall of a high school student?? They’re already done growing! So me acting as a high school student would be a little unfitting. 

C: Kids nowadays are all tall. LYN: /laughs/ You’re right, but I still can’t do it! They might be tall but they still have young faces. My face has obviously seen time. I just can’t do it. A kid can play someone older, but someone older can’t play a kid. My face already has time on it. If you wanted me to act as someone around 30 years old or so, that wouldn’t be a problem. But early 20′s is difficult for me!

C: Ning-ge, you’re very young. Ning-ge, you can do it. LYN: I realized there’s something about this industry... let me tell you how I feel about it. People who do well in this industry- I’ve been to events, I can see who’s doing well or not- you’ll discover something. That is, no matter what they do the people around them will endlessly praise them. Really. I’m talking about people who are doing well for themselves. Their staff, the staff you meet at events- let’s say we’re at some recording for a show or an event- any staff around will give them endless praise. For example, an artist goes, “Huh? What is this, a phone? I’ve never seen one like this before. It’s called an iPhone?” The staff around them have already reached a point where they reply, “You’re so smart! Amazing! /claps/. You’ve never seen this thing before, but you knew it was a phone. You’re so great. You have a natural talent for identifying phones.” I was at the side, watching like:

LYN: But most of the time the artist will gladly accept the praise. “Oh, I just have a knack for this. :) I have an interest in mobile phones- oh, I see this is an iPhone! I’ve never seen one before, but I already know. I’m just talented. I have an interest in electronics.” !! It’s like humoring a child! And these artists aren’t young. LYN: You know- once you reach a certain point you’ll find out that the words of the people around you are 99% praise. The people close to you, as well as the people you meet. After I saw that happening I thought, “Oh~ So (that’s how it is)...” They’re probably already used to it and it doesn’t affect them at all but to me... I don’t feel a thing.  LYN: Just like when you tell me that I’m young and that I can play a middle schooler. I’ll listen to what you’re saying, but leave it at that. I might even have the passing thought that maybe you are trying to provoke me. After seeing all that, I have my own judgement on what people say to me in the future. I don’t believe that all you should hear is praise. There needs to be all sorts of comments in order to level you. Only then can you mature. Only then will you know where your limits are. LYN: That’s why when you praise and support me- of course, I like to hear it. But I don’t think there’s a need to take it seriously. There’s really no need. C: I was being honest. LYN: Even if you were, I still won’t take it seriously. I need to have self-awareness to maintain my balance. 

- - - - - - - - - -

- /saw a passing comment and makes note to answer it later, but clarifies he couldn’t really see the whole thing because the comment was too long. If they are short comments, usually he sees all of them scrolling by./ LYN: I can’t answer all of them, so please be generous. Don’t think that just because I am not replying to you, you shouldn’t comment at all. Our theme here is “company”.

C: Are there kiss scenes in ZY? LYN: What’s it to you?!? You must be crazy. XD LYN: There are no kiss scenes in ZY, only bath scenes. Of course by that I mean- a normal bath. For example, I’ll go to bathe and my bros will scrub my back for me. Scenes like that. They'll perform some gua sha and  ba guan for me. Because we’ll all get together to wash up after we go out to battle. We’re starting a “community bathing” culture. C: Such a big scale? LYN: We’re still wearing pants. If we want it to air, we’ll still be wearing pants. They’ll only show the top half. Just a bunch of guys helping to scrub each other’s backs.

C: Your ears are turning red. LYN: Why would they be??? What did I say today that would make my ears red?? You really think I’m only 18 years old?! Have you forgotten what I was trending for a while ago?? (Married) Oh-sorry. I’m... I’m not a young kid. Why I turn red from talking about washing up and scrubbing backs?? C: Now it IS red. LYN: Yeah, I misspoke earlier. My mind was running slow and my mouth too fast. I apologize. C: Drink some water to settle your mind.

C: When will YNGS air? LYN: I don’t know! :D Let me tell you friends, a lot of actors are also dumbfounded. I know you like to ask us actors when our dramas will air, but we’re in the dark and really don’t know. I’m guessing if you try to ask the production company, they wouldn’t either! Sometimes you’ll hear that a drama is airing tonight and then the next morning you find it didn’t. This is normal, so if you ask me when a drama is airing, I really don’t know. LYN: It’s been two years since I finished filming a couple of my dramas and even now I am getting notices to do voice acting or supplement for voice acting. It seems like everything is going according to plan and the OSTs are all recorded, but then... it’s just indefinitely about to air. So what time a drama airs is really hard to say. I can only tell you that I can’t tell you.

C: Do you have a variety? LYN: I do, we’ve been in talks. But I- I- Once I start in a drama crew I don’t have the time anymore. Varieties nowadays need two to three or up to seven to eight days to record. There’s no way the drama production is letting me off for that long. Especially since I am starting to accept male lead roles... So, it’s hard for me to go. The production doesn’t really give the time off. So the variety is hard to say, since I will be entering another crew soon. You all are afraid of me wasting my time at home, and desperately want me to enter a crew. Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing. You’ll see. When I pick projects, they’re usually dependable. If any news gets announced I’m sure you will be happy for me. I won’t be sitting around at home. C: Is it a modern or historical? LYN: Which one are you referring to? Are you talking about the one in the latter half of next year? That one... hasn’t come yet. Let me pretend. // This is called “I’ve been home too long and now I’m making fantasies”. I clearly don’t have work but I’m pretending I do. There are some people like that, and I am one of them.

LYN: If you don’t quite understand me, let me explain. I’m a workaholic, I really am. Just look at how I spent the past five years. I started off singing on the streets and slowly made myself internet famous. After that, I became a singer. Now I’m starting to be an actor. I’ve made it this far step by step. Do you think, if I took even one moment to rest in these past five years, I would have been able to make it to where I am today? Getting to work with all these comparative (to me) amazing people? I don’t want to say that I am putting a lot of effort into this; I just want you to know that I don’t want to let myself rest. I want to learn quickly how to make my way in this industry.  LYN: The people I’m working with now are all amazing, right? I started off as a busker on the streets. In order for me to make it here, if I rested at all in the past five years do you think I would have been able to walk this far? I don’t have a company backing me. I only have this group of fans who have kept me company all this way. I don’t have a company (公司/gong si), only fans (粉丝/fen si). LYN: I’m the type of person who gets anxious if they don’t have work. My old fans all know this. But can you see me being anxious right now? If I didn’t have work, and I hadn’t decided my next drama or made plans for the future- I’d be having a breakdown. Do you think I’d be sitting here so calmly, discussing this with you? I’d be here complaining, not telling you jokes. LYN: So, you can tell by my mood. If I’m relaxed then I have plans in place. Lately I’ve taken a break because I really do want to work on my album. It’s not like an OST, where I can just take a song someone else has written if I like it and just record a song and release it. Albums are complicated. The process of collecting songs alone is difficult. Another thing about me is that I don’t want the songs on my album to be like songs I’ve sung for OSTs. I’ve accepted many OSTs that I really like a lot. But if there are songs on my album that are no different from the OSTs then I’ll think, “What’s the point of releasing this song? This is exactly like an OST I can sing.” Choosing the music is hard. I hear too many songs every year, so it’s hard to pick one I really like. I’m really working on the album. LYN: I’m also going to start the voice acting for YNGS. I’m going to plan to give them 10 days for recording. For example, I’d go in at 10a-1p, grab a bite, then start again at 4-5p until 7-8p. It’ll be like working a regular job, for about 10 days. I want to get the voice acting finished in the coming week. I also have some OSTs I need to record and events to attend. I won’t be idle. Don’t worry- you don’t need to be anxious for me. LYN: Oh- I don’t need fan support for voice acting. Just want to let you know. If I go to the recording studio and there’s a group of you with banners chanting our fan motto... it’s not necessary. I just need to do my job and that’s it. LYN: Maybe in a few days when I go to the hospital for my physical, you can come give me fan support then. /laughs/ You can stand by the entrance and shout, “LYN, good luck on your physical!” or something like that.  C: Steal urine. LYN: ?? What does that mean? Are you a pervert?? You must be. I told you I was going in for my physical and you said you want to steal (my) urine?? /barfing sounds/ LYN: Unreasonable. Truly unreasonable. Oh my goodness. This is too perverse. C: Extreme sasaeng behavior. LYN: This isn’t even sasaeng behavior anymore. This is... /barfs/

C: Can you turn the lyrics off? LYN: What- what, are the lyrics blocking your sight to something? How about I make it smaller? This is fine, right? /sigh/ I’ll turn it off. Save you some face.

- - - - - - - - - -

-- break #1 (his friend is having a baby and he needs to take a look) LYN: Excuse me friends, I made you wait long. I’m back. Lao Wang had a son a while back, this time he had a daughter. It’s nice. C: Are they good-looking? LYN: Not better than me. /laughs/ Why does that feel low- I’m competing in looks with a child?? C: How many days apart are they? LYN: The last time they had a kid was... three months ago. Now they have another. It’s amazing.

C: You look young. You can go act as a middle schooler. LYN: Let me tell you, friends- lately I’ve been thinking I want to start “pan chuan” (counting prayer beads (?)). I just think it’s cool. I think it’s fun. Watching the string change over time is interesting. But then I was thinking, if I started to do this, wouldn’t it prove that I am crossing another...I can’t say “realm”, can I? I’m entering into the meditative mind and healthy body category. But my current category is as a “Disney-lover”! C: I’ve been doing this for many years already. LYN: Which means to say your age... is probably around mine, right? C: Elementary kids do this, too. LYN: Do they? I didn’t know. But I really bought a string online and later I’ll... play with them. // I met someone not too long ago, and they told me they had nothing fun to do. I suggested they count beads and they said that they didn’t want to because if they did that, they would enter into the “middle-aged” mindset. That’s how they described it, at least. I thought about it and... yeah, they were right. But if you’re telling me that even elementary kids are doing this now, then I think that this is the popular trend for now. Then, we’ll count! C: Don’t count them, “pan” me. LYN: Do you want to “chuan”?? // Wait- sorry. That sounds like a curse word. That is- Sorry. - /clears his throat and skips the topic/ ;; t/n: there’s some wordplay here, but idk LYN: I won’t. I seriously did research on this and these things need a high density. You’re probably not dense enough. Also there’s a process of going from white, to colored (oxidized), and then opened (?). I don’t really want to see you “colored”. I think I’ll forget it. You can “pan” yourself in the mirror. I won’t be participating.

C: Watch out for tendonitis. LYN: What do you mean- like when I’m moving them, this part of my hand is likely to get tendonitis? I’ll buy a machine to turn them. I saw that there are those things online. / Oh, was it “tenosynovitis”? Sorry, I read wrong. / But there are machines for this, so I was thinking of getting one. I won’t have to use my own hands. I won’t get tenosynovitis, it’s okay. // There’s another machine, where you can take each of the beads and there’s like a tube- you can put the bead inside and it will spin.

C: Nine-ge, don’t wash your face in the morning just take the beads and rub them on your face. LYN: Why are you so dirty? That would be so gross. We want the bead’s natural oils. Maybe this topic is not interesting to many females, but we want the bead’s natural oils, not your dirty face oils. That’s no good. Forget it, let’s not.

C: Tell Daimi to count them for you. LYN: Daimi? I’d be lucky if she didn’t take them for peanuts and eat them. 

LYN: I thought you wouldn’t be interested, but it seems like a lot of you women- and men, there are bound to be men here too, right? - you all like to play with this. When my string arrives, will we be considered “pan”you? [t/n: play on the word “friends” (peng you)] Or “chuan-you”? I don’t know. We can discuss it. LYN: I didn’t know elementary school kids were interested in this, too. I honestly don’t know too much about it myself. There aren’t many grade schoolers in the group of friends around me to begin with. So I’m not sure what they’re into these days.

- - - - - - - - - -

C: Is your dog male or female? LYN: She’s a girl. I won’t own boy dogs. I used to own a boy dog, a long time ago. I took him out for a walk and all of a sudden he set his eyes on another dog and took off. He was a bigger breed- a sheepdog (Scotch Collie). He took the leash and started chasing a female dog. I ran across 8 hilltops- I was walking him up in the middle of nowhere- it was up in the mountains, and there were giant storehouses. He took the leash and ran and I chased him across three hilltops. I was this close to a breakdown, I almost threw up and I couldn’t catch him. I lost him and it scared me so much. Even /I/ got lost in the chase, because I wasn’t familiar with the area. I was chasing my dog, and my dog was chasing another dog. After all the running I lost the dog AND my way. I ran for about ten+ minutes. Do you know how helpless I felt, surrounded by unfamiliar terrain, lost dog and lost way? So ever since then I learned my lesson for having boy dogs. LYN: After that I only ever owned girl dogs. Youmi... Daimi... and there’s was also a cocker spaniel, whose name was also Youmi. I had two dogs named Youmi. The original had died, so I bought another one immediately so the love could be transferred. [t/n: if I recall, he didn’t want his grandparents to be too sad that Youmi (original) had passed away.]  LYN: All female dogs.

C: Did you ever find him? LYN: Later, he came back on his own. It took ME a while to find the way back home- I really ran across three hills before I found the path and went home by myself. I went home and cried to my mom that I had lost the dog and that I almost got lost. But when it came around nighttime, he came back on his own. That dog was so smart. People could hold his leash as long as I was there, but if I wasn’t he would go crazy. He was so smart. But in the end that dog... you probably know how it went. He ran away. That’s why people tell you- you can’t trust men. If they so something wrong once, they’ll do it a second time. He ran away, and didn’t come back this time. C: It was a BE. LYN: That’s an appropriate description, yes. At the time I was really sad about it, I cried for a few days and didn’t own a dog for a long time after.

C: He went to become someone’s son-in-law. LYN: He was a really handsome dog, but unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of him. You know sheepdogs- they have long snouts and long hair. Usually they’re all cream and black, or brown, right? But he was black and white. If there were a litter- only one of them would be patterned like that. It was so pretty. LYN: ! He wasn’t a Border Collie, though. I know what you’re talking about- Borders are black and white. He was a Scotch Collie, but black and white. Wow, he was so handsome. // I know the difference between a Border and a Scotch. He was the only one of the litter with that coloring- he was very unique. Very special.

C: What breed was Youmi? LYN: The first was a cocker spaniel. The second was a toy poodle. The one now is a schnauzer. After raising the cocker first, I discovered it was better to own a dog that didn’t shed as much. Schnauzers don’t shed as much- only the undercoat- and nor do toy poodles. These dogs are easy to clean up after, they’re small and smart, and don’t need to be walked as much.

C: Why don’t you like big dogs? LYN: Wait- look, I just said that I liked dogs that don’t shed as much and someone in the chat said, “Ning-ge, I also don’t shed a lot. Raise me.”  I’m guessing in not too long someone is going to pick up on this topic. LYN: Don’t you lose hair? I don’t believe there’s one person here who can say they don’t shed hair. We all do, more or less.

- - - - - - - - - -

C: Ning-ge, this special effect looks like “spitting pies”. LYN: ?? What is that? There are small orbs flying at you, so you think I’m “spitting pies”? I don’t always make “pies” (pipe-dreams). When have I made a pie for you? There aren’t many. The first is my abs- that’s going to be fulfilled this year, isn’t it?  C: “Stream until we throw up.” LYN: It counts if I do, too. Someone earlier wanted to steal something of mine, didn’t they? I threw up, then. If I throw up it counts too.

LYN: I saw a comment in the group chat that read, “Ning-ge is streaming today. If someone pushes him to stop streaming, I curse them to eat instant noodles without the seasonings forever.”

C: Disney stream; Carnation Festival 3.5. LYN: I had explanations for those, didn’t I? I told you about the Disney stream the last time- it’s not convenient for me to stream at the park. It was going to be okay, but lately their business has been booming. It became inconvenient for me to stream at the park because we wanted to avoid any unnecessary crowding. C: Recipe for marinating meat skewers. LYN: I’ve been busy lately... watching dramas, going to concerts... XD I’ve been busy with that lately. As for the grilling recipe, I’ll see if there’s a time I want to go out and relax. Maybe when I’m done with voice acting for Ning Yuanzhou- I’ll film a video, then. LYN: I saw someone asking me where I’ve been- I’ve really been busy as of late. And this work isn’t on a set schedule.

- - - - - - - - - -

C: After going back to Beijing you look more lively. LYN: I’ve been in Hengdian for so long that I’ve felt stifled. I honestly really like Hengdian, but the problem is- it’s a town. There’s nothing wrong with it, it’s just very small. It’s mostly the food- I’ve had so much of it! All the restaurants and take-out... I’ve been there for three years. Think about exactly how many good restaurants there can be. I’ve already eaten my fill. Also, there’s no place I can shop around! Sometimes I like shopping and buying clothes- give myself some motivation to keep working hard. I’ll go shop and say, “Wow, these clothes are so expensive! These shoes are expensive! I should buy them. Then, I can continue to work hard so I can afford them.” That’s what I do when I shop. LYN: I like living in the city. I can eat whatever I want, whether that’s skewers, hot pot, stir fry, Shanghai cuisine, Hangzhou cuisine, etc. I have choices. But the problem is that in Hengdian, there are only so many shops. You don’t really have a choice. All I did there was eat. I felt like I had enough. But after coming back to Beijing- there’s nothing really fun to do here, either, but- at least I can shop. As for “play” I like... arcades. Last time I was in Beijing I played with VR or escape rooms- those are fun. 

C: ZXD-laoshi is here. LYN: Welcome.

- /talks a little more about what he’d like to do in Beijing while he can experience the freedom of having choices: to eat/shop/play./ LYN: I’ve just been in Hengdian too long. Now that I’m back here I’m letting myself go, a little. I like the feeling of living in a big city. I like the bustle. I’ve asked my friends before, where they like to go for travel.One of them told me they go on hikes- to see the mountains and watch the rivers; how on the way there’s a part of the river that’s really beautiful. After hearing that, I didn’t have any reaction/feeling for it. They in turn asked me where I like to go for fun. I told them I like to go to Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou. They replied, “You’re not going there to work, are you?” LYN: I’m just the type of person who has to come to a bustling/busy place to relax. Why? Because my hometown is a tourist city I’ve grown up along the river bank. Behind my house is a mountain. I would ride my bike along the river to work everyday. Do you think I’m missing any opportunity to see the mountains and rivers? My home is a tourist city and I’ve grown up seeing the mountains and rivers. Now I’ve finally entered society and am doing well for myself, do you really think I want to return to see the mountains and rivers in my downtime? I’ve never seen such a flourishing city when I was little. I like the hustle and bustle of the city. I don’t want to go back to see mountains and rivers- I’ve seen enough. LYN: It’s been thirty years and I finally made it to a big city. Now you want me to go back? You’ll find that a lot of people- once they become wealthy, they want to “return to the natural state”. They’ve had enough of the luxurious meals, and now they want to go back to the simple things. But friends, I’ve had the simple things all along. I can finally eat meat, have the chance to have abalone, and you want me to go back? It doesn’t agree with my plans.

C: You’re trending. LYN: Really? :) I don’t believe. I don’t deserve it. LYN: LYN, trending? I don’t think he’s worthy. C: The Entertainment Tab. LYN: What’s wrong with that? C: #41. -- 我不配 (I’m Not Worthy) LYN: A sang a whole verse of this song just for those three words. (I’m not worthy.)

LYN: I’m trending, though? ~ Honestly, I think that being trending or not isn’t important. I think the most important thing is that if by being here streaming, I am able to bring to you some happiness. As a singer or an actor, the most important thing is to have good works for you. A trending topic is not something an artist- whether singer or actor- should be in pursuit of. You need to have truly good works, works you’ve put your heart into, works that can touch other people’s hearts- to give to everyone who supports you. That is what you, as an artist, should be pursuing. So this trending topic... is nice to have, but it’s not a big deal if I don’t. Friends, let’s let our work do the talking. ~  LYN: Who doesn’t know how to say nice things? Those are the basics, aren’t they?

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

C: I learned. Thank you, laoshi. LYN: Are you an artist? If you aren’t then there’s no use in you learning this. Do you want to be celebrity??

- - - - - - - - - -

C: You have too many buttons. LYN: ... Okay. I’ll listen to you. Next time I’ll buy a shirt with a zipper. This shirt if full of buttons. If you think they’re too much, then from now on I’ll buy shirts with zippers. I think they exist- I’ve worn one before. LYN: Don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking. We are just a normal stream. I am a singer/actor. This can ONLY be a normal stream. Or are you telling me that you want to see something immoral in my VERY MORAL stream?? I see right through you. I’ve already turned of the gifting option, so there’s no paid content here. I don’t try to sell you products, either. There’s no way you’re seeing any paid content.  C: No~ That’s not what we were intending. We’re just afraid that you’re hot. LYN: I have an air conditioner. It can make the room 1° in a second. I’ll turn it on blast. I don’t need you to worry. I’m not hot. Later I’m going to put on a down jacket.

C: You’re so hot that your face is protruding oil. LYN: This has nothing to do with the heat. I just have naturally oily skin. I even looked it up online: Is it bad to have oily skin? I went to look up the pros and cons. The con is that I am more likely to produce oils and accumulate sebum on my face. Now I have to advise you to use this very good selfie stick- lol. No, I’m not going to push any products on you. It’s just that if you produce too many facial oils, your pores are more likely to become blocked and get acne. But the pro is that you don’t appear to age as quickly. That’s just what I need. I only just started taking male lead roles in the past two years. I really hope I can film a few more. LYN: There were some people trying to advise me, “LYN, can you stop playing male lead roles? We can accept you playing second male lead, but not main.” I can’t make that promise. Because... I have oily skin. I want to make the most of it and shoot a few more male lead dramas while I can. Is that okay? Please, I’m begging you. Stop trying to talk me out of it. I can’t promise you on this, but maybe on other things. Like that person earlier who said that I had too many buttons- I promised them that next time I would wear a shirt with a zipper. But on not playing the male lead, I can’t promise. I’m sorry. I’m the type of person who can understand and consider everyone’s feelings, but your feelings are... not feelings but gutsy demands. [t/n: this is a play on words.] I can’t promise you.

LYN: I really did see a comment like that, though. “LYN, can you stop playing male leads? I can accept second male lead but not main. I can’t stand it. I’m throwing up.” /laughs/ When I see comments like that, friends, it makes me happy. Do you know why? This is the mindset and logic you should have in order to keep living. LYN: At the very beginning when I wanted to be a singer, people were telling me, “You’re just internet famous, what makes you think you can be a singer? What do you think you’re doing on stage competing with other singers? You’re just internet famous- go back to your streaming room.” After a few years, I’ve finally made it as a singer- something people acknowledge me as, and now I’ve gone into acting. People said, “Why are you acting? You’re just a singer- just do your jobs and sing your songs. You don’t know your limits. What are you doing trying to be an actor? Other people have studied for so many years at a performing arts school and can’t find a role. What are you, a singer, doing acting? That’s ridiculous. Just because you have some fans doesn’t mean you can be an actor.” Some time passes again. “Why are you acting as the male lead? Just stay the second male lead!” LYN: You know? Unreasonably, they are- step by step- continuing to acknowledge me. So the fact that they have already accepted me as an actor makes me very happy. LYN: No matter what industry you’re working in, you have to have a good mindset. You have to consider things from all sorts of points of view. You can’t make trouble. If you live thinking, “Why are they saying this about me? I only want to be a singer... /cries/” It won’t help you. No one will pity you. Friends, you have to learn this in your lives as well. Don’t complain. You can, but not all the time. There’s no use. Complaining all the time will only degrade you. You have to think about making a place for yourself. You have to use your brain. Make your words powerful. Move forward. Alright? - C: /tries to make a joke on the word “complain” (bào yuàn)/ LYN: You don’t perhaps think that you’re very funny, do you? I hope not.

- - - - - - - - - -

C: We’re listening to music now. LYN: Yeah. I’m your music DJ, Modern Brothers Xiao Ning.

C: How long will you stream until? LYN: I don’t know. I’ll just keep streaming and stop when I’m tired. I’ll continue to stream for now. My stream doesn’t really have specific content or fixed rules that state I have to promote something. But, I do want to recommend something to you... hold on. LYN: ! Attention, attention! We have some good news! Tomorrow, Modern Brothers Liu Yuning’s song “The Remaining Life (余生)” will be online. This song is the ending theme from the drama “Gone with the Rain” (微雨燕双飞). The broadcasting station- everyone listen up- is Youku! This song will be online tomorrow- I hope that when it’s up you all can take a listen. Thank you! ! LYN: That wasn’t too much, was it? But it’s true that I sang the OST and they paid me for it... My main thing is price:product ratio. We deal in after-sales services, here. Tomorrow the very good drama Gone with the Rain will be airing- please watch it. Back from the Brink is also still airing. If you haven’t checked that out yet, please do. 

C: Promote all of your OSTs that way in the future. LYN: I’ve always promoted them this way. You must be new here. If you want to be able to get along with people in this industry, you have to know where you can fit into the ecosystem. For me, I am good with after-sales services. All of you are consumers. You might be looking for me to sing an OST, a platform, or brand. All of them are consumers. To a consumer, what is the most important aspect of a product? The first is good quality. The second is having something you can really make use of. The last is everything that comes after- the maintenance and upkeep. The after-sales services. As long as the after-sales is done right, and customer service is done right, you will always have good business. Remember that. C: Ning-ge, you’re a 4S shop now? LYN: I’m an OST shop. Mine is different from a $s shop- as long as you maintain upkeep everything is fine. But OSTs are a single-use thing. They don’t need upkeep. The OST doesn’t come back to me to change its engine oil or brakes. I don’t need to so anything after. It’s a single-use product that you can have for a lifetime. In terms of quality, it’s a treasure. I will definitely sing it to the best of my ability- as long as I can, I will but 110% into singing it. Secondly it’s single use, but it’s not as if you can keep listening to the song and then later think that it’s no good. I want to deliver a good price:product ratio, and you never have to worry about after-sales services here.  LYN: My after-sales does not only include promotion of the song and drama during my streams, but also when I attend galas. That is, it’s entirely possible that this song will come up again during my performances. It will be repeatedly broadcast to everyone. This way, we can keep reminding people of the drama. Give them something to remember the drama by. That’s my price:product ratio.

C: How much is it to advertise? LYN: It’s free for the consumer. All after-sales is on my own dime. There’s not much expense that goes into it, I just spend a little more time talking. Honestly, it’s just money for toothpaste and toothbrush. XD Other than that, there are no other expenses. I don’t collect more fees.

C: What are your rates? LYN: I get paid for OSTs like this, friends. It’s calculated by- what’s it to you?? You’re inquiring about my worth, now? How amusing. LYN: I hate these types of people! The ones who don’t buy anything, but ask about the price first! How annoying! // If you’re not going to buy anything, don’t ask! If you’re going to buy something then just buy it. If you’re not, then why are you asking??  LYN: XD I don’t know why, suddenly I went crazy. But anyway, don’t ask- that’s a business secret, I can’t just tell you. But as to whether it’s expensive or not... I can only tell you, it’s not cheap. :)

C: A business secret? LYN: It’s not a secret. It’s just that my group and I have been working for such a long time together, plus the fact that I’m my own boss. For a lot of things, I don’t need to follow a set business practice. I’m not doing things to further my company- like accepting jobs in order to pay my employees. I haven’t reached that point because I don’t have many employees to begin with. It’s mostly just me- and I can do a lot of things at once. Like promotions- I can do 30% of the work on my own. That means I can afford to hire one person less, right? This applies to other parts of the business as well. We don’t need to accept any jobs I don’t want to in order to further development.  LYN: When I get OSTs, it goes through this process: 1. What drama is it for?, 2. What platform is it airing on?, 3. I’ll listen to the demo. Of course, the song is always the most important but I have to understand the project first. If I like the song, I’ll accept. If I don’t like it, it doesn’t matter how much they offer. It has nothing to do with the money- if I don’t like it, I just won’t accept the job. The first step is never to ask about the price. I’ve encountered companies that started off like that, but I felt that approach is very... I don’t want to comment. For the most part, people usually do not ask about the price from the start. Usually it’s introducing the project and sending a song demo. If you like it, we’ll negotiate the price. If I don’t want to accept the job in the first place, there’s no point in asking how much they can offer me.

C: They’re afraid they can’t afford you. LYN: The investment in making a drama is very huge. At the least it’s tens of millions and at the most it’s a couple billion. They’re not lacking the funds. It’s not as if a single song will break the bank.

C: Then, do you have a discount for OSTs on 6/18? LYN: Do you need a discount for my OSTs? Oh my goodness... Okay, let’s do this. There might be some video production bosses in my stream now. I have a discount on OSTs on 6/18. If you buy 300RMB’s worth, you’ll get 20RMB off. Alright? If you want OSTs, please place your orders on 6/18.  C: The second song half off. LYN: No, that’s not worth it. Each song is its own price. C: Buy 300RMB for 20% off. Can the discounts stack?  LYN: So you mean, if a song were 600RMB instead of 300RMB? If it’s 300, you get 20 off, so if a song were 600, you’d get 40RMB off? Is that what you mean? You can do that. It stacks. 

C: Ning-ge, don’t say any more. If you keep on, you’ll be at a loss. LYN: This friend is considering it from my point of view. That if I let the discount stack, then I would lose out. They’re looking out for me and letting me know I would lose profit, right? LYN: ~ Actually when I hear you say that, I’m touched. I think this friend is a really honest person. In such a chaotic world, you really need to cherish when you meet such a person. Even if I make good on my word and let you take 20RMB off of 300RMB on my OSTs, have you ever encountered such a sale in the real world... but the caveat is that they raised the original price? Then, in fact, though they are selling very many- it’s at even more expensive prices than usual, disguised as a sale. Of course, I wouldn’t do that to you. ~

- - - - - - - - - -

-- break #2 (no excuse, he just needs to use the restroom) LYN: You’re still commenting on this “spitting pies” effect, so I’ll change it for you. I have a “ghost story” effect, do you want to see it? :) LYN: But there are a lot of women in my stream, I’m afraid that they will be scared. If I put on this effect they might get so frightened they will cry. It needs to be paired with music so that you can feel the chill. Let’s play this. It’s not very frightening, don’t be scared. LYN:  It’s not as scary as you think! If it’s too scary my weibo will be in violation. I’m an old streamer already, I understand this much better than you do. It can’t be too scary- no blood or jump-scares here. The “scary” I’m talking about is not the “scary” that you are thinking of. I was just exaggerating. You need only believe 20% of what I say. LYN: Alright. Three, two, one- - /error/ LYN: It’s not supported? Why is it telling me that?? Huh? What’s happening? LYN: Oh, well. It’s not supported. This is a flop. // ?? But I tested it out today and it was working?? /clicking around/ Oh, it’s this one. It’s not scary, though.

LYN: It wasn’t scary. C: What was that? Failing eyesight? // That was it? LYN: Friends, if you’re going to be like that then I’ll do a super scary one! I’ll make you cry in fright!! Friends, I’ll show you what is truly “terrifying”! Let’s do it, I’ll play a quieter song, otherwise the mood will be wrong. Friends. Three, two- I’ll let you see the scariest thing in the world! THree, two, one! - /error/ LYN: ?! “The special effect is unsupported.” /feeling stifled/ Okay, I found one equally as scary. Let’s try again. Three, two, one!

LYN: Sorry, it flopped. The stream doesn’t support the effect. Because this is on a horizontal screen. Next time if I’m streaming vertically, I’ll show you the terror.  LYN: There are a lot of different ones I can use, though. /shows them off/

LYN: /laughs/ What IS THIS??? This one really IS terrifying. Oh my goodness...

- - - - - - - - - -

- /someone tells him he's trending, still. but only in the entertainment tab. he thanks everyone for the trending topic anyway./  LYN: I was wondering what you were talking about- I almost threw my phone. [t/n: bc they told him he was trending, but he couldn’t find it on the main page. XD]

LYN: I feel like my face is very bright. Maybe this is TOO MUCH oil. Let me find some blotting paper. This is too much. I know we were talking about oily skin types earlier but this is too much- I look greasy. LYN: Is it better now? Not as greasy? C: Ning-ge, that’s called dewy skin. LYN: No, it’s just grease. That’s how you can tell a household is wealthy. I remember a story I was told when I was little. There was someone very poor, who wanted to pass themselves off as wealthy. They would take a piece of pork lard and rub it on their face before they went out. When they went out, they could say that they had just eaten. It would make it seem as if the household was wealthy enough to eat meat. I am like that, too.

C: You haven’t changed the special effect. LYN: It’s alright. This one is plenty scary enough.

C: Ning-ge, you’ve played this song so much I know how to sing it. LYN: Come here and sing it, then. Sing. Come on, sing! I thought you knew how?? I gave you the mic, but you can’t sing it, huh. C: Connect the mic. LYN: Er... /shaky sigh/ Connecting the mic... uh... The thing is weibo streaming is not as complete on desktop. If I were streaming from my phone, we could connect- it has that capability- but the desktop doesn’t. If one day I stream from my phone, I’ll spend that whole day connecting the mic with you all. We’ll chat. We can give it a try.

C: Is that a pie, too? LYN: It’s not a pie! It’s just because when I was connecting with people before, they didn’t want to. I didn’t see the harm in it, I just wanted to get some interaction, to play. I wanted to be different from others. We can chat and communicate, because I see people connecting mics often. It’s an effect of streaming and a mood maker. There’s no reason why we can’t. But the prerequisite is that I have to connect with a “normal” person. Otherwise, it’s quite fun. Even if you aren’t my fan, you can come chat with me. It’ll make the stream more meaningful. If I happen to accidentally connect with an anti, like the type who want to curse me out- no, not those- like the kind who wants to back-talk me. I really hope I can meet someone like that. We can chat. I want to see if I can win over them, and make them my fan. LYN: I’m someone who’s really good at arguing. /laughs/ Back when I was working in the restaurant if colleagues were fighting or talking about some logic, I was amazing. It was like a debate- I could lay out all the logic for them. But it’s been many years since I last dared to fight with someone. I want to test if I am still able to. Of course, not the type of fighting by cursing, but teaching you a lesson within the realm of reason.

C: Have your skills regressed? LYN: I think they have. Because at this point a lot of things don’t matter anymore- it doesn’t matter if I win or lose. Not to say that it’s not important... it’s very unimportant. If it doesn’t concern me directly, I don’t see the need to make it a focus for my attention. There’s no meaning in that. Sometimes I might mention a topic in passing during my stream- and that’s only because they became a topic of conversation. Otherwise what else would I talk to you about? You can say that I look young. I say thank you. Then what else? LYN: I’ll talk about a lot of things during my streams, but not because I care about them- though there ARE the ones I DO care about... It’s just because they become a topic for conversation. I can turn them into jokes and tell you about them during my stream. You find it interesting, and we can have a common ground.

C: Ge, you’re trending. LYN: Someone already told me. Entertainment, #31. It’s alright. Let’s be low-key. You don’t need to promote it. Being #31 on the Entertainment Tab means that people can get jealous. (sarcasm)

LYN: Let me go grab something to drink. I left earlier and saw someone say, “I can see the princess chair again!” LYN: I’m back. I told you before, this is part of a set of chairs at the dinner table and I grabbed this one to sit on. This is a rented house, so this is all the original furniture.

LYN: Drinking coffee at this time of night is okay, right? C: You’re not going to be able to sleep. LYN: No, it’s because when you talk too much there’s too much information and it jumbles my thinking. Drinking coffee will help me focus. You’ll notice that many people do their work in a coffee shop. Did you think that they had no place else to work? There is that possibility, of course. But it’s more because the coffee can help them focus. I have to stream, so I need to focus. C: It doesn’t look like coffee though? LYN: What does it look like then, herbal medicine? I don’t have enough energy to stream, so I need to drink herbal medicine to supplement my stamina? Shan yao, dang gui, and goji?

C: Ning-ge, are your glasses magnifying? LYN: /sigh/ Do you mean to say that my eyes are so small that I’ve purposely replaced the lenses with something that will magnify and make my eyes look bigger, as a sort of physical beauty filter? To make my eyes look bigger? Is that what you mean? I can make my eyes big- they’re not always small. /opens his eyes wider/ Are they small? No. LYN: I’ve worn these glasses today to go with the rest of my outfit. It’s not because I’ve replaced them with magnifying lenses to make my eyes look bigger. That’s hurtful. You’ve hurt me. :( LYN: See, who ISN’T cyber-bullied? I was just streaming, doing nothing- not trying to sell you anything or take your money- and I’ve still been cyber-bullied. They made fun of me and said my eyes are small. Friends, cyber-bullying is a real and scary thing. I’m not kidding. LYN: ! You’re laughing?? It makes me want to sing a song... “You’ve hurt me and played it off with a laugh.” I told you it hurt me, and you’re laughing?? -- 一笑而过 (Laugh it Off) [Na Ying] C: Sing it. LYN: I want to sing something different. I want to sing something more tender. Something that can promote love. Promote positive feelings. Let’s do it.

C: Ning-ge, what is the correct way to address cyber-bullying? LYN: For this, you should go baidu it. I can’t give you a proper answer. Everyone faces it differently. I don’t have the correct answer, but I still think you need to become stronger. If you become stronger, you won’t consider it as bullying. Let’s say you’re learning martial arts and are at the top of the game and someone punches you- you’ll think nothing of it. But if you are someone who does not work out at all and someone punches you- you’re going to get knocked out. But these punches carry the same amount of force. I can’t give you a correct answer, because this depends from person to person. The only thing I can tell you is to make your heart/mind stronger. For all else, abide by the law.

-- 這世界那麼多人 (Empty World) [Karen Mok] C: So gentle you don’t seem like yourself. LYN: Do you know why I was so gentle? Because this song is in the female key. So I could only sing it an octave lower. I can’t not be gentle. If I weren’t then I wouldn’t be able to sing the song. LYN: “So gentle you don’t seem like yourself”... so does that mean that usually in your eyes I am very... callous? No, right? I still LOOK upstanding though, right?

LYN: I used to listen to very loud or noisy songs. But lately I feel I enjoy listening to slow songs more. I imagine I have a glass of red wine, just sitting there listening to slow songs. I can’t say I’m emo, but I am in a very comfortable state. That’s a different way to relax. C: That means you’ve gotten older. LYN: /laughs/ I like listening to slow and gentle songs and that means I’m getting older?? What are you talking about? The songs I’m talking about are MBY’s. Not only have you offended me, you’ve offended everyone who listen to his songs. Let me sing one of his. I didn’t go to his concert for nothing; I came back having learned a song. LYN: What does “No lyrics yet” mean??? MBY, as a singer, is popular enough (to have lyrics) isn’t he? What else do you want?? How can you tell me you don’t have the lyrics? // It’s because I’ve selected the arrangement and since that’s the case the program can’t find the lyrics.  LYN: tsk. /sigh/ Fine, I'll find the lyrics on my phone. C: Ning-ge, didn’t you say you learned it? LYN: That doesn’t mean I have to REMEMBER THE LYRICS, though?? What I meant by “learned” is that I learned the melody. I learned the melody, not how to recite the song. LYN: The lyrics: “Every morning I wake up naturally at 7:30a. The wind chimes are ringing and the clouds are light.” He wrote his own lyrics, too. How well written! -- 平凡的一天 (Ordinary Day) [Mao Buyi] LYN: It’s not because I’m getting old. Just sometimes I think that a nice and quiet song is good to listen to. Of course, I still like those noisy and loud songs. They just give a different feeling. 

C: Sing one of Xue Zhiqian’s. LYN: Do I have to sing a song from all the popular male artists now? XZQ... I really don’t know his newer songs... /ning-ge.jpg/ Also all of his songs are very difficult to sing. I’m afraid to insult his works. Let me search. I’ll sing something for fun. Everything I sing during my streams are for fun. -- 我好像在哪見過你 (I Seem to Have Seen You Somewhere) [Xue Zhiqian] LYN: /shakes his head, no/ I don’t know this one. I’ve heard it before, though. It’s been such a long time since I last sang one of his songs. I used to all the time. I really like him. But it’s been a long time... Let me find an old song that I still remember. -- 方圆几里 (Within a Few Miles) LYN: I think I can do this one. C: 刚刚好 (Just Right) LYN: Let me listen. I used to be able to sing this, but I’ve forgotten now... // I know this one. I’ll sing it. -- 刚刚好 (Just Right) (Take 1) - /sings the first couple of lines/ LYN: Oh, this song! I was bragging to you earlier that I had improved, but I actually forgot a song I used to know before! Excuse me. I’ve sung this before, on a show. Let’s try that again. -- 刚刚好 (Just Right) (Take 2) LYN: It’s been such a long time since I sang this song. I suddenly remembered that I’ve sung it before. So... oh. But it’s already been 5 years since then. Thank you, XZQ-laoshi.

C: I’m dizzy now because of your swaying. LYN: If you’re going to say that, then I have no choice but to turn your words back on you. You’re getting old. What if one day we meet up at an amusement park. If you’re already dizzy after this bit of swaying, then you won’t be able to enjoy any rides with me. Your ticket will go to waste.

LYN: Now let’s find one of Zhou Shen-laoshi’s songs. I said in a stream before, that I would never sing one of ZS or Wu Qingfeng’s songs again. Their songs, to me, have it out for my life. I really can’t sing them. We don’t sing the same type of songs. I really can’t do it. But today, I want to give it a try. Friends, wait for me. I’ll go to the restroom and come back and then find a song to fight for my life with. I’ll find a very high song and lower it an octave to sing. - /singing Big Fish, but kinda scarily XD/ LYN: He’s singing about big fish in the ocean, but we’re talking about fish in the deep sea. He’s on top of the water, but I’m on the ocean floor. Where there are lantern fish. Deep pressure.

LYN: Let me play a video for you. I think I’m running out. I don’t have any new ones to play for you. Later I’ll download some more. Make do for now. Wait for me. -- break #3

- - - - - - - - - -

LYN: Alright, I’m back. C: Sing one of WQF’s.  LYN: Later I’ll pick one to try. Of course, I did see the comment telling me to sing my own songs. I’ll sing them, but I’m sure that my fans always hear my songs and are used to them. The other thing is, I just sing for fun in my streams. I’m not here to show off myself. I’m not here trying to gain OST work by showing you what I’ve got. My stream is here for company. I want to sing, play, and chat with you. That’s all there is to it. You don’t need to make it too complicated. No matter whose songs I sing, it’s a show of respect, right? It proves that I listen to and like their songs. Right? I’m paying my respects. The original will always be yyds, of course. So.. this is just for entertainment. LYN: Keep me company. It’s a... Tuesday night. We can play and have some fun. Let me find one of ZS’s songs... I’ll see if it has a track. -- 光亮 (Silver Lining) LYN: /misses the timing to start/ Is it really in such a high key?? This is too high, isn’t it? I was listening to the beginning chords and going over the key in my head. It’s already... up high. // Let me try lowering it an octave.  LYN: ... LYN: How about this- for the places I CAN sing in the normal key, I will. Once it gets too high I’ll switch to a lower octave. This is one method... Let’s try. -- 光亮 (Silver Lining)

C: WQF-laoshi. LYN: I’m honestly a little afraid.

C: Then, Zhang Jie-laoshi’s. LYN: All of his songs pretty such send me to the grave. His high notes are really so high. High notes are not my main thing. My main thing is the /starts singing the more rock-genre ‘爷们要战斗 (Men Fight)’/ Me and high notes go in opposite directions. LYN: 最美的太阳 (Most Beautiful Sun). Let me try it. // There’s no track for it. In this case... his copyrights are tight. C: 天下 (The World) LYN: Didn’t I sing that last time and my voice cracked? I can’t do it all. Remember, it went to my head? Someone had requested it the last time and, not knowing my limits, I tried. It got me worked up. I’ll try it. I’ll sing you a part of it. When it gets too much, I’ll stop. -- 天下 (The World) /stops right before the chorus/ C: Keep going! LYN: Uh.. it seems like you’re cheering me on. I just felt a sliver of support, then. LYN: Friends, there’s a saying that goes “见好就收” (quit while you’re ahead). People can’t be too greedy. If you continue... C: Lower it an octave. LYN: /laughs/ - /picks it up at the chorus; he did it!/ LYN: It goes straight to my head. I got worked up again. C: It’s okay. You can do it. LYN: Honestly, I CAN sing this song now. I just didn’t do it well, because I wanted to show you a comedy. Someone just cheered me on, again. Let me see if I can push through and get this song finished. - /finishes it up/ LYN: I did my best.

LYN: Men- we always try to look tough. But we all know who’s really suffering, don’t we?

C: Sing it through from the start. LYN: I really can’t stand when people cheer me on. If you’re going to be like that, then I’m going to stop streaming. I’m going to sleep. Stop provoking me.

C: Can you see the comments clearly? LYN: I can. Do you think I’ve sung so much that I’m lacking oxygen and can’t see clearly? No, I’m fine.

C: Ning-ge, 左手指月 (Upwards to The Moon). LYN: HAHAHAHAHA. Upwards to the Moon? Um.. .why don’t I just take my head off and give it to you? You’re asking for my life here, aren’t you? I’ll just give it to you. Is that not enough?? My head is yours. Upwards to the Moon... C: Ning-ge, let’s do an octave lower. LYN: You saw right through me. -- 左手指月 (Upwards to The Moon) LYN: Friends, here’s an interesting thing. I can’t even sing it with it lowered an octave. I can’t even sing it on a lower octave. Think about the concept of that. Let me try again. If nothing else, I’ll go all out. - /tries again/ LYN: This song hurts. Singing this song makes me feel like I hurt a lot. It’s not a physical pain, but a mental pain. Ahhh~~! Just these few words- you feel an inexplicable pain. LYN: Very painful. Excruciating pain. LYN: Alright, it;s not worth it. Let’s forget it. C: Bro, forget it. LYN: Are you calling me out?! LYN: I really don’t need to do this to myself. It’s enough already.

C: Ning-ge, you still have to record for your album tomorrow. LYN: Tomorrow... I’m not recording for my album. I have other work, tomorrow.

C: A Mayday song. LYN: Let me see if there’s a track. -- 夜訪吸血鬼 (Interview with the Vampire) LYN: This accompaniment is too noisy. :| But I really like this song. - /thinks of a different song/ -- 你不是真正的快樂 (You Are Not Truly Happy) LYN: I don’t really know it. So... I’ll stop singing it. C: Watching you sing this makes me really happy. LYN: I am very happy, but You Are Not Truly Happy.

LYN: I see you spamming “十年人间” (Shi Nian Ren Jian/DMBJ), but I really don’t know how to sing that song. I’ve heard it, but I don’t know how to sing it. Maybe if there’s a chance the next time I’ll sing it, then.

C: 黑夜一束光 (Praying) LYN: I won’t sing it now because I’ll have a performance in a few days that I’ll be singing it at. In order to leave you with some sense of “freshness”, I’ll save it for my performance. LYN: I’ve gone through all my songs and none of them really have that bright/positive feeling. I’ve mostly sung OSTs, so the majority are emotional songs. Those songs aren’t suitable to sing for particular occasions. I wouldn’t sing “你說愛情啊 (You Say Love)” at a school. Would I be encouraging them to start dating?? That’s not very uplifting. I’ll go to a school and sing 余生只想握紧你的手 (I Want to Hold Your Hand for the Rest of My Life)?? LYN: 意气趁年少 (Be Earnest While You’re Young) will work. It’s more positive, because it centers around learning. There’s a youthful feel, too. -- 意气趁年少 (Be Earnest While You’re Young)

C: Sing 初升 (Rising). LYN: I really haven’t sung this one before. Let me see if there’s a track. // There isn’t. /searches again/ There is. I’ve never sung it live before. Let me give it a try. If I crack then it does not represent my real ability- because this is my own song. -- 初升 (Rising) [Gen Z OST] C: You’ve crushed the original singer. LYN: Em, that’s overpraise. I AM the original singer. This is the theme song for the drama Gen Z. It’s a character song, and my first time singing it live.

- - - - - - - - - -

C: 云字诀 (Yun Zi Jue). LYN: I might not be able to sing it in my current condition. /searches for the track/ I can sing you MXT’s version? Oh, it’s the same version. Then, I’ll sing it. -- 云字诀 (Yun Zi Jue) [The Ingenious One OST] - /messes it up. starts over with the excuse he didn’t turn on the special sound effects/ LYN: Later I need to find someone to get these pictures on Kugou Music changed. What IS THIS??

LYN: I’ve already done Thermage treatment and don’t look like this anymore. ^

LYN: Change this picture out. What the heck. Look at these beady and small eyes and eyeliner. I can’t stand it. ^

LYN: This one’s okay. It looks like this fellow is emo. He’s a little depressed. Look at his eyes, full of gloom. His face is chubby, too. ^

LYN: Look at this. This is worse. Look at how big this face is. Oh, my goodness. He looks so bloated. Is your name “Liu Fu Zhong”?? Look at this face. ^

LYN: This one is okay. This one is good. He’s got a good jawline. This one doesn’t look as bad. It’s good. ^

LYN: This is from my concert three years ago. I’m waiting for the audience, looking worried that I won’t have many fans in attendance. ^

 LYN: This one was taken in the early days, when I was in a better condition. We took a whole set of “business” photos. ^

LYN: Look at this one. This one doesn’t want to live anymore. Pretending to be depressed, using his hand to hold up his head. In reality, the head is empty. Look at this guy- head empty. ^

LYN: This one is okay. It’s more recent. I look a little more lively, at least. You can see just a little bit of handsomeness on this face.  ^

LYN: This is also more recent. But at that time I was a little chubby. Look at this big face. It’s even this big AFTER the picture was shopped. Think about what it would look like if it weren’t?? ^

LYN: THIS you can say was when I was at my peak visuals. I took this photo as part of a set for a magazine; there was also a video. This was probably the peak of my visuals. I took these when The Long Ballad was airing. ^

LYN: This is okay. Also more recent. Golden-haired. The Disney look. It was pretty lively. ^ 

LYN: There’s no problem with this one. I think it’s okay. This was a while ago. You can see- his eyes are different. There’s something there. ^

LYN: This one’s a fool. /laughs/ Look at this fool. Look at these eyes. They sure are open wide. Open but soulless. This guy doesn’t have a clue what’s going on. ^

LYN: This is- kind/a little foolish with a side of wandering. He looks youthful, with hopes for the future. ^

LYN: This one is.. more mature. This was taken for the Jiangsu New Year’s event. You can say I was a mature artist by then. I do have eyeliner here, but not as “deadening”. ^

LYN: This one is.. pretending to be young. This should have been for the New Year.. otherwise I wouldn’t be wearing red. But I did look more refined. ^

LYN: This one... has some after-editing. Why do these just keep scrolling? This one is quite nice, though. Curly hair. Hong Kong-style. (?) ^

LYN: This one... he has a stick! Pretending to be Sun Wukong, or what?? At this point, he already has the eyes of an actor. They’re not like the one before, with nothing in them. ^

LYN: This is... over-edited. It’s.. too much. ^

LYN: This one was not too long ago! I look a little... chubbier, here. Look at this baozi-face. ^ LYN: Oh, we came back around. This is the worst one (the first one). LYN: Alright. LYN: /sigh/ LYN: Let’s sing a song. It’s called 云字诀 (Yun Zi Jue). -- 云字诀 (Yun Zi Jue) [The Ingenious One OST] [The Ingenious One OST] LYN: Thanks, everyone. This song is quite nice. I pretty much liked it after my first listen.

- - - - - - - - - -

C: I want to hear a Cantonese song. LYN: Don’t rush. Ehm... hold on a minute. Let me go grab something more to drink. I’ll sing for you after I come back. I’m running out of videos to show you, though. Because honestly this stream is running a bit long. I don’t have enough. You can watch it again. Wait for me while I get some water.  -- break #3.5 LYN: I’m back. Hold on, hold on. Let me find a song... (Stay with Me)

C: Where’s Daimi? LYN: She’s sleeping, don’t disturb her. She doesn’t have any schedule today. Let’s not disturb her. Let her sleep. Later, when she wakes up, I’ll call her over.

C: Did you see the ZY wrap trailer? LYN: What are you talking about? Of course I saw it. I acted in it, would I not go watch it? I’ve seen all the trailers for things I’ve acted in. It’s nice. I think in a few days there’ll be... no, never mind. I was just going to say there would be more content out in a short while. It’s a drama we spent several months working on, so I hope you can take a look when it comes out. LYN: Of course, YNGS as well- you have to watch. - /recites his lines from the trailer/ LYN: I remember it, because I only have so many. C: I support Ning Yuanzhou being abducted by aliens in the end. LYN: Have to taken a peek at the script? I admit it- at the end NYZ is taken away by aliens. The ending is a big suspense. He’s fighting with someone and in the very end, when it looks like he is about to win, a flash of light crosses the sky. A UFO appears and takes NYZ away. Why does it end like this? In preparation for a second season. The first part is called “Yi Nian Guan Shan”; the second part is called “Yi Nian Kai He”. Close (Guan) to Open (Kai). Mountain (Shan) to River (He). In the second season called YNKH- the UFO comes back in the first episode. NYZ has amnesia.  C: “Er Nian Guan Shan” is easier to remember. C: “Yi Nian Guan Si”. LYN: What is that?? If the first part is called “Yi Nian Guan Shan”, then the second should be “Er Nian Guan Shan.” The third part is “San Nian Guan Shan”. If we make it all the way to season 11, would it be called “Shi Yi Nian Guan Shan”? LYN: We should call it “Yi Nian Guan Qi” (Guan Qi, the character from SYXSSYX, who was “abducted by aliens”). C: Negotiating more scenes for yourself in a second season? LYN: No- our screenwriter is Zhang Wei-laoshi. She likes to use people’s names, and she has her own “Zhang Wei Universe.” I don’t mean any disrespect. It’s just that a lot of her male characters across stories have a connection to each other. The detailed people will have found out. If you watch her dramas you’ll find that some names appear across the universes. For example our drama will mention the name of a character in a different one of her dramas. What was the name of the male lead in A Dream of Splendor? I think it was Gu Qianfan, right? In this drama, my name is Yuanzhou. Qianfan and Yuanzhou- don’t you think there has to be some relation there? [t/n: part of a common saying] LYN: We’re all part of Zhang Wei-laoshi’s written universe. It’s possible that when she writes a script in the future, there will be a character called Ning Yuanzhou in it. The other day she posted something to her friend circle- I think it might have been at the wrap party and she complimented me! I forgot exactly what she said, at the time I had a bit to drink. But I promised her that if he character Ning Yuanzhou ever showed up in another one of her works, I wouldn’t just let it be a name on a page- I would come to act for her. I would cameo for her, as long as she continues to write and write about NYZ. - /fan makes a side comment asking about how much he drank.how many dishes he has to eat/ LYN: So, friends. Don’t think that I am being unfair only to you. Because I don’t exclusively makes “pies” for you, either. I have nothing against you, that I make “empty promises”. Don’t assume that just because ZW-laoshi is a very amazing screenwriter that I won’t make “pies” for her, too. No- all are treated equal. // After this story, do you feel more at ease? I’m not only like this to you. I make pies for other laoshis to eat, too. XD LYN: But if she ever comes to look for me, I really do have to go. How could I not?? But... I’ll probably have something else going on when that time comes. I might have something else to do... but it’s not for sure! If she asks me, I have to make the time. I have to make good on my promise.

C: You drank four cans already. LYN: It’s not four. I probably have more... Oh. It is four! You got me. Four, and a can of coffee.  LYN: Why are you keeping track of how many cans I’m drinking?? Are you going to take these to recycle? Should I mail them to you? C: You’ll get water swollen. LYN: What are you talking about? It’s a food thing to drink plenty of water. I don’t care about being bloated; I’m not going to be on camera tomorrow anyway. It’s fine. C: Give me the cans. I’ll sell them for money. LYN: Okay. Pay the postage yourself. I’ll send you these four cans, but pay the postage. C: The sugar content is high. LYN: No- this is just carbonated water. There’s no sugar/flavor. It’s just water.

C: The rising star of 2023- is that you? LYN: What an interesting question. I don’t get what you mean. From your language, I hear a story. That is, one day, you were surfing the internet when you inexplicably came across a fortune telling stream. The host posted an article that read, “In 2023, in this industry, there will be a rising star. A superstar will appear in the year of 2023.” They might have seen something like that, Am I right? Isn’t this story very complete? I extrapolated it out of just a few words. They probably saw someone post something like that. And then, in that moment, they thought that this prediction was describing me. They saw me streaming and they thought that they could see a purple aura from me. LYN: Look, I have lights here. So this friend thought, “Is it you?” Here’s the thing- I hope it is. If you ask me, of course I would hope its about me. Everyone wants to climb to the peak, right? But I’m guessing this “rising star” isn’t me. There are all sorts of highly skilled people are are just on the verge of popularity- why don’t you go ask them? It’s probably not me. You can go and ask them. I’m not- go ask someone else. LYN: I want to keep both feet on the ground, because I’m tall. If I climb too fast it might be too unstable. I’ll keep both feet on the floor- take it one step at a time to try one thing after another. I want to accumulate my viewers and their interests, and accumulate my own experience. That’s my path. Let’s not mess with any “rising stars.” LYN: Many stars pass in the blink of an eye. They’re shooting stars. So.. I don’t want to be a star. I’ll be... a little white rabbit. LYN: Now I want to gift you with a nice song. -- 感覺自己是巨星 (Think I’m a Superstar) [Mao Buyi] LYN: /to the tune of the song/ ~ Superstar, superstar we love you. Quickly, listen to us give you “rainbow farts” (excessive compliments). In our eyes, you’re the youngest. ~ LYN: So, friends. I would like to bear witness to exactly who this “rising star” is together with you. Who will it be? Let’s anticipate it! I’m also very curious! Let’s find out who it will be.

- - - - - - - - - -

- /Daimi barking/ LYN: Why are you being so mean? What do you have to be angry about? LYN: She’s awake. - /gives her the mic/ LYN: Weren’t you barking earlier? Come on, say something. Sing.

C: The rising star is Daimi. LYN: Are you talking about her? Let’s hope so. LYN: Once I said “rising star” she got angry- I mean- she woke up. I hope my female artist can be popular. 

- /Daimi, licking his arm/ LYN: Enough of that! She keeps licking me. -/Daimi tries to lick him again/ LYN: ! Do you want me to stop streaming? You’re trying to get me to stop, is that it? Okay, I understand. Sorry, friends. I need to stop streaming now because Daimi was pushing my hand away. She doesn’t want me to stream anymore. She doesn’t want me to stream- she’s about to eat my mouse. - /Daimi tries to lick his hand again/ LYN: Tsk. That’s enough...  - /makes her wave/

- /dancing/ - /promptly puts her on the floor/ LYN: /to Daimi/ Go play, go play. Don’t bother me. It’s time to work.

- - - - - - - - - -

C: Ning-ge, could you wish me well on my exam? LYN: Of course I can. I hope that tomorrow, or all of this week- everyone who is preparing to take the NCEE is in good spirits and can have a good result. Let’s amaze the world with one brilliant feat and reach for the stars. - /had said the proverb wrong, initially/ LYN: Excuse me. See- this is what an uncultured person will do. They’ll say the wrong thing. People who haven’t taken the NCEE will mis-read the phrasing. - /makes up for it by saying a bunch more (correctly)/

C: Ning-ge, could you bless me with passing the 16th level (?)? LYN: Am I a tortoise? Is my stream a wishing well? And I am the tortoise in that pond? You’ve come to me with your wishes? Then, why aren’t you throwing me any money? You should at least leave an offering, before making a wish. This is just... forceful wishing. What you’re doing is taking game money to throw into the pond, to trick me. LYN: I’m sure you’ll pass. Do well on the test! LYN: In order to become the “Rising Star of 2023″ like mentioned earlier, from now on I will change my name. I’ll be Liu Ziwei. Don’t call me Liu Yuning anymore. From now on I will be known as Liu Ziwei.

LYN: Friends, how many of you are watching my stream for the first time? How may of you are first-timers? If this is your first time watching or if you don’t watch often, you can subscribe to my weibo. I am Modern Brothers Liu Yuning. Here’s the thing with my streams- most of the time I’m speaking nonsense. Don’t take anything to heart and don’t fall for any tricks. If you take this too seriously then it becomes meaningless. That just proves that you are too innocent. Only believe about 20% of what I say here. Most of the time I will use an amusing or joking delivery to communicate with my fans and make the people who maybe don’t necessarily hate me stay a while. Just listen to my stream for entertainment. Don’t fall for what I say. Okay? I’m not capable of teaching you any lessons or opinions. Just listen for entertainment. C: Before you told us to believe 30% of what you said. How did it dwindle to only 20%? LYN: /sigh/ It used to be that I wasn’t very strict with what I said, so it ended up that people had a lot to hold against me. I was ridiculed for my words. Though it might not have been my intention, I was honestly too careless with what I said. So now my game plan is to say more nonsense and avoid more... sensitive topics. It’s fine as long as you are okay and I am okay, and everyone is happy. 

C: Will you sing a Cantonese song? LYN: I don’t know very many. Let me sing this for you. -- 无赖 (Rascal) [Ronald Cheng] LYN: Listen for entertainment. I’m a North-easterner, after all. My Cantonese is very poor. I know that. So.. it’s for fun. Someone earlier said “You’re Cantonese is skewing!” I don’t know what they meant by that, but probably that my pronunciation was off. It’s alright. 

LYN: Let me think... what other Cantonese songs do I know? What else do I know...? C: Once you start speaking the Dongbei dialect comes out. LYN: What else did you expect?

C: I’m a Cantonese person. I can say, it sounded very nice! LYN: You really are clever at speaking. “I’m a Cantonese person, I can say it sounded very nice... but it wasn’t accurate.”

C: First Love. LYN: Oh~ -- 初恋 (First Love)

C: I’m going to throw up. (bc of the video and swaying) LYN: Your age...? Forget about you- I’M a little nauseous. LYN: Is my stream over-trying to be cool? It’s slightly over. LYN: This is too eye-searing, yeah? Okay. Let’s stick with this effect for the... “middle-aged”.

LYN: I thought of a song just now. I REALLY really like it. -- 一生所爱 (Lifelong Love)  LYN: If there’s a chance later I’ll sing it properly for you. I don’t really have much strength left, today.

- /Daimi barks/ LYN: :| What are you barking at?

-- 倩女幽魂 (A Chinese Ghost Story)

LYN: That’s about it. It’s about time, friends. Thank you for keeping me company and for your support. I told you I would stream until you threw up. In terms of length, today’s stream didn’t let you down, did it? I accidentally saw a little earlier, how long I’ve streamed for. Right now it’s... four hours and thirty-five minutes. C: Don’t go! Don’t! LYN: I’ve been streaming for four and a half hours. That’s not a small amount. If i keep streaming /I’M/ going to throw up. You’re over there lying on your bed and snacking on melon seeds, but I’ve been over here yelling and singing, moving my mouth for four and a half hours! Now you’re telling me you don’t want me to go?? I’m going to throw up! I’m not streaming until you throw up, I’m streaming until /I/ feel like throwing up, now. Do you think you’re the only one who sees that violently shaking video and gets dizzy? I get dizzy too! I’m older in age- you all know that. C: You still turn it on, even though it makes you dizzy? LYN: I just wanted to give you the best experience in such a simple stream, didn’t I?? I didn’t want you to feel like I was just sitting in a room. I wanted to give you some stage effects, so that you can immerse yourself. I do this all so you can feel included- even this laugh sound. It’s all so you can immerse yourself in this room and the mood. Even though I’ve made myself nauseous- I still have to power through and stream for you. It’s all for the immersive experience, is that not enough??

LYN: It’s about time. If you still haven’t subscribed to my weibo, please do so. I am Modern Brothers Liu Yuning. I thank you all for keeping me company and for watching my stream. Even if you’ve only been watching for thirty minutes or if you’ve been here from the start. I thank you. I hope to see you in the next one, alright? I hope you had a relaxing, wonderful, and happy night. It was great to have you and I hope you had fun. See you next time! Goodnight, everyone!

[digital999placebo]

what are the other boxers’ backstories ? (as vague as you want to go). are they first gen immigrants like gil and ludwig or have they been in america for awhile ?

OMG HI!!! i hope ur ready for a wall of text. This is all up in the air rn, the ones I've thought about the most are Ludwig (duh), Alfred, Matthew and Ivan.

Alfred grew up on a farm in the middle of nowhere Massachusetts USA, n got p big bc of all the physical labour he had to do every day. His father had survived WW2 n during his draft had gotten interested in boxing, but never went above amateur due to an injury. Despite his father teaching him techniques n trying to get Alfred into boxing, Alfred never really cared for the sport, he wanted to be like one of those salesmen in expensive suits n cool cars that came by town every so often to sell what was claimed to b the latest trend in NYC. So when he was 17 he decided to leave home in pursue of higher education to become something. Unfortunately, he had undiagnosed dyslexia and dyscalculia which meant he had a hard time in school before dropping out entirely. He was broke and homesick. He had a couple of friends in NYC who enjoyed boxing and began to spar with them at a gym for fun when a profesional coach saw him and was like "ok ur sloppy as hell and leave too many openings, BUT if u let me train u for just a month i'd bet u could compete for the championship” and the coach was right. Alfred is nicknamed "Comet" bc his punches comes hard and fast and he has a record for the quickest knockout in boxing history. "Comet" also bc when a comet hits the atmosphere, u know, it's like this flashy thing in the sky n Alfred is flashy, he's COCKY, both in n outside the ring. He trashtalks his opponents before the match, verbally n with gestures taunts them in the ring, n shows no sportsmanship in his victories. If Alfred is fighting u know ur getting ur money’s worth, he’s an entertainer, he fights offensive bc that’s what ppl wanna see, his motto is “blood has never been so fun”.  A yea btw his coach is Arthur.

Matthew was born to a teenage mother and grew up in Canada. His dad wasn’t around a lot, even before the draft and even less after, which meant his mother had to work a lot to make everything work and since there wasn’t really many other adults in his life he often did what he wanted and skipped school frequently. He was an only-child so would spend majority of his time alone, taking long walks, skipping stones, drawing, window shopping, anything to pass the time. Since he didn’t want to bother his mother for money, he’d bet money that he could knock out some other kid, and used that money to buy stuff that he wanted. After a particular nasty fight, the state stepped in and deemed Matthew’s mother unfit to take care of a child and he was instead placed in a foster home. Matthew hated every second of it, the foster home wasn’t bad, but emotionally negligent and one day he said “fuck it” and decided to go back to his mother. He didn’t have a car or a bike or any other mean of transportation except his legs so he just started walking. When he finally came back home after 3 years in foster care and 2 weeks walking there, someone else had moved into his and his mother’s old apartment. They said his mother had begun dating some American not so long ago, and that he had convinced her to move to Washington with him. Matthew, having little else, decided to relocate to Washington. But Washington was big, and there were at least a thousand women with the same name as his mother. To make money he did what he had always done, he fought, and like Ludwig he got scouted in some bar at the age of 17. At first he didn’t want to go to NYC since the only reason he was in the US was to find his mother, but eventually yielded when he realised that if he became famous maybe his mother would see him in a newspaper somewhere n they would reunite. His nickname is “Scooper” bc he has a brutal uppercut.

Ivan is a third-generation immigrant whose grandparents fled Russia in the late 1800s. Both his grandparents and parents were musicians, all of them good enough to make a living off it and for Ivan it was obvious that he was going to grow up to be a musician too, he played the piano, trumpet, and contrabass. But then Ivan's father was killed in the last year of ww2, and Ivan's mother, now forced to support 3 kids n her own, had to abandon music and take up two jobs to make ends meet. Ivan lost most of his interest in music after his dad's death, but was dead-set on achieving the American dream of going from poverty to success. Since the only thing he really was good at was music, he tried his best to make it work, despite his efforts, it seemed he never could garner enough attention to make a living off it, he went to auditions, played for record companies, everything, but it just never became anything. He realised after a while that music just wasn't for him anymore, but had trouble finding anything else that he liked. Due to his size and intimidating demeanour, he was hired as a legbreaker for the mob (which paid good enough so his mother didn't have to work so much), and they were also the ones who put him onto boxing. Because of his association with the mob, nobody in boxing liked him, and it didn't help that he was very introverted. He tried his best to cut ties with the mob, but came to realise that it was harder said than done; he received bombs in his mails, he'd get shot at on the street, and relaxation just wasn't a part of his life. He actually has two nicknames, the public one "Bonecrusher" because he once hit an opponent's elbow hard enough to break his arm, and the one mostly used "Boogeyman" bc he's so scary to fight that he has his opponents TREMBLING as they climb into the ring. He also gets his gloves custom made bc his hands r so big.

[carebooks]

my S2 rewatch of HOA

so the thing about HOA is that the first couple episodes are always the weakest, it’s before the mystery begins and it’s not that interesting

i despise love triangles and the fact that couples break up due to misunderstanding so fabina breaking up so fast wasn’t fun for me

alfie was the best part of those first couple of episodes in his amber quest, the king tut outfit was iconic

i love bobby lockwood, sad to see him go, glad that it was for wolfblood

i should rewatch that after i finish hoa

joy’s storyline being completely fabian obsessed isn’t my favorite either, especially bc we see how organized and smart she is in planning events, that was fun, and we could’ve explored her having more tense moments around the teachers and victor.

though Klariza plays her with such charismatic acting that hey, Joy's in her villain era and she works it so well. im highly attracted to her when she's in control and scenes where she's just a plain bitch, like not signing up Mara for the competition. it's not a good thing to do obviously, still kinda hot in a villain way.

but anyway, all in all i hate making her into this almost wattpad-like character that is all about the boy and makes Nina into this horrible person that stole everything from her when there was never any build up to them being enemies. like never.

seeing her high-five mr. sweet was all around weird when you remember he was one of the adults responsible for her kidnapping

not even ms. andrews tries to apologize. come on daphne, you’re the one of these assholes i like (adults i mean)

i dont even like jasper all that much

WAIT NO IM SORRY TRUDY I DIDN’T MEAN IT YOU’RE A TREASURE AND IK I WOULD LOVE YOUR CHOCOLATE CAKE IF I HAD IT

i gotta say, victor playing young sarah’s message about ‘the atheneum is the place to look. lift the wings to find the book. hidden in this book of old, water of life and tears of gold.’

i recited that from memory

im just wondering, why did little sarah do that? record that message? did dad tell her about it? did she figure it out and did it herself? gimme context @frobisher-smythe if you got any

lets review some characters so far yeah?

eddie really doesn’t get the vibe that he’s in a boarding school with rules, it’s hilarious to see him make pancake runs in the kitchen and have victor catch him and him try to talk victor into it. he’s the newest kid so it makes sense especially when you count in his troublemaker personality. but still quite refreshing, i want to see him succeed one day, get victor to do a pancake run with him and get him to feel like a kid for once bc the guy is 95 and you best bet he didn’t feel like a kid even when he was a kid.

jerome is particularly interesting with his sister. he almost feels like a parent actually. poppy said so herself that she keeps his pictures on her phone because he was there for her, he came to recitals their mother flaked on, and he was there a lot. he tells mara he ‘trained her himself’ so he definitely spent time around her when she was little. and he takes her phone, keeps it, and if you rewatch the episode during the masked ball where she’s hiding and trying to get the letter and he feels betrayed by mara for her helping poppy do this, he sounds like a dad. he sounds like a dad trying to keep his kid out of trouble. and its really sad when you think about how he had to grow up fast. he’s been at boarding school since he was 5 years old, and the thing about boarding school is that it’s teenagers gaining some independence from parents, they’re alone more often despite the adult supervision, they don’t have their parents. jerome basically spent the better of 10 months every year since he was 5 without his parents. no wonder he became the way he is, and no wonder he tried to be there for his sister when she was growing up.

when he gets kidnapped by Rufus and he's fighting back, Rufus threatens to get Poppy as well and it's the absolute horror on his face that really sells it to me.

ngl, i feel bad for victor. rufus clearly sent vera with all the bullet points on how to sweeten up to the old bird and he is falling hard and fast. “smart and pretty lady likes to stuff animals AND she despises children? plus she cooks?” im surprised he didn't propose on the spot

idk about ya'll but i completely forgot about whether or not Vera really cared about Victor since i havent seen this in a minute. so lets talk about her. Vera's motives can be seen as though she's completely in cahoots with Rufus but really she's just a hired gun. he likes her, sure, but she genuinely believes that Rufus is insane. the whole 'becoming a god via the mask' is just too wild for her. think about it, from her perspective the Mask is a really old, really priceless thing she can exchange for lots of money but this old English bloke created a set of tunnels, why? bc rich people are weird. that's understandable, that's somewhat believable, the evil Senkhara ghost thing? pff, that’s going in the denial bucket. she denies it so much even after her frozen debacle. but even if she believed it all she wanted was riches in this life not the afterlife. and when he gets the wrong mask, he threatens to kill her, so she shifts her allegiances. get the mask, if this elixir thing Victor talks about is real then even better for her but overall? sell the damn thing and get rich. she might not have been 100% on Rufus or Victor's side, she was on her own side.

we’re finally at the chasm episode and they got the crocodile and i forgot this is where the rest of sibuna comes in!!! yeah!!

reminder that Eddie speaks fluent French. and so does Nina.

Alfie did an improvized interpreted dance for Ms. Andrews. it was glorious.

Victor reading Amber’s diary, “How can a man with perfectly groomed facial hair be so horrid?” as he proceeds to check out said facial hair in the mirror. fucking amazing

NOT AMBER FLASHING THE AMULET IN FRONT OF VICTOR BABE YOU’RE BETTER THAN THAT

not gonna lie, the phobia episode was so interesting when it came to Alfie. we love seeing his progress.

the fact that the Book of Isis was in the study the entire time, no one, not even Victor would’ve found it with the idea of the Mask on everyone’s head

Alfie being a genius with the itching powder

i remember someone posting about the episode where they all keep Victor awake to take the amulets off him, and man i agree, it’s a goddamn hoot

i love it when everyone comes together for something. reminds me of the episode of the cameras where alfie and jerome come up with staring at victor through them.

Alfie killing two birds with one stone, getting to do a fun jewelry heist with his best friend whilst scoring a point for Sibuna.

holy shit, guys, i think Alfie’s my favorite character.

you just know he had so much fun shaking that case.

when victor sleeps, he cuddles corbierre. its adorable.

again, some times i feel so bad for Victor this season, can’t see that Vera is clearly manipulating him.

I know a lot of people didn’t care for the goose chase and the other goose stuff. but the line, said by Alfie, “Alfie knows people.” when explaining how he got the goose is top tier for me

am i the only person thinking that Mr. Sweet feigned knowing Jerome’s dad because he was somewhat responsible for him going to jail? like idk, they were all in on it and pushed John under the bus? otherwise, why deny it and act all sus? @frobisher-smythe @mask-of-anubis thoughts?

damn, i forgot how long the hathor challenge took. between them all being hexed and trying to do everyday stuff with the hexes. nina gets real pushy and unlikeable but i mean i understand, she’s seriously under pressure, her and her friends lives are on the line and she’s the only one who isn’t hexed so she's the only one fully concentrated on the task, plus she feels massively guilty for doing all this. it’s bound to happen.

i suddenly remembered they need a cowbell or smth for this task. ugh, im not gonna lie, this was my least favorite one. probably bc it was just so long.

Jasper stealing the gem and Jerome declaring war. I don’t know why but it’s hilarious. Jasper you have no idea what you’ve started. i forgot that eventually Jerome and Jasper team up and that was actually pretty fun. Jerome started it out because of the Gem, bc Jasper stole it and then finds out that Trudy got kidnapped by this 'Collector', they're in cahoots now and y'know what, Jerome getting into this sketchy business is very-Jerome. idk it just fits his character, both he and Jasper have things to hide, and it's still about Egypt and/or the Frobisher-Smythes so it doesn't feel out of place, it's perfect.

Nina and Fabian hiding in the attic from Jerome and Jerome hiding under Vera’s bed from Vera.

when Sibuna + Jerome figures out that Rufus is back and then they actually decide to tell Victor is a pretty big deal. i really like it. because at this point, it's not about the Cup, it's not about the Mask, it's about Rufus. and that's never a good idea to keep secret. so instead, they immediately tell him, they tell him the truth about Vera, and big reminder that the number 1 rule in Sibuna is to not involve the adults. but they are all so terrified of this man that they know not to keep this hidden. and this time it's Victor who screws up by not believing them (but can ya blame him, all they do is lie)

reminder that during the scheme into giving Rufus a fake mask, Alfie was given the ‘replica’ to give it a new paint job so as to pass it off as the real one. so, not only did Rufus actually have the real one in his hands, throw it across the room, and dented it, but, out of all the Sibuna members, Alfie was the first one to hold the real Mask of Anubis.

and he painted it.

ok so, random thing but i’ve got to say, Klariza Clayton’s acting is incredible. i love Nathalia Ramos but some times certain scenes are left to be desired. but when Joy starts crying her eyes out, even when she knows she’s done bad, it’s heartbreaking and even relatable. Nina however, has to be written a lot in cliffhanging scenes that end up being more silly than serious by the next episode. but it's just a couple of scenes, not the whole show.

so, Victor Sr. died in pursuit of the Mask. does that mean he went through all the tasks? if so, how did they all get reset? and where are his bones?! did Nina just summon up his ghost out of nowhere??

i love how they all have good and proper reactions to Nina getting lost to the game. Alfie's freaking out, he's scared shitless. Patricia is yelling and silently crying. Amber's scared with shock that she couldn't even remember her steps to go back and her tears are much louder than the others. but not louder than Fabian's. he is an absolute wreck, sobbing the loudest and angry and just— just brilliant acting by Brad Kavanagh.

i've got to say, having Nina be benched first is weirdly perfect. it was a red herring that Amber was going to go down first, but instead, it was the main character. and everyone's feeling that loss. and it gives Nina a chance to talk to Victor Sr. and get some exposition about being the Chosen One and find out about the Osirian.

ok, so the next time they play the game, PROPS TO MY FAVORITE: ALFIE LEWIS MANAGING TO NOT GET SWALLOWED UP BY THE GAME BOARDS HE’S AN ICON, PEOPLE. NO ONE ELSE COULD DO IT

them all nominating people to bring over who are smart at chess but also needing someone ‘sneaky’

- Fabian picks Joy

- Amber picks Mara

- Alfie picks Jerome

- and Trixxie picks no one, vv Patricia

idk why but i liked that, they all had good choices, but Joy really was the one. glad she joined in.

i completely forgot that Trudy’s memory doctor was Rufus until he literally rips off the mask.

let me repeat that. Rufus Zeno. rips off his face. Scooby-Doo villain style. this is an actual thing that happened.

i completely forgot that Alfie gets taken by the game during Victor’s period as the gamemaster. ugh. Fabian, this was your idea, first Nina now ALFIE? you seriously suck during this task. buddy, come on, you were great for the spiderweb one but now? get your act together.

I FORGOT THIS IS THE EPISODE THAT JEROME GETS KIDNAPPED FUCK YOU RUFUS

hey Eddie, great Osirian instincts on being able to detect danger. *sarcasm*

the fact that Victor actually tries to call Sweet about Alfie's disappearance, and Alfie’s his least favorite last I checked (that or Eddie probably is) (some might say Nina but i think it’s mainly a rival thing rather than dislike) it tells you, just like when Alfie was immediately lost, Victor was beside himself, he refused to do this, hurting the students wasn't part of the plan. when you think about it, i don't think Victor really likes seeing children in pain, he was obviously abused as a child himself and then he took it out on Sarah, doing the same to her. he may enjoy punishing them with the most inconvenient cleaning supplies but actually hurting or killing any of them was out of the question.

AND THEN FABIAN MESSES UP AGAIN LOSING AMBER AND PATRICIA WHEN JOY'S THE GAMEMASTER BRO COME ON

FABIAN, MAYBE YOU SHOULD JUST NOT HELP?? YOU LOST NINA, YOU ALMOST LOST ALFIE, THEN YOU ACTUALLY LOST ALFIE, THEN THE GIRLS. NOTHING YOU'VE DONE IS GOOD DURING THIS GAME.

i honestly love how it comes full circle with Sarah’s doll riddle leading them not to the book of isis but to the key that led to the mask.

AND jerome’s gem being part of what completes the mask.

this season is fucking genius i swear.

AGAIN the idea that Senkhara was planning on having Nina wear it all along— it’s so deceptively obvious but no one ever expects it because we just don't question it. Amber asks what Senkhara even wants the Mask for anyway, she's dead. it’s so fucking cool

i think as a kid i understood that maybe Senkhara was tied to the Mask, that she needed Nina or something to unleash her so she could be free and then they'd find a way to tie her back or banish her

WE WERE CHEATED

I WANT THE ENTIRE SCENE OF ALFIE RUNNING THROUGH ALL THE TUNNELS WITH THE FAKE MASK W THESE TWO 90-YEAR-OLD MEN ON HIS TAIL

i finally got to hear the voices that Eddie's been hearing and the final one, "Find Nina," was Sarah's voice. (at least that's what it sounded like) that was so nice.

i also have a theory about Nina and the Dollhouse. what if Sarah wasn't actually watching them the entire time and Nina was actually unknowingly using her Chosen One powers? times where she legit asks the dollhouse for help, it lights up, after a while it feels like lazy writing for them to find answers quick rather than writing more clues for them to find. we've established that Nina can see the dead, she has 'the gift of sight' as Victor Sr. said. and Eddie can also see the dead, but he can also banish (and eventually have visions). so how do we know that Nina can't summon the dead as well? she constantly dreamt of Sarah, and now she's summoning her for information or help, only through a dollhouse instead of a crystal ball.

Nina telling Victor she had something for him and it was from his father, the utter confusion on his face as to how she could have possibly found this and her giving that message to him, "He says, sorry." as he holds it and weeps.

see, this is another reason to dislike S3, because when he's told that Nina won't be coming back he's glad of it, "she brought too much trouble" which ok fair, but you still wouldn't have gotten the cup because you had the wrong Chosen One, and never would've found the Mask anyway. she brings trouble for you but she's also the only reason things happen. and then he puts her down as being a 'bad influence' in front of Fabian the rest, and Fabian just explodes. like come on, the last time Victor saw Nina she was doing him a kindness, she gave him his father's ring. told him that his father was sorry. and the ring turned out to contain a tear of gold tHAT WE NEVER HEAR ABOUT EVER AGAIN.

what else, what else, what else.

i stand by being a Neddie shipper, because as said before by the resident neddie truther, @frobisher-smythe they have great personalities that compliment each other well.

I'm not surprised that Patricia broke up with Eddie, she's afraid of getting hurt so she does the hurting but the thing is that as a couple, while they enjoy bantering and have a lot in common, they could be foils for each other. kinda like Beck and Jade from Victorious. they're an iconic couple with a cool dude and a mean girl, but the thing about them is that they're incredibly toxic. that doesn't make them uninteresting, but very bad for each other. while i don't think Peddie is full-on toxic, they do have certain things going on like trust issues and lying (on both sides) and jealously issues too. and if you're that insecure about your relationship, if what you have with your partner is so fragile that you can't trust them around other people then why be with them?

Neddie had potential to be something huge and they couldn't even be bothered to explore it a lil bit.

well, i think thats about it, i hope you liked this messy review, the upcoming clips of some of my favorite moments, and be on the look out for my new sibuna inspired side-blog. i think i may get into writing one-shots again over there. @houseofwolfbloods

[wuxiaphoenix]

On Writing: Bits of Joy

Jason on finding out he’s back in a Little Ice Age: Everything is Not Okay, and we’re going to have to struggle to survive, and I am not looking forward to any of it.

Also Jason, on seeing Chae’s library: ...I am camping here and never leaving.

You have to know what your heroes fear, what they hate, what mental knots they need to work their way through before they can finally face and defeat outside dangers. But you also have to know what brings your characters joy.

For a swordsman it might be finding the perfect blade, or at last mastering a form he’s only attempted before. For the lady in an arranged marriage, it could be the gradual realization that her husband is as good a man as she hoped for, and just as committed to making this work. For a scholar and historian, several thousand books he’s never read before, many of them primary-source histories written by people on the ground at the time, is a sight to gladden the heart.

(Yes, several thousand. This is not only possible, it’s plausible. We have records of several wealthy merchants from the Ming Dynasty who had upwards of ten thousand volumes. Chae hasn’t always had money, but she’s had time, qiankun pouches, and the ability to wander many, many places selling books.)

Joy is hard to write about. For one thing it’s a relatively ephemeral feeling; if you stop to pin it down to a written page, you may lose it. For another it’s harder for the brain to hang onto long-term; we’re hardwired for survival, not happiness. Our neurochemistry encodes nasty stuff hard, fast and deep so we can hopefully avoid it in the future, while letting happy things fade, so we have to go after them again to regain that feeling. For a third thing - well. A lot of writers are writers because we desperately want to communicate something, and that often means there’s something we are Not Happy about.

But you need to have it in your story. Even if only for instants. The time two lovers breathe together after that first kiss; yes, that really happened, this person wants me. The roar of the crowd as the clock ticks down and the player shifts the last piece, and wins. That moment when your friend’s car goes over the cliff, you fall to your knees... and you see a trembling, dirt-stained hand reach up.

Give your characters joy. Your readers will remember it forever.

[darklovecat]

Today was a very productive day!

☆:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::☆

I signed up for a new language learning course!

I have been making use of a portion of my free time to learn a new language. Being a polyglot was always something that greatly benefited my work life. I know for a fact that I would have never gotten the opportunity to participate in certain events, gained admission to certain unis and programs if I wasn't fluent in multiple languages, being fluent in different languages is such a valuable asset and it always makes me stand out from other applicants. I used to have a lot of side gigs and I have worked as a play sister, a translator, a voice actor and I was able to make quick money simply because I was fluent in foreign languages. I can read and write my dream language now but self-learning can only get me so far and I am not ready for immersion just yet, I need a solid foundation first and I signed up for a language class today. It will begin in April and I am planning on using the next month to review and refresh so I am ready for my new course.

I decluttered my wardrobe!

I am getting rid of all clothes and accessories that I do not love. I am constantly decluttering my wardrobe but it is a never ending process for me because I enjoy shopping a little too much and I own a lot of clothes that I simply don't wear anymore. I donate them, I gift them and I sell them online. I have received 2 new orders and had a fun time ironing the clothes, packing them, adding lots of gifts and cute little notes to thank them for their purchases. I love opening packages and there's nothing like opening a beautifully wrapped order and getting all excited for your new product and I want the person who receives my order to feel happy and excited like I always do. I drove to the carrier company to send off the orders but they had a system error, I had to wait for an hour or so and drove to another branch that had the same issue and I lost a lot of time in the process. It was a bummer, but at least I got my 10k steps in and I'll try again tomorrow.

I placed some new orders!

I have this really annoying habit - if I love a product, I buy a ridiculous amount of backups, I buy all colors available and I purchase items that are so similar that it's basically the same thing. I am a loyal customer and I love going back to the brands that have worked for me in the past and I don't really feel the need to step out of my comfort zone and try something new when there's already something out there that works for me. I ordered a new Longchamp bag, I already own various colors and different sizes, but this time I am trying a new color and a slightly different model to match the trench coat I have ordered, I want a cohesive look and my outerwear, bag, and shoes are usually the same color so I can always look and feel put together. I also rushed to the mall to buy the same exact wrap top I already own so I can wear it more often, and I also ordered 3 new white tops, I ordered some Olaplex products for my hair, and I bought some makeup.

I did some much needed studying!

My midterms are in less than a month and I have got to focus on increasing my GPA as much as I can. Most of my classes are online this semester so it should not be too hard for me but some of my profs are notorious for making online exams extremely hard or giving us very little time to finish all questions, and I've just been studying and I watched the recordings of our lectures, and summarized them. My exams will be during Ramadan, it shouldn't be too hard as I do a lot of intermittent fasting anyways and I have fasted during my finals in the summer heat in the past. I just need to ask my doctor how to make fasting work with the new meds that I have been taking so I set up an appointment for that. I will start working on a goals list for Ramadan because I am actually really looking forward to reconnecting with my religion, I want to use this time to leave bad habits behind, pause and reflect, practice self disciple. I used to read one juz a day and I want to do another hatim, I will to do it again this Ramadan ان شاء ا��له.

[signalwatch]

90's Watch: Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead (1991)

Watched:  02/09/2023

Format:  HBOmax

Viewing:  First

Director:  Stephen Herek

Sometimes a movie goes off the rails so fast and so hard, feels cynically produced on top of that, that it's hard not to just get mad, fold your arms and complain til the credits roll.  For the past 32 years, I'd successfully not seen Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead (1991), which came out when I was 16 and was working through my Gen-X feelings of rejecting things I felt were marketed at me - but specifically at a very dumb version of me the people selling me stuff mostly took to be an idiot.

In 1991, Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead was *heavily* sold at teen audiences with ads on MTV and elsewhere running seemingly non-stop.  Certainly I saw  trailers before other movies.  And you always knew:  if the movie looks like this, and they're advertising it this hard, it's because it sucks and they need to get people in before word spreads.  

There was a long tail of 1980's-style comedy into the 1990's, enough so that it probably deserves its own niche, but this movie feels like a 1987 release more than something that would hit at the same time as Home Alone. 

The pitch is this:  

Kids are left at home for two months under the care of a mean old lady.  She dies in the first ten minutes, and the kids dispose of her and accidentally the money they were to survive on.  For reasons, they do not want Mom to know (and Dad has some mysterious shadiness about him that is never teased out).  

Instead of BOTH teens getting jobs so they can survive, only one does (Applegate).  She works for a day at Clowndog (which looks like a very bad job, but a very fun place to eat), and then lies her way into a job at a fashion/ uniform company as an executive assistant.  And never worries about getting caught.  Even as she steals from the petty cash.

Kids learn life lessons.  Romance is found.  The ending makes zero sense.

You can blame the director for this, but Stephen Herek directed a number of watchable films, from Critters to Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure to some big-budget, successful, live-action Disney films. In short - I think he knows what he's doing, or especially did in the 1990's.  But if he also shot what was on the page for this movie, then... you know, these writers more or less don't have a track record after this movie that I'd write home about.

Curiously, this entire family lacks scruples while also having a complete lack of charm or any redeeming qualities.  Movie:  this stuff is important if you want people to care about the ending.  Counting on the audience being dumb kids only sells so many tickets.  At least try to make us care whether the children live or die.  I mean, we've already shown a curious callousness to life and death once in the movie.  What's one or two kids less?  But the kids all get one character goal and spend the duration whining about whatever their thing is.  There's no love or even hate between them.  They merely co-exist in space.

Despite a really solid title that promises a dark comedy full of hijinks, we get a pretty basic "fakin' it til you're makin' it" comedy made popular in the 80's with Working Girl and The Secret of My Success welded onto a teen summer romp about being a dipshit.  And, despite the fact it looks like a comedy, there's almost nothing present to illicit actual laughter.  I laughed audibly exactly once, at a supporting character's choice to clutch a jar of M&M's as a coping mechanism.  

The set ups of the film intended to provide our hero with challenges all seem to point to:  this girl is going to jail.  And she is going to jail because she's an idiot and everyone else in her family is an asshole, from youngest kid to absentee, lying mom who has skipped the continent to go bang a shepherd. 

What's odd about the "makin' it" business aspect is that she... doesn't?  She hands all of her work to Kimmy Robertson, and her solution for saving the company is to turn their industrial uniforms into highly 1980's-specific and impractical designs that seem like they'd just bring more shame on the workers than a smock or a golf shirt.*  

Either one of these movies might have been fun on their own, but together...  

It feels like no one sat down with the script and said "does this make sense?"  Like - ok, I'll buy the shitty mom also didn't tell the kids who she was hiring to babysit them for two months.  I'm not sure how this old bag was qualified or why she thought making the kids miserable was not going to get back to the mom.  Ignore all that.  Babysitter is dead within 10 minutes.

But I also don't get what the kids thought was going to happen when they had to explain to their mom they threw away a corpse.  Like - that woman presumably had friends and maybe people who loved her...  The movie could have set it up so that wasn't true, but it didn't.  They just throw her away.  (Apparently Bad Mom also left 2 months worth of cash?  Jesus, lady.).

But it also does weird little things like - they give the kids two cars, but then one is stolen partway through the movie (by drag queens.  And that plot point never, ever returns...  when it so easily could have).  Like... why?  Why one car?  It makes whole chunks of the movie not make sense.  Like - did they call an ambulance to the farm?  Did they get a ride?  

Look, I could spend an hour naming Things In Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead That Could Have Easily Not Happened And/ Or Been Fixed.  I will spare you.  When other people think that's criticism, I find it both dubious and annoying.  I mean, I am 100% right about all my thoughts on this, but I doubt I will sway anyone who loves the movie for any reason.  Shine on, you crazy diamonds.

But, jesus.  This is the laziest @#$%ing movie.

It also costars Joanna Cassidy, who I know mostly from Blade Runner, and who is clearly in a wig here but allowed to be over 40 and hot, which is shocking for the period.  And it has John Getz, who was the main guy in Blood Simple, here being horny at Christina Applegate.  Josh Charles plays Applegate's paramour and he's... fine.  David Duchovny is there to show you what happens when no one knows what to do with you as an actor.  I think the secretary/ Josh Charles' sister played Admiral Cornwell on Star Trek: Discovery.  

The movie is wisely anchored by Applegate, who was most famous at this point as Kelly from Married... With Children and seemed ready for bigger things.  If the movie is watchable, it's that Applegate is watchable and likable, and not playing a broad, dumb character.  Her scenes with Joanna Cassidy and John Getz suggest a better movie that doesn't exist when they aren't on the screen.  But it's hard to sell to boys wanting to see Applegate a movie when she's on TV every week, and I don't think the movie did a great job of marketing the Makin' It portions of the film.  Applegate's career is worthy of discussion because she's proven multiple times she's hilarious, but she has to be the straight man here to literally everyone.

Who knows what happened from script to production to the editor's block?.  Anything could have.  And probably did.

I will possibly try this movie again in another 32 years to reconsider.  

  *I say this as someone who worked back-to-back at Chuck E. Cheese and The Disney Store

https://ift.tt/aBxntMz

from The Signal Watch https://ift.tt/yuMK0Xo

[hoochy-coo]

What’s your opinion on Taylor’s treating Joe the same as she treated her 3 months old relationships? Honestly I’m surprised and I’ve thought it will be different this time, considering the rest of her discography and her documentary.

Is Taylor treating her breakup with Joe the same as she treated her 3 months old relationships though? Because I initially thought she checked out months and months prior to them announcing the split, but the way she’s been moving since in the last couple of months suggest to me that she has barely processed it and something happened behind the scenes to change the tone of this split (or at least what she wants to signal anyway). She’s not really giving “amicable” as it was initially presented to the media - she’s coming off as angry. By no means am I saying she’s not allowed to be, a breakup is an entire grieving process and you’re supposed to go through a range of emotions. However, the timeline (publicly anyway) has been the breakup, her getting with Matty Healy (mouthing I love you, saying she feels this is where she’s always meant to be), that ending (and a bunch of bad press), then she gets in a very public and very fast and furious relationship with Travis Kelce all the while doing an entire world tour. I’m sure it’s all slowing creeping in now but a lot of this is coming off like she’s trying to prove something - I don’t know if it’s to the public/media, to Joe or even to herself.

If TS11 is about to be a breakup album then I’ve got no issue with that and think that’s expected of her to write/take inspiration from the end of a 6 year relationship. I have no doubt it’s going to sell like hotcake, break records, add to her current level of fame but I also don’t think it’s going to “shit” on Joe’s reputation either. He’s always been very private, his level of fame is minuscule compared to her and he’s never going to say a thing about that relationship and the fallout. So he’s never going to be the people’s villain like the rest of her exes (minus Taylor Lautner and Tom Hiddleston).

I also think she really wanted to get this out before re-recording the rest of Rep TV lol

[tomreview]

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[the-firebird69]

We begin the process of extracting stuff from California and we mean items that we need and I noticed that they have a plan you think it is for them to try and access the Midwest somehow.

They're done in tunnels and they're going after the nephilim and they're trying to figure out tunnels that go to us for real and some of them have maps and charts and they know where some of the tunnels are they kind of go out that way a little and we found some trying to access those tunnels and it was a hefty bunch about half the force was trying to go to the wrong direction so we said no like we always do don't use us to be able to get them to go get us permanently and all that stuff you say and we block them in the tunnel and they were upset and begin removing the block right away and it was out in 5 minutes and they're pretty big blocks you insist on coming this way and we heard yes and what does it look like and we said turn around are you going to look dead they said no and we open fired and they died and half the Army was gone and they had a line about a mile wide and stretched for 5 miles it's pretty big it's not too huge second trillion people they're gone and in a millisecond. So they bought a few armies down with that size we wipe the m out a few times. And they kept bringing them down and they still are attempting to it's like 2 trillion an hour no no it's like every 15 minutes they send the same troop down like we're going to come out or something or be afraid who knows so we're wiping them out and at the end of the day if they do it for even if three or four more hours they're going to be down a percentage point globally and it'll be a large amount here in California it's probably 6% will be at 5% if they continue this all day. And it's horrendous what they say and when they talk about so you got that for school in there and the southern Forest going towards the nephilim and that's getting wiped out about the same rate. And now we're not trading anything with them or sending them anything even beer I already nutty as hell. Right now there they are drinking whatever beer they can get it's scarce and so is alcohol and they wanted some real bad and a bunch came out and bought it nearby and bought all the whiskey in all of the whole South they bought all the whiskey and you pretty much can't get it right now and people drink whiskey so probably sell it to the South. The thinking of selling beer to bars and pubs in the south but whiskey to liquor dealers and they come in and they buy it and they did wait a warehouse or two but still so we're thinking of doing that and he says we should test it drive to the store and they're buying the hard stuff and lots of it now the guys like I have to get out of here and he starts laughing this is terrible so we decided you can sell it all over and he's like yeah so he told him to take a break or two cuz they won't leave alone and we're going to bring in tons of it into the South mostly hard stuff we have a lot in reserve. So they brought out a bunch of troops and they continue to they don't have that much armament and he's trying to get it out of the Midwest now and he's having a fight and a big one mainly because of his track record. There's a bunch of movies coming out real fast there's no time for them it's already reaching huge proportion and they're going to do them anyways in Las Vegas Las Vegas might be gone within the month the movie mortal engines is there and Tommy Allen does that and the place is gone he's driving around on ruins that he made happen but really it's the nephilim who forced it and he's not really to blame for that.

We need to get this out now and the apartment is very important these people are enemies of ours that are expressing it openly in the last and they say it here all day long to our son and we need to be in here to beat them to death

Thor Freya

Zues Hera

Olympus

[spiralemoji]

Write down how I’m feeling

Maybe I’ll make it out of this

I don’t know what I’m doing

Hoping for things to get a little better

Life goes by so fast and then its over

Some people seem to live forever

As if they’re on a different time line

And unaffected by the laws of the universe

I dont wanna be real

Im scared of how god will judge me

I tried, I tried, I tried

It was better not to feel

Now I’m trapped in paradise

Its all black and white, paper or plastic

As if it makes a difference

they tell me that i’m healing 

but they don’t really know 

if it’s all about perspective, where the trajectory to show for it 

downward spiral, i let go a long time ago because i’m dyin 

you said it best, if i brought you into this world, i can take you out of it 

maybe its not your fault, or maybe you killed me 

no one really knows 

i dont need justice, just wanna feel safe at home in my bones 

tossed out my entire record collection 

but it still follows me in my memories 

and i can hear them spinning around in my head 

like it was yesterday 

thats all i wanna do sometimes, just lay on the floor and listen to your guitar 

spend several hours making half-assed art 

i hope you like it this time... i hope you like it this time, 

baby i tried, i tried, i tried 

i want to set myself free from myself, but i dont know if thats possible. 

i want to be real, im afraid i’ll sell my soul to the devil 

all this conflict you gave me, doesn’t change me or rearrange me... 

i look myself in the mirror and i told her, i dont understand you anymore. 

if i die then maybe i die 

we’re all already dead, but we live forever anyways 

maybe that’s the end, i wanna take risks but im so afraid 

theres no method, to the madness 

maybe peace comes with acceptance, not resistance.

what do i know, im lost and confused. 

or maybe i hit it right on the nose.,, 

maybe life’s not a game you can win or lose.

if theres no truth, then why are there so many rules.

this world is killin you, 

i tried i tried i tried 

angels guiding you... 

take me home.

swallow another bottle, of everythings fine 

maybe itll be ALright 

this world is killin you

i try if not be strongt for me ill be strong for you 

because im out of options, my case is hopeless, 

i always knew